d oliveira affair

D'Oliveira affair

Basil D'Oliveira, the mixed-race South African-born Englandplayer at the centre of the controversy, pictured in 1968

The D'Oliveira affair was a prolonged political andsporting controversy relating to the scheduled 196869tour of South Africa by the England cricket team, whowere officially representing the Marylebone Cricket Club(MCC).[note 1] The point of contention was whether ornot the England selectors would include Basil D'Oliveira,a mixed-race South African player who had representedEngland in Test cricket since 1966, having moved theresix years earlier. With South Africa under apartheid,the potential inclusion by England of a non-white SouthAfrican in their tour party became a political issue.A Cape Coloured of Indian and Portuguese ances-try, D'Oliveira left South Africa primarily because theeras apartheid legislation seriously restricted his careerprospects on racial grounds and barred him from theall-white Test team. He qualified for WorcestershireCounty Cricket Club through residency in 1964 and firstplayed for England two years later. The consequencesof D'Oliveiras possible inclusion in the 196869 MCCtour of South Africa were discussed by English and SouthAfrican cricketing bodies as early as 1966. Manoeuvringby cricketing and political figures in both countries didlittle to bring the matter to a head. The MCCs priority

was to maintain traditional links with South Africa andhave the series go ahead without incident. South AfricasPrime Minister B. J. Vorster sought to appease interna-tional opinion by publicly indicating that D'Oliveiras in-clusion would be acceptable, but secretly did all he couldto prevent it.D'Oliveira was omitted from the England team for mostof 1968 amid a slump in his batting form, but he markedhis return in late August with a score of 158 runs inEnglands final Test match of the year, against Australiaat The Oval. Days later, the MCC selectors omittedD'Oliveira from the team to tour South Africa; they in-sisted that this was based entirely on cricketing merit, butmany in Britain voiced apprehension and there was a pub-lic outcry. After Tom Cartwright's withdrawal becauseof injury on 16 September, the MCC chose D'Oliveira asa replacement, prompting accusations from Vorster andother South African politicians that the selection was po-litically motivated. Attempts to find a compromise fol-lowed, but these led nowhere. The MCC announced thetours cancellation on 24 September.Sporting boycotts of SouthAfrica were already under wayby 1968, but the D'Oliveira controversy was the first tomake a serious impact on South African cricket. TheSouth African Cricket Board of Control announced its in-tention to remove racial barriers in South African cricketin 1969, and formally integrated the sport in 1976. Mean-while, the boycott movement escalated sharply, leading toSouth Africas near-complete isolation from internationalcricket from 1971, though the country continued to playinternational rugby into the 1980s, twice allowing mixed-race New Zealand rugby teams into the country duringthe 1970s. D'Oliveira played for England until 1972, andfor Worcestershire until 1979. South Africa returned tointernational cricket in 1991, soon after apartheid beganto be dismantled.

1 Background

1.1 South Africa

From the time that European settlers first arrived inSouth Africa in 1652, the country was divided on raciallines, in common with similar settlements. In contrastto other European colonies, racial distinction and segre-gation intensified during the early 20th century, and thevarious ethnic groups became more sharply defined anddivided.[1] Following its general election victory in 1948,

1

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2 1 BACKGROUND

An apartheid-era sign in English and Afrikaans designating apublic space as for the exclusive use of white persons

the National Party, led by Daniel Malan, formalised thisracism under a government policy called apartheid.[2] Un-der apartheid, different races were kept apart in all as-pects of life.[3] This system was thoroughly enforced dur-ing the 1950s; any resistance from non-white races wasput down and laws, supposedly to prevent the rise of com-munism, were passed to prevent political agitation.[4]

From a cricketing viewpoint, the apartheid policy madelittle difference.[4] Although cricket was played widelyamong the different racial groups in South Africa, theTest team, which represented the country in interna-tional matches, had always been all white.[note 2][7][8] Un-der apartheid, this became official policy as the gov-ernment reasoned that black, coloured (mixed race) andIndian players were inherently inferior and not worthy ofselection. Different races were forbidden from compet-ing against each other.[9] South African cricket teams didnot compete against India, Pakistan or the West Indies,but teams from England, Australia and New Zealand con-tinued to visit the country. English cricketers particu-larly enjoyed tours to South Africa owing to the hospital-ity they received and the quality of living. The politicalwriter and historian Peter Oborne suggests: Relationsbetween the cricket establishments of the two countrieswere exceptionally warm. Only few visitors noticed, andeven fewer cared, that there was something wrong.[4]

During the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) tour ofSouth Africa during 194849,[note 1] the first underapartheid, the BBC commentator John Arlott was hor-rified when he saw a black man assaulted for no reason.This prompted him to visit several townships where hefound black people living in very poor conditions. Hecontrasted this unfavourably with the luxury of the homeswhere he was entertained by white families.[12] Billy Grif-fith, one of the touring team, accompanied him on onevisit to a township, and was similarly appalled, but did notspeak out against it. Arlott later condemned apartheid,

during a 1950 BBC broadcast,[13] and refused to com-mentate during future tours to the country. His exam-ple was followed by the England batsman and clergymanDavid Sheppard, who declined to tour South Africa, re-fused to play the team in 1960, and spoke out publiclyagainst the policies of the South African government de-spite efforts by the MCC to silence him.[12] Otherwise,there was little protest in England against South Africancricket during the 1950s.[8]

1.2 England

UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (left) visits Nigeria in1960. British attitudes towards race and apartheid were shift-ing greatly at this time.

From themid-1950s, the UnitedNations began to expressconcern over apartheid, and there was a growing gen-eral awareness in Britain of its effects. In 1960 the UKPrime Minister Harold Macmillan criticised apartheidin his "Wind of Change" speech to the South Africanparliament.[note 3] However, the British government wascautious; the large number of British passport holders andbusinesses based in South Africa made them reluctant toforce the issue and provoke a confrontation. Additionally,there was support for the policy among some right-wingpoliticians.[15] When the MCC team toured South Africain 195657, the players observed and were shocked bywhat they considered to be injustices against the blackpopulation. As many players and officials had family andfriends in the country, they were disinclined to take astand, but several condemned the situation in print at thetime or later.[16]

Overall attitudes in England towards South Africancricket began to change in the 1960s.[8] At the time,race was becoming an emotive matter in England andthe immigration from Asia and the Caribbean becamean issue in general elections.[17] Racial tensions had risenthroughout the 1950s, and race riots had occurred. TimQuelch, in his review of English cricket in the 1950s,suggests that "[Englands] record on race relations hadhardly been exemplary.[18] But Jack Williams, in hisbook Cricket and Race, suggests that cricket was a force

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3

for racial harmony in England given the influx of African-Caribbean and Asian overseas players and the min-gling of white and African-Caribbean supporters dur-ing Test series between England and the West Indies.[17]Against this background, when the South African teamtoured England in 1960, there were some protests againstapartheid.[19]

1.3 International sport

Within South Africa, there was growing realisationamong opponents of apartheid that sport could play a rolein pressuring the government.[8] During the 1950s, SouthAfrica competed freely in international competition; thegoverning bodies of the major international sports recog-nised only the official, all-white South African institu-tions. By the end of the decade, this began to change.Several non-white sporting organisations within SouthAfrica united and began to influence international opin-ion. The resulting pressure brought about the suspen-sion of the all-white Football Association of South Africafrom FIFAfor two years from 1961, then after abrief reinstatement, again from 1964[20]which pre-vented South Africa from participating in the 1966WorldCup.[21] South Africa was also excluded from interna-tional fencing in 1964. However, because neither fencingnor football was closely followed in white South Africa,the impact was limited. Suspension from the Olympicshad a greater effect;[22] another campaign from withinSouth Africa and the consequent change in internationalopinion resulted in South Africa being barred from the1964 Olympics and those that followed.[21]

