Cricket Overthrown is one of the most provocative and intellectually important cricket books of the 20th century. Written by Charles Fortune, the respected South African cricket writer and journalist, the book is a forthright critique of the governance, politics, and moral direction of international cricket during the apartheid era.
 
Fortune examines how South African cricket — and world cricket more broadly — became entangled with political power, racial exclusion, and administrative complacency. With particular focus on South Africa’s isolation from Test cricket and the role played by cricketing authorities in Britain and elsewhere, the book challenges the notion that sport can exist separate from politics.
Written with clarity, restraint, and moral seriousness, Cricket Overthrown is neither sensational nor polemical; instead, it is a carefully argued indictment of cricket’s leadership at a moment when the game’s credibility was under threat. The work is especially notable for appearing before South Africa’s formal sporting isolation, making it an early and prescient warning about the consequences of inaction.
 
Today, the book is regarded as a landmark title in cricket literature dealing with ethics, governance, and race — and a key reference point for understanding the political history of the game.
 
A genuinely scarce title. Copies with the original dustjacket are not easy to find, especially in presentable condition.