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Cronje names Azhar, Salim Malik

Editor's note: As Hansie Cronje finally appeared before the King Commission, Rediff.com went live with the proceedings. What follows, is the verbatim transcript of the coverage. Please note that since it is impossible to type as fast as someone speaks, the Cronje testimony features only the highlights. Cronje's entire testimony, on Real Audio, will be available on our site within an hour.

Prem Panicker: Good afternoon, all. We are minutes away from the start of the day's proceedings at the Judge Edwin King Commission hearings into match-fixing in South African cricket.

We are bringing this coverage live, in tandem with Live Africa News Network. LANN, just 24 hours earlier, went to court and won the right to cover the commission proceedings live on radio, in the face of stiff opposition from Judge King.

As Cronje speaks, we will continuously update with his testimony -- refresh your page every couple of minutes to get the latest updates.

Meanwhile, a little curtain raiser on the day's events. Today's proceedings will be devoted entirely to Cronje, who will read out from a prepared statement which he has already submitted to his lawyers.

The statement is, according to sources, believed to be a detailed account of his involvements with various bookmakers and others, over the years.

Cronje, however, is expected to deny that he ever took money from bookmakers as quid pro quo for performing under par, or influencing his mates to do so.

Such a statement, though, would be directly contradictory to what Herschelle Gibbs told the commission. The South African opener, you will recall, had said that he had accepted an offer of $15,000 from Cronje to play badly during the tour of India earlier this year.

Thus, if Cronje denies that he has taken money from bookies, it will directly contradict testimony from his team-mates. And that in turn will lead to interesting questions

The catch though is that King will not get to pose any of these questions today -- because immediately after Cronje finishes reading out from his statement, a psychiatrist on his team is expected to go before the commission and testify that Cronje is in a state of extreme mental stress and in no position to testify

This in turn will entail that the hearings be adjourned, to be resumed on Monday at which point it is expected that Cronje will return to the stand and submit to questioning.

Meanwhile, Herschelle Gibbs is one of the first of the players to arrive at the Commission office, and is seen smiling and shaking hands with South Africa's minister for sports and other high dignitaries.

For now, it is a hiatus, as players and officials stream into the Commission office, and take their places while they wait for Judge King, and Hansie Cronje, main dramatis personae of the day, to arrive and get down to business

As soon as proceedings begin, we will bring you the Cronje testimony, as he delivers it -- meanwhile, there will be a lull for the next four, five minutes as we wait for proceedings to begin

Hansie Cronje, meanwhile, has just alighted from a white Honda, and is walking in to the courtroom as we write this. This in fact will be the first time the general public has seen Cronje, who ever since the story broke has been in hiding in his luxury villa in Fancourt.

Cronje at this point is in consultation with his lawyers. He has a big sheaf of papers in his hand, and the discussions going on right now have the feel of last minute instructions from the lawyers to their client.

Everything is ready, except for the entry of the main player -- Judge Edwin King, whose arrival is expected any moment

For now, the courtroom is abuzz with subdued chatter, as little groups of players and officials huddle amongst themselves, all engaged in earnest discussions. There is an electricity, an anticipation, in the air as the man at the epicentre of the biggest scandal to ever rock international cricket prepares to read out his testimony

Cronje's testimony is of extreme interest to Indian cricket fans. One thing is sure, Cronje will in course of his testimony name international players and accuse them of complicity. Equally sure, is that a lot of illegal activities have happened in India. Ergo, the former SA skipper is hundred per cent sure of naming one, maybe more, current Indian international.

Still waiting for Judge King to appear, and meanwhile court officials bustle around, checking the mikes and testing the sound system.

Meanwhile, South Africa's sports minister has just made a statement in open court, wherein he raises a few interesting points.

Firstly, and most importantly, he has demanded a strong inquiry into the administrators of the game in South Africa -- an obvious reference to UCBSA chief executive Dr Ali Bacher

The minister points out that Dr Bacher in his testimony had said he knew of Cronje's duplicity earlier. That being the case, the minister asks, why did they not reveal what they knew in time? This aspect, he says, needs to be probed.

The minister also welcomed the news that the SA courts have permitted LANN, our partner in South Africa, to cover the King Commission proceedings live.

Here we go. The Judge is in the courtroom, he is seated, and has appealed for decorum and silence from the spectators. What follows is the verbatim transcript of Hansie Cronje's statement before the Judge Edwin King Commission. (Please note that Judge King's words are in bold, and Cronje's in light, font):

Good morning

Good morning.

Flash photographers, please desist immediately. Cronje, I know you are under strain, and I want you to know you have my understanding of your situation.

I am told and I accept that the national director of public prosecutions has provisionally undertaken to grant you immunity from prosecution. It is conditional upon my being satisfied. I am advising the national director accordingly, that you would have told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth, and that you will make a full and complete disclosure of match-fixing and related matters of which you are aware, whether or not you participated in any or all of them, and then wait for questions to be asked of you, you volunteer all that information. i want you to be frank and honest with me.

