With the Olympic flag officially handed over to LA28 following the Paris 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday, cricket lovers can take comfort following the sport’s return to the Summer Games.
The only time cricket featured at the Olympics was at the Paris 1900 Games. A two-day match took place between teams from Great Britain and France. Great Britain won the match by 158 runs.
Cricket will return to the Olympic programme at LA 2028 after 128 years in the T20 format.
Meanwhile, Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting, a three-time ODI World Cup winner, believes that cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics will allow the sport to reach audiences across the world and elevate its popularity.
“It can only be a positive thing for our game,” Ponting told The ICC Review.
“I have sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years and it has always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it is there.”
Cricket was one of five additional sports that was proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially confirmed its inclusion last year.
“The Olympic Games being viewed by so many people all around the world, it just opens up completely different audiences to our game which is seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway.
“Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key and how many teams they decide on. I’m really excited about where the game’s headed and the growth of different markets that we’re seeing emerge,” he further added.
Ponting was also part of the Australian team when cricket made its debut at the Commonwealth Games in 1998.
