[quote]
Originally posted by the game:
**The Game Responds:
**Very* shocking; that's all I can say about it. After witnessing his game for six or seven years,I can surely say that I won't remember him for the match fixing issue; He was above all that as a great leader and a very gutsy player. God bless his soul. People, That Is All.*
**
[/quote]
Well Said The GAME , Exactly my thoughts
AK
he was a nice player .. a nice captain , he led his team from the front
"haq maghfarat kare ajeeb azad merd tha"
in my dreams i was drowning my sorrows , but my sorrows learned to swim
Oh I’m so sad.. such a good captain and player.
He was just badly influenced, but a very good man
http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/frown.gif
The whole world will miss him dearly.
Following is Jonty's response when asked for his thoughts:
Jonty Rhodes: (Crying) I just hope you aren’t asking me for a quote – I just can’t, this is all to much.
I became a fan of Hansie after he got involved with the fixing scandal. We all make mistakes but some of us admit them and try to right them. And that is why I admire Hansie. I always hoped especially after Pollock started to fumble his cards that Hansie would be reinstated as the Saffie captain. But that was never to be ...
Rest in peace, Hansie!
Very Sad Indeed.
I am sure many players were involved in match fixing, but no one had the guts to admit it. Hansie is much better than those guys.
Such a great player!
I still remember the first time I saw Hansie, it was in 92 semifinals against England, like someone said above, he should be praised for admitting his mistake, the people who should be disgraced are the ones who are still hiding the truth.
One thing that is sad about our society is that we only remember the flaws in the person, not the his great accomplishments.
Hansie will always be remembered for his scandal, not his cricket career.
But the saddest thing is his age, only 32 years old.
As a South African, I can but support all that were said about Hansie in this thread.
The best captain South Africa ever had, and the best ODI captain the world ever had.
Cronje funeral: transcript
(source: www.cricket365.com))
05 Jun 2002
Welcome to Grey College in Bloemfontein where former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje is being laid to rest. There are possibly 2000 people gathered for the funeral including many high profile politicians and sportsmen.
There is a pain in our hearts that is almost too much to bare, says the minister as the service opens. He calls on the crowd to symbolically embrace the family and the crowd are silent in prayer for the Cronje family and the families of the two pilots who died along with Hansie.
The assembled congregation sing a hymn in Afrikaans. Looking through the crowd Protea blazers are very noticeable and one can see Allan Donald and Boeta Dippenaar standing together. Jonty Rhodes is in the front row weeping openly.
Isiah 57 versus 1 and 2 is the reading. Those who walk upright enter into peace.
Despite the wranglings involved between the UCB and the Cronje family, one can see UCB employees in the crowd. Media liaison Bronwyn Wilkinson is present as is Cricket World Cup Director Ali Bacher, the man who received the call from Hansie when the match fixing scandal broke. Like Rhodes, Bacher is weeping openly.
The preacher tells a story about a road trip he had taken with Hansie. He tells of how Cronje would always reach out to people, no matter where they were from. He tells of Hansie love for children and his warmth to all humans. Hansie was loved not just because he was a cricketing hero, he was loved because he had a passion for people!
Jonty Rhodes wife, Kate, is sitting next to Bertha and holding her hand.
South Africa’s convenor of selectors, Omar Henry, a former team-mate of Hansies at Free State is in tears as the preacher tells us how God has a plan for everybody and how God will look after us when we die.
The preacher tells how Hansie rose above the pain of the last two years with the help of his God.
There are not only cricket players in the congregation, one can also see Springbok rugby players like Rueben Kruger, Toks van der Linde, Braam Van Straaten, Morne Du Plessis and Joost Van der Westhuizen.
Hansie’s body is lying in a dark coffin at the front of the hall. It is covered with flowers and sits alongside a large portrait of the former captain who lead South Africa with such distinction at two World Cups.
The funeral is being held at Grey College, a Boys School in Bloemfontein where Hansie was the head boy.
The preacher encourages the crowd to follow their captains lead and run down the path that has been chosen for them. The crowd then rise together to sing Bread of Heaven.
Former convenor of selectors Peter Pollock, father of Shaun and brother of Graeme, adresses the crowd.
