'Poor judgment' costs Cronje R2m a year

The financial implications of the transgression by cricket captain Hansie Cronje are enormous, with his estimated annual income of around R2-million having been immediately cut off following his shock admission on Tuesday.

A chastened Cronje on Tuesday admitted to United Cricket Board of South Africa managing director Ali Bacher that he had not been totally honest during the press conferences following allegations of match-fixing.

He also acknowledged he had accepted "between US$10 000 (about R66 000) and $15 000" for reasons not disclosed at the conference.

His UCBSA contract was suspended with immediate effect and Bacher disclosed it would not be renewed when the new agreements are drawn up at the end of this month.

As an A category player and captain of the team, Cronje's monthly salary was R28 725 (including a provincial fee).

For each Test match Cronje played in in the past summer, he received a match fee of R13 000 and an additional R13 000 if South Africa won.

There were always substantial bonuses for series wins and those that were shared, and South Africa were memorably paid their series win bonuses despite losing 2-1 to England in 1998 when Pakistani umpire Javed Akhtar made a number of questionable decisions in the final match of the five-game series at Headingley.

For each of the one-dayers he played in this past summer, Cronje would have received R4 335 from the UCBSA, with an additional win bonus of R1 445. Once again, there were substantial bonuses for series victories from both the sponsors and the board.

While that already amounts to a sizeable income, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Being such a high profile sportsman, Cronje would have had lucrative personal endorsement contracts. He was also a sought after motivational speaker and sportsmen can command a fee of up to R10 000 an engagement.

Although he was eventually talked into withdrawing from the deal by the UCBSA, Cronje had a six-figure contract lined up to coach Glamorgan during the coming English summer.

Another door that has been firmly shut in his face is a possible career in the media. Many former internationals have become broadcasters or journalists after retirement.