Everybody welcome, says Hansie's widow
2002-06-04 14:51
Cape Town - Bertha Cronje, widow of former cricket captain Hansie Cronje who died in a plane crash at the weekend, says everybody who wants to attend her husband's funeral will be welcome, because that would have been "Hansie's wish".
Bertha, who has kept a very low profile since her husband's death, came forward on Tuesday to make her wishes known regarding his funeral.
Louise Klopper, MD of the PR company contracted to oversee the funeral arrangements, said Bertha had requested "a lot of roses" for the funeral service, because her husband had been particularly fond of them.
Klopper said the Cronje family would say their final goodbyes to Hansie Cronje at a private cremation ceremony some time after the funeral.
"They are heartbroken and obviously need to grieve privately. We hope people will respect this," she said.
Sackstein's fax overturned
Bertha's letter overturned a letter faxed to the United Cricket Board on Monday by the Cronje's attorney Leslie Sackstein, on behalf of Cronje's parents, barring members of the board from the funeral.
Her letter stated that everybody who wanted to attend would be welcome at the funeral, because that would have been "Hansie's wish".
Several members of the UCB have indicated that they planned to attend, said UCB spokesperson Bronwyn Wilkinson.
Former UCB head and current executive director of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Dr Ali Bacher, also said he would attend. "I have spoken to the family and I will be at the funeral," he said.
A number of the national team players would also attend. Captain Shaun Pollock, who is presently playing county cricket in Warwickshire, said he would be leaving Britain on Tuesday night to be at the funeral.
In addition, a number of dignitaries, including Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota are among several thousands expected to attend the funeral.
Live on M-Net and Supersport 1
The Bloemfontein service, which will be held at Grey College, Cronje's alma mater, is scheduled to start at 14:00 and will be televised on M-Net and SuperSport 1.
In Johannesburg, Rhema Church spokesperson Pastor Ron Steele said his associate, Pastor Ray McCauley, would hold a simultaneous service in the church's main auditorium in Randburg.
"Hansie was never a member of Rhema, but the whole cricket team had ties with us," Steele said.
He also said the church would link up, via satellite, to the funeral service in Bloemfontein at certain points during the proceedings.
Thousands expected
Grey College's deputy headmaster Tommy Cronje (no relation of Cronje's) said on Tuesday that the school was expecting several thousand people to attend.
"We are putting up a very large marquee next to the main hall to accommodate additional guests, but we will probably not be able to seat more than about 2 000 people comfortably," he said, adding that people were nevertheless welcome, as long as they didn't mind standing outside.