Latest news with #KitMcConnell
Perth Now
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Breakfast-time cricket at the Olympics, for the players
Australian sports fans are used to inconvenient scheduling when it come to following their teams overseas and the cricket events at the Los Angeles Olympics will be no different. The players, however, will find the timing unusual as the organisers' desire to cater to the huge Indian market means half the fixtures will begin at 9am local time. The others will start at 1830 Pacific Daylight Time time, under floodlights, meaning matches staged at 2130 and 0700 India Standard Time. That's 0200 and 1130 AEST, which with both the men's and women's finals scheduled for Thursdays (Fridays in Australia) could lead to a few sickies'. It is hoped the dry air in southern California means neither morning nor evening dew will be a decisive factor, as the latter was in UAE in the 2021 T20 World Cup, when whoever won the toss won the match. Fixtures will be played at Pomona, 35 miles east of the main Olympic venues, at a new site which will become the home of Major League Cricket (and IPL) franchise Knight Riders. Kit McConnell, the International Olympic Commission's sports director, told BBC Sport organisers considered "core cricket markets in the subcontinent" when planning the tournament. Cricket's return to the Games after a 128-year absence has been driven by the IOC's desire to tap into Indian audiences and cricket's push for expansion. Six teams will participate in each of the men's and women's events with the qualification process still to be decided. The International Cricket Council is due to discuss the issue at their AGM in Singapore, starting 17 July. The BBC reported the teams will be split into two groups with each team playing each other once. Teams will then play the two sides from the other group who were not ranked in the corresponding position. For example, the winners of Group A will play the second and third-placed teams in Group B. Results will be combined with the top two playing a final to decide the gold and silver medals and third and fourth competing for bronze. The event will start on July 12, two days before the opening ceremony, with the finals on 20 and 29 July (21 and 30 July in Australia). The women's and men's tournaments are set to run in separate slots rather than being played concurrently. Great Britain won gold the only time cricket was at the Olympics, at Paris 1900, beating France in the sole match. UK cricket authorities are negotiating over creating a combined team for LA 2028 to defend their title.
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Olympic cricket at LA 2028 set for 9am start times
LA 2028 organisers have slated matches at the Olympic cricket tournament to start at 09:00 in the morning to cater for lucrative television audiences in of the major factors behind cricket's return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus is the desire of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to tap into a lucrative South Asian media rights and sponsorship market. The six-team T20 tournament, featuring both men's and women's teams, will begin on Wednesday, 12 July - two days before the opening ceremony - with all matches staged at a venue which will be constructed at the Fairgrounds in will be two games played daily at Pomona - located 30 miles from the athletes' village in Los Angeles - starting at 09:00 and 18:30 Pacific Daylight matches will be shown at 21:30 and 07:00 India Standard Time (17:00 and 02:30 British Summer Time).The evening fixtures at the ground in Pomona will be played under floodlights. Kit McConnell, who oversaw cricket's return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus as the IOC's sports director, told BBC Sport organisers considered "core cricket markets in the subcontinent" when planning the tournament. "The vision the International Cricket Council (ICC) has outlined for us is aimed at providing the best players and the best teams on the Olympic stage," McConnell said."There's three years to go but now we're very excited about where cricket is, what it will bring to the Games and equally what the Olympics can offer to cricket and its global expansion as well." 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 six participating teams will be divided into two groups of three with each team playing each other will then play two sides from the other pool, apart from those who were ranked in the same corresponding example, the winners of Group A will play the second and third-placed teams in Group B and 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 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 ICC is set to discuss how teams will qualify for LA 2028 at their Annual General Meeting in Singapore, starting on 17 members want T20 rankings to determine which teams go to Los Angeles but others have expressed a preference for qualifying 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 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 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 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."
North Wales Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
IOC hoping for ‘clarity' over Great Britain team as cricket eyes Olympic return
The sport is due to return to the Games for the first time since a solitary appearance in 1900 and it was confirmed last month that both men and women would compete in two six-team T20 tournaments. The qualification process has yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council, with world rankings the simplest and bluntest tool available given the lack of space in the calendar. England are currently ranked second in women's T20s and third in men's but any representative team in LA would have to be part of Team GB. Talks have been ongoing between counterparts at the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Scotland and the PA news agency understands some form of combined selection process is favoured. Things are different for the West Indies, who have expressed a willingness to host an inter-island competition should the region win a spot. The IOC hopes to have a formal qualification structure agreed within months and wants certainty over these matters first. 'We'd like clarity about how the places would be used in those two cases, Team GB and the West Indies,' IOC sports director Kit McConnell told PA. 'Every team has to represent the National Olympic Committee of their territory. There's different ways of doing that, sometimes it's a nominated country that chases the qualifying place and competes, other times it's an aggregate of players from different territories. 'We'd like to have clarity around that and be clear in the qualification system so everyone goes in with eyes wide open about how the process works, how qualification is achieved and used. We've given them some examples across other sports of how that works so they are not starting a base of zero. 'But it's all a normal part of working things through with sports coming in for the first time or for the first time in a long time.' It has been confirmed that cricket will be held at a pop-up stadium in Pomona, around an hour from the athletes' village in LA, with the idea of outsourcing the games to New York shelved. That would have provided a friendlier time zone for fans in the sub-continent but organisers are keen to embrace cricket at the heart of the wider Olympic experience. 📍The Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California Where cricket will make its return to the Olympic stage! Read more: — ICC (@ICC) April 15, 2025 'We only get one chance at a first impression with cricket coming back to the Games,' said McConnell. 'We want the athlete experience in LA to be something special. It was an important consideration that we want these cricketers to really feel part of the Games, not only representing their country but feeling like Olympians. 'We want them to have the opportunity to go to other events, support team-mates across other sports, attend the opening ceremony. We want them to have a true Olympic experience. 'We want to maximise the connection between the Olympic Games and the cricket community. That doesn't start with the first ball of match one, it's a three-year runway to LA.'
