CRICKET could make a shock return to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018 after an absence of two decades.

There is strong lobbying for Twenty20 cricket to be included as an extra Games sport with Gold Coast Commonwealth Games chairman Mark Stockwell insisting it would add "an extra bit of magic".

The issue reached the table of an International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai this week which vowed to assess the feasibility and report back in June.

Cricket was played for the only time at a Commonwealth Games in Malaysia in 1998 where South Africa beat Australia in the final of a 50-over event which featured 16 teams.

Then Australian captain Steve Waugh embodied Australia's intent when he claimed winning a silver rather than gold medal was one of the great disappointments of his career.

"The chance to mix with some of the elite of the sporting world . . . was in my eyes the opportunity of a lifetime," Waugh wrote in his autobiography Out Of My Comfort Zone.

"The way we lost to an under-strength South African side in the gold-medal game hurt me."

The current boss of the Commonwealth Games Federation is Prince Imran of Malaysia who was the driving force behind cricket being played at the 1998 Games.

Stockwell, a former Olympic swimmer, believes T20 would be a perfect fit for the Gold Coast Games.

"In my travels throughout the Commonwealth countries I have seen there are two really unifying sports - cricket for men, and netball for women," he said.

"At the moment, cricket is not one of the optional sports for the Gold Coast Games.

"But cricket can be accepted as a sport by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

"We also need to get assurances from the ICC they can fit it into their calendar and that we can have the best Twenty20 (cricketers) available."

There are several hurdles to jump for cricket to be a Games sport again - not the least of which is the complexity of clearing space in the cluttered international cricket calendar.

Another roadblock would be India's participation, which would require the agreement of the all-powerful and money-hungry Indian board of control which may be unwilling to release its blue-chip stars.

It is also believed England may not field a team, just as in 1998.

Former Queensland captain Stuart Law is set to take up an assistant coaching role at Brisbane's Centre of Excellence after quitting as Bangladesh coach.

Originally published as Cricket set to return to Games