Cricket can never be totally divorced from the society and culture in which the game is played, and the next 30 years of England-South Africa cricketing history is more about politics than cricket. The South African racially based policy of apartheid had led to their departure from the Commonwealth, and increasing sporting isolation. South Africa had never played India, Pakistan or the West Indies, and neither were they welcome to tour those countries. The policy extended to sport, where the Prime Minster BJ Vorster explicitly stated in 1967 that mixed race sporting events would not be sanctioned.

1968-69
The white-only nature of top-class cricket in South Africa had proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to Basil D'Oliveira, a "Cape Coloured" player from Cape Town. His immense abilities were restricted to minor cricket in his home country, but he earned enough notice that he was offered an opportunity to play league cricket in England. He made an immediate impact in the Lancashire League, and qualified for Worcestershire at the age of thirty. He made his England debut in 1966, and was in and out of the side over the next few years. It was clear that he may well be in the England party set to tour South Africa in 1968-69, and in the spring of that year the MCC wrote to the SACA requesting that no conditions be set on their choice of players New Zealand had cancelled a rugby tour the previous year after objections were raised to the presence of Maori players in the side. No answer was received to the enquiry, but the situation appeared to resolve itself as D'Oliveira had trouble making the Test side against the Australians that summer. Injuries to several established players led to his call up for the crucial final Test at the Oval, and he seized his opportunity with both hands, making a century of high class, as well as grabbing a crucial wicket on the thrilling final day. To many observers, this performance under pressure made him an automatic choice for the tour.

The selectors, meeting that evening, always maintained that the political implications of their choices never entered their minds, but the team, as approved by the MCC committee, excluded D'Oliveira. Whatever the true reasons, the public consensus was that his omission reflected a concession to South African wishes, and the MCC were summoned to a special general meeting by discontented members. Two weeks later, Cartwright withdrew from the party through injury, and D'Oliveira was named in his place. Any doubts that the selectors were bowing to politcal pressure in this decision were augmented by their original statement that D'Oliveira was rejected from the original squad because he was considered a batsman yet he was included at the expense of a bowler. The South African Government, through their Prime Minsiter Vorster, said that they were not prepared to accept the English tourists, as the team had been forced upon them with "certain political aims".

The MCC formally cancelled the tour, but the special general meeting still went ahead. Three resolutions were put forward, expressing regret at the MCC Committee's handling of the tour selection, and proposing that no further tours take place until progress towards non-racial cricket was made in South Africa. The Rev. David Sheppard (who had refused to play against the South Africans in 1960) and Mike Brearley spoke for the resolutions, and the meeting was attended by over 1000 members. The vote was close at the meeting, but the motions were overwhelmingly defeated by the postal votes.

The man at the centre of the furore, D'Oliveira himself, maintained throughout a calm dignity. It later became known that he had been offered over the summer a considerable sum of money to coach in South Africa that winter, thereby making him unavailable for the touring party. It was also made known that, even if he had been picked in the initial squad, the South African Government would have found his presence unacceptable. In such circumstances, he was one of the few who emerged from the affair with his reputation enhanced.

1970 [Scorecards]
A consequence of the MCC special meeting was that as far as the MCC were concerned, cricket relations would proceed as normal. Consequently, an invitation was extended to the South Africans to send a team to England in 1970. The itinerary of 5 Tests was announced in September of 1969, but with the D'Oliveira affair fresh in everyone's minds, it did not pass un-noticed. The Minister of Sport, Denis Howell fired the first salvo a month later, suggested that the team should "stay away from Britain". The SACA immediately re-stated their intention to tour, and the Cricket Council supported their intention. A South African rugby team toured Britain that winter, and was the focus off well organized demonstrations, and disruptions of the games by anti-apartheid groups. A young South African student living in England, Peter Hain, set up the "Stop the Seventy Tour" committee in September 1969, and this group became the focus of opposition to the cricket tour. The threats to disrupt tour games became a major concern, as the police presence required at the rugby games grew, and demonstrations erupted into sporadic violence. As more and more groups came out in opposition to the tour, the SACA and TCCB frantically maneuvered in an attempt to keep the tour alive. The SACA stated that future South African sides would be selected on merit alone. Many county grounds were vandalised in a coordinated effort in January, and the TCCB, realising the impossibility of providing adeuqate security for a full tour curtailed the programme to 12 matches. An all white side was announced by the SACA, and the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson went on record as saying that that MCC had made a mistake in invitng the tourists, as well as pointing out that people should be free to demonstrate against apartheid. This might well have been the point at which the TCCB could have withdrawn gracefully, but as the cricket season started in April, the tour was still on. Thirteen African countries threatened to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games (held in Edinburgh that summer) if the tour was to continue, and the House of Commons had an emergency debate on the issue. The governing Labour party were clearly in opposition to the tour, and they were joined by a wide spectrum of society. At this critical moment came the news that South Africa had been expelled from the Olympic movement. With two weeks to go before the tour, the Cricket Council re-affirmed its stance that the tour should go ahead, and may well have had the majority of public opinion on its side. The sorry tale came to a climax when Jim Callaghan, the Home Secretary, formally asked the Cricket Council to cancel the tour, on the grounds of broad public policy. In such circumstances, the Cricket Council had little alternative, and the tour was cancelled.

