ICC anticipates CWG 2022 to incentivize Cricket’s Inclusion in Olympics

Geoff Allardice, the ICC chief executive, stated in Birmingham on Wednesday that being a “star attraction” in the 2022 CWG will boost the ICC’s objectives to be included in “all other forms of multi-sport games,” particularly the Olympic Games.

This 2022 CWG in Birmingham includes women’s T20 cricket amongst eight countries, including Barbados as the West Indies’ representative. In actuality, Edgbaston will host all of the games. The ICC and the ECB successfully fought for its inclusion, leading to this.

The outcome in Birmingham will certainly be closely watched by those who support the ICC’s stated goal of including cricket in the Olympics, which might be held in Los Angeles in 2028 although the sport hasn’t made the tentative list. The major ideas can only benefit from a strong show.

“The idea of being here in Birmingham for the annual [ICC] conference is to celebrate cricket’s involvement in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 24 years [when a men’s 50-over event was held, in Kuala Lumpur] with the women’s T20 event. Judging on the reaction of the players, they all are very excited and enjoy the experience of being around the top athletes from other sports,” said Allardice.

“We have declared our ambition to be involved in the Olympic Games. We are assisting the LA 2028 organizers and providing any information will help their assessment of different sports with regards to adding to the Olympic program. But, at this stage, a decision is due next year.” he continued.

The Commonwealth Games Federation had stated that cricket was “likely to be popular not only with spectators locally in Birmingham but also for fans across competing nations, with 90 percent of the sport’s one billion fans worldwide thought to reside in the Commonwealth” at the time that it had been added to Birmingham 2022.

Of course, this differs from the Olympic Games, where the majority of the participating nations are not typical hotbeds for playing or watching cricket. However, strong competition, particularly in the format seen to be most effective for attracting new fans, can only aid cricket’s aspirations to become a genuinely global sport.