South African cricket 1948-1970 and the Stop The Seventy Tour campaign
Arunabha Sengupta
Foreword by Peter Hain.
(includes over 100 photographs)
377 pages
17.8 x 2.2 x 25.4 cm (7 x 0.86 x 11 inches)
Anyone searching for an in-depth analysis of cricket’s anti-apartheid drama of 50 years ago (and more) is most adequately served by Arun Sengupta’s offering. An enjoyable read. David Frith
I am immensely impressed by the research that has gone into the book, the way so many threads are gathered together in telling the story. I love the flickering style of it, moving from scene to scene with such an eye for the telling detail. The use of the present tense makes it so immediate and, running through it all, there is a terrific sense of the injustice of apartheid. Full marks to Arun Sengupta for taking a well-worn subject and creating such an original book. Stephen Chalke
Cricket book with a conscience. Gideon Haigh
Amazing material, the research has been amazing, and I particularly liked the way he has juxtaposed it all. Mihir Bose
Sengupta is a fine storyteller as he demonstrated in Sherlock Holmes and the Birth of the Ashes, and whilst his subject matter this time round is very different he is equally adept at holding his reader’s attention with the quality of his narrative. A number of aspects of the book particularly impressed me. Martin Chandler
A significant piece of work displaying Sengupta’s normal attention to detail. Patrick Ferriday
Read carefully, may answer the question, ‘Why did people think it right to disrupt the tour?’ which seems to be one that many people still wrestle with. And it is a very readable book. Simon Sweetman
The proposed South African cricket tour of England in 1970 was cancelled as a result of an incredible campaign carried out by a young group of activists – the Stop The Seventy Tour movement led by the 20-year-old Peter Hain.
2020 marks the 50th anniversary of this extraordinary campaign. The movement itself was variously landmark, far-reaching and hilarious. Extremely innovative in its direct-action methods, it triggered the isolation of South Africa from the cricket world and contributed significantly in the fight to end apartheid in the land.
The campaign was the result of a long history of subjugation and exploitation of the non-whites in South Africa, and the social discrimination was reflected in the way they were marginalised in the sporting world.
The book takes a detailed look at this social history through the prism of exciting white and non-white cricket of South Africa, covering the turbulent apartheid era of 1948-1970.
For cricket and sports lovers, as well as those intrigued about the most institutionalised infestation ever of racist politics into sport, this book is a real treasure trove. Arunabha Sengupta has crafted a wonderful story of people who defied the odds and ultimately triumphed by ensuring that today sport in South Africa is organised according to the normal principle of selection and competition on merit – not race. From the novel vantage point of a cricket historian hailing from India and living in Amsterdam, he has woven a story of cricketing excitement amidst the harsh backdrop of South Africa’s police state and apartheid’s evil assault on human dignity and human rights. Unusually he examines the sporting, social and political history of South Africa through the prism of a cricket book. His meticulous research and engaging photographs make this an even more compelling read. Peter Hain (Lord Hain of Neath)