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The Unforgiven: Missionaries or Mercenaries?: The Untold Story of the Rebel West Indian Cricketers Who Toured Apartheid South Africa
In the early 80s, 20 black West Indian cricketers were paid more than $100,000 each to take part in rebel tours of apartheid South Africa. Some, such as Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran, were household names in the Caribbean and around the world, while others were fringe players seeking a short cut out of poverty. All would be condemned by the international cricketing fraternity. Accused of pocketing 'blood money' in order to prop up a regime that systematically discriminated against people of their own colour, they were banned for life from playing the sport they loved. In many cases, they were shunned by their fellow countrymen. A few turned to drugs and gangs, some turned to God - and others found themselves begging on the streets and dealing with mental illness. Forgotten and neglected for close to four decades, The Unforgiven tells their often-tragic stories through face-to-face interviews that explore the human cost of an onerous decision made early in these young men's lives.
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 18, 2020
Apartheid, politics and sport
Would you believe it if I told you that an international cricketer, who rubbed shoulders with the global cricketing elite and was compared to the game's greatest all rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, is now a beggar on the streets of Kingston in Jamaica. His story of ruin began in 1983.
In 1983, in the obscure grounds of South Africa, 18 men from the Carribbean islands set foot in the rainbow nation, which was then under the brutal Apartheid regime, to play a series against the black majority country's all-white national team. South Africa faced sporting sanctions from pretty much every country for apartheid, and any sportsman who dared to go there risked a life ban. But the Apartheid regime wanted to tell the world all was well, and in a bid to hog global headlines, threw hundreds of thousands of Kruggerands at international sportsmen, inviting them to come over and play. First, English sportsmen with international experience came, and then some Sri Lankans followed. They all got flak and faced multi year bans, but when players from the West Indies - the islands that epitomised black power and pride - touched down in South Africa, it sent ripples across the world.
When the sportsmen went back home, they were called traitors, ostracized and one of them even shot at. Some of them are now dealing drugs for a living, some have had mental breakdowns, others have had their personal lives shattered. Over two cricket tours, they went from local heroes to despicable demons in bed with a racist regime. In their defence, the players say they weren't in support of apartheid and merely want to break free of poverty and support their families when their bodies were able. Given the strength of the Windies team then, it was impossible to break in to the national XI, and those frustrations played a part as well.
"Unforgiven" by journalist Ashley Gray, is recommended reading for anyone who wants to learn about Apartheid and the politics around it. Pick it up even if you don't follow the sport, this 300 page book is worth it
All photos are from the book
Would you believe it if I told you that an international cricketer, who rubbed shoulders with the global cricketing elite and was compared to the game's greatest all rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, is now a beggar on the streets of Kingston in Jamaica. His story of ruin began in 1983.
In 1983, in the obscure grounds of South Africa, 18 men from the Carribbean islands set foot in the rainbow nation, which was then under the brutal Apartheid regime, to play a series against the black majority country's all-white national team. South Africa faced sporting sanctions from pretty much every country for apartheid, and any sportsman who dared to go there risked a life ban. But the Apartheid regime wanted to tell the world all was well, and in a bid to hog global headlines, threw hundreds of thousands of Kruggerands at international sportsmen, inviting them to come over and play. First, English sportsmen with international experience came, and then some Sri Lankans followed. They all got flak and faced multi year bans, but when players from the West Indies - the islands that epitomised black power and pride - touched down in South Africa, it sent ripples across the world.
When the sportsmen went back home, they were called traitors, ostracized and one of them even shot at. Some of them are now dealing drugs for a living, some have had mental breakdowns, others have had their personal lives shattered. Over two cricket tours, they went from local heroes to despicable demons in bed with a racist regime. In their defence, the players say they weren't in support of apartheid and merely want to break free of poverty and support their families when their bodies were able. Given the strength of the Windies team then, it was impossible to break in to the national XI, and those frustrations played a part as well.
"Unforgiven" by journalist Ashley Gray, is recommended reading for anyone who wants to learn about Apartheid and the politics around it. Pick it up even if you don't follow the sport, this 300 page book is worth it
All photos are from the book
April 25, 2020
After reading The Unforgiven I know I've read the definitive book on the rebel cricket tours of South Africa by the West Indies team and I've read one of the great sports books of 2020. This book has everything that I could ask for and above all honesty. It's a sign of great book when something that makes the subject look bad shows up in the book and for many of the former players that is the case.
