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A review by rogerb
Basil D'Oliveira Cricket and Conspiracy: The Untold Story by Peter Oborne
4.0
I saw this on a pile in Bill's house, and borrowed it.
Osborne retells an old story in the light of new archive material and a number of personal interviews. The account of the youngster of extraordinary talent and his rocky road into 1st Class English cricket is illuminating; then the second half of his handling by the selectors and "establishment", with the Vorster shenanigans, is fascinating, and not very many of the English involved come out of it smelling of roses (Arlott a notable exception). Dolly's evolution into an avuncular ex-cricketer also make interesting reading - it seems he was a man of principle and integrity throughout.
Sports biographies can often be thin - this one wasn't. It's good to see generation of the name appearing in 1st Class lists.
Osborne retells an old story in the light of new archive material and a number of personal interviews. The account of the youngster of extraordinary talent and his rocky road into 1st Class English cricket is illuminating; then the second half of his handling by the selectors and "establishment", with the Vorster shenanigans, is fascinating, and not very many of the English involved come out of it smelling of roses (Arlott a notable exception). Dolly's evolution into an avuncular ex-cricketer also make interesting reading - it seems he was a man of principle and integrity throughout.
Sports biographies can often be thin - this one wasn't. It's good to see generation of the name appearing in 1st Class lists.