How the match-fixing drama unfolded - Part 5

Former South African cricketer Pat Symcox testifies before the King Commission that he had been approached by Hansie Cronje about `throwing' a cricket match against Pakistan during the 1994-95 season. The former off spin bowler says the approach from Cronje was in addition to a previously reported offer made to the team in Mumbai in 1996. Incidentally 1994-95 was Cronje's first season in charge of the South African team.

Symcox gives further details of a team meeting in Mumbai in 1996 including that Cronje had made a telephone call from his hotel room in the presence of other players which resulted in an offer to the team to lose a match. Questioned about this, Symcox says "the team was unhappy about the match having official one day international status. It was at the end of a very tough tour and everyone wanted to go home. Hansie called a metting in his room. It was just the players, no management were involved. He said an offer had been received to lose the game." Asked how much the offer was, Symcox says he thought it was 250,000 dollars. "It was the first time any of us, especially myself, had this sort of thing thrown at us. We thought it's quite a lot of money, maybe we should look at it." He says Andrew Hudson had made a stand on principle against accepting the offer. Hudson had been supported by fellow players Derek Crookes and Daryll Cullinan, at which stage Cronje said it was `no go.'

Symcox reveals a third approach which he says was by a foreign player, a current international he describes as `Mr X' during the 1996 tour which he says was made to him personally. He says he turned it down. Giving details about the offer, Symcox says he does not want to divulge the name of the foreign player because he is a current international cricketer.

Former South African captain Hansie Cronje admits that it was his voice on tapes recorded by Indian police allegedly of him and a bookmaker fixing a match. But Cronje was only "playing with bookmakers and leading them on," when the recording was made and he never intended fixing a match, his pastor Ray McCauley of the Rhema church says in The Star newspaper.

Cricket presents a volatile market for betting, Neil Andrews, a television betting pundit who was involved in a company which introduced spread betting into South Africa, tells the King Commission in Cape Town on the first day of its inquiry into corruption in South African cricket. Andrews, the first witness in the hearing, says cricket provides punters and bookmakers with more opportunities than most sports because of the wide range of scores that are possible.

Judge Edwin King opens the proceedings with a warning to witnesses that they could face prosecution if they failed to answer satisfactorily any question lawfully put to them. The judge says all hearings would be in public unless he rules that any particular evidence or portion of evidence should be held in camera. "I don't see that happening frequently, or at all," he says. The judge says he wants to remove perceptions that the inquiry is planned as "any sort of revenge or witch hunt. We are here to establish the truth," he says. Hansie Cronje, the disgraced former South African is not present at the hearing but is represented by his legal team. Ewie Cronje, his father is seen in the public seats at the opening of the hearing.

The English born Commission head judge Edwin King warns that failure to co-operate with the inquiry could be deemed a criminal offence. "If evidence that is given is found to be unsatisfactory or not reasonably acceptable, I can refer the incident and the person to the Director of Public Prosecutions," he says on SABC public radio. "There is a section in the Commission's Act that governs this commission which makes it a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment. If I do have to, I will employ it," he says.

South African players were told that an offer made to the team to lose a game in Mumbai in 1996 should be kept secret, off spinner Derek Crookes tells the King Commission of inquiry in South Africa. Crookes reveals that captain Hansie Cronje had said that if the team accepted the offer, no one else should be told including the players' wives. Crookes corroborates the evidence given by Pat Symcox on Wednesday that Cronje had conveyed an offer of 250,000 dollars to lose the game. But whereas Crookes claims there were two meetings, Symcox had said there had been one. Crookes also says that he had been approached by Cronje on a flight to Mumbai the previous day and gained the impression that the former captain had already spoken to several other players. Crookes says he and Andrew Hudson, his room mate in Mumbai, were at the forefront of opposition to accepting the offer. "I thought I was the first to stand up at the meeting but it may have been Andrew," says Crookes. "I thought it was immoral, the wrong to do and could jeopardise my career." Crookes says he Hudson, Daryll Cullinan and Dave Richardson had led the opposition in accepting the offer but he could not remember if anyone had been in favour. "Hansie said we were either all in or all out. If one of us was out, we weren't going to do it."

South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs effectively seals Hansie Cronje's fate when he confesses he had accepted an offer from his former skipper to make less than 20 runs in a one day match in India earlier this year in exchange for 15,000 dollars. The confession also casts a dark shadow over Gibbs' own cricketing future with the chief of the South African selectors Kepler Wessels warning that the opening batsman is in "serious trouble." Gibbs directly contradicts a statement by Cronje that he had not approached any other players to affect the outcome of matches for money or that he had ever been involved in match fixing. Giving evidence before the King Commission of inquiry, Gibbs also implicates opening bowler Henry Williams, his roommate whom he said had accepted an offer from Cronje to bowl badly in the same game, also for a payment of 15,000 dollars. Gibbs admits that he had lied to teammates and officials on eight different occasions. He claims that on two occasions, Cronje had asked him to deny that he had accepted the bribe offer and Gibbs says he had lied to protect Cronje. However neither Gibbs nor Williams collected the payment because they did not carry out their side of the deal.

