After a successful 27 years with Worcestershire CCC, first as player and then as coach, Basil D'Oliveira retired at the end of the summer in 1991.

Basil D'Oliveira - one of cricket's legends

Dolly, who finished playing in 1980 and was coach at New Road up until he retired, came from the backstreets of Cape Town. He was a late starter in the world of first-class cricket, and had hardly ever seen a grass wicket before coming to this country as an unknown quantity to play for Middleton in the Central Lancashire League.

Yet six years later as a Worcestershire player which he had become in 1964, he was in the England team at the age of 31.

He went on to win 44 caps, averaging over 40 runs for his adopted country, and for his county he scored 14,120 runs at an average of 38.16 and took 445 wickets at 24.95.

For his services to cricket he was awarded the OBE in 1968, and in 1990 picked up £155,100 from a testimonial to mark his 25 years with the club.