Category: 6. Sports

When Delhi police released transcripts of recorded conversations between Cronje and Indian bookmaker Sanjeev Chawlar in early April 2000 it was met with denials from the man himself and South African cricket officials, and wider disbelief.

Cronje was initially identified in the calls by a quirk of fate.

Pradeep Srivastava, the deputy commissioner of Delhi’s crime department, had been working on extortion cases and taken some tapes home with him.

One of Srivastava’s children had listened to a wire-tap cassette, left in the home hi-fi system, and asked his father why he had a recording of Cronje’s voice.

Srivastava’s son had watched a post-match interview with Cronje on Indian television the previous day and recognised his voice.

With the net closing, Cronje came clean.

At 3am on 11 April 2000 he confessed to Rory Steyn, a South African security consultant working for the Australia cricket team, in a Durban hotel where the pair were staying.

“I walked into his suite and all the lights were on,” Steyn remembered.

“He had a handwritten document and said ‘you may have guessed, but some of the stuff that is being said against me is actually true’.”

A month later, Cronje attended the King Commission where he was offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for full disclosure.

During three days of cross examinations, broadcast on television and radio, which gripped South Africa and the cricket world, Cronje gave his side of the story.

Or at least some of it, given the input of his own lawyers.

He admitted to taking large sums of money, as well as accepting a leather jacket for his wife Bertha, in exchange for giving information to bookmakers and asking his team-mates to play badly.

But he claimed South Africa had never “thrown” or “fixed” a match under his captaincy.

“To my wife, family, and team-mates, in particular, I apologise,” he said during a rather robotic reading of an opening statement lasting 45 minutes.

Cronje was banned from cricket for life, unsuccessfully challenging the suspension.

Further investigations into the truth of what Cronje said during the inquiry were halted when he died in a plane crash in June 2002.

Cronje had boarded a small cargo aircraft in Johannesburg which went down in mountainous terrain amid poor weather conditions while attempting to land at George airport.

Cronje, then working as an account manager for a manufacturer of heavy-duty construction equipment, was flying back to see his wife at their home near Fancourt Estate, a luxury golf resort.

His death was put down to weather, pilot error and possible instrument failure, but nevertheless prompted conspiracy theories.

Former Nottinghamshire captain Clive Rice, who played three ODIs for South Africa, called Cronje’s death “very fishy” and linked it to the subsequent death of Bob Woolmer, the former South Africa coach who was in charge of Pakistan when he died.

“Certain people needed him [Cronje] out. Whether it was one, two, or 15 people that were going to die it didn’t matter,” said Rice, who passed away in 2015.

“Hansie was the one that was going to have to go and if they could cover it up as a plane crash then that was fine.”

Eerily, Cronje himself had predicted in speeches, and written in a magazine, of the potential to “die in plane crash” because of the “constant travel by air”.

Ed Hawkins, a specialist betting investigative journalist, dismissed the notion that bookmakers were somehow behind the incident.

“I’ve never found any information basically worth my time or effort to launch a full-scale investigation,” Hawkins said.

Steyn, the security consultant called it “ludicrous” to suggest there was a “conspiracy to murder him by bringing the plane down”.

Surratt was not only the key piece of the Legion XIII triumph at JCB, but for the first time in his LIV Golf career, he was also the man leading the charge. After coming up clutch at Valderrama and making five birdies on his second nine to finish the round – helping spur the team to victory – Surratt stepped up once again at JCB. He shot rounds of 67-68-65 to finish in 3rd place, the best finish of his LIV Golf career.

When Surratt joined LIV Golf without ever hitting a shot as a professional, many viewed the move as a bold and risky decision. Now, Surratt is proving that playing against, and alongside, the LIV Golf superstars has fueled his development.

“I think great finishes have been overdue for me, but at the same time there was like so many times today where I wouldn’t have been prepared to do what I did today if I hadn’t have had all those learning experiences,” he said after his fantastic performance at JCB.

