Gibbs says he was offered money to play below par

Manish Kumar & Brajesh Kumar

NEW DELHI: Six years after the match-fixing scandal was unearthed, South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs finally appeared before the Delhi police for interrogation on Thursday and confessed to receiving an offer to underperform in 2000 from then captain Hansie Cronje.

Much to his team’s relief, the opener will not face any action during the Champions Trophy, but he may be asked to present himself before the police again.

Gibbs said the first offer was made to the entire team in 1996 and was rejected. The second, made by Cronje during the 2000 series in India, required Gibbs to score not more than 20 runs. But he went on to score 74 and later told the Kings Commission in South Africa that he had forgotten the deal.

Gibbs was questioned for two hours by a team led by Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Ranjit Narayan. Narayan later said, “This makes him a partner in conspiracy with Cronje.”

Gibbs told police that Nicky Boje, Pieter Strydom, Henry Williams, and Derek Crookes were also involved in the scandal. He did not name any Indian player.