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Although 32 sports will be featured at this summer’s Olympics, which begin in Paris on 26th July, cricket will not be one of them. Indeed, the sport was only featured in the Games once before, and that was the last time the French capital hosted them, back in 1900.
Although that will change in four years when Los Angeles will be the host city, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has already voted to include both a men’s and women’s Twenty20 event.
Backers of the proposal hope that the Olympics will eventually attain the status of other major tournaments, such as World Cups and Champions Trophies.
Although cricket was originally due to be part of the inaugural Summer Olympics in 1896 in Athens, it was dropped due to insufficient entries.
And although it was included four years later, only two teams took part, Great Britain and France.
In reality, the French team was largely composed of English expatriates, whilst the British side was not nationally selected but was drawn from the ranks of the Devon and Somerset Cricket Club.
The match itself, which was staged over two days, did not attract first-class status because of its unusual format: each team consisted of 12 men a side.
Details of the match might have been lost to obscurity except for the foresight of one of the winning team members, John Symes, who kept his own scorecard of the match. Great Britain eventually collected the gold medal, winning the match by 158 runs. It would have ended in a draw if it had lasted five minutes longer.
Again, it was originally intended to be one of the sports included at the next games, which were held in St. Louis, USA, in 1904, but it was once more canceled due to a lack of entrants.
This should be put into the context that there were very few test-playing nations at that time..
Although Australia and England played the first-ever test in 1877, only South Africa was to join them as acquiring test status before 1928, when the West Indies, New Zealand, and India joined them relatively quickly. The travel difficulties in getting to the Olympics in an age before commercial jet flights shrank the world also need to be remembered – Ashes tours were preceded and followed by weeks on ships.
For many years, cricket did not meet the definition of an Olympic sport. In order to be accepted, a sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries in four countries and by women in at least 40 countries on three continents.
The sport must also increase the value and the appeal of the Games.
For many years, cricket just did not match these criteria.
The rise of cricket’s popularity is entwined with the increasing popularity of T20 cricket and the accretion of power of the sport’s governing body.
Formerly composed of countries that once formed part of the former British Empire, it was only in 1964 that the first non-test-playing country was admitted as an Associate member.
What was initially a trickle then became a flood, and today, apart from the 12 countries with full member status, a further 96 are Associates, with 8 of them having temporary ODI status until 2026.
Women’s cricket has been slower to take off, and female test matches are comparatively rare even today.
And in some parts of the world, women can find themselves banned from playing sports for cultural, religious or political reasons. For example, when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, many of their women players were forced to go into hiding or flee the country completely.
Even in countries where more liberal attitudes prevail, few women make a living from playing the game, and they must make personal sacrifices in terms of time and money to play the game that they love.
A big boost to cricket’s popularity has come with the rise of T20 cricket, and it has become so ubiquitous that it is worth remembering that the first T20I was not played until 2005.
The shorter form of the game has proved to be much more accessible to younger audiences, who do not often have the time to devote to the longer forms of the game. It is also more “television ready” because a game can be shown in its entirety during prime time, guaranteeing maximum audiences and advertising readiness.
Many associate nations do not have the facilities or pitches to sustain red-ball cricket but can stage T20 games without undue expense. Players are often amateurs as well, meaning games have to be played in their spare time.
While many national teams still have a smattering of players with family backgrounds in one of the traditional cricket-playing nations—particularly from the Indian subcontinent—an increasing number of “locals” now populate their sides.
However, after a gap of more than 120 years, cricket will make its reappearance at the summer games in 2028, which will be staged in Los Angeles.
Host cities have the right to propose sports to add to the Games and choose those that they consider will have local appeal and interest. That is why squash, lacrosse, baseball/softball, and flag football—a non-contact version of American football—have also been included in the 2028 program of events.
The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has described it as a win-win situation because it provides a global stage for the sport to grow beyond its normal countries and regions.
It also allows the Olympic movement to engage with a fan base that previously had little contact or access.
Although the format has yet to be confirmed, it will almost certainly consist of a T20 tournament for both men and women. Again, the teams taking part are yet to be announced. Still, the USA as a host nation will be one, and it can be expected that all the other major ICC members like Australia, England, India, South Africa, and New Zealand will also participate.
The fact that the next Olympics is being held in the US is also no coincidence.
As far as the ICC is concerned, the USA represents the last great frontier.
The game has long been established in the country and was once one of its most popular sports before baseball began to take its place during the Civil War era in the second half of the 19th century.
An influx of immigrants from South Asia has helped revive it, and the decision to stage part of the 2024 T20 World Cup there and the advent of Major League Cricket, which is now in its second season, is all helping to fuel the growth of the sport in what is the richest sports market in the world.
If cricket can break “America,” then it really could reach the next level in terms of global participation.
It is too soon for cricket to plan beyond 2028 because some Olympic sports come and go.
Karate, for example, was part of the Tokyo Games in 2020 – staged a year later because of the Covid pandemic – but does not feature in Paris.
Nevertheless, cricket will hope to establish itself as a permanent feature of future Games as it looks to extend its global reach.
