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McFaul
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  • 2 weeks later...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/15803140.stm

 

Former England all-rounder Basil D'Oliveira has died at the age of 80.

 

Born in South Africa, D'Oliveira moved to England in 1960 due to the lack of opportunities for non-White players.

In 1968 he was named in England's squad to tour South Africa which was then cancelled as South Africa's government refused to accept his presence.

D'Oliveira played county cricket for Worcestershire between 1964-80 and represented England in 44 Tests, scoring 2,484 runs at an average of 40.

The headlines made by D'Oliveira in 1968 marked the start of South Africa's sporting isolation.

 

After being added to the England squad as a replacement for the injured Tom Cartwright the South African government made it clear he would not be welcome after they learned he was originally from South Africa and coloured.

 

The tour was called off and the incident culminated in a ban on sporting ties with South Africa which would last until the early 1990s.

No official team from any country subsequently toured South Africa until apartheid was abolished following Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990.

Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola paid tribute to the man fondly called 'Dolly' whose health had been deteriorating for some time leading up to his death in England.

 

"He was a man of true dignity and a wonderful role model as somebody who overcame the most extreme prejudices and circumstances to take his rightful place on the world stage.

 

"The circumstances surrounding his being prevented from touring the country of his birth with England in 1968 led directly to the intensification of opposition to apartheid around the world and contributed materially to the sports boycott that turned out to be an Achilles heel of the apartheid government.

 

"Throughout this shameful period in South Africa's sporting history, Basil displayed a human dignity that earned him worldwide respect and admiration.

 

"His memory and inspiration will live on among all of us. On behalf of the CSA family I would like to convey our sympathies to his family and salute them on a life well lived."

D'Oliveira's son Damian played county cricket for Worcestershire, between 1982 and 1995.

 

In August his grandson Brett, a leg spinner, also signed for Worcestershire on a one-year contract.

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There's been some talk recently of India, Australia and England playing each other more regularly as it happens. As they're the big ones as far as generating income is concerned.

 

My fear is that 20/20 cricket will kill off proper Test Match cricket - the thinking man's game. The signs are there already in Australia. Money talks, bullshit walks.

 

What...... like Australia's most feared 20/20 batsman (Warner) fine-tuning his technique and trying to adapt his approach (re:aggression) to suit the longer form of the game.

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I think Test cricket is massively under threat. To be fair though, I've been watching India V WI this week and the ground has been deserted. Same with SA V Australia, which is a shame as it's the best form of the game (in my opinion of course).

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There's been some talk recently of India, Australia and England playing each other more regularly as it happens. As they're the big ones as far as generating income is concerned.

 

My fear is that 20/20 cricket will kill off proper Test Match cricket - the thinking man's game. The signs are there already in Australia. Money talks, bullshit walks.

 

What...... like Australia's most feared 20/20 batsman (Warner) fine-tuning his technique and trying to adapt his approach (re:aggression) to suit the longer form of the game.

 

David Warner has more ability in his right pinky than Phil Hughes does in his whole body. It is unfortunate that up until now he's been pigeon-holed as a player strictly for 20/20.

 

But I'm referring to players ignoring defensive techniques; batting with the full face of the blade, knowing how to play on the back-foot and keeping the head over the ball while keeping your head still. It is an art that is being lost in modern cricket. But why worry about that when you can slog and earn yourself a couple of mill in the IPL.

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To save Test cricket they need to start introducing day / night games, as 5 day matches don't really work with the whole concept of the 5 day working week, particularly in the warm climates of the southern hemisphere..that South Africa / Australia 2nd Test was fantastic, but can you imagine it with a packed crowd under floodlights

 

it would be fucking mint

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  • 2 months later...

I see that England lost its test series against Pakistan 3-0 in Dubai. Anybody get up early to watch the proceedings?

A bit of a shock I must say, losing to Pakistan, particularly with all the turmoil and disgrace that team has endured recently. Unflattering would be a more accurate description, no?

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I see that England lost its test series against Pakistan 3-0 in Dubai. Anybody get up early to watch the proceedings?

A bit of a shock I must say, losing to Pakistan, particularly with all the turmoil and disgrace that team has endured recently. Unflattering would be a more accurate description, no?

 

It was a horror series Kenneth. None of the players fancied it. They arrived believing their own hype as the world's top test team and gifted their wickets away more often than not. The bowlers didn't do much wrong but it was one batting collapse after another. The struggles playing spin have been been confounded by drs. You can't just take a big stride forward anymore and hope for benefit of the doubt on the lbw decision.

 

Still could be worse, could be the convict cricket team.

 

 

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Shocking venues too. Literally one man and his dog in those vast gulf stadiums. Must have been weird going from the atmosphere in the stadiums of the previous summer's home series against India to being able to hear a pin drop.

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Yup. The Poms are playing too many meaningless games, as are all the premier cricketing nations. The most disorganised, overlapping calender for a sport anywhere in the world rivaling but probably bettering the tennis calender.

Who would be up for a test series against a corrupt and dirty nation like Pakistan in a neutral country?

 

I tell you what though, I fancy Australia when we play you next year. I fancy our pace bowlers over yours now, and all are under the age of 22. We also have a decent spin bowler in Nathan Lyon. Our only concern is the middle order. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are no spring chickens and if they don't fire, even with Michael Clarke upping his game since he became captain that could be our achilles' heal. But this Aussie team has transformed so quickly in 12 months, no other country could pull off something like that.

Edited by Ken
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Yup. The Poms are playing too many meaningless games, as are all the premier cricketing nations. The most disorganised, overlapping calender for a sport anywhere in the world rivaling but probably bettering the tennis calender.

Who would be up for a test series against a corrupt and dirty nation like Pakistan in a neutral country?

 

I tell you what though, I fancy Australia when we play you next year. I fancy our pace bowlers over yours now, and all are under the age of 22. We also have a decent spin bowler in Nathan Lyon. Our only concern is the middle order. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are no spring chickens and if they don't fire, even with Michael Clarke upping his game since he became captain that could be our achilles' heal. But this Aussie team has transformed so quickly in 12 months, no other country could pull off something like that.

 

don't fancy you much at our place tbh. england still aren't the best on their travels (particulary in the subcontinent) despite what the world rankings suggest. the problem with us maintaining the number 1 ranking is we're never likely to win a series against india or pakistan away from home

 

but i fancy our chances against your lot in a 5 match home series. your current lot have no experience of winning on our shores.

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absolute, complete and utter shite

 

Explain yourself, and please don't bring up Shepherd into this one. Thank you in advance.

 

sorry Ken, I've always thought it was shite and hated having to play it at school when I wanted to play football

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absolute, complete and utter shite

 

Explain yourself, and please don't bring up Shepherd into this one. Thank you in advance.

 

sorry Ken, I've always thought it was shite and hated having to play it at school when I wanted to play football

 

I thought you were having a shot at my comments rather than the sport itself as you were doing. No problem, carry on.

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I really like cricket, in a lot of ways I like it more than football. Top level football these days is played by idiotic arseholes earning salaries that those saving lives could only dream of and if my love of NUFC somehow were to die, I doubt I'd ever go out of my way to watch a football match again. I absolutely hate a lot of what football has become, it's not the game I grew up with and couldn't get enough of.

 

However, nothing will ever happen in the world of cricket to make me feel the elation I do when Newcastle score a goal or win a match against anyone, nevermind Sunderland. The flip side is the depression I feel when we concede/get humped, but it's worth it.

 

Cricket fills in for NUFC over summer, sport wise. All other sports can fuck off, I can't stand them.

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