targets. These rebels would play "unofficial" internationals against a Springbok team who considered themselves as strong as any team in world cricket, except the West Indies. In the earliest rebel tours, Mike Procter and Peter Kirsten captained home teams featuring Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Clive Rice and Garth Le Roux. By their conclusion in 1990, many of them had retired and were replaced by the likes of Hansie Cronje and Allan Donald. The boycott movement opposed any such tours: they felt that engagement lent credibility and a propaganda coup to the National Party. But the SACU insisted that all funding came directly from commercial sponsorship, and that the tours would be conducted independently of government. Initially, at least, overseas opponents could not prove otherwise, while inside South Africa, non-white opposition, as under apartheid more generally, was barely heard due to restrictions on freedoms of press, speech and assembly. English XI, 1981–82 The first major tour was by an English team led by Graham Gooch in March 1982. Twelve cricketers, 11 of them with Test caps, had agreed in secret to make a one-month tour of the Republic. The news only broke when they arrived in Johannesburg. The players expected a brief public outcry and a slap on the wrist from the ICC. Instead they were the subject of global outrage among press and politicians, and labelled "the Dirty Dozen" in the Houses of Parliament. The reaction in South Africa could not have been more different. The government and white newspapers hailed the return of international cricket. Apart from Ian Botham, it was said, this was the full-strength England team. Springbok colours were awarded to the home side in a series of three "Tests". There were also three "one-day internationals". The on-field action "made a mockery of the immense off-field publicity". The so-called South African Breweries XI were under-prepared and, with the exception of Gooch and Emburey, either past their best or fairly marginal members of the England side (in fact, Taylor and later call-ups Humpage and Sidebottom had not played a Test for England at the time, and Humpage never did play a Test at all). They were beaten by a South Africa team for whom the uncapped Jimmy Cook and Vintcent van der Bijl starred. The Springboks, captained by Mike Procter, won the "Test" series 1–0 and "ODI" series 3–0. The rebels, who numbered 15 after hiring three further