The Unforgiven Missionaries Or Mercenaries The Untold Story Of The Rebel West Indian Cricketers Who Toured Apartheid South Africa Ashley Gray by Ashley Gray 9781785315329, 1785315323 instant download after payment.

**Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year

Listed in the Guardian and Sunday Times Best Sports Books of 2020

Shortlisted for the Cricket Writers' Club Book of the Year**

In the early 80s, 20 black West Indian cricketers were paid more than $100,000 each to take part in rebel tours of apartheid South Africa. Some, such as Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran, were household names in the Caribbean and around the world, while others were fringe players seeking a short cut out of poverty. All would be condemned by the international cricketing fraternity. Accused of pocketing 'blood money' in order to prop up a regime that systematically discriminated against people of their own colour, they were banned for life from playing the sport they loved. In many cases, they were shunned by their fellow countrymen. A few turned to drugs and gangs, some turned to God - and others found themselves begging on the streets and dealing with mental illness. Forgotten and neglected for close to four decades, The Unforgiven tells their often-tragic stories through face-to-face interviews that explore the human cost of an onerous decision made early in these young men's lives.

"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