Iran was recently attacked by Israel and the United States, both of which have nuclear weapons. Iran denies that it is trying to do anything, saying that it was to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
What factors into which nations possess nuclear weapons and which cannot? Are there any new nuclear wars happening right now? explains Sandra Gathmann’s book Start Here.
This episode includes:
Gary Samore is Professor and Director of Brandeis University’s Crown Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
Director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project, Hans M. Kristensen
Sharon Squassoni | George Washington University research professor
Hassan Elbahtimy | Senior lecturer at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies
We examine the five factors that may have contributed to the end of Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty’s 13-year marriage, from the strain of their careers to the separation of bedrooms.
Before their separation, Cat and Patrick faced some significant difficulties in their lives.
TV presenter Cat Deeley and stand-up comedian Patrick Kielty were thought to have one of the most normal and down to earth relationships in showbusiness. They first met while hosting the BBC ‘s Fame Academy in 2002 and remained friends until 2011 when they became romantically involved and settled down together.
The couple now share two sons, Milo, nine, and James, seven, who were both born in the US. The family moved back to the UK in 2020 and were hopeful about their future together after both Cat, 48, and Patrick, 54, landed high profile presenting jobs and bought a grand new home.
However they shocked the entertainment world yesterday when they announced their union had come to an end after 13 years of marriage.
READ MORE: Cat Deeley said ‘poor Patrick Kielty’ in intimate bedroom admission months before split
The pair first met hosting the BBC’s Fame Academy(Image: PA Archive/Press Association Images)
In a joint statement they confirmed: “We have taken the decision to end our marriage and are now separated. No other party is involved, at all. We will continue to be one loving family, and we would ask that you respect our family’s privacy. ” “
We examine what might have gone wrong for the couple, as well as the five possible factors that may have affected their successful marriage, including Cat’s struggle with living in the UK and the strain of renovating their “forever home.”
a “really difficult” choice
Cat had lived in Hollywood since 2006 where she was one of the top presenters on US TV and was worth an estimated £12million. Before they moved from Los Angeles to London in 2020, Patrick and she shared a home there for almost ten years. Later, she made fun of the fact that she would return to the States for So You Think You Can Dance, a popular reality series.
The couple in 2013 in LA(Image: FilmMagic)
At an Emmys party in 2017(Image: Penske Media via Getty Images)
They were said to have made the decision to return in part because they disliked Donald Trump and due to concerns over gun violence. Patrick’s dad, Jack, a businessman, was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland so his fear of guns was understandable. It was compounded when he was in a shopping mall with Milo in 2018 and they were ordered to take cover because there were rumours a shooter was on the loose. It turned out to be a false alarm but Cat said she found it “really scary”.
When they were looking at schools and were informed of the procedures should a gunman enter the premises, it only added to their desire to make their move back to the UK to raise their sons. Other factors, Cat claimed, included wanting to be closer to family and friends.
But she has admitted finding the lack of sunshine in the UK “really hard” after enjoying the warmth of LA for so long. Recalling her US home, she labelled it “blissful”. “From my balcony you could see right the way down Benedict Canyon to the ocean,” she told The Sunday Times. “I’d sit having my coffee in the sunshine in my pyjamas surrounded by hummingbirds. At night the house glowed pink with the sunset.”
Milo and James, her sons.
The constant scrutiny she has faced since being back in the UK has been tough on her too. When she took over at This Morning the spotlight was directly on her as she stepped into the big shoes that were once filled by Queen of daytime TV, Holly Willoughby. Her every word on the live show was analysed and she was harshly called out on many occasions if she slipped up or accidentally offended anyone.
When asked if the criticism shocked her, she called it “a very British thing,” because it just doesn’t happen in the US. “Everyone keeps pinging in with me, “Are you okay?” Do you have any control over this? ‘” she said last year before adding that she’d simply leave if it got out of hand: “I don’t care. I’m not interested. I’m going to quit if it becomes too much for me. I don’t need to do it. I could stay home for the majority of the year and then travel to America to watch the shows. I’m acting in this manner without any ulterior justification. ” “
New home “shocks”
Cat describes her “shock” at the fact that her new home in London is still a significant construction site.
