Is 3-Team Cricket the Perfect Olympic Event?

The news that cricket would be making it's Olympic comeback at LA 2028 after a 128-year absence left many scratching their heads. With the IOC aiming to make the Olympics more 'urban' in recent years, adding skateboarding and sports climbing in Tokyo, and break dancing in Paris, it seemed that cricket's aristocratic roots had left the sport out in the cold. Whilst a cameo at Brisbane 2032 had long been a safe bet since host countries can add extra sports to engage local audiences, the ICC seemed to have missed the boat for Los Angeles, failing to make the provisional sports list despite splashing out $3 million on a bid. But now that the tables have turned once again, and the ICC have yet another T20 extravaganza to plan, that got us thinking... how could we jazz things up to make cricket's Olympic return a truly unforgettable event?

Mainstream models

Before we dive into the details, we first need to tackle a contentious issue: should cricket even be an Olympic sport? The games are designed to shine a light on the lesser known and viewed sports. For the likes of triathlon, rowing, and fencing, the games are the pinnacle, not just another tournament on the calendar. That said, if the giants of rugby and football get to go to the party, lets throw cricket into the mix.

Bearing in mind that the most viewed event of any games is the 100-metre dash, the ICC have gone with their quickest international option, a copy and paste of the T20 World Cup format, but there's nothing particularly cutting-edge about that. World Rugby pushed aside 15-a-side union, instead opting for sevens - punchy, high scoring matches lasting only 14 minutes. Similarly, FIFA kept things fresh by making Olympic Football tournaments U23-only events, so what should cricket do to spice things up? Forget the T10 or 100-ball concepts, and make way for 3-team cricket (3TC) - a whole new twist on the game, but surprisingly not as wacky as it sounds.

Innovating cricket in thirds

Imagine the drama of England (under the guise of Team GB) v India v Australia, all taking part in the exact same match. The tournament standings might even require the fiercest of rivals to team up against the third team. You don't need a calculator to determine that increasing the number of teams participating in a match from two to three, will increase viewership, and the efficiency of a tournament, by a third. If nothing else at least gold, silver, and bronze, could all be decided in one match, without the need for a play-off to decide the destination of the cheap medal. All of these possibilities, and no need to change the fundamentals of the game... although the coin toss could be a bit tricky - perhaps rock, paper, scissors would suffice?

Here's how 3TC's first incarnation played out - in a South African exhibition match:

• 8 players per side

• 18 overs per half (36 total)

• In the first 18 overs, each side bats for 6 overs, facing the 36 deliveries from one of their opponents.

• In the second set of 18 overs, the same rules apply, but this time facing bowling from the other opponent.

• If a batting team is seven wickets down, the last player standing bats alone.

• A maximum allocation of three overs per bowler for the entirety of the match, which can be split however the captain likes between opponents.

• Most overall runs win.

First half:

Eagles: 66/1

Kingfishers: 56/2

Kites: 58/1

Second half (accumulated):

Eagles: 160/4 = Gold

Kingfishers: 113/5 = Bronze

Kites: 138/3 = Silver

Treading with caution

We have already ranted in great detail about how franchises are stagnating cricket. The last thing we need is for 3TC to be swallowed up by tycoons, at the further expense of international & domestic integrity, and the gap to associate nations.

The ICC need to buy the rights to this concept and carefully wrap it is cottonwool and patents, only rolling it out at accredited qualification events, tri-series tournaments as an exhibition to raise interest, and perhaps as a speciality for associate nations to finally get their feet under the table. Not creating a rankings system would mean Test-playing nations would have to work for their qualification place, a very uncommon occurrence these days.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the West Indies is only a 'nation' when it comes to cricket. At the Olympics, the 13 independent island countries which make up the region, compete separately. A qualification tournament will obviously be required here to decide which island nations progress to the games. Similarly, Team GB cannot realistically be made up of 100% English citizens, so a couple of Scots may need be thrown into the mix.

Last time out... in 1900, Paris!

The ICC scriptwriters clearly missed the fairytale storyline of cricket making its return in the same city 124 years later, for Paris 2024. Cricket's last Olympic cameo was a bizarre 2-day, 12-a-side match, between the Devon and Somerset Wanderers and the French Athletic Club Union, the latter consisting mostly of British expats. Originally, Belgium and Netherlands were also due to complete in a knockout tournament, but after they withdrew it became a winner-takes-all match which the Wanderers won. Strangely, no-one involved actually realised that they had completed in the Olympics, as the match had been advertised as part of the World's Fair.