Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Will cricket be part of the Olympics? | Cricket using Commonwealth Games for Olympics springboard
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is looking to use its participation in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 as a stimulant to further push its quest of getting involved in the Olympic Games.
ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice explained that the board’s annual general meeting (AGM) was held in Birmingham in order to celebrate cricket’s return to the CWG after 24 years.
“We have declared our ambition to be involved in the Olympic Games. We are assisting the LA 2028 organisers and providing any information will help their assessment of different sports with regards to addition to the Olympic programme. But, at this stage, a decision is due next year,” Allardice was quoted in a report by ESPN Cricinfo.
Cricket in the Olympics will help grow the game
Allardice affirmed that putting cricket in multi-sport events like the CWG, Asian Games and the African Games will help for the growth of the game.
“One, it gives a lot of our member countries a seat at the top table for sporting organisations within their country. Two, the coverage of these games reaches new audiences that may not be traditional cricket audiences,” the senior executive form the ICC further opened up on this issue.
Eight teams will be participating in the women’s T20 event of the upcoming CWG in Birmingham. Barbados will be acting as a representative for West Indies whereas India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will make up for the other seven sides. All the matches will be played at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham. The event will begin from 29th July and the final will be played on 7th August.
The Commonwealth Games Federation had stated that around 90 per cent of cricket’s one billion fans reside in the Commonwealth nations.
They hence believed that the game would find resonance not only in Birmingham but also amongst several fans across the competing countries. The ICC along with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) apparently lobbied actively for cricket’s inclusion in the CWG.