Cat told of her “shock” as she revealed her new London home was still a major building site
After selling the £3-million Beverly Hills mansion. The couple set about renovating their £5 million “forever home” in Hampstead, London, for an estimated $8 million. Cat previously spoke of her delight over the 1950s five bedroom property and detailed her plans for stripping it back: “It’s going to be super-modern. She said, “I want some sculptural stairs, and the kitchen is really exciting.”
However, it is believed that the project added even more strain to their already difficult lives. After paying a visit to the house and seeing it was still a building site she said in a clip: “I’m not going to lie, I got a bit of a shock today. There isn’t much air, just lots of house. ” “
‘Work got in the way’
Following their return to the UK, Cat took up her role alongside co-host Ben Shephard on ITV ’s flagship morning chat show in March 2024, for which she is believed to be paid around £600,000 per year. The job means she has to get up super early four days a week at 5am to get to the studio in time to prepare for the show.
The previous September Patrick was handed a three-year, £216,000 contract to host 30 episodes of RTE’s Late Late Show, after he took over from Ryan Tubridy. He’s maintained a punishing weekly commute to Dublin ever since where he’s had a home in Dundrum for over 25 years. He also hosts a Saturday morning show on Radio 5 Live. Following news of the couple’s split, RTE confirmed he would be returning to his role after the summer break. “RTÉ looks forward to Patrick returning to the Late Late Show in September,” a spokesperson said.
Cat and Ben on the This Morning couch
Their roles have meant the couple’s time together was severely impacted. Patrick mentioned how difficult it was for them to balance their presenting duties with their parenting in 2024. He revealed that Cat’s return to the US for a time period filming So You Think You Can Dance had been particularly challenging following Christmas 2023.
He told The Times: “There was a moment after Christmas that was tricky. She had to fly to Atlanta for seven weeks. There was a wee bit of a juggle there. But I think with all these things, as long as you have a routine, it doesn’t take as much fizz out of you as some people think.”
After she accepted the This Morning role, he also discussed their new routine, revealing that they only actually saw each other on the weekends. “Because Cat’s doing her stuff in the morning, she would normally be back just after lunchtime. And since weekends and the beginning of the week are together, he said, “it’s not “bye.”
Cat has also described her struggles to balance work and personal life. Last year she said: “I drop the ball all the time. I have the same characteristics as everyone else. The struggle and juggle are real, and I do it. You know, we know, we’re all just trying to make everything work. ” “
Cat and Ben attended Wimbledon together this year(Image: Getty Images for Emirates)
Following the couple’s split announcement an insider suggested that the pressure of their careers had indeed broken them. They told the Daily Mail: “It is such sad news. They were so happy after they moved back to London, and would talk about their grand plans to renovate the house for the family. But sadly, as so often happens with relationships, work got in the way and it put a huge strain on the marriage.”
separate bathrooms
It seems even when they were under the same roof, they weren’t often in the same bed. Cat and Patrick’s sleeping arrangements were the subject of a bombshell last year that was broadcast live on This Morning. When Cat revealed that because of their work, she and Patrick frequently sleep in different rooms while she and Ben were presenting a segment about whether having separate bedrooms is essential to a happy marriage.
She said: “It’s one of those things that because of our schedule here [at This Morning], from Monday to Thursday I sleep in the guest bedroom and the rest of the time I’m back. because I want to get up earlier at 5am. ” “
Cat didn’t care about renewing vows
Cat and Patrick at Ant McPartlin’s wedding to Anne-Marie Corbett.(Image: PA)
Cat and Patrick tied the knot in 2012 in an intimate ceremony in Italy on September 29.
She revealed that she had no idea what was going on with her fiance and that she had little faith in the plans for the wedding, St. Isidore’s College in Rome, before the ceremony.
Continue reading the article below.
When she was asked about the possibility of renewing their vows, she told Closer: “I barely even did my own wedding. Patrick tried the food, tried it, and did everything. I was so uninterested that I never even saw the place where I actually married before I actually married.
