The Johannesburg bookmaker's go-between Hamid Cassim repeatedly telephoned several South African players during last winter's triangular tournament involving England and Zimbabwe, the King Commission in south Africa has revealed.
According to evidence presented to the inquiry in Cape Town, "Banjo" Cassim rang Daryll Cullinan 33 times, with the batsman twice returning his call. He placed 30 calls to Paul Adams, 28 to Lance Klusener, 11 to Jonty Rhodes, six to Fanie de Villiers, three to Shaun Pollock and 18 to the team manager Goolam Rajah - none of whom had previously been implicated in match-fixing. Herschelle Gibbs received 14 calls and rang Cassim three times.
Judge Edwin King adjourned the inquiry yesterday. But the latest revelations are likely to see Cullinan, Gibbs and others take the stand when the inquiry reopens, probably in three months.
The commission also heard that Cassim rang Hansie Cronje 180 times, with the former captain returning his call on 11 occasions. But Cassim, who introduced Cronje to the London-based bookmaker Sanjay Chawla, denied any involvement in match-fixing. "It is my nature to phone all the players all the time," he said.
The former commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Paul Condon, has been appointed as the first director of the International Cricket Council's independent Anti-Corruption Investigation.
