Olympics: Cricket to be played at 2024 Olympic Games if Rome wins bidding contest to host
Italians promise cricket will return to Games for first time since 1900
CRICKET will make a sensational return to the Olympic Games after an absence of more than 100 years if Rome wins the bidding war to host the 2024 Games.
The Italian capital is one of four cities hoping to host the Games, along with Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest.
And they want to bring back Olympic cricket - which was last played in 1900 when Great Britain beat hosts France to claim gold.
New Olympic rules allow the host city to introduce five new sports of their choosing to that year's Games.
And Italy's cricket board has convinced the city's organising committee to include the sport as one of its five additional activities.
France Cricket is also trying to win a similar commitment with the Paris bid team.
Simone Gambino, president of the Federazione Cricket Italiana told : "If Rome hosts the Olympics, cricket will be included.
"We have had a firm commitment from the organising committee."
Insiders say there would probably be 16 teams competing, from all four corners of the globe, although it could be cut to 12.
Olympic rules could mean an usual assortment of teams - and England could miss out as they are part of the UK under Games criteria.
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It is unclear if the competition would involve T20 or a 50-over games.
A spokesman for the Rome 2024 organising committee told ESPNcricinfo: "Roma 2024 would welcome new sports, such as cricket, in the Olympic program also in consideration of the increasing number of people that are actively playing it in Italy.
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Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee gave host city the power to suggest sports for admission to the Games.
The 2020 Olympics, to be held in Tokyo, recently nominated karate, skateboarding, sports climbing, surfing and baseball/softball for inclusion.
The next Games would not necessarily have to include the same five sports which had been selected by the previous host city.
Cricket has not been played at the Olympics since the Paris Games of 1900, when Devon and Somerset Wanderers represented Great Britain and beat France by 158 runs to win gold. No other countries entered.
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