Crossing a boundary

BBC cricket commentator Geoffrey Boycott must apologise immediately for his crass, ill-judged, offensive dig at history’s great West Indian players.

To claim he would have a better chance of securing a coveted knighthood if he “blacked up” was the insulting roar of a bitter former England batsman.

The uncomfortable silence greeting Boycott’s boorish whine in Birmingham at a well-heeled event at the Edgbaston Test was clearly missed by the tin-eared dinosaur.

But the BBC needs to deal urgently with one of its Test Match Special radio team.

Cricket is a diverse sport in a diverse country and prejudice must not be given a platform.

The knighthood “Sir” Geoffrey so desires may, or may not, have been run out by his French conviction for beating a girlfriend. And his grumbling in public is itself cringeworthy.

But suggesting fabulous cricketers, such as Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Viv Richards were honoured because they are black is stomachchurning self-pity crossing a line into bigotry.

Everybody makes mistakes. Boycott should say sorry and retract his slur.