Leave the confessor - Blame it on the bookies

THE consistent feature of cricket has been that anything pertaining to the game evoked an universal upheaval, the Cronje episode being no exception. The shameful drama was a shock to the world, unveiling details of unheroic happenings and long- forgotten ethics. Sport per se was upheld as 'honourable' and the sportman's spirit the most coveted. But today if you were to say, "Come on be a sport," it would indeed be considered derogatory.

Though the degree to which the scandal affected the masses varied, the bottomline, however, is, hearts continue to beat for the South African captain.

Anitha, a student of engineering, had this to say:"Hansie has committed a mistake and confessed, so why make an issue about his character. Maybe they should concentrate more on the mistake rather than the person."

Sarah, 23, a computer programmer, dismissed it all with a one- liner:"It's all because of the bookies."

"We should not pick on Hansie as there are many others involved. At least he had the guts to accept what he had done. We are human and prone to mistakes," this is the verdict of Ebenezer Pavithran, a student of aeronautical engineering.

Maryan, 23, took it big: "It was something unexpected and it took me a whole week to believe it. Hansie, my God, not him."

Emmanuel S.G., a B.Com. student ,was philosophical: "Temptations are a part of life."

Beulah Jayanthi,23, was assertive:"As a Christian, he shouldn't have done it. But as humans we do fail at times."

Sandeep(15) feels that it is but a storm in a tea cup. He says that the way the Delhi police and the media are talking about Cronje one would think that match fixing has never happened before. That the Indian team is very honest and has never been involved in match fixing. It is sad that Cronje has been involved.

But for a few under 12s, it is as if the scales have fallen. For them it is as if Johnie Bravo has become a member of the Adams family. They feel that Cronje should be severely punished and all the money he has made in this confiscated, and maybe he should be jailed too.

Another says that he always knew that the matches were fixed. But he was disappointed that it had to be Cronje.

Arun, a very sceptical 15-year-old, feels that Cronje's only crime was that he had 'confessed'. There are others out there who have done worse and will not fall into the net simply because they have not been 'caught'. The girls are more forgiving. "Hansie could never had done it. I am sure," they say. "He continues to be my hero regardless..." And finally, "I am sure he could not have done anything like this." Why? "Because he is so cute."

K.Sumanth of standard IX says, "There is a world of difference now in attitudes. Look at the older lot of players and the younger ones. Cricket nowadays has become a form of bargaining. No one plays with full concentration like in the past. About match fixing? Well, strict rules should be followed to try and ensure discipline in the game."

"Match fixing is an insult to the talents of players. Apart from bringing a bad name to the country in question, it degrades individual players. Because of the acts of one or two, the remaining nine suffer." That was Venkatesh , a school student.

"I have only this to say. I do not like cricket anymore as players do not play for the country. They play only for money," said B. Syed Mudassan, very decisively.

M. L. Rajinath Beevi, a high school student, has this to say: "Cricket fans are still horrified. One of the best men in the game has fallen. First, Hansie said it was all rubbish and then he was reduced to dust. There seems to be no end to the revelations. And now the police say that Dawood and the underworld are involved. Whatever it is, the Delhi police deserve to be congratulated. They did their homework."

Rahul Dev, a second year B.A.student, said, "There was a talk show on TV in Chennai recently which discussed the recent happenings. One of the speakers, a sports commentator, had this interesting point to make. In England, there is betting but with a difference. The proceeds are donated to charity. But it is debateable whether such a thing will work here. There may be a scandal even in this.

The fact is that betting is here to stay.

Solomon, Legal Officer, Citicorp Credit Services, is blatant. "To bet is cricket," he says with conviction.

For the majority, it takes their all to associate cricket with match-fixing. For some, it is easier to come to terms with the fact that cricket is just a game of demands and compromises.

Binu Premkumar, Business Manager, Kumaran Systems, Kumdev division, adds, "To err is human.... Cronje has agreed to having been dishonest. Impose a fine on him if found guilty, and let him be."

It could never be the charisma or the seemingly devout expression on Cronje's face that hold opinions still good for him. People have heard, seen and believed so much over the years that "a couple of crores" means no more a rude awakening.

And to drive in the point hard, Glenn Carr, Internet Project Manager, Mercantile Securities, has this to say: "If Cronje can do it, everybody has done it."

The initial impact the incident made on cricket lovers (and critics as well) has muted a great deal. Cronje's fans continue to hope the best for him as is evident from the opinions which reverberate one thing in common: Cronje may not be innocent, but he deserves to be forgiven for a lapse that is absolutely and undeniably human.

Sunaina Khosla, 24, says, "I have mixed reactions. I partly feel angry with Cronje, while part of me feels sorry for him, because he's the one who got caught though so many people have done it before. I agree with Kapil Dev that all cricket should be stopped for some time until this mess is sorted out. Now every ball that's dropped, every wicket that falls, people will be wondering whether the match was fixed.I think Cronje should be given a second chance because he has a good career ahead of him. After all, he confessed - it should not be the end of the road for him."

Shwetha Gupta ,19, said, "It's a good thing it finally came out because everyone was talking about match fixing. They should catch the Indian cricketers involved as well. Because they are Indians, the authorities don't want their involvement out in the open - and that's not fair."

Ramesh Rajan (20), a former pro tennis player: "It's really bad that cricket is in such a position now. This is a blackmark in every cricketer's life. It will affect every player's state of mind. Azharuddin was blamed when he got a Mercedes after Sharjah. People claim that he was involved with match fixing. I think betting should be legalised - it won't bother the team then. Now there are allegations that the Indian team is involved as well. What is the world coming to?"

Mrinalini Maher (24): "I expected that at least in cricket there would be sportsmanship. It would be wishful thinking to believe that Indians are not involved. Betting shouldn't influence a player's performance - commercialism shouldn't creep into the game. It just shows the decadence of society. We say that politics is corrupt, yet look what is happening in sports. The youth need people to look up to. The way politics is now, youngsters can't look up to politicians - so at least sportsmen should be clean. Who is there now in public life for people to emulate?"

Kamini Raheja (26, who represented the Tamil Nadu Women's cricket team): "It's shocking, sickening and true. I feel sad to hear about this because Cronje was always such a stern looking cricketer, he was always so cricket oriented, and being the captain, he was perfect. South Africa was THE cricketing nation. Cricket was everything for them. There should be some harsh, drastic punishment for him for doing this to the game of cricket. Suddenly the game has become political. It's not cricket any more. Personalities, egos of the nations are clashing, it's not simple fun any more."

Seline Augustine, Nimi Kurian, Mandira Moddie, Subajayanthi Wilson and Murali N. Krishnaswamy

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