Cricket dropped from 2006 Asian Games

Cricket has been dropped from the list of games being played in next year's Asian Games competition, to be held in Qatar. The Olympic Council of Asia came to this decision after determining that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would be busy at the time and therefore would not be able to field full-strength teams in the competition.

The Olympic Council of Asia decided that it would be inappropriate for countries to field second-string or age-group teams in the competition. "We are firmly of the view that only top teams should take part in the Asian Games," Randhir Singh, a council representative, told the BBC website. "We have decided to drop the sport altogether."

Cricket, administered by the International Cricket Council, has traditionally never been overly keen to take part in events of this kind. Notable exceptions are the Commonwealth Games in 1998, in which South Africa won the cricket gold, and the Olympics in 1900, where Great Britain beat France for the gold medal in cricket.