From D'Oliveira to Trott
England's tour of South Africa is a homecoming for four of their squad. We look at South Africans who switched allegiance down the years
Andrew Miller and Andrew McGlashan
12-Nov-2009
Much has been made of the South African connection in the current England dressing-room, with four of their likely top six for this winter's Test series returning to the country in which they were born. But the great trek north is not a new phenomenon, and nor is it likely to end in a hurry, as this week's XI suggests
Basil D'Oliveira
"No Test player has had to overcome such tremendous disadvantages along the road to success," wrote the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1967, when naming D'Oliveira as one of their Five Cricketers of the Year. As a Cape Coloured growing up in South Africa, his life story is legendary and inspirational - in 1960, with help from the veteran commentator John Arlott, D'Oliveira left the apartheid regime to travel to England for a stint in the Lancashire League. He topped the averages in his first season and after a four-year stint he was signed by Worcestershire, from whence he began his qualification to play for England. The climax of his tale took place in 1968, however, when a superb 158 in the final Test of the Ashes seemed to have ensured his place on that winter's MCC tour of his homeland. However, politics intervened. First, he was controversially overlooked, and then, when he was called up as a replacement, South Africa's prime minister, John Vorster, denounced the squad as the "team of the anti-apartheid movement". After much wrangling, the tour was cancelled and an era of sporting sanctions was put in place.
"No Test player has had to overcome such tremendous disadvantages along the road to success," wrote the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1967, when naming D'Oliveira as one of their Five Cricketers of the Year. As a Cape Coloured growing up in South Africa, his life story is legendary and inspirational - in 1960, with help from the veteran commentator John Arlott, D'Oliveira left the apartheid regime to travel to England for a stint in the Lancashire League. He topped the averages in his first season and after a four-year stint he was signed by Worcestershire, from whence he began his qualification to play for England. The climax of his tale took place in 1968, however, when a superb 158 in the final Test of the Ashes seemed to have ensured his place on that winter's MCC tour of his homeland. However, politics intervened. First, he was controversially overlooked, and then, when he was called up as a replacement, South Africa's prime minister, John Vorster, denounced the squad as the "team of the anti-apartheid movement". After much wrangling, the tour was cancelled and an era of sporting sanctions was put in place.
Tony Greig
With his blond hair, blue eyes and strapping six-foot-seven frame, Greig was born to be noticed - and had he wished, he could have achieved that aim through his on-field exploits alone. With batting and bowling averages of 40.43 and 32.20 respectively, he has a statistical claim to being England's finest allrounder - even though he earned his qualification through his Scots-born father. His booming South African accent added (unwittingly or otherwise) an extra layer of subtext to his statement, in 1976, that he wanted to make the touring West Indians "grovel" - but it was the following summer that he became engulfed in his biggest controversy, when the news broke that he had been acting as a recruiting agent for Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket. Greig was stripped of the captaincy that many people believed should never have been his in the first place, and even though his role in WSC helped to transform the lives of modern-day players, he has never quite shaken off that stigma of betrayal.
With his blond hair, blue eyes and strapping six-foot-seven frame, Greig was born to be noticed - and had he wished, he could have achieved that aim through his on-field exploits alone. With batting and bowling averages of 40.43 and 32.20 respectively, he has a statistical claim to being England's finest allrounder - even though he earned his qualification through his Scots-born father. His booming South African accent added (unwittingly or otherwise) an extra layer of subtext to his statement, in 1976, that he wanted to make the touring West Indians "grovel" - but it was the following summer that he became engulfed in his biggest controversy, when the news broke that he had been acting as a recruiting agent for Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket. Greig was stripped of the captaincy that many people believed should never have been his in the first place, and even though his role in WSC helped to transform the lives of modern-day players, he has never quite shaken off that stigma of betrayal.
