US fans show their support during their team's T20 World Cup win over Pakistan
Cricket World Cup’s American Adventure Has Had Serious Problems – But It Might Just Work
By Nick Hoult
If there is one image that sums up the battle cricket has in the United States it is seeing a well-meaning volunteer at a street cricket set-up explain to Dale Steyn how to bowl .
The failure of someone giving up their time to work at the tournament to recognize one of the modern greats, and then kindly give him tips when he hit the stumps with a yorker – “it should have bounced before it hit the ground” – at least provided a viral moment that lifts a tournament’s profile. It is the kind of free social media publicity tournament organizers pray for.
But the real lift after a difficult start to the T20 World Cup was the shock victory by the United States over Pakistan . It was just what this World Cup needed after rows over the New York pitch and weather in Barbados. It also reaffirmed the universal truth in World Cups of any hue that the performance of the host national team is integral to a tournament’s perception.
There will still be many nervous ICC officials in New York on Sunday hoping the pitch does not produce a farcical match between India and Pakistan , who can call upon the quickest, and most lethal bowlers in the world.
The pop-up stadium has proved you can build stands and sell tickets to India-Pakistan anywhere in the world but compromise the cricketing aspect, such as the pitch, and it bites ambitious administrators hard.
Imagine India’s anger if they are rolled cheaply by Pakistan on Sunday and one of their superstars is forced out of the tournament because a ball rears off a length and breaks a hand? Forget another experiment like New York happening again.
Three players were hit during the India-Ireland match and batsmen fresh from the massive scores and ultra batting-friendly tracks of the IPL are smelling leather in their nostrils, rare for T20. It is time the bowlers had something go their way.
The New York venture has run into several problems. Fans have complained about the price of tickets and India’s opening match against Ireland failed to sell out, the assumption Indian fans will pay any price to see their team proving untrue. The ground on Long Island is difficult to reach by public transport and supporters have complained about being charged around £150 to park.
The real success story has been Grand Prairie in Dallas where the USA beat Pakistan. It has arguably the best pitch of the tournament and as a repurposed baseball stadium, it has the infrastructure to support crowds and surfaces that are bedded in having been used for two seasons by the Major League Cricket franchise T20 tournament.
Americans like winners and the national team’s victory over Pakistan led to CNN and the New York Times waking up to the sport. Team USA’s next match is against India, and repeating the trick is highly unlikely, but at least the win over Pakistan gives the host nation a chance of reaching the Super Eights.
The US side is a ragtag collection of mainly South Asian expats many of whom moved to America for educational or employment reasons rather than cricketing. New Zealander Corey Anderson is the most well-known and emigrated to the United States with his American wife. Andries Gous, who anchored the innings against Pakistan, is a former South African state player. Aaron Jones, who is the tournament’s leading six-hitter, was born in New York but emigrated to Barbados aged three and is a childhood friend of Jofra Archer.
Aaron Jones, a childhood friend of Jofra Archer, hits out against Pakistan in the United States' landmark victory - AP/Tony Gutierrez
Saurabh Netravalkar, who bowled the super over, played in an under-19s World Cup for India alongside KL Rahul and against an England team that included Joe Root and Ben Stokes. He moved to the USA to work in tech when his professional career in India hit a dead end and started playing social cricket at the weekends. “I’m grateful destiny gave me an opportunity to do this again,” he said.
The Major League Cricket T20 competition is giving players a chance to earn proper money. All of the USA team have MLC contracts and the league this week secured its biggest coup, Pat Cummins signing a four-year deal with the San Francisco Unicorns, a move that rules him out of ever playing the Hundred.
With Steve Smith, Matt Henry, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Haris Rauf and Jake Fraser-McGurk also signed up for MLC, the counties and ECB need to wake up fast to the American threat.
Cummins chose the league because of the business opportunities it affords him, a slap in the face for English cricket while it wrangles over the kind of private investment encouraged Stateside and which proves an allure to the game’s top players.
It was also announced last week that global professional services giant Accenture have signed a three-year deal with the New York franchise owned by the Mumbai Indians and will offer the use of its AI and data services to help boost the “performance of MI New York’s coaches and players both on and off the pitch”. This World Cup will attract more big businesses when they see the South Asian market the sport offers.
The test for USA’s India-born players, of course, will be holding their nerve and not be overawed against the giants from their own country when the teams play in New York on Wednesday. Repeating their Pakistan win would be the greatest shock in World Cup history. Steyn might be stopped and recognised on the streets of New York if that happens. – The Telegraph