In 1966, before a tour by the New Zealand rugby team,the South African government asked New Zealand tofield an all-white team (thereby excluding Mori play-ers); the New Zealand Rugby Football Union refusedand cancelled the tour.[23][24] As rugby was very pop-ular among white South Africans, this caused concernin that community.[22] The England cricket team was inNew Zealand at the time, and Billy Griffith, by then thesecretary of the MCC, when questioned said that theMCC would also cancel in similar circumstances.[23] De-spite these events in other world sports, South Africacontinued to play international cricket.[25] Efforts to putpressure on the International Cricket Conference (ICC)failed, and even when South Africa withdrew from theCommonwealth in 1961 (theoretically forfeiting the na-tional teams Test status), their traditional opponents con-tinued to play official Tests against them despite opposi-tion from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.[26]

1.4 D'Oliveira

Basil D'Oliveira was born in Cape Town in 1931, andcoming from a mixed Indian-Portuguese background,formed part of the Cape Coloured community.[27] He

demonstrated skill in cricket from an early age, but asthe apartheid system classified him as non-white, he wasbarred from playing first-class cricket in South Africaor representing the national team.[28][29] He representedand captained a non-white South African team whichplayed unofficial international matches.[29] He was leftdistraught by the cancellation in 1959, at the behest ofSouth African anti-apartheid campaigners, of a proposedvisit by a West Indies team which was to compete againstnon-white sides. Realising that he had achieved all hecould as a non-white sportsman in South Africa, he wroteto John Arlott in England to ask for help finding employ-ment as a cricketer.[29][30]

Arlott enlisted the help of John Kay, a cricket journalistwith expertise in the Lancashire leagues, to find a job forD'Oliveira as a club professional. No teams were initiallyinterested, but when Middleton's professional withdrewat the last minute, the club employed D'Oliveira for the1960 season.[29][30] After a poor start, he prospered forMiddleton. He established a wider reputation by playingtelevised matches for a team called the Cavaliers, andtook part in overseas tours with some leading cricketers.Several English counties expressed an interest in him, andhe eventually joined Worcestershire. Qualifying for thecounty team through residency,[note 4] he made his debutin 1964 and scored a century on his first appearance. Bythe 1966 season, he had progressed to the England Testteam. He was successful from the start and by the follow-ing year was well-established in the team.[29]

2 Build-up

2.1 Anticipation

From early in his England career, D'Oliveira and his sup-porters saw the MCC tour of South Africa in 196869as potentially being a key moment in his career.[23] GuyFraser-Sampson suggests: Nobody could be in any doubtthat the possibility of D'Oliveira being chosen as a mem-ber of the England touring party would raise massive po-litical complications.[32] When D'Oliveira visited SouthAfrica to work as a coach in 1966, the subject was raisedcontinually. People speculated whether D'Oliveira wouldbe selected and, if so, whether the South African govern-ment would allow him to play. Some of his supportersworried that his acceptance of a place on a tour to SouthAfrica might be interpreted as approval of the politicalsituation there, but D'Oliveira was determined to play,aware of what it would mean to the non-white people ofSouth Africa.[33] In 1967, Griffith flew to South Africato discuss the forthcoming tour and to seek a solution toany potential problemsthe MCC wanted the tour to goahead without any political trouble. Little came of themeetings; Oborne suggests that both sides simply agreedto hope that the whole issue went away.[23]

After a successful season for England in 1967, D'Oliveira

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4 2 BUILD-UP

was chosen to tour the West Indies in 196768;[33] thisraised awareness in England and South Africa that hewas a realistic contender to tour South Africa a yearlater.[34] However, his opportunities to excel were few inthe West Indies; circumstances were against him in sev-eral matches, and he had a statistically poor tour. Anymitigating circumstances were offset by problems off thefield. D'Oliveira took full advantage of the social oppor-tunities available on a tour of the West Indies and fre-quently disappeared to parties and other events, often notreappearing until after breakfast. Rumours to this effectreached the press and the MCC tour manager spoke toD'Oliveira about his responsibilities on tour. D'Oliveirasaid that his behaviour and poor form were partly a resultof the pressure placed on him; he was frequently ques-tioned about the South African tour and about racesome groups in the West Indies accused him of sellingout by playing for a white team.[35]

2.2 South Africas position

The position of the South African government towardsmixed-race teams was well established by 1967. It wasstated explicitly after the visit of Griffith when, in Febru-ary 1967, the Interior Minister P. K. Le Roux said in aspeech: We will not allow mixed teams to play againstour white teams here. That is our policy. It is well knownhere and overseas.[36] These comments caused a pub-lic row in Britain, and some commentators wanted thetour to be called off; the MCC informed the British gov-ernment that players would be selected on ability aloneand that any attempts from within South Africa to inter-fere would cause the tour to be cancelled. Denis How-ell, the Minister for Sport, informed the House of Com-mons of the MCC position and stated that the govern-ment expected that the MCC would cancel the tour if anyplayer were to be rejected. Privately, the MCC commit-tee were unhappy to have been forced into so unequivocala position.[37]

B. J. Vorster, the Prime Minister of South Africa, wasembarrassed by Le Rouxs public comments and forcedhim to deny havingmade them. However, the British gov-ernments intervention cemented in Vorsters mind theidea that it and the MCC were closely connected.[38] InApril 1967 he gave a speech in which he said that whilesport between white and non-white teams could not takeplace in South Africa, the government would be preparedto send mixed teams to play abroad and to accommo-date mixed teams from South Africas traditional op-ponents. This change of direction was aimed at enteringa team in the 1968 Olympics, to avoid a repeat of thecancelled New Zealand rugby tour and with D'Oliveirasselection in mind.[37] The MCC decided later in 1967 toclarify that Vorsters government would impose no limi-tations on the players chosen for the tour.[39] In January1968, Griffith wrote on behalf of the MCC to the SouthAfrican Cricket Association (SACA) with the implica-

tion that the tour would be cancelled if a free selectionwas not guaranteed.[37]

According to Oborne, Vorster was a pragmatic politi-cian who wanted to maintain apartheid and to make itappear acceptable to the outside world. To this end, at-tempting to broaden South Africas international connec-tions, he accepted black foreign diplomats in the coun-try and began to plan a policy to allow mixed-race sportto prevent South Africas international isolation. How-ever, such policies were unpopular with his domestic sup-porters and he was careful not to go too far.[40] Obornewrites: Vorster knew that there was a limit to how far hecould go without imperilling his own position. That limitwas Basil D'Oliveira.[41] According to Oborne, Vorsternever intended to allow D'Oliveira to play with the MCCteam; his supporters would not have accepted a non-whiteSouth African benefiting from this change of policy anddemonstrating his ability at a high level. Vorster thereforeworked to give the impression overseas that D'Oliveirawould be welcome, while at the same time doing his ut-most to stop him from playing. He courted the Britishambassador, Sir John Nicholls, and told him that a tourparty including D'Oliveira would be acceptable. Nichollspassed this on to the UK government.[42] Vorster mean-while monitored D'Oliveiras progress closely; from hisdebut in 1966, South Africa kept a security file on him.[43]

2.3 MCC manoeuvres

Sir Alec Douglas-Home met Vorster in March 1968, and told theMCC afterwards that South Africa would probably let D'Oliveiraplay.