Harry Styles, the former One Direction singer, has released his new vibrator range through his brand Pleasing and satisfied his fans everywhere, from sold out shows to sold out sex toys.
Harry’s sex toy range sold out in minutes(Image: CBS)
Harry Styles has satiated fans worldwide with the launch of his sex toy range. The former One Direction member first launched his brand, Pleasing, in 2021 and launched originally with a line of nail polishes. Since then, products like crewneck sweaters, knitted bags, and more have been added to the online store.
But now, the brand is living up to its name, diving headfirst into the world of sexual wellness, and who better to be at the helm than ‘boyband sex god’ Harry Styles.
According to The Mirror US, the Pleasing shopping experience oozes allure. An employee behind a small velvet curtain slides out a silver platter for you to put your notecard on. Then you pay, and a brown paper bag labelled “Pleasing” slides out from behind the curtain containing your items. It comes after Harry was seen sharing passionate kiss with mystery woman at Glastonbury.
READ MORE: Louis Tomlinson slams hurtful comments about Zara McDermott and his late mum – ‘It’s too much’READ MORE: AIMEE WALSH: ‘I met Bonnie Blue – her Channel 4 doc feeds the rage-bait machine and earns her millions’
Harry has been championed for amplifying conversations around self-pleasure with the launch of his sex toys(Image: Pleasing)
Free condoms are served in martini glasses with the words “I’m for Planned Parenthood” written on them while fans are in line. The drop’s slogan, “Please Yourself Like You Mean It,” also applies to tackers.
Fans are slapping it up as two new products both in the US and the UK sold “within minutes.” After all, the name “Directors” was given to one of the world’s most powerful fan bases.
The frenzied Directions-turned-Styles-mega-fans purchasing Pleasing’s sex toys are enjoying the X-rated offering from Styles, even though One Direction disbanded in 2016 and Harry has since established himself as a solo artist and wellness guru.
“I feel like we’ve been so deprived from Harry, you know, anything and everything,” one fan told The Mirror US. “We’ll take what we can. I really hope he releases new music soon.” She also noted that her first ever concert was at 18 years old when she saw Harry Styles perform at Madison Square Garden. “I came in as a girl, I went out as a woman,” she said.
Another person remarked, “I’m kind of here for it when I learn that there is this kind of drop and selling sex toys.” I’m eager to receive anything from him, so I’ll accept it.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp, for a curated list of popular stories, moving interviews, and popular lifestyle picks from The Mirror’s Audience U35 team, and get them delivered straight to your inbox for more stories like this.
Sex therapists are intrigued by the unlikely union between celebrity and sexual wellness and support Styles for boosting discussions around self-pity because of Harry Styles’ audience, which is primarily Gen Z and Zillennials.
According to Samantha Marshall, Head of Brand at Smile Makers Collection, “we frequently hear reports about how little sex Gen Z is having, but those conversations tend to ignore the rise of self-pity.”
The reaction to this announcement confirms that younger people are eager to explore their own bodies, experience their pleasure, and gain self-assurance in doing so. A generation that is changing the rules around intimacy has a huge chance to gain access to pleasure education, Marshall continued.
Styles’ crush-worthy status has also helped to dispel the ban on using sex toys, and his non-confrontational approach to sexuality is just the cherry on top. It “supports the idealization that enjoyment should be unremarkable.” Because I firmly believe that children should enjoy both the entertainment and the mundane. Having a vibrator in your home? It shouldn’t be a big deal, really.
Luke Shaw, the defender for Manchester United, praised Ruben Amorim’s unwavering effort to raise standards in the dressing room, claiming that the atmosphere was “quite toxic” at times.
Amorim demanded more from the squad when he took over United, which was struggling in November. In addition, he froze out important players like Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford, who were among the team’s five players looking to leave in the offseason.
In an interview with the BBC that was made available on Wednesday, Shaw, a United player since 2014, said, “A lot of the time I’ve been here over the last few years it’s been extremely negative.”