Former South African captain Kepler Wessels tells SABC radio that the latest revelations are going to be "problematic" for South African cricket. "It depends how many players come forward and admit they were part of the scam. The game needs cleaning up very badly and so anyone who admits to or is found guilty of match fixing is going to face serious disciplinary action." Wessels, who preceded Cronje as South African captain, adds "You have to say that Hansie Cronje is in serious trouble but so is Herschelle Gibbs now after these admissions."

UCBSA managing director Ali Bacher says the board's executive will meet on Friday to discuss the implications of Gibbs' confession and whether he should retain his place in the South African team to tour Sri Lanks next month. Bacher tells a news agency in South Africa. The fact that he has admitted to having taken a bribe is basically the commission's affair but the fact that he lied to me, basically his boss, on no less than five occasions is a different matter."

The King Commission is told that Hansie Cronje was tearful and appeared ready to hand himself over to the police when he confessed that he had received money from a businessman. Rory Steyn, a security consultant to the UCBSA and a former member of President Mandela's protection unit, gives the inquiry dramatic evidence of a confession by Cronje in the early hours of April 11. Cronje was sacked as captain later the same day. Steyn, who was staying in the same hotel as the South African team before a match against Australia in Durban, says Cronje telephoned him and asked him to come to his room in the early hours of April 11. "He handed me a statement which I assumed to be in his handwriting. He said I may have have guessed that he had not been entirely honest and that some of what was in the media was true. He had decided to write a statement and come clean." The statment included an admission by Cronje that he had accepted money from a Mohammad Cassim who he knew as Hameed, which he had been handed before South Africa's one day match against Zimbabwe in Johannesburg in January. Cronje told Steyn that when he later led the team on a tour of India, he had been "constantly harassed" by Cassim and Sanjiv Chawla, the man whose conversations with Cronje had been taped by New Delhi police and released in transcript form to the media. "Hansie told me this harassment was up to 20 times a day" says Steyn who adds that Cronje told him he had decided to confess for three reasons. "He said he could not live with the lies, they were eating him up. His family was under immense pressure and it was not fair to them. The players metntioned in the transcript were innocent and he wanted to clear their names."

South African batsman Daryll Cullinan offers the bizarre view that the offer conveyed by Hansie Cronje to throw a one day match in Mumbai in 1996 was a kind of moral test. Cullinan, giving evidence before the King Commission on the second day of the hearing, takes everyone by surprise by his view. Cullinan seems unable to say whether the offer had been real, a joke on Cronje's part or a test for the team. Cullinan maintains that Cronje was a fine captain and says he found little unusual with the declarations made during the Centurion Park Test match although he felt England had been given too many overs in which to hunt down their victory target.

The name of South Africa's coach Graham Ford is drawn into the match fixing scandal with Derek Crookes testifying before the King Commission that the coach was party to some unusual tactical decisions during the tour of India earlier this year. Crookes says after the first one day international. he had discussed his bowling with captain Hansie Cronje and Ford and "it was decided I would not open the bowling at any point during the rest of the series." However Crookes says the day before the last game of the tour, Ford told him that he would be opening the bowling. Crookes says he saw nothing sinister in the move since he had frequently opened the bowling for his province. "Hansie said we had nothing to lose so let's try something diffferent. " Media reports from India said police had taped a conversation Cronje had with a bookie which referred to the unusual bowling line up to be used in the game. Crookes did open the bowling and was hit for more than 50 runs in his opening six overs.

Herschelle Gibbs, who admitted on Thursday to accepting a bribe offer from Hansie Cronje, will face a disciplinary hearing once the inquiry panel finished its work. Gibbs says he is willing to go to India to stand trial on the corruption charges that triggered the scandal.

Nicky Boje, one of those named in the match-fixing case by the Delhi Police, tells the King Commission he was shocked to hear his name linked to the scandal and said Cronje had never approached him with an offer to play badly. Boje says he could cannot explain why his name appeared in a transcript of conversations between Cronje and a bookmaker. "The only person who can answer that is Cronje himself. I was shocked and surprised at hearing he had mentioned me," Boje says.

