Question

Which of the following games is not included in Olympics?
1. Skiing
2. Cycling
3. Cricket
4. Archery

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Cricket

The correct answer is Cricket.

• Cricket is not included in Olympics.
• Cricket was penciled in as an event in the very first modern Olympic Games at Athens in 1896, it was listed in the original program but was later shelved due to an insufficient number of entries.
• Four years later in the 1900 Paris Olympics, only four teams entered the fray — Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, and the hosts, France.
• Great Britain won the 12-a-side match contested over two days, cricket has never featured in the Olympic Games since.
• The game of cricket has 105 full members from across the world.
• However, only 10 of these members are full members with “Test status”.

• There are many reasons why cricket took so long to mobilize popular opinion.
  • For one, the English Cricket Board had an issue with the Summer Olympics clashing with its traditional cricketing calendar.
  • Development of local infrastructure in a new country with no history of the game is going to be a hard sell, no bums on seats for an alien sport is not appealing to broadcasters either.
  • As of now, the traditional cricketing nations have nothing to gain in terms of an Olympic medal as the game’s biggest and prestigious contests are to be had in Test matches and the ODI World Cups.
  • The Olympics should hence be pegged as a high-visibility showcase with a commitment for initiation into cricket.