Steve Waugh
"I always admired Hansie as an opponent and enjoyed his friendship. Unfortunately, he didn't finish his career as everyone would have hoped but now it is timely to forgive him his shortcomings and remember the good times."

Imran Khan
"Cronje was trying to come back to normal life and was about to do some community work but his life was cut short. The tragedy is that when the world was starting to accept him in a new role this sad end came about."

Bob Woolmer
"We had five great years together. No one enjoys seeing a young man lose his life. Whatever he did pales into insignificance. Hansie was thorough, professional, kind, firm, generous, hard working - his team would have walked up Table Mountain for him. He was one of the greatest cricket captains South Africa has ever had."

Nelson Mandela
"Here was a young man courageously and with dignity rebuilding his life after the setback he suffered a little while ago."

Thabo Mbeki, SA President
"South Africa will mourn him. He was certainly one of our most talented and well-known cricketers whose prowess inspired our youth to greater heights."

Clive Rice
"It's absolutely tragic that this has happened. He was a good player, a very good captain and despite what he did, I thought he was a hell of a nice guy. A fantastic bloke, in fact."

Gary Kirsten
"I knew him better than most and he was a good friend, he was good for my career and he got the best out of me."

Ian Botham
"It's very bad news. But people will forget the good things he did and he'll be remembered for the wrong reasons. It's very sad - this will be a tough time for his family."

Jack Birkenshaw (Cronje's coach at Orange Free State and Leicestershire)
"It is just devastating. After all that has happened then there is this. For me he is one of the best cricketers I have ever been associated with. He did very well for us and he was a gent really. I have never known anyone work harder at his game. He was dedicated and he was a top bloke."

Pastor Ray McCauley (Cronje's priest)
"He was a person with a huge, big heart and whenever I rang him he would go with me to orphanages and schools. Once the match-fixing broke and he was not allowed to play cricket again, he took it on the chin and never complained about it."

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