Int'l Cricket Council CEO David Richardson said that the ICC will "explore the prospect of the game becoming an Olympic sport," according to the AFP. Richardson said a meeting next month with the IOC would be "exploratory in nature." Richardson: "The plan is to meet them at this stage in mid-November. We are still trying to finalize a date but the invitation has come to meet. Multi-sport federations like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics have expressed an interest in cricket being part of those Games. The Olympics is not as nearly advanced in their discussions with us in that regard (as the Commonwealth Games' proposal to have cricket in the 2022 event at Durban, South Africa). 'CG' certainly are more open to, not necessarily to Twenty20 cricket or one of the established formats, but they want to discuss other things like double wicket or mixed teams." Cricket was included in 1900 Paris Olympics but was "badly affected by a lack of participation" after Belgium and the Netherlands pulled out, leaving just Great Britain and France to play. The idea of including T20 in the Olympics was "resisted by India and England, who did not want their matches affected in the timeslots when the Games are held." The Commonwealth Games have included cricket only once, in '98 in Malaysia (AFP, 10/21). In London, Lawrence Booth reported the arguments against inclusion "range from scheduling problems" to cannibalizing the World Twenty20 to the "old ideal about how the Olympics should be the pinnacle of every sport." Football, rugby sevens, golf and tennis "might have something to say about that last excuse." Yet the argument for inclusion is "rather more to the point." If cricket "really does aspire" to be the "world's favorite sport," as Richardson "reminded us in a power-point presentation in Dubai on Monday, then it would help if the world could actually watch it." Being seen is "one thing," and it is the "bare minimum if cricket really is to expand." Being financed is "quite another." It has been pointed out "often enough" that Olympic status would "unlock millions of dollars worldwide for cricket, because it is the only sporting currency governments understand" (DAILY MAIL, 10/20).
SIX-A-SIDE POSSIBLE: In London, Mike Atherton reported Richardson's "biggest focus is the structure of cricket outside the ICC events" and domestic Twenty20 competitions: the bilateral Test and one-day int'l tours, such as the one being played by England and Pakistan, which "lack focus and context." The result is that the broadcast revenues for such series "are being squeezed, as is Test cricket." Principally, this will involve replacing bilateral tours with a Test league, to help to "boost the game's longest format and rolling one-day internationals, which will act as qualifiers for ICC events." Exploring ways in which the game can grow "will also involve looking at cricket returning to the Olympic Games -- possibly in a six-a side format." Richardson: "There is so much that can be done for Test cricket." He said, "What we are trying to do is target 18 to 20 associate member countries that we think have potential to be the next Ireland. Certainly countries like Zimbabwe need to be challenged by countries coming through and although we are quite proud of the development of teams like Ireland we need to do more. We have got to identify countries like U.S.A., Nepal, Japan, Malaysia with potential to grow. That's where we want to spend at least 50 percent of the money we allocate on development so that we can get some meaningful progress" (LONDON TIMES, 10/20).
