Death of Hansie Cronje

Leading figures in South African cricket will gather in Bloemfontein on Wednesday for the funeral of Hansie Cronje.

The 32-year-old former captain of the national team died in a plane crash in mountains near the city of George on Saturday.

Among those attending service at Cronje's old school, Grey College, will be former team-mates including current skipper Shaun Pollock, given leave by county side Warwickshire.

Former United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) head and now executive director of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Dr Ali Bacher, also said he would be there.

But there has been controversy over whether other South African officials would be allowed to attend the funeral, beginning at 1300 BST.

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South African sports Minister Ngconde Balfour and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota are among several thousands expected to pay their last respects to former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje at funeral services in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The Bloemfontein service, which is being held at Grey College, is scheduled to start at 2pm.

In Johannesburg, Rhema Church spokesperson Pastor Ron Steele said his associate, Pastor Ray McCauley, would hold a simultaneous service in the church's auditorium in Randburg.

"Hansie was never a member of Rhema, but the whole cricket team had ties with us," Steele said.

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Ali Bacher said on Tuesday morning that he would definitely be at Hansie Cronje's funeral in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, United Cricket Board president Gerald Majola will also be there - although he says he is aware of the veiled threats and the lawyer's letter asking the UCB and its executives not to attend.

"I am going to the funeral to pay my last respects. I owe it to him (Hansie). If anything happens, it happens."

The letter sent to the UCB, from a Bloemfontein-based firm of attorneys, Israel and Sackstein, was addressed to Majola and purported to be acting on behalf of Cronje's widow and family.

Sri Lanka in England

England coach Duncan Fletcher has hinted that Glamorgan paceman Simon Jones may be given his first taste of international cricket in the Old Trafford Test against Sri Lanka.

Jones was included in the squad for the second Test at Edgbaston, but failed to make the final eleven.

He will have a chance to impress the selectors, however, when he plays for the MCC in a four-day game against the tourists, which starts at Chesterfield on Thursday.

England believe the 23-year-old's sheer pace could be useful in Australia this winter, but might be reluctant to take him on tour without a single Test appearance behind him.

"Once again there are important decisions to make and at some stage we've got to have a look at Jones," said Fletcher.

Pakistan's tour of Australia

Middle-order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq has been forced to withdraw from the Pakistan squad on the eve of their departure for Australia after contracting hepatitis.

Misbah was included in the 14-man squad to play three limited-overs internationals in Australia this month but contracted hepatitis during the short conditioning camp in Lahore.

Chief selector Wasim Bari said the decision not to call up a replacement had been taken after proper consultation and it was felt that allrounder Shoaib Malik could fill the gap as he has been batting well recently.

The Pakistanis left on Tuesday for Melbourne where they play two indoor matches on June 12 and 15 followed by a day match in Brisbane on June 19.

Miscellaneous

Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan has reportedly expressed his unwillingness to tour Australia later this year.

Australia remains the only country where the off-spinner has been called for throwing, in both 1995 and 1998.

"We've heard through others that he doesn't want to go there," The Associated Press quoted a senior Sri Lankan official as saying on the condition of anonymity. "We can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to.

"The World Cup is around the corner and we don't want any unwanted distractions."

Sri Lanka will join Australia and England in the annual one-day triangular series before the World Cup, which begins in South Africa in February, but they will not play a Test series.

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Bob Woolmer has unexpectedly revealed his interest in coaching South Africa on a short-term basis. The position became available after the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) announced they had sacked Graham Ford on the day Hansie Cronje was killed in a plane crash.

Ford guided South Africa to seven series wins after taking over from Woolmer in 1999 and had been contracted until after next year's World Cup, which South Africa will host.

But Woolmer, whose contract as Warwickshire's director of coaching is up for renewal at the end of the current season, would not object to being invited to have his old job back on a short-term basis.

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The Australian Cricket Board has been embarrassed by the honesty of its players, hindering delicate negotiations over future tours with Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The candour with which Australia's senior core of players dismissed travelling to Pakistan later this year after a bombing forced the immediate cancellation of New Zealand's tour last month, and Adam Gilchrist's recent comments about Muttiah Muralitharan's suspect bowling action, have prompted outrage in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This has forced the ACB into frantic diplomacy as it attempts to make the best of difficult situations with both countries.

The most immediate priority was to ensure that Pakistan honour their commitment to play the three-match one-day series in Melbourne and Brisbane later this month.

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Although his name crops up continually as a possible replacement for Graham Ford, Kepler Wessels insists that he has heard nothing from the United Cricket Board of South Africa.

And, even if he is approached, Wessels is not at all certain whether he is interested in taking up the position of national cricket coach.

Ford was axed on Saturday along with physiotherapist Craig Smith. They, like former convenor of selectors Rushdie Magiet, have been made the scapegoats for the terrible drubbing South Africa suffered at the hands of the world champion Australians this past summer.

"I've had no contact with the United Cricket Board whatsoever," Wessels said on Monday. "The other thing is that I have a contract with Supersport and with Eastern Province and both contracts are in the initial stages. So, with that in mind, I don't think it's really an issue. I'd be loath to let down Supersport and EP."

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