You can tell the hard work by the author is on the page and the first hand accounts really pay off. He brings out great stories and quotes by the former team members and after years of following cricket many stories have come out that I have not read or heard of before.
The book cuts a fine balance between cricket and the social and political aspects of the tour and also brings out some hair raising stories which I was not expecting. Every chapter and every players story is its own flavour and story to itself which is why I enjoyed the book so much. If you are into cricket, sports or just looking for an intriguing story I can't recommend this book highly enough, as soon as I started reading it I just didn't stop until I got to the very end.
You can tell the hard work by the author is on the page and the first hand accounts really pay off. He brings out great stories and quotes by the former team members and after years of following cricket many stories have come out that I have not read or heard of before.
The book cuts a fine balance between cricket and the social and political aspects of the tour and also brings out some hair raising stories which I was not expecting. Every chapter and every players story is its own flavour and story to itself which is why I enjoyed the book so much. If you are into cricket, sports or just looking for an intriguing story I can't recommend this book highly enough, as soon as I started reading it I just didn't stop until I got to the very end.
January 29, 2021
A powerful, provocative and sincere read
One of the most thought provoking books that I have had the privilege of reading. Sincere and superbly researched. The author addresses a most unpalatable topic and presents it to the reader in an honest, factual and yet compassionate manner. This book addresses not only the icons but the men behind the facades of cricket statistics. The public personas are stripped bare. In my very humble opinion I felt the author was diplomatically urging us to resist the very human temptation to judge.
One of the most thought provoking books that I have had the privilege of reading. Sincere and superbly researched. The author addresses a most unpalatable topic and presents it to the reader in an honest, factual and yet compassionate manner. This book addresses not only the icons but the men behind the facades of cricket statistics. The public personas are stripped bare. In my very humble opinion I felt the author was diplomatically urging us to resist the very human temptation to judge.
August 29, 2020
A superb book about one of international cricket's most controversial and least understood chapters.
January 11, 2023
Review for ebook version (ISBN: 9781785316968).
I felt strange when the first time I heard about the existence of the West Indies rebel tour to South Africa. Isn't apartheid discriminating against black people, and why would any West Indians do that? Even if you are struggling financially, surely you can't accept the money paid by the same country which discriminates against your own people.
Somehow, I agreed with Roland Butcher's words about those playing as a moral policeman -
I'm trying to put myself into a situation where I'll never get chosen for the national team because the team always have the usual top players. I'll keep working hard, and even if I have an outstanding record at the domestic level or even when one of the national players is injured, I'm still not chosen for the team. The worst is when someone with poorer performance plays for the national team, and I'm on the waiting list until retirement age. So, I will never get the opportunity to play for the country, and I also do not have enough money to support my family. Should I take the money and end my career with a stabler life or retires with nothing? Both choices come with consequences, but which one is the harder one? It's always going back to money versus conscience.
It's ironic when most of the participants for the rebel tour were forgotten heroes, some on the edge of being dropped or no longer in favour of being selected for the national team, and some were in a state of injury or fitness doubts. But when they joined the rebel tour, they were in a huge spotlight, and all their past achievements had been erased since that day.
Book Review: The Unforgiven: Missionaries or Mercenaries? by Ashley Gray.
I felt strange when the first time I heard about the existence of the West Indies rebel tour to South Africa. Isn't apartheid discriminating against black people, and why would any West Indians do that? Even if you are struggling financially, surely you can't accept the money paid by the same country which discriminates against your own people.
Somehow, I agreed with Roland Butcher's words about those playing as a moral policeman -
"They were scathing but the question would be: had they been in a similar position to the others, would they be so scathing? They were coming from a privileged background. If they'd been in the same situation and taken the same stance that would have been fantastic, but you will never know."
I'm trying to put myself into a situation where I'll never get chosen for the national team because the team always have the usual top players. I'll keep working hard, and even if I have an outstanding record at the domestic level or even when one of the national players is injured, I'm still not chosen for the team. The worst is when someone with poorer performance plays for the national team, and I'm on the waiting list until retirement age. So, I will never get the opportunity to play for the country, and I also do not have enough money to support my family. Should I take the money and end my career with a stabler life or retires with nothing? Both choices come with consequences, but which one is the harder one? It's always going back to money versus conscience.
