Gibbs, Williams plead guilty

South African cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams pleaded guilty on Saturday to accepting cash to under-perform in a one-day international match in India.

The players made the confession while appearing before the United Cricket Board disciplinary commission into the match-fixing scandal involving former South African captain Hansie Cronje.

''They plead guilty to the charges,'' said Mike Fitzgerald, senior counsel for the pair.

Both admitted to accepting an offer of 15,000 dollars from Cronje before a match in Nagpur earlier this year.

Gibbs was also charged with bringing the game into disrepute by lying to the UCB when he denied receiving any offers of financial reward after the scandal broke.

Fitzgerald called for a suspended sentence for his clients, arguing that both Gibbs and Williams had not carried out the plan to throw the match and were heavily influenced by Cronje.

''My submission would be that the appropriate sentence would be a suspended one on the conditions that they do not offend again,'' he said.

The plan was for opening batsman Gibbs to score fewer than 20 runs, while medium pace bowler Williams was to concede more than 50 runs in his 10 overs.

Neither followed through on the deal, with Gibbs scoring 74 and Williams unable to bowl more than 1.5 overs because of an injury.

However, UCB representative Brendan Manca called for a harsher sentence saying that the commission should not lose sight of the seriousness of the charges against the cricketers.

He pointed out that the International Cricket Council had recommended a maximum sentence of a life ban in regard to offences of match-fixing.

''If the sentence is totally suspended it might not send out the right signals,'' said Manca, adding that the UCB had not instructed him to make any recommendations as to the severity of the sentence.

The case of a third player Pieter Strydom, was due to be heard later in the day.

Strydom admitted during earlier hearings that he had agreed to place a bet on a match for Cronje.

The sentences on Gibbs, Williams and Strydom are expected to be announced on August 28.

Cronje will appear before the commission once the inquiry into match-fixing affair by South African judge, Justice Edwin King, is concluded.

UNI

Mail Cricket Editor