Percy Sonn, 57; fought segregation as head of world cricket council

Percy Sonn, 57, the president of the International Cricket Council who was instrumental in fighting racial segregation in the sport, died Sunday at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, from complications after colon surgery.

Sonn, a lawyer who became president of cricket’s world governing body in 2006, helped guide his native South Africa back into the international fold after years of isolation because of apartheid.

Born Sept. 25, 1949, Sonn never played cricket beyond the local level, but his administrative career began while still a teenager under apartheid. Of mixed racial origin, he used his legal training to contest racial policies that kept South African cricket -- like rugby union -- white only.

He played a leading role in the 1991 establishment of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, which formally ended decades of racial division. Sonn was also instrumental in the appointment of Gerald Majola as the first black chief executive of Cricket South Africa in 2001.

Sonn presided over South African cricket at the time of its greatest scandal -- when former captain Hansie Cronje admitted in 2000 to receiving $100,000 to manipulate matches.

Sonn led the decision by South Africa to apply a life ban to Cronje, who died in 2002 in a plane crash.