Basil D'Oliveira

Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE OIS (4 October 1931 – 19 November 2011) was an England international cricketer of South African Cape Coloured background, whose potential selection by England for the scheduled 1968–69 tour of apartheid-era South Africa caused the D'Oliveira affair.

With the support of John Arlott, and the members and supporters of St Augustine's Cricket Club in Cape Town, he emigrated to England in 1960, where the journalist John Kay found him a place in the Central Lancashire League team of Middleton.

D'Oliveira noted his surprise at seeing white people doing menial work, and waiting on him in restaurants.

Nicknamed "Dolly", D'Oliveira played county cricket for Worcestershire from 1964 to 1980, and appeared for England in 44 Test matches and four One Day Internationals between 1966 and 1972.

D'Oliveira was born into a religious Catholic family in Signal Hill, Cape Town; he believed that his family probably came from Madeira, not Malaya or Indonesia like most of his community and this explained his Portuguese surname.

As a boy he visited the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town and climbed the trees outside to watch the games.

He captained South Africa's national non-white cricket team, and also played football for the non-white national side.

He joined the first-class county team Worcestershire County Cricket Club in 1964, and became a British citizen.

In 1966, he was selected for the England cricket team as an all-rounder to face the West Indians in the second Test.

He made a solid debut, scoring 27 before being run out, and returning bowling figures of 1 for 24 and 1 for 46 in 39 overs.

In the third Test he scored 76 and 54, while capturing 2 wickets for 51 and 2 for 77 at Trent Bridge; though the West Indies cantered to a 139-run victory.

He contributed a fighting 88 in the fourth Test at Headingley, although England once again lost, by an innings and 55 runs.

D'Oliveira was quietly efficient in the final Test as England turned the tables on the West Indies, winning by an innings and 34 runs to lose the series 3–1.

Against India he hit 109 in the first Test where England won by six wickets and went on to win the series 3–0.

Facing Pakistan he hit fifties in both innings of the first Test, in a series that England won 2–0.

He was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1967.

In the away series against the West Indies, early in 1968, D'Oliveira was not at his best in the five matches.

He scored only 137 runs at an average of 27.4.

He bowled extensively, but picked up only three wickets, even though he was economical.

Once back in England, it was time for a five-Test Ashes series.

The Aussies crushed England by 159 runs in the first Test as England crumbled in their second innings, despite D'Oliveira's top scoring effort of 87 not out.

He was then dropped for the subsequent three Tests.

He was recalled for the final Test at the Oval, and 158 runs in the first innings against Australia seemed to have guaranteed his place in the side to play the 1968–69 Test series in South Africa.

He was left out of the touring party under the pretext that his bowling would not be effective in his native country.

However, he was later called up as a replacement and the tour was cancelled.

He was selected in June 1969 to face the West Indies, this time in a three-Test series.

He followed that with a three-match series against New Zealand and then a seven-Test Ashes series in Australia, in which he scored 369 runs at an average of 36.9, including 117 in the fifth Test at the MCG.

England then went to New Zealand for two Tests, with D'Oliveira scoring 100 in the first one and 58 and five in the second.

When he toured Australia in 1970–71 on the night after they won the series 2–0 he pushed his forefinger into the chest of every Australian he met, saying "We stuffed you."

Wanting to play international cricket, D'Oliveira was somewhat cagey about his date of birth.

After his death, journalist Pat Murphy with whom he collaborated on his autobiography stated:

Basil had to lie about his age because he thought if they realised how old he was they would not pick him for England.

Pakistan next visited England in 1971, and D'Oliveira enjoyed a fine series with the bat, making 241 runs at an average of 60.25.

He was below par in the three-Test series against India that followed, but was in better form for the visit of Australia in June 1972.

D'Oliveira completed his playing career having played 41 Tests.

He scored 2484 runs at an average of 40.06, with five centuries and 15 fifties.

He also captured 47 wickets at 39.55.

After his retirement from first-class cricket D’Oliveira was the Worcestershire coach from 1980 to 1990.

D'Oliveira was a successful batsman with a low backlift and powerful strokes.

He was also a tough competitor.