Five events you didn't know that were once part of the Summer Olympics

5. Cricket

The poster for the Britain vs France cricket game in 1900

The only time cricket was a part of the Olympics was in Paris in 1900, with Britain winning the gold medal and France the silver. It was scheduled as an event in the 1896 Olympics but was scrapped due to an insufficient number of entries. Four years later, Belgium and the Netherlands withdrew their participation from the event, leaving only two countries to face off in a single match.

Neither side was nationally selected, with the Devon and Somerset Wanderers representing Britain and the French Athletic Club Union, comprising mainly of British expatriates living in Paris, representing France. By mutual agreement, the match was increased to a twelve-a-side game and was not covered by any national newspapers in England or France, with the exception of a few local English papers.

The venue was the Vélodrome de Vincennes and after two days of play, Britain won the match by 158 runs. They batted first and scored 117, and then bowled France out for 78. In the second innings, they scored 145 for 5 dec. and proceeded to bowl out the home team for a meager 26 to win the match by a large significant margin, but with only five minutes of the match remaining.