But before I begin, I would like to refer you to Chapter 8 of St. John's gospel: 'Tthe truth will set you free.'

Mr Cronje, do you swear that the evidence that you give before this commision will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Raise your right hand and take the pledge.

I swear.

Mr Cronje, you have mentioned that you have been a professional cricketer from 1988?

That is correct.

You were a memeber of the South African cricket team from 1992 until the end of April this year, and you were the captain of the South African team from the third Test of the Australian series, 1994, until the end of April this year. Is that correct?

That is correct.

How old were you when you became captain?

I was twentyfive.

And the circumstances under which you became captain were not easy were they?

Kepler Wessels got injured in Australia and I took over the captaincy for the third Test and for the 7 ODIs, and then took over from Mr. Wessels when he stepped down after the Pakistan triangular series in 1994.

In all, you played 68 Test matches for South Africa with 53 as captain of the side. Is that correct?

That is correct.

You have also represented South Africa in 188 ODIs, in 138 of which you were captain of the side.

That is correct.

And in 99 of these one day matches in which you were captain, South Africa was victorious?

That is correct

You have given the King commission a written statement. Would you like to proceed with the text of your statement?

I have been a professional cricketer since 1988. I was a member of the South African side from 1992 until the 11th of April 2000. I captained the South African team from the third Test of the Australian series in 1994 until the 11th of April 2000. I played in a total of 68 Test matches, 53 of which as captain. I also represented South Africa in 188 ODIs, 138 of those as captain. 99 of the ODIs under me were victories. It is time for me to start to repay part of the enormous debt which I owe to cricket and try to repair some of the damage I have caused to the game, South Africa, my teammates, my family and the cricketing public.

My initial denials of involvement made publicly and to the UCB were untruthful. My letter on the 11th of April was also untruthful in a number of respects, and so too were the subsequent press statements which were issued at my instructions. I misled the UCB of South Africa, members of the SA government and those who tried to defend me. I was not honest and I apologize unreservedly. I also decided to sever my connections with the game and will not again play cricket at representative level. Words cannot be deemed to describe the shame, humiliation and the pain that I feel in the knowledge that I have inflicted this upon others. To my wife, family and teammates in particular, I apologize.

The greatest honour that can be given to any cricketer is to be in his country's national side. I fell in my moral and professional duty. I feel I can contribute some small measure of regret by placing before the commision the information which follows in the statement.

Until now I have not named or implicated any other sources and I feel the revelations in this statement create serious implications for my personal safety. I have already received death threats. I will disclose all the information I have and in the emotional stress in which I find myself, Ihave tested my memory as far as I can in order to place the facts before the commision.

From the first revelations made in the Indian press and in particular the morning of the 11th of April, I have known that my days in cricket are over. There were however others, namely Herschelle Gibbs, Pieter Strydom and Henry Williams, who have their life before them and whose careers have been impaled by my inscrutible actions. Foolishly I tried to suppress disclosure of their involvement and in doing so, encouraged Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Wiliams to conceal their role.

I have to save them from their predicament in which I had led them, in which I compromised them and worsened their position. It would be a pity that their talent is lost to South African cricket because of my wrong doing. I beg the commission and the cricketing society not to deprive them, and beg the the UCB to reinstate both Herschelle and Henry to the national cricket team. Herschelle lied to the UCB at my request, Herschelle forgive me.

I will go through the matches which appear in the subject of reference of the commision ion chronolgical order, and not in the order in which they appear in the terms of reference. Before doing so I would like to point out the influence of the first one day international against Pakistan in the Mandela Trophy in January 1995. Pat Symcox mistakenly said that this occurred in 1996. Shortly before the first one day international final against Pakistan in 1995, I was approached by an Indian or a Pakistani man who described himself only as John. I believe that he might be the same person who was referred to by Shane Warne and Mark Waugh during the hearing beofre the Australian Cricket Board. He offered an amount, I think about $10,000 to throw the game. I subsequently discussed this with Pat Symcox. We agreed that we should not even put this to the team. And that was the end of the matter. I did not approach any other players. In the event, South Africa won the match.

I recall that after the match I was asked by Salim Malik if I had spoken to John. It was evident to me that he knew about the approach I had received. I felt ashamed and embarassed that he was even talking about the matter. Before the second one day final in Johannesburg , I was again contacted by John who asked if anything could be done with respect to the 2nd ODI. I told him I was not interested and we also won that game, I never spoke to him again. I have subsequently heard rumors that the Pakistani players had been involved in match-fixing in the Mandela Cup and in Zimbabwe in 1995, South Africa had not been.

During our stay in Pakistan in 1994 Kepler Wessels told me that he knew of an offer that had been made to the Australian cricketers during the Test match in Karachi. I do not know to whom. At some stage during the 1996 Indian tour, I cannot recall exactly when, I was also approached by someone known to me as Sunil. He had contacted some members of the team earlier in the year at the Sharjah Cup. Sunil asked me if I was interested in fixing matches. I said I was not. No offers or financial proposals were received from him.

Cronje's testimony continues:
'Azhar introduced me to Mukesh Gupta'