Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has "floated the idea of beach cricket joining the Games as part of a push to expand the game internationally," according to Andrew Wu of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. It had been assumed the Twenty20 format would be played if cricket was to rejoin the Olympics but "other forms may be required due to the difficulty in preparing traditional fields in some host cities." The Int'l Cricket Council will meet the IOC "this month for talks." Sutherland said that CA would push "very hard" for cricket to join the Olympics (SMH, 11/6). ABC's Dean Bilton reported cricket's push for inclusion in the 2024 Games is "likely to be met with a number of roadblocks." Sutherland believes "some flexibility from the ICC could be the answer." Sutherland: "Cricket on a traditional field is going to be a challenge in some parts of the world, so there are other ways in which it could be played. Beach cricket is not a silly idea. Nor is indoor cricket" (ABC, 11/7). The ICC was looking to push indoor cricket as the chosen format for Olympic inclusion, ahead of T20, previously thought to be the most likely option. Cricket has not been at the Olympics since 1900 in Paris (Cricket Australia).
SILLY IDEA? In Sydney, David Polkinghorne opined "it's a very silly idea, bordering on ludicrous." Naturally "I checked the calendar to make sure it wasn't still in April." Then "I checked it wasn't October 1, just in case that's when they celebrate April Fool's Day in the northern hemisphere." Apparently "people are actually serious about cricket becoming an Olympic sport -- regardless of what form it's in." At best, "cricket could have a case to be in the Commonwealth Games." But "the Olympics? Please." There is "only three or four countries that can actually play the game -- Australia, South Africa, India, with England and New Zealand over the other spot." The "competition for a Gold Medal would only be slightly less farcical than the circus that is men's basketball, which has become a joke since the U.S. Dream Team was allowed to grace the Olympic Village" (SMH, 11/7).
