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5 Things We Learned from Cricket in CWG 2022

1. Cricket in Olympics Has Hope

Cricket at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games was a watershed moment in world cricket.

With the ICC trying to push for cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 LA Olympics, women’s cricket at CWG was a trial run. No post-match presentation ceremonies, Barbados participating as a separate qualified nation, different Covid-19 protocols, and finally a ‘Gold Medal’ match for cricket.

The good news? It was more or less a success. The semi-finals, finals, and the Bronze medal match all went down to the wire. Unlike the rumored T10 format for the Olympics, it was nice to see that T20 did the job fairly well. The best of all – crowds were in!

Hosting a world wide tournament in England is one thing…in a non-Test cricket playing nation…that may be a different challenge altogether.

Also Read: USA Cricket – A Trillion Dollar Bet

2. The Gap in Women’s Cricket is Large

India, Australia, England, and New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals. With the exception of a NZ team (which was on a downfall earlier), this was not exactly was a surprise.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 46 & 102, Barbados bundled out for 62 & 64, and Pakistan all out for 99. On the flip side, Australia chased 155 out of nowhere, and the big teams had 11 scores combined between 150-170.

3. Australia are Invincible

In the opening match of the tournament, Renuka Singh’s four wicket haul were struggling at 49/5, courtesy Renuka Singh’s 49/5.

Then, I tweeted this – a seemingly arrogant headline by ESPNCricinfo, already gifting the gold medal to Australia

And guess what? Ash Gardner scored an unbeaten 52*(35) to take Australia home with Grace Harris and Alana King providing strong support.

It seems that Gold is reserved for this Australian team. This team is invincible – ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, record streak of ODI wins, and now the Commonwealth Gold Medal.

This team is so strong that Ellyse Perry, yes the Ellyse Perry, sat on the sideline all tournament.

4. India lose out on nerves again, but is lack of WIPL the only reason?

India lost the final against Australia by 9 runs, the same margin they had lost in the 2017 ODI World Cup final. And in a similar fashion as well.

Chasing 162, India had recovered to a steady 118/2 in 14.2 overs. The young star, Jemimah Rodrigues and senior captain-slash-arch-nemesis, Harmanpreet Kaur were playing. Rodrigues was dismissed for 33 and Kaur followed soon with 65. Some baffling decisions with Yastika Bhatia, a regular #3 being sent at #9 & three run outs ensured India fell 9 run short, with 3 balls still to spare.

Social media went haywire with India’s inability to finish and ‘lack of mental strength’ accusations galore. Lots of pointers that the Women’s IPL has already been delayed 2-3 years too long and that resulted in not enough pressure situation practice.

That is partially true but a WIPL wouldn’t magically have done anything. Results and increased depth from WIPL will probably be seen in a decade from now at the earliest. This loss could be attributed to nerves in a final (regardless of the team), an Australian team one level above, and error in judgment by the set batters.

Also Read: Need for Change in Women’s Cricket: Hoping Against Hope

5. Early retirements a concern in women’s cricket too

Trent Boult’s semi-unofficial-retirement (in fashion of AB De Villiers), Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement, and Quinton de Kock’s Test retirement are not the only signs of cricket’s changing landscape.

Lizelle Lee (30) & Deandre Dottin (31) both announced shock retirements from international cricket. Although the reasons were different, it shows growing dissent between the players and respective boards.

Finally at the end of the tournament, captain Meg Planning announced that she is taking an indefinite break from cricket to spend time with family as well.

Cricket, both men’s & women’s, is shifting at a rapid pace, can the administration keep up?

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 08/10/2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

The World Is Back In the Cricket World Cup

Greek philosopher Heraclitus penned a now famous phrase, “Change is the only constant in life, ” and well, it seems that the Cricket World Cup (CWC) formats took this quote a little too seriously.

Group stage, round-robin, Super Sixes, Super Eights, knockouts—you name it, the format has been experimented with.

History Repeats Itself

From an 8-team event (1975, 1979), the CWC gradually grew to nine teams (1992), then 12 (1996, 1999), 14-teams (2003), and finally reached its inflection point with 16 teams in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

The 2007 iteration was poorly received for various reasons, but one of the fallouts was halting the gradual expansion of Associate nations in World Cups. With genuine upsets from Ireland & Bangladesh against Pakistan, India, and later South Africa, the ICC lost a major chunk of funding.

The impact?

2011 & 2015 World Cups went back to the ‘90s formats with an elongated 14-team event, while the 10-team 2019 & 2023 events have revived the 1992 round-robin structure, providing as much game time (and hence, financial stability) for the big teams.

If It Is Broke, Fix It

The change of management has done wonders for the ICC—reducing the power of the Big 3, promoting the idea of cricket in the Olympics, and expanding the game with coordinated World Cups with a blockbuster World Cup schedule for the next decade:

  • Men’s ODI World Cup & Women’s ODI Champions Trophy (2023, 2027, 2031)
  • Women’s ODI World Cup & Men’s Champions Trophy (2025, 2029)
  • Women’s & Men’s T20I World Cups (2024, 2026, 2028, 2030)
  • World Test Championship Final (2023, 2025, 2027, 2029, 2031)

There is at least one major tournament for both men & women every year with the odd years also including the World Test Championship final.

