South African papers
praise Hansie Cronje

South African newspapers heaped praise on "hero to zero" cricketer Hansie Cronje on Sunday after the disgraced former captain of the national squad was killed in a plane crash on Saturday.

"Nation Mourns Hansie" said a front-page headline in the City Press newspaper, while the Sunday Times obituary said he "was arguably South Africa's greatest cricket captain before his career ended in disgrace".

Cronje, 32, died on Saturday when a cargo plane he was travelling in crashed in mountains in the Western Cape province. Local media reports said he was on the plane because he had missed a scheduled flight.

The bodies of Cronje and the two pilots of the Hawker Siddeley 748 crashed plane were later on Sunday airlifted from the site of the crash.

"The three bodies have been airlifted off the mountain and taken to a mortuary," Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Trevor Davids said.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted on Monday. No date has been set for Cronje's funeral.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined but civil aviation officials have said that the weather was bad in the area when the plane went down.

Cronje shocked the world of cricket two years ago when he admitted he had accepted around $130,000 from bookmakers to influence the course of matches.

South African cricket's shining star was extinguished when he was banned from professional cricket for life.

The Sunday Times described him as "a gifted sportsman and a natural leader whose self-admitted greed led to a life ban from cricket".

The Sunday Independent's leader said: "Cruel fate robs Hansie of a second chance".

"Never before in this country had a 'hero-to-zero' tale of such mammoth proportions gripped most of our communities," it said.

The paper described Cronje as "a handsome young man with wonderful talent on the cricket field" and a captain who could "crush or squeeze the life out of opponents".

It added: "Hansie let us down but not as badly as he did himself."

Meanwhile, Former South African president Nelson Mandela was magnanimous in his tribute, saying Cronje was to become a model of how someone can rebuild their life after hitting rock bottom.

"Here was a young man courageously and with dignity rebuilding his life after the setback he suffered a while ago. The manner in which he was doing that, rebuilding his life and public career, promised to make him once more a role model of how one deals with adversity," Mandela said in a statement.

South African president Thabo Mbeki said Cronje's "prowess inspired our youth to greater heights...And we shall remember his moments of sheer brilliance on the cricket pitch."

Cricketers past and present were deeply saddened by the news of Cronje's death but remembered him with mixed emotions.

England captain Nasser Hussain said those who played under him or against him found he was a fine captain on the field. But ex-England coach David Lloyd said Cronje would go down as the man who disgraced cricket.

Those who knew Cronje in India and Pakistan also expressed sorrow over his death at such an young age.

"We should remember him for his positive contributions to South African and international cricket," Pakistani cricket captain Waqar Younis said in Karachi.

In India, a senior New Delhi police officer who led the probe which resulted Cronje's implication in match-fixing said he was saddened by his death.

"It was a premature death. May his soul rest in peace," K.K.Paul, a senior Delhi police commissioner said.

Cronje factfile

Mail Cricket Editor