On This Day

25 February 1914

Birth of John Arlott, writer, cricket comentator and Liberal candidate

From the 1950s to the 1980s John Arlott was, for many people, the voice of cricket through his eloquent Test Match Special commentaries delivered in his rich Hampshire burr. Less well known was Arlott’s deeply held political convictons and his strong support for the Liberal Party. He stood for the Liberals in Epping in the 1955 and 1959 general elections, contributed to a number of Liberal party political broadcasts and was a regular contributor on Any Questions. Arlott was a key figure in the D’Oliveria affair and the boycott of South African cricket during the Apartheid era, supporting campaigns opposing cricketing ties with the regime and refusing to broadcast any test matches involving South Africa. Arlott retired in the Summer of 1980 and moved to Alderney where he died in 1991.