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2.4 South African plan 5

In March 1968, having received no response from theSACA to Griffiths letter, the MCC asked Alec Douglas-Home to intervene. Douglas-Home, a former BritishPrime Minister and then the Opposition spokesman forforeign affairs, had just finished his term as MCC pres-ident and was visiting Rhodesia and South Africa; heagreed to raise the question of D'Oliveira during a meet-ing with Vorster that was part of his itinerary.[44][45]Douglas-Home believed that the best way to deal withapartheid was through dialogue and that contact betweenthe countries should be increased, not reduced[45]as hedescribed it, precept and example must be better thanostracism.[46] When he met Vorster, Douglas-Home wasreluctant to press him for an unequivocal answer, but dis-cussed D'Oliveira. He also sounded out other figures inSouth Africa and returned to England to tell theMCC,[44]in the words of the cricket writer E. W. Swanton, that ifD'Oliveira were to be chosen the odds were 5/4 on hisbeing allowed in.[47]

In the view of Fraser-Sampson: While Douglas-Homesmotives remain obscure, it is clear that he muddied thewaters dreadfully. By allowing the MCC to believe theycould continue happily fudging the issue, and by mislead-ing them as to Vorsters true intentions, he delivered theworst of both worlds.[48] Following Douglas-Homes ad-vice, the MCC let the matter drift throughout the 1968season.[49] Conscious of D'Oliveiras poor form in theWest Indies and continued lack of success during early1968, the MCC committee kept in mind that it was farfrom certain that he would even make the team to tourSouth Africa.[47]

Meanwhile, with the knowledge of Vorster and the SouthAfrican government, the SACA carefully devised its an-swer to theMCC letter. The reply, which avoided directlyanswering the MCC question, was hand-delivered to theMCC secretary George Gubby Allen in March 1968 bythe former South African Test captain Jack Cheetham, aclose associate of several MCC officials. By this point,the MCC had accepted Douglas-Homes advice and nolonger wanted a reply to their letterOborne records thatwhen Cheetham cheerily produced his laboriously pro-duced document, a panic-stricken Gubby Allen waved itaway.[50] The letter was never presented to the full MCCCommittee, and Cheetham returned to South Africa withnews that a reply was not requiredpreparations for thetour could proceed as normal. This allowed Vorster toconceal his intentions regarding D'Oliveira for a furthersix months.[51] Allen later justified his actions by suggest-ing that he was concerned that the SACA letter would beleaked to the press if it went any further. Oborne be-lieves that Allen wished to hide from the full committeethe MCC hierarchys change of mind over the approachto take with the South Africans; he suggests that Allenand Griffith were effectively acting as a secret MCC sub-committee from this point.[52]

2.4 South African plan

Vorster and the SACA followed D'Oliveiras form closelythroughout the tour of West Indies and into the 1968 sea-son. D'Oliveiras lack of success prompted press spec-ulation that he might lose his England place for en-tirely non-political reasons, but Vorster was convincedthat the MCC were committed to selecting him underany circumstances.[52] He therefore conceived a two-pronged plan to prevent D'Oliveiras selection for the196869 tour. He and the SACA would attempt to bribeD'Oliveira to make himself unavailable, while simultane-ously persuading the English selectorsor more specif-ically the MCC, who Vorster believed would determineselection policynot to choose him.[52][53] The latter partof the plan depended on the MCC realising that pickingD'Oliveira would mean no tour, but in making such at-tempts the South Africans risked public discovery, whichwould cause the tour to be cancelled anyway.[54]

The bribery was planned from an early stage, but hadto be postponed when D'Oliveira did not return toSouth Africa before the 1968 season.[55] The secondpart of the plan was put into operation in March 1968.Vorster resolved to send a secret message to the MCCthrough Lord Cobham, a member and former presidentof the MCC with close links to D'Oliveiras county sideWorcestershire.[45][55] Cobham was visiting South Africaat Griffiths request to meet Arthur Coy, an official ofthe SACA. Cobham told Coy that he wanted the tour togo ahead, but agreed with him that D'Oliveiras inclusionwould be disastrous. Cobham seems to have promisedCoy that he would attempt to dissuade D'Oliveira fromtouring, but never actually did so. Cobham then metVorster, who told him that if D'Oliveira were chosen, thetour would be cancelled.[47][55]

On his return to England, Cobham kept this informationfrom the full MCC committee, knowing that they wouldbe forced to cancel the tour if they became aware of it.Instead, he wrote a letter to a committee member, whoseidentity has never been made public. The letters recip-ient passed it on to Griffith, who in turn showed it toAllen and Arthur Gilligan, at that time the MCC pres-ident. These three men chose to hide the informationfrom the full committee,[47][56] and nobody informed De-nis Howell.[45] Allen later defended these actions, settingout his reasoning in his biography, which was written byhis close friend Swanton[57]Allen argued that the ad-vice given by Douglas-Home, an international diplomat,took precedence over Cobhams information and had al-ready been accepted by the MCC. He further suggestedthat, as the four England selectors had to choose the teamwithout any other consideration, and two of them sat onthe MCC committee, it would have been unfair to burdenthem with Cobhams information.[58] Oborne dismissesAllens reasoning as disastrously muddled,[57] pointingout that Cobhams advice was far more up-to-date thanDouglas-Homes, and that there would have been no bur-

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6 2 BUILD-UP

den of conscience for the team selectors as the new infor-mation would have caused the tour to be cancelled.[57]

By the beginning of the 1968 season, the MCCs pub-lic position followed the advice of Douglas-Home: itwas unknown whether or not South Africa would acceptD'Oliveira and it would be better not to press the issue.Even so, three key members of the MCC were aware ofthe reality of the situation. Vorster had avoided inter-national condemnation as he had not publicly declaredD'Oliveira unacceptable, but his stand had been clearlyconveyed to London in private.[57]

2.5 D'Oliveira in 1968

D'Oliveira was aware of the political discussions sur-rounding him during 1968, and the pressure on him wasintensified by the scrutiny of his supporters and oppo-nents in England and South Africa. Conscious of his fail-ure in the West Indies, he made a concerted effort to im-prove his batting. He scored runs consistently and waschosen for Englands first Test of 1968, against Australiain early June. He was very successful, scoring 87 not outand taking two wickets.[59] After England lost, however,D'Oliveira was blamed in some sections of the press.[29]Wisden Cricketers Almanack noted that he failed as abowler, and his innings was difficult to evaluate as Eng-land had effectively lost the match by that stage.[60] Evenso, most observers expected him to retain his place, in-cluding the watching South Africans.[61]

