Cricket’s Olympic Return: Great Britain Eyes 2028 Los Angeles Games

Cricket is gearing up for its comeback to the Olympic Games at the 2028 Los Angeles event. Discussions are in progress to create a unified Great Britain team to participate.

The sport’s sole Olympic appearance occurred at the 1900 Paris Games. In that match, a British team secured a 158-run victory against France in a final held after other nations withdrew.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have commenced conversations to form a unified Team GB in anticipation of cricket’s Olympic revival.

The ECB has verified these discussions, indicating a possible change from national representation to a unified British team in international cricket.

Details regarding the qualification procedure are still pending. However, participating teams will be permitted to have squads comprising up to 15 players.

The sport, absent since the 1900 Paris Games, will feature the T20 format for both men and women at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Trudy Lindblade, the Chief Executive of Cricket Scotland, stated, “We maintain a robust working relationship with the ECB and are in the process of developing a Team GB cricket entity. This is mandated by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for Olympic participation.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently shared that the 2028 Games will host six-team T20 tournaments.

“The six teams present an interesting opportunity for us through the Great Britain (GB) concept,” Lindblade commented.

Lindblade further explained, “If Team Great Britain (GB) secures qualification, we will need to establish player selection protocols. These present exciting challenges, and we are actively communicating with the ECB, ICC, and LA 2028 organizers.”

The forthcoming mega sporting event will be part of the largest Olympic program ever, featuring 36 sports when the Games commence in July 2028.

Athletes will compete in over 40 world-class venues located throughout Los Angeles, Southern California, and other significant sites in the United States.

The newly included sporting events consist of Artistic Gymnastics (Mixed Team), Athletics (4x100m Mixed Gender Relay), Golf (Mixed Team Event), Archery (Compound Bow Mixed Team), Coastal Rowing (Beach Sprint Mixed Crew), and Table Tennis (Mixed Doubles).