It can be incredibly toxic, she says. The environment is absolutely unhealthy. We require a healthy, positive, and positive environment with good energy and joy. You feel more free and more self-expression-filled when you have all those things.
Ruben “presents demands.” A lot of people have bad habits. He discusses it extensively. He demands nothing less than the absolute highest standard. It’s insufficient if someone is achieving an 85 to 90 percent. If you don’t do the right thing, you won’t play, especially this year, in my opinion.
Luke Shaw, center, left Manchester United in 2014, one year after the club won its final Premier League title. [Jason Cairnduff/Reuters]
Amorim was unyielding when he questioned Rashford’s work rate and said he preferred to have the goalkeeper coach than a sluggish starter.
Garnacho has been linked with a move to Chelsea or Aston Villa, despite reports in the British media that Rashford has signed for Barcelona on loan.
The manager doesn’t bother, the manager. He is unconcerned with the player’s identity. That is the way it ought to be. We must deliver whatever he wants, and we are fully committed to that, according to Shaw.
Hansie Cronje, a stricken figure, was crumpled on the floor in an Edwardian building’s wood-panelled annex in Cape Town.
Away from the flashbulbs, and the media feeding frenzy, in the bowels of the Centre of the Book in the city’s legal district, the exhausted former South Africa cricket captain, clad in a charcoal suit, had collapsed in tears.
His brothers Frans and Ewie tried to comfort him. Hansie had just given evidence to the King Commission – the inquiry charged with investigating match-fixing allegations in cricket of which he was at the centre.
After his shocking death in a plane crash, Hansie’s funeral would feature both Ewie and Frans as pallbearers just under two years later.
It is now 25 years since Cronje’s life was turned upside down, and cricket was thrown into crisis, by a scandal which rocked the sport.
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The ‘ tight git ‘ close to Mandela
Wessel Johannes “Hanssie” Cronje was born in Bloemfontein to a wealthy, deeply Christian family.
Cronje was educated at the prestigious Grey College where he was head boy, captained the school in both rugby and cricket, and was earmarked for great things.
Allan Donald, a childhood friend of Cronje and a student at the same city’s Technical High School, claimed that Hansie was a “deep thinker” who had “leadership qualities all over him” even as a teenager.
Cronje was appointed Orange Free State captain aged 21 and the batting all-rounder soon became a part of the post-apartheid South Africa team which re-emerged on the international stage.
In 1994, he was appointed Proteas captain, and his astute tactics and assured demeanor gave him a statesmanlike air as he transformed the team into a formidable international force.
Cronje also forged a close personal relationship with president Nelson Mandela.
Cronje was one of the Afrikaner politicians who filled the vacuum when they started to fade from view.
Mandela singled out Cronje in 1996 for the “excellent manner” in which he “led the national team” at a time when “sport had played a role in uniting our country”.
A persona like Cronje had a transcendence beyond cricket.
Former England batter Mark Butcher recalled Cronje was “incredibly personable, very charismatic, pretty humble and had a sense of humour” off the field.
Cronje had a darker side, though. Especially when it came to money.
Cronje was a sponsors’ dream, and the endorsements flowed. She was attractive and very approachable. Yet Donald said Cronje was a “tight git” when it came to things as simple as buying post-match drinks.
However, Cronje’s frugality did not just stop at a round in. It bordered on the obsessive.
As part of a sponsorship deal with Puma, he would receive free clothing and equipment, but he would instead sell any unused items to younger players for nothing.
Getty Images
‘ A struggle to actually say no to him ‘
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Cronje was also one of the most approachable cricket captains in the world, and he frequently received calls from people, especially while he was on tour in South Asia.
The rest of the South Africa squad would roll their eyes when yet another stranger would walk in for a meeting with him.
It sparked conversations with dishonest individuals. In particular those involved with betting, and there was an early portent of what was to come in 1996.
Before a one-off international game between South Africa and India, which was scheduled to come to an end of a Test tour as a benefit for Mohinder Amarnath, Cronje convened a meeting in their Mumbai hotel to take into consideration an offer for $25,000 to play the match.
It was rejected, but it showed how secure Cronje was in his position.
