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Basil had to lie about his age because he thought if they realised how old he was they would not pick him for England. So he came down from born in 1935 at that time, solidifying his place in the team as 1933 born and when I wrote his book in 1980 he finally conceded he was born in 1928. So by my calculation he was 38 when he first played for England in 1966 and 83 when he died
BBC Radio 5 live's Pat MurphyObituary: Basil D'Oliveira
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BBCPage last updated at 08:12 GMT, Saturday, 19 November 2011
Obituary: Basil D'Oliveira (UK users only)
A talented all-rounder, Basil D'Oliveira is remembered more for his role in bringing down South Africa's apartheid regime than for his achievements on the cricket field.
Had the former England player begun his Test cricket career earlier, he might have set the record books rather than history books alight.
However four decades later he is not famous for his five Test centuries but for an affair which exposed the racist policies of his native country South Africa to the world.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/15803207.stm
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