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Former England cricketer Basil D'Oliveira has died
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19-11-2011 1:52pm#1Former England and Worcestershire all-rounder Basil D'Oliveira has died aged 80.
South African-born Basil played 44 Tests for his adopted homeland between 1966 and 1972, scoring 2484 runs at an average of 40.
"Dolly", who became a British citizen in 1967, made his England debut against the West Indies on 16th June 1966 and played his final Test in the Ashes against Australia on 10th August 1972.
Tragedy: D'Oliveira has died at the age of 80
His most famous innings saw him score 158 against Australia at The Oval in the 1968 Ashes, a tally that should have sealed his place in England's tour of South Africa that would never take place.
The reason why the tour never took place was because D'Oliveira was black and the South African authorities would not accept his presence in the England team.
The incident marked the start of South Africa's cricketing isolation and led directly to the intensification of opposition to apartheid around the world.
Basil also played for Worcestershire between 1964 and 1980.
His sad death ironically comes at a time when racism has once again reared its head in sport, with Liverpool and Chelsea footballers Suarez and Terry having been accused of racism and FIFA president Sepp Blatter controversially saying that "racism does not exist in football."
Take bat: D'Oliveira, seen here playing for Worcestershire in 1964, scored 2484 Test runs
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2063537/Basil-DOliveira-dead-aged-80.html2
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