Melbourne: Australia women team captain Meg Lanning is hoping the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham will provide a platform for cricket to eventually be played at the Olympics.
The Women's T20 Cricket will emulate history at Birmingham 2022 as the first T20 International played by women, and this will be the first time both the T20 format and the women’s game feature at CWG, starting from July 28.
"Cricket in the Olympics would be amazing. Especially for the game as well, to reach a new audience," Lanning told BBC Sport.
"It would allow different people to see that game would really help the growth of it in other countries around the world, and particularly for women.
"I am not really sure what it takes to get it into the Olympics, but from the perspective of players, it would be amazing," Lanning added.
The next summer Olympics are scheduled to be held in Paris in 2024, before the Games move to Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in Lanning's home nation in 2032. The 30-year-old remained realistic and expects it to happen after she has retired from the game.
"I'm not really sure what it takes to get it into the Olympics, but from the perspective of players, it would be amazing. It's something I'd love to do but I think if it was going to happen, it will probably be once I've finished up playing," she said.
Cricket has been played once before, with a men’s 50-over competition held at Kuala Lumpur 1998. South Africa won Gold on that occasion and Australia got silver medal. (UNI)