Days after LA Olympics authorities finalised the venue for cricket and announced that the sport will have six teams each in men’s and women’s cricket, talks between England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have begun to establish Great Britain teams to play in the cricket event in the LA Olympics in 2028. With cricket making its return after it was last played in the 1900 Paris Olympics, an event where Great Britain had won the final, the same concept of having Great Britain cricket teams in Olympics has started taking shape.
“We have a really good working relationship with the ECB, so we have been in talks with them and [we’re] in the process of establishing a Team GB cricket entity. That’s what’s required by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for a British team to compete at the Olympic Games.” Cricket Scotland Chief Executive Officer Trudy Lindblade told BBC Radio 4.
Olympic cricket events at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 will be played as a six-team T20 Tournament for both men and women according to the schedule announced by the International Olympic Committee last week. In T20 World Cups or ODI World Cup, England and Scotland (if they qualify) send their teams separately. According to the IOC, participating teams can field a squad of 15 players in men’s and women’s competitions each but the qualification process has not been finalised by the IOC. “So it’s really interesting, the six teams for us, we would have an opportunity through the GB concept. There’s a lot to come in terms of how qualification takes place, not just for those six teams but how – if a GB team were to qualify – we have selection within that. So, exciting times, and we’ll continue to liaise with the ECB and our colleagues at LA 2028 and ICC. It will be interesting,” Lindblade said.
Cricket competitions at LA 2028 will be played in Pomona, a city in Western part of the USA.
“Cricket (T20) is a hugely popular global sport and will be included in the LA28 Games. A temporary venue will be built at the Pomona Fairplex to host the cricket matches,” the LA28 organising committee had stated earlier this week.
In football, the last time a Great Britain team composed of players from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland competed in the Olympics was in the London Olympics in 2012. The British Olympic Association had shared last year that they hope to enter a Great Britain’s men’s football team in LA 2028.