Twenty20 likely to be IOC's preferred format should cricket bid for Olympic inclusion, ICC official claims

ICC chief executive Dave Richardson says the IOC will not want a "Mickey Mouse" format of the sport at the Olympics ©Getty Images

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richardson had admitted it will be difficult to get the sport on the Olympic programme and warned the International Olympic Committee (IOC) they would not want a “Mickey Mouse” version of cricket at the Games.

Richardson’s comments follow the ICC holding talks with the IOC, including President Thomas Bach, to explore the possibility of cricket making a return to the Olympics for the first time since 1900, which were described as “productive”.

A number of different formats of the game have been mooted as the preferred option in recent weeks, including indoor cricket as it can be modified and adapted to make it easier to put on in countries where there is no cricket infrastructure or grass pitches.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, the latest to speak out in favour of the sport’s potential bid earlier this month, also suggested beach cricket should not be ruled out.

Richardson, however, has seemingly put paid to any other format being put forward other than Twenty20, which has enjoyed a vast growth in popularity since it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003.

“We met the IOC President and we have really explored the possibilities, at least we are talking, and we are open to the opportunity if it's worthwhile to include cricket in Olympics,” he told the BBC.

“If the ICC is committed then we have to overcome the hurdle of the IOC accepting cricket because there are a lot of other sports that want inclusion in the 2024 Olympics.

“But it's not as simple as that and there are lot of issues that you need to consider and the Olympics might not want cricket, they don't want second-rate teams and they don't want Micky Mouse format, they want our major format, the Twenty20.”

Image title — Australia's Shane Warne and India's Sachin Tendulkar have both called for cricket to be included at the Olympics ©Getty Images

The ICC will now look to clear the potential obstacles to cricket’s inclusion before they make a decision as to whether to put their sport forward, potentially early as the Olympics in 2024, where the bidders are Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome.

It last featured at the Games in Paris in 1900, where a single match between a British team and hosts France decided the destination of the gold medal.

Cricket has been a part of the last two Asian Games and Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg recently revealed the organisation had held “exploratory discussions” with a view to the sport being included at the 2022 edition of its flagship event in Durban.

Momentum has been gathering for the sport to feature at the Olympics since Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) World Cricket Committee called for the inclusion of the Twenty20 format in July.

Australia’s Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar of India, who each captained a team at the Cricket All Stars event aimed at spreading the game to parts of the United States and featured some of the sport’s all-time greats, have both thrown their support behind any bid.

Cricket, however, was one of just seven out of 33 eligible sports not to apply for inclusion at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.