Summer Olympic Cricket

[GremioPower]

Following the steps of ‘3v3 Basketball’, ‘2v2 Cricket’ should be in the Olympics.

(The game is actually a thing in Brazil, for those who don’t know it.)

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

That is one way to keep the numbers down for the IOC and local OCOG and costs it has to cover.

In LA and I assume Brisbane there will probably be 8 teams for each of men's and women's competition and squads of 15, so that is another 8x2x15 =240 athletes added to having to be housed, feed etc.

12 teams is normal for all bar 4 sports/competitions, men's football have 16, women's water polo 10 and men's and women's 3x3 basketball 8, but I can't see 12 teams in LA.

Then each team will have officials ie coaches and physios, organisers will have the umpires, scorers and other officials, the groundsmen etc, then the broadcast crews, so there is probably another 250 to 300 people that have accommodated etc by the local OCOG.

Somehow they are keeping a cap on competitors but increasing events at the games the last dozen years. They have cut the number of events for some more traditional sports like fencing, wrestling, weightlifting, track cycling etc.

1980 203 events 5,217 athletes - western nations boycott
1984 221 events 7,173 athletes - Soviet and Eastern Bloc boycott
1988 237 and 8,465
1992 257 and 9,370
1996 271 and 10,310
2000 300 and 10,649
2004 301 and 10,560
2008 302 and 10,899
2012 302 and 10768
2016 306 and 11,238
2020 339 and 11,420
2024 329 and 11,000 approx

 

[Cmarsh]

That is one way to keep the numbers down for the IOC and local OCOG and costs it has to cover.

In LA and I assume Brisbane there will probably be 8 teams for each of men's and women's competition and squads of 15, so that is another 8x2x15 =240 athletes added to having to be housed, feed etc.

12 teams is normal for all bar 4 sports/competitions, men's football have 16, women's water polo 10 and men's and women's 3x3 basketball 8, but I can't see 12 teams in LA.

Then each team will have officials ie coaches and physios, organisers will have the umpires, scorers and other officials, the groundsmen etc, then the broadcast crews, so there is probably another 250 to 300 people that have accommodated etc by the local OCOG.

Somehow they are keeping a cap on competitors but increasing events at the games the last dozen years. They have cut the number of events for some more traditional sports like fencing, wrestling, weightlifting, track cycling etc.

1980 203 events 5,217 athletes - western nations boycott
1984 221 events 7,173 athletes - Soviet and Eastern Bloc boycott
1988 237 and 8,465
1992 257 and 9,370
1996 271 and 10,310
2000 300 and 10,649
2004 301 and 10,560
2008 302 and 10,899
2012 302 and 10768
2016 306 and 11,238
2020 339 and 11,420
2024 329 and 11,000 approx

LA are adding a number of team sports. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, flag football and cricket. Not sure how they are going to keep the numbers down.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

LA are adding a number of team sports. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, flag football and cricket. Not sure how they are going to keep the numbers down.

Thats what I was getting at without wanting to have a big discussion on it. I think more events will cut from long term traditional sports to make up for extra team sport numbers.

Maybe nen's football loses 4 teams as it is the only team sports that has 16 teams. If they cut back from 16 to 12 they cut back on 18 x 4 = 72 players plus reserve players and officials.

 

[Galaxie77]

Cricket is an anglosphere game, shouldnt be in the olympics.
Flag football is really just america and canada, shouldnt be either.

 

[GremioPower]

That is one way to keep the numbers down for the IOC and local OCOG and costs it has to cover.

In LA and I assume Brisbane there will probably be 8 teams for each of men's and women's competition and squads of 15, so that is another 8x2x15 =240 athletes added to having to be housed, feed etc.

12 teams is normal for all bar 4 sports/competitions, men's football have 16, women's water polo 10 and men's and women's 3x3 basketball 8, but I can't see 12 teams in LA.

Then each team will have officials ie coaches and physios, organisers will have the umpires, scorers and other officials, the groundsmen etc, then the broadcast crews, so there is probably another 250 to 300 people that have accommodated etc by the local OCOG.

Somehow they are keeping a cap on competitors but increasing events at the games the last dozen years. They have cut the number of events for some more traditional sports like fencing, wrestling, weightlifting, track cycling etc.

1980 203 events 5,217 athletes - western nations boycott
1984 221 events 7,173 athletes - Soviet and Eastern Bloc boycott
1988 237 and 8,465
1992 257 and 9,370
1996 271 and 10,310
2000 300 and 10,649
2004 301 and 10,560
2008 302 and 10,899
2012 302 and 10768
2016 306 and 11,238
2020 339 and 11,420
2024 329 and 11,000 approx

I have been wondering if there’s a solution outside of the box. Perhaps the COI should create a “Spring Games” to accommodate more sports/disciplines/events. Then, there would be three Games within every Olympic cycle.

