Thirty-five years ago this month, on 19 January 1990, the British national cricket team would embark on the last of the so-called “rebel tours” – a series of sporting tours to and from South Africa (1981-1990) while a collective, international BDS movement sought to punitively isolate the Apartheid state from the rest of the international community.Led by the then England captain Mike Gatting, and covertly enticed by SACU lead Ali Bacher, the England team were paid large sums to participate in what Bacher would presciently call "the tour to end all tours". Amidst fierce media scrutiny, and direct pleas from ANC members at Gatting’s door, the tour would blindly continue, facing a series of highly publicised protests. Peaceful demonstrations ahead of the team's arrival at Jans Smuts airport were met with a brutal police response featuring tear gas, dogs and batons.
Up to the Gatting tour, South Africa had never experienced actions like these by demonstrators, the tour a microcosm for the wider context; the Apartheid state’s demise. FW de Klerk’s opening of parliament speech on the 2nd of February 1990 would ultimately signal this, with Bacher shortening the rebel tour less than 2 weeks later. Considered the most violent of all the rebel tours, the English team’s venture, while controversial, would serve a purpose in bringing the brutality of the Apartheid regime to the British public more so than any other event.
#SouthAfrica #Apartheid #Cricket #Tour #RebelsTour #MikeGatting #WinnieMandela #ANC #AfricanNationalCongress #History #Cricket #SouthAfricaCricket
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