Allan Lamb
The air was thick with irony in June 1982, when Lamb was named in England's side for the first Test of the summer. Earlier that year a raft of England players, including Geoff Boycott and Graham Gooch, had been banned for three years for signing up for a rebel tour of South Africa. Now, in their stead, appeared a man whose accent and mannerisms betrayed his southern-hemisphere upbringing. Short and strutting, with a wonderful eye and a niggly manner at the crease, Lamb invoked his English parentage when it became clear that South Africa's exile from Test cricket was still a long way from over. He even went on to captain England to three comprehensive defeats, while establishing himself as a legend at Northamptonshire, a club that has seen a fair few of his ilk pass through the ranks in recent years.
The air was thick with irony in June 1982, when Lamb was named in England's side for the first Test of the summer. Earlier that year a raft of England players, including Geoff Boycott and Graham Gooch, had been banned for three years for signing up for a rebel tour of South Africa. Now, in their stead, appeared a man whose accent and mannerisms betrayed his southern-hemisphere upbringing. Short and strutting, with a wonderful eye and a niggly manner at the crease, Lamb invoked his English parentage when it became clear that South Africa's exile from Test cricket was still a long way from over. He even went on to captain England to three comprehensive defeats, while establishing himself as a legend at Northamptonshire, a club that has seen a fair few of his ilk pass through the ranks in recent years.
Chris Smith
As befits a man who went on to become the chief executive of the WACA, a strong business sense was the guiding principle behind Chris Smith's emigration from Durban to Southampton. He arrived at Hampshire in 1980, aged 21, recognising a potential gap in the market, with the great Barry Richards approaching retirement age. In his very first season Smith was the only Hampshire batsman to top 1000 runs, but thereafter he endured two dull years in the second XI, a self-imposed exile as he put himself through the grind of overseas qualification. The dedication paid off when, in 1983, he was picked to make his England debut, but it was a torrid first appearance as Richard Hadlee nailed him first ball. Undeterrred, he responded that winter with a top score of 91 in Auckland, but his Test career came to an end after a mere eight Tests. Nevertheless, with his younger brother Robin now treading the same path, his dedication had set in motion the career of one of the most popular overseas imports ever to play for the England team.
As befits a man who went on to become the chief executive of the WACA, a strong business sense was the guiding principle behind Chris Smith's emigration from Durban to Southampton. He arrived at Hampshire in 1980, aged 21, recognising a potential gap in the market, with the great Barry Richards approaching retirement age. In his very first season Smith was the only Hampshire batsman to top 1000 runs, but thereafter he endured two dull years in the second XI, a self-imposed exile as he put himself through the grind of overseas qualification. The dedication paid off when, in 1983, he was picked to make his England debut, but it was a torrid first appearance as Richard Hadlee nailed him first ball. Undeterrred, he responded that winter with a top score of 91 in Auckland, but his Test career came to an end after a mere eight Tests. Nevertheless, with his younger brother Robin now treading the same path, his dedication had set in motion the career of one of the most popular overseas imports ever to play for the England team.
Robin Smith
With one of the fiercest square-cuts in the game, and a fearless approach to fast bowling, Smith should have had a longer and more illustrious career than he managed. Not that his final numbers were poor - far from it; but he suffered from poor management and a perception that he couldn't play spin, which was formed when he was befuddled on a few occasions by India's trio of twirlers on the 1992-93 tour and the magic of Shane Warne. He wasn't the only one that fate fell on, but it hung around Smith's neck for the rest of his career. His finest hours came against the fearsome battery of West Indies quicks: he repelled the forces of Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and company during consecutive series in 1989-90 and 1991. After his problems against Warne he was never quite the same, but he played a key role in the 1995 drawn series with West Indies before a fractured cheekbone ended his involvement. From then, much to his dislike, he had to wear a modified face guard when he returned against his native South Africa. It should have been a series to define his career, but he never quite found form and it proved an unfulfilling way to finish an international career.