Before the second Test, played at Lords, a series ofevents took place that Fraser-Sampson later describedas so bizarre as to be totally unbelievable, and yet[they] happened.[62] The evening before play began,Griffith suggested to D'Oliveira that, to save the 196869 series, he should withdraw himself from consid-eration for the tour, and announce that he wished infuture to play for South Africa rather than England.D'Oliveira angrily declined. The next day, E. W.Swantona journalist technically unconnected with theMCC, but a close friend of Allen and a member ofthe Establishmentapproached the player with a sim-ilar proposition, which D'Oliveira again dismissed.[61]Both Griffith and Swanton were opposed to apartheidSwanton had refused to report on the 196465 MCCtour of South Africa because of his objections to thesystem, and he supported D'Oliveira from a cricketingstandpoint.[63] This plan probably originated from one ofthe several South Africans present at Lords with an inter-est in the D'Oliveira question, including Coy and the pri-vate cricket tour organiser Wilfred Isaacs; according toFraser-Sampson, there is evidence to suggest that it firstcame from the SACA.[63][64] Oborne writes that Griffithand Swanton were probably well-intentioned, and positsthat they might have been caught up in a South Africanscheme in their search for a solution to the D'Oliveiraproblem.[63] Fraser-Sampson suggests that they and otherMCC figures may have felt forced into this course of ac-

tion by the vigour of the South Africans protests that theywould not tolerate a team including D'Oliveira.[65]

On the morning of the second Test, D'Oliveira was toldby Colin Cowdrey, the England captain, that he had beenleft out of the team and was instead twelfth man.[66]In his place, England chose a fast bowler to strengthentheir bowling attack.[67] While the gamewas taking place,Doug Insole, the chairman of the England selectors, in-troduced D'Oliveira to Isaacs, who offered him warmhospitality if he toured SouthAfrica in the winter. Deeplyupset with his omission, D'Oliveira returned to playfor Worcestershire once his twelfth man duties ended.Oborne suggests that, from a cricketing viewpoint, thedecision to drop D'Oliveira looks odd, and that it mayhave been connected to the South African presence atLords.[66] The replacement for D'Oliveira, Barry Knight,performed well in the second Test; D'Oliveira, by con-trast, lost all batting form. From mid-June until August,bothered by the pressure over South Africa, he struggledto score, managing just 205 runs at an average of 12.81.He maintained his form as a bowler, but critics believedhis chance had gone. In July, as part of a standard pro-cedure, the MCC wrote to 30 leading players to ask ifthey were available to tour South Africa; D'Oliveira wasnot contacted.[67][68] According to Fraser-Sampson, theidea that D'Oliveira was not then one of Englands best30 players was absurd; he writes that the selectors musttherefore have been aware that Vorster would not accepthis selection and they had consequently decided not tochoose him.[69]

During his slump in form, D'Oliveira was contacted byTienie Oosthuizen, a director at the tobacco companyCarreras, which was, alongside Rothmans, part of theSouth African Rembrandt Tobacco Corporation. Rem-brandt had set up a group known as the South AfricanSports Foundation (SASF) to promote amateur sport.Oosthuizen told D'Oliveira that he represented Roth-mans, who had sponsored matches featuring D'Oliveirawhile he was waiting to qualify for Worcestershire. Heoffered D'Oliveira work as a coach for the SASF on anannual salary of 4,000a vast sum for a professionalcricketer at the timeon the condition that he took upthis role immediately at the end of the 1968 season, andthereby made himself unavailable for the MCC tour be-fore selection took place.[70] D'Oliveira tentatively de-clined, but Oosthuizen persisted, first offering to findout if he would be included in the MCC team,[71] thentelling him that his presence in that side would embarrassVorster. D'Oliveira was aware that accepting the offercould cause many to lose respect for him as he would beabandoning the opportunity to play against South Africa,but nevertheless considered it over the following weeks.Oosthuizen repeatedly pressured him to accept. Shortlybefore the final Test of 1968, he offered personally tomatch the money that D'Oliveira told him he had beenoffered to make himself available for the MCC team.D'Oliveira stalled, and involved his agent, Reg Hayter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_outhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisden_Cricketers%2527_Almanackhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Cowdreyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_cricket_terms#Thttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Insolehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Knight_(cricketer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carreras_Tobacco_Companyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothmans_Internationalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt_Group

3.1 Oval Test match 7

After further conversations with Oosthuizen, D'Oliveiradecided to try to postpone a decision until after the teamto tour South Africa was announcedHayter had estab-lished from a source close to the selectors that D'Oliveirahad a good chance of being picked.[72]

During a later press investigation, Oosthuizen claimedto have acted independently. Anton Rupert, the headof Rembrandt, endorsed this version, asserting thatOosthuizen had acted in his capacity as an employeeof the SASF. Rupert said this was an autonomousorganisation,[73] but according to Oborne the SASFconstitution made it totally dependent on Rembrandt.Oborne writes that Oosthuizens offers were rooted inthe plans made by Vorster and Coy to bribe D'Oliveiraindirectly by offering him work that would prevent himfrom playing for the MCC.[74] Oborne surmises that theposition and salary offered to D'Oliveira did not comefrom the SASF, but were actually part of a scheme in-volving Vorster and Rupert to remove the controversialplayer from the tour.[75] Williams also concludes that theoffer was effectively a bribe to stop D'Oliveira playing.[76]

In early August, D'Oliveira returned to form with an in-nings of 89 against Warwickshire.[77] Before the fifth andfinal EnglandAustralia Test match, played between 22and 27 August, Cowdrey batted at the Oval, where thematch was to be played, and deduced that medium-pacedbowlers would be very effective given the condition ofthe cricket pitch. Consequently, when the England teamwas chosen, he asked for a medium-paced bowler to beplaced in reserve in case conditions warranted their se-lection. The two first-choice selections, Knight and TomCartwright, were unavailable, so D'Oliveira was called upby Cowdrey as a reserve on account of his bowling. Onthe day before the game, one of the England batsmen,Roger Prideaux, withdrew from the team, saying he hadan infection.[note 5] The teamwas duly re-arranged and thenew version included D'Oliveira as a batsman. He heardno more from Oosthuizen, who was transferred from theLondon office soon after.[79] The intervention of Oost-huizen became public knowledge when it was reported inthe press in April 1969.[80]

3 Height of controversy

3.1 Oval Test match

Feeling much more confident, D'Oliveira expected to besuccessful in the Oval Test match. Before the game, anunnamed MCC official circulated a story that D'Oliveirahad been offered thousands of pounds to keep himselfavailable for the South Africa tour. This was a simi-lar story to that which D'Oliveira had told Oosthuizen;it had probably travelled back to the MCC via SouthAfrica, but was not true. When the game began, Aus-tralia held a 10 lead after four Tests; England needed awin to level the series. England made a reasonable start

The Oval, pictured in 2008

on the first day, but a late wicket brought D'Oliveira into bat with the game delicately poised. Oborne observesthat D'Oliveira was under huge pressure, both for simplecricketing reasons and because the world was watchingto see if he would be successful.[81] Wisden reported: Inthe last hour D'Oliveira began his fine effort. He hookedthe short ball superbly.[82] At the end of the first day, hehad scored 23 runs.[81]

Early on the second day, D'Oliveira batted with lesscertainty. He was dropped by the opposition wicket-keeper with his score on 31, but he was encouragedby the umpire Charlie Elliott and his batting partnerJohn Edrich.[83] As his score reached fifty, Elliott whis-pered, Well playedmyGod you're going to cause someproblems.[83] D'Oliveira went on to score 158 runs be-fore he was out, although he was dropped a few moretimes after passing three figures.[82] He received a pro-longed ovation from the crowd when he was out, andcongratulations from John Gleeson, one of the opposingAustralians.[84] Oborne assesses the innings as one of thebest ever: despite the relatively weak attack and easy bat-ting conditions, Oborne believes that no other cricketerhad faced so much pressure and so many outside forcesconspiring against him.[85] Later in the game, D'Oliveiraalso contributed with the ball. After rain had reduced theamount of playing time and caused further delays throughthe subsequent clean-up, England faced a race againsttime to win the match. D'Oliveira took a crucial wicketwith his 12th ball to break a long partnership and open theway for Derek Underwood to bowl England to victory inthe game and a share in the series.[82]

