There are some secrets, that if buried inside you, can make your life peaceful but if these secrets come out in public may cost you your life.
Such is the story of one legendary South African cricketer named Hansie Cronje. Hansie Cronje always wanted to be a cricketer like any other young boy. Born in 1969, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Cronje did not have to wait long, at the age of 18, he made his first-class debut for Orange Free State at Johannesburg in 1988. He had enough potential and talent to impress everyone with the bat and ball, he was soon made the captain of his side only two later after his debut. Like any other cricketer Hansie wanted to play for his country, soon his dream changed in reality when he was picked for South Africa to play in the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup against Australia in Sydney. Later in the year, he also made his test debut against the West Indies.
He scored runs at will against all teams, his performance was applauded by all the former players and big names in cricket, he was soon named the captain of South Africa. There was no doubt in the minds of South African fans regarding his ability as the captain, his players trusted him and the opponents respected him. He was South Africa's most successful captain.
Under his captaincy South Africa won 27 test and lost only 11, while in One Day Internationals his performance was even better, he won 99 out of 138 matches for his country.
Match Fixing
Hansie Cronje won the hearts of millions of fans all over the world and above all, he won the trust of his country and his players. But what was going deep inside his heart only one person knew and that was Hansie Cronje himself.
He was hailed as one of the biggest hero's in South Africa who turned villain overnight, that day - April 11, 2000, was marked as the "Black Day" in cricket and in the life of Hansie Cronje. Hansie admitted to something that no one would have ever believed, he admitted receiving $15,000 for providing information to bookies.
As Hansie admitted to the crime, several big names in cricket began to pop out, one such name was the former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin. Several south African cricketers were also offered money by Hansie for throwing away the match. Pat Symcox, Gibbs, and Nicky Boje admitted match-fixing in front of the King commission.
As days passed by Cronje accused more and more players in match-fixing, initially all denied the charges but as Hansie stood firm as a rock to what he said. He had enough evidence to prove the involvement of other cricketers. In the meantime, Hansie Cronje was banned for life, the young boy who had seen dreams of taking his country to new heights was labeled as "Traitor".
Death
Hansie soon realized what he did was not right, he was heart-broken. He stood alone when he said the truth, no one was there to support him, his fans could not believe what Hansie Cronje did. He admitted all the wrong things that he did and was to disclose some big names including the big bosses in the cricket world.
The day June 1, 2002, was a sad day for his family and friends, the small cargo plane in which Hansie was traveling crashed. Hansie Cronje died at the age of 32 when he was at the peak of his career. With his death, all the secrets were buried and those involved in match fixing had a sigh of relief. Only if Hansie has kept the secrets to himself and not admitted to match-fixing may be his name would have been written in golden words in South African cricket.