Expansion Is the Will of the Nature

If you thought that was good news, hear this out.

The 54-match ODI World Cup is expanded to a 14-team affair (throwback to 2003) – 2 groups of 7, followed by Super Sixes, and finally the semi-finals & the finals.

The 55-match T20I World Cups will well and truly be a ‘world cup’—20 team tournament, 4 groups of 5, a Super Eight Stage, followed by semi-finals & finals. The T20I World Cup will guarantee at least 4 games for eight non-Test playing nations. Massive improvement.

With expanded World Cups, this provides incentive & motivation for Associate players to continue the game. Several Associate cricketers have taken premature retirements for opportunities elsewhere. This will add the fuel to keep them going.

Basketball has caught up with the FIFA benchmark of world cups with a 32-team event, while field hockey & rugby are 16-team affairs. It is time that cricket expand and catch up to the will of nature.

Revisiting the Glory Days

Remember Dwayne Leverlock’s one-handed stunner? Or Shapoor Zadran’s emotional celebration?

This is what World Cups are for—discovering new talents, cherishing the moments, providing a platform for smaller teams to grow, and promoting competition, not diminishing it.

The Associate Nations have provided numerous moments of glory—World Cup’s fastest century at the hand of Kevin O’Brien to hand England a defeat in Bangalore, Stuart Broad’s missed run-out/overthrow giving way for a Netherlands victory, Zimbabwe’s defeat to world-beaters Australia in 2007, and Bangladesh’s rise via CWC victories against Pakistan (1999), India, South Africa (2007), and England (2011, 2015).

Gruesome Qualifier Tournaments Out of the Window

With the expanded World Cup formats, one thing is for certain. The added salt to injury, also known as the Qualifiers, will have a lesser impact.

After Afghanistan & Ireland attained Test Status and became Full Members, the 2019 & 2023 formats were even more difficult to digest. It is a cricket sin for Full Members to not be a part of the World Cup. Zimbabwe & Ireland did not make it to the 2019 WC, and it is likely that even someone like Sri Lanka can lose out on a spot in the next world cup.

Case & point is the 2018 CWC Qualifier, one of the more closely fought tournaments in recent times. Scotland was in sight of qualifying at the expense of the West Indies or Afghanistan, when rain arrived and Scotland mathemagically lost by 5 runs due to the DL method. Zimbabwe also missed out on a qualification spot due a rained-out match.

An over or two should not determine fates for a World Cup qualification. Even worse was the T20 tournaments. After a 51-match qualification tournament for Associates, teams would enter a 3-match ‘pre-qualification’ stage in the actual world cup itself! Ludicrous.

In 2016, Bangladesh & Afghanistan proceeded to the next round while Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Oman, & Ireland crashed out.

Double disqualification, I like to call it. Survivor of the fittest ones that have the most money.

Warning: Potential Conflicts & T10 Format Ahead

Not everything will be fixed by expanding the Word Cup, however. Last month, the ICC backed T10 Cricket in Olympics. I am in full support of cricket in the Olympics albeit T20.

However, with a T20 World Cup now scheduled every two years, including 2028 & 2032, T20 cricket in the Los Angeles & Brisbane Summer Olympics look like a distant dream. Creating an international T10 format might be the only feasible choice, further crowding the international and the T10/T20 leagues calendar.

In any case, I will definitely take more context in cricket calendar, & support for the Associate & lower-ranked nations in exchange of embracing the T10 format.

It is the Little Moments That Matter

Did we really need a World Cup to prove that in the ‘80s the West Indians were a class apart or the Australians were the best in the world in the 2000s?

No, but a World Cup or Olympics is much more than that. So, why have predictable world cup formats?

Surprises & uncertainty, thrills & chills, unity in a divided world, and sportsmanship & hope amidst despair—that is what sport is all about.

It is about time cricket puts the world back in its so-called world cup.

Copyright: Nitesh Mathur, 6/2/2021, bcd@brokencricketdreams.com

Image Courtesy: Image by stokpic from Pixabay

Why is there no Cricket in Olympics? T10 Cricket in Olympics? You Have Got To Be Kidding

Cricket in Olympics has long been a hot topic among the cricketing fraternity and has re-emerged in the latest round of ICC meetings.

One particular revelation from this meeting reminded me of a scene from Madagascar 2. It goes like this.

“Attention. This is the ICC speaking. We have good news and bad news. The good news is we have made a landing in the Olympics. The bad news is—it is T10 cricket.”

So is there any merit in this idea or just totally absurd? We will talk about the history of cricket in the Olympics, the pros and cons, and whether I think it should be accepted or not.