Off the field, manoeuvres started immediately. Vorsterfollowed the innings closely, with Oosthuizen in atten-dance. On the second day of the match, GeoffreyHoward, the secretary of Surrey County Cricket Club(who played at theOval), received a call fromOosthuizen,who informed Howard that he had been trying withoutsuccess to contact Billy Griffith. He told Howard to passalong to Griffith the message that if todays centurion ispicked, the tour will be off.[86] Meanwhile, Insole askedD'Oliveira if he was available to tour South Africa, andCowdrey questioned him about how he would handle the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Ruperthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwickshire_County_Cricket_Clubhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ovalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cartwrighthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cartwrighthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Prideauxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ovalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Elliotthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edrichhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gleeson_(cricketer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Underwoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Howard_(British_Army_officer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Howard_(British_Army_officer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey_County_Cricket_Club

8 3 HEIGHT OF CONTROVERSY

inevitably tense situations. Cowdrey also said that hewanted him in the team. D'Oliveira was left in little doubtthat he would be selected to tour South Africa.[87]

3.2 Selection meeting

Gubby Allen (left) and Arthur Gilligan, two of the fouror fiveMCC committeemembers at the selectionmeeting

The selectors, after a six-hour meeting, chose the teamto tour South Africa on 27 August 1968.[note 6] The offi-cial records of the meeting are incomplete and of thosepresent, no one left an account of what happened. Obornebelieves that at least ten men were presentthe four se-lectors, Insole, Peter May, Don Kenyon and Alec Bedser;the England captain Colin Cowdrey; Gubby Allen, BillyGriffith, Arthur Gilligan and Donald Carr for the MCC;and possibly Maurice Allom, another MCC member.Oborne suggests that one of those present might havebeen acting for the South African government, as Vorsterwas well-informed about what happened at the meetingand followed events closely.[89] He also observes that, ofthose present, Allen, Griffith and Gilligan knew from theCobham letter what would happen if D'Oliveira were se-lected; he argues that they may have passed the infor-mation on to other selectors. Coy, who had been at theLords Test, may also have made the South African po-sition clear at the meeting. According to Oborne, Ev-eryone in the room, with the possible exception of theWorcestershire skipper Don Kenyon, would have beenaware that the selection of D'Oliveira could at best causedifficulties and at worst cause the tour to be cancelled.[90]Fraser-Sampson goes further, suggesting that Insole, andpossibly also May, knew the whole story from an early

stage.[91]

From a cricketing viewpoint, most critics agreed thatD'Oliveira should probably have been selected based onhis score at the Oval, his past record, and the usefulness ofhis bowling. The selectors left him out, however, decid-ing that his bowling was not strong enough to classify himas an all-rounder. Oborne points out that, judged in crick-eting terms, this was not an outrage.[92] D'Oliveira hadseveral rivals as a batsman, and of the places available,one went to Ken Barrington, who had a good Test record,and the other to Keith Fletcher, who was much youngerthan D'Oliveira. Oborne judges both of these decisionsfair.[93] Nobody at the selection meeting supported in-cluding D'Oliveira. Some of those present said later that,despite his prior assurances to D'Oliveira, Cowdrey op-posed his selection at the meeting, which influenced oth-ers there.[94] Fraser-Sampson suggests that Cowdrey, wholater tried to justify his role in events, may have inwardlysupported D'Oliveiras inclusion, but spoken against it outof a lack of confidence and decisiveness.[95] It is also pos-sible, argues Fraser-Sampson, that ifMay had been awareof the true state of affairs, he may have confided in Cow-drey, a close friend; this would have left Cowdrey, whowas very keen to lead a team to South Africa, in a diffi-cult and conflicted position. Fraser-Sampson concludes:Far from being the villain of the piece, Cowdrey maysimply have been an honourable man pushed beyond thelimits of his character and overwhelmed by events.[96]

As is customary at such selection meetings, there wasno vote. Insole recalled that there was no hostility to-wards D'Oliveira at the meeting, and pointed out that al-though he was not chosen in the main team, he was madea reserve.[94] Williams, while acknowledging that therewere several worthy batsmen as candidates for places inthe team, asserts that even if those at the meeting hadonly discussed the players respective cricketing abilities,every selector must have known that by not selectingD'Oliveira they would improve the prospects of the tourgoing ahead.[97] The full MCC Committee met to for-mally approve the selected team on the afternoon of 28August.[98] Nobody voiced opposition.[99]

D'Oliveira, who learned of his omission over the radioin the Worcestershire dressing room having just scored128 runs against Sussex, was deeply upset and facedintense press attention.[100][101] Insole and Griffith de-fended the decision to omit D'Oliveira to the press, sayingthat there had been no pressure from South Africa andthat the chosen team simply included better players thanD'Oliveira.[99] Oborne writes that Insole considered theevents surrounding the selection meeting as among theworst of his life, but that he and the other selectors werevictims of the decision, reached on the advice of AlecDouglas-Home early in 1968, not to press for an answerto theMCCdemand there should be 'no preconditions forthe tour. Once that decision had been made, everythingelse followed: the bribery attempt, the secret pressure andthe nobbling of the MCC. Had the matter been dealt with

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gubby_Allenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Gilliganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Kenyonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Bedserhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Carrhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Allomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Barringtonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Fletcherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex_County_Cricket_Club

3.4 Cancellation 9

... Insole would never have been subject to the innuendoand accusations of racism and betrayal that have hauntedhim ever since.[102]

3.3 Reaction

While the general public were baffled that a man whojust scored a century against Australia could be left outof the team, the English cricketing press were divided onthe decision.[80] Some journalists supported the MCC oncricketing grounds, including the cricket correspondentsof The Times and The Daily Telegraph.[note 7][104] Oth-ers, prominently the former England captain Ted Dexter,the former Test player Trevor Bailey and E. W. Swan-ton, all of whom generally sided with the cricket estab-lishment, contended that D'Oliveira deserved to be in theteam on merit.[105] Swanton said he had received no let-ters which actually agreed with the omission.[106] Othercommentators, such as the Worcestershire club secre-tary and the former West Indies Test player Learie Con-stantine, openly stated that D'Oliveira was omitted ei-ther because of his race or because the MCC supportedapartheid.[105] Some Labour politicians also expressedconcern.[105] John Arlott, while asserting that D'Oliveiradeserved to be included, suggested that to demonstrateopposition to apartheid, theMCC should perhaps have se-lected him even if this were not the case.[107] The generalpress took a wider view, with several newspaper columnsreporting that the decision appeared to have been made toavoid offending the South African government.[106] Ac-cording to Williams, the public positions held by muchof the MCC committee towards South Africa led to sus-picions that D'Oliveira may have been left out simply tosave the tour.[106]

