David Richardson, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council, has indicated the governing body of the game is close to making a bid for the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics.
The idea of promoting cricket to the Olympics has been a much-debated topic in the world of cricket. And now that the International Olympic Committee all set to consider the addition of new game for the 2024 event in September, the ICC is gearing up to register their bid.
Richardson said that the majority of the board members are in favour of including cricket in the biggest sporting event on the planet and so the ICC are looking to take a final decision in July.
“I think a majority of the (ICC) members and certainly myself think the time is right,” Richardson said at the SportsPro Live conference in London. “I think we have come to the conclusion the overall benefit to globalise it (cricket) and grow the game will outweigh any negatives. We need to make a decision by July this year so we can make an application in time for September, when, as I understand it, the IOC will consider new sports for 2024.”
With Los Angeles and Paris being the remaining two candidates to host the 2024 Olympics, Richardson said that playing cricket in either of the two venues will not be ‘disaster’.
“Neither Los Angeles and Paris would be disasters and each might hold opportunities for us, especially the United States option. In Europe, too, it would be good although we would have to spend a bit more on cricket pitches in France than the US but it’s not impossible,” said Richardson.
The former South Africa cricketer further said that the scheduling will be a big challenge for the ICC.
“From an ICC perspective, the most challenging part is the scheduling as the Olympic Games is normally held in the Northern Hemisphere summer. It could be a problem for England, who for instance wouldn’t want to send their best players during an Ashes series and they have raised that concern in the past,” he said.
Cricket has not been played at the Summer Games since the games in Paris in 1900 but Richardson believes the Twenty20 format can help cricket make a comeback to the sporting extravaganza.
“Twenty20 is the ideal format and would be even better than (rugby) sevens, we would say, as it is one of the mainstream formats of cricket,” he said.
“The countries who make up the West Indies haven’t raised it as an issue and similarly England, well they could include a Scotsman and an Irishman. I don’t think that it will be an issue. As there are only going to be six or eight teams it is unlikely teams like Barbados and Jamaica would qualify,” Richardson said.