Cricket and Politics: Australia’s national game

Join award-winning sports journalist Daniel Brettig as he uncovers the fascinating ties between cricket and politics in Australia.

From Robert Menzies proposed Cold War cricket tour of the USSR, Bob Hawke’s opposition to rebel cricketers in apartheid South Africa, to Malcolm Turnbull’s intervention in sandpapergate, Daniel explores the curious and confrontational ways politicians have engaged and implored elite cricketers to represent Australia’s interests at home and abroad.
Daniel will explore the persistence of cricket as a form of cultural exchange and international diplomacy, beginning with the legendary English tour of the Indigenous Australian cricket team in 1868, through to the cricket’s more recent contribution to the strengthening of India-Australia relations. He will reflect on how Australian cricket successes, as well as controversies, have shaped our national identity, political landscape and international relations.

Daniel Brettig is the chief cricket writer at The Age newspaper in Melbourne. He has covered the game of cricket for over 20 years, first with The Advertiser, and then AAP in Adelaide and Sydney. He joined ESPNcricinfo in March 2011, starting just in time for Ricky Ponting’s resignation as Australian captain. Those roles have taken him on tours to all the major cricket nations, save for Pakistan and Zimbabwe. His books include, ‘Whitewash to Whitewash’ (2015), ‘Bucking the Trend’ with Chris Rogers (2016), ‘Bradman and Packer’ (2019) and ‘Not Out’ with Greg Chappell (2021). He has lived in Ballarat with his wife Trish and their cat Turtle since 2021.

Attend Talking History in person at the Eureka Centre (no booking required).

Past lectures can be viewed on YouTube by clicking this link.

Image: Peter Wells, Bob Hawke, 1984 [detail], photograph. Copyright The Canberra Times/ACM, reproduced with permission.