Cricket will return to the Summer Olympic Games for the first time in 128 years in Los Angeles 2028. But the sport did make an appearance at Paris 2024 closing ceremony, or rather its most infamous pitch invader did.
Daniel Jarvis, also referred to as Jarvo 69, on Sunday breached the security protocol at the Stade de France and made his way to the stage for the Olympics closing ceremony.
Jarvis posted a video on his social media from during the ceremony, as he made his way to the very middle of the Stade de France stage dressed as a Team Great Britain athlete.
But this wasn’t it. The prankster later also posted a selfie alongside the French President Emmanuel Macron, who was also present at the venue as the Games came to a close.
Yes I blagged my way into the Olympics closing ceremony, dressed as a @TeamGB athlete! I miss the Olympic 😭 pic.twitter.com/6SGWFUppA5
— Jarvo69 (Daniel Jarvis) (@BMWjarvo) August 12, 2024
This isn’t the first time Jarvis has managed to storm his way onto the pitch during a big sports event. He first garnered attention on social media during the England-India Test series in 2021, when he had managed to make his way onto the pitch in times of tight Covid-19 protocols in place for the players. It was during the same series that he had even managed to bowl a ball in full Indian kit before England’s Jonny Bairstow on the non-striker’s end had got in an angry exchange with him.
The Englishman had also made his way onto the pitch during India’s opening game at the 2023 ODI World Cup against Australia.
During the second day of the 4th Test between India and England at The Oval, Jarvo ran into non-striker Jonny Bairstow while mimicking a bowler’s runup. (AP)
In subsequent years, Jarvis’s pranks have stretched to other sports events such as the Rugby World Cup, where he invaded the pitch during multiple games – posing as a player in full kit.
Among the other pranks he has posted about on his social media is the UEFA Euro 2024 draw in Hamburg last year, which was interrupted by apparent sexual noises. He would also sabotage the BBC coverage of an FA Cup fixture between Liverpool and Wolves following which the prankster posted a video on his YouTube channel – that has over 207,000 subscribers – explaining how he did so.
Cricket at the Games
Having made its only appearance at the Olympic Games in 1900, cricket is set to be included at the 34th edition four years later in the United States.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had officially confirmed of cricket’s inclusion at the 141st IOC Session held in Mumbai in October 2023.
Former World Cup-winning Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes the sport’s addition to the Summer Games can only mean positives with its exposure to new audience.
“I’ve sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years and it’s always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it’s there,” Ponting was quoted by the ICC recently.
“The Olympic Games being viewed by so many people all around the world, it just opens up completely different audiences to our game that’s seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway. It can only be a real positive thing for the game,” he added.
