The D'Oliveira affair;

by Basil D'Oliveira

183 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

South Africa has always been a cricketing powerhouse.But during the apartheid era,their cricket team only played Australia,New Zealand and England.The other cricket nations were not white,and they didn't play them.However,they were in for a rude shock.Basil d'Oliveira,was a colored cricketer from South Africa,who had moved to England,and qualified to play for them.He was selected by England,to tour South Africa.This was not acceptable to the South African government,he was after all coloured.This decision backfired disastrously.It became a major controversy,which eventually led to the exclusion of South Africa,from all international cricket.They would continue to be excluded,from 1969 till 1991,when finally the apartheid regime was dismantled.Generations of very talented South African cricketers,would therefore,never get the chance to play international cricket.Today,South Africa has moved to the other extreme.They actually have a quota,for coloured cricketers in their team,making it difficult for many white cricketers to represent the country.