BLOEMFONTEIN (South Africa), June 5: South Africans remembered only the best of Hansie Cronje Wednesday as they buried the disgraced cricket legend who died in a weekend plane crash.

Former team mates, family, politicians and fans gathered in Cronje’s home town to pay tribute to the 32-year-old who was expelled from cricket two years ago for his role in a match-fixing scandal that shocked his sports-mad country.

“For the past two years I wanted to shout out, explain to people that even though Hansie made a mistake he was still the same Hansie...an honourable man,” his widow Bertha told 2,500 mourners in Bloemfontein.

“Over the last couple of days I’ve come to realise nobody forgot the special qualities that I knew he had,” the petite blonde said at the two-hour ceremony, broadcast live by South African television channels.

Cronje and two South African pilots died Saturday when their cargo plane slammed into a mountain near the resort town of George in bad weather.

A devout Christian with dazzling skills on the field, Cronje stunned the cricket world in 2000 when he admitted he had accepted about $130,000 from bookmakers to influence the course of matches. He was banned for life.

“He never got forgiveness before he died, but in Bloemfontein the feeling has definitely changed,” said Johannes Steenkamp, Cronje’s former teacher.

The congregation sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” as seven family members bore the coffin from the assembly hall at Cronje’s former high school, Grey College.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, chairman of the country’s ruling African National Congress, headed the government delegation.

Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour and former South African cricketers Pat Symcox and Allan Donald were among the mourners with veteran England international Bob Woolmer, the South African coach during Cronje’s captaincy.

Current South African captain Shaun Pollock, who flew in for the funeral from England, recalled his friendship with Cronje.

“Hansie had a profound and positive impact on the careers of his South African cricket teammates...we’ll miss you,” Pollock said.

Bouquets of flowers were strewn at the entrance to the 147-year-old college and schoolboys in striped blue blazers lined up to form a guard of honour as the casket left the hall.

“You have to look at all of the positives he made in South African cricket and not the mistakes,” said Gerald Majola, chief executive of the United Cricket Board of South Africa which banned Cronje.

The Cronje family initially told UCB executives they would not be welcome at the funeral. But his widow later allowed them to attend, saying that was what her husband would have wanted.

State broadcaster SABC said it had been “inundated” with letters and e-mails of support for Cronje’s family.

The South African parliament lauded Cronje’s achievements and called his death “a Greek tragedy”.

Cronje’s father, Ewie, told SABC TV on Wednesday his son had been rebuilding his life at the time of his death. In February, Cronje was appointed as a financial manager by a company listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange.

“He enjoyed (his new work)...His mood was so much better,” his father said.

“Hansie is still our hero. He achieved so many things. I felt terrible when I heard the news, I felt like I lost my own son,” Steenkamp said.

Shattered by the fall from grace of a national sporting hero who displayed dazzling skills on the pitch, Cronje was given strongly attacked at the height of the match-fixing scandal.

But his tragic death at a young age has placed South Africa’s notoriously fickle sports fans in a forgiving mood. Most media tributes to him have been gushing in their praise for the former sports hero.—Reuters