According to South African journalist Neil Manthorp, “bringing it up in a team meeting demonstrated the power and untouchability he felt.”
Fast forward to Nagpur in 2000, Cronje attempted to coerce South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs and seam bowler Henry Williams into spot-fixing offences.
Both men agreed, but they later failed to follow the instructions.
“I always found it a struggle to actually say ‘ no ‘ to him, you know”? reflected Gibbs
“He was regarded in such high esteem and respected so much, and I never once thought of the consequences”.
Although neither Williams nor Gibbs were white players, those who know Cronje refute any claims that it was racist.
Still, how was Cronje able to manipulate his team-mates with such ease? Manthorp claimed that “very few people were standing up to him” and that he was on an “elevated platform.”
“Hansie had quite a temper. He had, in my opinion, grown accustomed to being questioned, he continued.
The most infamous of Cronje’s dealings with bookmakers came during the rain-affected fifth Test between South Africa and England at Centurion Park in early 2000.
Cronje created an unprecedented innings forfeiture for both sides as a result after the Proteas resumed their first innings on the fifth day, prompting a bookie named Marlon Aronstam.
England captain Nasser Hussain later compared his agreement with Cronje over what target his side would chase to the haggle scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian – Cronje immediately accepted the figure Hussain asked for.
Even if it didn’t quite resonate with everyone, Cronje’s creative approach to produce a result on what otherwise would have been a dead-end day of a Test was largely praised.
“After the initial celebrations I realised I did not experience the usual euphoria that would follow a Test win”, said Butcher.
“It didn’t feel like we’d earned it,” I said almost immediately.
Michael Holding, covering the match for Sky Sports, received “tons of phone calls and letters” over something he said on air during a commentary stint, having smelt a rat.
Holding said, “I promised that people would start talking about bookmakers” if this game were being played on the Indian subcontinent.
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Confession, cross-examination and death
Cronje’s and South African cricket officials’ denials and wider disbelief were sparked when Delhi police released transcripts of conversations that were captured in early April 2000.
Cronje was initially identified in the calls by a quirk of fate.
The deputy commissioner of Delhi’s crime department, Pradeep Srivastava, had been gathering tapes from his time working on extortion cases.
One of Srivastava’s children had listened to a wire-tap cassette, left in the home hi-fi system, and asked his father why he had a recording of Cronje’s voice.
Srivastava’s son recognized Cronje’s voice after watching a post-match interview with him on Indian television the day before.
With the net closing, Cronje came clean.
In a Durban hotel where the pair were staying at 3 a.m. on April 11, 2000, he confessed to Rory Steyn, a South African security consultant working for the Australia cricket team.
“I walked into his suite and all the lights were on”, Steyn remembered.
You might have guessed, but some of the things being said against me are actually true, he said in a handwritten document.
A couple of months later, Cronje attended the King Commission where he was offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for full disclosure.
Cronje shared his side of the story during the three days of cross-examinations that spanned South Africa and the cricket world.
Or at least some of it, given the input of his own lawyers.
He acknowledged accepting large sums of money, as well as giving his wife Bertha a leather jacket in exchange for providing information to bookmakers and enlisting his teammates in poor football.
But he claimed South Africa had never “thrown” or “fixed” a match under his captaincy.
I apologise to my wife, family, and especially my team-mates during a somewhat robotic reading of a 45-minute opening statement.
Cronje was banned from cricket for life, unsuccessfully challenging the suspension.
When Cronje passed away in a plane crash in June 2002, further investigations into the truth of what he claimed during the inquiry were stopped.
Cronje had boarded a small cargo aircraft in Johannesburg which went down in mountainous terrain amid poor weather conditions while attempting to land at George airport.
Cronje was visiting his wife at their home close to Fancourt Estate, a posh golf resort, when he was a manager of an account for a company that manufactures heavy-duty construction equipment at the time.
His death was put down to weather, pilot error and possible instrument failure, but nevertheless prompted conspiracy theories.
Former South Africa international Clive Rice, who played three ODIs for the country, attributed Cronje’s passing to Bob Woolmer, the former coach of South Africa, who passed away in the same year.
