History of cricket in South Africa from 1945–46 to 1970 whose team included Basil D'Oliveira. Although the Australians visited South Africa in 1969-70, the end was nigh for apartheid in sport and South Africa was banned from Test cricket for 22 years. This happened just at a time when the South African team was arguably the strongest in world cricket. In 1970, after South Africa's tour of England was cancelled, a Rest of the World team toured instead. It was captained by Gary Sobers and included other non-white players from the West Indies, India and Pakistan. It also included four of the greatest South African players (Eddie Barlow, Graeme Pollock,
D'Oliveira affair to choose him. The latter part of the plan depended on the MCC realising that picking D'Oliveira would mean no tour, but in making such attempts the South Africans risked public discovery, which would cause the tour to be cancelled anyway. The bribery was planned from an early stage, but had to be postponed when D'Oliveira did not return to South Africa before the 1968 season. The second part of the plan was put into operation in March 1968. Vorster resolved to send a secret message to the MCC through Lord Cobham, a member and former president of the MCC