The life of South Africa's disgraced former hero

The legacy of Hansie Cronje will remain with cricket for years to come and he will ultimately be remembered for the match-fixing allegations which rocked the sport to its core. His achievements on the field as one of the leading players of his generation were wiped away by the scandal and surrounding furore.

However, before Cronje was dragged into the murky underworld of back-street bookmakers and brown envelopes stuffed with cash, he was regarded as not only a great player but also as one of the game's gentlemen.

He was born in 1969 in Bloemfontein in South Africa and made his first-class debut for Orange Free State in Johannesburg in 1987.

He made his test debut in 1992 against the West Indies, and was appointed South African captain in 1994, aged 25. In 1995 he started playing in the English county championship for Leicestershire, scoring 1,301runs

In 1996 he led South Africa to a victory against England in their first five Test series since returning to world cricket after apartheid.

In England in January 2000, South Africa lost the rain-affected fifth and final Test, ending a 14-match unbeaten run. Cronje and Nasser Hussain agree that both teams would forfeit an innings in order to keep a dead rubber alive. Purists of the game were horrified, but most people agreed that it was an act of unquestionable sportsmanship by both captains.

Only two months later, Cronje's integrity was brought into question when he was charged with match-fixing by Indian police after a one-day series in March. Following this he was dropped form the one day series against Australia after admitting to not being "entirely honest" in his denials.

In May and June of the same year he famously told the King commission investigating the match-fixing allegations that he had "tried to live a Christian life and walk the way the Lord wanted me to walk... I allowed Satan and the world to dictate terms to me."

He admitted that he had offered team-mates Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams bribes of $15,000 to under perform in a one day match against India, and that he had accepted about $130,000 from bookmakers over a four-year period. However, he continued to deny that he had ever thrown a match.

At the end of the 10-day hearing, Cronje had failed to convince the public that he was genuinely sorry for what he had done, and the man who had been a sporting hero became a national disgrace.

He was eventually banned for life by the United Cricket Board of South Africa after playing 68 tests, making 3,714 runs and playing 188 one-day internationals.

In early 2001 he launched a court bid to overturn the life ban, stating that he had no desire to to play again but wished to renew links with the sport. He said that he would like to coach South Africa one day. and that he was frustrated by the ban because he wanted to coach children and help them buy equipment "especially in the rural townships".

In October last year, the Pretoria High Court threw out Cronje's appeal and ruled that the life ban from cricket will stay in place. However, it said that Cronje could take part in coaching and media activities.

In February of this year he was appointed as a financial manager by a company listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange.

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