Dik Abed

Sulaiman "Dik" Abed (22 October 1944 – 19 January 2018) was a cricketer. Born in South Africa, he captained the Netherlands.[1][2]

Dik Abed

He played as Enfield's professional in the Lancashire League for 10 seasons, from 1967 to 1976, scoring 5271 runs at an average of 27.17 and taking 855 wickets at 10.27 with his fast-medium bowling.[3][4] In 1968, when Enfield won the championship for the first time in 25 years, he took 120 wickets at an average of 9.30 and made 458 runs at 20.90.[5] When Enfield won again in 1971 he took 101 wickets at 7.99 and made 662 runs at 28.78. He resisted offers from other league clubs and a first-class county and stayed with Enfield.[6] The counties may also have been reluctant to engage him in the wake of the D'Oliveira affair. The Warwickshire coach Alan Oakman told Abed the authorities had instructed him not to sign Abed to play with the county.[3][7]

In an attempt to make South African cricket more acceptable to world opinion and to ensure the tour to Australia in 1971-72 went ahead, the South African cricket authorities offered Dik Abed and another non-white player, Owen Williams, a place on the touring team. However, not only did the South African National Party government refuse to allow the initiative to proceed, but Abed and Williams also refused to be a part of what they considered a token gesture.[8]

After marrying a Dutch woman he moved to the Netherlands.[7] He captained the Netherlands team in the 1982 ICC Trophy.[3]