He reminds us that death will come to everybody and that when it does it will come as a surprise. Pollock tells of how he worked intricately with Hansie when he was a selector. We are reminded how Hansie lead the team to victory over Sydney in 1994 - one of South Africa’s finest cricketing moments.
We hear how Hansie always lead from the front. How he was the fittest guy in the team. How he would go out and face Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan when the team were battling against spin.
Pollock tells us how Hansie loved South Africa and how he loved cricket. He took SA to the top says Pollock who shows us the stats: 71% of the ODI games he captained he won. He won 51% of the Tests he captained. The stats will be a testimony of his greatness.
Pollock tells how he retired from cricket and saw the fall from a distance. He tells us how Hansie kept his God at his side throughout the tough times as he confessed his sins to the King Commission.
What Hansie did was wrong says Pollock, but he took his medicine and faced up to his wrongs.
Bertha smiles when Peter Pollock tells how he re-baptized Hansie at the end of 2001 and reaffirmed his relationship God.
Hansie is home now, says Pollock, his arrangements on Saturday morning have ironically returned him to his true home…
Pollock pays tribute to Hansie’s wife Bertha for her strength. For standing by her man throughout the hard times.
Pollock gives thanks for Hansie. For his friends. For those who stood by Hansie. For his family and for those people who were able to forgive Hansie. We are blessed to be able to weep with the family today says Pollock, as tears start to flow…
The crowd stay seated while the Grey College Choir lead them through A time to say goodbye.
Shaun Pollock the Proteas skipper stands to address the crowd… the whole Proteas team stands to join him on the podium.
The players are grief stricken, A tearful Jonty thanks the choir for their singing, which he says is surprisingly good for a rugby school.
Shaun Pollock’s voice is breaking as he starts to pay tribute. Hansie touched all our lives with his friendship and encouragement. He tells how Hansie connected with people and was an inspiration. He took the trouble to understand where we came from and got the best out of each of us he says…
Hansie should be remembered for what he was. Pollock will tell some light-hearted stories that he says sum up who Hansie was.
Pollock is flanked by amongst others, Mkhaya Ntini, Jonty Rhodes, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Allan Donald, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Bob Woolmer, Darryl Cullinan…
We hear a story about how Hansie once switched fitness coach Paddy Upton’s malaria tablets for sleeping tablets.
Another story tells how Hansie sent some team mates to collect free shirts from a hotel room where a newly wed couple were spending their first night on honeymoon.
Pollock reads Cronje’s favourite poem, a work by Rudyard Kipling that Hansie would frequently read at after dinner speeches.
Pollock tells of the influence Hansie has had on all his team mates and adds that the former skipper will be greatly missed. The crowd rise to sing another hymn - this one in Afrikaans.
Johan Volsteedt the head master at Grey and Hansie’s former coach and mentor stands to say thank you to all the people who have contributed to the service. He makes special mention of the people of George and Bloemfontein for their support.
Volsteedt says he feels like Hansie’s older brother or even a father. He tells how Hansie was the captain of both the school rugby and cricket teams in 1987. He tells of Hansie’s extreme leadership qualities and his incredible mind.
Volsteedt reads some of the tributes and faxes that the family have received. They tell of how Hansie touched people on a human level. Another tells of how all the children on a playing field still want to be Hansie or Jonty when they play.
We hear stories of how Hansie used to play with young children when there were no cameras. How he loved to coach and teach and have fun with youngsters.
Bertha steps up to the podium. She says for the past two years I wanted to tell the world that even though Hansie made a mistake he was still the same person. A kind and loving man. Over the last few days I have come to the realization that everybody knew that.
She thanks Ewie and Sanmarie for being such wonderful in-laws and ends by saying that it was an absolute honour to be married to a man like Hansie.
Gordon Parsons, his brother-in-law is one of the pall-bearers, along with Ewie and Frans Cronje and Berthas father and brother. The congregation sing Onwards Christian Soldiers as they remove the coffin.
The Grey College school boys have formed a guard of honour outside the hall as the coffin is escouted to the hearse.
The funeral is over. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of this great captain.