When Essex County Cricket Club were announced as failed bidders to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium in 2012, with West Ham United chosen over them, it may have appeared as the end of the road for the proposal. However, 2014 saw Essex Cricket achieve a deal “in principle” for short-form matches to be played at the ground. Following this, 2016 saw chief executive Derek Bowden saying that they hoped to host Twenty20 (T20) cricket matches there by 2018. So will Essex Cricket use the 60,000-capacity stadium?

Having contacted Essex Cricket regarding the proposal, it became apparent that the discussions have currently reached an impasse, and that the issue has become “sensitive”, a stark contrast to comments made by Chief Executive of Essex Cricket, Derek Bowden, in July 2016, where he suggested that things were looking very positive. “The objective is to play cricket there in 2018, probably play two or three home T20 games in a two-week period,” he stated, adding that the proposition could include “an England women's or even men's game or some invitational games as well as recreational cricket."

The previous London Mayor Boris Johnson and England opener, Alastair Cook, supported Essex’s 2016 proposal. Moreover, Newham Council, according to The Sunday Times, stated that they were willing to fund the cost of drop-in pitches, at the expense of around £500,000.

The English and Wales Cricket Board has also expressed interest, with it emerging in December 2016 that they were contemplating the idea of using high-capacity venues during the 2019 Cricket World Cup, at the request of the International Cricket Council.

Situated 30 miles from Stratford, Essex currently play their matches at the County Cricket Ground in Chelmsford, which holds only 6,500, turning it into one of the most popular T20 cricket venues. However, the idea of increasing possible crowds to a stadium that can hold 62,500 people was described by Bowden as “very attractive commercially."

The plan is unsurprisingly involving lengthy discussions. However, optimism that Essex Cricket will play at the Olympic Stadium is high, as Essex Chairman John Faragher had previously told reporters, “There are a lot of things we need to sort out but it’s a very strong possibility we will play there. The potential is enormous.”

George Lanigan - St George’s College, Weybridge