The England Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland are reportedly mulling over to join hands to field a collective Great Britain team for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Cricket in the Olympics is set to return in 2028 after a hiatus of over a century. The first and the only instance when cricket was played in the most prestigious sporting event was the 1900 Paris Olympics.
Athletes from the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, participate in the games under the Great Britain contingent, popularly called Team GB. That means the cricket team from that region could feature English and Scottish players. The two national boards are reportedly in talks to materialise the plan.
"With the Los Angeles Olympics four years away, it's very early stages, but we're talking to Team GB and Cricket Scotland about the next steps we need to take. We look forward to working together to compete when cricket returns to the Olympic stage in 2028. Along with England and Wales hosting Women's and Men's [T20] World Cups in 2026 and 2030, it's another great opportunity to grow the game and inspire more people to develop a love for cricket," an ECB spokesperson told ESPNCricinfo.
Cricket will return to the Olympics after 128 years, at Los Angeles in 2028.
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) August 6, 2024
Here's what India's XI might look like for the prestigious event ➡️ https://t.co/ZCHGAau7jP pic.twitter.com/QReoJgfPA6
Andy Anson, the chief executive of the British Olympic Association, has said that how the different nations under the body come together for various sports at the event can be replicated in cricket, too.
Also read: The cricket connections in Paris Olympics you may or may not have known
"We've got good experience in golf, in rugby and in women's football, of how the Four Nations [England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland] can come together and nominate one country to be the main governing body and work with the other countries. So I think cricket will be the same," said Anson.
While the sport will be played in the T20 format, the International Olympic Committee has yet to finalise the format and the number of participants.
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