Cricket could be part of 2014 Commonwealth Games

Twenty20 matches could be part of Glasgow's blueprint for the Commonwealth Games in 2014, say Cricket Scotland's chief executive Roddy Smith. While cricket has missed the cut of 17 sports announced today for the bid, the ICC are continuing to meet with the bid directors to see if a cricket event could be hosted.

The ICC has already asked the Test-playing nations if they would be interested but this suggestion is likely to be unpopular with teams already in danger of burnout from a congested fixture calendar. Only yesterday Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, said he wasn't pleased about the prospect of a sixth Ashes Test because of the packed schedules, while the Indian board ruled out playing in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi for the same reason.

Bids must consist of 17 sports, ten of which are compulsory, and seven of which are optional. Cricket would come in the optional category, but the ICC were not able to sanction this for Scotland in time for the bid deadline.

However, Smith believes this does not mean that cricket will be ruled out of the Games entirely. "To my knowledge, an 18th sport can be given special dispensation to be included in the Games," he told The Scotsman. "The fact that cricket is not in the 17 does not mean the Glasgow 2014 people do not want it to be part of the bid. Politics has simply got in the way."