“You know there’s a lot of really, really good players here and it’s very hard to finish to the top of the leaderboard and today was a day that I knew I would not have been prepared for if I wasn’t out here for the last year and a half.”

Rahm spoke glowingly about the team’s young potential star. “It’s been a really good week, obviously led by Caleb. Getting his first top 10 and finishing third is a big deal, a big week. Hoping this can be the boost he needed to get to a level that we all know he can get to. Not that he isn’t already there. Just a matter of proving it to himself. He’s definitely good enough.”

Rahm’s running mate on Legion XIII, Tyrrell Hatton, echoed the sentiments of his captain. “It’s nice that Caleb has been playing better this season and obviously the result this week is great for him to grow in confidence and prove to himself that he’s good enough; he just needs to trust himself more,” Hatton said.

For young talents, self-belief is often the missing piece. Surratt’s third-place finish has bolstered his confidence significantly. “To be able to piece it together, trust myself, and finish a great tournament is definitely a confidence builder and proves a lot to me beating a lot of these players,” said Surratt, whose previous best results on LIV Golf were a couple of 11th-place finishes earlier this season.

Surratt’s rapid rise in LIV Golf underscores the league’s commitment to nurturing young talent alongside its established stars. With the mentorship of Rahm and Hatton while playing in a competitive environment on Legion XIII, he has positioned him as a potential cornerstone for the league’s future.

De Grasse, Blake, and Brown tipped to dominate the Canadian Track and Field Championships 2025

What can we expect from the Canadian Track and Field Championships 2025? Some exciting sprint races, going by the form of some of the nation’s leading lights.

De Grasse is entered in the men’s 100m and 200m. He has had some decent buildup in the run-up to the championships, competing across both events. De Grasse was third at the Diamond League 200m race in Oslo behind the winner, Cuban Reynier Mena, and finished sixth in his last race over the shorter sprint in Turku last month.

Blake is also one to watch in the 100m after blazing to a personal best of 9.97 seconds in Dessau in June. Can he finally show up and beat his Paris 2024 Olympics 4x100m gold medal-winning teammates?

He is expected to also be in contention for the 200m, which will also include Brown, who insists that he “knows how to win” when it counts.

Away from the sprints, Arop, who feels “he is in the best shape of his life right now,” will be chasing another men’s 800m national title.

Paris 2024 gold medallists Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers will also be on parade in the men’s and women’s hammer throw events, respectively.

Sir Gareth Southgate, manager of England’s national football team and Goodwill Ambassador for The King’s Trust, visited the organization’s Leeds Centre last week to meet with young people, entrepreneurs, staff, and volunteers supported by the charity, according to statement issued by the charity.

The visit was aimed at spotlighting the life-changing impact of mentoring.

Southgate, a long-time supporter of the Trust, listened to stories from youth and business owners who credited the program with helping them build confidence and direction.

“Having someone in your corner can change everything,” The King’s Trust shared on Instagram, praising Southgate for “always backing young people.”

Founded by King Charles III in 1976 as The Prince’s Trust, the charity has grown into one of the UK’s leading youth support organizations, helping hundreds of thousands into education, employment, and entrepreneurship.

King Charles remains the guiding figure behind the Trust’s vision and development.

Southgate’s visit comes shortly after Prince William and his daughter, Princess Charlotte, attended the UEFA Women’s Euro Final in Switzerland between England and Spain.

The high-profile royal appearance underlined the family’s support for youth and sport. 

FC Barcelona continue their preparations of the upcoming season with another training session on Wednesday. The team worked out at the Goyang Stadium in Seoul, some 24 hours ahead of their game against FC Seoul, a clash that can be seen live for free on FC Barcelona’s official YouTube channel. 

Wednesday’s session saw the return of Eric Garcia to training after his recovery from a muscle problem. 

As has been the case at all sessions, a large number of fans witnessed the Barça players in action at the Goyang Stadium, the lucky one managing to get autograph or photo with their blaugrana heroes.