South African seam bowler Henry Williams testifies before the King Commission that he had been offered $15,000 by Hansie Cronje to bowl expensively in a one-day international in India earlier this year. Williams' testimony corroborates that given by Herschelle Gibbs on Thursday when he told the commission that Cronje had told him of an offer to give his wicket away for less than 20 in the same match, also for $15,000. Williams says that on the morning of the match he came out of the bathroom to find Cronje in his room talking to Gibbs. He said Cronje had a big grin on his face when he joined the conversation. Cronje said somebody had phoned him to offer a certain amount of money to throw the game. The amount was $15,000 and the arrangement was that Williams should concede more than 50 in his 10 overs. However, Williams suffered a recurrence of his injury and bowled only 1.5 overs. After allegations of match-fixing had surfaced in India, Williams says he became nervous as he saw his name mentioned in transcripts released by Indian police.

South African cricketer Pieter Strydom reveals before the King Commission that he also had been offered money by Hansie Cronje before the first Test against India in Mumbai in February. Strydom denies he had been approached or agreed to be involved in any manipulation of matches during the one day series in India. But he says Cronje had called him to his room before the Test in Mumbai. It was only the the second Test Strydom had been picked for. "Hansie said I could make 70,000 rand (10,000 dollars) if South Africa got less than 250 in the first innings. I said no but that if I had played 80 or 90 Tests I might consider it." After the match, Strydom had joked with Cronje that if they had accepted the offer, they could have made a lot of money. South Africa made only 176 in the first innings but went on to win the match. Strydom also reveals that Cronje had asked him during Strydom's debut Test against England at Centurion in January what the odds would be on South Africa winning. At that stage it seemed the game would end in a draw because three days had been lost because of rain.

South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs is ruled out of next month's Sri Lanka tour after admitting that he had accepted a bribe to under perform in a one day international in India. The UCBSA says in a statement that Gibbs will not be selected for the tour and would also face a disciplinary hearing but would continue to receive his full salary in the interim.

Hansie Cronje is offered immunity from criminal prosecution in South Africa if he makes a full disclosure about his role in match fixing. Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams, who confessed to accepting offers of 15,000 dollars each from Cronje to under perform in a one day international in Nagpur on March 19, were also offered immunity before their testimony. The offer from the South African government will not affect any action the UCBSA might take against Cronje, who has been the subject of damaging disclosures on the first three days of the King Commission in Cape Town, and the other two players. Sipho Ngwema, spokesman for the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, says that the gesture is aimed at ending corruption in South African cricket as soon as possible. "We want to make sure that each person who participated in match fixing is exposed," says Ngwema. He adds that is hoped that the offer to Cronje, Gibbs and Williams would result in other people possibly involved but who have not been called by the inquiry, being summoned before the commission. "The condition is that judge Edwin King must be happy that the testimonies of the three were frank and honest and that they participated with the commission fully," he says and adds if other individuals come forward with information, their cases will be dealt with individually. Cronje's legal advisers are said to be considering the immunity offer but his lawyer John Dickerson refuses to comment. But Ali Bacher, managing director of UCBSA says the players would still face action from the board if they have contravened the codes of conduct of the UCBSA and the International Cricket Council.

The Indian Sports Minister SS Dhindsa advocates leniency for those Indian players who come forth "honestly" and reveal any information or involvement in the match fixing scandal. Referring to the South African players who had revealed their involvement, Dhindsa says in New Delhi "I think leniency should be given to those who reveal their involvement honestly. I suggest the players come out in the open and say it all. It will be good for the country and for the game." He however says it is finally up to the court to decide upon the fate of the involved players. Asked about the CBI inquiry he says "the agency has told me that they will process the investigations as fast as possible. But only the CBI can tell you at what stage the investigation is on."

Former Indian cricketer Navjot Sidhu says he will soon appear before the CBI following a summons issued by the agency probing into the match fixing scandal. Sidhu who had deposed before the CBI last month had reportedly denied the allegations made by Manoj Prabhakar that Kapil Dev had offered him a bribe of Rs 25 lakhs to play below his potential during a match in Sri Lanka in 1994. Speaking from Patiala, Sidhu says his re-examination has been necessitated after Prabhakar subimitted videotapes secretly shot by him in which Sidhu had reportedly corroborated Prabhakar's allegation.

Former Pakistan captain Saleem Malik says he will appeal against a life ban on him in the next few days after hiring a top lawyer. Malik was banned for life after a judicial commission inquiry into match fixing allegations in Pakistan last month. "I have been banned and fined unjustly and I will protest that," he tells a news agency. "I have the services of Aitizaz Ahsan and we are waiting for the official letter showing the life ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board." Ahsan's clients include ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. "I still maintain that I have done nothing wrong and they have banned me on allegations made by the Australian players who were themselves involved with a bookie," Malik says.

Cellular telephone numbers used by a former Indian cricketer allegedly to contact bookies are identified by the CBI, according to agency sources. The agency will soon initiate steps to trace the numbers which the former Delhi batsman, currently abroad, had called from these cell phones, the sources say, adding that they will get fresh leads once they got the tapes of the conversations of the cricketer.

