Too black to wear whites : the remarkable story of Krom Hendricks, a cricket hero who was rejected by Cecil John Rhodes's empire / Jonty Winch and Richard Parry.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 238-243) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Origins of a legend -- 'A place not inhabited by white men' -- Opposition to the 'MCC of the Cape Colony' -- The talk of the town -- "Why am I termed a Malay?' -- 'Courting a disaster for the sake of prejudice' -- The Hendricks controversy comes home -- 'Let them look to God for justice for man has refused it' -- 'Any club could object to any man' -- 'Cricket under a cloud with no silver lining' -- 'The great and mighty Hendricks' -- Hendricks and the world: An international perspective -- Epilogue: Hendricks, D'Oliveira and a cricketing tradition.
Summary:
William Henry 'Krom' Hendricks was the first sportsman to be formally barred from representing South Africa on the basis of race. Hailing from Cape Town's Bo-Kaap, he played in 1892 for the South African Malay team against the touring English, who insisted that he was among the best fast bowlers in the world. This made his exclusion from South Africa's tour of England in 1894 and subsequent Test series all the more unjust. Ranged against Hendricks were virulent racism and a political alliance between arch-imperialist Cecil John Rhodes, Afrikaner Bond leader J.H. Hofmeyr, and cricket administrator William Milton. Too Black to Wear Whites documents Hendricks's tireless struggle for recognition and the public controversies around his exclusion. The book shows how Hendricks was further sidelined at senior club level by a cricket establishment determined to save its white players the embarrassment of being shown up by the country's best fast bowler. Considering his importance in South African sports history, surprisingly little is known about Krom Hendricks. The story of his life is told here for the first time in a fascinating drama that describes the formation of a segregated South Africa through the career of an exceptional cricketer who challenged the boundaries of the system.
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