Cronje wanted to bet on Centurion Park - Strydom

The case against Hansie Cronje took a new twist at the King commission of inquiry on Friday when Pieter Strydom testified that Cronje had asked him to place a bet on the outcome of the Centurion Park Test match against England in January.

Strydom also said that Cronje had spoken to him about a R70 000 offer for South Africa to score fewer than 250 in the first Test match against India in Mumbai this year. Strydom said he declined this offer which was later doubled. Again he turned it down.

Strydom, who made his Test debut at Centurion Park, said that after the decision had been taken on the fifth morning to forfeit the middle innings of the match, while he and Cronje were in conversation, Cronje had wondered what odds would be offered on a result to the game.

Strydom volunteered to phone a friend who was a frequent gambler to establish the odds. Cronje told Strydom to place a R50 bet on South Africa to win for him. Strydom made the call and also asked his friend, Alex Saffy to place a R50 bet for him on South Africa to win.

He later learned, however, that no bets were being taken on the match.

In Mumbai in March, the day before the first Test, Strydom said Cronje had called him to his room. According to Strydom, Cronje light-heartedly said "we can get R70 000 if we get out for less than 250".

Strydom said he knew Cronje to be a practical joker. He was also playing in only his second Test match and he told Cronje that if he had played 75 or 80 Test matches he might think about it.

Strydom testified that when he left Cronje's room he felt pleased with himself. "I thought maybe I'd passed the test," he said.

Later that day, when the two players bumped into each other, Cronje nudged Strydom and said "How about 140 (thousand rand)?" Again Strydom declined.

As it transpired, South Africa were bowled out for 176 and Strydom noted to Cronje that "we could have made some bucks".

Strydom said he had received no offers involving the one-day games which followed the Test series.

Like Gibbs and Williams before him, Strydom said that what he had done was "very stupid".

Strydom was followed into the witness box by Nicky Boje, also implicated in the Indian police tape recordings. Boje told the hearing that he had never been approached by anyone to throw a game other than in the 1996 team meeting in Mumbai when the entire team discussed a $250 000 offer to throw a one-day game.

He said he had been upset to discover his name mentioned in the Indian police tape recordings. He had asked Cronje what was going on and Cronje told him that he had "just thrown a few names around" to placate people who were pestering him. Boje did not budge for this line.

"I still respect him (Cronje)," said Boje. "He's still a close friend. Everyone makes mistakes."