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Australian women’s team captain Meg Lanning has expressed how she wants to see the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics. She pointed out how being in the Olympics will help cricket get larger notoriety and act as a catalyst for the growth of the sport in various countries, especially in the women’s discipline.
“Cricket in the Olympics would be amazing. Especially for the game as well, to reach a new audience,” Meg Lanning added. “It would allow different people to see that game would really help the growth of it in other countries around the world, and particularly for women.
Meg Lanning then continued talking about how the players would enjoy being part of an event like the Olympics but has also accepted the fact that cricket’s inclusion in the quadrennial event would be probably done after her retirement.
“I'm not really sure what it takes to get it into the Olympics, but from the perspective of players, it would be amazing. It's something I'd love to do but I think if it was going to happen, it will probably be once I've finished up playing,” she added.
In the same interview with the BBC, Lanning talked about how she is excited about the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. "This is not something we are not necessarily used to," said Meg Lanning.
“We won't get that at the World Cup, so we are going to try and embrace that as much as possible, and be part of Team Australia as much as possible. I've grown up watching the Commonwealth Games and I love it. I love the idea of a team atmosphere and coming together,” she continued.
Lanning talked about how cricket players don’t get a chance to be part of a multi-sport event and hence is eager to be part of the athletes' village.
“One of the things we are looking forward to is learning off other athletes and being at the athletes' village seeing how other teams and individuals go about things. It's also a chance for the game to reach a new audience, a new platform, and that's only going to continue to grow the game.”
