The King Commission of inquiry into match-fixing yesterday rejected disgraced South African captain Hansie Cronje's contention that he was merely "spinning along" an Indian bookmaker.

In the 66-page report on public hearings into the Cronje scandal that shocked cricket fans, retired judge Edwin King says it was apparent from Cronje's first meeting with bookmaker Sanjay Chowla earlier this year that the bookmaker wanted nothing less than for the captain "to lose matches and to get other players to assist him in this.

"These facts . . . are not readily reconcilable with the notion of Cronje spinning Sanjay along as he had repeatedly protested," the report says.

Cronje admitted to the commission in often tearful testimony that he received thousands of dollars from gamblers and bookmakers on five separate occasions between 1996 and 2000.

The King report makes no recommendation on his fate, but the investigation is far from over. The commission resumes its hearings on October 2nd.