Talks over GB cricket team for LA 2028 Olympics

A British cricket team that could play at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games is being discussed.

As the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut, negotiations between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have already begun.

Trudy Lindblade, the head of cricket for Scotland, stated to BBC Radio 4: “We have been in discussions with the ECB and are currently looking to form a Team GB cricket team.”

The British Olympic Association (BOA) mandates that a British team must meet the requirements for Olympic Games participation.

BBC Sport received confirmation from the ECB regarding those discussions.

The International Olympic Committee announced last week that LA 2028 will host six-team T20 competitions for both men and women.

“The six teams for us would have an opportunity through the GB concept,” Lindblade said. “So it’s really interesting.

Up to 15 players can be placed in squads that are participating teams, but the qualification procedure has not yet been confirmed.

There are many things to learn about how qualification happens, not just for those six teams, but how a GB team would be selected, “Lindblade added.

We’re in for exciting times, and we’ll keep in touch with LA 2028 and ICC colleagues. It will be fascinating.

Cricket’s only previous Olympic appearance was in Paris in 1900.

After the Netherlands and Belgium withdrew, Great Britain won the one-off final by 158 runs against France.

The 2028 Games will feature a men’s football team, according to the BOA, which will bring together the England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Football Associations for the first time since London 2012, with a men’s team being formed there since then.