Clearly a labour of love for the author.
I'm sure it would have been much easier, quicker and cheaper to just focus the narrative around the main players involved on the rebel tour.
Instead he set out to try and contact and interview every player involved in the two rebel tours.
Every player involved has his own individual chapter and story.
As a result, it becomes much more just than a sports story.
It is fascinating to compare and contrast the paths of each player, pre and post rebel tour.
Why we make the choices we do in life and why some of us succeed and some don't.
Highly recommended.
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Unforgiven, The: Missionaries or Mercenaries? The Untold Story of the Rebel West Indian Cricketers Who Toured Apartheid South Africa: Missionaries or ... Cricketers Who Toured Apartheid South Africa Hardcover – 20 April 2020
by
Ashley Gray
(Author)
Ashley Gray (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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In the early 80s, 20 West Indian cricketers were paid more than $100,000 each to take part in rebel tours of apartheid South Africa. When they returned home to the Caribbean they were banned for life and shunned by their countrymen. Some turned to drugs, some to God, while others found themselves begging on the streets. This is their untold story. Ashley Gray grew up fending off bouncers and sledges in Newcastle, New South Wales, before moving to Sydney where he works as a sports writer and subeditor. His stories have appeared in Wisden Quarterly, Fox Sports, The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and All Out Cricket. He plays hard-fought backyard cricket with his young son and daughter, who are already showing a rare talent for destroying laundry windows.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPITCH PUBLISHING
- Publication date20 April 2020
- Dimensions16.51 x 3.05 x 24.13 cm
- ISBN-101785315323
- ISBN-13978-1785315329
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Product description
Review
"It was a hopelessly naive comment but, rather than simply condemn, Gray’s skill is not just in unearthing these former cricketers ― including Rowe, living out his years in Florida ― but in allowing each to relive their fateful choice to go to South Africa... Gray paints a compelling portrait of each of them in a moving and thought-provoking read." Matt Dickinson, Sunday Times Sports Books of the Year; "Ashley Gray's thoroughly engaging dissection of the tours examines the moral complexity of the matter and the long-term effects on the rebels." Steven Carroll, The Age; "One can feel nothing but admiration for the tenacity of Gray's pursuit... The Unforgiven is richly sewn with tragedy... It is a truism to say history is written by the victors... The Unforgiven belatedly gives the losers their say." Gideon Haigh; "Possibly the biggest surprise of Ashley Gray's painstaking, sometimes harrowing, awkward and amusing, investigation of those tours is that it is highly nuanced. In The Unforgiven: Mercenaries or Missionaries?, Gray digs beneath the obvious motivation of money to discover that for many of the rebels, the tour was either their only hope of carving a career from cricket or their way of retaliating against the closed shop they perceived the West Indies side to be... We are left feeling the rebels were neither mercenaries nor missionaries, just lost souls." Alyson Rudd, The Times; "Sometimes it helps to come at these things from an angle. There's an excellent new book about cricket and race called The Unforgiven by the Australian writer Ashley Gray. The Unforgiven tells the story of West Indian rebel tours to apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, focusing on the later lives of those players who took the Blood Rand." Barney Ronay, The Guardian; "Gray, an Australian journalist, is unflinching in his portrayal of Murray and the other rebels... [he] is unsparing, if also deeply humane, in his account of the players' fates, those castigated by their communities as race traitors: "Cashed up, but ground down, some coped with ostracism by deserting their homelands, others sought refuge in drugs and religion. The tyranny of inter-island distance ensured that there would be no genuine rebel brotherhood. They were on their own"." --Alex Wade, The Times Literary Supplement; "A powerful and necessary book... brings the rebels out from the demonised whole and gives air and dignity to what are for the most lives blighted and broken by the decision to take the money and go." Wisden Cricket Monthly; "Gray tells the rebels' stories with insight and panache" David Brearley, The Daily Telegraph; "I finished The Unforgiven in one afternoon. It was compelling... one of the best cricket books I've read." Ken Piesse, Cricket Books (Australia); "The Unforgiven is riveting." Sharda Ugra, Senior editor, ESPNcricinfo; "The Unforgiven should be mandatory reading for anyone genuinely interested... in Caribbean cricket history." Fazeer Mohammed, Trinidad Express; "The Unforgiven is a fascinating and engrossing book and Ashley Gray deserves great credit for bringing the story of these West Indian cricketers to our book shelves." Andrew Roberts Cricket Statistics; "Gray, who travelled to the Caribbean several times for the book, has revealed a fresh voice and a talent to be rivalled among the best cricket writers in the world." Barry Nicholls, Australian Cricket Digest; "Cricket is a game enhanced by great books and Ashley Gray's The Unforgiven is an excellent dive into one of the most intriguing stories in the sporting world." Robert Craddock, The Courier-Mail;
About the Author
Ashley Gray works as a sports writer and subeditor. His stories have appeared in Wisden Quarterly, Fox Sports, the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, and All Out Cricket.
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Product details
- Publisher : PITCH PUBLISHING (20 April 2020)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1785315323
- ISBN-13 : 978-1785315329
- Dimensions : 16.51 x 3.05 x 24.13 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 83,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 92 in Sporting Events
- 105 in English Cricket
- 173 in History of Sports (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
163 global ratings
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic book and a great read!