Manoj Prabhakar says he holds no grudge against Kapil Dev and that he still feels like `touching the feet' of the man he has named as the player who offered him a bribe. In an interivew with a website, Prabhakar says Kapil is still his `favourite' player and that he was only trying to clean up cricket. "Whatever I did was not against a person called Kapil Dev. It was against the system," he says. He also justifies his secretly video-taping conversations with administrators and players, saying the end justifies the means. He says that he did not expect anyone to support him. "Not even my family. I did what I felt was right. It is up to them to decide whether or not they should support me," he says.

New Delhi police, pursuing match fixing charges against Hansie Cronje say they will seek the report of the South African agency probing the scandal. The police also warn that an offer of immunity offered by South African prosecutors to Cronje and two other tainted cricketers will not be valid in India. "We will ask for the report of the King Commission but only when it completes its investigation into the scandal," Delhi police Crime Branch chief Pradeep Srivastava tells a news agency in Delhi. Srivastava, who announced the bombshell match fixing charges against Cronje, Gibbs, Boje and Strydom on April 7, says the Commission report could not be used as hard evidence in an Indian court. The Crime Branch insists it has "clinching evidence" in the form of taped conversations between Cronje and a London based bookie to nail Cronje and his teammates in court. Sources in the legal unit of the Delhi police say immunity offered to the cricketers by South African prosecutors will be invalid in India. "The charges against these players hinge on the fact that they cheated people. This is a serious criminal offence in India and hence the prosecution cannot be nullified by immunity offered by another country," the sources say.

Manjeev Puri, a representative of the Indian High Commission, says that South Africa should thank India for exposing corruption in South African cricket and acknowleding India's role would be the decent thing to do. He tells a newspaper in Capetown that when Indian police had first announced that they were laying charges against Hansie Cronje and three teammates, "there was a rush to make comments, mostly uninformed and without basis about India and its police." He says it would be appropriate considering the long standing relations between the two countries if the South African government and cricket officials acknowledged that India had exposed the "Pandora's box."

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials say they will hold an emergency meeting, most likely on Tuesday, to study Ali Bacher's allegations of match-fixing. "At the moment I will say nothing except that we will meet very shortly, maybe on Tuesday, to chalk out our strategy," PCB director Yawar Saeed says from Islamabad. "The only think I can say is that Jacques Sellshop's alleged conversation with Shoaib Akhtar is incorrect because he (Akhtar) was with the team in the West Indies," Saeed said.

A Bangladesh official denies any knowledge of alleged match-fixing during the 1999 World Cup in England. "We do not know or believe it. We played our game and won the match against Pakistan," says Syed Ashraful Huq, secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Sri Lanka's newly elected cricket board announces the setting up of an independent panel to investigate and prevent match fixing in the game. Board president Thilanga Sumathipala says Sri Lanka had been spared allegations of match fixing but he wanted to set up a panel that could recommend ways to ensure it did not creep into the game in the country.

There are more claims of attempted match fixing by Hansie Cronje on the fourth day of hearings by the King Commission into the scandal. Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher tell the commission that Cronje had offered them bribes to underperform. They tell the packed venue of the inquiry that Cronje had approached them and Jacques Kallis before the second Test of South Africa's tour in India in Bangalore in March. They say they had interpreted the approach as a joke and only regarded it seriously after Cronje was fired as captain in April when he admitted taking money from an Indian bookmaker.

Former Pakistan cricket official Majid Khan confirms he told South African cricket chief Ali Bacher that two matches during the 1999 World Cup were fixed. "Whatever Bacher has stated about me is correct and I stand by his statement that those matches were fixed," Khan tells a news agency in Karachi. Bacher however tells the King Commission that Majid did not indicate to him which team had fixed the game.

South African cricket boss Ali Bacher tells the King Commission he had been "devastated" when Cronje had confessed to taking money from a bookmaker. He also makes the sensational disclosure that two matches in the 1999 World Cup were fixed. Bacher says that he had been told by former Pakistan cricket chief executive Majid Khan that two World Cup matches involving Pakistan, against India and Bangladesh were fixed. Pakistan lost both the matches. Bacher also says that an Indian bookmaker had told him that Pakistan umpire Javed Akhtar was "on the payroll" when he made eight crucial decisions against South Africa in their decisive Test against England at Leeds in 1998. He identifies his source as an Indian bookmaker whom he names as `Mr R' saying he feared for his safety. He says `Mr R' is from Mumbai. He also reveals a conversation on a South African domestic flight between a leading South African sponsor and a man who appeared to be Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who gave details of how matches were fixed. Bacher says that he received "threats of physical violence" during the controversy about match fixing which led to Cronje being sacked as South African captain. Cronje had also received death threats, Cronje's advocate John Dickerson claims before the King Commission later.

