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The Chicago White Sox appear to be heading towards new ownership, but not for a while.

On Tuesday, the team announced a “long-term investment agreement” had been made between owner Jerry Reinsdorf and billionaire Justin Ishbia that “establishes a framework" for Ishbia to take a controlling share of the franchise down the road.

Per the team’s statement:

Ishbia, brother to and co-investor with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, is already a minority investor in the White Sox, but now looks to potentially see his share of the franchise increase into a controlling interest.

Ishbia had previously been connected to potentially purchasing the Minnesota Twins, but has since refocused, and apparently come to terms, on a deal of sorts with the White Sox.

“Having the incredible opportunity to own the Chicago White Sox and be part of Major League Baseball for nearly 50 years has been a life-changing experience,” said Reinsdorf in the team’s announcement. “I have always expressed my intent to operate the White Sox as long as I am able and remain committed to returning this franchise to the level of on-field success we all expect and desire.”

West Ham have held loose talks to sign a striker who’s allegedly spoken with Thomas Frank about joining Tottenham, according to a report this week.

West Ham identify striker targets ahead of January

West Ham are accelerating their pursuit of centre-forwards ahead of the January transfer window, with Nuno Espírito Santo making the signing of a number nine one of his absolute priorities.

The Hammers currently languish in the relegation zone with just 13 points from 15 Premier League games, having scored a meagre 17 goals all season, even if they’ve enjoyed a recent mini-revival under Nuno.

Niclas Füllkrug’s potentially imminent departure has intensified the need for another option upfront, with the German flop expected to complete a return to the Bundesliga after managing just three goals in 29 appearances since his £27 million arrival from Dortmund last year.

Man United’s Joshua Zirkzee is one option under consideration by West Ham.

The Dutch forward has struggled for opportunities under Ruben Amorim and was previously labeled a “future West Ham player” last year, and you can make a case that Zirkzee’s versatilitywould suit Nuno’s system far better than Fullkrug.

West Ham are also monitoring Midtjylland sensation Franculino Dju, who has scored a pretty incredible 21 goals in 30 total appearances this season.

The 21-year-old represents a younger, longer-term investment compared to more experienced alternatives, while Union Saint-Gilloise’s Promise David continues to attract West Ham interest after his impressive performances for the Belgian champions.

West Ham 'set to sign' prolific Tottenham starlet as Mark Noble seals 'coup' of a deal

The Hammers sporting director played a key transfer role.

By
Emilio Galantini

Dec 6, 2025

A bigger name option who’s been repeatedly linked comes in the form of ex-Brentford star Ivan Toney.

The Al-Ahli striker, who’s been on fire in Saudi Arabia with 50 goal contributions (42 goals, eight assists) in 62 appearances, is reportedly under catching West Ham’s eye prior to January.

Toney has only managed to make one England squad since moving to the Middle East last year, and with the World Cup looming, reports suggest he could be tempted to move back to the Premier League.

West Ham hold 'informal' talks to sign Ivan Toney

According to some media sources, Toney has even spoken to Frank directly about a potential move to Tottenham next month.

However, as per journalist Graeme Bailey, both Spurs and the Irons could be set for disappointment.

Writing for TEAMtalk, Bailey says that West Ham have held ‘informal’ talks to sign Toney, but a move back to England for the 29-year-old hinges on Thomas Tuchel.

The Three Lions boss wasn’t impressed by Toney the last time he was called up in the summer, so the prospect of him playing his way into the World Cup squad is already slim at best.

Because of this, the forward and his camp aren’t anticipating a call-up, regardless of where he moves from now until the squad selection.

This lack of hope threatens to quash any hope of West Ham, or indeed Spurs, signing Toney, with a potentially huge financial bill also coming as a major roadblock.

If Toney returns to England under two years after his Saudi move, the attacker would be forced to pay massive taxes, but if he waits until the summer, the fees would be more kind in that regard.

It therefore makes more sense for the player to wait until later in 2026 to consider a move back to the UK, by which point Spurs or West Ham may have already signed their desired new target man.

