South Africa bans Cronje for life
South Africa's United Cricket Board (UCB) officially banned former captain Hansie Cronje on Thursday for life - but said it might overturn the ruling at some point in the future if the disgraced star repented.
The UCB's general council last month passed a resolution to ban Cronje for life from all aspects of the game, while giving him seven days to respond.
Cronje's lawyer, Leslie Sackstein, had threatened to sue over the resolution, but no representation was made before the deadline expired, a board source told the SAPA news agency.
"Pursuant to our resolution on October 4 and with immediate effect, W.J. Cronje is banned for life from membership or participation in the UCB, its structures or activities," UCB president Percy Sonn said in a statement.
But he offered a glimmer of hope for Cronje to return to the sport at some point in the future.
"We acknowledge that, with effort, people are able to rehabilitate themselves over time and there may be an opportunity for the UCB to take cognisance of this possibility in the future," he said.
Cronje's ban comes a day after he was named along with several leading international players in a damning
report on match-fixing in India.
Among his co-accused are former skippers Mohammad Azharuddin (India), Brian Lara (West Indies), Alec Stewart (England) and Salim Malik (Pakistan).
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