Cricket's absence from the Commonwealth Games will continue at least until the 2018 Games after the International Cricket Council turned down an invitation from the governing body of the Games.

South Africa won the gold medal when cricket, in its 50-over format, made its only appearance at the quadrennial event during the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games.

"There were discussions about the inclusion of men's and women's Twenty20 cricket in both the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games but neither of these came to fruition," an ICC spokesperson told Reuters in a statement.

"However, cricket is scheduled to feature in the Commonwealth Youth Games in St Lucia in 2017."