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Journalism of Courage
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CAPE TOWN, JUNE 13: Former South Africa wicketkeeper Dave Richardson told a government inquiry on Tuesday that former captain Hansie Cronje had approached the team with an offer of $ 250,000 to throw a match.
Richardson told Judge Edwin King, who heads the inquiry, that Cronje had approached his team mates in 1996 before the final match of South Africa’s tour in India with the offer. It was rejected. “If you divide it among 15 it’s not a lot of money,” Richardson said.
“We shouldn’t have taken this to a team meeting. (Teammate) Andrew Hudson said he wanted no part of it,” he added.
But Richardson said although most of the team were opposed to the offer there was a feeling of excitement that they had been approached by the bookmakers they had only ever heard of.
Richardson also confirmed that a current international cricketer made a bribe offer to teammate Pat Symcox in India in 1996. Richardson told he knew the identity of the player, but refused to name him.
He said he had spoken to Symcox, who testified on the first day of public hearings by the commission last Wednesday that he had been made an offer by the mystery player. Richardson said if Symcox was not willing to divulge the name, he did not believe it was his place to do so. “Also you hear of all these threats and death threats, so maybe it’s not a good idea,” he said to laughter in a room again packed with journalists and members of the public.
All-rounder Jacques Kallis testified on Tuesday of being approached by Cronje with a bribe offer, but said he had turned it down. Kallis told Judge King that Cronje had suggested the possibility of throwing the second Test against India in Bangalore in March this year. Kallis confirmed testimony given on Monday by teammates Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher and `jokingly’ said there had been an offer to throw the match.
Kallis said: “I thought it was another one of his jokes. With the benefit of hindsight it could have been his way of approaching us.”
After hearing from Kallis, the Commission adjourned the inquiry until Thursday to allow more time for investigation.
Kallis said his suspicions were also raised when Cronje decided to declare in a Test against England in South Africa in January. Kallis said he and many of his teammates were upset by Cronje’s decision.
“The last thing I wanted to do was give England confidence ahead of the One-Day series. We were upset. Test matches are hard enough to win at the best of times so you don’t want to give it away,” he said.
“We didn’t really want to make a game of it and we were quite shocked that Hansie set them such an easy target.” With more than three days lost to rain and the Test headed for a draw Cronje declared South Africa’s first innings and England forfeited their first innings, leaving the touring team with a target of 245 in 70 overs.
Match was clean: Stewart
Former England captain Alec Stewart has denied that the crowning glory of his brief career as captain England’s 2-1 series win over South Africa in 1998 was a result of the Pakistan umpire Javed Akhtar accepting money to make a string of dubious lbw decisions.
"We won that match fairly and squarely and decisions went against both sides," Stewart was quoted by the Guardian daily here today. England won the test by 23 runs at Headingley. Peter Willey, Akhtar’s fellow umpire in that Test, was sceptical. "I just thought poor old Javed did not have a very good match," he said, adding: "Looking back I suppose Javed was rather quiet. But you don’t know whether people like to keep their own privacy."
Kallis on the `shocking’ declaration
`The last thing I wanted to do was give England confidence ahead of the One-Day series. We were upset. Test matches are hard enough to win at the best of times so you don’t want to give it away. We didn’t really want to make a game of it and we were quite shocked that Hansie set them such an easy target’
Richardson on the offer made in 1996
Cronje made an offer of $250,000 to throw a match to the team in 1996 before the final match of SA’s tour in India. It was rejected. If you divide it among 15 it’s not a lot of money. Although most were opposed to the offer there was a feeling of excitement that they had been approached by bookmakers they had only ever heard of
