Cricket is set to return to the Olympic Games after 128 years, and the United Kingdom may enter with a single team under the name of Great Britain. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have started talks to form a combined team for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The boards get on well and are cooperating to compile a Team GB cricket team, Cricket Scotland Chief Executive Trudy Lindblade says. The reason behind this is that the British Olympic Association (BOA) needs a British team that represents the country in the Olympics as one entity. The 2028 Olympics will include men’s and women’s T20 cricket tournaments. Only six teams will take part in each event, and each team will be allowed to select 15 players. The qualification process has not been confirmed yet by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or the International Cricket Council (ICC).

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England and Scotland Working Together

England is currently ranked second in the world in men’s T20 cricket and third in the women’s rankings. Scotland, however, is outside the top ten in both formats. Forming a single Great Britain team could give both countries a better chance to qualify and compete under the limited six-team rule. In most Olympic sports, athletes from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland compete together as Great Britain. Football has been an exception, but even there, the BOA hopes to bring a Team GB men’s football team to the 2028 Olympics.

Cricket was last played at the Olympics in 1900 in Paris. Back then, a team from Great Britain beat France in the only match of the tournament. In 2028, the cricket matches will be held at a temporary venue in Pomona, California. The idea of a Great Britain cricket team is gaining strong support. Talks between the ECB and Cricket Scotland are ongoing, and both sides are hopeful. If everything goes well, cricket fans could see a united British team on the Olympic stage for the first time in over a century.

Cricket is making a dramatic Olympic comeback after 128 years, with the legendary Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California, named as the Olympic venue for the sport at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. The Fairplex, a large 500-acre site famous for staging the LA County Fair, will be converted into a bespoke building for the Olympic cricket tournament.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) received the decision with both hands. ICC Chair Jay Shah described the action as a "step forward" towards readying cricket for a return to the Olympics, citing it as an unprecedented opportunity to expand the sport into fresh markets with the popular T20 pace. Cricket and baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash are one of five sports to be recognized for inclusion at LA28.

Men's and Women's T20s to Have Six Teams Each

Both the men's and women's cricket competitions at LA28 will be in the form of T20s, with six teams for each. The IOC has approved a total of 90 slots per gender for players, so each country can have a complete 15-player team. The actual schedule will be released nearer the event, which takes place from July 14 to July 30, 2028.

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This will be cricket's first Olympic appearance since Paris 1900, when a single Great Britain vs. France match was held, now regarded as an unofficial Test. Since the late nineteenth century, cricket has appeared in multi-sport regional events such as the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, but LA28 will bestow upon it the long-awaited international Olympic stage.

The news follows increasing expectations and backing from officials, athletes, and fans alike. As matches are set to be held within a temporary stadium at Fairplex, the LA28 organizers have vowed to provide an elite experience for fans and competitors alike, taking advantage of the venue's storied past and the international stature of Los Angeles. As the clock ticks down to 2028, cricket's return to the Olympic fold marks not only a moment of historic return but an opportunity to engage a fresh generation of supporters on the world's greatest sporting stage.