With one of the fiercest square-cuts in the game, and a fearless approach to fast bowling, Smith should have had a longer and more illustrious career than he managed. Not that his final numbers were poor - far from it; but he suffered from poor management and a perception that he couldn't play spin, which was formed when he was befuddled on a few occasions by India's trio of twirlers on the 1992-93 tour and the magic of Shane Warne. He wasn't the only one that fate fell on, but it hung around Smith's neck for the rest of his career. His finest hours came against the fearsome battery of West Indies quicks: he repelled the forces of Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and company during consecutive series in 1989-90 and 1991. After his problems against Warne he was never quite the same, but he played a key role in the 1995 drawn series with West Indies before a fractured cheekbone ended his involvement. From then, much to his dislike, he had to wear a modified face guard when he returned against his native South Africa. It should have been a series to define his career, but he never quite found form and it proved an unfulfilling way to finish an international career.
Kevin Pietersen
Pietersen's astonishing career began, to all intents and purposes, on the England tour of South Africa in 1999-2000, when as an offspinning No. 9, he top-scored for Natal in an otherwise nondescript tour match, but then he had the gumption to seek out Nasser Hussain and ask about the prospect of playing county cricket. Six months later, and still in his teens, he was heading north to England, determined to forge a career in the shires. Clive Rice, the former South Africa captain and Nottinghamshire coach, saw his potential and sensed his disgruntlement, having failed to establish himself in the Natal first XI. A man in a hurry to succeed had found his first staging post, and the rest is English history.
Pietersen's astonishing career began, to all intents and purposes, on the England tour of South Africa in 1999-2000, when as an offspinning No. 9, he top-scored for Natal in an otherwise nondescript tour match, but then he had the gumption to seek out Nasser Hussain and ask about the prospect of playing county cricket. Six months later, and still in his teens, he was heading north to England, determined to forge a career in the shires. Clive Rice, the former South Africa captain and Nottinghamshire coach, saw his potential and sensed his disgruntlement, having failed to establish himself in the Natal first XI. A man in a hurry to succeed had found his first staging post, and the rest is English history.
Andrew Strauss
If you didn't know Strauss's background, you'd never guess his roots are South African. Educated at Radley school and Durham University, he has come through the English system right to the top as the national captain. He left his homeland aged six, so most traces of South Africa have vanished (except, perhaps, a panache for playing off the back foot) and his upbringing earned him the nickname "Lord Brocket" within cricket circles. Still, although English through and through, his return to South Africa for the first time as an international player was a special occasion. He graced the 2004-05 Test series with three crucial centuries to help England to a historic victory and also played a key role in the following Ashes success. In 2009 he was Man of the Series against Australia, the peak of a tremendous fightback from the point, in early 2008 against New Zealand, when his career was on the line. Now he is back in South Africa, as captain, for one of his greatest challenges.
If you didn't know Strauss's background, you'd never guess his roots are South African. Educated at Radley school and Durham University, he has come through the English system right to the top as the national captain. He left his homeland aged six, so most traces of South Africa have vanished (except, perhaps, a panache for playing off the back foot) and his upbringing earned him the nickname "Lord Brocket" within cricket circles. Still, although English through and through, his return to South Africa for the first time as an international player was a special occasion. He graced the 2004-05 Test series with three crucial centuries to help England to a historic victory and also played a key role in the following Ashes success. In 2009 he was Man of the Series against Australia, the peak of a tremendous fightback from the point, in early 2008 against New Zealand, when his career was on the line. Now he is back in South Africa, as captain, for one of his greatest challenges.
Matt Prior
Like Strauss, Prior is South African by birth but English by upbringing, having moved north when he was 11. His Test career was launched in grand style, with a century on debut against West Indies, but he went through a difficult period when his attitude and keeping came under scrutiny, and he was dropped after the Sri Lanka tour in 2007. He returned a year later in India a more rounded cricketer and has steadily become a key part of the side, being moved to the vital No. 6 role that Alec Stewart filled so successfully. With the retirement of Andrew Flintoff, the balance Prior brings becomes ever more vital. The challenge of facing the strong South African attack will show whether it's a long-term solution, and his reaction to any verbals will test his more mature approach.
