Team GB on the verge of forming for the 2028 Olympics as all constituents converge from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Team GB one step closer to fruition for Los Angeles Olympics.
In anticipation of cricket’s 2028 return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a Great Britain (GB) team, which would include men’s and women’s players from England, Scotland, and maybe Northern Ireland, is one step closer to being approved by Cricket Scotland and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
For the men’s team’s de facto defence of a championship they last won in Paris in 1900, during cricket’s final Olympic appearance, a new organisation called GB Cricket is being developed.
A board including executive and non-executive officials from Cricket Scotland and the ECB will supervise GB Cricket’s operations. Additionally, an MOU will be signed with Cricket Ireland to allow Northern Irish athletes to participate in the Olympics.
It is improbable that its players would try to qualify for GB Cricket, as Cricket Ireland is a body that represents both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Nonetheless, a core group of Northern Ireland-based players, including as Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, and Ireland women’s wicketkeeper Amy Hunter, may be qualified for the competition, including Paul Stirling, the country’s white-ball captain.
Before becoming a full member of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), GB Cricket must first receive official recognition from the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the International Cricket Council (ICC). This is anticipated to happen in the upcoming months. An ECB spokeswoman stated that there is already a principled agreement with the ICC.
For what is anticipated to be a six-team event, the qualification procedure has not yet been decided. However, it has already been decided that Team GB will qualify through the men’s and women’s teams of England, with players from Scotland and Northern Ireland becoming accessible after that.
It’s also a factor for Harry Brook, England’s new white-ball captain, whose team’s comeback is scheduled to start on Thursday with the opening ODI against the West Indies at Edgbaston.