More recent commentators suggest that the MCC mem-bers were not directly motivated by support of apartheid.Oborne argues that the MCC establishment, withoutfavouring apartheid, wished to maintain traditional linkswith white South Africa.[99] Williams suggests that thecommittee were politically naive, and that they ignoredthe political dimensions of D'Oliveiras non-selection.Williams writes that the committee seemed unawarethat its decision made it appear to support apartheid.[22]Fraser-Sampson believes that those involved acted forwhat they thought were the best of motives, namelywhat they saw as the good of the game.[108] Regard-ing the right-wing links of some individualsGilliganhad been a member of the British Fascists during the1920s,[109] and Bedser later became a member of theFreedom Association, which Fraser-Sampson classifiesas far-right[110]neither Oborne nor Fraser-Sampsonsuggests that the two men were racist, or that any ofthe selectors actions regarding D'Oliveira were taintedby prejudice or support for apartheid.[109][110] Fraser-Sampson does comment, however, that some individu-als were apologists for Vorster, and that many of themfirmly believed in the separation of politics and sport.[110]

Not all MCC members supported the selectors. Around70 members met, including the clergyman and formerEngland captain David Sheppard, and called for the tourto be abandoned. Sheppards intervention shook Cow-drey, a religious man.[111] Within weeks, several MCCmembers had resigned in protest at the decision, andthe MCC had received nearly 1,000 letters about it,mainly complaints.[112] In South Africa, whites receivedthe news happilyone nationalist rally broke into cheersupon hearing the news[101]while the black communityviewed the omission as a betrayal.[113] The British Anti-Apartheid Movement sent telegrams to the Prime Minis-ter Harold Wilson, asking him to intervene, and to Gilli-gan, asking for the tour to be cancelled on the groundsthat by playing in South Africa the England team wouldbe condoning apartheid.[106] D'Oliveira received manyletters of support from the public. He also received sym-pathetic letters from Cowdrey, Insole, Griffith and Cob-ham. He responded with a burst of good form, and wasnot drawn into publicly criticising the MCC, even offer-ing the team his support.[114] He signed a contract to coverthe tour for theNews of theWorld newspaper, which drewcriticism from other newspapers and shook Vorster.[115]At the time, non-whites were not allowed into SouthAfrican press boxes other than in a menial capacityVorster suggested that D'Oliveira may not even be al-lowed on the tour as a journalist.[116]

3.4 Cancellation

One of the MCC team, Tom Cartwright, had been strug-gling with an injury. He had considered withdrawingfrom the tour on moral grounds, owing to his reservationsabout involvement with the apartheid government.[117]There are different versions of what actually happened.According to Cowdrey, Cartwright played without dis-comfort on 14 September, passed a fitness test the follow-ing day, and suddenly withdrew after an overnight reac-tion to his exertions, prompting the selectors to take onlyten minutes to choose D'Oliveira as a replacement.[118]Fraser-Sampson records that Cartwright actually had twofitness tests, owing to pre-existing concerns over hishealth; the selectors tried to persuade him not to pullout, with Cowdrey particularly insistent, but Cartwrightwas adamant.[119] On 16 September, he withdrew fromthe MCC team, citing his injury.[120] D'Oliveira wasduly called up,[119] a decision announced the followingday.[121] Despite having been rejected as a bowler at theearlier meeting, he was now replacing a bowler in theteam; the selectors stated that D'Oliveiras bowling mightprove useful. Obornes assessment of the decision isthat they had had enough and were bowing to publicopinion.[120] Williams comments that the belated addi-tion of D'Oliveira in the wake of outcry at his exclusionconfirmed in the minds of many that politics had beeninvolved in the team selection. Denis Howell felt theneed to state publicly that the decision was the MCCs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Timeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraphhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Dexterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Baileyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learie_Constantinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learie_Constantinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Fascistshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Freedom_Associationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Freedom_Associationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Apartheid_Movementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Apartheid_Movementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Wilsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_of_the_World

10 4 AFTERMATH

alone, and that there had been no pressure from the UKgovernment.[116] D'Oliveira was pleased but suspectedthat the tour would no longer go ahead.[120]

In South Africa, Vorster heard that D'Oliveira had beenadded to the team shortly before addressing the OrangeFree State National Party congress at Bloemfontein on17 September.[120][122] He immediately announced thatEnglish team would not be allowed into South Africa ifit included D'Oliveira. He told the gathering that whilewe are and always have been prepared to play host tothe MCC ... [we] are not prepared to receive a teamthrust upon us by people whose interests are not the game,but to gain certain political objectives which they do noteven attempt to hide.[123] To loud applause, he went onto describe the revised MCC team as not the team ofthe MCC but the team of the Anti-Apartheid Movement,the team of SANROC [the South African Non-RacialOlympic Committee] and the team of Bishop Reeves [acritic of apartheid].[123] Vorster expressed similar senti-ments elsewhere, accusing the MCC of making a purelypolitical decision.[124] He insisted that he had taken a de-cision for South Africa.[122] The South African press wasmostly critical, warning that Vorsters stand might lead tothe country being excluded from international sport,[122]but Professor Bruce Murray comments that the MCCsinitial exclusion of D'Oliveira, only to then include himinstead of a bowler, had given Vorster some ammunitionto claim that the MCC selection was politically charged.Including D'Oliveira from the start would, by contrast,have forced Vorster to reveal that his plan to allow mixedteams was false.[125]

In England, Griffith responded that the tour would becancelled were D'Oliveira not allowed to play, and thathe was in the team on merit having missed selection firsttime around by a bees whisker.[126] Cowdrey, mean-while, proposed flying to South Africa himself to safe-guard the tour but the South African minister Ben Schoe-man said that D'Oliveira had been chosen because of pol-itics and that South Africa would make no deal to let himplay.[127] Coy and Cheetham flew secretly to London totry to find a compromise.[127] They held a four-hourmeet-ing with the MCC committee on 24 September, directlyafter which the committee announced that the side se-lected to representMCC in South Africa is not acceptablefor reasons beyond the control of the SACA. The MCCcommittee therefore decided unanimously that the tourwill not take place.[116] Williams argues that the delay incancelling the tour suggests that some in the MCC mightstill have hoped to find common ground with the SouthAfricans.[128] D'Oliveira briefly considered withdrawingfrom the team to save the series, but decided not to.[128]

Sheppard and other MCC rebels called a Special Gen-eral Meeting of the MCC;[129] they wanted the MCC tostate publicly that the team selection had beenmishandledand that no further cricket should take place with SouthAfrica until cricket there had been made non-racial. Be-fore the meeting took place, the General Committee met

the rebels and initially claimed that it would have beeninappropriate to ask South Africa about D'Oliveira be-fore the touralthough they had done so. The commit-tee then admitted writing a letter but said that they hadnever received a reply. The Special GeneralMeeting tookplace in December 1968, but the rebels were outvoted bythe other members; Sheppard was criticised by membersat the meeting, and his former friend Peter May refusedto talk to him afterwards.[127] Those opposing Sheppardsuggested that he opposed apartheid whereas the com-mittee wanted to advance cricket. It was also suggestedthat the MCC should not act as the conscience of GreatBritain.[130] Williams suggests that the vote indicatedthat a high proportion of the MCC favoured maintainingcricketing links with South Africa despite knowing thatSouth African cricket operated racial segregation.[130]

