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This is the story of the year 1751. According to the report published in ‘New York Weekly Post Boy’, a cricket match was played between London and New York. New York won the match. This story is for those people who are still asking why the T20 World Cup is being played in America.
The ninth T20 World Cup is starting from June 2, hosted by America and West Indies. Cricket has deep roots in West Indies, so there is no question on that. But, till now America’s interference in this game is negligible, then why is ICC organizing 16 matches of this tournament in America. We will understand the answer to this question from 5 factors…
First a little more background on cricket in America
The picture is of the players of St. George Cricket Club. The first international cricket match was played in his club between Canada and America from 24 to 26 September 1844.
The earliest evidence of cricket being played in America comes from the diary written in 1709 by a farmer named William Byrd. He writes, ‘We woke up at 6 in the morning and played cricket, I won.’ There is also evidence that in 1754, Benjamin Franklin, considered the Founding Father of America, brought the rulebook of cricket from England to America. At that time, American soldiers used to call it ‘wickets’ instead of cricket.
This game flourished in America for about 200 years. Cricket was being played in 22 states of USA. In 1844, the first international match was played between the team of Canada and New York. There is mention of President Abraham Lincoln attending a cricket match in Chicago in 1849. There are even stories of cricket rivalry between England, America and Canada.
However, after the First World War in 1919, baseball became more popular than cricket in America. Cricket was considered a slow game played throughout the day. The fame of baseball player Babe Ruth is considered to be the reason for the demise of cricket in America. He is also seen as the killer of American cricket.
Now let us understand those 5 factors due to which cricket is making a comeback in America…
Factor-1: Fanbase of cricket teams exists in America
America is one of the few countries where people from all over the world are settled. The population of the country is more than 33 crores, out of which about 4.50 crore people are immigrants from other countries. Of these, 50 lakh are South Asian and about 1.50 crore people are from countries where cricket audience is high, which includes Australia, Africa, Europe and West Indies. This means that there will be no dearth of support for the top teams in the 16 matches that will be held in America.
The India-Pakistan match will be held in New York on June 9. Its tickets were sold for Rs 80 thousand to Rs 16 lakh. The stadium has a spectator capacity of 34 thousand and all the tickets are almost sold out. Team India will play three matches in New York and one in Florida, all the tickets for these have also been almost sold.
The special thing is that due to the increase in South Asian population in America, the trend of cricket also increased. In the year 2000, there were only 2,000 registered cricketers in America, when there were 22 lakh South Asian people. In the year 2020, the South Asian population increased to 55 lakh, due to which the number of registered cricketers also reached 2.50 lakh. South Asia includes countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The latest data of South Asian population is till the year 2020 only.
Factor-2: American Sports Market
Cricket is not very famous in America. Sports like rugby, basketball, ice hockey, baseball and football are the trend here. Dallas Cowboys, which is a team of the American Football League, is at number one among the highest earning sports teams. The top-10 highest earning teams include 7 American and 3 English football teams. These 10 teams are a part of basketball, football and American football.
The top 10 sports teams in net worth are from America only. Dallas Cowboys is also on top in this, the annual net worth of the team is around Rs 3500 crore. In comparison, the net worth of IPL’s top team Mumbai Indians is only Rs 722 crore. That means Dallas’ earnings are about 5 times more than MI. Four American leagues are also included in the top-6 franchise leagues in brand value.
*NFL- National Football League. NBA- National Basketball Association. EPL- English Premier League.
Factor-3: American Economy
America is the richest country in the world in terms of GDP. If cricket grows here, the International Cricket Council will target big American companies for sponsorship. This will increase the money flow in international cricket rapidly. At present the Indian Board has the most money in cricket. If cricket is successful in America, ICC’s earnings can also reach a position to compete with BCCI.
To promote cricket in America, ICC gave List-A status to Major League Cricket, the franchise tournament here, before the start of the T20 World Cup. That means MLC figures will now be counted in the T20 records of players and teams.
According to ICC rules, T20 leagues held in any Associate Board do not get List-A status. However, statistics from the Afghanistan Premier League, the Associate Board Afghanistan’s franchise tournament, do not count towards T20 records. America is also an associate board of ICC, but to promote cricket here, MLC has been given List-A recognition.
Factor-4: Involvement of cricket in Olympics
The 2028 Olympics will be held in America, cricket is included in it. After hosting 16 matches in the T20 World Cup, it will become clear that America will organize cricket matches well in the Olympics also. 206 countries participate in the Olympics, till now cricket has reached only 103 countries. With cricket joining America and the Olympics, the game will grow globally.
With the help of America and Olympics, if more countries start playing cricket, then the game can reach the level of football. Currently, professional football is played in more than 200 countries. Whereas the cricket playing countries are only half of this number.
Factor-5: Growth of cricket in America
America played its first international match in 1844, but ICC gave recognition to the American team in international cricket in the year 2004. Because America has not played any international cricket in the intervening 159 years. The country also played T-20 International for the first time in 2019.
The American team has not been able to play even 100 international matches in the white ball format. However, in the last few years the country has started making its mark in cricket. The franchise tournament Major League Cricket started here in 2023. Top cricketers like Nicholas Pooran, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Andre Russell, Devon Conway, Matthew Wade participated in it.
America has also included players like Pakistan’s Shayan Jahangir, Ali Khan, India’s Milind Kumar, Monank Patel and New Zealand’s Corey Anderson in its national team. With whose help the team defeated Bangladesh 2-1 in the 3rd T-20 series.
Now in the World Cup, the American team will play group stage matches against teams like India, Pakistan and Ireland. If the team wins even 1-2 matches here, the youth of the country will be inspired to play cricket. With this, the possibilities of growth of cricket in America will also increase to a great extent.
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Graphics- Kunal Sharma
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