Cricket Was Once an Olympic Sport

The 1900 Paris Olympics were a far cry from the modern spectacle we know today. Held as part of the massive Exposition Universelle, or World's Fair, events were spread over five months and so poorly organized that some athletes reportedly died without ever knowing they had competed in the Olympics. It was in this chaotic setting that cricket made its first and only appearance. The tournament was meant to include four nations, but when Belgium and the Netherlands withdrew, it was reduced to a single match between Great Britain and the host nation, France.

The contest itself was a peculiar affair. The British side was a touring club team, the Devon and Somerset Wanderers, while the "French" team was composed almost entirely of British expatriates living and working in Paris. The two-day, 12-a-side match concluded with a decisive victory for Great Britain. In a final odd twist fitting for the games, the winners were awarded silver medals and the losers bronze, with no gold medals being produced for the event. Due to its lengthy format and limited international appeal at the time, cricket was dropped and has not returned since, though a modern, shorter version of the game is scheduled for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.