Charles van Staden, a representative of the South African Reserve Bank says the Cronje had handed over two amounts of US dollars in cash, totalling 47,630 dollars after the allegations against him surfaced in April. Cronje gave no explanation, Van Staden adds. In previous media reports, Cronje had acknowledged that he had only an amount of 8,200 dollars which he had received from Indian bookmaker Sanjay Chawla.

Former Indian cricketer Navjot Sidhu is grilled for about 45 minutes by officials of the CBI in New Delhi following the submission of video tapes secretly shot by Manoj Prabhakar. Reports indicate that Sidhu has not shifted from his earlier stand in which he had stated that he was not aware of the offer made by Kapil Dev to Prabhakar to underperform.

Judge Edwin King adjourns the King Commission hearings until Thursday for further preparation and investigatioon. Lawyers for Cronje, the government and the UCBSA refuse to comment on whether the adjournment is linked to a possible appearance by Cronje. The surprise adjournment, requested by government prosecuter Shamila Batohi comes after two of the days' scheduled four witnesses, Richardson and Jacques Kallis, give evidence. Kallis corroborates evidence by Mark Boucher and Lance Klusener that Cronje had made an offer to the three players in a hotel room before the second Test against India in Bangalore in March this year.

Former umpire Javed Akhtar vows to take legal action against South African cricket chief Ali Bacher and describes his allegations about match fixing as baseless. "I am sure that he is biased against Pakistan and that's why he is making such baseless allegations, all are figments of his mind," Akhtar says in Karachi.

Retired South African wicketkeeper Dave Richrdson confirms that a current foreign international cricketer made a bribery offer to teammate Pat Symcox in India in 1996. Richardson tells the King Commission that he knows the identity of the player, but refuses to name him. He says he had spoken to Symcox who testifed on the first day of the hearings that he had been made an offer by the mystery player. Richardson says that if Symcox is not willing to divulge the name, he did not believe it was his place to do so. "Also you hear of all these death threats, so maybe it is not a good idea," he says.

The CBI says it will investigate a claim that India's win over Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup was fixed. The CBI also says it will ask for the report of the King Commission. CBI official spokesman SM Khan however says that the disclosures made by South African cricket chief Ali Bacher was still an unproven allegation, "but if there is any link of an Indian player in this particular match, then we will investigate it," Khan tells a news agency in New Delhi. A CBI report probe is already on into separate claims that Indian cricketers were involved in fixing matches. Khan says "We will ask the King Commission report if it is required to help our investigation," he says.

Indian cricket reacts with disbelief at Ali Bacher's charges. Indian Cricket Board secretary Jaywant Lele rubbishes Bacher's statement. "How can a match between India and Pakistan be fixed when both teams are out to get at one another," he says. "Pakistan was keen on beating India because they had never beaten us in the World Cup." Anshuman Gaekwad, Indian coach at the World Cup says he does not believe his team's win was tainted. "It was a very competitive game, Pakistan fought hard before going down" he says. "I went into the Pakistan dressing room after the match and the players were very depressed by the defeat."

Indian film actor Kishan Kumar who was arrested in connection with match fixing charges against Hansie Cronje, claims he was forced by the police to implicate people in the scandal. Kishan Kumar, who has been released on bail, says Delhi police detectives forced him to name people in the scandal. "Crime branch detectives forced me to name some people falsely in the scandal or else they said they would show me as having links with underworld gangs," says Kumar. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he says he did not name the people he purportedly implicated in the scandal but says he signed confessions during duress in police custody. "The Delhi police cooked up a false story to create an atmosphere of hatred and prejudice against me," Kumar tells reporters and denies police charges he had invested four million rupees (93,000 US dollars) in match fixing. Police detectives however say Kishan is "small fry" and that Rajesh Kalra, who has also been released on bail, is directly involved in offering money to players to fix matches. Top police officials also say Kalra is known to many international players and administrators in the game by his first name.

Former Pakistan cricket boss Arif Abbasi says that South African cricket chief Ali Bacher is trying to save his own cricketers by implicating Pakistan in a corruption inquiry. "Bacher lacks credibility as he himself hid facts about the corrupt South African cricketers for several years," Abbasi tells a news agency in Karachi. "Bacher has only named Pakistan in his statement in order to divert the world's attention from South African cricketers as his own house is not in order," says Abbasi. He demands that the PCB take the allegations to the ICC meeting scheduled at Lord's from June 22 to 28. "This is a very serious matter as corrupt South African and Australian cricketers and officials have tried to save themselves by putting blame on Pakistani cricketers," he says.

