Former South Africa cricketer Henry Williams has admitted to lying at an inquiry which banned disgraced national captain Hansie Cronje from the game in 2000, a newspaper reported yesterday
Williams testified that Cronje offered him $15,000 (11,250 euros) to play badly in a one-day international against India. But his lawyers forced him to lie with teammate Herschelle Gibbs to strengthen the case against Cronje, Williams told the Sunday Times.
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“It’s just the truth. It’s long gone and I’ve made peace with the whole story. I can never forget about it, but I forgive what’s been done to me,” Williams told the paper.
Henry Williams leaves court after testifying in 2000. Pic/AFP
Cronje received a life ban from the United Cricket Board of South Africa in 2000 after admitting he had accepted $100,000 (75,000 euros) from Indian bookmakers and offered other players money to under-perform. He died in a plane crash two years later. Williams and Gibbs were fined and banned for six months.
The duo’s then-lawyers Mike Fitzgerald and Peter Whelan called the claim “outrageous”, though they knew about foul play in the
testimony.
“Mike Fitzgerald and I knew all along that Herschelle (Gibbs) was lying,” said Whelan, adding that he’d tried to pressure Gibbs into coming clean. Gibbs declined to comment.u00a0
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