Full Circle

BBC cricket commentator Jonathan Doidge will interview award-winning journalist and author Peter Oborne at Whitby Lit Fest this November, in a special event exploring the past, present and future of cricket.

Doidge, a familiar voice to Yorkshire cricket supporters through his work covering Yorkshire County Cricket Club for BBC Radio Leeds, will chair Full Circle: A History of Cricket at Whitby Pavilion on Sunday 22 November at 11.30am.

The event will see Oborne discuss Full Circle, his sweeping new history of the game, co-authored with Richard Heller, which traces cricket from its beginnings as an 18th-century commercial entertainment through its association with empire, education and ideas of fair play, to the modern game dominated increasingly by the wealth and influence of franchise cricket.

The book asks whether cricket has, in fact, come full circle: from a sport originally driven by gambling and commerce to one once again being reshaped by money, global leagues and commercial power.

The discussion will range from the game’s development in England to its extraordinary global spread across Australia, the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond, as well as cricket’s relationship with class, race, politics, colonialism and national identity.

Jonathan Doidge brings considerable cricket expertise to the conversation. He has commentated on Test matches, World Cups and T20 World Championships, and since 2019 has been a regular BBC Radio Leeds commentator covering Yorkshire’s men’s team, alongside coverage of the women’s game. He was also part of the BBC Test Match Special commentary team for its Indian Premier League coverage in 2023.

Doidge is also editor of independent Yorkshire cricket platform White Rose Files, and has written and contributed to outlets including Wisden, ESPN Cricinfo and The Cricket Paper. A longstanding Yorkshire league cricketer himself, he has played the game for more than 35 years.

Peter Oborne is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author and a former chief political commentator at The Daily Telegraph. His previous cricket writing includes Basil D’Oliveira: Cricket and Conspiracy, while Full Circle has been longlisted for the Derek Hodgson Cricket Book of the Year Award.

The book has been described by cricket writer Gideon Haigh as a “proper, meaty history” with a global sweep, while former ICC President Ehsan Mani called it a remarkable account of cricket’s journey to the present day.