Hansie Cronje: A Cricketing Career Which Attained Tectonic Heights But Got Tarnished By Match Fixing

A hard task master with a brilliant cricketing acumen, Cronje turned South Africa into a resilient and combative professional outfit which competed hard to the hilt and did not give an inch away to their opponents.

When one woke up on Feb 13, the tabloids across the media spectrum covering sports had one headline which turned every cricket enthusiast eyes  onto it.... Sanjeev Chawla, Key Accused in 2000 Match Fixing Scandal Extradited To India...

After nearly two decades of endless wait, Delhi Police Crime Branch eventually got a major breakthrough by finally tightening the rope on the millionaire London based businessman, who is accused of orchestrating perhaps the biggest scandal that shook the cricket world and tarnished the image of some prominent cricketers of international repute at the turn of the new millennium.

As a cricket fan, the vivid but not so pleasant memories of the 2000 match fixing saga splashed across one's mind and one could not avoid thinking about the man who stood in the center of the entire controversy, Hansie Cronje.- one of international cricket's role model, a South African great at that point in time whose towering stature in the sport diminished to being one of a match fixer in rather no time.

South Africa had been in oblivion from international cricket for two decades on account of the ban handed by ICC owing to their government's Apartheid policy. When the Proteas made a return to top flight in 1991/92, it was an uphill task for them to compete against formidable teams like Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India who were dominant at the very top in world cricket. However, much to the critics surprise the South Africans did not take too long to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with as they were blessed to have a core group of world class cricketers playing in the same team at that point in time.

Under the aegis of Kepler Wessels, the Proteas glued well and the class of Kirsten, Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes, Brian McMillan and Co. showcased their mettle when they made it to the semifinals of the 1992 World Cup. With careers of their founding fathers in ODI cricket -  Kepler Wessels, Peter Kristen, Andrew Hudson, Andrew Kuiper drawing to a close, the reins of South African cricket were taken over by a relatively young 25-year old Hansie Cronje.

A hard task master with a brilliant cricketing acumen, Cronje turned South Africa into a resilient and combative professional outfit which competed hard to the hilt and did not give an inch away to their opponents. Cronje's phenomenal success as South Africa skipper and South Africa's tectonic rise to becoming a dominant team went hand in hand. By the mid of the decade, the 'Green and Gold Brigade' were arguably the most potent force in white ball cricket and a top 3 side in Test cricket.

With a power packed batting lineup which was equipped with openers like the consistent run-grafter Gary Kristen, the maverick yet electrifying Herscehlle Gibbs; the middle order looked solid and settled with the ever dependable Jacques Kallis, the stylish Daryll Cullinan, the hare-like agile Jonty Rhodes and the dangerous Hansie Cronje himself.

They batted deep with all-rounders in Brian McMillan, Shaun Pollock and the hard hitting Lance Klusener who could unleash some real carnage coming down the order. They had wicket-keepers in Dave Richardson and Mark Boucher who were more than handy with the bat.Not to forget the big and burly spinner Pat Symcox who produced those quick-fire cameos to win some nerve wrecking encounters.

A mouth watering pace armory was at Hansie's disposal with the fast and fiery 'White Lightening' Allan Donald, the immaculate and ever economical Shaun Pollock, the highly talented Jacques Kallis, the wily slinger Fanie De Villiers, besides medium pacers Lance Klusener, Brian McMillan and Cronje himself lending depth to the lethal seam attack.

Behind South Africa's roaring success was the astute cricketing brain of Hansie Cronje and the razor sharp tactics of technologically savvy coach Bob Woolmer. The duo formed a lethal think tank that crafted some match winning strategies to outfit the best of opponents.

Hansie may have not been as talented as his Herschelle Gibbs but had loads of grit and determination to make the most of his limited abilities. A born leader with strong sporting genetics , Cronje had come through the ranks leading his teams at school, college and state level and was certainly tailor-made to don the captain's hat at the international level.

A right handed hard hitting batsman in the middle order who liked to tonk big sixes off the spinners, Cronje played the role of the accelerator and chipped in with decent contributions with the willow . His wicket to wicket military medium added a bit of variety to the heavy duty seam attack under his command.

South Africa had the most favourable win-loss record among all ODI playing nations from 1995-2000 in ODIs. Their win percentage of 48.9 (23 wins in 47 Tests)  was second to none only behind the Australians who had started dominating red ball cricket at the turn of the century. Numbers which testify South Africa's staggering consistency.

South Africa's only blemish in a near perfect ODI run in the late 90s as that despite being hot favourites to win the 1996 and 1999 World Cup, South Africa choked at the most crucial moments and earned them the unwanted tag Chokers. Despite their World Cup heartbreak, South Africa did manage to win multi-nation tournaments like LG Cup,  Wills International Cup, Pepsi Cup, Sharjah Cup apart from dominating the Standard Bank Cup hosted on their home soil.

Under Cronje's captaincy, South Africa were consistently ranked among the top three sides in both Test and ODI cricket. His record as ODI skipper was nothing short of spectacular as 99 wins in 138 matches made for staggering 73.7 win percentage. In Test cricket, Cronje led the Proteas to 27 wins in 50 matches, notching up an impressive 50+ win percentage. The South Africans won 13 out of the 18 series under Cronje's captaincy and lost just 4.

While the Proteas were an impregnable force at home, they were good travelers too under Cronje's captaincy. It is notable that South Africa won overseas series in New Zealand (1994 and 1999), India (2-0 in 2000), Pakistan (1997/98) and Zimbabwe (1995).

Just as when Hansie Cronje's legacy was growing into a legendary figure, the match fixing scandal rocked South Africa cricket and also tarnished the image of one of their most loved sporting icons Hansie Cronje besides other prominent South African cricketers. South Africa's most revered and admired cricketing son had been trapped by the evil clutches of fixing and Cronje's high moral grounds unfortunately fell prey to the menace.

After the Kings Commission was set up and a lot of details unearthed about the involvement of South African cricketers into spot-fixing on the Indian tour in 2000, Hansie tearful admission of guilt was hard to believe for millions of fans but the reality had eventually come out to shatter millions of hearts.

The ending might have been a complete paradox to the beginning of what seemed to be destined as one of South Africa's most path breaking careers, nevertheless Hansie Cronje will be remembered as one of the pioneering pillars of South African cricket, who set the very foundation of a formidable team which later on went to attain loftier heights under the command and control of Graeme Smith and Faf Du Plessis in the 2000s.