It was in June 1st 2002 at the age of 32, and just 26 months after his dramatic fall from grace,
Hansie Cronje died in a plane crash near George. Cronje, who captained South Africa in 53 matches and two World Cups - and would surely have done so in many more - shook the cricket world to its foundations in April 2000, when he admitted taking money from a bookmaker to influence the results of matches. As a committed Christian, he had invited ridicule by blaming Satanic influences for his deception. But at the time of his death, in South Africa at least, he was beginning to win back public support despite this notorious lack of repentance. Away from cricket, he had been rebuilding his life as a financial manager for a Johannesburg company.