Also Read: USA Cricket: The Next NFL Or NBA – Trillion Dollar Bet?

Glance To the Past: A Brief History

Here is a bit of trivia for you—did you know the 1900 Paris Olympics included cricket?

1900 Olympics

Although cricket was initially scheduled in the inaugural modern 1896 Olympics, it was cancelled due to lack of interest. For the 1900 edition, Netherlands and Belgium pulled out after showing interest, while Great Britain & France sent club teams for the 2-day match.

Eventually Great Britain won by 158 runs with only five minutes remaining on day two. It would take 98 years for cricket to feature in another such tournament.

  • 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games: 16 teams, 4 groups, and 50-overs format. The tournament saw teams like Jamaica & Barbados compete independently along with Malaysia, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Eventually South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand won the gold, silver, and bronze respectively. Yes, South Africa actually won something.
  • Guangzhou 2010 & Incheon 2014 Asian Games: Men/Women competitions in T20 format. India declined to send teams, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, & even Japan won medals across the two tournaments. Apart from hosts China & South Korea, teams like Maldives, Nepal, and Hong Kong participated.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

  1. Women’s Cricket will benefit from expansion to newer teams. One of the stories of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup was Thailand’s qualification. Imagine how other smaller countries could similarly rise from the Olympics.
  2. Cricket has the potential to go from a ‘niche sport,’ only played in a fraction of the former British commonwealth to a much broader world audience due to television & media promotions
  3. Due to a shorter window, the format would have to be a knock-out tournament, which would give more chances to multiple teams rather than the 10-team two month long slug fest known as the World Cup.
  4. T10 takes about 2 hours to complete, which is a plus for short-spanned 21st century spectators.

Cons:

  1. T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, World Test Championship, & Olympics, not to mention T20 leagues. Too many tournaments will create dilution & overkill of cricket, which could have an adverse effect on the sport.
  2. T10 in the Olympics would imply making it the fourth official international format. With T20I & Test cricket doing well, this would be curtains for the struggling 50-over ODI format.

Opposition to Cricket in Olympics

Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics has historically been opposed by teams like England & India. England declined to send a team for the 1998 Commonwealth due to scheduling conflicts with County cricket.

Similar concerns drive the opposition to T20 cricket in the Olympics. Such a tournament would imply having qualification tournaments, which would hamper the T20 calendar and decrease value of the T20 World Cup, which leads to possibly decreasing revenues.

The Verdict: Yay or Nay?

T10 cricket is not the ideal format.

Some people say it is a shortened version of T20. Wrong. It is just an expanded Super Over. Cricket is a game of skills and talent, but T10 may just be a fluke, and nobody is interested in that. No place for bowlers and not great advertisement for cricket.

However, the game has evolved. There was even a time when colored clothing, day-night cricket, DRS, and T20 cricket had doubters.

So, should cricket be tried in the Olympics? Well, why not? It never hurts to try.

Of course, technicalities about the format and qualification process can be decided later.

So, When Can We See Cricket in Olympics?

Cricket will be played in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Only women’s edition will take place—T20, 8 teams, round-robin tournament, and a qualifier for a Caribbean nation. Finally, USA Cricket’s long-term goal has been to host the 2028 LA Olympics, although 2032 Brisbane Olympics is probably a better bet.

FAQs

Why is there no cricket in Olympics?

Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics has historically been opposed by teams like England & India. England declined to send a team for the 1998 Commonwealth due to scheduling conflicts with County cricket.
Similar concerns drive the opposition to T20 cricket in the Olympics. Such a tournament would imply having qualification tournaments, which would hamper the T20 calendar and decrease value of the T20 World Cup, which leads to possibly decreasing revenues.Cricket In Olympics

What is the history of cricket in Olympics and other international events?

Although cricket was initially scheduled in the inaugural modern 1896 Olympics, it was cancelled due to lack of interest. For the 1900 edition, Netherlands and Belgium pulled out after showing interest, while Great Britain & France sent club teams for the 2-day match.
Eventually Great Britain won by 158 runs with only five minutes remaining on day two. It would take 98 years for cricket to feature in another such tournament.

1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games: 16 teams, 4 groups, and 50-overs format. The tournament saw teams like Jamaica & Barbados compete independently along with Malaysia, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Eventually South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand won the gold, silver, and bronze respectively. Yes, South Africa actually won something.
Guangzhou 2010 & Incheon 2014 Asian Games: Men/Women competitions in T20 format. India declined to send teams, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, & even Japan won medals across the two tournaments. Apart from hosts China & South Korea, teams like Maldives, Nepal, and Hong Kong participated.

When Can We See Cricket in Olympics?

Cricket will be played in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Only women’s edition will take place—T20, 8 teams, round-robin tournament, and a qualifier for a Caribbean nation. Finally, USA Cricket’s long-term goal has been to host the 2028 LA Olympics, although 2032 Brisbane Olympics is probably a better bet.

Other Innovations in Cricket

Image Courtesy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons