More Than a Game

The stirring story of a community of cricketers, whose spirit and determination to play the game saw them triumph over apartheid. Most South Africans have heard the story of Basil D'Oliveira - how he travelled from the dusty fields of the Cape flats to England, to realise a dream of playing test cricket. But how many have heard of the equally talented Cecil Abrahams, Owen Williams, Dik Abed, Coetie Neethling, Saait Magiet, Vincent Barnes and countless others, who were denied the opportunity of playing the game at the highest level? What were the aims and ideals of the Western Province cricket board? What motivated their players? Why did their clubs have to play on matting wickets surrounded by sand and weeds? Why did so many of their members campaign so enthusiastically for an international ban to be imposed on their white counterparts? And what motivated them eventually to form a single, united provincial body with the white Western province cricket Union in 1991?More than a game - History of the Western Province cricket board 1959-1991, brings you all the answers in a no-holds barred, blow-by-blow account of an organisation that refused to be cowed - by the apartheid government, by rival bodies, and even by some of their own members.