Former South Africa pacer Henry Williams dropped a bombshell on Saturday when he admitted that Herschelle Gibbs and he gave false testimonies to the Kings Commission against disgraced Hansie Cronje, which were a part of conspiracy involving their lawyers, to make a stronger case against the late South African captain.
"When we testified to our lawyers what the story really was, they came up with a threat that we could be prosecuted for doing something like this," Williams told the Sunday Times. Williams claimed that he was pressure to 'nail' Cronje and added that Cronje never mentioned the amount involved.
Williams had earlier told the Kings Commission that Cronje had offered him $15,000 to perform poorly in a One-Day International match against India at Nagpur.
Williams and Gibbs were both banned for six months while Cronje was banned for life after admitting his involvement and died in a plane crash in 2002.
Gibbs, who is playing Big Bash League In Australia, distanced himself from his former team-mates' comments.
Meanwhile, pair's then-lawyers, Mike Fitzgerald and Peter Whelan, denied that they persuaded Williams to give incorrect testimony to the Commission. Whelan asserted they had known that Gibbs was lying, and had put pressure on him to tell the truth. "Henry certainly came along for the ride. I didn't think he was lying initially, but he came out when Herschelle did."