Taking this into account, a potential move to the London Stadium for Toney is seen as a long shot.

Striker greenlights January exit with West Ham bid expected ahead of immediate move

He wants to leave.

By
Emilio Galantini

4 days ago

Real Madrid turned in a solid performance but made some key defensive mistakes to suffer a 2-1 home loss to Manchester City in a Champions League loss that will put further pressure on Xabi Alonso. Los Blancos took the lead, but threw it away and were unable to mount a second half comeback to drop their second game in a row.

The game simmered for the first 30 minutes. Madrid thought they had a penalty early when Vinicius was tripped by Matheus Nunes – but VAR ruled that the foul was outside the box. Otherwise, the home side were happy to dig in and defend. Los Blancos were rewarded for their rearguard efforts after 28 minutes, though, with Rodrygo giving them a 1-0 lead thanks to a tidy finish from a tight angle. 

But City charged back. They got their first off a corner. Thibaut Courtois spilled the initial effort and Nico O'Reilly tapped home the loose ball. The second came from the spot. Antonio Rudiger dragged Erling Haaland in front of a gaping net. Haaland appealed. VAR determined he was fouled. The Norwegian dutifully finished from 12 yards. 

Madrid had a clear chance immediately in the second half, but Jude Bellingham lifted over with the goal gaping. There were further looks, too. Vinicius had two of them, putting a free header wide before volleying over off a corner. But they simply couldn't find an equalizer – and Alonso could be in trouble. 

GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from Santiago Bernabeu…

• Getty
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Thibaut Courtois (6/10):

  At fault for the first goal, made some vital saves after, but was beaten from the spot. 

  Federico Valverde (5/10):

  Had a rough time against Doku, and didn't get forward loads. Can't be faulted for his effort, though. 

  Raul Asencio (5/10):

  Absolutely torched by Jeremy Doku. Won his headers but was burned in transition over and over. 

  Toni Rudiger (5/10):

  Gave away an entirely meaningless penalty, and never looked particularly steady at the back. Should have picked up a second yellow. 

  Alvaro Carreras (8/10):

  Immensely effective. Shut down his wing and scampered forward down the left. 

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  Midfield

  Dani Ceballos (6/10):

  A surprise inclusion. Brought in for some midfield control but never really got in the game. 

  Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):

  Effective when the game slowed down but was complete torched on the break a few times. 

  Jude Bellingham (6/10):

  Allowed to be the main man in midfield. In on all the action and very impressive… until he missed a sitter. 

• Getty
  

  Attack

  Rodrygo (8/10):

  Handed a start on the right. Then moved to the left. Absolutely excellent throughout, both as a goalscorer and creator. 

  Gonzalo Garcia (6/10):

  A bit mixed. Did well as a focal point at times, but didn't get involved enough. Can't be blamed. 

  Vinicius Jr (6/10):

  Never stopped running at his man, but City doubled up on him effectively. Missed a couple of good chances, too. 

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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• Getty
  

  Subs & Manager

  Arda Guler (6/10):

  A decent 30 minutes, but never fully got involved. 

  Brahim Diaz (6/10):

  Barely had a kick. 

  Endrick (N/A):

  No time to make an impact. 

  Xabi Alonso (5/10):

  Oversaw a pretty good performance, but this is a results based business and Madrid should have gotten one here. Can he survive another week?

It's been a rough season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who haven't been able to capitalize on Paul Skenes's lights-out pitching and jumped out to a 32-50 start. But over the course of their last four games they have suddenly flipped the switch and turned into a wagon. On Monday night they crushed the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-0, as Andrew Heaney flirted with a no-hitter.

It was the fourth consecutive contest that the Bucs have won by at least seven runs, an accomplishment the franchise has not enjoyed since the 1925 club got hot. The Pirates began their hot play by cruising past the New York Mets by scores of 9-1, 9-2 and 12-1.

The exceptional play has improved their run differential from -70 to -35 and been a major bright spot in a season that hasn't seen many on display.

