HOW MATCH FIXING DRAMA UNFOLDED - PART 2

April 14

Former South African captain Clive Rice says that he believes cricket in South Africa would be tainted by the Hansie Cronje scandal for years to come - just as the infamous 1932-33 Bodyline series between England and Australia had affected the sport for decades.

The South African team rallies behind Hansie Cronje with his successor Shaun Pollock declaring that the entire team was with him. Pollock dedicates the victory against Australia in the first one day tie in Durban to his disgraced predecessor.

Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed says in Melbourne that the Hansie Cronje scandal has strengthened the ACB's resolve to eliminate scams ``which pose a real threat to the integrity of the game''. Speed says the challenge for cricketers and administrators is to ensure that ``this cancer does not take hold''.

April 15

South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs breaks his silence and denies any part in match rigging or betting allegations involving Hansie Cronje. Gibbs tells the Cape Argus newspaper he was stunned when he was implicated in the Indian betting scandal. ``I felt bad but I knew I was innocent. Nothing would ever make me do something so irresponsible. Nobody approached us. When we were told about it we were terribly shocked.'' Gibbs was implicated by transcripts of alleged conversations between Cronje and Sanjay Chawla.

UCBSA communications manager Bronwyn Wilkinson says Ali Bacher has had telephonic discussions with the Indian Cricket Board in order to reaffirm the close ties between the two countries. It is the first time that Bacher has been in contact with Indian Board officials since the match fixing scandal broke. ``India were instrumental in helping South Africa return to international cricket after the isolation years and Dr Bacher wants to ensure that the ties between the two countries remain strong,'' Wilkinson tells a South African news agency.

Federal revenue officials arrest Kishan Kumar on charges that he was one of the conduits between arrested bookmaker Rajesh Kalra and his business associate in London, Sanjay Chawla. Kishan Kumar, who was arrested in a hospital where he is undergoing treatment for reported cardiac problems has not been moved from his bed because of his poor health, according to doctors. His arrest is the second since April 7, the day the match fixing scandal broke. Police detectives say that Kishan Kumar's arrest is also part of an ongoing probe aimed at unearthing links between bookmakers and India's underworld in match fixing.

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