The 2028 Los Angeles Games will mark cricket’s return to the Olympics. Cricket was introduced in the 1900 Paris Olympics, in which only two countries competed: Great Britain and the host nation, France. Great Britain clinched the gold medal and after 1900, Cricket was never played in the Olympic games ever again.
For the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, a six-team cricket event has been proposed, but the number of teams might be more due to the growing competition in T20 cricket However, many fans might not be aware that the 2019 World Cup winner England Cricket Team won’t be among the participants.
Actually, in the Olympics, England has never participated as a sole nation. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland form the Great Britain team. In other sports, the four nations have their separate teams, but in the Olympics, they have continued the legacy together since the very first modern Games in 1896.
So, in the 2028 Olympic Games, instead of the England cricket team, we will see the Great Britain cricket team. This team will be formed by players from England and Scotland cricket teams as Wales and Northern Ireland do not have ICC-affiliated teams.
It will be the first time since 1900 that the Great Britain cricket team will be formed. As mentioned earlier, in their only match in cricket history, Great Britain defeated France to win the gold medal in the 1900 Olympics. At that time, only the men’s teams participated. However, in the 2028 Olympics, both men’s and women’s cricket events will take place in a T20 format.
Not only cricket, but the LA 2028 Olympics will also feature the inclusion of four other sports: softball (a modified version of baseball), squash, lacrosse, and flag football. On the other hand, breakdancing, which was introduced in the Paris 2024 Olympics, will be removed from the 2028 Games.
