As the sun sets on the Paris 2024 Olympics, attentions are already turning towards the LA Games in four years time.
While traditional powerhouses like Athletics, Swimming and Cycling will take centre stage in America, there will also be a number of new sports on show.
Squash and lacrosse are amongst them, as well as cricket, whose only previous Olympic outing came in Paris in 1900.
But with Twenty20 fever sweeping across the globe, and new competitions springing up in countries such as America and Canada, the sport has made a successful bid to be included in LA.
And that, says former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, could be a game-changer.
“It can only be a positive thing for our game,” he told The ICC Review podcast.
“I’ve sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years and it’s always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics?
“And finally, it’s there. It’s only four years away.
“The Olympic Games being viewed by so many people all around the world, it just opens up completely different audiences to our game that’s seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway.
“It can only be a real positive thing for the game.”
The United States have already tasted a major cricket tournament this summer, in co-hosting the World T20.
Matches were held in New York, with a purpose built stadium built in Manhattan, Houston and Dallas.
Major League Cricket, a franchise T20 competition, has also taken place over the last two years, attracting star players such as Pat Cummins, Steve Smith (both Australia) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).
Indeed, Ponting was head coach for the Washington Freedom, who recently won the 2024 edition of the tournament.
And he hopes, with another four years to bed in, the Olympics can help cricket become a mainstream sport in the States.
“Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key and how many teams they actually decide on,” he continued.
“I think it’s only six or seven teams that they’re talking about. So qualification is going to be at a premium, how you actually qualify to get into the Olympic Games.
“So all those things to think about, I’m really excited about where the game’s headed and the growth of different markets that we’re seeing emerge.”
Great Britain won the title in cricket’s only previous Olympics appearance.
Their match, against France, was held at Vélodrome de Vincennes over two days.
There was supposed to be a semi-final stage, only for the Netherlands and Belgium to pull out before the tournament began.
That paved the way for a 158 run victory for Great Britain, that after the French team were dismissed for just 26 in their second innings.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
Source link : https://www.tntsports.co.uk/cricket/a-real-positive-australia-great-ricky-ponting-says-crickets-inclusion-at-2028-olympics-will-be-huge-for-the-sport_sto20028562/story.shtml
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Publish date : 2024-08-12 08:04:49
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