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Radio 5 Live,25 Jul 2025,2 mins

Series Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace

Introducing... Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace

Sport's Strangest Crimes

Available for over a year

Hansie Cronje had it all 鈥 captain of South Africa, adored by a nation, trusted by Nelson Mandela. A symbol of hope in the post-apartheid era. Then came the Centurion Test: a rain-ruined match is suddenly back on, thanks to a strange decision by Hansie. At first, it looks like good sportsmanship 鈥 until a wiretap in India catches something shocking. What unfolds next will change cricket forever. In Sport鈥檚 Strangest Crimes - Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace, former England cricketer Mark Butcher traces the rise and collapse of a national hero 鈥 from quiet warning signs and secret phone calls to a dramatic confession and a televised inquiry. But even as Hansie admits to more than just Centurion, many believe the investigation didn鈥檛 go far enough. Sixty-three offshore bank accounts are discovered. Links to other players emerge. And just as pressure builds for a deeper probe 鈥 Hansie dies in a plane crash. Some say pilot error. Others aren鈥檛 so sure. Was Hansie manipulated by a powerful network of fixers? Or was he the one pulling the strings? With testimony from teammates, journalists, investigators and those who knew him best, Mark unpacks a story of power, money, and the dark side of sport. More than two decades on, people are still asking: who was the real Hansie Cronje?

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