David Sheppard his clerical career and declined to tour unless required as a captain. In 1956 he was recalled to play Australia and made 113 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford, where Jim Laker famously took 19 wickets and England won by an innings. He refused to play against the touring South Africans in 1960, and was a vocal opponent of the proposed MCC tour in 1968–69 which was ultimately cancelled after the South African government refused to allow Basil D'Oliveira to play. Sheppard was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End in order to
International cricket in South Africa from 1971 to 1981 drawn game on 23-25 September 1972 and a 4-day match on 29 September-2 October 1972, which Rhodesia won easily by 411 runs, and did not tour South Africa. South African, Mike Procter, played for Rhodesia. However the first "international" games played by South Africa post-isolation occurred after this. Derrick Robins, a millionaire businessman and chairman of Coventry City Football Club, had organised a number of private cricket tours in the past, arranged a tour to South Africa that took place between 1 January 1973 and 6 February 1973. His XI included many England Test players, who did not have to