Is cricket ‘for everyone’? Reflections on the 2021 Ollie Robinson scandal

Abstract

The author, a keen recreational cricketer and educationalist, reflects on the nature of racism and commitment to anti-racism in the game in England, where, recently, Ollie Robinson was penalised for historical tweets on social media. Through interviews with key players from ethnic minorities about their experiences, he concludes that the culture of cricket and the colour of its selection bear the hallmarks of an upper-class, public school-inculcated privilege and profound racism, more serious than Robinson’s offensive tweets.