The sound of leather against willow will be heard for the first time at an Asian Games next year after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced that cricket had been added to the program yesterday.
Earlier this week, the OCA general assembly gathered in Kuwait and approved a proposal to include cricket as a discipline at the 16th edition of the multi-sports event in Guangzhou, China.
Both men’s and women’s teams will participate in a Twenty20 format contest, with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh automatically qualifying, along with host nation China.
Other countries will have to play a qualifying round to fight for three additional spots.
“India and Pakistan were the drivers. Pakistan and India will come with their best teams because it will be a big competition,” said OCA president Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah after the organization’s general assembly.
“Asia’s four Test-playing nations have committed to sending their best available teams,” al-Sabah said.
The 2010 Asian Games will take place from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27 in the southern Chinese city.
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are all scheduled to play Test and one-day series that month, but the OCA said once a schedule for Guangzhou was in place “truly the best players for that format will be available.”
Cricket was last seen at a major multi-sport event at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, but was dropped for the next two editions in England and Australia.
Its only appearance at the Olympics was in Paris in 1900, where in a two-day match Great Britain — represented by touring team Devon and Somerset Wanderers — beat France, whose team mainly consisted of members of the British Embassy.
The Guangzhou Games will feature 42 disciplines, three more than at the last event in Doha, with dance sport, dragon boat racing and roller sport added to the agenda. The Olympics have 28 disciplines.
More than 14,000 athletes from 45 countries are expected to take part.
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