4 Aftermath

Coming just after New Zealand abandoned their 1967rugby tour over South Africas refusal to accommodatea mixed team, the cancellation of the 196869 MCCseries over D'Oliveira marked the second such incidentin two years.[22] According to Oborne, the affair forcedupon South African cricket a realisation that it had tochange. In 1969, the South African Cricket Board ofControl (SACBOC) announced that future teams wouldbe racially integrated and selected purely on merit; effortsduly began to allow all races to compete against each otherand share facilities. This led to some disagreement amongnon-white sports organisations between those who sup-ported these incremental changes and those who wantedimmediate disbanding of the old system. D'Oliveira, amember of the first group, was partly drawn into this con-flict. He also faced criticism from those in South Africaand England who believed that, to oppose apartheid, heshould have declared himself unavailable to tour in thefirst place.[131] With the tour to South Africa cancelled,the MCC hastily arranged for its team to play a Test se-ries in Pakistan instead. D'Oliveira played and was verysuccessful.[132] He remained an England regular for fourmore years and played for Worcestershire until 1979.[29]

In 1969, many of the events from the previous yearbecame public knowledge, including the deceptions ofAllen, Griffith and Gilligan. The MCC committee metand granted retrospective approval to the actions of thefour men. Griffiths offer to resign was declined.[133] Thepress outcry of 1968 was not repeated; Fraser-Sampsonspeculates that the MCC may have applied pressure tojournalists.[134] Griffith and Allen later received honoursfrom the British government.[135]

Controversy continued to flare in Britain and other coun-tries regarding sporting links with South Africa. TheSouth Africa rugby team's 196970 tour of Britain andIreland was accompanied by mass demonstrations againstapartheid, including an attempt by a protester in Lon-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloemfonteinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Reeveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Schoemanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Schoemanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Cricket_Board_of_Controlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Cricket_Board_of_Controlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders,_decorations,_and_medals_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_teamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969%E2%80%9370_South_Africa_rugby_union_tour_of_Britain_and_Irelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969%E2%80%9370_South_Africa_rugby_union_tour_of_Britain_and_Ireland

11

don to hijack the South African team bus, and a demon-stration in Dublin where people tried to stop the SouthAfricans from reaching the match venue by lying downin the middle of the street.[136] The South Africa cricketteam was due to tour England shortly afterwards,[137]and the MCC remained keen for the series to go ahead.They cancelled the tour a week before the South Africanswere due to arrive, following public protests and pres-sure from the UK government.[138][139] Virulent anti-apartheid demonstrations in Australia during the SouthAfrica rugby teams 1971 tour led to soaring police costs,matches played behind fences and barbed wire, and astate of emergency in Queensland, all of which promptedthe Australian Cricket Board to cancel the tour by theSouth Africa cricket team that had been scheduled tofollow.[note 8][140]

South Africa was thereafter almost totally isolated frominternational cricket, but not from rugby. The AustralianRugby Union severed ties with South Africa after the tur-bulent 1971 series, but its counterparts in New Zealand,France and the Home Nations retained links into the1980s. With Mori and Samoan players officially des-ignated "honorary whites" by the South African govern-ment, mixed-raceNewZealand rugby teams toured SouthAfrica in 1970 and 1976.[142] The SACBOC formally in-tegrated South African cricket in 1976,[143] but enduringoverseas opposition to South Africas internal governancemeant that the country did not play official internationalcricket again until 1991, after the start of the process todismantle apartheid.[144]

5 Notes[1] At the time official English touring teams played under the

name, colours and badge of theMCC and were only styledEngland during Test matches.[10][11]

[2] Controversy exists regarding the ancestry of C. B.Llewellyn, who played for South Africa between 1896 and1912;[5] a biographical article published in 1976 contend-ing that he was coloured was vehemently refuted by his de-scendants, who insisted that he had been of pure Britishstock.[6]

[3] Macmillan stressed the rising black nationalist ambitionsacross Africa, made clear Britains intent to grant inde-pendence to its remaining colonies and urged the SouthAfrican government to work towards eventually creatinga society in which individual merit, and individual meritalone, is the criterion for a mans advancement. Thespeech and its theme had been widely anticipated in SouthAfrica, but the frank tone of Macmillans delivery sur-prised many. The parliamentarians received the speechcoldly.[14]

[4] At the time, cricketers had to have lived in a county for ayear to qualify to play for that team.[31]

[5] Prideaux later admitted that he could have played, but wasconcerned that if he had failed in that game, it might have

cost him his place on the winter tour of South Africa.[78]

[6] The meeting began at 8 pm on that date, but did not finishuntil 2 am on 28 August.[88]

[7] John Woodcock, the Times correspondent, supported theselectors at the time, but later changed his mind, saying hehad misjudged the situation surrounding D'Oliveira.[103]

[8] Both of these cancelled tours were replaced by pseudo-Test series pitting the host nation against "Rest of theWorld" teams featuring leading cricketers from around theworld, including several South Africans.[140][141]

6 References[1] Oborne, p. 12.

[2] Quelch, You've got to be Carefully Taught, Location741

[3] Quelch, You've got to be Carefully Taught, Location800.

[4] Oborne, pp. 1415.

[5] Charlie Llewellyn. ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 25 March2014.

[6] Allen, Patrick (February 1976). Charles LlewellynAn early D'Oliveira. The Cricketer, reprinted by ESP-NCricinfo. Retrieved 25 March 2014.

[7] Oborne, pp. 1723.

[8] Williams, p. 54.

[9] Oborne, pp. 11419.

[10] MCC History. MCC. Retrieved 15 May 2013.

[11] Peebles, I. A. R. (1986). History (19001914)". InSwanton, E. W.; Plumptre, George; Woodcock, John.Barclays World of Cricket (3rd ed.). London: WillowBooks in association with Barclays Bank PLC. p. 20.ISBN 0-00-218193-2.

[12] Oborne, p. 16.

[13] Quelch, You've got to be Carefully Taught, Location829.

[14] 1960: Macmillan speaks of 'wind of change' in Africa.London: BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2014.

[15] Quelch, Waiting for Godot, Location 3472.

[16] Quelch, The Tribe that Lost its Head, Location 4285.

[17] Williams, pp. 5354.


[19] Duffus, Louis; Owen-Smith, Michael; Odendaal, Andre(1986). Overseas cricket: South Africa. In Swanton, E.W.; Plumptre, George; Woodcock, John. Barclays Worldof Cricket (3rd ed.). London: Willow Books in associationwith Barclays Bank PLC. p. 116. ISBN 0-00-218193-2.

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12 6 REFERENCES

[20] Lapchick, Richard E. (April 1975). The Politics of Raceand International Sport: the Case of South Africa. West-port, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-8371-7691-8.

[21] Oborne, pp. 11922.


[23] Oborne, p. 134.

[24] Fraser-Sampson, Chapter 5, Location 976.


[26] Oborne, pp. 12324.

[27] Martin, Douglas (26 November 2011). Basil D'Oliveira,a Symbol for Cricket and for Equality, Dies at 80. TheNew York Times. New York. Retrieved 30 June 2013.

[28] Oborne, pp. 2426.

[29] Basil D'Oliveira (Obituary)". Wisden Cricketers Al-manack. London: John Wisden & Co. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4081-5634-6. Retrieved 23 June 2013.

[30] Oborne, pp. 5564.

[31] Oborne, p. 87.


[33] Oborne, pp. 12628.

[34] Oborne, pp. 13334.

[35] Oborne, pp. 12933.

[36] Oborne, p. 135.

[37] Oborne, pp. 13538.



[40] Oborne, pp. 14245.

[41] Oborne, p. 145.

[42] Oborne, pp. 14546.


[44] Oborne, p. 138.


