Cronje not intending to play again, says his lawyer

Hansie Cronje does not intend to play cricket again despite his pending legal challenge to the life ban imposed on him by the United Cricket Board of South Africa, his lawyer said on Monday.

"He gave an undertaking to the King Commission that he would not play cricket again, and he'll stick to that," Cronje's lawyer Les Sackstein told Reuters. "It sounds a bit strong to say Hansie will never play again, but I suppose it amounts to that."

Instead, Sackstein said, Cronje's bid to have his ban overturned is geared to opening avenues for him to coach cricket and become involved in media work.

The former South Africa captain was handed the ban as punishment for his involvement in the match-fixing scandal which rocked cricket last year, but he will challenge it in an action brought by him against the UCBSA in court from September 26 to 28.

A report in the Sunday Telegraph paper in London at the weekend said that his legal battle could clear the way for a return to first-class cricket.

The Telegraph wrote that legal opinion was that Cronje's claim could well succeed, clearing the way for his return to the Free State provincial team as a player or a coach.

The Free State Cricket Union, meanwhile, has refused to comment on whether Cronje would be accepted back into the provincial fold.

Mail Cricket Editor