CRICKET West Indies (CWI) has formally written to the International Cricket Council (ICC), insisting that the unique configuration of West Indies cricket be fairly accommodated in ongoing discussions with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), regarding qualification for cricket at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Cricket will return to the Olympics at the 2028 edition with the T20 format being contested. The sport was last played at the Olympics in 1900.
West Indies first played a Test match almost 100 years ago in 1928. Since then, the West Indies team has been made up of many countries playing collectively.
West Indies have had memorable moments over the past century. Individually, the cricket-playing Caribbean countries have tiny populations with only Jamaica (approximately 2.8 million) and TT (1.4 million), with more than a population of one million. Many countries only have approximately 100,000 people, including Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda.
The entire population of the cricket-playing nations in the Caribbean is approximately six million.
At the Olympic Games, countries participate individually with one or two exceptions. For example, Team Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Olympics with athletes from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales eligible for the team.
It will be a tough task for countries in the Caribbean to be competitive as individual teams. Countries outside the Caribbean that have a rich cricket tradition, expected to compete at the Olympics, are formidable teams with large populations.
India (1.4 billion), Pakistan (247 million), South Africa (63 million), Australia (26 million) and Sri Lanka (22 million) are some of the traditional cricketing nations with massive populations and it will be challenging for individual Caribbean nations to compete.
The only strong cricketing nation with a population smaller than the Caribbean is New Zealand with 5.2 million people.
In its correspondence, CWI outlined two inclusive and practical qualification pathways that would enable sovereign Caribbean nations, many of whom have deep Olympic legacies, to participate in Olympic cricket in accordance with the values and requirements of the Olympic Charter.
President of Cricket West Indies Dr Kishore Shallow made a compelling call for fairness and inclusion.
“The Caribbean has always punched above its weight at the Olympics, inspiring the world with our athletic brilliance. Cricket’s return to the Games in 2028 must not exclude our young cricketers from the same dream that has inspired our athletes. The Olympic Charter emphasises fairness, transparency and universality. We are simply asking that these principles be upheld – not just in spirit, but in structure. West Indies cricket must have a pathway and fully deserve an opportunity to compete.”
Jamaica, TT and the Bahamas have all had quality performances in athletics at the Olympic Games.
[caption id="attachment_1148992" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Cricket West Indi
