INDIA. New Delhi: The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has given its nod to field both women’s and men’s national cricket teams for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. This is seen as a big boost to the International Cricket Council (ICC) plans to reintroduce cricket in Olympics. The first and last time cricket was the part of the Olympics was in the year 1900. BCCI has also agreed to send the national women’s team for the Commonwealth Games in 2022 to be held in Birmingham, UK. BCCI top official told a national daily that if cricket makes a cut for the LA Olympics, the board is agreeable to send both bits team.
ICC has recently assembled a committee to look into the probability of cricket making its re-entry into Olympics games. This committee is in charge of dealing with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The biggest hurdle in ICC’s plan to vie for Olympics was BCCI’s reluctance to come under the wings of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). Now, since BCCI has accepted to be under the ambit of NADA and also backing ICC’s bid for the Olympics, it is seen as the major boost for cricket and ICC.
Cricket in Olympics
During 1990 Olympic games, cricket was a part of it for the first and the last time. At the games, the only match was played between teams representing Great Britain and France. The match was played at Velodrome de Vincennes on 19-20 August. It was a two-day affair and Great Britain won the match by 158 runs.
Earlier the cricket tournament in Olympics was a four-team affair, the other two teams were Belgium and the Netherlands. Initially, these two teams were also considered as possibilities to co-host the Olympics with France. When their co-hosting bids fell through, they withdrew from the cricket tournament.
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The match summary
Great Britain was represented by a club side the Devon and Somerset Wanderers. The French team was formed by the players from two clubs, The union club, and The Standard Athletic Club. Surprisingly it was a twelve-a-side match. Great Britain batted first and scored 117 runs only, with only four batsmen reached double-figure. The French team was bowled out for 78. In the second innings, Great Britain declared their score on 145 for 5. Needing 185 runs to win, the French team bundled out for a paltry score of 26, losing the match and the gold medal by 158 runs.
It will be interesting to see how the Olympic committee formats the tournament if cricket makes a cut into Olympics in 2028.
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