Maybe most radical- and team-sport events could go to that new Olympic Games to be held between the Winter and the Summer editions.

 

[GremioPower]

Cricket is an anglosphere game, shouldnt be in the olympics.
Flag football is really just america and canada, shouldnt be either.

Rugby union, too; and it’s in (even if in its sevens format). It’s mostly anglosphere + France, but still…

Basketball 3v3 is probably worse than both.

 

[Galaxie77]

Rugby union, too; and it’s in (even if in its sevens format). It’s mostly anglosphere + France, but still…

Basketball 3v3 is probably worse than both.

Italy play rugby union, they have been in the world cup. so thats 1 more lol....

Why dont they just allow stickball, wiffle ball, pickle ball.
Kabaddi for india and pakistan.
Beach soccer... the more team sports the merrier.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

I have been wondering if there’s a solution outside of the box. Perhaps the COI should create a “Spring Games” to accommodate more sports/disciplines/events. Then, there would be three Games within every Olympic cycle.

Maybe most radical- and team-sport events could go to that new Olympic Games to be held between the Winter and the Summer editions.

The big Olympic sports tend to have world championships in the odd years. Some have them every year, like track cycling and rowing for example.

ie 2024 Summer Olympics, 2025 world championships - some on 2 year cycles, some on 4 years, 2026 Winter Olympics, 2027 - world championships - the 2 year cycle ones repeat, the other 4 year cycle ones who have their the year before the games, 2028 - Summer Olympics.

There isn't a lot of time left over. Also I don't think the international sports federations would be prepared to give up their world championships and the revenue that generates for them to hand it over to an Organising Committee and IOC to make the books balance for an alternative Olympics. The IOC could split the revenues but I don't think it would make much economic sense.

 

[catstorm]

Cricket is an anglosphere game, shouldnt be in the olympics.
Flag football is really just america and canada, shouldnt be either.

And Handball is Eurocentric.

And Basketball is American

And Table tennis is Asian

So if a sport is really only played in a certain region it shouldn’t be in the Olympics?

 

[Galaxie77]

And Handball is Eurocentric.

And Basketball is American

And Table tennis is Asian

So if a sport is really only played in a certain region it shouldn’t be in the Olympics?

Basketball was invented in America.. by a Canadian, but pretty much everywhere plays it now.
Table tenis originated n Victorian England it seems. Asians just seem to luv it and be great at it.

Handball is Eurocentric true. but how many nations are there in Europe?

So AFL should be in the olympics? come on lol

Bocce is played in more nations...

 

[catstorm]

Basketball was invented in America.. by a Canadian, but pretty much everywhere plays it now.
Table tenis originated n Victorian England it seems. Asians just seem to luv it and be great at it.

Handball is Eurocentric true. but how many nations are there in Europe?

So AFL should be in the olympics? come on lol

Bocce is played in more nations...

It doesn’t really matter where a sport was invented, it’s where it’s played.

Stop trying to sweep table tennis under the rug. Only 21 of 130 medals have been won by non Asian countries and only 1 gold ever. It’s a very Asia specific sport, no one else plays it.

More countries from more diverse regions would play Cricket than handball. An interesting argument though, how many nations in Europe? 44. How many nations in the Commonwealth? 56.

Moving on baring a few superstars no one plays basketball seriously outside of America. There is a reason the rest of the world is basically competing for silver. Also nice bit of hypocrisy that where it was created is relevant to Table tennis but irrelevant to Basketball.

Your ridiculous AFL analogy also bares no comparison to what cricket is and it’s embarrassing that you would even attempt to make it.

I think what this really comes down to is you just don’t like cricket or perhaps the countries its popular in. Which is strange as this is a chance for some countries that are very underrepresented at the Olympics to actually shine. Places like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Nepal all competed at the last T20 World Cup.

Cricket is an odd choice to get a bugbear about. Go have a crack at Flag football, your AFL analogy actual works for that one.

 

[Galaxie77]

It doesn’t really matter where a sport was invented, it’s where it’s played.

Stop trying to sweep table tennis under the rug. Only 21 of 130 medals have been won by non Asian countries and only 1 gold ever. It’s a very Asia specific sport, no one else plays it.

More countries from more diverse regions would play Cricket than handball. An interesting argument though, how many nations in Europe? 44. How many nations in the Commonwealth? 56.