Rhyl Journal
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
IOC calls for ‘clarity' over Great Britain's cricket team at Los Angeles 2028
The sport is due to return to the Games for the first time since a solitary appearance in 1900 and it was confirmed last month that both men and women would compete in two six-team T20 tournaments. The qualification process has yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council, with world rankings the simplest and bluntest tool available given the lack of space in the calendar. England are currently ranked second in women's T20s and third in men's but any representative team in LA would have to be part of Team GB. Talks have been ongoing between counterparts at the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Scotland and the PA news agency understands some form of combined selection process is favoured. Things are different for the West Indies, who have expressed a willingness to host an inter-island competition should the region win a spot. The IOC hopes to have a formal qualification structure agreed within months and wants certainty over these matters first. 'We'd like clarity about how the places would be used in those two cases, Team GB and the West Indies,' IOC sports director Kit McConnell told PA. 'Every team has to represent the National Olympic Committee of their territory. There's different ways of doing that, sometimes it's a nominated country that chases the qualifying place and competes, other times it's an aggregate of players from different territories. 'We'd like to have clarity around that and be clear in the qualification system so everyone goes in with eyes wide open about how the process works, how qualification is achieved and used. We've given them some examples across other sports of how that works so they are not starting a base of zero. 'But it's all a normal part of working things through with sports coming in for the first time or for the first time in a long time.' It has been confirmed that cricket will be held at a pop-up stadium in Pomona, around an hour from the athletes' village in LA, with the idea of outsourcing the games to New York shelved. That would have provided a friendlier time zone for fans in the sub-continent but organisers are keen to embrace cricket at the heart of the wider Olympic experience. 📍The Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California Where cricket will make its return to the Olympic stage! Read more: — ICC (@ICC) April 15, 2025 'We only get one chance at a first impression with cricket coming back to the Games,' said McConnell. 'We want the athlete experience in LA to be something special. It was an important consideration that we want these cricketers to really feel part of the Games, not only representing their country but feeling like Olympians. 'We want them to have the opportunity to go to other events, support team-mates across other sports, attend the opening ceremony. We want them to have a true Olympic experience. 'We want to maximise the connection between the Olympic Games and the cricket community. That doesn't start with the first ball of match one, it's a three-year runway to LA.'
Leader Live
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
IOC hoping for ‘clarity' over Great Britain team as cricket eyes Olympic return
The sport is due to return to the Games for the first time since a solitary appearance in 1900 and it was confirmed last month that both men and women would compete in two six-team T20 tournaments. The qualification process has yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council, with world rankings the simplest and bluntest tool available given the lack of space in the calendar. England are currently ranked second in women's T20s and third in men's but any representative team in LA would have to be part of Team GB. Talks have been ongoing between counterparts at the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Scotland and the PA news agency understands some form of combined selection process is favoured. Things are different for the West Indies, who have expressed a willingness to host an inter-island competition should the region win a spot. The IOC hopes to have a formal qualification structure agreed within months and wants certainty over these matters first. 'We'd like clarity about how the places would be used in those two cases, Team GB and the West Indies,' IOC sports director Kit McConnell told PA. 'Every team has to represent the National Olympic Committee of their territory. There's different ways of doing that, sometimes it's a nominated country that chases the qualifying place and competes, other times it's an aggregate of players from different territories. 'We'd like to have clarity around that and be clear in the qualification system so everyone goes in with eyes wide open about how the process works, how qualification is achieved and used. We've given them some examples across other sports of how that works so they are not starting a base of zero. 'But it's all a normal part of working things through with sports coming in for the first time or for the first time in a long time.' It has been confirmed that cricket will be held at a pop-up stadium in Pomona, around an hour from the athletes' village in LA, with the idea of outsourcing the games to New York shelved. That would have provided a friendlier time zone for fans in the sub-continent but organisers are keen to embrace cricket at the heart of the wider Olympic experience. 📍The Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California Where cricket will make its return to the Olympic stage! Read more: — ICC (@ICC) April 15, 2025 'We only get one chance at a first impression with cricket coming back to the Games,' said McConnell. 'We want the athlete experience in LA to be something special. It was an important consideration that we want these cricketers to really feel part of the Games, not only representing their country but feeling like Olympians. 'We want them to have the opportunity to go to other events, support team-mates across other sports, attend the opening ceremony. We want them to have a true Olympic experience. 'We want to maximise the connection between the Olympic Games and the cricket community. That doesn't start with the first ball of match one, it's a three-year runway to LA.'
