Basil 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.
23 Facts About Basil D'Oliveira
1.
2.
Basil D'Oliveira captained South Africa's national non-white cricket team, and played football for the non-white national side.
3.
Basil D'Oliveira noted his surprise at seeing white people doing menial work, and waiting on him in restaurants.
4.
Basil D'Oliveira joined the first-class county team Worcestershire County Cricket Club in 1964, and became a British citizen.
5.
Basil D'Oliveira 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.
6.
Basil D'Oliveira contributed a fighting 88 in the fourth Test at Headingley, although England lost, by an innings and 55 runs.
7.
Basil D'Oliveira was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1967.
8.
Basil D'Oliveira scored only 137 runs at an average of 27.4.
9.
Basil D'Oliveira bowled extensively, but picked up only three wickets, even though he was economical.
10.
The Aussies crushed England by 159 runs in the first Test as England crumbled in their second innings, despite Basil D'Oliveira's top scoring effort of 87 not out.
11.
Basil D'Oliveira was then dropped for the subsequent three Tests.
12.
Basil D'Oliveira was left out of the touring party under the pretext that his bowling would not be effective in his native country.
13.
Basil D'Oliveira was selected in June 1969 to face the West Indies, this time in a three-Test series.
14.
Basil D'Oliveira 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.
15.
England then went to New Zealand for two Tests, with Basil D'Oliveira scoring 100 in the first one and 58 and five in the second.
16.
Pakistan next visited England in 1971, and Basil D'Oliveira enjoyed a fine series with the bat, making 241 runs at an average of 60.25.
17.
Basil D'Oliveira 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.
18.
Basil D'Oliveira scored 2484 runs at an average of 40.06, with five centuries and 15 fifties.
19.
Basil D'Oliveira was a successful batsman with a low backlift and powerful strokes.
20.
Basil D'Oliveira had to lie about his age because he thought if they realised how old he was they would not pick him for England.
21.
Vorster had already made it clear that Basil D'Oliveira's inclusion was not acceptable, and despite many negotiations the tour was cancelled; South Africa was excluded from Test cricket for 22 years.
22.
The Basil D'Oliveira Affair had a massive impact in turning international opinion against the apartheid regime in South Africa.
23.
Basil D'Oliveira died aged 80 in England, on 19 November 2011.