For some context on just how rare it is for a team to dominate like this, even for a short period, the only two teams in baseball history to win four straight by 7-plus runs while allowing two or fewer runs in each victory are the 1911 Pirates and 1882 White Stockings. And any time you're harkening back to the time of Chester A. Arthur, you're doing something pretty special.

Tensions were high between the Red Sox and Astros at Fenway Park Saturday.

Benches and bullpens cleared after the seventh inning because Astros relief pitcher Hector Neris thought Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story was stealing signs as he stood on second base. Neris intentionally balked Story to third so he could get off second base and presumably stop looking at his grip and communicating to the plate.

Once the inning ended, Neris had some words for Red Sox third base coach Kyle Hudson as both teams headed to their respective dugouts which caused benches to clear. The skirmish deescalated from there with an umpire holding back Neris and both sides quickly moving on.

That didn't stop current NESN analyst and former Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks from taking a nicely-timed shot at the Astros for their history with sign stealing.

"Imagine the Astros being mad about stealing signs," Middlebrooks said on the Boston broadcast. "But guess what? That's part of the game when you can see the grip in a glove."

The Astros were disciplined by the league for illegally using a video camera system to steal signs during games in 2017 and '18. They won the World Series in '17 and were stripped of their first- and second-round picks in '20 and '21 as part of the sanctions. The league suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and team manager A.J. Hinch for the '20 season for failing to prevent the violations before the two were fired after the punishment was announced.

Of course, the Astros are completely turned over from that time and as another interesting wrinkle, current Red Sox manager Alex Cora was the Astros' bench coach during the '17 season. But it was certainly a fair shot from Middlebrooks because any time sign stealing comes up, you can't help but think of the Astros' scandal.

With Ruben Amorim set to keep hold of his job at Old Trafford, Manchester United are reportedly preparing a January offer to sign a midfield star who he loves.

Ratcliffe defends making Man Utd staff cuts

After revealing that he’s willing to give Amorim as long as three years to make his mark at Man United, INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has defended his decision to make a number of staff cuts earlier this year. The British billionaire insisted that profitability is key to any success and used United’s recent record revenue as an example.

Alas, even as results begin to improve off the pitch, they’ve remained woeful on the pitch. Amorim’s side have won just twice in seven Premier League games and are yet to even win back-to-back league games under the former Sporting Club manager.

Alarm bells have been ringing all season, but Amorim maintains the faith of INEOS. In fact, instead of sacking the manager, the minority owners are reportedly prepared to back him in the transfer market once again and could even welcome a midfielder that he loves in 2026.

Man Utd preparing Hjulmand offer

According to reports in Spain, Man United are now preparing a €60m (£52m) offer to sign Morten Hjulmand from Sporting Club. The Denmark midfielder thrived under Amorim at Sporting and could now become the first player from his former side to complete a move to Old Trafford in 2026.

Man Utd scouts spotted watching Real Madrid target who's keeping up with Mbappe

He’s enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign.

By
Tom Cunningham

Oct 10, 2025

Amorim has never shied away from praising the 26-year-old, either. The Man United boss told reporters after his final game in charge of Sporting, in which Hjulmand scored in a 4-2 victory: “It was a great goal by a fantastic player and captain who arrived at Sporting a year ago.”

The leader that the Red Devils are arguably lacking, Hjulmand would slot straight into Amorim’s midfield next to Manuel Ugarte – allowing Bruno Fernandes to move back to an advanced role in the process.

When compared, it’s the Dane’s defensive traits that stand out and those traits would allow one of the best midfielders in the world to play in his best role under Amorim. If United can secure his signature for just £52m, then Hjulmand would simply be a no-brainer.

The 2025 World Series is underway with the Dodgers and Blue Jays competing for baseball's biggest prize.

The Blue Jays took the first game of the series at Rogers Centre, thanks to Addison Barger's thrilling grand slam that blew a previously tied contest wide open. Toronto ended up beating the series favorites, 11-4.