“Certain people needed him]Cronje] out. It didn’t matter whether one, two, or fifteen people were going to pass away, according to Rice, who passed away in 2015.
“Hansie was the one that was going to have to go and if they could cover it up as a plane crash then that was fine”.
Even Cronje himself had a spooky understanding of the possibility of “die in a plane crash” as a result of “constant travel by air” in speeches and articles.
Ed Hawkins, a specialist betting investigative journalist, dismissed the notion that bookmakers were somehow behind the incident.
“I’ve never found any information that was really worth my time or effort to conduct a thorough investigation,” Hawkins said.
Cronje’s complex legacy
Getty Images
Cronje’s ashes were placed in a memorial at his beloved Grey College.
Since the former South Africa captain’s thorny relationship with bookmakers was exposed, a generation has passed, but his legacy is still complex.
His death at the age of 32 meant he was denied an opportunity at redemption within a sport he felt so connected to.
His story might have been different if some Cronje had been vulnerable and had the anti-corruption measures in place had been in place.
“In a moment of stupidity and weakness”, Cronje himself said, “I allowed Satan to dictate terms to me rather than the Lord”.
After the King Commission, Cronje’s life path had changed for the better, according to those close to him.
Cronje’s brother Frans was the producer of a film based on Hansie in 2008 which portrayed the ex- South Africa skipper in a sympathetic light.
A young black boy is seen fixing a poster of Hansie back together in a scene in the movie.
It was a metaphor for the national psyche which, post-apartheid, makes it “a lot easier for people to forgive” in South Africa according to Frans.
However, Professor Tim Noakes, a sports scientist who served with the South African team in the 1990s, went as far as calling Cronje a “psychopath.”
“He fitted the characteristics and it’s no remorse, no conscience”, he said.
I just saw enough proof for it in this man, despite the fact that I am aware that you cannot diagnose someone without having thoroughly examined them.
The currency Cronje should have been remembered for was the number of runs he scored as an inspirational captain, rather than deposits in bank accounts in his name in the Cayman Islands.
“I don’t believe he was evil,” he said. I think that’s far, far too strong a word”, said Manthorp.
“I do believe he manipulated things well.” I think that he was acutely aware of the power and influence that he had”.
It may be even more difficult to separate the man from the crimes for those outside the country, especially in a sport like cricket, where the expected moral compass is.
“I think that Hansie is a villain in this story”, Butcher added. He may not be ass=”ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2″>the villain, but he is undoubtedly one.
Hansie Cronje, a stricken figure, was crumpled on the floor in an Edwardian building’s wood-panelled annex in Cape Town.
Away from the flashbulbs, and the media feeding frenzy, in the bowels of the Centre of the Book in the city’s legal district, the exhausted former South Africa cricket captain, clad in a charcoal suit, had collapsed in tears.
His brothers Frans and Ewie tried to comfort him. Hansie had just given evidence to the King Commission – the inquiry charged with investigating match-fixing allegations in cricket of which he was at the centre.
After his shocking death in a plane crash, Hansie’s funeral would feature both Ewie and Frans as pallbearers just under two years later.
It is now 25 years since Cronje’s life was turned upside down, and cricket was thrown into crisis, by a scandal which rocked the sport.
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The ‘ tight git ‘ close to Mandela
Wessel Johannes “Hanssie” Cronje was born in Bloemfontein to a wealthy, deeply Christian family.
Cronje was educated at the prestigious Grey College where he was head boy, captained the school in both rugby and cricket, and was earmarked for great things.
Allan Donald, a childhood friend of Cronje and a student at the same city’s Technical High School, claimed that Hansie was a “deep thinker” who had “leadership qualities all over him” even as a teenager.
Cronje was appointed Orange Free State captain aged 21 and the batting all-rounder soon became a part of the post-apartheid South Africa team which re-emerged on the international stage.
In 1994, he was appointed Proteas captain, and his astute tactics and assured demeanor gave him a statesmanlike air as he transformed the team into a formidable international force.
Cronje also forged a close personal relationship with president Nelson Mandela.