[46] Quoted in Williams, p. 56.

[47] Swanton, p. 289.


[49] Oborne, pp. 13839.

[50] Oborne, pp. 14748.

[51] Oborne, pp. 14849.

[52] Oborne, pp. 14950.



[55] Oborne, pp. 15153.

[56] Oborne, pp. 15354.

[57] Oborne, pp. 15455.

[58] Swanton, p. 290.

[59] Oborne, pp. 13941.

[60] England v Australia (First Test)". Wisden Cricketers Al-manack. London: John Wisden & Co. 1969. Retrieved 6November 2013.

[61] Oborne, pp. 15558.


[63] Oborne, pp. 15859.



[66] Oborne, pp. 16061.

[67] Melford, Michael (1969). The D'Oliveira case. Wis-den Cricketers Almanack. London: John Wisden & Co.Retrieved 31 October 2013.

[68] Oborne, pp. 16263.


[70] Oborne, pp. 16265.

[71] Oborne, p. 166.

[72] Oborne, pp. 17278.

[73] Oborne, pp. 16668.

[74] Oborne, pp. 15051, 169.

[75] Oborne, p. 171.


[77] Oborne, p. 163.

[78] Oborne, p. 180.

[79] Oborne, pp. 17980.


[81] Oborne, pp. 18083.

[82] Preston, Norman (1969). England v Australia (FifthTest)". Wisden Cricketers Almanack. London: John Wis-den & Co. Retrieved 31 October 2013.

[83] Oborne, pp. 18384.


[85] Oborne, pp. 18485.

[86] Oborne, pp. 18586.

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13

[87] Oborne, pp. 18688.

[88] Oborne, p. 189.

[89] Oborne, pp. 18995.

[90] Oborne, pp. 19697.


[92] Oborne, p. 200.

[93] Oborne, p. 199.

[94] Oborne, pp. 20001.




[98] Oborne, p. 202.

[99] Oborne, pp. 21213.

[100] The Moment of Heartbreak. The Star (Johannesburg).29 August 1968. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 3 December 2013.

[101] Oborne, pp. 20405.

[102] Oborne, p. 196.


[104] Oborne, pp. 21718.

[105] Oborne, pp. 21315.


[107] Oborne, pp. 21617.


[109] Oborne, p. 194.


[111] Oborne, p. 221.

[112] Cowdrey defends South African tour. The Times (Lon-don). 9 September 1968. p. 1.

[113] Oborne, p. 218.

[114] Oborne, pp. 21920.

[115] Oborne, pp. 22122.





[120] Oborne, pp. 22224.


[122] Williamson, Martin (13 September 2008). TheD'Oliveira Affair. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 Novem-ber 2013.

[123] Murray, Bruce; Merrett, Christopher (2004). Caught Be-hind: Race And Politics In Springbok Cricket. Johannes-burg: Wits University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-86914-059-5.

[124] Oborne, pp. 22425.

[125] Quoted in Oborne, p. 225.

[126] Oborne, pp. 22526.

[127] Oborne, pp. 22628.


[129] Oborne, pp. 22021.


[131] Oborne, pp. 22934.

[132] Oborne, pp. 23637.




[136] Inverdale, John (20 September 2006). Remembering bit-ter Springboks tour that paved a way for change. TheDaily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 7 November 2013.

[137] Williamson, Martin. A last-gasp winner and a hijackedbus. ESPNscrum. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved 7 November2013.

[138] Oborne, pp. 23435.

[139] Swanton, pp. 29293.

[140] Williamson, Martin (1 October 2005). When peoplepower sunk South Africa. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7November 2013.

[141] Ryder-Whish, Matthew (July 2000). The best of thebest?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 November 2013.

[142] Nauright, John (1997). Sport, Cultures, and Identities inSouth Africa. Leicester: Leicester University Press. pp.143147, 151152. ISBN 978-0-7185-0072-6.

[143] Odendaal, Andr (2003). The Story of an African Game:Black Cricketers and the Unmasking of one of CricketsGreatest Myths, South Africa, 18502003. Cape Town:David Philip Publishers. pp. 223227. ISBN 978-0-86486-638-7.

[144] Williamson, Martin (14 July 2012). Rewind to 1970:When politics killed a tour. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7November 2013.

http://heritage.thetimes.co.za/memorials/WC/BasilDOliveira/Article.aspx?id=570449https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_(South_Africa)http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/356092.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/356092.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86914-059-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86914-059-5http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/2346183/Remembering-bitter-Springboks-tour-that-paved-a-way-for-change.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/2346183/Remembering-bitter-Springboks-tour-that-paved-a-way-for-change.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraphhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraphhttp://www.espnscrum.com/southafrica/rugby/story/165323.htmlhttp://www.espnscrum.com/southafrica/rugby/story/165323.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPNscrumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN,_Inc.http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/220550.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/220550.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketer/content/story/220595.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketer/content/story/220595.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7185-0072-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-86486-638-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-86486-638-7http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/571799.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/571799.html

14 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY

7 Bibliography Fraser-Sampson, Guy (2011). Cricket at the Cross-

roads : Class, Colour and Controversy from 1967to 1977. London: Elliot and Thompson. ASINB0078XG2X6. ISBN 978-1-907642-34-0.

Oborne, Peter (2004). Basil D'Oliveira. Cricketand Conspiracy: The Untold Story. London: Little,Brown. ISBN 0-316-72572-2.

Quelch, Tim (2012). Bent Arms & Dodgy Wickets:Englands Troubled Reign as Test Match Kings dur-ing the Fifties. Durrington: Pitch Publishing. ASINB00ARFZZYE. ISBN 978-1-909178-39-7.

Swanton, E. W. (1985). Gubby Allen: Man ofCricket. London: Hutchinson/Stanley Paul. ISBN0-09-159780-3.

Williams, Jack (2001). Cricket and Race. Oxford:Berg. ISBN 1-85973-309-3.

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15

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text D'Oliveira affair Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Oliveira%20affair?oldid=653684740 Contributors: Ukexpat, MacRusgail,

Crisco 1492, BlackJack, Ian Rose, Moonlight Mile, Harrias, Tim riley, Mr Stephen, Cydebot, Tec15, SGGH, Rothorpe, Jmorrison230582,Keith D, Lost Number, KylieTastic, Brianboulton, Dank, Legobot, AnomieBOT, Materialscientist, Cliftonian, Cassianto, Sarastro1, Johnof Reading, ClueBot NG, Footballzs, Starship.paint, Navhus, Khazar2, Ruby Murray, Caiaphodus, TFA Protector Bot, A. Pseudonym,Androgyne, Monkbot and Anonymous: 4

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File:Arthur_Gilligan.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Arthur_Gilligan.jpg License: Public domainContributors: (3 January 1925). "TEST RECORDS BROKEN.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954): 13. NSW: NationalLibrary of Australia. Retrieved on 15 May 2012. Original artist: Unknown

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Immediate source: Woodcock, John (6 September 1968). The Fifth Test: The Moment of Victory. The Cricketer (London: TheCricketer Ltd): 9.Original artist: Source does not indicate the photographer or the copyright owner

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BackgroundSouth AfricaEnglandInternational sportD'Oliveira

Build-upAnticipationSouth Africas positionMCC manoeuvresSouth African planD'Oliveira in 1968

Height of controversyOval Test matchSelection meetingReactionCancellation

AftermathNotesReferencesBibliographyText and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license

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