But the Dodgers snatched one back to even the series in Game 2's 5-1 win, aided by Yoshinobu Yamamoto's complete game. The Dodgers ace became the first pitcher to achieve that feat in the Fall Classic since 2015.

The Dodgers jumped ahead to a 2-1 series lead after winning Game 3's 18-inning marathon thriller, but then dropped the next two contests to the Blue Jays, who have looked and played like the better team in Games 4 and 5. Toronto is now just one win away from clinching their first World Series title since their repeat championship in '93.

Game 6 is Friday night at Rogers Centre.

Prior to these games, it's customary for a chosen singer to perform the U.S. and Canadian national anthems in honor of each MLB team. Here is a list of the national anthem singers who are scheduled to take the stage for each game of the 2025 World Series.

2025 World Series National Anthem Singers for Dodgers vs. Blue Jays

Game 7 of 2025 World Series: Pia Toscano and Noah Reid

Pia Toscano will perform “The Star Spangled Banner” ahead of Game 7 at Rogers Centre. Toscano finished in ninth place on Season 10 of back in 2010 and has been in the music industry ever since.

The Canadian national anthem will be performed by Noah Reid, who is best known for his starring role as Patrick Brewer on the hit show . Reid, an actor for most of his life, has also thrived as a musician. He has released four albums since 2016 and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song back in 2016.

Game 6 of 2025 World Series: John Vincent and David Grenon

Singer John Vincent will perform the U.S. national anthem in Game 6. Vincent is a longtime anthem singer at Wrigley Field for Cubs games and has been singing professionally since 2001. Vincent boasts an impressive baritone voice and was a regular fixture at Ditka's restaurant in downtown Chicago, where he lent his voice to popular hits by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and others. Earlier this year, Vincent wowed MLB audiences after he held a note for 25 seconds during one of his anthem renditions. You can listen to that performance here.

David Grenon will perform the Canadian national anthem. The Quebec native recently retired after 25 years serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. Grenon, who also goes by the stage name SoulBear, has performed a wide array of covers on his YouTube channel, including songs from the musical , Celine Dion and Freddie Mercury.

Game 5 of 2025 World Series: Sofia Carson and Rufus Wainwright

American actress and singer Sofia Carson will perform the U.S. national anthem in Game 5. Carson may be best known for her acting in the 2022 Netflix movie, , in which she was executive producer, plays the lead role and performs eight original songs on the soundtrack, including the hit single, "Come Back Home." Carson also played Evie in Disney Channel's Descendants movie franchise, and she became the first global ambassador for the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation in 2019.

Rufus Wainwright will perform the Canadian national anthem. The Canadian-American singer-songwriter has recorded 11 studio albums and has also written two classical operas. His first opera, , premiered in 2009 and received much acclaim.

Here are their World Series national anthem performances:

Game 4 of 2025 World Series: Tinashe and Deborah Cox

R&B singer and actress Tinashe will perform the U.S. national anthem in Game 4. Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, better known as just Tinashe, first found mainstream success with her 2014 single, "2 On" featuring Schoolboy Q. She also did some acting in her career including her roles in the Western movie, ,as well as the TV comedy series, .

Deborah Cox will perform the Canadian national anthem. Born and raised in Toronto, Cox was briefly a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion and also dabbled in acting and Broadway. Cox is considered one of Canada's top R&B artists with hits like "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" and "Let the World Be Ours Tonight." She was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2022

Listen to their national anthem renditions below:

Game 3 of 2025 World Series: Brad Paisley and JP Saxe

Country singer Brad Paisley will perform the U.S. national anthem in Game 3 at Los Angeles. This will mark his fifth anthem performance at the World Series, having previously been chosen to sing in 2017, '18, '19 and '24. Paisley, a three-time Grammy Award-winner, has charted over 50 singles on Billboard and has released 12 studio albums dating back to '99. He has also collaborated with famous country artists like Keith Urban, Dolly Parton and Carrie Underwood.

