Int'l Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson said that the "time is right for cricket to return to the Olympics" and a decision on applying for inclusion in '24 "will have to be made within months," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Richardson added, "We need to make a decision by, I guess, July of this year so that we can submit an application by September. And of course it's not what cricket wants, its whether the IOC wants us." The IOC will choose between '24 bid cities Paris and L.A. at a meeting in Lima, Peru, in September, "with new sports also under consideration." Baseball and softball are set to return for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Richardson said that "it did not matter which city won the bid." Richardson: "Both (cities) would ... probably be opportunistic for us, especially the U.S. option, but also in Europe" (REUTERS, 3/30). In London, Sean Ingle reported cricket last appeared at the 1900 Paris Olympics when only two teams -- Great Britain and France -- were involved. Richardson said that a Twenty20 tournament with between six and eight teams was the "most likely format for the Olympics" -- and suggested that it "would help expand the sport" whether the 2024 Games are held in L.A. or Paris. Richardson added, "T20 is the ideal format and we'd say even better than rugby sevens as it's actually one of the mainstream formats of cricket." However, Richardson conceded that the IOC warned the ICC that it "had to promise that the best players were sent to the Games -- which could raise problems" with the England & Wales Cricket Board given that the Olympics are "usually held at a time when Tests are played in England" (GUARDIAN, 3/30). Also in London, Lawrence Booth reported Richardson said that "preliminary talks with the IOC have already taken place." Richardson: "They haven't said (an existing) sport would have to go (to make room), but they said when taking any decision on a new sport they've got an overall limit on the number of athletes. So as a team sport we would only fit six to eight teams" (DAILY MAIL, 3/30).
