Olympic cricket dream fades

[mikesiva]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/cont ... 55009.html

'Raja Randhir Singh, the Secretary General of the Olympic Council of Asia and till recently India's sole representative at the International Olympic Committee, has said cricket is giving up on the chance for "global expansion" by staying out of the Olympics. Responding to a report on ESPNcricnfo that cricket at the Olympics is likely to remain a distant dream, Singh said, "If cricket was on the Olympic programme it would give a great boost, it would not be restricted to the few countries where it's played and it would come on a global stage where all the greats of the world of sport are playing." The opposition to a push for cricket to return to the Olympic fold for the first time since 1900 is being led by the BCCI and the ECB. Singh says he has been "very disappointed" with the BCCI's attitude on the issue for the last few years.'

[Duncan1987]

Personally I wouldn't want cricket at the olympics. Why football and tennis are there already baffles me.

[Arthur Crabtree]

T20 at the Olympics feels a good fit. It's a better idea than baseball, and draws India/BD/Pakistan/SL into the games. But maybe the BCCI would demand the lion's share of the profits?

[Aidan11]

They had cricket at the Commonwealth Games a few years back.

We hold the only Gold medal in the Olympic games when it was played in 1908(?)

I think there were only two teams - us and...er, France.

[hopeforthebest]

Can you imagine the cost to nations who don't have cricket stadia attempting to apply for an Olympic games, it would give them no chance. It was a stupid idea and it's good that the NEW ICC have recognised that. There are already too many sports in the Olympic games which has grown like topsy.

[mikesiva]

The big obstacle standing in the way of cricket at the Olympics is not mentioned at all in this article...drug-testing.

When cricket was at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, WADA imposed drug-testing procedures that the Indian superstars felt were an infringement on their freedom of movement. Then, WADA implemented the "whereabouts" clause with all Olympic sports in 2009, and by extension Commonwealth Games sports, the BCCI were in immediate opposition. This is what the "whereabouts" clause stiputates:

"The two major changes that resulted from the revision of the World Anti-Doping Code and the IST in relation to whereabouts information and missed tests are:
- The requirement for top-level athletes included in the registered testing pool of either their IF or NADO to specify 1 hour each day (between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.) during which they can be located at a specified location for testing. These athletes do not have to identify the 60-minute time-slot at a home address, but they can if they wish to. Previously this was a 24/7 requirement.
- The harmonization of what constitutes an anti-doping rule violation in relation to whereabouts and missed tests and what potential sanctions can be applied. Any combination of 3 missed tests and/or failures to provide accurate whereabouts information within an 18-month period now leads to the opening of a disciplinary proceeding by the ADO with jurisdiction over the athlete. Sanctions range between 1 and 2 years depending on the circumstances of the case. Previously this was discretionary for ADOs with a suggested range of between 3 months and 2 years."

http://www.wada-ama.org/en/World-Anti-D ... ereabouts/

This "whereabouts" rule has helped WADA catch so many drug cheats in other sports, but the Indian cricketers, and by extension the BCCI, could not abide by such restrictive requirements.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/conte ... 25899.html

"The BCCI has said it will not abide by the Indian government's stand on the controversial anti-doping code, and has maintained that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) drop the controversial 'whereabouts' clause for Indian players."

Of course, there was no way WADA was going to back down...this was a system that was working. So, now there will be no cricket at the Olympics until the ICC accepts all of WADA's rules, including the "whereabouts" rules.

[D/L]

The IOC and the ICC, two organisations whose only real difference, as far as honest dealing is concerned, is their middle initial, would never reach agreement on the division of the spoils.

[Alviro Patterson]

Can you imagine the cost to nations who don't have cricket stadia attempting to apply for an Olympic games, it would give them no chance. It was a stupid idea and it's good that the NEW ICC have recognised that. There are already too many sports in the Olympic games which has grown like topsy.

Well summed up HFTB. Also if the Olympics is rain affected then cricket matches would struggle to be completed.

[braveneutral]

D/L sums it up nicely. I imagine the problem is that the governing bodies of the individual sports are not entitled to money?

With the stadia, it is t20. So I don't foresee this being a massive problem. 1 would do with a morning and evening match.