LA 2028: Olympic T20 cricket set for early start as tournament structure agreed

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 India.

One 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 Pomona.

There 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 Time.

Those 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.”