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All players mentioned on tape will be investigated: Ambassador's of SA |
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April 14, 2000 NEW DELHI, APR 13 (UNB/AP) - All the cricket players mentioned in tapped phone calls between a bookie and ousted South African captain Hansie Cronje will be part of a matchfixing inquiry by a judicial panel, South Africa's ambassador said Thursday. "The independent judicial commission of inquiry will be all-encompassing," Ambassador Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told reporters. "It will get to the bottom of the problem." The investigation is likely to begin this week. Although South Africa and India have no extradition treaty, the ambassador did not rule out Cronje's extradition to India in the case. "The extradition will not be the beginning of the process. It would be a part of the process if there is a need for it," she said. South African President Thabo Mbeki can approve an extradition. "The mandate would be quite broad to get to the bottom of the problem," the envoy said. She did not give details of the possible penalty if Cronje was found guilty. Indian police filed charges Friday against South African cricketers Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom for allegedly fixing the series last month that India won 3-2. The case is based on tapes of a telephone conversation in which police say Cronje discussed payments for himself and others in return for throwing a match. All four cricketers have said they are innocent. The ambassador said the South African government has not yet received copies of the tapped phone conversations that it requested, but attributed the delay to two government holidays in India this week. Indian police say the tapes can be given only with court permission. She did not confirm reports that South Africa's top cricket officials would come to India next week, but said South African and Indian officials would travel back and forth during the investigation. "The South African government is fully behind the investigation and we will cooperate with the Indian government," Mashabane said. Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the International Cricket Council, Wednesday announced that a meeting with the Board of Cricket Control for India would be held on April 18 in the eastern city of Calcutta to discuss what action should be taken following the match fixing scandal involving South African captain Hansie Cronje. "Although South African players have only been involved in the allegations made by Delhi police, the fact that such allegations have originated in India has prompted the ICC president to call on the BCCI president to review the situation and ascertain the actions contemplated by the BCCI," Dalmiya said. |