- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; 1st Edition 1st Printing edition (17 Jun 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316725722
- ISBN-13: 978-0316725729
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 240,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'It is an inspirational story and one which never fails to move this reader' Michael Parkinson, DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Oborne tells this remarkable story with the tautness of a thriller and the focus of a political tract. If you are at all interested in either cricket or humanity, I guarantee that you will read his book at one sitting.' Peter Wilby, NEW STATESMAN 'It is a masterpiece of research and reconstruction of the most significant sporting uprising of our times' DAILY MAIL 'As this stunning book makes very clear, principled people acting together can sniff out the essential truth and make the difference. Read it and risk being inspired to do the same.' IRELAND TRIBUNE 'Compelling reading ... Oborne has put together a thorough and very readable chronicle of an inspirational man' SUNDAY TIMES 'Peter Oborne's book is a fine cliffhanger, carrying important details previously unearthed' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Peter Wilby, NEW STATESMAN
'Oborne tells this remarkable story with the tautness of a thriller and the focus of a political tract.'
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First Sentence
The postman rarely came to Upper Bloem Street, high above Cape Town, home of the D'Oliveira family. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The postman rarely came to Upper Bloem Street, high above Cape Town, home of the D'Oliveira family. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
My interest in cricket began in the early 1970s, just after the D'Oliveira affair. I always wondered, as a boy, why South Africa were excluded from sport and, obviously, I've learned a lot as I've got older. Like most people, I had a basic understanding of South Africa's apartheid policy. However, reading this book has made me realise the massive odds that Basil D'Oliveira overcame in order to achieve his ambitions and to beat his own country's apartheid system.
That he survived great traumas, in South Africa and England, is a testimony to a great sportsman and a man with great strength of character. Read this book and you will learn a lot - it is one of, if not the, best books about sport that I have read.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic book, telling the story of Basil D'Oliveira's desire to play cricket in the face of apparently insurmountable odds. It is a remarkable story: a triumph of will and talent in the face of adversity.
I am a little too young to remember the D'Oliveira affair clearly but this book does an excellent job of describing how he became an England cricketer and puts 'the affair' into the relevant political and cricket context.
The cricket first... as an ageing (now aged) cricket player and cricket fan I was struck by his amazing achievements on the cricket field. How in his thirties he came to England and was successful playing in the Lancashire leagues (having never played on a grass wicket before), how he made himself first a successful county player and then a successful test player at an age when most players have long since retired. I was also struck by the fact that we missed out on his best cricket years - if he had started his first class career when he should and given his ability to play under pressure, it is easy to believe that his achievements would be legendary. Furthermore, the book successfully explores and explodes the myth of South African cricket being a white only game. It is a tragedy (for cricket and South African sport in general) that D'Oliveira's contemporaries were denied the opportunity to play at the highest level.
The politics... the book does an excellent job describing the oppression in South Africa and the notion that sport and politics in South Africa could be separated is thoroughly debunked. A particularly chilling aspect of apartheid was how it brainwashed all its citizens, irrespective of race, into believing that it was normal. The problems Basil and his wife, Naomi, had in dealing with British culture (looking for 'their' train carriage or 'their' door) and their surprise and joy at the warmth with which they were greeted is very moving.
The affair itself is handled well and comprehensively - the blatant untruths are identified and exposed and the cowardice and complicity of the English sporting authorities is revealed. Oborne avoids direct personal attacks and is actually quite sympathetic to Doug Insole (the chairman of selectors) although he clearly believes that Colin Cowdrey behaved appallingly.
There are also many heroes in the book. John Arlott emerges as a shining beacon of truth, justice and humanity; Tom Graveney and Ray Illingworth were very supportive; D'Oliveira's friends at home raised money they could ill afford to send him to England, Middleton cricket club should be very proud of the role they played.
This is one of the best sports books ever written. A book that should appeal to all cricket fans but equally has much to recommend it to people not particularly interested in cricket.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Oborne's book is a wonderful account of D'Oliveira's amazing struggle. At 250 pages, it is concise, and never overplays the story.
D'Oliveira's story is more remarkable than I, for one, realised before reading this book. Oborne makes a good case for D'Oliveira to be classed as a great player - for a player to return a Test batting average of over 40 after making their debut at the age of 34 is quite remarkable, as is the fact that D'Oliveira is one of the few players to have a Test batting average higher than their bowling average. Oborne also rates his 158 in the last Test of the 1968 series as the greatest innings ever played, considering the pressure D'Oliveira was under and the political impact it had. For me this is debatable, but he puts the case well, and it's an interesting assertion worth thinking about.
