EMMET RIORDAN ON CRICKET:The earliest opportunity for cricket to join the Olympic Games would be 2020

IT MAY come as a surprise, but cricket was scheduled to be part of the first modern Olympics in Athens back in 1896. A lack of participating teams meant it had to wait until Paris four years later to make its one, and to date only, appearance, and even that was far from auspicious.

Four countries entered the event, but Belgium and the Netherlands failed to send teams, leaving England to face France in a two-day game at the 20,000-seater Velodrome de Vincennes cycling track in August 1900.

The England side were in fact a touring team, the Devon and Somerset Wanderers, while most of the French side were expatriate Englishmen. England claimed victory by 158 runs and were awarded silver medals, while France claimed bronze.

Little did those participating realise they would go down in Olympic history, as it was only 12 years later that there achievements were recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

Cricket went off the Olympic radar after that, but a number of recent developments have pushed it back onto the radar as a possible entrant in future Games.

Two years ago the International Cricket Council signed up to the World Anti-Doping Agency's code, a prerequisite of joining the Olympic movement that was formally ratified last December with the announcement that cricket had received "recognition status" by the IOC.

The other key development has been the rapid growth of Twenty20 cricket over the last few years, a format that would allow cricket to fit into the Olympic schedule.

Ireland captain William Porterfield joined a growing number of present and former players who went on the record recently to back the call for a return of cricket to the Games.

Speaking after leading Ireland in their successful qualification for next year's Twenty20 World Cup recently, Porterfield said: "It's every sportsman's ambition to participate in the Olympics, and the chance to play in front of packed stadiums with a worldwide audience would be a great experience for everyone."

A great experience, but one that Porterfield is unlikely to realise personally as the earliest opportunity for cricket to join would be 2020.

Cricket will also have to battle it out with sports such as golf and baseball, the latter being particularly keen to re-enter the Games having been voted out for the 2012 Olympics in London.

The IOC will not have to take a decision on cricket's involvement until 2013, when it meets to name the 2020 host city and also the sports that are to be included.

The India city of Delhi is believed to a strong candidate for those Games, and the inclusion of cricket would be bound to stir up a nation of more than a billion who live and breath the game.

With close on a quarter of the world's population, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are ripe with opportunity for an IOC that always has one eye on the TV and marketing opportunities.

Although air-rifle shooter Abhinan Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold in Beijing, interest in the Games has fallen off in the country since the demise of their once-great men's hockey team, who - for the first time in 88 years - failed to qualify for the Games this year.

The reintroduction of cricket to the Games to coincide with its staging in India would be a masterstroke by the IOC, although there is plenty of work required before the dream becomes reality.

Cricket's debut at the 2010 Asian Games in China could prove key to its chances of returning to the Summer Games, with a successful staging bound to add to the momentum.

Although most of Ireland's present generation of cricketers are likely to miss out, the opportunity of playing in an Olympic Games could prove a lure in increasing numbers of young people taking up the game here. And that can only be a good thing.

Rankin returns for Ireland

BOYD RANKIN is set to make his first appearance in an Ireland shirt since last year's World Cup after being named in Phil Simmons's 14-man squad for the three-game One Day International series against Kenya, which starts on Sunday in Belfast, writes Emmet Riordan.

The 6ft 8in opening bowler was Ireland's leading wicket-taker in the Caribbean with 12 victims, but has been dogged by injury since with stress fractures to a leg and foot, followed by a shoulder injury picked up at the start of this season.

He finally made his Warwickshire debut last week in their County Championship clash with Essex, picking up four wickets, and his inclusion is a huge boost to Simmons, who has juggled his opening attack all summer.

Rankin will play in the first two ODI games on Sunday and Monday, before heading back to Birmingham for Warwickshire's championship clash with his former county Derbyshire at Edgbaston.

Niall O'Brien will play in Sunday's game before heading back to county duty with Northants, but skipper William Porterfield and Gary Wilson are available for all three games.

IRELAND(squad for ODI series v Kenya, Stormont, Sunday, August 24th, Monday 25th and Wednesday 27th) - W Porterfield (Gloucestershire, capt), A Botha (North County), P Connell (North Down), A Cusack (Clontarf), G Kidd (Waringstown), K McCallan (Waringstown), K O'Brien (Railway Union), N O'Brien (Northamptonshire), A Poynter (Clontarf), B Rankin (Warwickshire), P Stirling (Cliftonville), R Strydom (North County), A White (Instonians), G Wilson (Surrey).

Niall O'Brien will play in Sunday's ODI, while Boyd Rankin will play Sunday and Monday.