Who initiated the declarations, Cronje or Hussain

England captain Nasser Hussain, and not South Africa's Hansie Cronje, was the chief mover behind the declarations which provided a result to the fifth Test match at Centurion Park in January, the Johannesburg Sunday Independent claims today.

Both captains forfeited an innings on the final day of the rain-ravaged match to produce a target that was tracked down by England to give the tourists their only victory of the series. Later in the same week, Cronje accepted $8 200 from a bookmaker, setting off a chain of events which led to his sacking as captain and the appointment of the King commission into corruption in South African cricket.

At the time it was widely held that Cronje had approached Hussain with a view to contriving a result, but the Independent reports that a "highly-placed source" claims that Hussain was the "prime mover when it came to suggesting that the Test might be rescued".

The source also apparently insists that the Test match was not fixed, but that Cronje received the money from the bookmaker as a reward for his part in the arrangement together with a suggestion that greater rewards might be available in the future.

At the time, Cronje was widely credited, and criticised, for initiating the negotiations that produced a result to a match which had long seemed dead.

This latest claim is bound to be investigated by the King commission which is expected to start taking evidence from witnesses during the week starting June 5.