Team GB will be guaranteed a place in the men’s cricket tournament at LA 2028 after the International Cricket Council opted to use the regional qualifying format favoured by the Olympic movement.
The controversial decision is understood to have sparked a backlash from Pakistan and New Zealand, who are set to miss out on cricket’s return to the Olympics after 128 years, with India and Australia to be awarded spots from Asia and Oceania respectively based on the ICC rankings. The IOC favour regional qualifying to ensure all parts of the world are represented at the Games so it is a truly global event.
With cricket’s Olympic return limited to two six-team Twenty20 tournaments, qualification had been expected to be tightly contested, particularly with the United States in line to be given an automatic place as hosts.
Following discussions at their AGM in Singapore earlier this month, the ICC decided to use a system of regional qualifying. It has been proposed that the top-ranked team in Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa qualify automatically alongside the USA, who would represent the Americas, which would have implications for the West Indian islands hoping to compete.
Based on the current ICC rankings India, Australia, South Africa and Great Britain would qualify with the hosts, with the mechanism for determining the final place yet to be decided.
One of the Caribbean nations could replace USA if their governance issues are not resolved after the ICC called on USA Cricket’s Board to resign earlier this month. The Guardian has been told that Pakistan and New Zealand are unhappy with the ICC’s decision, but while it has yet to be ratified by the Board it is unlikely to be reversed, according to sources present in Singapore.
New Zealand are fourth in the ICC’s T20 rankings, narrowly behind third-placed England, but are set to miss out as Australia are second. USA are ranked 17th despite reaching the Super 8 stage at last year’s World Cup, which they co-hosted with West Indies.
Qualification for the Olympic women’s tournament will be decided by next year’s T20 World Cup. Given England are staging the event Team GB are in a good position to qualify, as Charlotte Edwards’ side would expect to reach the semi-finals at a minimum.
Cricket has not featured at the Olympics since 1900 – Great Britain’s men beat France in a one-off match for the gold medal – but has been confirmed as part of the schedule for LA, with the games to be staged in Pomona, California, 30 miles east of the city.
If successful, the ICC will lobby for bigger tournaments at the Brisbane Games in 2032 and their cause would be helped if Ahmedabad win the right to stage the Olympics four years later. Doha, Istanbul and Santiago are the other confirmed bidders for the 2036 Games.
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The England and Wales Cricket Board has already begun setting up a Great Britain team, and is in advanced negotiations with Cricket Scotland about creating a new entity to manage the Olympic process, GB Cricket. A memorandum of understanding with Cricket Ireland is also being worked on that would allow Northern Irish cricketers to be eligible for Team GB.
GB Cricket is expected to be officially constituted in the coming months. It would then need to be officially recognised by the ICC and the British Olympic Association (BOA) before becoming full members of the National Olympic Committee (NOC).
The ICC declined to comment.
