Basil D'Oliveira

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	Tests	ODIs
Basil D'Oliveira England (Eng)

Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type	Right arm medium (RM)
Matches	44	4
Runs scored	2484	30
Batting average	40.06	10.00
100s/50s	5/15	0/0
Top score	158	17
Overs bowled	951	34
Wickets	47	3
Bowling average	39.55	46.66
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	n/a
Best bowling	3/46	1/19
Catches/stumpings	29/0	1/0
As of 10 June 2005 Source: Cricinfo.com

Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE (born 4 October 1931) is a retired cricketer. Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, he was classified as 'coloured' under the apartheid regime, and hence barred from first-class cricket. He captained South Africa's national non-white cricket team, and also played football for the non-white national side.^[1]

With the support of John Arlott, he emigrated to England in 1960, where he played first in the Central Lancashire League, for Middleton, before joining first-class county Worcestershire in 1964 and becoming a British citizen. By 1966, he was being selected for the English national team, as an outstanding all-rounder, and he was one of the Wisden cricketers of the year for 1967.

Left out of the England team at the start of the 1968 season he was recalled by the selectors and a century against Australia seemed to have guaranteed his place in the side to play the 1968-1969 Test series in South Africa. He was shockingly left out of the touring party under the pretext that his bowling would not be effective in his native country. South African cricket officials realising that the inclusion of D'Oliveira would inevitably lead to the cancellation of the tour and probable exclusion from test cricket exerted pressure on the MCC hierarchy and the decision not to pick him was felt by many to be a way of keeping cricket links with South Africa open. There was serious dissent in the press to this course of events and when Warwickshire's Tom Cartwright was ruled out because of injury D'Oliveira was called up into the squad. South African president BJ Vorster had already made it clear that D'Oliveira's inclusion was not acceptable and despite many negotiations the tour was cancelled. This was seen as a watershed in the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa.^[2]

D'Oliveira revealed later in life that he had been offered money to make himself unavailable for the tour.

In recent years his health has waned. He suffers from Parkinson's Disease and receives round the clock care in a nursing home.

In 2004, a perpetual trophy was struck for Test series between England and South Africa, and named the Basil D'Oliveira Trophy. In 2005, he was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. In the same year, journalist Peter Oborne wrote a well-received biography, entitled Basil D'Oliveira: Cricket and Conspiracy.^[3]

In 2004 a stand at Worcestershire's New Road ground was named in his honour.

Basil's son, Damian D'Oliveira, also played first-class cricket for Worcestershire.