Wisden overview
South Africa's former captain, who was tragically killed in a plane crash in June 2002, will forever be remembered for his shady dealings off the field, rather than his accomplishments on it. Hansie Cronje became the image of national shame when he admitted to taking money from bookmakers to fix the outcome of matches and to pressurise subordinate team-mates to follow his path to destruction. As a player he captained SouthAfrica a record 53 times in Tests and 138 times in one-day internationals, winning an incredible 99 of them. His front-foot batting, while not always elegant, could be brutal in the one-day game and occasionally on the Test stage as well. In 1997-98 he smashed 82 from 63 balls at Centurion Park to win a Test against Sri Lanka after South Africa had slipped to 99 for 3 chasing 226. Muttiah Muralitharan, unplayable to most, bore the brunt of the assault. Cronje's bowling was under-rated. If the ball was swinging he could make it talk. He had a knack of choosing the right time to bowl, and with variations in pace he often collected two or three wickets for next to nothing at an odd time of the innings before disappearing back to mid-off. Cronje had the demeanour of a fierce competitor who always appeared to wear his heart on his sleeve and take each defeat personally. But his role in the entire match-fixing saga cast far-reaching aspersions about the sincerity of his national pride. Sadly, Cronje's corrupt nature will be his legacy, rather than outstanding achievements such as captaining South Africa to a 5-0 series whitewash over West Indies or a rare series victory in India.

Neil Manthorp

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