It is amazing to know that there was a plan to include cricket in the first Athens Olympics in 1896, but then cricket could not become a part of it at the last moment. However, four years later the sport made its Olympic debut.

In 1900 Great Britain, France, Netherlands and Belgium made up their minds to participate in the sport, but the Netherlands and Belgium did not compete in the sport due to lack of Olympic hosting.

After which the final match between Great Britain and France was played at the Cycling Stadium Velodrome de Vincennes. It was organized in the same format, which is currently called a test match, among European giants. Both the countries played two innings which lasted two days. At present, Test matches are generally of five days (some Tests are also played for four days). After the consent of both captains in that match, 12 players from each team batted.

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Two half-centuries and two five-wicket halls were also seen in the only cricket match played in the Olympics.

Only 366 runs were scored in four innings, but this low-scoring Test match played in the 1900 Olympic Games has a different significance in the history of cricket. The two-day Test match between Great Britain and France is the only cricket match in Olympic history.

It was a cricket in which not only 22 but 24 players took part, and there was no cricketer from both the countries who represented their country internationally. While England made their Test debut in 1877, they played their first match against Australia.

The interesting thing is that this Paris Test match played in 1900 was the only Test cricket played between the two countries of that year. However, this match does not have the status of first class cricket as it had more than 11 players in a team and the duration of the test match was kept for only two days.

Olympic test match was a very low score

No national players from both countries attended the match, Great Britain was represented by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers Club, while in front of them was the French Athletic Club Union in which British immigrants were present.

Just five minutes before the end of the second day's play, Great Britain defeated France by 158 runs. By combining both innings, France could add only 104 runs.

The surprising thing is that the winner Great Britain got the silver medal while France got the bronze medal. At the same time, both teams were given miniature of the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

These medals were later changed to gold and silver respectively, and this competition was officially stamped in the 1912 Olympic event.

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Great Britain captain Charles Bayscroft and Alfred Bowerman were the only two players to score a half-century in the match, both scoring half-centuries in the second innings for Great Britain. In bowling, Frederick Christian took 7 wickets in the first innings for Great Britain, while in the second innings, 7 wickets (7/9) of Montagu Toller knocked out the French team. Was.

Score: Great Britain (declared 117 and 145/5 innings) beat France (78 and 26) by 158 runs

Cricket in Commonwealth and Asian Games

Cricket was also included in the St. Louis Olympics held in 1904, but was dropped due to lack of competitive nations in the final moments.

So cricket could be included in the Olympics only once, but cricket has got three times in big competitions where many sports are involved. These competitions were: 1998 Commonwealth Games, 2010 Asian Games and 2014 Asian Games.

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Cricket was involved in a multisports event for the first time after the 1900 Olympics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. While the West Indies team was divided into several countries, Northern Ireland also joined the competition as a separate country.

Many big and big names of cricket took part in this tournament including Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Mahela Jayawardene, Curtly Ambrose, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist.

The gold medal of cricket at the 1998 Commonwealth Games was named after South Africa, whose captain was Shaun Pollock. In the final match, Australia batted first and scored 183 runs which was easily achieved by South Africa. While in the bronze medal, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka to win the medal.

In a post-win interview to the International Cricket Council (ICC) official website, Sean Pollock said, "Standing on the podium, accepting medals and then singing the national anthem was an experience I will never forget." ''

Cricket has also made its presence felt in the Asian Games and that too twice, in which Asian countries participated strongly in both male and female events. Cricket was included in the 2010 Asian Games for the first time and then the second and last time there was a conflict between the ball and bat in the 2014 Asian Games. The Pakistani women's cricket team was successful both times and won the gold medal in both editions, while the Bangladeshi women's team was the silver medal winner on both occasions. The women's team of Japan and Sri Lanka won bronze medals once.

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While Bangladesh had a better record in men's cricket, Bangladesh won the gold medal in 2010 and bronze in 2014. Sri Lanka was a gold medalist at the 2014 Asian Games, while both the silver medalists were from Afghanistan, and once Pakistan won the bronze medal.

Once again cricket is being included in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but this time there will be competition only among the women's cricket team. However, negotiations are still on to include the men's cricket team as well.

Apart from this, if cricket is included in the Olympics once again, it will be a dream come true for cricket fans.

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