5 Interesting Facts About Cricket in Commonwealth Games

Cricket in Commonwealth Games is something that only 90’s kids will remember because the only time when this prestigious tournament managed to embrace Cricket was in 1998. The tournament was hosted by Malaysia and a total of 16 nations took part. Since this, the tournament has failed to embrace Cricket, until 2022, when Cricket is finally making its long-awaited return to this esteemed event.

Eight teams will be up against each other in the 2022 edition of the Commonwealth Games to win the gold, silver, and bronze medal. Indian Women will take on Australian Women in the opening game of the tournament. There should not be a doubt about Cricket being a global sport, however, Women’s Cricket is yet to achieve such fame and recognition. Hence, to achieve such rank, Women’s Cricket should have been a part of a tournament like the Commonwealth Games long back, but as they say better late than never.

Here we have discussed five interesting facts about Cricket in Commonwealth Games.

5. Not the first time for Barbados in Commonwealth Games

You will find one team missing from the list of 8 nations that are taking part in the tournament which is the West Indies. We have already explained why Barbados and not West Indies are a part of this tournament. However, this is not the first time that Barbados are playing in the tournament. During the 1998 edition, Barbados along with Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda competed in the tournament. They all managed to win a few matches, however, failed to qualify for the next stage.

4. England missed the train to Commonwealth Games 1998

England are hosting the CWG 2022 and are one of the strong contenders to win a medal. However, in 1998, the English Cricket Board (ECB) didn’t send a team to compete in the tournament. This seems odd that a country like England, which literally invented this game, decided not to participate in such a big event. ECB’s reasoning behind this was that the tournament was clashing with other English domestic tournaments, especially the County Cricket. The Gold Medal Match for CWG 2022 was played on September 19 while the last phase of the County 1998 season was played during this time only.

3. Two Indian teams playing at the same time – been there done that

We were all really excited when the Indian team competed against England in the Test series last year and at the same time, another team played against Sri Lanka in limited-overs series. This has been repeated a couple of more times in the past few months. The same thing happened back in 1998 when two Indian teams played at the same time in different tournaments. In September 1998, the Indian team was scheduled to take part in the Sahara Cup against Pakistan. However, unlike ECB, BCCI decided to send a team for CWG under the leadership of Ajay Jadeja while another team for the Sahara Cup under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin.

2. Golden Period for South African Cricket Team

‘I tried so hard and got so far, But in the end, it doesn’t even matter…,’ this is not the lyrics of a song by Linkin Park, but South Africa’s story in almost all the ICC events. However, this was not the case in 1998 when South Africa proved themselves on the global stage not once but twice. South Africa defeated Australia in the final of CWG 1998 and won the Gold Medal. Shortly after this, they went on to clinch the Champions Trophy after defeating West Indies in the final. This has been the only ICC Trophy that the South African team have in their cabinet.

1. India could have won a medal in Cricket during Commonwealth Games 2010

In February 2005, when Australia and New Zealand played the first T20I match, no one thought that it was the start of a revolution in Cricket. T20 Cricket has been one of the most successful inventions in the past few years and the centre point of this is the Indian Premier League. The IPL has given birth to several other T20 Leagues across the world and has been a cash cow for the BCCI over the years.

In 2006, the Commonwealth Games Federation approached BCCI with a proposal to include Cricket in the Commonwealth Games 2010. However, the board was not fully convinced because they didn’t want to promote T20 cricket at that time. They were not sure whether T20 cricket would even survive and considered it nothing more than a gimmick.

“The BCCI does not want to play 20-20 cricket in the Commonwealth Games. We think that format should not be encouraged,” former BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan said as quoted by Commonwealth Australia. All this happened way before India won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and ultimately BCCI went on to establish IPL.

By the time CWG came, T20 Cricket had already become a powerhouse and BCCI might have regretted not giving a nod ahead. India had a chance to win a medal in CWG and win a World Cup all within a span of a couple of months.