Who was the first coloured cricketer to play for South Africa?
(28 September 2001)
It was a full 103 years after South Africa's international debut that a
coloured player was capped in Tests. At 40 years and 295 days, Omar
Henry was no spring chicken. In fact, he was South Africa's oldest
debutant when he stepped onto the field in South Africa's first Test
against India on November 13, 1992.
A left-arm spinner, Henry had previously played three one-dayers between
March 2, 1992 and April 11, 1992. That was also a first for a coloured
South African.
Henry was born on 23 January, 1952 into a family of sportsmen. His
father and most of his uncles were good rugby players. They though
weaned Henry primarily on cricket. So it was no surprise that little
Henry grew up to be a good cricketer. Apartheid meant that he had to
wage a long battle to get accepted as a cricketer of merit. He was 26
when he finally got into a Provincial side.
It was another 14 years,
before the winds of change let loose by a radical white dispensation
headed by FW de Klerk, saw Henry
being given his moment in the international arena at
long last. His tryst with destiny made, he played two more Tests against the
Indians. The grand old debutant of South African cricket has recounted
his cricketing experiences in a 'Man in the Middle', published in 1993.
Henry though was not the first coloured South African to play Test
cricket. That credit goes to Basil D'Oliviera, who first turned out for
England in 1966. Well, more about him another day...
For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]
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