Apartheid: A Point to Cover: South African Cricket 1948-70 and the Stop The Seventy Tour

By Arunabha Sengupta

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 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

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9492203030
• ISBN13: 9789492203038
• Release Date: April 2020
• Publisher: Cricketmash
• Length: 380 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.0" x 10.0"