Paris, August 12
As the Paris Olympics 2024 drew to a close, cricket fans worldwide are eagerly awaiting the sport's triumphant return to the Olympic stage at LA2028 - a whopping 128 years after its debut in 1900!
But did you know that the Paris Games had some surprising cricket connections? Let's uncover these hidden gems and get ready for the excitement that awaits in Los Angeles!"
-Brandon Starc
Australia sent a total of 78 athletes to Paris, in the athletics disciplines. Among the star-studded line-up was Brandon Starc, the brother of star pacer Mitchell Starc, who has made a name for himself as one of the finest quicks of the modern era, with over 650 international wickets and multiple World Cup title wins to his name.
Mitchell's wife, star Australian batter and captain Alyssa Healy, is also the sister-in-law of the athlete.
While Starc is known to deliver clutch, match-winning performances when it matters the most, Brandon missed out on the men's high jump medal by narrow margins, finishing sixth in the Group B qualifiers, as per Wisden.
-Arshad Nadeem
The men's javelin throw event was perhaps the biggest highlight of this Olympics, as it took an Olympic record-smashing throw of 92.97 m from Pakistan's Arshad to stop the unstoppable Indian Olympic gold medalist and World Championships gold medalist Neeraj Chopra. This was Pakistan's first medal in over 32 years.
But things could have been different for Arshad as the first sport he played was cricket, playing it alongside football and table tennis during his childhood. He also had ambitions of becoming a cricketer at one point. But when the coach Rasheed Ahmed Saqi took notice of his abilities and Arshad had discussions with his brother Shahid, javelin throw became Nadeem's sport.
-Rai Benjamin
The winner of the men's 400 m hurdles competition, Rai Benjamin from the USA, also has a connection to cricket. His father Winston was a former cricket, hailing from Antigua and he played 106 international matches, including 21 Tests from 1986 to 1995. Winston was a pacer, who took 61 Test scalps and 100 ODI wickets. After his playing career came to a close, he became the coach of the Leeward Islands team in first-class cricket.
-Rajindra Campbell
The bronze medalist in the men's shot put competition was Jamaica's Rajindra Campbell. Despite Jamaica's immense success in athletics, this was their first-ever medal in this discipline.
The origins of his first name can be traced to his father's love for cricket, who loved watching West Indies cricketer Rajindra Dhanraj during the 1990s. Dhanraj represented WI in four Tests and six ODIs, getting a total of 18 wickets.