Cricket at the Commonwealth Games
Cricket has been contested at the Commonwealth Games twice. A men's one-day tournament was held at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. The sport made a succesul comeback for the 2022 Commonwealth Games program, with a T20 tournament for women only.
2022 cricket tournament
A women's T20 cricket tournament was added to the program for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The tournament took place between eight teams at the Edgbaston cricket ground.
There were eight participating teams. One group comprised Australia, India, Pakistan and Barbados, while England, New Zealand, South Africa and the qualifier Sri Lanka make up the other group.
There was a qualifying tournament between Bangladesh, Kenya, Malaysia, Scotland and Sri Lanka to determine the final nation to be included. The West Indies team qualified, but as athletes from the Caribbean represent their individual countries at the Commonwealth Games, it was determined that Barbados would take the West Indies' spot in the event.
The top two sides in each group advanced to semi-finals, before the final and the bronze medal play-off.
In the first semi-final, England lost to India by four wins, in the other, New Zealand lost to Australia by five wickets. The final between India and Australia was a thrilling match, going down to the final over. Australia won gold, beating India by nine runs. New Zealand beat England in the bronze medal match.
1988 cricket tournament
The 1988 Commonwealth Games cricket tournament was held in the ODI format, 50 overs per side. The event was won by South Africa, defeating Australia in the final. New Zealand won the bronze medal. Sixteen teams participated in the 1988 tournament, including many non-test cricket nations such as Kenya, Scotland, Malaysia and Northern Ireland. However, England chose not to send a team due to the clash with County cricket.
Trivia
- Apart from the West Indies (whose members send separate national teams to the Commonwealth Games), the only Test playing nation that did not send a team in 1998 was England. England declined to send a team as the September date chosen clashed with other cricket fixtures.
- The only century in Commonwealth Games history was an unbeaten 100 scored by Australian Steve Waugh.
Related Pages
- About Cricket
- Cricket at the Olympics
- See the list of Commonwealth Games sports
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