Hansie Cronje

Life Story

Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer (all-rounder) and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s.Born in Bloemfontein, he matriculated in 1987 from the prestigious Grey College school in Bloemfontein. An excellent all round sportsman, he represented the then Orange Free State in cricket and rugby at schools level. He made his first class debut playing for Orange Free State against Transvaal at Johannesburg in 1987/1988 at the age of 18. He made his Test debut against West Indies at Bridgetown in 1991 and one-day international debut against Australia at Sydney in the 1992 cricket World Cup soon after the ban on South Africa was lifted. (South Africa was banned from international cricket in 1970 for the apartheid policies followed by the government.)