NEWS
SCHEDULES
COLUMNS
PREVIOUS TOURS
OTHER SPORTS
STATISTICS
INTERVIEWS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Aronstam's June 23 testimony

MR BLUMBERG: Thank you. Thank you, Mr Commissioner.

NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR BLUMBERG

COMMISSIONER: I think you've consulted with Mr Aronstam, it may be appropriate if you question him now.

MR DICKERSON: Mr Commissioner, I had mentioned to Ms Batohi, I have a problem with availability on Monday, and I'd indicated, I understood she had no objection that for that reason I would prefer to cross-examine first, in the hope that I will complete whatever questions I have.

COMMISSIONER: I'm aware of that.

MS BATOHI: Yes Mr Commissioner, I have no problem with that at all, but there's just one or two things that Mr Aronstam hasn't mentioned that I think Mr Dickerson might be interested in hearing before he cross-examines him. But it's entirely up to you, I have no problem going after you.

MR DICKERSON: Mr Commissioner, my difficulty is, if it can't be dealt with today by me, Mr Aronstam may have to be recalled. I don't know what these aspects are.

MS BATOHI: I think I'd take about five minutes.

COMMISSIONER: Right carry on.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS BATOHI: Thank you.

Mr Aronstam just quickly, there's one or two things I just want to lead you on, ask you about. Your first meeting with MR CRONJE on that - your first meeting with him at the hotel, you said that there was talk about throwing matches. The triangular series between Zimbabwe, England and South Africa was coming up just after that, was there any talk about throwing any of the matches during that series?

MR ARONSTAM: Yes. What was spoken about - as I've said to Hansie, the ball was in his court and he mentioned that he could basically get players involved to lose a game and he said that the minute South Africa were guaranteed a place in the final, he would consider throwing a match. And that was when I was shocked. I was amazed, I couldn't believe that, what I was hearing.

MS BATOHI: Did he mention any particular match that he could possible throw in that event?

MR ARONSTAM: The game that he possibly mentioned was the last game between South Africa and England, had they been guaranteed a place in the final.

MS BATOHI: Did MR CRONJE say anything to you at any stage about him having any players in his pocket at that stage?

MR ARONSTAM: He mentioned to me that he had Bojé, Strydom and Gibbs. I can't swear to you if he mentioned anybody else, but those three were definitely mentioned.

MS BATOHI: And did he explain to you how he got them involved or why he'd got them involved?

MR ARONSTAM: No, he never explained how, where or what.

MS BATOHI: You also mentioned something - I withdraw that. You said that when you first met MR CRONJE you only mentioned a donation to charity and you didn't mention anything about a gift, why did you mention a charity? Can you just explain that.

MR ARONSTAM: Well I thought to myself if I'm just going phone up Hansie Cronjé, the South African captain, and tell him that out of the blue, why should he even listen to me, who am I, he doesn't know me from a bar of soap. So I thought to myself realistically that if there would be - I hadn't even done any research, if there was betting or no betting on the game at the time, so my idea was that if there was betting and there was a declaration, a sizeable amount could have been made at the time. So I thought to myself the best way is to offer a donation to charity and at least he'll listen to me. I then discovered there was no betting on the match. When I offered the donation I sincerely thought about giving a donation to charity if it was all going to work. When I discovered that there was no betting, I was relieved when I could get hold of him and tell him "Listen, there is no betting, I can't give the donation to charity."

MS BATOHI: Just one last point. You said that Hansie Cronjé at some stage - well at some stage you contacted him and he became very cool towards you, cold towards you, in your view, why do you think this happened?

MR ARONSTAM: Well at the time why it happened, I don't know, suddenly - we had spoken every night after test matches, everything was good between us and just suddenly ... When I did speak to him afterwards he told me the reason we lost contact was, something happened to his cellphone. So I don't know. I can't answer.

MS BATOHI: Thank you, Mr Commissioner, I have no further questions.

NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MS BATOHI

COMMISSIONER: Mr Dickerson.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR DICKERSON: Thank you, Mr Commissioner.

Mr Aronstam, apart from betting on cricket, do you bet on other sports?

MR ARONSTAM: I bet on any sport.

MR DICKERSON: And the first approach you say you made to MR CRONJE, was on the fourth day of the Centurion test earlier this year.

MR ARONSTAM: Correct.

MR DICKERSON: It was a very practised approach, first you appeal to him on the basis that you were a cricket lover, not so?

MR ARONSTAM: Correct. Well I'll tell you one thing, you won't find too many people who love cricket more than me.

MR DICKERSON: Then you appeal to him on the basis of his personal concerns about his captaincy, you said that the public perceived him in a negative light and you used that as a tool to try and persuade him to do what you wanted him to do.

MR ARONSTAM: I don't agree with that comment of yours because what happened was, when I went to see him - you wouldn't have thought that we just met each other, suddenly we started talking and he - about cricket in general in the world, about a lot of other topics or cricket, and he said to me, he said "Your knowledge on cricket is very good." That came down ...(indistinct), we were just discussing cricket in general and those were topics that were discussed. It was no pre-dress rehearsal as to how when I went to see MR CRONJE, that just ...(indistinct) discussion, sitting in a room discussing cricket.

Click here for more....