This is an incident of the year 1751. According to a report published in 'New York Weekly Post Boy', a cricket match was played between London and New York. New York won the match. This incident is for those who are still asking the question why the T20 World Cup is being played in America. The ninth T20 World Cup is starting from June 2 under the hosting of America and West Indies. Cricket has very deep roots in the West Indies, so there is no doubt about it. But America's interference in this game has been negligible till now, then why is the ICC organizing 16 matches of this tournament in America.
The earliest evidence of cricket being played in America is found in a diary written by a farmer named William Bird in 1709. He writes, 'We got up at 6 in the morning and played cricket, I won.' There is also evidence that in 1754, Benjamin Franklin, considered the founder of America, brought the rule book of cricket from England to America. In those days, American soldiers used to call it 'wicket' instead of cricket.
This game flourished in America for about 200 years. At that time cricket was played in 22 states of America. The first international match was played between the teams of Canada and New York in 1844. There is also a mention of President Abraham Lincoln participating in a cricket match in Chicago in 1849. There are even stories of cricket rivalry between England-America-Canada.
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 end of cricket in America. He is also seen as the killer of American cricket.
America is one of the few countries where people from all over the world have settled. The country has a population of more than 33 crores, out of which about 4.5 crores are immigrants from other countries. Among them, 50 lakhs are South Asians and about 1.5 crores are from countries where cricket has a large audience, including Australia, Africa, Europe and West Indies. This means that there will be no dearth of support for the top teams in the 16 matches to be held in America.
Cricket is not very popular in America. Here, sports like rugby, basketball, ice hockey, baseball and football are in trend. Dallas Cowboys, which is a team of American Football League, is number one among the highest earning sports teams. The top 10 highest earning teams include 7 American and 3 English football teams.
America is the richest country in the world according to 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. Currently, 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 its franchise tournament Major League Cricket before the start of T-20 World Cup.
The 2028 Olympics will be held in America, cricket is included in it. After hosting 16 matches in the T20 World Cup, it will be clear that America will also organize cricket matches well in the Olympics. 206 countries participate in the Olympics, cricket has so far reached only 103 countries. With cricket's association with America and the Olympics, this game will progress at the global level.
The US played its first international match in 1844, but the ICC recognized the US team in international cricket in the year 2004. Because the US did not play any international cricket in the intervening 159 years. The country also played T20 International for the first time in 2019.
The US 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. Legendary cricketers like Nicholas Pooran, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Andre Russell, Devon Conway, Matthew Wade took part in it.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma's performance in T20 World Cup, How many T20 World Cups played
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