A hastily put together Rest of the World side filled the Test spots, and was a great success. Captained by a West Indian, Gary Sobers, the side contained several South African players, and ironically, the highlight of the matches for many, was the enthralling sight of the two great left-handed batsmen of their generation, Sobers and Graeme Pollock, putting the English bowling to the sword at the Oval.

Official Test matches were not to resume for a quarter of a century. South Africa became isolated from official world cricket, and their best players became cricketing mercenaries, plying their trade on the English county circuit. Some of the greatest players in their history had little opportunity to display their abilities at the highest level notably Barry Richards, who may have been better than his West Indian namesake, Mike Procter, a superb all rounder, and Graeme Pollock. This has to be balanced against the lack of opportunity for the non-white majority, who had no access to the opportunities and facilities afforded to the minority it will never be known what talent withered in the townships during this period.

The Rebel Tours
The sporting isolation of South Africa, and the aftermath of the Packer affair, led to a series of "rebel" tours. These consisted of unofficial touring teams, consisting of Test or near Test class players who were willing to incur the wrath of official cricket in their home countries by participating in these events. The financial inducements were substantial but the rebels received bans ranging from 3 years to life. The 5 day games were treated as official Tests by the South Africans at the time, but have no such status (they are, however, considered first-class). The first such tour was by an English XI, led by Graham Gooch, who played three one day games and three "Tests". Procter captained the South Africans, and they won the one-day series 3-0. The first Test was one sided- Jimmy Cook made a century in his first international match, and with Richards, Pollock and Peter Kirsten topping 50, declared on 400. van der Bijl showed his class with 5 wickets, and the English XI followed on. Gooch made a fine hundred, but van der Bijl took another 5 wickets, well supported by Garth le Roux, and the south Africans needed only 37 to win. The second match was played at Cape Town, and was drawn. Little separated the sides on first innings, Gooch top-scoring for the England XI, and Peter Kirsten making a painstaking hundred for the South Africans (John Lever taking 6/86). With little but practice to aim for, the English bats were on top in the 2nd innings, Larkins making 95, but in a rain affected match, even a declaration with 3 wickets down could not produce a result. The third match was ruined by rain, the entire 3rd day being lost. The English XI made a good start, having the home side at 111/6, but Kourie and Jennings staged a rear-guard action, and Richards declared after rain intervened. The English XI batted attractively, notably Woolmer with a century, but when Gooch declared there was only four hours left for play, and the match petered out to a draw.

All the English participants received three year bans from official Test cricket for their part in the tour. For some, at the end of their careers (such as Boycott, Knott and Underwood), this made little difference, but for others it marked a lengthy interruption to their international careers.

1989-90
A second tour took place in 1989-90, under similar auspices to the 1981-82 tour- there had been tours by rebel West Indian and Sri Lankan XIs in the meantime, in this case resulting in lifetime bans from their countries. This time the English XI was led by Mike Gatting, discarded as English captain, and supported by possibly a weaker squad than the previous team. Most of the squad consisted of players with a few Tests or on the verge of test selection rather than established stars. The put up a poor performance in the only full length match against the South Africans, losing by 7 wickets at the Wanderers. Donald and Snell took 4 wickets each as they were dismissed for 156, then Kuiper's 84 gave the South Africans a respectable lead. The Englishman could only muster 122 at their second attempt, and the south Africans won easily. Four one day matches were also staged, and these were one-sided, the south Africans winning the series 3-1. They won the first three games with almost embarrassing ease, against a side supposedly experienced in one-day cricket. In the first match de Villiers bowled economically, and the home side had little trouble passing a modest target of 218, the captain Cook top-scoring with 73. The second match was close, the margin of victory being only 14 runs. A good all-round batting effort saw the South Africans make 219, and Barnett and Athey had the English XI off to a good start, but they fell behind the run-rate, and wickets tumbled. The 3rd match can best be described as a thrashing. Thanks to 73 from Cook and a century from Kuiper, the home side topped 300. Athey contributed 50, but no other batsman made more than 7 (and that was the number eleven) the South Africans won by 207 runs. The English XI won the final game, thanks to a hundred from Barnett, and an unlikely bowling hero, Gatting taking 6/26.

Many of the South African players in this series were soon to become familiar names as the winds of change were blowing. Political upheavals in the country led to black majority rule, and the end of apartheid. South Africa were welcomed back into the international fold with an historic Test against the West Indies in 1992, and the stage was set for a resumption of official matches with England.