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'Match-fixing gives you a buzz'

Roshan Paul

There's a new reason for Hansie Cronje's soiree with the bookmakers. Bob Woolmer, Cronje's former coach and the man who brought technology into team strategy, thinks that dabbling in match-fixing gives you a high; and that's why Cronje did it.

Writing for the Electronic Telegraph, Woolmer says, "At the beginning of this affair I thought Hansie had started all this as a bit of a buzz; after listening to his statement I stand by that…It was, as David Richardson said, rather exciting to have been approached. Presumably, Hansie thought it was even more exciting, and kept in touch."

Oh, boy!

To be fair, Woolmer is not condoning Cronje's actions. But he is mitigating them. The man whose opinions have swung from one extreme to another since this whole thing began is now, predictably, settling for the middle path. He goes on to say that while he is not defending Cronje, he will not "kick a man who is down". Furthermore, if Cronje has not done anything more than provide information, then he should be allowed to play again; for this is exactly what Shane Warne and Mark Waugh did, according to Woolmer.

It is amusing though to see that Satan has moved into the twenty-first century. No longer does he use apples to make people 'turn away from god'. His new weapon is our human weakness to get a "buzz". Poor Cronje! I guess he never had a chance once Satan figured out his inability to resist getting high.

The Betting Scandal: The full story