| England XI in South Africa in 1989–90 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.svg) |  | ||
| South Africa | England XI | ||
| Dates | 26 January 1990 – 22 February 1990 | ||
| Captains | Jimmy Cook | Mike Gatting | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | South Africa won the 2-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Adrian Kuiper (84) | Chris Broad (48) Tim Robinson (48) | |
| Most wickets | Allan Donald (8) | Richard Ellison (5) | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | South Africa won the 4-match series 3–1 | ||
| Most runs | Adrian Kuiper (162) | Kim Barnett (236) | |
| Most wickets | Allan Donald (7) | Mike Gatting (10) | |
In January 1990, a representative team ofEnglishcricket players undertook the finalso-called "Rebel tour" toSouth Africa, to play a series of matches against theSouth African team. At the time, theInternational Cricket Council had placed amoratorium on international cricket teams undertaking tours of the country, due to the South African government's policy ofapartheid, leaving South Africa with no international competition.
During the 1980s, as a result of theboycott of South Africa by sporting bodies, theInternational Cricket Council had prevented official tours to South Africa. This had led to a number of so-called "rebel" tours, with individual players contracted to tour as part of unofficial representative teams. Since 1982, when the firstrebel tour took place, a total of six tours had been undertaken by sides representingEngland,Australia,Sri Lanka and, perhaps most controversially, theWest Indies.[1] By 1990 however, South Africa was in the midst of a major societal shake-up, as the rulingNational Party had entered negotiations to repeal the ban on theAfrican National Congress and releaseNelson Mandela from prison. It was into this atmosphere that a seventh rebel cricket tour began at the end of January 1990, this time with players unofficially representing England. Unlike previous tours, which had been received by the white population in the country enthusiastically, this time, with South Africa going through major upheaval, the presence of the touring side seemingly representing the old order and, unlike on previous tours, being paid directly by the government, caused major protests right from the beginning.[2] Virtually every game played during the tour featured demonstrations, with several riots taking place, and the police using both tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, while on one occasion the English players were pelted with stones.[3]
 South Africa |  English XI |
|---|---|
A number of the South African side, including captainJimmy Cook, had played in the original rebel tour by the English side in 1982. Of the English players, onlyJohn Emburey had appeared in the 1982 tour - following his three-year international ban for appearing in that series, he had returned to the England side, and was part of the successful1986-87 Ashes tour. Three of the English players, Gatting, Emburey and Chris Cowdrey, had served as England captain during the1988 West Indies tour to England, while a number had full test caps.
The original 16 names for the England XI made public during the summer of 1989 included two black players:Phillip DeFreitas andRoland Butcher.[4] They both withdrew from the tour and were replaced byGreg Thomas andAlan Wells.[5]
The tour itself was originally scheduled to include two "test" and five one-day matches between the touring party and the South African team, as well as another four tour matches against other opposition. However, as a result of the significant protests over the course of the touring team's time in South Africa, the tour was cut short by a week, with the second test match and original one-day series cancelled and instead replaced by four one-day games.[6]
26 – 28 January 1990 Scorecard |
England XI | v | Combined Bowl XI |
305 (108.3 overs) MW Gatting 75 WK Watson 2/33 (17 overs) JD du Toit 2/55 (24 overs) P McLaren 2/64 (19 overs) IL Howell 2/27 (12/3 overs) | ||
30 January – 1 February 1990 Scorecard |
v | England XI | |
3 – 5 February 1990 Scorecard |
South African Invitational XI | v | England XI |
7 March 1990 |
v | England XI | |
8 – 10 February 1990 Scorecard |
England XI | v | |
South Africa won by seven wickets Wanderers,Johannesburg Umpires:Karl Liebenberg (SA) and James Peacock (SA) Player of the match:AP Kuiper (SA) |
16 – 21 February 1990 Scorecard |
v | England XI | |
16 February 1990 Scorecard |
England XI 217 (54.5 overs) | v | |
South Africa won by five wickets Centurion Park,Verwoerdburg Umpires:Karl Liebenberg (SA) andCyril Mitchley (SA) Player of the match:AP Kuiper (SA) |
18 February 1990 Scorecard |
v | England XI 205/7 (55 overs) | |
South Africa won by 14 runs Kingsmead,Durban Umpires:Karl Liebenberg (SA) andBarry Lambson (SA) Player of the match:KJ Barnett (Eng) |
20 February 1990 Scorecard |
v | England XI 94 (45.1 overs) | |
South Africa won by 207 runs Springbok Park,Bloemfontein Umpires:Cyril Mitchley (SA) and James Peacock (SA) Player of the match:AP Kuiper (SA) |
22 February 1990 Scorecard |
England XI 296/8 (55 overs) | v | |
England XI won by 134 runs Wanderers,Johannesburg Umpires:Barry Lambson (SA) andCyril Mitchley (SA) Player of the match:KJ Barnett (Eng) |
The original tour schedule called for seven one-day games to be played following the conclusion of the two-match test series. The itinerary for the one-day series was:[7]
The 1990 rebel tour was considered to be an unmitigated disaster, as the English players were seen to be shoring up the dyingapartheid regime at the same time as freedoms were being implemented in South Africa. The day after the end of the test match,Nelson Mandela was freed from imprisonment,[8] while the explosion outsideNewlands convinced the organisers that continuing with the tour as planned was not viable, not least as it would potentially put the players safety at risk.[9] A further planned tour by the English players, intended for the winter of 1990–91, and for which the players had signed up, was quickly cancelled, with the players receiving their full payments.[10]
The players returned to England on 24 February to stinging headlines from the press. The sports writerFrank Keating, writing inThe Guardian, stated "No more inglorious, downright disgraced and discredited team or sportsmen wearing the badge of 'England' can ever have returned through customs with such nothingness to declare".[2] Each member of the squad received a three-year ban from international cricket for taking part; as with the 1982 tour, this led to the ending of international careers for a number of players, although both captain Mike Gatting and all-rounder John Emburey returned to the England side after their bans expired, with Gatting falling victim to theBall of the Century fromShane Warne in the first game of the1993 Ashes series.[11]
In 1991, as part of the deconstruction of apartheid in South Africa, the two separate governing bodies of cricket in the country, the South African Cricket Union, and the multi-racial South African Cricket Board, elected to merge to form the singleUnited Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA). This was a pivotal moment, as it meant that the governance of cricket was no longer divided on racial lines, which was the key reason behind theICC's ban in the first place. At a meeting of the ICC in London in July 1991, the UCBSA made its case for readmission, a cause in which it received the powerful backing ofJagmohan Dalmiya, the Secretary of theBoard of Control for Cricket in India.[12] Despite reservations from bothPakistan and theWest Indies, the meeting formally approved South Africa's readmission to the ICC. A meeting held the following October endorsed South Africa's participation in the1992 Cricket World Cup, while India, in a predicament following the cancellation of a tour of the country byPakistan, invited the South Africans to undertake aone-day international series.[13] On 10 November 1991, the South African cricket team took to the field atEden Gardens inCalcutta for their first official international game in more than twenty-one years, first game againstIndia, and first ever official one-day international.[12] The following April, the team undertook itsfirst ever tour to the West Indies, where they played South Africa's first test match since thefourth test against Australia in March 1970.[14]