10 Noteworthy Quotes Featuring Hansie Cronje: ‘Traitor’. This is the word we are most likely to associate with former South African skipper, Hansie Cronje whenever we get to hear of him. Hansie, who was considered one of the finest players and canniest captains during the 1990s, tarnished his image by getting involved in an unscrupulous episode of match fixing, which not only turned him into a villain overnight, but also brought shame upon his fellow countrymen and this elusive sport called cricket.

Today, one can find his existence only in the pages of record books. That being said, he has left an indelible impression on our minds, more for his cricketing accomplishments than anything else. We at www.cricfit.com have made a sincere effort to commemorate the career of the late Hansie Cronje on his 46^th Birth Anniversary by culminating 10 significant quotes of him that highlight his tastes, experiences and subtle confessions.

1. ‘’I love surfing more than cricket, more interesting and you meet great people.’’

 

2. ‘’If the coach is good, I don’t think a psychologist is needed’’.

 

3. ‘’It’s good fun, yes, but when we play, we take it seriously and want to do well’’.

 

4. ‘’Hansie Cronje. Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone. I never knew what to do with him’’.

– Sachin Tendulkar’s reply when asked about the bowler who troubled him the most in his career. Surprisingly, it was Hansie Cronje, a part time medium pacer who dismissed him 8 times in his Test career. Incidentally, Hansie’s first victim in Test cricket was none but Tendulkar.

 

5. ‘’I had to remind Gary Kirsten often that he was in the covers to field against Sachin not to applaud him’’.

 

6. ‘’I think the toughest part for me was when Herschelle (Gibbs) said that he obviously looked up to his Captain, and he felt if he is Captain could do it, then so could he, and that to me was when it really struck me home’’.

 

7. “I realized I made a big mistake and if I could have it over again, I would do it so much differently’’.

 

8. “We really tried hard not to make it a cricket book, it appeals to a much wider community’’.

 

9. “We didn’t sleep last week- we literally didn’t sleep last week because we have been so busy with the book’’.

-Quotes 8 and 9 have been extracted from the late Hansie Cronje’s authorized Biography, ‘’The Hansie Cronje Story’’, which is owned by his brother Frans and was penned by Garth King.

 

10. ‘’I always played to win’’.

 

THE CRONJE-CHRONOLOGY

Born: 25^th September, 1969 in Bloemfontein

Made his First-Class debut for Orange Free State in Johannesburg in 1987

Received the South African Test cap against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1992

Was appointed the captain of the Proteas in 1994

Led South Africa to 1-0 home win over England for the first time in 5 years since the nation returned to international cricket in 1991

In 2000, he captained South Africa in their 2-1 series victory over England. He however, was charged with match fixing allegations by Indian police after an ODI series. Despite denying such charges initially, he eventually succumbed to the mounting pressure built on him by the Media in general. He called the then Managing Director of the board, Ali Bacher at 3 am and confessed the entire fiasco. He admitted that he had been dishonest over his activities in India and acknowledged receiving $10,000 (estimated) for ‘’leaking information and forecast but not match fixing’’ during the ODI series in India. The South African Board wasted no time in sacking him.

2000: A series of probes were ordered by the South African Cricket Board to investigate the case thoroughly. The Indian Government also ordered the CBI to look into the matter in order to find out whether any Indian cricketer or official was involved.

2001: After suffering a setback in international cricket owing to the infamous ‘Match-Fixing’ debacle, Cronje moved into financial market.

2002: Was killed in a plane crash in Western Cape. Theories also suggest that he was murdered on the orders of a cricket, betting syndicate.

2013: When the chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police pertaining to the match-fixing case appeared, Cronje was the only cricketer named in it besides a list of several bookies.

Test Statistics:    Batting- 68 matches, 3714 runs, Avg.- 36.41,six 100s and twenty three 50s.

Bowling- 43 wickets, Bowl Avg.- 29.95.

Captaincy Record: 53 matches, 27 won, 15 drawn and 11 lost.

Win Percentage- 51%

It is a humiliation that a player of Cronje’s pedigree has become synonymous with reprehensible adjectives like ‘Fraud’ and ‘Traitor’.

That is what destiny had in store for him. It will continue to be a difficult task to decipher the true character of this man akin to how Sachin faced problems in batting against him.

For a man who was once only second to Nelson Mandela in terms of popularity in the Rainbow nation, it was very unfortunate to see him make headlines for all the wrong reasons. South Africa though knows how to forgive even the cruellest of all offenders-thanks to Mandela’s hard fought battle against apartheid. Nevertheless, it takes nothing to wish him on his 46^th Birth Anniversary. Happy Birthday Hansie Cronje, the cricketer. You ought to be remembered for your contribution towards the gentleman’s game..