Moving on baring a few superstars no one plays basketball seriously outside of America. There is a reason the rest of the world is basically competing for silver. Also nice bit of hypocrisy that where it was created is relevant to Table tennis but irrelevant to Basketball.

Your ridiculous AFL analogy also bares no comparison to what cricket is and it’s embarrassing that you would even attempt to make it.

I think what this really comes down to is you just don’t like cricket or perhaps the countries its popular in. Which is strange as this is a chance for some countries that are very underrepresented at the Olympics to actually shine. Places like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Nepal all competed at the last T20 World Cup.

Cricket is an odd choice to get a bugbear about. Go have a crack at Flag football, your AFL analogy actual works for that one.

Basketball is taken seriously in Europe. Euro nations have won the world championships dont forget.

No i dont like cricket. and many commonwealth nations like mozambique I couldnt see competing.

 

[Cmarsh]

T20 cricket has given cricket a more global feel. The short and sharp games have made it more accessable. 20 nations played at the last t20 world cup. It also allows the south asian nations who typically have little interest in the olympics something they can follow and relate to.

 

[Bostonian]

Rugby union, too; and it’s in (even if in its sevens format). It’s mostly anglosphere + France, but still…

Argentina just beat the All Blacks.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

And Handball is Eurocentric.

And Basketball is American

And Table tennis is Asian

So if a sport is really only played in a certain region it shouldn’t be in the Olympics?

Fact of the matter there's one sport where a billion people care about and that's just in one country- India. You have to be blindly insane to NOT cater for the Indian audience with cricket. No one cares about half the traditional sports, it's fine to keep a majority of them though. The newer age sports are what is needed to keep the Olympics viable long term. Generally team sports regardless of what it is favour certain parts of the world, basketball...everyone is going for silver don't care how many people play it, waterpolo in general is a european dominated sport. You play a t20 WC right now, you'd have all of India (Asia), Australia, England (Europe), and South Africa (Africa) all a chance. That's literally every continent bar South America/North Aerica and the USA were good in the last WC beating Pakistan in the pool games.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Fact of the matter there's one sport where a billion people care about and that's just in one country- India. You have to be blindly insane to NOT cater for the Indian audience with cricket. No one cares about half the traditional sports, it's fine to keep a majority of them though. The newer age sports are what is needed to keep the Olympics viable long term. Generally team sports regardless of what it is favour certain parts of the world, basketball...everyone is going for silver don't care how many people play it, waterpolo in general is a european dominated sport. You play a t20 WC right now, you'd have all of India (Asia), Australia, England (Europe), and South Africa (Africa) all a chance. That's literally every continent bar South America/North Aerica and the USA were good in the last WC beating Pakistan in the pool games.

Add 230 million in Pakistan and 170 million in Bangladesh who are almost as cricket mad and that is a market that has more people than USA + Canada.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

A Pakistan v India T20 or ODI game regularly has a TV audience of over 200 million.

So bring that to a gold medal match, and their are plenty of $$$ to be made for everyone out of TV rights.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Add 230 million in Pakistan and 170 million in Bangladesh who are almost as cricket mad and that is a market that has more people than USA + Canada.

Yep there was a t20 WC game between India and Pakistan that broke all records. Reality is for viability in terms of bids you are negligent if you don’t include cricket. I love waterpolo I do but eyeballs are not there watching the top games compared to an Indian cricket game

 

[GremioPower]

Argentina just beat the All Blacks.

Argentina is in the anglosphere

 

[Bostonian]

Argentina is in the anglosphere

No they aren't.

Spanish speaking South Americans are in no way part of the "anglosphere".

 

[GremioPower]

No they aren't.

Spanish speaking South Americans are in no way part of the "anglosphere".

Mate, they live next door to me. You have no idea how much influence the Brits left there. They practice English sports: rugby union, field hockey, polo, tennis, paddleball, rowing…

In sports, they are English (despite their hate towards the Brits).

 

[Bostonian]

Mate, they live next door to me. You have no idea how much influence the Brits left there. They practice English sports: rugby union, field hockey, polo, tennis, paddleball, rowing…

In sports, they are English (despite their hate towards the Brits).

They went to war with Britain over an Island.

They are known for their Nazi ties, not British.

Their rich elite might move in similar circles to the rich elite of Europe but the common people are far more like a Spaniard than a Brit.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Argentinian writer/poet Jorge Luis Borges famously said many years ago “Argentineans are Italians who speak Spanish, think in French, and would like to be English.”