The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have started discussions about their plans for the formation of Team Great Britain (also known as Team GB) in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
It is to be noted that cricket will make a historic appearance in the Olympic Games in 2028 after a huge gap of 128 years. This will be cricket’s second appearance in the Olympics. Before this, the game was played in 1900 when Great Britain defeated France in Paris to clinch the gold medal.
While the details for cricket in the LA 2028 Olympics are yet to be decided, it is believed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has proposed a six-team tournament for both men and women. The competition is likely to last around a week.
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Discussions begin for England and Scotland to compete as Team Great Britain
While most countries are sorted to compete with their usual teams, England and Scotland will have a dilemma to fix. If England qualifies for the tournament, they will play as Great Britain, as it has been their identity at the Olympics.
However, it also opens up the possibility to include the Scottish cricketers like Richie Berrington, Brandon McMullen, Brad Currie, Kathryn Bryce, and many more players in Team GB.
It is to be noted that Great Britain is a combination of four countries, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In cricket, England and Welsh cricketers play together but Scottish players are represented differently. However, since Scottish athletes play under Team GB at Olympics, they will play alongside English players to form Team Great Britain.
ECB to be the nominated governing body for Great Britain’s cricket team
According to the reports, the ECB and Cricket Scotland have held initial discussions on working together as Team GB. Cricket Scotland wants an active participation of its cricketers during this journey and are keen to contribute their staff and players for it. However, the ECB will be the nominated governing body of the combined team.
“With the Los Angeles Olympics four years away, it’s very early stages, but we’re talking to Team GB and Cricket Scotland about the next steps we need to take,” an ECB spokesperson was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“Once again Great Britain’s Olympians have captured the national imagination with their exploits in Paris this year, and we look forward to working together to compete when cricket returns to the Olympic stage in 2028.”
“Along with England and Wales hosting Women’s and Men’s [T20] World Cups in 2026 and 2030, it’s another great opportunity to grow the game and inspire more people to develop a love for cricket,” the spokesperson added.
England, Ireland, and Scotland will host the 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup. England will also host the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Andy Anson reveals Great Britain’s plan for LA 2028 Olympics
The chief executive of the British Olympic Association, Andy Anson, was confident of forming both the teams for the LA 2028 Olympics in a proper way and claimed that they have precious experience of forming the teams for other sports as well.
“We’ve got good experience in golf, in rugby and in women’s football, of how the Four Nations [England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland] can come together and nominate one country to be the main governing body and work with the other countries. So I think cricket will be the same.”
“The ECB will be at the centre of that. They’ll have to work with Cricket Scotland to make sure that happens properly. We will help them sign agreements to come together and create a single national governing body, as we have done in those other sports. We are working very closely with the ECB to make them become the fully fledged National Olympic Committee member,” Anson said.
While the athletes from England and Scotland will play together, it is still unknown which country will the Northern Ireland cricketers represent. The players from Northern Ireland can choose which team they want to compete among Team Great Britain or Ireland. Some top Northern Ireland players like Paul Stirling and Mark Adair play for Ireland in cricket.