Former South African captain Hansie Cronje is set to be banned from cricket for life by the country's United Cricket Board (UCB).
"The UCB council hereby intends to ban Hansie Cronje for life from all activities of the UCB and its affiliates," said a copy of a resolution made by the organisation and released in a statement in Johannesburg yesterday If the ban is applied it would mean Cronje would be unable to play cricket at any level in South Africa.
"The council further resolves to afford Hansie Cronje the opportunity to make representations to it within seven days of notice to him or his legal representatives if he desires to do so," the statement said.
Cronje's lawyer, Leslie Sackstein, declined to comment, saying he had not yet not seen the statement.
In June, Cronje admitted to the King Commission that he had taken approximately $100,000 from bookmakers in return for agreeing to manipulate cricket matches.
He told the commission earlier this year he would not play representative cricket again so the UCB's intention announced yesterday represents a formalisation of the situation on its side.
However, the UCB line until yesterday was that Cronje would know his fate only once he had faced a disciplinary hearing after the conclusion of the King commission, which is scheduled to resume hearings in November and is expected to wrap up its proceedings early next year.
Indian police claimed on April 7th to have in their possession audio tape recordings of Cronje in conversation with a bookmaker. Unauthenticated transcripts of the conversations quoted Cronje as discussing payment for himself and other players in the South African team.
Cronje initially denied that he was involved in betting on cricket, but in the early hours of April 11th he confessed to UCB officials that he had "not been entirely honest" with them.
In June, he admitted to a government enquiry headed by retired Judge Edwin King to approaching two team mates about fixing a one-day international against India and to accepting the money from bookmakers but, bizarrely, denied ever having thrown a match.
