I have a question: Why isn’t cricket an olymic sport? i believe it is an international sport; since at least one country from each continent participates in some sort of cricket tournament…
i personally think its not an olympic sport because the americans don’t play it…come on..baseball is an american sport more than an international sport, but its in the olympics (even though the americans arent even competing…)..I’m not america-bashing..but thats just my theory…what do you guys think?
the same argument could be used for soccer as well…i guess my whole point is what makes a sport good enough for the olympics???
They have tried- maybe in a few years if ICC decide to join the IOC.
Cricket only an Olympic dream
By Sybil Ruscoe
(Filed: 15/07/2004)
The opening of the Olympic Games in Athens is now just four weeks away, a celebration of the world’s greatest summer sports, yet the global ‘big one’ is still missing. There has been no cricket played at the Olympics since Paris 1900, when Great Britain beat France to win the gold medal.
Cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), are not even members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but England are never-the-less pushing for the sport to be included in the Games.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) acknowledge that Test and one-day cricket would be difficult to stage at Olympic level, but they believe the new-kid-on-the-block, Twenty20 cricket, would be a success. Tim Lamb, the outgoing ECB chief executive, said: "We believe we have invented a really exciting product and it’s the perfect format for the Olympics.
“Twenty20 has a growing following across the world which can only increase in the future. It’s encouraging to see that the format has already been embraced by cricket in South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and we’ll have the first Twenty20 international here against Australia next year.”
Lamb also believes Twenty20 cricket could feature in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. “We saw one-day cricket at the Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, sadly it didn’t feature in Manchester in 2002, but I can’t imagine it won’t appear in Delhi with the passion there is for cricket in India,” he said.
“It would be great to see it at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. It’s exciting, it’s explosive and you can stage several games on the same day. It’s also an extremely exciting TV package,” Lamb said.
Cricket is played on every continent and has an almost religious following in Asian countries, so it does seem strange that the Olympic movement has embraced taekwondo and rhythmic gymnastics, but not cricket.
Many of the smaller cricketing nations are known to support the push for Olympic Twenty20 cricket. Rene van Ierschot, president of the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, believes Olympic status would increase global support for the game: “The shorter version is very much welcome and Olympic status for cricket would certainly enhance interest with Holland and other associate and affiliate members of the ICC where cricket isn’t a top sport,” he said.
“Twenty20 is now considered by many influential cricket nations as the most appealing form of the short game and we feel the ICC should proceed not only to apply for membership of the IOC, but also for the inclusion of Twenty20 cricket at the Olympic Games,” Van Ierschot added.
The ECB had campaigned for cricket to be adopted as an Olympic sport even before the advent of Twenty20 and the campaign has gained momentum with London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
“If London won it would be highly appropriate for cricket to be included in the Games in the country which invented it. And if not 2012, then it’s got to be Twenty20 at the 2020 Games,” he added.
But while there is a will, there might not be a way. A spokesperson for the IOC said it did not comment on sports which were not members of the Olympic movement.
It was also explained that there are already 28 summer sports and for a new one to be included an existing sport would have to drop out and that is very unlikely.
Summer sports were capped at 28 after Sydney and any decision on changing that situation will not be taken until 2005.
“Olympic cricket - it’s an extremely long shot. The longest of long shots,” said Brendan McClements, the ICC’s general manager, corporate affairs, who confirmed that the ICC’s current strategy is to seek only non-playing membership of the IOC. “We’ve had some discussions with the IOC, but our only ambition at this stage is to become a non-playing member. This would help our members get funding from their governments and would bring our anti-doping regulations in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency,” McClements said.
So, perhaps the inclusion of Twenty20 cricket is simply yet another Olympic dream.
Cricket did, however, achieve Olympic status of sorts on a cricket field in rural Shropshire last week when it was one of the sports played in the 118th Wenlock Olympian Games, the event pioneered by William Penny Brookes which inspired the modern Olympic Games. Cricket was one of the founding sports at the first Wenlock Olympiad in 1850.
Re: cricket and olympics
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*Originally posted by mfs555: *
the same argument could be used for soccer as well....i guess my whole point is what makes a sport good enough for the olympics???
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soccer is an olympics sport.
yeah - it would be great to have cricket in Olympics - people who have no idea what this sport is all about will definitely have a look in olympics - 20 overs match would be just fine.
same for squash, if friggin gymnastics with streamers and beach balls can be in olympics why cant squash
^
Beach balls????
lol wht sport is tht??
I've never seen people play with beach balls in the olympics.
i agree with u on squash. Its a pretty competitave sport. Certainly better than syncro swimming and hand ball n stuff.
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come on..baseball is an american sport more than an international sport
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Baseball doesn't take 8 hours, that reason is enough to not to include cricket in Olympics
In one word or less tell me who'd watch cricket. Cricket in Beijing? Cricket up my ass? Yea, cricket's cool.
i dont think any one watches hand ball either.
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*Originally posted by I'm Kool: *
i dont think any one watches hand ball either.
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I did. :p
But I think Squash really should be an Olympic sport (one more chance for a Pakistani medal), while Softball should be kicked out of the Olympic agenda. It´s just boring.