Pop singer-songwriter JP Saxe will perform the Canadian national anthem. Saxe was born in Toronto, but currently resides in Los Angeles, and he is best known for his song with Julia Michaels, "If the World Was Ending," which was nominated for a Grammy in 2021. His grandfather is János Starker, who is considered one of the greatest cellists of all time.

Here are their national anthem performances:

Game 2 of 2025 World Series: Bebe Rexha and Alessia Cara

American pop singer Bebe Rexha sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Game 2. The Brooklyn native has released three studio albums and is best known for her chart-topping collaborations with other artists, including "Hey Mama" with David Guetta and Nicki Minaj, "Me, Myself & I" with G-Eazy and "In the Name of Love" with Martin Garrix.

Alessia Cara sang "O Canada" in Game 2. The Ontorio-born singer-songwriter soared to global recognition with her mainstream singles "Scars to Your Beautiful" and "Here," and she has also been featured in several commercial hits with DJ and producer Zedd and rapper Logic. Cara became the first Canadian artist to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist back in 2018.

Here are their renditions of their respective national anthems:

Game 1 of 2025 World Series: Pharrell Williams and Voices of Fire

Pharrell Williams and the gospel choir, Voices of Fire, performed both "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada" in Game 1 of the Fall Classic, kicking off the 2025 World Series in Toronto with an awe-inspiring cross-border homage to both teams.

Williams, a 13-time Grammy Award-winning artist, took the stage with Voices of Fire, a choir he formed with his uncle, Bishop Ezekiel Williams.

To pay tribute to the Canadian setting at Rogers Centre, Williams and the choir were joined by an ensemble comprised of a local Toronto orchestra during their national anthem renditions.

Listen to their goosebump-inducing performances here:

Think back to the morning of the Fourth of July. Our nation’s birthday. Quintessential America. Barbecues. Burgers. Fireworks. Everything as you expect, including the Dodgers with the best record in baseball.

Now seems like a long time ago. Since then, the Dodgers have been as sorry as a sack of soggy charcoal briquettes: 12–21. Only the Nationals and the Rays have been worse.

Wait, the Dodgers? The $391 million payroll Dodgers? The same Dodgers who gobbled up so many high-profile free agents last winter we started asking, “Are the Dodgers good for baseball?”

Eight months later, now we’re asking, “Will the Dodgers ever play good baseball?”

They better figure it out quickly. Starting tonight, the Dodgers play six of their next 10 games against the smoking hot, deadline-fortified, first-place San Diego Padres.

What is wrong with the Dodgers? It’s time to dig in.

1. Maybe the Dodgers are just in a slump

All teams go through valleys. At some point in June, the Dodgers, Cubs, Mets, Astros and Yankees all had leads as big as 5 1/2 games. All gone.

But slumps this deep are rare for the Dodgers. In the past 30 years, here are the only seasons in which the Dodgers hit .236 and lost at least 21 games in a 33-game span:

Dodgers Seasons with 33-Game Span With 21+ Losses and Hitting .236 or Worse (Wild Card Era)

I know you optimistic Dodger fans are thinking:

But the problems this year go deeper than 33 games. Let’s continue.

2. Dodgers don’t measure well against good teams

Los Angeles is 28–32 against teams that are .500 or better. Among the 12 teams in playoff position today, only the Tigers are worse against good competition.

To find the last Dodgers team that had a losing record against teams .500 and above, you must go back a decade, to 2015, when Don Mattingly was the manager, Andrew Friedman had just arrived as president of baseball operations—and the Dodgers were booted in the NLDS by the Mets.

That best record on the Fourth of July? Fool’s gold. The Dodgers were 14–1 against the Rockies, Marlins and White Sox. They proceeded to get swept by the Astros and then twice by the Brewers.

3. Dodgers are a poor team in defensive efficiency

This is shocking news.

What is defensive efficiency? It’s the measurement of how often a team turns batted balls into outs. I like this measurement because it does not isolate defense but reflects the unbreakable marriage between pitching and defense. A pitching staff that gets weak contact, for instance, makes the job easier for the defense.

