Would you believe we celebrate the 115th anniversary of cricket’s only appearance as an Olympic sport this week? Imagine everyone has forgotten (if they ever remembered) that in 1900 at Paris, all the teams dropped out and Great Britain was left to play against hosts France in a two-day game on Aug. 19 and 20th. France knocked up a scintillating 26 runs in their second innings so no cigars for guessing who got gold. The game never made another appearance and is still hovering as a ‘maybe’ for future Olympiads.

Coincidently, or because West Indian Cricket Board President Dave Cameron is a history aficionado and knows his dates, he announced his keenness to have the T20 format integrated into the Olympic agenda. Cameron contends that there will be huge audiences for what will be a super spectacle but India and England are still in veto mode and it is likely they will lead the funeral of any hope in the near future.

Although the game was given Olympic recognition in 2007 its inclusion is iffy because the boards of the top cricket playing nations feel it will clash with the World T20 tourney which is also every four years and may well be in the same year as the Olympics. Being a huge money spinner no one wants to jeopardize that with viewer fatigue and the Olympics doesn’t even get on the board when it comes to the music of the turnstile.

Before we revert to the logic or lack of it in selecting the sports for the five ring super-circus, yesterday also marks the day (Aug. 19,1962) when Mexican American Homero Blanco scored the perfect 55 stroke round on a par 70 course in Texas. But he was eclipsed by the man from Oz, Rhein Gibson who scored the perfect round on a 71 par, the first over a 6000 yard course in Oklahoma with 12 birdies and two eagles. That ‘nightmare’ should keep a lot of golfers awake at night.

Right then, back to the games. The Olympic committee has never really shared its reasoning and is often ultra-conservative to a fault. It did knock out baseball because except for Japan and the US no one had a clue how to play it. But with the bathwater went the baby when softball was also dumped even though it is a very popular variant of baseball and now has a vocal lobby for reinstatement.

As things evolve you’d think the decision-makers would wake up to the new century. What about surfing and skateboarding, two extreme sports that have pretty much come into the competitive mainstream. They are athletic, tough and call for as much skill as gymnastics. What’s more these motorized and motorized sports also reflect the priorities of the now generation.