Cricket at the Summer Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cricket at the Summer Olympics |
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Cricket is a popular bat-and-ball game played between two teams. It has been part of the Summer Olympics only once before, way back in 1900. At that time, only men's teams competed, and Great Britain won the gold medal. Good news for cricket fans: it's planned to be included again in the 2028 Los Angeles Games!
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Cricket's Olympic Journey
Cricket was actually supposed to be played at the very first modern Olympic Games in Athens. It would have been the only team sport there! However, not enough teams signed up, so the cricket tournament was cancelled.
Four years later, in 1900, cricket finally made its Olympic debut in Paris. But again, only two countries competed: Great Britain and the host country, France. The French team was mostly made up of English people living in France. The British team was represented by a club called Devon and Somerset Wanderers, not a national team. Most of the players were club cricketers, meaning they weren't professional.
The two teams played a special match over two days. Each team had 12 players, which is different from the usual 11-a-side game. Great Britain won the match by 158 runs, taking home the gold medal. It was a close call, though! If the French team had managed to stay in the game for just five more minutes, it would have been a draw. We only know about this match because one of the winning players, John Symes, kept a scorecard.
Cricket was also planned for the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, but just like in 1896, it was cancelled because not enough teams wanted to play.
Cricket Returns in 2028!
For a long time, many important cricket organizations, like the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), didn't want cricket to return to the Olympics. But things started to change!
In 2015, the ECB changed its mind. By 2017, the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Dave Richardson, felt it was the "right time" for Olympic cricket. Even the BCCI, which had been against it, started to become more open to the idea.
In 2020, USA Cricket said that getting cricket into the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was a big goal. The BCCI also agreed to support the ICC's plan to include T20 cricket (a faster version of the game) in 2028. In August 2021, the ICC officially announced its plan to try and get cricket into the Olympics, starting with the 2028 and 2032 Games.
Finally, on October 9, 2023, the organizers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced that cricket was on their list of new sports. A few days later, on October 13, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accepted the idea. On October 16, 2023, it was officially confirmed: cricket will be part of the 2028 Olympics! Both men's and women's T20 tournaments will be played.
How Countries Compete
When you watch the Olympics, you might notice that some countries compete differently in cricket. For example, the United Kingdom competes as Great Britain in the Olympics. This team includes athletes from England, Scotland, Wales, and some British Overseas Territories. However, in cricket, Scotland has its own team, and Welsh players usually play for the England team. Also, the Ireland team represents both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The West Indies cricket team is another interesting case. It represents many Caribbean islands, which have their own Olympic teams. So, a cricketer from, say, Jamaica might play for the West Indies in cricket but for Jamaica in the Olympics. This can be a bit confusing, but it's how different sports handle national representation!
Overall Medal Table
- Total medals won by any country.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 |  France (FRA) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (2 entries) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
Images for kids
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Poster of the only Olympic cricket match
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Vélodrome de Vincennes hosted the cricket matches at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