This has been Andrew Friedman’s secret sauce. You can talk all you want about the Dodgers’ money, technology, scouting, international footprint, annoying speaker system at Dodger Stadium, whatever … turning batted balls into outs is what they do best under Friedman.

No more. Their amazing six-year year run of elite pitching combined with elite defense is over.

Dodgers MLB Rank in Defensive Efficiency

They'll be sleepless in Seattle after this one.

The Mariners were nine outs away from defeating the Blue Jays on Monday. Nine outs away from winning the American League pennant. In their first trip back to the AL championship series since 2001, they were just nine outs away from clinching a berth to the World Series for the first time in the franchise's 49-year history. They were on the precipice of making dreams come true for millions across the Pacific Northwest, but instead, they induced a nightmare.

The Mariners took a 3–1 lead in Game 7 of the ALCS after solo home runs from Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh and holding the Blue Jays to just one run through six innings. To their misfortunes, they weren't able to keep Toronto down any longer.

George Springer hit a three-run home run for the Blue Jays in the seventh inning, giving them a 4–3 lead. They held the Mariners without another run, with reliever Jeff Hoffman striking out all three Mariners' batters in the ninth inning to secure the win. Seattle was left to fly home from Toronto heartbroken, as their franchise remains the only one in MLB that has never made the World Series.

The Mariners had their chances. Outside of Game 7, they took a 2–0 lead over the Blue Jays to start this series, winning the first two games at Rogers Centre, but couldn't hold on. They dropped four of the last five games of the series, allowing Toronto the opportunity to return to the World Series for the first time in over 30 years.

Despite the crushing defeat, Mariners manager Dan Wilson doesn't want this loss to overshadow their storybook season. Wilson said his message to his team after the game was, "Just to hold up their heads. To understand what kind of a season they had. I know this stinks, there's no question this is gonna sting. The kind of season they had, doing things no team in this organization has done, knocking on the door of a World Series, all that, it's due to how hard they've worked, how hard they've played all season long. All the times they've come back, all the times they've bounced back. It's a special team in there, it's a shame we had to come out on the wrong side of this one."

It definitely was a special season for the Mariners, but rather than finally breaking through and making the World Series, it will simply be another that's remembered for falling short.

More than a hundred years ago, South Africa lost their fastest bowler to the politics of segregation

Firdose Moonda14-Jun-2020If the personal is political then the playing field is even more so, especially in South Africa. This is a country where sport and public policy have always gone in hand in hand, where race and class, rather than access and ability, open the doors to professional teams, and where selection has never been simple or purely about merit.That’s right, never. Not even at the beginning.When South Africa played their first Test, in March 1889, one William Milton was part of the XI. Milton was a former England rugby player and also head of the Western Province Cricket Union. A year later he became head of the Prime Minister’s Department for Cecil Rhodes. From its outset, cricket in the Cape was politicised, with Milton using his influence to organise English tours to South Africa, and to promote the game in the country, according to his standards.When South Africa played their most recent Test, in January 2020, Temba Bavuma was part of the XI. Bavuma is the only black African batsman to have played Test cricket for South Africa, and the only person from the country’s largest demographic who played in that Test. That meant South Africa fell behind on their transformation target – they are required to field, on average over the course of a season, a minimum of six players of colour, of whom two must be black African. This makes selection in some instances a colour-by-numbers game, with questions raised over the integrity of the process. Perhaps those questions should always have been asked.By the time South Africa played their third Test, in 1892, Milton was a political and sporting hotshot. Rhodes’ private secretary at the time, he was also captain of the country’s cricket team. He was responsible for organising England’s 1891-92 tour to South Africa, whose success hinged on ensuring the hosts provided a competitive enough team to take on their visitors, and provided the gamblers with content to hedge their bets on. On that score, he failed. South Africa were defeated by an innings and 189 runs.But the tourists were challenged later in the month. A Malay team, made up of players from the Cape coloured community, played against the English in an additional fixture. Malay slaves, and rebels and outcasts from the region, had been brought to South Africa from South East Asia by the Dutch in the 17th and 18th century. They brought Islam to the country and formed strong ties with other exiles from Madagascar, East Africa and Brazil, who were also dumped in the Cape by the Dutch. Though the Malays lost the match, they put up more of a fight, and one of them made much more of an impression than any of the South African national players.William Henry “Krom” Hendricks, described by George Hearne as the “fastest bowler in South Africa,” kept the Malay team in the game. Hearne captained the English side in the match against the Malays, and his only Test was the one in Cape Town earlier in 1892; his brother Frank played in that match for England, interestingly enough. It did not go unnoticed that the South African national side had lost because they lacked a strike bowler. Hendricks obviously had the potential to fill that gap, but he never played for South Africa.Hendricks was the earliest big casualty of racial segregation in South African cricket•Penguin Random HouseLittle was known about Hendricks until now, with the publication of , written by Jonty Winch and Richard Parry, who have pieced together the social history of cricket in the Cape, mostly through newspaper reports. They found reports of the game among coloured communities from the 1870s, and reference the first Malay inter-town tournament in 1890. The matches took place at Newlands, which at that point was leased to the Western Province Cricket Club, who allowed it to be used by Malays because they brought with them an estimated 5000 spectators and substantial amounts in gate receipts. So much for the later narrative that people of colour are not interested in cricket. Winch and Parry paint a picture of a vibrant and engaged cricket community, of which Hendricks was a part.