Like Strauss, Prior is South African by birth but English by upbringing, having moved north when he was 11. His Test career was launched in grand style, with a century on debut against West Indies, but he went through a difficult period when his attitude and keeping came under scrutiny, and he was dropped after the Sri Lanka tour in 2007. He returned a year later in India a more rounded cricketer and has steadily become a key part of the side, being moved to the vital No. 6 role that Alec Stewart filled so successfully. With the retirement of Andrew Flintoff, the balance Prior brings becomes ever more vital. The challenge of facing the strong South African attack will show whether it's a long-term solution, and his reaction to any verbals will test his more mature approach.
Jonathan Trott
Hot-headed and hard-edged, Trott earned himself something of a reputation as an enfant terrible during his early days at Warwickshire, the county he joined in 2002 having sought qualification through his English grandparents. His seven years in Birmingham mellowed him, however, and in August 2009 he was cool enough to deliver the Ashes for his adopted country, having been selected to make his Test debut in the series decider at The Oval. A match tally of 160 runs, including a superb second-innings 119, made him into an instant hero - and an instantly ignored one at that, as England immediately embarked on an execrable one-day campaign for which he was not chosen. He is believed to count among his ancestors the legendary Albert Trott, who began his Test career as an Australian, only to switch his allegiance to England four years later.
Hot-headed and hard-edged, Trott earned himself something of a reputation as an enfant terrible during his early days at Warwickshire, the county he joined in 2002 having sought qualification through his English grandparents. His seven years in Birmingham mellowed him, however, and in August 2009 he was cool enough to deliver the Ashes for his adopted country, having been selected to make his Test debut in the series decider at The Oval. A match tally of 160 runs, including a superb second-innings 119, made him into an instant hero - and an instantly ignored one at that, as England immediately embarked on an execrable one-day campaign for which he was not chosen. He is believed to count among his ancestors the legendary Albert Trott, who began his Test career as an Australian, only to switch his allegiance to England four years later.
Craig Kieswetter
The next in line? Kieswetter is one of the hottest talents in county cricket and seems destined to have an international career. Everyone presumes that will be with England after he threw his lot in with Somerset and now has been added to the winter performance squad. However, until the international debut comes there is always the outside chance his homeland could come calling first. But, if as seems likely, his future lies with England, they will have found themselves an immensely talented and powerful batsman who could add to the one-day side. Although a wicketkeeper at first-class level, it is not out of the question that he could be selected purely as a batsman. He becomes eligible in February and the prospect of him opening in the World Twenty20 (or the 2011 World Cup) is an intriguing one.
The next in line? Kieswetter is one of the hottest talents in county cricket and seems destined to have an international career. Everyone presumes that will be with England after he threw his lot in with Somerset and now has been added to the winter performance squad. However, until the international debut comes there is always the outside chance his homeland could come calling first. But, if as seems likely, his future lies with England, they will have found themselves an immensely talented and powerful batsman who could add to the one-day side. Although a wicketkeeper at first-class level, it is not out of the question that he could be selected purely as a batsman. He becomes eligible in February and the prospect of him opening in the World Twenty20 (or the 2011 World Cup) is an intriguing one.
Stephen Moore
Another of the new breed who may soon pull on the England shirt. Moore has been impressing on the domestic scene for a number of the seasons and has now been placed in the "A" category of players most likely to make the step up in the near future. His 2009 season wasn't actually a great success - a Championship average of 27.33 as Worcestershire were relegated - and he has moved to Lancashire to secure a fresh start along with first-division cricket. However, one innings last season caught the eye: his 120 against Australia for the England Lions, and with the help of a forthright agent, his name was often bandied around. If he impresses with the performance squad this winter and churns out the runs next summer the pressure on Alastair Cook at the top of the order will grow.
Another of the new breed who may soon pull on the England shirt. Moore has been impressing on the domestic scene for a number of the seasons and has now been placed in the "A" category of players most likely to make the step up in the near future. His 2009 season wasn't actually a great success - a Championship average of 27.33 as Worcestershire were relegated - and he has moved to Lancashire to secure a fresh start along with first-division cricket. However, one innings last season caught the eye: his 120 against Australia for the England Lions, and with the help of a forthright agent, his name was often bandied around. If he impresses with the performance squad this winter and churns out the runs next summer the pressure on Alastair Cook at the top of the order will grow.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo, Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor