Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Is cricket an Olympic sport?
Cricket has been a sport at the modern Summer Olympic Games. The only time it has been played was at the 1900 Summer Olympics with only a men's contest when Great Britain won the gold medal, but the possibility of it being contested at the Olympics again has recently resurfaced.
The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum in the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This hall of fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time, as the "selection philosophy for the hall of fame focuses on the players' status as sporting legends in addition to their outstanding statistical records." Inductees must be retired from international cricket for at least five years. The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame was an idea conceived by the Melbourne Cricket Club to honour Australia's legendary cricketers. It was opened on 6 December 1996 by the then Prime Minister, John Howard.
India is home to a diverse population playing many different kinds of sports across the country. Cricket is the most popular sport in India. Field hockey is the most successful sport for India at Olympics in which India has won eight Olympic gold medals. Kabaddi is the most popular indigenous sport in the country. Other popular sports in India are badminton, football, basketball, chess, shooting, wrestling, boxing, tennis, squash, weightlifting, gymnastics, athletics and table tennis. Some indigenous sports are also popular in India such as Kho-kho, Kabaddi, Fighter kite, Polo and Gillidanda among others. There are some popular sports which have originated in India such as Chess, Snooker and Kabbadi. India has won Olympic medals in Badminton, Wrestling, Shooting, Weightlifting, Boxing and Tennis. India has also won World Cups in Cricket, Field Hockey and Kabbadi.
Sport in New Zealand largely reflects its British colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, football (soccer), basketball and netball which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand is a small nation but has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union (considered the national sport), rugby league, cricket (considered the national summer sport), America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events and motorsport and softball.
USA Cricket is an organization in development that seeks to unify the United States based cricket community and become the sole U.S. governing body for the sport of cricket recognized by both the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Through a diverse Board of Directors, that will be elected by April 2018 and have representation from most cricket stakeholder groups, USA Cricket will lead the sport to new heights by creating and administering value added programs to grow and develop the sport at all levels.
The Belize National Cricket Association is the national governing body of cricket in Belize, established in 1997. The current president is Elston Wade. The Association is fully recognized by the Government of Belize and the Belize Olympic Association. It is a member of the Belize National Sports Council, which regulates sports on behalf of the Government of Belize. In 1997, the Association became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Association and continues to be an active member of this august body.
Seven team sports are currently on the program of the Summer Olympics. Cricket's inclusion in the 2024 Summer Olympics depends on the decision of the International Cricket Council and its members. A cricket tournament formed part of the Summer Olympics in 1900, although only one match was played, between teams representing Great Britain and France. However, the British team was effectively a club touring side and the French players were drawn partly from expatriates living in Paris.
The first international cricket match was played between Canada and the United States, on 24 and 25 September 1844. However, the first credited Test match was played in 1877 between Australia and England, and the two teams competed regularly for The Ashes in subsequent years. South Africa was admitted to Test status in 1889. Representative cricket teams were selected to tour each other, resulting in bilateral competition. Cricket was also included as an Olympic sport at the 1900 Paris Games, where Great Britain defeated France to win the gold medal. This was the only appearance of cricket at the Summer Olympics.
Men's water polo at the Olympics was the first team sport introduced at the 1900 games, along with cricket, rugby, football, polo (with horses), rowing and tug of war. Women's water polo became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after political protests from the Australian women's team.
The Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Botswana. Its headquarters is in Gaborone, Botswana. It is affiliated with Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) and the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC). Established in 1979, the BCA has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2002, and was also a founding member of the Africa Cricket Association.
Cricket in the United States is not a popular sport, but has a niche market with limited inroads, mainly in immigrant communities. The United States of America Cricket Association governs cricket in the United States. 
Historically, cricket used to be the most popular sport in America during the 18th and early 19th centuries, but declined as baseball overtook cricket. The first intercollegiate tournament in America was the first annual Canada vs. U.S. cricket match, played since 1844, when it was attended by 10,000 spectators in New York., and the annual match is the oldest international sporting event in the modern world.
The United States national cricket team plays in World Cricket League Division IV, the ICC Americas Championship and qualified for ICC Intercontinental Cup.
Curling is popular in northern states, possibly because of climate, proximity to Canada, or Scandinavian heritage. The national popularity of curling is growing after significant media coverage of the sport in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
USA Cricket is an organization in development that seeks to unify the United States-based cricket community and become the sole U.S. governing body for the sport of cricket recognized by both the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Through a diverse Board of Directors, that will be elected by April 2018 and have representation from most cricket stakeholder groups, USA Cricket hopes to lead the sport to new heights by creating and administering value added programs to grow and develop the sport at all levels.
According to old stories found in the national archives that mention of a cricket match in 1478 in Liettres near Saint Omer, so typically British sport was born in France. Olympic Games in Paris in 1900 are the only edition of Olympic games when cricket was played. France were the hosts and lost to England in the final."
