Derek Bowden, chief executive of Essex County Cricket Club, has already approached the London Legacy Development Corporation about the idea. 

Premier League West Ham United will be the main tenants of the Stadium on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from the start of the 2016-2017 football season but other sports will also take place there.

There are still hopes that the Stadium can host matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup while it will stage world-class athletics on an annual basis, including the 2017 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships. 

"I've said repeatedly that the Stadium is something for everybody in London and everybody in the country," Johnson, who is also chairman of the Legacy Company, BBC London 94.9.

"It is a national asset.

"We are going to make sure it doesn't just have association football, although that is going to be a glorious part of it with West Ham.

"We are going to have other events as well.

"We are still trying to make it fit for the rugby [World Cup], but we can't be confident that will work for 2015.

"If we can get some cricket in that would be fantastic as well."


Essex, in a joint bid with the University of East London, had been one of the four consortiums last May who had put proposals forward to use the Stadium.

Although beaten by West Ham, Bowden is still keen to use the Stadium and confident that the club attract large crowds of up to 20,000 to watch cricket there.

"We regularly sell out at Chelmsford," he told BBC Look East.

"We'll sell 7,000 for a Twenty20 game on a Friday night.

"There's an opportunity to take cricket down to East London

"East London is actually part of the region Essex County Cricket Board is responsible for in terms of grassroots cricket.

"We'll hopefully speak to West Ham, in the next few weeks.

"I would think towards the end of April, early May we could meet with the West Ham management to see if there is any viability.

"We would need to look at the financials as well as the logistics, but 20,000 people watching Twenty20 cricket on a Friday night would make for fantastic entertainment.

"Technologically it can be done."


The proposal has been backed by England captain and Essex batsman Alastair Cook.

"It would be fantastic for Essex to be able to play at the Olympic Stadium," Cook said.

"East London has a huge amount of participation in cricket and taking the game there would benefit Essex as well.

"As a player, it would be fantastic."

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