Today Alex Ferguson reminds us about England’s two rebels tours to South Africa. Thank heavens there was never a third.
Two weeks ago the West Indies completed a three-game series against England, where – quite rightly – the words: “Black Lives Matter” was all over Sky’s coverage. Knees were taken, tears welled up. It was simply amazing.
Cricket’s move is a follow-up to all other sports who have done the same thing in an effort to push black rights.
But within this is something that English cricket has never officially apologised for – the two ‘Rebel Tours’ to South Africa in 1981-2 and 1989-90 which put money over race.
HOW THEY STARTED
Because of apartheid, world sporting organisations banned South Africa from competitive cricket.
But players still wanted to play there, and – according to The Rebel Tours by Bob May – ‘Ian Botham, Geoff Boycott, Graham Dilley, John Emburey, Graham Gooch and David Gower signed a letter expressing interest in a “quiet, private” tour of South Africa’.
For financial reasons, Botham and Gower pulled out because of the hit it would take to their endorsements. Although Botham has said it was because of moral reasons, Boycott called Botham’s reasoning to be B.S. calling it “puke-making”.
Emburey, with the promises of a windfall for cricketers in his pocket, wandered around the Middlesex dressing room encouraging cricketers to take the cash.
THE FIRST TOUR
Squad: Graham Gooch, Geoff Boycott, Dennis Amiss, John Emburey, Alan Knott, John Lever, Chris Old, Derek Underwood, Peter Willey, Bob Woolmer, Wayne Larkins, Arnold Sidebotton, Les Taylor.
The ECB didn’t sanction the tour. The players knew that if they decided to go then they would get three-year bans.
The decision to play three tests and three one-dayers was hated by the general media, but loved by the pro-white South African press.
And as for the cricketers, according to Martin Williamson’s article for Cricinfo, the 12 players pocketed between £40,000 – £60,000 (in today’s terms £162,000 – £213,000) from the South African Breweries. The argument was simple: “why not go and make money in addition to the usual five-month season?”.
Most of the players lost their Test careers after these moves – although a notable exception is Graham Gooch, who continued to pile on the runs.
And for the record, England performed crappily, losing the tests 2-0 and the one-dayers 2-0.
THE SECOND TOUR
Squad: Mike Gatting, Bill Athey, Kim Barnett, Chris Broad, Chris Cowdery, Graham Dilley, Richard Ellison, John Emburey, Neil Foster, Bruce French, Paul Jarvis, Matthew Maynard, Tim Robinson, Greg Thomas, Alan Wells and play-manager David Graveney.
The second tour in 1989-90 came after England had been obliterated by an Australian team that they were expected to beat comfortably. Like the first tour, it came about because of money. The dosh on offer was far higher than the wages offered to international cricketers.
The idea was floated around the Middlesex dressing room by John Emburey – one of the original ‘rebels’. One of the people who took it up was Mike Gatting, who was still fuming at the ECB because he hadn’t been given the England captaincy. According to the Angus Fraser, who had just started playing for England, Gatting – “just wanted to stick two fingers up at [the selectors]”.
Unfortunately, the two fingers were up at Gatting. Almost as soon as he arrived in South Africa, there were mass demonstrations saying: “Gatting, go home!”. He laughed it off at the time, saying that it was ‘just a bit of singing and dancing’.
The cricket itself was a debacle, with England losing their ‘international games’. The tour was also shortened due to the demonstrations and, more importantly, the release of Nelson Mandela on February 11th 1990. A proposed third tour was also cancelled.
Gatting himself was tone-deaf even some years after the tour. He told the Guardian in 2010: “I don’t want to talk about it, really, except to say that it all turned out well for South Africa”.
Foster’s stupidity was even worse when he said: “in a bizarre way, we did help change the country”. Meanwhile Emburey said: “in hindsight, it was a tour that maybe shouldn’t have taken place.” It’s hard to tell whether that was sarcasm or idiocy.
The aftermath saw most of the touring cricketers’ test careers destroyed. But that wasn’t the case for Gatting, Jarvis and ‘double-sinner’ Emburey, who were immediately selected after their bans finished.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
While you can criticise the ECB and the rest of the cricketing world for ‘just going along with it’, many players on those tours never played for their country again. It was the same story for the Australian, West Indian and Sri Lankan players who also toured South Africa during the apartheid years. Only a few played internationally again.
You wonder, however, what would have happened if the international players were better-paid in the first place? What if the cricketers didn’t feel the need to go and play over in South Africa?
But regardless of that, all the players put money over morals. And then England and other countries soon forgot about what these players did: they effectively supported racism yet their careers trundled on.
Graveney became Chairman of Selectors in 1997.
Gatting and Underwood have gone on to serve as Presidents of the MCC.
Woolmer – now deceased – was a celebrated coach in Pakistan.
Broad is a high-ranking Test referee.
But most gallingly Boycott, who’s life after cricket has included convictions for domestic battery, let alone saying that he would have to ‘black his face’ in order to get a knighthood – got a knighthood.
Oh, and what about the ICC, the group who slapped the racists with a three-year fine? They elected Gooch and Underwood to their Hall of Fame.
Alex Ferguson
@viewfromamerica
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