I still remember the moment I heard that former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje had been implicated in match-fixing.
It was unbelievable. Here was a squeaky clean cricketer exposed as a cheat. I was working as news editor at Business Day, one of the top daily newspapers in Johannesburg,when the news first came out of India that there were allegations that Cronje had been fixing matches.
At first many people scoffed at the reports. However, as the hours wore on, it became clear that they were credible. Given that it was a massive story in South Africa, we cleared the first six pages of the paper and set a team of reporters on the story. It was one of those days that you live for as a journalist and the proof of the job we had done was in the excellent paper that appeared on the streets the next day.
I have been thinking about that day this week in the wake of the news that New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent has been banned for life from all forms of cricket after admitting to match-fixing. The England and Wales Cricket Board ban bars him from playing, coaching or participating in any cricket recognised by the International Cricket Council or its member countries.
Once again cricket has been tarnished. But, here's the thing, I don't think we should give up on the game. Sure, some cricketers cheat, just like many cyclists in the Tour de France have doped over the years. It is even okay to be cynical when teams achieve unbelievable results, but it is important to remember that it is not the sport that is bad, just some of the participants.
