Former SA cricketer jailed for rape

Cape Town - Former South African domestic cricketer Dion Taljard has been jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of rape.

Tajard, 47, represented Border in first class cricket between 1993 and 1999 before relocating to the United Kingdom. 

According to England's Daily Mail, Taljard was found guilty of raping an unnamed woman 150 times over a period of 10 years between 2002 and 2012. 

According to the disturbing article, Taljard repeatedly attacked the women while drunk and he would grip her around the throat while saying things like "you will comply". 

The woman, who reportedly tried to take her own life at one stage, came forward three years after the attacks ended. 

However, Taljard has maintained his innocence, claiming to be the victim of lies, and some of his family and friends have set up an online campaign seeking to raise money for him in an effort to clear his name. 

Taljard, famed for taking a hat-trick against a Pakistan touring side in 1998, saw his cricket career stagnate once he moved to the UK where he played club cricket in Oldham and Manchester as well as in Scotland and Wales.