Death comes to even the nicest of human beings. From what I have seen and read about Basil he appears to have been a very nice man. He will be remembered of course as a terrific cricketer but mostly as a talented man who was denied his human rights in South Africa during the apartheid era by being excluded from consideration from the national cricket team simply because of his skin colour.
To die at 80 is not unusual. Nevertheless it is so sad to hear of the passing of such a graceful and kindly man who was perhaps pushed into an unwanted situation in 1967 and handled it with great dignity. He will be remembered for as long as cricket is played and quite rightly so.
I remember Dolly batting against Kent in the B&H final in the mid-70's. He has pulled his hamstring or something and was batting virtualluy one leg. As long he was there Worcester had a chance, I think he got 50 odd. Was glad to see the back of him that day!
The D'Oliveria Affair was massive. The true facts, conspiricy and cover ups involved in 1967 have only just come to light. Basil D'Oliveira: Cricket and Controversy by Peter Oborne tells all. The MCC, senior politicians and then captain Colin Cowdrey do not come out of it all very well.
He had been suffering from Alzheimer's for some time.
I saw him play in a charity game at Blackheath once.
RIP
Me too.
I also affectionately remember sitting with my late father watching him playing for the International Cavaliers in many of the televised Sunday 40 over matches on BBC 2 during the sixties which, arguably, inspired the John Player league and later incarnations on a Sunday.
A very powerful hard hitting batsman and a more than useful bowler with a knack of breaking partnerships. Not quite a genuine all rounder perhaps but a damned good batsman who bowled.
I echo the comments of others re his dignity over the D' Oliveira affair and on that note his own website might be of interest:
I worked in Kent & Canterbury hospital at the time, in a lab on the second floor with a massive uninterrupted view of the cricket ground. I had become accustomed to my Pathologist charging past me to the window everytime a cheer went up, but when Dolly was playing, it seemed to be non-stop cheering. I knew little of cricket beyond free entry, free beer and good times, but Dolly's reputation had broken through my tipsy ignorance. A beautiful highly talented cricketer whose shameful treatment exposed the sordid structured world of apartheid (plus the Brit establishment complicity) and who knocked away one of apartheids cornerstones. Truly a legend. RIP.
Even as a young person - which believe it or not I was at the time of the "d'Oliveira Affair" - it alway struck me that the dignitiy with which Basil conducted himself made an absolute mockery of the stance of the S.A. government.
He was a very handy all-rounder too, even at test level.
Comments
Death comes to even the nicest of human beings. From what I have seen and read about Basil he appears to have been a very nice man. He will be remembered of course as a terrific cricketer but mostly as a talented man who was denied his human rights in South Africa during the apartheid era by being excluded from consideration from the national cricket team simply because of his skin colour.
To die at 80 is not unusual. Nevertheless it is so sad to hear of the passing of such a graceful and kindly man who was perhaps pushed into an unwanted situation in 1967 and handled it with great dignity. He will be remembered for as long as cricket is played and quite rightly so.
I remember Dolly batting against Kent in the B&H final in the mid-70's. He has pulled his hamstring or something and was batting virtualluy one leg. As long he was there Worcester had a chance, I think he got 50 odd. Was glad to see the back of him that day!
The D'Oliveria Affair was massive. The true facts, conspiricy and cover ups involved in 1967 have only just come to light. Basil D'Oliveira: Cricket and Controversy by Peter Oborne tells all. The MCC, senior politicians and then captain Colin Cowdrey do not come out of it all very well.
He had been suffering from Alzheimer's for some time.
Even as a young person - which believe it or not I was at the time of the "d'Oliveira Affair" - it alway struck me that the dignitiy with which Basil conducted himself made an absolute mockery of the stance of the S.A. government.
He was a very handy all-rounder too, even at test level.
RIP Basil
He also wrote to Charlton asking for a trial but never got a response.