John Blain takes on Scotland Cricket after being acquitted of racial behaviour charges

John Blain was accused of passing racist comments to his teammates Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh during the Kenya tour in 2007. The cricketer was therefore suspended by Scotland Cricket and was removed from the hall of fame. After over a decade, he walked out acquitted of the allegations and has called out for a thorough and transparent inquiry against the board for the conduct.

Blain has represented Scotland in 118 matches across all formats. His case was not the sole issue, as many other cases joined the fray owing to an independent inquiry in July 2022. The inquiry found Scotland Cricket to be institutionally racist and was followed by the resignation of the board.  Blain took to his ‘X’ (former Twitter) handle and called for a transparent investigation.

"To describe the way sportscotland and Cricket Scotland initially handled that report as a 'kangaroo court' is an insult to marsupials everywhere. "It's obvious to me that, rather than publish this very clear and detailed judgement which fully exonerates me, Cricket Scotland is once again running scared of the small "anti-racist" cabal which has exerted such a malign influence over our sport,” Blain wrote on his 'X' handle. 

"My life has been on hold for too long and it's time that the truth is finally told about one of the biggest sporting scandals of recent times. If he truly believed I was a racist, why did Majid try so hard to persuade me to join his club, Clydesdale, as a professional player-coach in 2015, eight years after he claimed I'd used a racist word, and also recommended me to a string of Asian players for one-to-one coaching,” he added.

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Scotland ruling the Group B roster in T20 World Cup 2024

As far as Scotland are concerned, they are contesting in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in the United States of America and West Indies.

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The team is topping the Group B roster with two wins in three games and one game against England being washed out due to rain. They will next take on the mighty Australians and a win would seal their Super 8 spot.