Cricket faces being scrapped from a “more sustainable” Glasgow Commonwealth Games as the event’s governing body in Australia vowed to protect other sports that were left out.
Only 10 sports will be on the 2026 Games programme after it was confirmed Scotland had the support of the UK government to host the struggling event.
Cricket, which was originally set to reprise its place at the scheduled Victorian regional games but returned to the Birmingham Games in 2022, will be one of the sports to miss out as the Games are condensed into just four venues in Glasgow.
Australian Commonwealth Games chief executive Craig Phillips said he was “delighted” by the move following the Victorian government’s controversial withdrawal from the organisation and said scaling back the event would help more Commonwealth nations host the Games in the future.
Phillips said the CGA, which has 22 member sports, would ensure the sports left out remained “part of our family” but could not guarantee future funding.
Athletics and swimming were the only “core” sports guaranteed for Glasgow, with an announcement expected in October.
But track cycling, squash and netball were among the sports confident the combination of venues, which includes Scotstoun Stadium (used in 2014), would accommodate their sports.
Squash Australia chief executive Rob Donaghue said it was a “wait and see” move for the racquet sport, which has been confirmed to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Cricket faces the risk of missing out on a “more sustainable” Glasgow Commonwealth Games (pictured, Australian star Alyssa Healy with husband Mitch Starc after winning gold at the 2022 Games in Birmingham)
Early reports suggest that swimming and athletics are two sports that are certain to feature in Glasgow (pictured, Australian swimmer Emma McKeon after winning gold in the 50m butterfly in Birmingham in 2022)
“Scotstoun has been talked about as a venue for athletics, and that was the venue for squash in 2014; the world doubles were held there in 2022, so there is a facility there as a legacy from previous games,” Donaghue said.
“I think we have a good chance… but we have to wait and see, we have our fingers crossed.”
Cricket is set to be reintroduced at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 but there is understood to be little chance of a repeat of the women’s T20 tournament held in Birmingham two years ago, which resulted in a gold medal for Australia.
Cricket Australia declined to comment on the Glasgow announcement, but it appears to be a possible exclusion in 2026.
“I think the programme is very flexible in terms of what it looks like. Swimming and athletics are the only two sports that are confirmed for the games, so there will always be sports that come in and out of the programme,” Phillips told reporters on Wednesday.
‘What we need to do is make sure that what we do in the Australian context is to look after those who come in and out of the program.
‘Many of them are also Olympic and Paralympic sports: while they may miss out on the Commonwealth Games competition, they will still have their pathway to Brisbane 2032 in particular.’
Former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ about-face last year will cost Australian taxpayers millions
While this would hurt some sports, Phillips said the reduced scale of the event was intended to prolong its lifespan and allow more countries to host it.
“This gives us the opportunity to reset the future of the Games,” he said.
“I think what we’re going to see with this revised version of the Games, a scaled-down version, a more sustainable version, will actually create more opportunities for more Commonwealth countries to host the Games.”
Phillips suggested boxing’s place in Glasgow could be in jeopardy because of the ongoing power struggle between the governing bodies – the International Boxing Association, which is no longer recognised by the IOC, and the newly formed World Boxing.
“It’s a difficult sport to leave off the programme, but at the end of the day, the CGF has to be sure that it has an international federation it can trust to organise the games,” he said.