Reviewed in Australia on 25 April 2020
After reading The Unforgiven I know I've read the definitive book on the rebel cricket tours of South Africa by the West Indies team and I've read one of the great sports books of 2020. This book has everything that I could ask for and above all honesty. It's a sign of great book when something that makes the subject look bad shows up in the book and for many of the former players that is the case.You can tell the hard work by the author is on the page and the first hand accounts really pay off. He brings out great stories and quotes by the former team members and after years of following cricket many stories have come out that I have not read or heard of before.The book cuts a fine balance between cricket and the social and political aspects of the tour and also brings out some hair raising stories which I was not expecting. Every chapter and every players story is its own flavour and story to itself which is why I enjoyed the book so much. If you are into cricket, sports or just looking for an intriguing story I can't recommend this book highly enough, as soon as I started reading it I just didn't stop until I got to the very end.
Reviewed in Australia on 25 April 2020
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TOP 1000 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revealing story of what happened afterwards to each and every player on the rebel tour
Reviewed in Australia on 14 August 2020Verified Purchase
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in Australia on 15 May 2020
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This is a real journey into the lives of a team of individually brilliant cricketing misfits at a turbulent time for them and the sport. Great writing and so thorough. Really gives you a personal insight without being judgmental. A great document of its time and of the men. If you thought you knew this subject, as I did, you'll be very surprised at how much more there is.
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Reviewed in Australia on 10 October 2021
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Ashley Gray you have done your research into a forgotten chapter of world cricket, and have presented an entertaining and enjoyable read. Your writing style takes me to the Caribbean. I recommend this book to cricket tragics and non cricket tragics. It is a story that was waiting to be told.
Reviewed in Australia on 14 July 2020
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A huge effort in contacting, researching and interviewing these men. Insights into Windies challenges after dominating 70s and 80s cricket.
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Reviewed in Australia on 17 August 2020
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A great read into a forgotten part of cricket’s history. So many tragic outcomes for so many of these West Indian cricketers.
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Reviewed in Australia on 15 January 2021
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Very interesting story - sad how they were treated post tour. Seems like a more fun time to play cricket.
Reviewed in Australia on 11 July 2020
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Great book
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Reviewed in Australia on 18 October 2020
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Gray captures a slice of history of interest to even those of us with little to no interest in cricket
Top reviews from other countries

Karen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2020Verified Purchase
I purchased this book for my father, a proud Jamaican man who lives and breathes cricket. He has incredible knowledge of the Windies, but he found this book in his words ‘Magnifient’. He would recount many of the heartbreaking events that occurred after the players went back to their lives after the South Africa tour. Losing jobs, turning to alcohol, homelessness. The decision to tour had catastrophic consequences. I’m definitely reading it after, that’s if I can get it off him!
9 people found this helpful
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Michael1966
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story of hypocrisy and betrayal
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2021Verified Purchase
This well-written book exposes many harsh realities about the attitude of politicians and cricket administrators. The appalling condemnation and treatment of players who chose to express their talent in South Africa should be a source of national embarrassment for the West Indies. One of the most powerful chapters is about the captain, Lawrence Rowe, who reveals the myths and falsehoods uttered by the modern-day virtue signaller Michael Holding. An interesting sub-text is the drug abuse and sexual irresponsibility which characterised Caribbean cricketers. Equally unpleasant are the reflections of one Ray Wynter who revelled in inflicting injury on his opponents. The author provides minimal detail of the actual cricket played but, perhaps unwittingly, explodes the myth of carefree calypso cricket to reveal distrust, rancour, hypocrisy and betrayal.
2 people found this helpful
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J. R. Emmerson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, interesting, readable, vital
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 October 2020Verified Purchase
Amongst the mass of cricket books there has been next to nothing produced about these 'rebel' tours to South Africa in the early 1980s. Ashley Gray's account of the West Indies teams that decided to tour in 1983/4 is absolutely fascinating and provides a wealth of detail and insight into the players involved. Little is realised of the quality of cricket played, nor the packed houses that the touring team played too and this book sheds light on that, and the very positive reaction the West Indies encountered as they played. Gray has tried to speak to everyone possible and let them tell their side, looking at the reasons why they went and what happened as a result. It's a very 'human' account too, as the 'rebel' players have had a range of experiences since those days, some encouraging and uplifting, many sombre, a couple deeply saddening. This is a proper journalist telling a proper cricket story and is one of the best recent cricket books you could buy.
One person found this helpful
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JA
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2020Verified Purchase
An interesting review of the West indian rebel tours of South Africa, compiled by means of a separate chapter for each player, looking at how they participated and were affected individually. The downside of this approach is quite a lot of repetition, but still a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the rebel tours and their consequences.
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John R. Challis
5.0 out of 5 stars
West Indies cricketers in South Africa
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 August 2020Verified Purchase
A true story how the West Indies players who toured South Africa were treated afterwards when they returned home from the rebel tour? so truly shocking the way that they were treated? I had no idea and was glad that I read it as it happens as an umpire and cricket supporter I had met several players mentioned in this book.
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