Brian Sidney Bassano (born in East London, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, on 21 March 1936, died in Launceston, Tasmania, on 10 July 2001) was a South African journalist and cricket historian.

Life and career

After some years in England, Brian Bassano returned to South Africa in the late 1960s and became a journalist and cricket commentator on radio. With Donald Woods, he formed one of the first multiracial club teams in South Africa, the Rainbow Cricket Club in East London.^[1]

Bassano became a prolific historian of South Africa's international cricket up to 1970, and made a 30-part television history of South Africa's Test history from 1888 to 1970.^[2] He moved to Australia in 1988. Several of his histories were published posthumously.

His son Chris played first-class cricket for Derbyshire and Tasmania.

Books

• South Africa in International Cricket 1888–1970 1979
• The Best of South African Sport: Rob Armitage Benefit Year 1987 (editor)
• The West Indies in Australia 1930-31 (with Rick Smith) 1990
• A Springbok Down Under: South Africa on Tour, 1931-32 (with Rick Smith) 1991 (based on the diary of Ken Viljoen)
• Vic's Boys: Australia in South Africa 1935-36 1993
• South African Cricket: Vol. 4, 1947–1960 1996
• South Africa versus England: 106 Years of Test Match Glory 1996
• MCC in South Africa 1938-39 1997
• Aubrey Faulkner: His Record Innings by Innings 2001
• Mann's Men: MCC in South Africa 1922-23 2004
• The Visit of Mr W. W. Read's 1891-92 English Cricket Team to South Africa (with Rick Smith) 2007
• Maiden Victory: The 1935 South African Tour of England (with Rick Smith) 2012
• South African Test Cricketers 1888-89 – 1969-70 (edited by Rick Smith) 2022

References