All eyes on World Cup as oldest rivals to kick off month-long extravaganza

Article content

In a week’s time, all cricket eyes will be focused on the Caribbean and the United States, co-hosts of the World Twenty20 Cup.

The U.S.? Yes. The International Cricket Council, the governing body of the sport, has been chasing the mighty Yankee dollar for several years now.

It finally has breached the wall and is set to make inroads into the most lucrative market in the world.

After all, cricket is as foreign to the United States as soccer was until the late Brazilian ace Pele landed on North America soil in the 1970s.

Many diehard cricket fans shake their heads in bewilderment when informed that the first international match was played on these shores in 1844. It wasn’t at Lord’s or at The Oval in England or, for that matter, in Melbourne or Sydney in Australia.

It was at St. George’s Cricket Club at the Bloomingdale Park in New York City and the game was billed as the United States of America versus the British Empire’s Canadian Province. The Canadian province was Ontario and, in a low-scoring encounter, the Canadians won by 23 runs.

Few Canadians are also aware that cricket was declared Canada’s national sport by Sir John A. Macdonald prior to lacrosse and hockey. It is possible baseball evolved from cricket and now, after all these decades, the game returns to its roots and it appears it is here to stay because of that country’s massive diverse population.

The ICC targeted the U.S. for expansion some 20 years ago as it believed there was room for another sport to make its mark in an affluent country that has its cup full to the brim with a number of professional leagues.

Cricket, the second-most popular global sport behind soccer, is already a money-spinner in various parts of the world and opening the door in the U.S. will see its coffers overflow with dollars.

Last year the birth of Major League Cricket with six teams was an instant success as it attracted some of the world’s best players and the stadiums were jammed with fans starved of international cricket. Among the early benefactors of the MLC was Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and the group raised $120 million US.

Then came American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) who splashed $1 billion to cover expenses for the league and other investments that would benefit the U.S. national teams. The partners included Satyan Gajwani and Vineet Jain of The Times group and Willow TV founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan.

With the league now on a firm footing, several world-class internationals including Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies and England’s Jason Roy will be back for a second year. Others who have inked contracts include West Indians Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Australian Tim David and rising South African star Dewald Brevis. New Zealander quick Trent Boult, spin superstar Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and South African pacer Kagiso Rabada will also be here.

The majority of these players will first see action in the World Cup before staying put for the MLC, which starts on July 4.

The world’s oldest rivals — Canada and the U.S. — have been given the unique privilege to kick off the month-long extravaganza in Dallas on June 1. Both countries will be playing in their first T20 World Cup, but Canada already has made its mark in the 50-over World Cup, where it has turned a few heads.

Unfortunately for these two minnows, the draw wasn’t too kind as they have been pooled in Group A with India, Pakistan and Ireland. That’s a hard-scratcher, but the exposure the players will gain in worth millions. Excelling against India and Pakistan could see these players signed to play in the money-churning Indian Premier League.

The U.S. has been on fire in its warmup matches, stunning Test team Bangladesh 2-1 in its series, and Canada showed its class by running over Nepal by 63 runs.

Canada posted 183 for seven and then sent back the Nepalese for 120. The star for Canada was paceman Dilon Heyliger, who ripped through the batting with a haul of four for 20.

The batting stars were Nicholas Kirton, who smashed 51, and Ravinderpal Singh weighed in with an exciting 41 off 17 balls. So the minnows are
ready.

The rest of the pools:

Group B: Scotland, Oman England, Australia, Namibia

Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea

Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal.

The top two finishers will advance to the Super 8 followed by the semis and the final set for the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29.

Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis.