Los Angeles Olympic Cricket Schedule Announced; Pomona’s Fairplex To Host Matches

Photo: Olympics.com/Getty

LOS ANGELES, CA — Cricket will make its long-awaited return to the Olympic Games at the Fairplex in Pomona, with matches officially beginning on July 12, 2028. Organizers of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games released the full competition schedule on July 14, confirming that medal matches for cricket will be held on July 20 and 29.

This marks cricket’s first Olympic appearance since Paris 1900, ending a 128-year absence. The sport’s previous inclusion featured a single two-day match between Great Britain and France, now remembered as an unofficial Test.

For LA28, cricket will be played in the modern T20 format, with separate tournaments for men and women. Each tournament will feature six teams and a maximum of 90 athletes per gender, allowing for 15-member squads. All matches will take place at a specially constructed, temporary venue within the Fairplex grounds—an iconic site in Pomona known for hosting the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922.

Matches are scheduled as doubleheaders, starting at 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM local time. There will be no games on July 14 and 21. For viewers in India, the first game each day will begin at 9:30 PM IST, with the second following at 7:00 AM IST the next morning.

Cricket’s reintroduction into the Olympics reflects its growing visibility in global multi-sport events. T20 cricket has featured in the Commonwealth Games—men in 1998, women in 2022—and both genders have competed in the Asian Games in 2010, 2014, and 2023.

The International Olympic Committee approved cricket’s inclusion in the LA28 program in 2023, along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash. Squash events are scheduled from July 15 at the Universal City Squash Center, with medal rounds on July 23 and 24. The inclusion of both sports is expected to generate strong interest from countries like India.