The first cricket Test match was played in 1877 between Australia and England. Cricket was contested at the 1900 Summer Olympics where Great Britain defeated France by 158 runs. However, the International Olympic Committee cancelled cricket as an Olympic sport afterwards.
Uxbridge has a Non-League football team, Uxbridge F.C., which plays at Honeycroft, West Drayton.
Uxbridge Cricket Club is also based in Uxbridge and is a member of the Middlesex County Cricket League, a designated ECB Premier League.
Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex has recently been refurbished and contains an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, an athletic track and large sports complex. The South Korean Olympic Team used the centre for training during the 2012 Olympic Games.
The new sports complex would have an astro turf, synthetic track, olympic-size swimming pool, cricket field, hostels and other required facilities. After an ultra-modern sports complex in Greater Noida Cricket Stadium and a spots complex in Meerut and one at Saifai in Etawah, this is the fourth such sports facilities in Uttar Pradesh.
Some of the major sporting events he has covered include:
1990 World Rowing Championships Tasmania, 1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, 1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, 1994 Cricket tour of Pakistan, 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, 1998 Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, 1999 Cricket tour of Zimbabwe, 2000 Olympic Games Sydney, 2000 Paralympic Games Sydney, 2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, 2004 Olympic Games Greece.
Neither of the teams realised that they had competed in the Olympic Games, the match having been advertised as part of the world's fair. Although the IOC has never decided which events were "Olympic" and which were not, the medals won by the teams were later upgraded to gold for Great Britain and silver for France. The scheduled cricket competition at the 1904 Summer Olympics, held in St. Louis, was cancelled at short notice due to a lack of facilities, and the sport has not been included in the Olympic Games since.
In March 2017, the Olympic Council of Asia initially announced that the Games would feature 484 events in 42 sports, including the 28 permanent Olympic sports contested at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the five additional sports that will be contested at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as well as events in other non-Olympic sports. In April 2017, the OCA approved reductions in the programme in response to cost concerns; belt wrestling, cricket, kurash, skateboarding, sambo, and surfing were dropped from the programme, and there was to be a reduced number of competitions in bridge, jet ski, jujitsu, paragliding, sport climbing, taekwondo (in particular, all non-Olympic weight classes), and wushu. These changes reduced the total number of events to 431.
While archery is the national sport of Bhutan and the only sport in which it participates in the Olympics, other popular sports in the country are tug of war, basketball, football and cricket. Adventure sports such as trekking, rafting, mountain biking and rock climbing are also popular.
The National Sports Museum is a museum dedicated to Australian sport and is located within the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. There are exhibits for sports such as cricket, Australian rules football, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, tennis, rugby league, rugby union, soccer, basketball, boxing and netball. The Australian Sports Hall of Fame is also located within the museum along with the Australian Racing Museum and the Melbourne Cricket Club museum.
At the start of the 21st century sports are very popular. The IOC's Modern Olympic Games was the most viewed sporting event. Association football is the most popular sport worldwide with the FIFA World Cup the most viewed football event. Other sports such as rugby, cricket, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, tennis, and golf were popular globally. In cricket the emergence of the Twenty20 format as well as the creation of the Indian Premier League led to changes in the nature of the sport. American swimmer Michael Phelps won an Olympic record setting 8 Gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The Pakistan Sports Board is a government institution whereas the Pakistan Olympic Association is working under the shelter of the International Olympic Committee. Due to government interference, the Pakistan Olympic Association is very close to getting a ban from participation in Olympic Games. Due to cold war, Pakistani sport is also suffering but, there is no hope to resolve this problem due to government level dictatorship.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Almost all districts and neighborhoods in Pakistan have a cricket team and people start playing from a young age. Pakistan has won international cricket events, which include the 1992 Cricket World Cup, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy besides finishing as runner-up in the 1999 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. Pakistan's cricket teams take part in domestic competitions such as the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the Patron's Trophy, ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, and the ABN-AMRO Champions Trophy. International Test and one-day matches are played between the Pakistan national cricket team and foreign opponents regularly. Women's cricket is also very popular, with Kiran Baluch holding the current record of the highest score in a women's test match with her innings of 242. The Pakistan Cricket Board controls both the men's and women's games.
Cricket is very well organised and established within London, is the second most popular sport after football. Essex County Cricket Club has formerly used venues throughout London including Ilford, Leyton Cricket Ground, Romford and Billericay. Essex Eagles are in discussions to play Twenty20 matches at Olympic Stadium. Kent County Cricket Club also regularly play at Beckenham.
Cricket is a developing sport in France. Some reports claim that cricket was invented in France, however, the sport is relatively unknown due to inadequate media coverage. In fact, the 1900 Olympic games, the only one where cricket was played, featured bitter rivals England and France taking on each other. A rematch of the two teams took place just before the 2012 Olympics.