CRICKETING legend Sir Viv Richards believes disgraced South African captain Hansie Cronje should be forgiven.

Cronje is at the centre of cricket's match-fixing crisis after he admitted to the on-going King Commission in Cape Town that he had accepted money from bookmakers, offered to throw matches and approached team-mates in the South African side with cash incentives to underperform.

The fiercely patriotic Richards, the leading West Indies' run-maker of all time, deplores the match-rigging scandal that has blighted international cricket and Cronje's part in it. But he believes that once Cronje's evidence -- and presumably his playing days -- are over then he should not be persecuted on a personal level for the rest of his life.

"I am basically disappointed with what's going down. We are all hurt by the allegations but I still have to say that even though he (Cronje) made a mistake, he is still human," said Richards.

"You have got to forgive him because that's what life's all about. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

Former Rishton professional Richards, who was back at Blackburn Road last night for a cricket forum and again this morning as part of Channel Four's cricketing roadshow which came live from the ground, is saddened that Cronje abused his position as South African captain. But the former West Indies skipper is hoping that the sport can recover from the blows it has been dealt in recent months.

He added: "For me the greatest honour is to represent your country. I would have done that without pay any day. Representing your country, that's money for me. There's no higher honour.

"I'm just a little bit disappointed seeing someone like Hansie Cronje, seeing the way he has gone around his business.

"I felt he was totally professional and good for cricket but, from what we are seeing now, that's not so.

"I just hope we can now make this game better because it's still a lovely game."

England cricket coach Duncan Fletcher claimed he was shocked when the match-fixing allegations surfaced in South Africa.

"It was a surprise to me. In South Africa I had been involved with a few of those individuals and I didn't know it was going on.

"It's a terrible shame that an individual like Hansie Cronje was caught doing something like that, especially so soon after taking over as captain of South Africa.

"I just hope all cricketers all over the world are treated the same way," said Fletcher, paid man at Rishton 10 years before Richards in 1977.