CRICKET AT OLYMPICS
Fairgrounds Cricket Stadium will be the venue for cricket at LA28 © Getty
LA28 unveiled the schedule for the Olympic Games on Monday (July 14), exactly three years ahead of the event. Cricket will be played from July 12 to 29, 2028, two days ahead of the scheduled start of the Games, with the medal matches slated for July 19 and July 29.
The Los Angeles Olympics are officially scheduled from July 14 to 30, 2028, but cricket and a few other events will begin a couple of days earlier. The organizers are referring to these early start dates as ‘Minus 2’ (July 12) and “Minus 1” (July 13).
The first set of matches will take place from July 12 to 18, with the medal matches to be played on July 19. The second set of matches will run from July 22 to 28, culminating in the final on July 29. The Games conclude the next day.
LA28 organisers have not announced the order of competitions but presumably the men’s and women’s matches will follow one after the other with women’s games following the men’s competition. Asked for clarification, LA28 said, “The gender sequence for events in the 2028 Games is not yet available. As stated in today’s release, ‘A more detailed schedule with medal events and gender order will be released later this year.'”
LA28 has confirmed that both men’s and women’s competitions will feature six teams each and the venue will be the Fairgrounds Cricket Stadium, Pomona, about 48 kilometres away from downtown LA. The organisers are calling it a top-tier structure, purpose-built to highlight cricket.
“For nearly a century, this location has served as the home of the annual LA County Fair and hosts a variety of year-round events, including trade shows, conventions and sporting events. The sprawling grounds will serve as the backdrop for Cricket’s triumphant return to the Olympic Games-128 years in the making,” LA28 release states.
Qualification process
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) which will hold its annual conference from July 17 to 20 in Singapore where it will decide on the qualification process for the Quadrennial Games.
In all likelihood, the identification of the teams will be decided on the basis of ICC rankings although there are suggestions that teams may be picked through a qualifying tournament with some Associate counties also involved in it. Given the tight FTP, the ICC, though, is unlikely to consider the suggestion of holding a qualifying tournament.
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