The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Basil D'Oliveira - Dolly
Basil D’Oliveira plays football with his children
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Overview
This film is taken around the time of the D’Oliveira Affair. Basil D’Oliveira affectionately known as Dolly is captured with his two sons Damien and Shaun. D'Oliveira scored his best-known Test innings of 158 for England against Australia at The Oval in 1968. Rumours abounded that the Marylebone Cricket Club when selecting the England squad that was to tour South Africa would select players on merit but the team sheet had one significant omission, that of Basil D’Oliveira.
Tom Cartwright withdrew and D’Oliveira was selected prompting on 17 September 1968 the South African Prime Minister, John Vorster to announce that his apartheid regime would not accept the inclusion of D’Oliveira on the grounds of his race and a week later the tour was called off. D’Oliveira had been born in South Africa and even captained the country’s non-white national side. He emigrated from South Africa to England in 1960 and joined Worcestershire CCC in 1964 and was playing for England by 1966. His son Damien played for the county and became academy director. Damien’s son Brett is the third generation of D’Oliveiras to play for Worcester CCC. Shaun went on to work for the Fire Service.
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