Reports from Johannesburg say that the King Commission is probing allegations of match fixing against UCBSA chief Ali Bacher. SABC radio reports that King Commission spokesman John Bacon confirms that they are investigating claims against Bacher contained in documents faxed to the commission by a Johannesburg based lawyer Peter Soller. Beeld newspaper says the documents contain allegations that Bacher was involved in a match during a rebel tour by the West Indies during the 1980s. Bacher allegedly offered the West Indies extra money if they agreed to lose a one day match at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

In India, the CBI issues summons to several cricketers including present Indian coach Kapil Dev, former captain Md Azharuddin, former manager Ajit Wadekar and cricketers turned commentators Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar in the match fixing case. Summons are also issued to batsman Ajay jadeja, former medium pacer Prashant Vaidya and a host of present and past cricketers and Board of Control for Cricket in India officials, commentators, certain government officials, journalists, a politician, a film star, bookies and businessmen.

Former Australian captain Allan Border says allegations against Australians stemming from a South African match inquiry are "wild innuendo." Border, speaking in Brisbane, says he is confident but `not 100 percent certain' that no Australian players are involved in match fixing. "You would have to say there are certain things going on at present that makes you certainly wonder how far it has gone and how far back it goes. I am very disappointed that the whole thing has come to this and I am just praying that Australians are not involved. Hopefully we have got enough pride and passion not to get involved in that sort of stuff."

Former Pakistan captain Majid Khan says he is under no obligation to provide any evidence to substantiate his claims that two World Cup matches last year were fixed. In comments published in a Karachi daily, Majid says "it was an opinion which I formed on the basis of everything that had taken place in Pakistan cricket since the Sharjah tournament in April 1999 and also because of the odds which changed rapidly during these two games. It is my personal judgement which I never mentioned anywhere officially."

The Australian Cricket Board says it would look into what it called unsubtstantiated claims from Ali Bacher that Australian Test players were involved in match fixing. ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed says there are "serious allegations and they will be taken seriously and if they have any substance, they will be fully investigated," he tells reporters in Sydney.

Former Indian captain Bishen Bedi reacting to Cronje's allegation against Md Azharuddin says "it's very sad that we have to rely on foreigners to enlighten us what is happening in Indian cricket. I have had this feeling (Indian players' involvement) for a long time."

Former Indian cricketer and Member of Parliament Kirti Azad says "The South African Commission has done a great job. The only thing I can say about Hansie Cronje is that he is honest in his dishonesty. The scene is getting murkier and murkier day by day. The Indian Cricket Board should take immediate action, whoever is involved. But I don't think that the entire episode will affect the game. The game is greater than a few individuals."

Former Indian paceman Atul Wassan says "The South African Commission is doing a tremendous job. We should follow their example. Whatever is happening is damaging not only for Indian cricket, but also for the game. Hansie Cronje must have thought over it, for he knows that he has to prove his allegations."

South African fast bowler Allan Donald says he is stunned by Hansie Cronje's revelations in the match-fixing scandal. "My whole career with him just keeps flashing past me since I found out," says Donald in Birmingham. Donald, who plays for Warwickshire says "It's incredible. It's just greed really that's made him do this." Donald, who grew up playing cricket with Cronje in his parents' backyard, says Cronje's family is devastated by the revelations. "I've spoken to his mum and dad and they are praying very hard. I feel very sorry for them and Hansie's wife. I don't know what's going to happen now. It's going to be a very difficult time." Donald was not on the 1996 South African team that visited India.

AC Muthiah, president of the BCCI, says in Chennai that the CBI is already investigating the match fixing allegations and hopes that they would get into the bottom of the matter. Reacting to Hansie Cronje's allegations against Md Azharuddin, Muthiah says "I am sure the CBI is already aware of the statements made by Ali Bacher and about his relationship with an Indian bookie."

Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik says that Hansie Cronje is trying to save his neck by implicating players from other countries in match fixing allegations. "Cronje's own players have named him and he has himself confessed to having links with bookies and now he is trying to save his neck," Malik tells a news agency in Karachi. Cronje, in his testimony before the King Commission, said Malik once asked him to have talks with a bookie. Malik says Cronje and South African officials were trying to divert attention from their own predicament. "They want the Asians to be fully implicated, it's their intrigue," he says. "When the South Africans realised Cronje was deep into the quagmire, they planned this trick mutually. Now I think he will name other cricketers from round the world as well," he adds.

Alleged Indian bookmaker Rajesh Kalra, arrested in the match fixing scandal, claims in New Delhi that Hansie Cronje used his mobile telephone during South Africa's tour of India earlier this year. Kalra, who was released on bail on June 9, says Cronje was using the same cellular telephone which he had handed over to London based Indian bookie Sanjay Chawla. Delhi police say they have taped incriminating conversations between Cronje and Chawla and that the calls were made or received on Kalra's mobile phone. Kalra however claims that he has never met Cronje. "I have never seen him. I have only seen on TV" Kalra tells a TV network.

