1900: The year a cricket match was part of the Olympics
A weird thing was recorded in that Test. Instead of 22, 24 players played that match. And none of them were from the national team. Only two played first-class cricket.
Cricket is the second most-watched sport in the world. Though it has a massive fan following, cricket is not a part of the Olympics.
In 1900 the story was different. The Olympics was held in Paris. It was the only Olympics where cricket was played.
It was a two-day Test match, between the host nation, France and Great Britain.
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It was a low-scoring match. Only 366 runs were made in four innings. But in that historic match, people witnessed two half-centuries and two five-wicket hauls.
A weird thing was recorded in that Test. Instead of 22, 24 players played that match. And none of them were from the national team. Only two played first-class cricket.
France were represented by a team called 'All Paris.' Devon and Somerset Wanderers club represented Great Britain.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wanted to include cricket in the 1896 Athens Olympics. At that time, there were not enough teams to compete.
That doesn't mean there were enough teams in the Paris Olympics. Only four teams were there to participate, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Later on, the Netherlands and Belgium pulled out their names. That was why just a single match was played between Great Britain and France.
The match was played between August 19 and 20. It took place at the Velodrome de Vincennes, a cycling venue.
Great Britain batted first. Bowerman and Charles Beachcroft were the players to make a half-century. Frederick Christian picked up seven wickets in the first innings for France. In the second innings, Toller bagged a seven-wicket haul.
Combining two innings France's score were just 104 runs. Great Britain won the only cricket match played in the Olympic Games by 158 runs.
Though Britain won the Test, they were awarded the silver medal and France got the bronze. After 12 years the medals were converted into gold and silver respectively.
