Hansie Cronje, 32; Ousted South African Cricket Captain
Hansie Cronje, 32, a former South Africa cricket captain banned from the sport for match-fixing, died Friday in the crash of a small plane in the Outeniqua mountains along the West Cape of South Africa.
One of his country’s most popular cricketers during his playing days, Cronje achieved notoriety two years ago after admitting his involvement in rigging matches. He was fired as captain and banned for life after admitting that he accepted about $100,000 from bookmakers and offered teammates money to play badly.
Earlier this year, Cronje failed in an attempt to get South Africa’s High Court to overturn the ban.
Cronje played 68 Test Matches--official two-inning contests between two accredited national teams--for South Africa between 1992 and March 2000. He also appeared in 188 one-day internationals and three World Cups. As national captain, Cronje led the team a record 53 times.
Since February, Cronje had worked as financial manager at Bell Equipment in Johannesburg. The company sells earthmoving equipment.
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