The CBI and the Delhi Police say that during their investigations they had never come across an Indian bookie called Gupta. "We think we should take Cronje's statement with a pinch of salt," a senior police official tells a news agency in New Delhi.

BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele says Cronje's confession should be treated with caution. "Cronje is saying so many things and the next day he says I did not say it," says Lele.

The president of the ICC Jagmohan Dalmiya says no immediate action would be taken against Azharuddin. "It is a very difficult proposition" Dalmiya says when asked if any player mentioned in Cronje's deposition should be suspended from playing. "Just on somebody's allegation if we stop somebody, it would be unjustified as far as that player is concerned if it is ultimately proved that there was no basis," Dalmiya says.

Former South African captain Hansie Cronje tells the King Commission that former Indian captain Md Azharuddin had introduced him to a bookie who offered him money to throw a 1996 Test match during South Africa's tour of India. "On the evening of the third day of the third Test in Kanpur, I received a call from Md Azharuddin. He called me to a room in a hotel and introduced me to Mukhesh Gupta otherwise known as MK. Azharuddin then departed and left us alone in the room. MK then asked if we would give wickets away on the last day of the Test to ensure that we lose." The then South African captain says he promised to speak to his team to contrive an outcome but never did so.

At the judicial hearing, Cronje confesses to taking about $100,000 in bribes from gamblers since 1996. Cronje, who also announces that he was ending his cricket career, says he had accepted four separate bribes over the past four years and turned down numerous other offers. But he claims that he had never thrown or fixed a match, though he admits to repeatedly lying about his involvement with bookmakers.

Md Azharuddin angrily denies the charge made by Hansie Cronje and calls it a South African plot. "It is all rubbish. Cronje has no credibility left with him. I don't know the person he is talking about. This is only because the Indian govermnent and Delhi police had exposed Cronje. This counter attack and retaliation is after careful thought by the South African Cricket Board. I totally deny all the allegations and treat them with all the contempt they deserve" he says.

Indian Sports Minister SS Dhindsa says former Indian captain Md Azharuddin should opt out of Test cricket until he is cleared of allegations made by Hansie Cronje. Dhindsa says in New Delhi that Azharuddin should withdraw from the team in view of the serious allegations. However he adds "I am not saying that the charge is true."

Former Australian captain Kim Hughes calls the ICC "an absolute joke" that had "killed the game." He tells ABC radio that the ICC must wear some responsibility for the betting scandal that has tarnished cricket. "The ICC have known of this (match fixing) for four or five years and have done absolutely nothing about it and have tried to sweep it under the carpet hopeful that it might just go away. Well, it hasn't gone away and now the whole game has been thrown into an absolute abyss. Hoppefully from this will come the resolve of administrators to put the guilty parties away and confiscate their money and if it means going back five or six years to really clean it up so be it." A long time critic of the ICC, Hughes says he cannot understand how fellow players can be approached to throw a match. "Having been a former captain, I just can't get my mind around how you could even ask a player," he says.

Indian Sports Minister SS Dhindsa says that all scandal tainted cricketers, including former captains Kapil Dev and Md Azharuddin, should quit the game until cleared of match fixing charges. He says that anyone who has been accused of wrong doing, should distance themselves from Test cricket until cleared to show ``moral courage.'' He says that he is not passing judgement on either Kapil Dev or Azharuddin. ``I am not saying the allegations are true but when someone like Cronje makes it after owning his part in the unsavoury activities, it is a serious matter.'' He also denies that Azharuddin is being victimised because is a practising Muslim. ``This kind of statement will prove disadvantageous to him. The laws are not framed to deal with crime on the basis of religion.'' he says.

Md Azharuddin says he sees no reason why he should quit the national team in the wake of Cronje's allegation. ``Cricket is my love, it is my passion. Why should I leave the sport just because someone has suggested that?'' He also stands by his comments in an English daily in Hyderabad in which he stated that he was being victimised as he hailed from the minority community.

Md Azharuddin says he plans to sue Hansie Cronje and his former teammates Sunil Gavaskar, Manoj Prabhakar and Ravi Shastri accusing them of having ganged up to frame him. He says it is evident from the videotaped conversations that Shastri, Prabhakar, Gavaskar and a journalist were plotting against him. He claims that the entire exercise is just a vilification campaign. He also plans to sue the website which showed Prabhakar's tapes and fast food company McDonald's (for putting up a hoarding against him). He also says he has filed a case against former income tax commissioner Vishwa Bandhu Gupta for stating that he was the cricketer who had declared Rs 16 crore under the VDIS scheme.