Other notable political selections/omissions in South African cricket

1968: Basil D’Oliveira
Lack of opportunity at home prompted D’Oliveira, a Cape Coloured, to take a chance elsewhere. In 1966, when he made his debut for England, there was already talk about his inclusion in the proposed 1968 tour of South Africa. Between politicking and a slump in form, D’Oliveira was omitted from the tour, but was added back as an injury replacement later, which South African politicians would not accept. When it became clear that D’Oliveira would not be allowed to face his former countrymen, England cancelled the tour, which proved a major catalyst for South Africa’s 20-year sporting isolation.
2002: Jacques Rudolph/Justin Ontong
Rudolph was set to make his Test debut in the final match of a three-Test series in Australia, before South Africa’s board president, Percy Sonn, intervened, arguing that Justin Ontong should play instead as a like for like middle-order replacement for Lance Klusener, who was ruled out. Sonn also made it known that the pace of transformation had been too slow and said picking Ontong, a coloured player, rather than Rudolph, would help to speed it up.
2015: Kyle Abbott/Vernon Philander
South Africa went into the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Auckland without Abbott, who had been their best bowler by average and economy rate and with Philander, who was carrying a hamstring injury. The official comment was that Philander’s ability to move the ball off the seam sealed the decision, but it transpired later that the CSA CEO, Haroon Lorgat, had stressed the need to field a team that was more in line with transformation guidelines.
2019: The Temba Bavuma issue
After a humiliating tour of India, in which South Africa were whitewashed 3-0, changes had to be made in their batting line-up for the home series against England. Bavuma was injured for the opening Test and dropped for the next two. Captain Faf du Plessis explained that Bavuma needed to force his way back in through “weight of runs,” while du Plessis played despite struggling with his own form, and his average of 20.92 in the season drew the ire of Bavuma’s supporters.

