South African cricket is bracing itself for the biggest match-fixing scandal to hit the country since its former Test captain, Hansie Cronje, was banned for life in 2000, with an investigation into corruption during the recent Ram Slam Twenty20 competition understood to be close to completion.

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Cricket South Africa announced on 15 December last year that it had charged an “intermediary” under its anti-corruption code for “contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects” of the tournament, as well as refusing to cooperate with its enquiries. Now a column by the respected journalist and broadcaster, Neil Manthorp, in Business Day has revealed that a legal case is being prepared against “a significant number of domestic players” with the ringleader – the “intermediary” referred to last month – known to be a former South African international cricketer.

While a number of players are set to be charged with “failure to report” approaches, the report said the ringleader is facing possible jail time for his part in the scam.

Match-fixing was made illegal in South Africa in 2004 under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act Law, introduced four years after Cronje admitted to his role in manipulating international games. Speaking in December, Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive, said: “Our attitude to corruption will always be one of zero tolerance and we are confident that we have the necessary structures in place to effectively deal with any corrupt activity.

“We will relentlessly pursue under our code and the law of the land any persons we believe to be involved in corrupting the game and, with assistance from the police, we will also seek criminal prosecution.”