Controversial United Cricket Board president Percy Sonn is on his own in believing that banned former captain Hansie Cronje should be allowed back into cricket at this stage.

Sonn has been widely quoted as saying that there should still be a place in South African cricket for Cronje, who was banned for life last year for his part in the match-fixing scandal.

"Who are we to damn people forever?" said Sonn on Australia radio this week. "Our board is not god in terms of determining what rehabilitation is sufficient. Hansie deserves to enjoy all the freedom of South African society. He is a child of the United Cricket Board."

Sonn's comments have taken South African administrators, not to mention the International Cricket Council aback. The president was at the forefront of moves to have Cronje banned in the first place, at one point saying that the disgraced cricket "should not even be allowed to play beach cricket".

UCB vice-president Robbie Kurz said on Friday that he believed Sonn was speaking in his personal capacity.

"It's not really my place to comment on matters such as these," said Kurz, "but UCB policy has always been that Cronje should be banned until such time as he has shown he has rehabilitated himself. This policy has not changed and I don't believe the time is right yet for the ban to be lifted."

Department of Sport spokesman Graham Abrahams told PA International: ""I don't think it would be a good idea at this moment to bring him back into the game.

"In fact, it would be a mistake and the UCB should think twice about it.

"He has made no gestures to the UCB, and it would be more appropriate for him to approach the UCB in an amicable fashion rather than for the UCB to go to him."

Sonn's motives for this about turn have been questioned in the aftermath of the controversy provoked when he vetoed the South African team for the third Test and had Jacques Rudolph replaced by Justin Ontong.

Sonn's actions and opinions this week have been privately questioned in some UCB circles and are likely to be the subject of intense deiscussion the UCB executive committee meets later this month.

UCB chief executive Gerald Majola will fly to Australia early next week in an attempt to put out some of the fires raging since Sonn vetoed the Test team. At the very least he is expected to reassure Shaun Pollock's side that they still have the full backing of the UCB, a point that has been questioned over the past few days.

© CricInfo