BFL14 - The History Of Cricket - Richard Heller And Peter Oborne

Join cricketing historians, commentators and players Richard Heller and Peter Oborne for a potted history of the sport and its evolution. They argue that cricket today, dominated by the Indian Premier League’s wealth and scale, has come full circle back to its early form. From Australia to the Caribbean to Afghanistan, they’ll discuss the way cricket has developed globally, examining its role in colonialism, education and politics - and look at where it flourished and where it failed to take root.

Richard Heller was a long-serving columnist on the Mail on Sunday and then The Times and is the author of two cricket novels. A strong devotee of Pakistani cricket, he and Oborne are the co- authors of White On Green and during lockdown launched the popular podcast, Oborne & Heller On Cricket.

Peter Oborne's biography of Basil D’Oliveira won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Prize in 2004. His Wounded Tiger, a history of Pakistan cricket, was Wisden’s book of the year in 2014. Oborne’s political writing includes the Sunday Times bestsellers The Assault on Truth (2021) and Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza (2025). He has worked for the Spectator, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Today he is Associate Editor of Middle East Eye and is a columnist for Byline Times and DeClassified. He is captain of the White City All Stars CC, a wandering cricket team.