I think you’re missing the initial point of “this” petition and discussion:

In 2012, the Olympics are in London. Cricket is our summer sport. We feel that it would be great to showcase cricket (our national summer sport) in a form palatable to non-cricketing nations (T20) as part of the cultural olympiad.

In addition, this would have the additional benefit of attracting interest to the games in London and around the World, from nationalities that are historically cricket fans, but not necessarily of athletics and so on.

Infrastructure (grounds, tended pitches etc) for cricket in London already exists – so the cost overheads are drastically reduced.

And in fact, as international sport is excluded from a specific area around Olympic sites during the Olympic period, it also allows UK to host some international standard (even if at ICC-affiliate level) cricket to replace the Tests and ODI’s that will have to be scheduled around the Games themselves.

Do not confuse this petition with the chat from Gilchrist, Waugh et al who are lobbying for cricket as a “full” Olympic sport in the 2020 Games.

Besides, in non-Commonwealth countries, where on Earth would you play the games? How many cricket grounds are there in Beijing/Barcelona/Athens/Atlanta etc?

If you play them in football stadiums, what kind of wicket would you get?

I can’t see these non-cricket playing host cities building proper cricket grounds for a fortnight’s action, grounds which would then lay dormant after the Olympics.

The Commonwealth Games (New Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2014) would be a better and more realistic showcase for Twenty20, an event where England would be able to play as themselves and not as “Great Britain”.