Cronje was one of the Afrikaner politicians who filled the vacuum when they started to fade from view.
Mandela singled out Cronje in 1996 for the “excellent manner” in which he “led the national team” at a time when “sport had played a role in uniting our country”.
A persona like Cronje had a transcendence beyond cricket.
Former England batter Mark Butcher recalled Cronje was “incredibly personable, very charismatic, pretty humble and had a sense of humour” off the field.
Cronje had a darker side, though. Especially when it came to money.
Cronje was a sponsors’ dream, and the endorsements flowed. She was attractive and very approachable. Yet Donald said Cronje was a “tight git” when it came to things as simple as buying post-match drinks.
However, Cronje’s frugality did not just stop at a round in. It bordered on the obsessive.
As part of a sponsorship deal with Puma, he would receive free clothing and equipment, but he would instead sell any unused items to younger players for nothing.
Getty Images
‘ A struggle to actually say no to him ‘
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Cronje was also one of the most approachable cricket captains in the world, and he frequently received calls from people, especially while he was on tour in South Asia.
The rest of the South Africa squad would roll their eyes when yet another stranger would walk in for a meeting with him.
It sparked conversations with dishonest individuals. In particular those involved with betting, and there was an early portent of what was to come in 1996.
Before a one-off international game between South Africa and India, which was scheduled to come to an end of a Test tour as a benefit for Mohinder Amarnath, Cronje convened a meeting in their Mumbai hotel to take into consideration an offer for $25,000 to play the match.
It was rejected, but it showed how secure Cronje was in his position.
According to South African journalist Neil Manthorp, “bringing it up in a team meeting demonstrated the power and untouchability he felt.”
Fast forward to Nagpur in 2000, Cronje attempted to coerce South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs and seam bowler Henry Williams into spot-fixing offences.
Both men agreed, but they later failed to follow the instructions.
“I always found it a struggle to actually say ‘ no ‘ to him, you know”? reflected Gibbs
“He was regarded in such high esteem and respected so much, and I never once thought of the consequences”.
Although neither Williams nor Gibbs were white players, those who know Cronje refute any claims that it was racist.
Still, how was Cronje able to manipulate his team-mates with such ease? Manthorp claimed that “very few people were standing up to him” and that he was on an “elevated platform.”
“Hansie had quite a temper. He had, in my opinion, grown accustomed to being questioned, he continued.
The most infamous of Cronje’s dealings with bookmakers came during the rain-affected fifth Test between South Africa and England at Centurion Park in early 2000.
Cronje created an unprecedented innings forfeiture for both sides as a result after the Proteas resumed their first innings on the fifth day, prompting a bookie named Marlon Aronstam.
England captain Nasser Hussain later compared his agreement with Cronje over what target his side would chase to the haggle scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian – Cronje immediately accepted the figure Hussain asked for.
Even if it didn’t quite resonate with everyone, Cronje’s creative approach to produce a result on what otherwise would have been a dead-end day of a Test was largely praised.
“After the initial celebrations I realised I did not experience the usual euphoria that would follow a Test win”, said Butcher.
“It didn’t feel like we’d earned it,” I said almost immediately.
Michael Holding, covering the match for Sky Sports, received “tons of phone calls and letters” over something he said on air during a commentary stint, having smelt a rat.
Holding said, “I promised that people would start talking about bookmakers” if this game were being played on the Indian subcontinent.
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Confession, cross-examination and death
Cronje’s and South African cricket officials’ denials and wider disbelief were sparked when Delhi police released transcripts of conversations that were captured in early April 2000.
Cronje was initially identified in the calls by a quirk of fate.
The deputy commissioner of Delhi’s crime department, Pradeep Srivastava, had been gathering tapes from his time working on extortion cases.
One of Srivastava’s children had listened to a wire-tap cassette, left in the home hi-fi system, and asked his father why he had a recording of Cronje’s voice.
Srivastava’s son recognized Cronje’s voice after watching a post-match interview with him on Indian television the day before.
With the net closing, Cronje came clean.
