Cricket is returning to the Olympics after a century. But the sport never left SoCal

After 128 years, the sport of cricket will once again take the field in the summer Olympics in 2028.

The first — and only time — the sport was in the summer games was in 1900 in Paris — the second-ever Olympics. Cricket was pencilled into the lineup for the 1904 games, hosted in St. Louis, but was scrapped for lack of participation.

In the interim, cricket has become one of the most popular spectator sports in the world, boasting billions of fans globally.

So to Atul Rai,  president of the Southern California Cricket Association, the sport's return to the Olympics is long overdue.

" It's high time," Rai said. "It took a long time, but the Olympics is a worldwide event, and, you know, cricket needs the eyes of the world to see what a wonderful sport it is."

A brief history

The sport had its origin in England. It came to our shores in the 1700s, but was eventually eclipsed by a cousin that came to be America's pastime.

" And of course, [Babe] Ruth came along and the popularity of baseball grew tremendously," Rai said.

 In Southern California, Rai said, the sport was popular with British actors in Hollywood. And the amateur Hollywood Cricket Club, founded around 1932, catered to their interest.

" David Niven, Boris Karloff, Nigel Bruce. All these guys were playing cricket those days, you know," Rai said.

Two years later, another outfit founded by British expats emerged, the Corinthian Cricket Club.

Both clubs played their games in Griffith Park, until the fields were taken over by equestrians in the 1970s. Then, Rai said, players shifted to the fields at Woodley Park in Van Nuys — which has remained a local cricket mecca.

"The number of people playing cricket has grown steadily since that time," Rai said, adding that the growth of Southern California Cricket Association is itself a testament of the sport's staying power in the region. "We went from six teams to now 50-plus teams in the association. It's all the way from ... San Diego, to Santa Barbara to Riverside."

The cricket diaspora

 Mihir Gandhi grew up in Mumbai playing cricket. He moved to the San Fernando Valley in the 1980s after getting his master's degree in Ohio. Never did he think there would be a cricket scene in L.A., until someone he met at a pizza joint told him seven years after his arrival that games were being played in Woodley Park.

"Cricket is in our blood, basically. We live and breathe cricket." Gandhi said. And to be able to pick up the sport in his adopted home once again was huge.

" The expats who have come to this country, being away from their family, friends and everything — to have a common ground that brings us all together where we can play and enjoy the game and make new friends. It's kind of like really beautiful," he said.

Since that fateful day, Gandhi has been a key part of the Southern California Cricket Association, holding various positions including now as the club's treasurer. The current Orange County resident not only plays the game whenever and wherever he can, but is actively working to grow the sport.

 "We welcome anyone and everyone who is interested in playing the game," he said.

2028 Olympics

Cricket is famous for being a multiday affair. The format teams will compete in during the L.A. Olympics is the much speedier T20, in which each match lasts about 3 hours.

" It's a frenetic pace, and so no time to waste, and everything is moving very quickly," Rai said. "In today's world, no one has the time or the patience to sit there and watch any sport for more than several hours."

In 2028, the matches will be played at temporary fields being constructed at the Pomona Fairgrounds. Rai is a little bummed the facility will be dismantled after the games, because he said as interest in the sport continues to grow, cricketers in L.A. are going to need places to play.

Plus, the association's treasurer Gandhi said, having a permanent, professional facility will bring more international competitions to the city.

Still, the Olympics is already giving the sport a huge signal boost. Rai said cricket is going to be part of Los Angeles's PlayLA youth sports initiative beginning this summer, which gives kids a chance to participate in a variety of Olympic sports ahead of the games.

"Now that the Olympics is here, we want to make sure that the public is aware and the kids get an opportunity to play the game," Rai said. " We would like everybody to play the sport. That's our goal."