It's ironic when most of the participants for the rebel tour were forgotten heroes, some on the edge of being dropped or no longer in favour of being selected for the national team, and some were in a state of injury or fitness doubts. But when they joined the rebel tour, they were in a huge spotlight, and all their past achievements had been erased since that day.
Book Review: The Unforgiven: Missionaries or Mercenaries? by Ashley Gray.
July 5, 2020
After reading The Unforgiven I know I've read the definitive book on the rebel cricket tours of South Africa by the West Indies team and I've read one of the great sports books of 2020. This book has everything that I could ask for and above all honesty. It's a sign of great book when something that makes the subject look bad shows up in the book and for many of the former players that is the case.
You can tell the hard work by the author is on the page and the first hand accounts really pay off. He brings out great stories and quotes by the former team members and after years of following cricket many stories have come out that I have not read or heard of before.
The book cuts a fine balance between cricket and the social and political aspects of the tour and also brings out some hair raising stories which I was not expecting. Every chapter and every players story is its own flavour and story to itself which is why I enjoyed the book so much. If you are into cricket, sports or just looking for an intriguing story I can't recommend this book highly enough, as soon as I started reading it I just didn't stop until I got to the very end.
You can tell the hard work by the author is on the page and the first hand accounts really pay off. He brings out great stories and quotes by the former team members and after years of following cricket many stories have come out that I have not read or heard of before.
The book cuts a fine balance between cricket and the social and political aspects of the tour and also brings out some hair raising stories which I was not expecting. Every chapter and every players story is its own flavour and story to itself which is why I enjoyed the book so much. If you are into cricket, sports or just looking for an intriguing story I can't recommend this book highly enough, as soon as I started reading it I just didn't stop until I got to the very end.
September 27, 2021
A fascinating look at the one of the most vivid intersections of sport and politics that has ever occurred. What happens when a team of black cricketers, from proud Caribbean countries, defy the cricketing establishment and the socio-political wisdom of the day and accept huge, life-changing, sums to tour apartheid South Africa - and, implicitly endorse the prevailing conditions there (this back in the early 1980s when South Africa was very much a pariah on the international scene)?
Gray meticulously takes us through the fortunes of each of these rebel tourists - some sad, some pathetic (there is definitely a theme of ruined lives here - although whether this would have occurred anyway is a moot point), some defiant and most poignantly, those still wrestling with their decision decades after the event. As well as being a revealing depiction of the individuals involved, it's also a fascinating look into West Indian society, culture and history. Well worth the read even if you have zero interest in the game of cricket.
Gray meticulously takes us through the fortunes of each of these rebel tourists - some sad, some pathetic (there is definitely a theme of ruined lives here - although whether this would have occurred anyway is a moot point), some defiant and most poignantly, those still wrestling with their decision decades after the event. As well as being a revealing depiction of the individuals involved, it's also a fascinating look into West Indian society, culture and history. Well worth the read even if you have zero interest in the game of cricket.
January 15, 2021
Story worth reading
Very interesting story - sad how they were treated post tour. Seems like a more fun time to play cricket.
Very interesting story - sad how they were treated post tour. Seems like a more fun time to play cricket.
August 4, 2024
What deserves particular praise about Mr Gray's book is his attitude: Where things are not debatable, he takes a clear stand (Apartheid was an evil concept), where things are more complex, he delivers the facts he has been able to collect and leaves judgement to the reader.
It is very moving to read how for some of these rebels, the tours clearly were jinxed (Austin, Chang), how Mr Gray met with brick walls (Julien), how every single one of the rebels had a reason (that can, of course be found more or less acceptable).
An amazing sports history book for which great thanks to the author are in order.
It is very moving to read how for some of these rebels, the tours clearly were jinxed (Austin, Chang), how Mr Gray met with brick walls (Julien), how every single one of the rebels had a reason (that can, of course be found more or less acceptable).
An amazing sports history book for which great thanks to the author are in order.
September 26, 2024
Excellent book giving you an insight into the West Indian rebel tours of South Africa, the people on them and the political and moral background of the Carrinean nations.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews