A meeting of the MCC World Cricket Committee has come up with a number of recommendations, among which include making the game an Olympic sport.

The committee, made up of former players including Ricky Ponting, Shaun Pollock and Rahul Dravid, convened at Lord's over the past two days to discuss a number of issues.

Cricket's inclusion at the Games was one, with the MCC backing a drive to get the sport included in time for the 2024 staging – a decision on which will be decided in 2017..

"The committee is unanimous in its belief that every effort should be made to make cricket an Olympic sport, and urges all governing bodies around the world to get behind such a bid," a statement said.

"The Olympics is a fundamental opportunity for cricket – in both the men’s and women’s game – and with a global reach, such a presence would expose the game positively to new markets.

"With three ICC events taking place in every four-year cycle, the opportunity exists for cricket to be included in sport’s ultimate global showpiece without detracting from its successful tournaments in traditional cricketing markets."

The committee also expressed its opposition to the introduction of four-day Tests, which had been suggested as a possible solution to boost the longest form of the game.

"The committee weighed up the benefits and drawbacks of playing four-day Test matches," the statement continued.

"Whilst it would greatly aid cricket administrators to schedule four-day Tests – to guarantee a Thursday start with sufficient breaks in between matches – and may encourage the playing of positive, attacking cricket, there was concern that this proposed formula could not be applied universally, with match conditions and hours of daylight varying greatly between Test-playing nations.

"The committee was also concerned about the extra strain on players’ bodies."