Do you agree with Ponting?

Question

Ricky Ponting has said that Twenty20 cricket becoming a part of the Olympics is inevitable.

My question is: Does Cricket actually need to be an Olympic sport?

Here in Britain, we have been celebrating the medal haul won by our sailors, rowers, and cyclists. These are all sports that, although they have their own World Championships, the Olympics is the summit of their sporting ambitions.

Winning an Olympic Gold Medal would not be the ultimate aim of a cricketer. It would always be inferior to winning the World Cup, or the Ashes, or any of the big cricket trophies.

So, should cricket be an Olympic sport? ( and I am not asking if you would like to see it as one, I am asking if it should. You can like to see it as one, but not think it should be).

What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

Agree with Ponting.

Winning an Olympic Gold Medal would not be the ultimate aim of a cricketer, but could be for a 20-20 specialist.

It would always be inferior to winning the World Cup, or the Ashes, or any of the big cricket trophies? This is 20-20 cricket you are referring to !

Answer 2

Yes, but only if IPL is dropped

Answer 3

Ponting career is very short but he is dreaming big , hungry man .

Answer 4

i agree with pointing

besides football and hockey are in.

Also it creates more opportunities for young cricketers.

And give Honour to the cricket players to compete in the Olympics.

Answer 5

Yup I guess T20 could be a part of an Olympic Sport as it is not much time consuming but you can see great shots coming in from great cricketers...T20 is a bundle of talent and Olympics is mainly about bringing out talents in the sports field..Ponting was right when he said that T20 can be an olympic sport..T20 is the best form of cricket according to me b'coz hitting 200 and odd in 50 overs or 400 in 2 days is not a big thing but scoring 200 and odd runs in just 120 balls is a very great thing.So,yes T20 will surely be and should be a part of Olympics in the near future.

As for Ponting saying that IPL is just giving away money to the cricketers then I guess he's mistaken.IPL is an Indian tournment and it has brought out sooooo many talents not only for India but even for Australia like Marsh,Pomersbach...and I don't think IPL is all about playing for money.One cannot expect great cricketers to play only for money(Eg:-Warne,Gilchrist....)And I don't think Ponting should be saying that coz he himself has played for KKR..And moreover all the cricketers have said that playing for their nation will always be their first priority...We all have heard this from them!!

Answer 6

Yes cricket should become an Olympic sport.

Why?

So as people will stop asking these questions about it! lol :)

Answer 7

if cricket in olympic. it should great for cricket fan and players. to compete for gold and honor

Answer 8

If T20 goes to the cricket, i have a feeling T20 is going to take over. Money and power, always means it's going to take over. I don't want T20 cricket to take over, it's MY least favorite form of the game because i feel that it doesn't show the full extent of the skills of cricket, it's like a summary of skills used in cricket.

If we're going to sell cricket we need to do it properly, the T20 world cup was a dud. The IPL was a hit. What was the difference? Teams had big in form hitters in every team. If T20 goes to the Olypmpics its going to be a T20 like world cup. Which wasn't a hit, so i think we're just putting people off cricket. I for one as a fan of cricket found the T20 world cup boring. Imagine how many people who don't really watch cricket will actually tune in.

I'd love T20 to become and Olympic sport, but i feel it's going to bring more money to the game, and make T20 a highlighted form of the game .

Ponting: IPL throwing money at young players can kill off cricket as we know it. I don't think he should be saying that, he supported it as far as i know the minute he said yes to join a money rich team in India. In my opinion i think it's great because it allows youngsters to play with some of the greats and get a real feel of cricket, but it shouldn't be abused.

Answer 9

Cricket will become part of the Olympics no doubt about that. But im not sure what will happen to the West Indies. The IOC dosen't recognise the West Indies as a country so what will happen to them?

Answer 10

It amazes me that you have heard this already! Ponting said this at the Bradman centenary dinner held in Sydney last night. Yes I agree with him, & I also totally agree with his sentiment that IPL throwing money at young players can kill off cricket as we know it. Telling of his own beginnings when he was priviledged to meet Bradman at age 15, he said that young promising cricketers could be enticed away from traditional cricket by IPL throwing money at them, & they would never have the priviledge or joy of playing for their country. They would effectively be lost to cricket as we know it, for ever & this would gradually erode the great game of cricket till it was no more.

Answer 11

I think Ponting is right when he says that 20/20 becoming part of the Olympics is inevitable. There seems to be an over clamouring and over exuberance to get the 20/20 format into all areas of the public consciousness and into all areas of the cricketing schedule, so to see it as part of the Olympic agenda in the future should probably be expected as an inevitability. There's so much money being thrown at the format that it's having a detrimental effect on the younger players who only want to play 20/20 for the plaudits and related wealth. So as English Attorney has already said, the 20/20 specialist could see winning a medal as the ultimate aim (after all one of the highest levels of attainment in amateur baseball is an Olympic medal so why should it be any different for 20/20 cricket). Whereas the more seasoned cricketer will prefer not to think of the Olympics as the be all and end all of sporting greatness.

Should it be a part of the Olympics? Hmm, well my take on it is that yes it should. Practically every other sport is represented in the modern Olympics (baring a select few) and they have so many ludicrous sports there (what the feck is rhythmic gymnastics and what is the relevance of synchronised swimming, for example) so I think they can find a place for cricket somewhere. And cricket has been a part of it before so I think it can be again. Not to mention that it would lead to even more countries playing the game which I think is a good thing. However I'm not sure the 20/20 format should be an Olympic sport. Yes it's the quickest format and yes it’s convenient for the time-frame of the 2 weeks of the Olympics but globalizing one format of the game (and it will be a fully worldwide sport if it's an Olympic one) will lead to even more one-format-wonders and will lead to a further downturn in the uptake of people wanting to play the other versions of the game because they won't see any 'glory' in it.

Does it actually NEED to be an Olympic sport? Probably not, there are a sufficient amount of tournaments already with enough of an incentive to get people wanting to play and be a part of. Not to mention that cricket does well enough on its own without being part of the Olympics. And who would swap winning the Ashes for winning an Olympic gold medal? (other than 20/20 specialists).

Not sure if that fully answers your question, it's surprisingly hard to think and type with the pain of 2 broken fingers (fell awkwardly trying to avoid my brothers bowling).

P.S - does anyone else think the lauding of our Olympic 'heroes' just a tad ridiculous? I'm all for celebrating the achievements of people when they do well but everyone seems to be looking at the Olympics as an end result, as a 'job done' kind of thing, when it should be seen as the beginning of the journey or as a continuation of excellence. All these open topped bus parades are way over the top.

Answer 12

I personally believe Cricket would benifit if it were to enter the Olympics, i mean why not? it will spread the game, more money will come into the game, also the fact that 20/20 is a exciting format of Cricket though not a proper test of a Crickter but nevertheless a chance for people from all around the World who might have never watched a game of Cricket to learn about the game.

For me i agree with Ponting.