There's an awful lot in this comparatively short book. There is a lengthy section on the early years in South African 'racial' cricket, and a good account of the role of John Arlott as a kind of Fairy Godmother, giving D'Oliveira the chance to start a career in England. And like others here I was very touched indeed to read of his wife, Naomi, and the confusion she felt at the absence of signs in Britain to denote the facilities that blacks were allowed to use, and her fear at entering 'white' shops in Middleton, and her tears when she was received with great affection and warmth. The towns of Middleton and Worcester can stand tall given the role they played in this story.
The meat of the book, though, is an account of the summer of 1968, when D'Oliveira at the last moment made it almost impossible for the MCC not to pick him for the 1968/9 tour of South Africa, which they knew would inevitably cause the South African Government to cancel the tour. It is a dismaying story of the unholy alliance between the fascistic South African Government and the kind of oily, mendacious and cowardly 'establishment' figures who hamstrung British cricket for a hundred years or more with their incompetence. Men such as Gubby Allan, Arthur Gilligan, Billy Griffith and Colin Cowdrey. History is now judging them harshly, as it has already done to their bungling predecessors (Plum Warner and his ilk).
D'Oliveira emerges as a remarkable character, modest and undemonstrative, and like most sportsmen, keen to duck out of the political spotlight, for which he was unfairly criticised by some. But he had a steel backbone, which he needed to make a successful first class and Test career in cricketing middle age, taking each huge step up in quality in his stride. He also had the ability that all sportsmen admire the most - the ability to deliver when the heat is on.
A great book, and the underplayed tone of the writing gives Oborne's judgements heft and impact. Dolly took the b*ggers on and, ultimately, beat them.
D'Oliveira's story is more remarkable than I, for one, realised before reading this book. Oborne makes a good case for D'Oliveira to be classed as a great player - for a player to return a Test batting average of over 40 after making their debut at the age of 34 is quite remarkable, as is the fact that D'Oliveira is one of the few players to have a Test batting average higher than their bowling average. Oborne also rates his 158 in the last Test of the 1968 series as the greatest innings ever played, considering the pressure D'Oliveira was under and the political impact it had. For me this is debatable, but he puts the case well, and it's an interesting assertion worth thinking about.
There's an awful lot in this comparatively short book. There is a lengthy section on the early years in South African 'racial' cricket, and a good account of the role of John Arlott as a kind of Fairy Godmother, giving D'Oliveira the chance to start a career in England. And like others here I was very touched indeed to read of his wife, Naomi, and the confusion she felt at the absence of signs in Britain to denote the facilities that blacks were allowed to use, and her fear at entering 'white' shops in Middleton, and her tears when she was received with great affection and warmth. The towns of Middleton and Worcester can stand tall given the role they played in this story.
The meat of the book, though, is an account of the summer of 1968, when D'Oliveira at the last moment made it almost impossible for the MCC not to pick him for the 1968/9 tour of South Africa, which they knew would inevitably cause the South African Government to cancel the tour. It is a dismaying story of the unholy alliance between the fascistic South African Government and the kind of oily, mendacious and cowardly 'establishment' figures who hamstrung British cricket for a hundred years or more with their incompetence. Men such as Gubby Allan, Arthur Gilligan, Billy Griffith and Colin Cowdrey. History is now judging them harshly, as it has already done to their bungling predecessors (Plum Warner and his ilk).
D'Oliveira emerges as a remarkable character, modest and undemonstrative, and like most sportsmen, keen to duck out of the political spotlight, for which he was unfairly criticised by some. But he had a steel backbone, which he needed to make a successful first class and Test career in cricketing middle age, taking each huge step up in quality in his stride. He also had the ability that all sportsmen admire the most - the ability to deliver when the heat is on.
A great book, and the underplayed tone of the writing gives Oborne's judgements heft and impact. Dolly took the b*ggers on and, ultimately, beat them.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A well written biography
I really enjoyed this book. I got into cricket via my South African fiancé and he bought me this book as a gift. Read more
Published 8 months ago by SweetCinnamon
Fascinating story- deserved better treatment
The story of Basil D'Oliviera's life is a fascinating one. He is a essentially a simple, decent, non-political guy who through wanting to do what he did best became the focus of a... Read more
Published 11 months ago by G J Smith
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