Basil
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:53 pm
Watched a tremendous (although admittedly about five years old) documentary on BBC4 last night about the brilliant cricketer Basil D'Oliveira and the controversy about the cancelled 1968 tour to South Africa. Being Scottish, and therefore not that interested in cricket, growing up I was aware of only a few players---Cowdray, Sobers and Basil. The latter was best known to me because of the fuss over his shameful exclusion from the touring side, and the fact that it sent South Africa into the sporting wilderness for almost a quarter of a century.
Fascinating to see the politics behnd it all, the duplicity of the England captain and selectors, but most of all the way D'Oliveira was viewed in his homeland. All these years after the end of apartheid, it's difficult to get your head around how the white regime was able to get away with such an obscene action for so long.
Fascinating to see the politics behnd it all, the duplicity of the England captain and selectors, but most of all the way D'Oliveira was viewed in his homeland. All these years after the end of apartheid, it's difficult to get your head around how the white regime was able to get away with such an obscene action for so long.