Memories of Cronje tainted by scandal

CRICKET: Hansie Cronje's death has provoked little sympathy from a cricketing community still facing the consequences of his deception and the match-fixing scandal that tainted the sport.

Former England coach David Lloyd's reaction that "regrettably, he will go down as the man who disgraced cricket", was typical once news filtered through that he had died in a plane crash in South Africa on Saturday morning.

Ian Botham was similarly reluctant to forgive Cronje's role in the furore, claiming: "It's a pity he will be remembered for all the bad things he did and not the good things in cricket."

Since the revelations from the Delhi police that Cronje had played a leading role in the controversy two years ago and subsequently received a life ban from the United Cricket Board of South Africa, Cronje has been largely regarded as an outcast within cricket.

He was shunned for the majority of his final years even by close team-mates within the South African team, many of whom were shocked by his admission that he had attempted to persuade Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams to influence the result of matches at the bequest of corrupt bookmakers.

EQUESTRIAN NEWS: The international action at home may have been wiped out, with the Blarney Castle three-day event falling victim to the weather, but Irish riders were doing plenty of winning abroad over the weekend, writes Grania Willis.

Heike Holstein, who was Ireland's lone representative in the dressage at the Sydney Olympics, earned her qualifying slot for this year's World Equestrian Games when winning the consolation Grand Prix in Barzago, Italy yesterday.

Holstein and Welt Adel scored a mark of 63.44 per cent to claim the class and, as this was the pair's second time to earn over 60 per cent in front of Olympic level judges, it gives them automatic qualification for the world games in Jerez, Spain, in September. Holstein's second horse Burgfraulein was sixth in the intermediate freestyle with 65 per cent.

The Irish were also to the fore at the British pony event championships at Sansaw Park in Shropshire, where Sarah Glynn claimed the honours on Aero Flyer. The 14-year-old north Co Dublin rider took over the pony at the end of last season after her brother Robert had ridden it to a best-of-the-Irish fifth at the 2001 European pony championships.

Glynn's compatriots also fared well, with three others featured in the top 10 - Benedict Kuhnle and Yogi Bear were less than five points adrift of the winners in sixth, one point clear of seventh- placed Colm Keenan and Mullacash Tammy. Sharon Reilly and Inspector Morse slotted into ninth.

ATHLETICS: Claire Bergin from Muckross was among the stars at the Irish Schools' Athletics Championships in Tullamore on Saturday, pulling off a sprint double and adding her name to the record books.

Though Bergin broke two records, only one will stand as the wind was fractionally over the permitted limit when she won the senior girls' 200 metres in an impressive 23.65 seconds to smash Ciara Sheehy's four-year-old record of 24.06.

Paul Gill from Edenderry also broke one of the longest-standing records, winning the inter boys event in 22.01seconds to break the 22.2 mark set 26 year ago.