England, like the West Indies, cannot play directly in the La 2028 Olympics because they are not the National Olympic committees.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland LA have reached an agreement to form GB cricket team for the 2028 Olympics. While England’s men and women teams will compete for the ICC rankings, GB will have cricketers from England and Scotland in the cricket team. Cricket will return to the Olympics after 128 years. However, England is depicted as Team Great Britain at the Olympics, missing England cricket.
While GB cricket also wants to be a part of the Northern Ireland Olympic unit, it is unlikely that the cricket will follow the Ireland suit. But Paul Sterling and Andy McBrin’s choice, among others, will be eligible for GB cricket as they are from Northern Ireland according to ESPN Cricinfo. Currently, Cricket Ireland represents both Ireland and Northern Ireland cricketers and is also a full ICC member. ECB and Cricket Scotland will sign an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding).
The International Olympic Committee has already sought clarity on Team Great Britain for the LA28 Olympics.
GB cricket requires ICC node
However, forming a team alone will not give GB cricket a place guarantee of a place in La 2028 Olympics. The International Cricket Council should approve the new body to form a team. In addition, the new unit should be approved by the British Olympic Association (BOA) to become a full member of the National Olympic Committee.
England’s new white-ball captain Harry Brook is already excited on the idea. But he is not yet going to the team’s creation, as the next Olympic is three years away.
“It would be great to play in the Olympics and get an Olympic gold medal. But it’s so far, it’s so far miles away. I haven’t thought about it yet,” Harry Brook said in front of the Eng vs Wi series.
Olympic cricket qualification TBD
There is still no discussion on the qualification criteria for the six-Team Olympic cricket tournament. There is no place in the calendar for an Olympic qualification tournament. Therefore, the ICC can only make it an invitation event or the basis of merit on the T20i rankings. The Caribbean Islands are set to play an inter-iland tournament to call the team. England and West Indies – two cricket teams – are facing a crisis as both teams cannot qualify for the Olympics as they are not recognized by the National Olympic Committee.
However, it should be noted that the USA, being an official host of the Olympics, will be guaranteed a place. This will leave space for only five teams. Given the popularity of the game in these two countries, India, Pakistan and Australia are three favorite for creating Olympics. But the choice of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa is also not far behind.
“There is a lot of time to decide on the qualification criteria. It is not the top priority at the moment. But you are right, it will be difficult because cricket does not follow a direct qualification tournament like other sports. All stakeholders will be part of the discussion when the time comes,” A senior BCCI officer who is also a member The ICC Committee, told the Insidesport last month.
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