Olympic cricket at LA 2028 set for 9am start times
How will the Olympic cricket tournament work?
BBC Sport understands the competition structure for cricket at the Olympics has now been agreed following meetings between the ICC, IOC and LA 2028 organisers.The six participating teams will be divided into two groups of three with each team playing each other once.Teams will then play two sides from the other pool, apart from those who were ranked in the same corresponding position.For example, the winners of Group A will play the second and third-placed teams in Group B and vice-versa.Results from all four matches will then be used to determine final rankings with the top two sides playing in a final to decide the gold and silver medals. The teams who finish third and fourth will play off for bronze.Medal matches will be played on 20 and 29 July with the women's and men's tournament set to run in separate slots rather than being played concurrently.The ICC is set to discuss how teams will qualify for LA 2028 at their Annual General Meeting in Singapore, starting on 17 July.Some members want T20 rankings to determine which teams go to Los Angeles but others have expressed a preference for qualifying tournaments.The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have held talks to form a new entity called GB Cricket to oversee a team for LA.
No repeat of New York pitch issues
The IOC have given assurances there will not be a repeat of the pitch controversy which blighted showpiece games at last year's T20 World Cup in New York, which the USA co-hosted.The 34,000-seat temporary stadium in Eisenhower Park looked impressive, but the drop-in pitches used for matches during the initial group stage, including the high-profile fixture between India and Pakistan, were subject to criticism.Unlike the venue in New York, which returned to use as a public park, the ground in Pomona is set to remain a cricket facility for permanent usage by Indian Premier League and Major League Cricket franchise owners Knight Riders.As reported by The Cricketer,, external the IOC and ICC are in negotiations with the Knight Riders over installing a square as opposed to using drop-in surfaces."We're very conscious about the importance of the field of play and in the case of cricket, the pitch," McConnell added."Now that we have finalised the venue, we can move forward with all of those plannings in a more concrete sense."I don't think it's only the T20 World Cup. I think every cricket match has commentary about the pitch and what type of play it suits."
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