The man himself is something of a mystery. Nobody knows why he had the nickname Krom, or exactly where he traces his ancestry to (Hendricks himself claimed that his mother was from the island of St Helena and his father was Dutch and early stories about him confused him for another Hendricks, Armien). There were no photographs of him that could be used in the book; the illustration above was created by an artist, Bella Forsyth, off a tiny picture from the 1930s which showed Hendricks in his early seventies standing next to his grandson.What is clear is that Hendricks was an immensely talented bowler and that he impressed many who came across him. Apart from Hearne, Hendricks also impressed the heads of the Transvaal and Free State cricket unions and the journalist Harry Cadwallader, all of whom advocated for his inclusion in the South African side that was due to tour England in 1894.Cadwallader was also the secretary of the South African Cricket Association, in charge of the 1894 trip. He wanted both Hendrickses (Krom and Armien) and Ebrahim Ariefdien, all bowlers, to be part of the group that travelled to England. He had the support of the diamond tycoon Abe Bailey, who was also a cricketer, and who was more interested in ensuring South Africa were strong on the field than on insisting they were white. Ironically, the same argument is often used today against transformation, and it appears race and performance have always been regarded as mutually exclusive.Cadwallader’s good intentions took on a different light when, in an article publicly supporting Hendricks’ inclusion, he wrote that Hendricks would travel as both a player and a baggage handler. Hendricks objected to that idea in a letter written to the the next day. “I would state that if chosen, I would not think of going in that capacity,” he wrote.Interestingly, Hendricks argued his place in the team on the basis of race. He questioned why he was regarded as being of colour. “I must disclaim any connection with the Malay community,” he wrote. Hendricks referenced his father’s birth to Dutch parents and his mother’s heritage in St Helena (an island in the South Atlantic Ocean best known for being the place of Napoleon’s death, where people are generally dark-skinned) as evidence that he was not Malay, and though he did not ask to be considered white, the implication was clear.Rhodes was aware of the issue, and was against Hendricks touring on racial grounds. He is reported to have said, “They would have expected him to throw boomerangs during the luncheon interval.” Through Milton, Rhodes was able to block Hendricks’ selection, even when Hendricks turned around and sought Cadwallader’s help in being included. Cadwallader wrote a subsequent letter to the claiming Hendricks would be “pleased to go to England if required, on certain low terms for services rendered and would not for a moment expect to be classed with the rest of the team”.So began a long and desperately sad period in Hendricks’ life, in which he grappled with his own identity. He tried several times to petition to play for white clubs and failed. He wrote numerous letters to newspapers to make his case. These were meticulously unearthed by the authors of this book, including one from as late as 1904, when he was 47 years old. Then, he applied to play senior cricket for Milton’s Western Province Cricket Club and argued that he was European, based on his father’s bloodline. His request was denied, on the basis of race. Instead, Hendricks continued to play among the coloured community, had 11 children and 40 grandchildren (one of whom went on to play football for Liverpool) and is barely celebrated among South Africa’s cricket greats.Penguin Random HouseMilton, on the other hand, has a legacy that lives on. The first state high school in Bulawayo is named after him. It has produced 17 first-class cricketers, 14 of whom are non-white, and also Hendrik Verwoerd, who went on to become prime minister of South Africa and is known as the architect of apartheid. Under Verwoerd, South Africa’s racial segregation become entrenched, and sport, like all other areas of life had to fall in line with that.There were no further suggestions of white and black players competing with or against each other at national level. South Africa’s national teams were all-white, and black players formed their own unions and tournaments, initially in separate race groupings and then collectively under the South African Cricket Board of Control. In 1991, the white and black boards were unified and South Africa, pre-democracy, re-entered the international sporting arena. They are a year short of three decades into this new era and selection is still politicised, with a government-imposed target system in place to address the pace of change. Apart from Bavuma, only eight other black Africans have played Test cricket out of a total of 110 post-readmission players. The discussion around transformation is ever present.In women’s cricket worldwide, the last five years have marked a significant change, culminating in February’s record crowd at the T20 World Cup final. In South Africa, women have been professional since 2014. They were the first South African senior team to have a black African head coach, and they are more demographically representative than the men’s team. It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact reason for this other than that, typically, the women’s game is not steeped in the same traditions as the men’s. Players are not produced by a small number of elite schools, which might have allowed the women’s game to diversify. Instead, there are other issues, not least of which is remuneration, as women seek to close the gender pay gap. And so, even as we move through some of the politics on the playing field, others remain deeply personal.Too Black to Wear Whites: The Remarkable Story of Krom Hendricks, a Cricket Hero who was Rejected by Cecil John Rhodes’ Empire
Jonty Winch and Richard Parry
Penguin Random House
255 pages, R260