In a Durban hotel where the pair were staying at 3 a.m. on April 11, 2000, he confessed to Rory Steyn, a South African security consultant working for the Australia cricket team.
“I walked into his suite and all the lights were on”, Steyn remembered.
You might have guessed, but some of the things being said against me are actually true, he said in a handwritten document.
A month later, Cronje attended the King Commission where he was offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for full disclosure.
Cronje shared his side of the story during the three days of cross-examinations that spanned South Africa and the cricket world.
Or at least some of it, given the input of his own lawyers.
He acknowledged accepting large sums of money, as well as giving his wife Bertha a leather jacket in exchange for providing information to bookmakers and enlisting his teammates in poor football.
But he claimed South Africa had never “thrown” or “fixed” a match under his captaincy.
I apologise to my wife, family, and especially my team-mates during a somewhat robotic reading of a 45-minute opening statement.
Cronje was banned from cricket for life, unsuccessfully challenging the suspension.
When Cronje passed away in a plane crash in June 2002, further investigations into the truth of what he claimed during the inquiry were stopped.
Cronje had boarded a small cargo aircraft in Johannesburg which went down in mountainous terrain amid poor weather conditions while attempting to land at George airport.
Cronje was visiting his wife at their home close to Fancourt Estate, a posh golf resort, when he was a manager of an account for a company that manufactures heavy-duty construction equipment at the time.
His death was put down to weather, pilot error and possible instrument failure, but nevertheless prompted conspiracy theories.
Former South Africa international Clive Rice, who played three ODIs for the country, attributed Cronje’s passing to Bob Woolmer, the former coach of South Africa, who passed away in the same year.
“Certain people needed him]Cronje] out. It didn’t matter whether one, two, or fifteen people were going to pass away, according to Rice, who passed away in 2015.
“Hansie was the one that was going to have to go and if they could cover it up as a plane crash then that was fine”.
Even Cronje himself had a spooky understanding of the possibility of “die in a plane crash” as a result of “constant travel by air” in speeches and articles.
Ed Hawkins, a specialist betting investigative journalist, dismissed the notion that bookmakers were somehow behind the incident.
“I’ve never found any information that was really worth my time or effort to conduct a thorough investigation,” Hawkins said.
Cronje’s complex legacy
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Cronje’s ashes were placed in a memorial at his beloved Grey College.
Since the former South Africa captain’s thorny relationship with bookmakers was exposed, a generation has passed, but his legacy is still complex.
His death at the age of 32 meant he was denied an opportunity at redemption within a sport he felt so connected to.
His story might have been different if some Cronje had been vulnerable and had the anti-corruption measures in place had been in place.
“In a moment of stupidity and weakness”, Cronje himself said, “I allowed Satan to dictate terms to me rather than the Lord”.
After the King Commission, Cronje’s life path had changed for the better, according to those close to him.
Cronje’s brother Frans was the producer of a film based on Hansie in 2008 which portrayed the ex- South Africa skipper in a sympathetic light.
A young black boy is seen fixing a poster of Hansie back together in a scene in the movie.
It was a metaphor for the national psyche which, post-apartheid, makes it “a lot easier for people to forgive” in South Africa according to Frans.
However, Professor Tim Noakes, a sports scientist who served with the South African team in the 1990s, went as far as calling Cronje a “psychopath.”
“He fitted the characteristics and it’s no remorse, no conscience”, he said.
I just saw enough proof for it in this man, despite the fact that I am aware that you cannot diagnose someone without having thoroughly examined them.
The currency Cronje should have been remembered for was the number of runs he scored as an inspirational captain, rather than deposits in bank accounts in his name in the Cayman Islands.
“I don’t believe he was evil,” he said. I think that’s far, far too strong a word”, said Manthorp.
“I do believe he manipulated things well.” I think that he was acutely aware of the power and influence that he had”.
It may be even more difficult to separate the man from the crimes for those outside the country, especially in a sport like cricket, where the expected moral compass is.
“I think that Hansie is a villain in this story”, Butcher added. He may not be ass=”ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2″>the villain, but he is undoubtedly one.
