HANSIE CRONJE (SA)

Introduction

Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje (September 25, 1969 to June 1, 2002) was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. He was voted the 11th greatest South African in 2004 despite having been banned for life from professional cricket for his role in a match-fixing scandal.

Full name: Wessel Johannes Cronje
Nickname: Hansie
Born: 25 September 1969 Bloemfontein, South Africa
Died: 1 June 2002 (aged 32) Cradock Peak, Outeniqua Mountains, South Africa
Role: Batsman
Batting style: Right-handed
Bowling style: Right-arm medium

Test debut (cap 237): 18 April 1992 v West Indies
Last Test: 2 March 2000 v India
ODI debut (cap 15): 26 February 1992 v Australia
Last ODI: 31 March 2000 v Pakistan

Tests & ODI Matches: 68 & 188
Runs scored: 3714 & 5565
Batting average: 36.41 & 38.64
100s/50s: 6/23 & 2/39
Top score: 135 & 112
Wickets: 43 & 114
Bowling average: 29.95 & 34.78
Best bowling: 3/14 & 5/32
Catches: 33 & 73

First Class Career

Cronje made his first-class debut for Orange Free State against Transvaal at Johannesburg in January 1988 at the age of 18. In the following season he was a regular appearing in all eight Currie Cup matches plus being part of the Benson and Hedges Series winning team, scoring 73 as an opener in the final. In 1989/90, despite playing all the Currie Cup matches, he failed to make a century, and averaged only 19.76; however, in one-day games he averaged 60.12.

During that season, he scored his maiden century for South African Universities against Mike Gatting's rebels. After that poor season, he was given tough task of captaincy of his domestic team.

International Career

Cronje's form in 1991/92 was impressive especially in the one-day format where he averaged 61.40. He earned an international call up for the 1992 World Cup, making his One Day International debut against Australia at Sydney. During the tournament he played in eight of the team's nine games, averaging 34.00 with the bat while his medium pace was used bowling 20 overs.

After the World Cup, Cronje was part of the tour to the West Indies; India toured South Africa in 1992/93. In the one-day series Cronje managed just one fifty but with the ball he was economical and took his career best figures of 5/32, becoming the second South African to take 5 wickets in an ODI. In the Test series that followed he scored his maiden test century, 135 off 411 balls., after coming in at 0-1 in the second over he was last man out, after eight and three-quarter hours, in a total of 275. This contributed to South Africa's first Test win since readmission.

Stand-in captain

In international cricket he was named as vice-captain for the tour of Australia despite being the youngest member of the squad in 1993/94. He scored 71 in a rain affected first Test at Melbourne before a tense second Test that South Africa won by 5 runs, an injury to captain Kepler Wessels meant Cronje was captain for the final day of the match. Between the second and third Tests the one-day tournament continued, now with Cronje as captain, South Africa made the final series but lost it 2-1 to Australia. He became South Africa's second-youngest Test captain, when he led the team for the third Test at Adelaide.

In the first Test against Australia at Johannesburg, he added a century as South Africa won by 197 runs. This innings was the end of a 14 day period in which he'd scored 721 runs against the Aussies.

Permanent captain

South Africa lost the first Test in Johannesburg but before the second Test the two teams plus Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed for the Mandela Trophy, New Zealand failed to gain a win in the six match round robin stage while South Africa beat Pakistan in the final. This changed the momentum as South Africa secured wins in Durban and Cape Town, where Cronje scored his fourth Test century, he was the first captain since W. G. Grace to win a three-match rubber after being one down. In early 1995 South Africa won one-off Tests against both Pakistan and New Zealand, in Auckland Cronje scored the only century of the match before a final day declaration left his bowlers just enough time to dismiss the Kiwis.

In the 1996 World Cup, he scored 78 and 45* against New Zealand and Pakistan respectively as South Africa won their group but in the Quarter final with West Indies a Brian Lara century ended their 10 game winning streak.

Cronje's form at the 1999 World Cup was poor, finishing with 98 runs at 12.25 as South Africa was eliminated after the famous tied Semi-final againt Australia at Edgbaston. In October 1999 Cronje became South Africa's highest Test run scorer during the first Test against Zimbabwe. The two Test series was won 2-0 thanks to innings victories. The series with England was won in the fourth Test at Cape Town, Cronje's fiftieth as captain.

The fifth test of the 1999/2000 South Africa v England series at Centurion was ruined by rain - going into the final day only 45 overs had been possible with South Africa 155/6. On the final morning as they batted on news filtered through that the captains had met and were going to "make a game of it". A target of 250 from 70 overs was agreed. When South Africa reached 248/8 Cronje declared; both teams then forfeited an innings leaving England a target of 249 to win the Test, which they did with two wickets left and only five balls remaining. It ended South Africa's 14 game unbeaten streak in Test cricket. Cronje was later learnt to have accepted money and a gift from a bookmaker in return for making an early declaration in this Test.

Match fixing

On 7 April 2000, Delhi police revealed they had a recording of a conversation between Cronje and Sanjay Chawla, a representative of an Indian betting syndicate, over match-fixing allegations. On 8 April 2000 the UCBSA (United Cricket Board of South Africa) denied that any of their players were involved in match-fixing, Cronje said "the allegations are completely without substance". However, on April 11 Cronje was sacked as captain after confessing to Ali Bacher that he had not been "entirely honest". He admitted accepting between $10,000 and $15,000 from a London-based bookmaker for 'forecasting' results, not match fixing, during the recent one day series in India. On 11 October, Cronje was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life. He challenged his life ban in September 2001 but on 17 October 2001 his application was dismissed.

Plane crash

On 1 June 2002 Cronje's scheduled flight home from Bloemfontein to George had been grounded so instead he hitched a ride as the only passenger on a cargo flight in a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop aircraft. Near George airport, the pilots lost visibility in cloud, and were unable to land, partly due to unserviceable navigational equipment. While circling, the plane crashed into the Outeniqua mountains northeast of the airport. Cronje, aged 32, and the two pilots were killed instantly.