A Leader All The Way!. Review on Hansie Cronje

When a cricketer dies young, as did Hansie Cronje at the age of 33, images runs through one's mind in an almost cinematic fashion. Cricketers around the world mourned the death of former South African captain Hansie Cronje , and called for his role in the match-fixing scandal that rocked world cricket in 2000 to be forgotten and his positive influence on the game to be celebrated.

The shockingly sudden and violent death of former Proteas cricket captain Hansie Cronje in a plane crash in the Outeniqua Mountains is a salutary reminder of the fragility of the thread upon which human life hangs. Far more, however, it brings the finality of a tragedy to the saga of a flawed hero, a gifted sportsman and natural leader who fell from grace because of a fatal love of the money offered him by dubious bookmakers. Quite rightly, he was banished from the cricket field by the United Cricket Board after the match-fixing scandal broke.

Captain of the national side at the age of 24, Cronje proved himself one of cricket's most inspirational and successful leaders. He led South Africa a record 53 times, gaining 27 victories with only 11 losses. In the one-day game, the ratio was almost three to one: 99 wins to 35 losses. Just how good he was, just how firm the discipline he imposed, has been illustrated by the manner in which the team has performed in the World Cup 1n 1999.

Recently there have been indications that he was attempting to rebuild his life. Sadly, that will remain the legacy of a cricketer whose name will forever live in infamy, even though his life itself was cruelly cut short on the mountains of his beloved homeland. His untimely death has now robbed him of the opportunity of redemption. That, perhaps, is his greatest tragedy.