In Mumbai, former Indian team manager Ajit Wadekar says CBI sleuths from New Delhi have contacted him and said they wanted to talk to him once more about the match fixing allegations. Wadekar has already talked to the CBI officials once.

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif says the 1995 Nelson Mandela Trophy final between Pakistan and South Africa was fixed and that Salim Malik was involved. ``I was the first cricketer who said in 1995 that the Nelson Mandela Trophy match was fixed but at that time I did not know that Hansie Cronje was also offered money,'' Latif says. ``It was after that match which we lost by a huge margin of over 100 runs that I decided to come out in public and say that Salim Malik fixed the match.''

Delhi police rules out any action against Md Azharuddin and alleged bookie Mukesh Gupta named by Hansie Cronje in the match fixing case saying the two persons had no links with the case under its investigation. Terming Cronje's submission before the King Commission as ``a good development for our case,'' KK Paul, joint commissioner of Police (crime) says that the allegations against Azharuddin and Gupta did not come under the purview of the match fixing case being probed by the city police. Asked about Mukhesh Gupta, Paul says his name ``has not figured in our case at all though there are names of several other bookies.''

In New Delhi, the CBI identifies MK or Mukesh Gupta, the bookie named by Hansie Cronue in his testimony, as a South Delhi jeweller who has a shop in the capital's posh marketplace in South Extension. Unable to trace him at his shop, the CBI sleuths then go to his house where he also cannot be found. A CBI spokesperson, confirming that he is indeed the bookie Cronje had named, says that Mukesh has probably gone into hiding.

In Calcutta, cricket fans protest against Md Azharuddin's alleged involvement in match fixing by taking out a procession, shouting slogans against the former Indian captain and carrying his photographs which are covered with sandals and slippers.

The West Indies team management in England denies the allegations that Brian Lara profited from gambling during the tour to South Africa seven years ago. The Times newspaper had alleged that Lara placed wagers on invididual performances during matches in a triangular tournament in South Africa in 1993 and also gave forecasts to a bookmaker. The Times reveals that a statement signed by a Cape Town businessman who claims he handed around 4,500 pounds (7,000 dollars) in winnings to the West Indian batsman has been received by the UCBSA's lawyers and will be passed on to the King Commission. Team manager Ricky Skerritt issues a statement refuting all the allegations and insist they would not expand on the issue. ``We are assured by Brian Lara that the allegations are without any foundation,'' says Skerritt. ``The West Indies team is in the UK to play cricket and we will not be participating in any further discussion on this matter,'' he adds. However, if it is proved that Lara received money for providing information to bookmakers, he could be liable for a five year ban following new measures agreed at the ICC emergency meeting into corruption last month.

The Indian Minister of State for Sports Shahnawaz Hussain describes as ``unfortunate'' Md Azharuddin's remark that he was being dragged into the match fixing controversy as he was from a minority community. ``Azhar should not forget that he was accepted as a cricketing hero by people from all communities. Thus he should refrain from raising communal issues and should clarify his stand to the CBI.'' Hussain concurs with the suggestion of the Sports Minister SS Dhindsa that players figuring in the match fixing allegations should step down until things become clear. Hussain says the government is coming out with a new sports policy with a provision for strict punishment for players who are proved guilty in match fixing. ``The match fixers should be treated as traitors as the honour of the nation lies with them.'' He also says that the Sports Ministry would advise the BCCI to drop tainted players till they come out clean after the inquiry.

BCCI president AC Muthiah says the board will not take any action against players or officials until they are proved guilty by the CBI which is probing the match fixing allegations. Muthiah is reacting to Sports Minister Dhindsa's statement that all players and officials including Kapil Dev and Md Azharuddin against whom charges have been made should stay out of the national team and it was for the BCCI to take a final decision. Muthiah does not indicate as to when the Board will take a decision on the matter. However he leaves it to the players and officials to opt out of the national squad.

A prominent Indian politician takes exception to the reference of the former Indian captain Md Azharuddin to his minority status. Venkaiah Naidu, national general secretary of the ruling BJP, while talking to reporters in Hyderabad says ``for 16 long years he played for the country and for the best part of it he was the captain of the team. Now all of a sudden, realisation dawns on him that he belongs to a minority community. It is so painful that he is using this card now. Was he not aware that he was a member of the minority community all this while? Did anyone show any discrimination? We admired him and his play. He has fallen from the pedestal now, at least for playing the religious card now if not for playing the game the way he did,'' says Naidu.

Md Azharuddin says he has no immediate plans to go to New Delhi to depose before the CBI on the match fixng allegations against him. ``I have not received any summons from the CBI nor do I have any immediate plans to go to Delhi,'' he tells a news agency in Hyderabad.