Wessel Johannes " Hansie " Cronje ( 25 September 1969 – 1 June 2002 ) was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s.

Despite having just turned 21, Cronje was made captain of Orange Free State for the 1990-91 season.

After the World Cup Cronje was part of the tour to the West Indies ; he featured in the three ODI's and in the Test match at Bridgetown that followed he made his Test debut, this was South Africa first Test since readmission and they came close to beating a strong West Indian side, going into the final day at 122 / 2 chasing 200 they collapsed to 148.

In the one-day series Cronje managed just one fifty but with the ball he was economical and took his career best figures of 5 / 32, becoming the second South African to take five wickets in an ODI.

An injury to captain Kepler Wessels meant Cronje was captain for the final day of the match.

Cronje, who'd previously been vice-captain, was named as captain for the test series with New Zealand in 1994-95.

This changed the momentum as South Africa secured wins in Durban and Cape Town, where Cronje scored his fourth test century, he was the first captain since W. G. Grace to win a three-match rubber after being one down.

Cronje put a stump through the umpires ` dressing room door after the match and was lucky to avoid a ban.

The first was won with Cronje scoring 49 and 74 ; in the second Test, he took 3 / 14, his best bowling in Tests, and smashed 82 off 63 balls, his fifty being brought up with three consecutive sixes off Muttiah Muralitharan, and was reached off just 31 balls ; at the time, it was the second fastest in Tests after Kapil Dev's.

At the 1999 World Cup, Cronje finished with 98 runs at 12. 25 as South Africa was eliminated after the famous tied semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston.

It was later learnt Cronje accepted money and a gift from a bookmaker in return for making an early declaration in this Test.

However, on 11 April Cronje was sacked as captain after confessing to Ali Bacher that he had not been " entirely honest ".

South Africa were 127 / 5 chasing 460, Cronje was already out and spoke to no other players.

On 11 October, Cronje was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life.

The inquest concluded that " the death of the deceased Wessel Johannes ( Hansie ) Cronje was brought about by an act or omission prima facie amounting to an offence on the part of pilots.

Theories that Cronje was murdered on the orders of a cricket betting syndicate flourished after his death and were most recently re-floated by former Nottinghamshire coach Clive Rice in the wake of the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in March 2007.

General French ’ s cavalry was ordered to assist in the pursuit by embarking on an epic 30-mile drive towards Paardeberg where Cronje was attempting to cross the Modder River.

General Cronje was forced to surrender at Surrender Hill with 4000 men.

After a siege lasting 118 days, the Relief of Ladysmith was effected, the day after Cronje surrendered, but at a total cost of 7, 000 British casualties.

Towards the end of his career Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing ; South African captain Hansie Cronje, in his confession for match-fixing, had indicated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to the bookies.

The following day, Gibbs revealed that Cronje had offered him $ 15, 000 to score less than 20 runs in the 5th ODI at Nagpur.

Most notoriously, Gibbs was involved in the match fixing affair with former captain Hansie Cronje, who offered him $ 15, 000 to score " less than 20 " in the 3rd One-day International of a series.

Gupta gave Cronje $ 30, 000 to persuade the South Africans to lose wickets on the last day to lose the match.

" During the return tour, Cronje received $ 50, 000 from Gupta for team information.

In the 2000 Centurion Test, Marlon Aronstam contacted him offering R500, 000 for the charity of his choice together with a gift if Cronje declared and made a game of it.

After the match Aronstam visited Cronje, giving him two amounts of money ( R30, 000 and R20, 000 ) together with a leather jacket.

However, instead of being the aggressor Baden-Powell and Mafeking were forced to defend when 6, 000 Boer, commanded by Piet Cronje, attempted a determined assault on the town.

A combined British-Canadian force of 6, 000 finally trapped a group of approximately 5, 000 Boer soldiers and some civilians, under Piet Cronje, in a bend of the Modder River near Kimberley, having advanced from south of the Modder River on the 11th.

Cronje surrendered on 27 February after enduring 9 days of shelling by 40, 000 British troops.

Cronje made his first-class debut for Orange Free State against Transvaal at Johannesburg in January 1988 at the age of 18.

In 1995, Cronje appeared for Leicestershire where he scored 1301 runs at 52. 04 finishing the season as the county's leading scorer.

In 1997, Cronje played for Ireland as an overseas player in the Benson and Hedges Cup and helped them to a 46-run win over Middlesex by scoring 94 not out and taking three wickets.

In the first Test, Cronje scored 70 as South Africa saved the match ; in the second Test, he lasted 335 minutes for his 88.

The Surrender Hill MonumentMeanwhile, Roberts pursued Piet Cronje ’ s 7, 000-strong force, which had abandoned Magersfontein to head for Bloemfontein.

The Scots Guards then saw action at another major battle, at the Battle of Paardeberg, which last for a number of days in February, though the Boers there were eventually defeat when the Boer leader Piet Cronje surrendered.

With Donald retiring, Cronje banned for match-fixing and later dead in a plane crash, and Pollock also retiring from international cricket, the team has once again changed shape.

The highest sixth-wicket stand for South Africa in ODIs is the 137 between Hansie Cronje and Shaun Pollock against Zimbabwe in 1997.

After Hansie Cronje was banned from cricket for life, Pollock took over the captaincy in April 2000.

Many of the South African team criticized Cronje at the time for setting too low a target.

Other controversial choices included an 11th placing for Hansie Cronje, the disgraced former captain of the South African cricket squad, who admitted to taking bribes to influence the outcome of test matches.

After 30 seconds Jacques Cronje sent Jean De Villiers over in the corner for the opening score.

As recently as 2009, Lydiard's training methods were also credited as the catalyst for the qualification of an unprecedented three South African male athletes, Juan Van Deventer, Pieter Van Der Westhuizen and Johan Cronje, for the 1500 metres for the 2009 Track and Field Championships in Berlin.