A little less than 200 years ago, the St. George’s Cricket Club in New York hosted the first ever international game of cricket between the United States and Canada in 1844. Now, 180 years later to be exact, things are coming full circle and the U.S. and New York, is all set to welcome the game back to its grounds, with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Bringing a new sport to a country comes with a set of risks, but the CEO of the International Cricket Council Geoff Allardice believes that the opportunity to bring one of the cricket council’s “showcase events to the U.S. for the first time is a milestone for the sport of cricket.”
“To be able to bring some of the biggest teams and the biggest matches to one of the biggest cities in the world and in the country with the biggest sports following and sports market in the world, I think, is a great opportunity for our sport,” Allardice says, speaking to USA TODAY Wednesday from his hotel in New York City.
“The interest levels in the matches, particularly played in New York, but also in Dallas and Florida, have been exceptional,” Allardice said.
The U.S. will host 16 of the 55 matches in the tournament, including the opening match between Canada and the U.S. on June 1, with the countries playing their first-ever international T20 match at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Is cricket growing in the U.S.? More heavyweight matches taking place on American soil
While hosting an international tournament, such as this one is an honor for the U.S., the sport itself has been slowly developing in the country. A major breakthrough for cricket in the U.S. came with Major League Cricket that had its first season last year in June.
Allardice said that the T20 tournament, now in its 9th edition, is “quite a big event” no matter where it is played given its sheer scale. However, when USA Cricket and Cricket West Indies proposed to jointly host the event and split the matches between them, the opportunity seemed to be too good to be passed, especially “given the timing.”
“There [have] been some or exciting developments for cricket in the U.S. over the last the last 12 or 18 months. The launch of a professional league, Major League Cricket, got a lot of traction amongst cricket fans in the U.S. And now this event is taking it to another level,” Allardice said, adding that the inclusion of the sport in the 2028 Olympics to be held in Los Angeles is also a major milestone.
T20 marks rare opportunity to see ‘elite level cricket’ in US
Allardice further said the U.S. also had a big cricket fan base that does not get to experience “elite level cricket very often.”
“It’s a rare opportunity to be part of it,” Allardice said. “I think sometimes when a major event comes into a country, people want to be part of [it], and this is certainly one of those.”
Response to the matches and tournament has overall been positive, with many games in the U.S. sold out. To cater to the burgeoning demand, particularly for the high-profile matches, the ICC has set up fan parks in the three host cities, where fans can watch the games and be a part of the World Cup experience. Fans parks have also been set up in other countries such as Pakistan, South Africa and India for international fans to be a part of the tournament. Besides cricket, the fan parks will also feature live entertainment including DJs, food, drink, visits from cricket ambassadors and family activities for a wholesome experience.
“There’s a huge fan base here and I think they’re in different pockets around the country,” Allardice says. “But I think when you look at the number of fans and the number of participants in the U.S., it would compare favorably to a lot of the more traditional cricketing countries.”
The tournament also presents a chance for the U.S. cricket team to shine. The team is fairly young compared to other teams competing in the tournament, and this will be the team’s first participation in a T20 event.
“The USA team competing in the tournament at home is a is a very important component of the event,” Allardice said. “We try to give opportunities for host countries to participate because that’s the best way of promoting interest in national teams and the sport as part of our events.”
Allardice said that it was “encouraging” to see the U.S. cricket team defeat Bangladesh in the T20 series, held in May, in the lead up to this tournament. The official added that the both the men and women’s cricket team have “competed very strongly” in many of the ICC events, which presents a promising future for the sport in the country.
34,000-seat modular cricket stadium outside of NYC
While the tournament marks a major moment for the U.S., it is also significant for the sport because the 2024 T20 World Cup will be the first time the game is played in a temporary stadium. A 34,000-seat modular cricket stadium was purpose-built in a matter of months specially for the event in Nassau County, Long Island about an hour and a half from Manhattan.
The stadium will host 8 matches during the tournament, including the highly anticipated clash between Pakistan and India on June 9.
“India versus Pakistan is one of the greatest international sporting rivalries in the world of sport and to bring that match as part of a T20 World Cup to New York is a very exciting moment for our sport,” Allardice said.
For the ICC, having the tournament in the U.S. also gives them a unique chance to introduce and build the sport in a new market and gives the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy, says Allardice.
“[Cricket] is very popular in some parts of the world. It’s a very large global sport,” Allardice says. “And I think there are opportunities to make it popular in other areas of the world as well. There’s a very strong sports market in the U.S. that’s well established and we’re just trying to make sure people know what cricket is and that it is played in the U.S. as well as by the U.S. national team.”
The ICC chief added that while there are a lot of “passionate fans” in the U.S. already, there are still a lot of people whose interest in the sport has piqued with the World Cup being held in the county.
As for which team will be taking home the trophy, Allardice joked that he can’t pick any favorites but that the T20 format is “very unpredictable,” and it is hard to assess at this point.
However, he is positive it won’t be without heartbreak.
“It’s the first time we’ve got 20 teams together,” Allardice said. “We’ve got Uganda in an ICC tournament for the first time. USA and Canada in the T20 World Cup for the first time. I think that it’s all adds to the excitement.”
But like Allardice says, with 20 teams competing and millions of cricket enthusiasts holding their breaths, heartbreaks are inevitable.
The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be played from June 1 to 29 in the U.S. and West Indies. Tickets for matches in both countries are available to purchase on the tournament website on a first-come-first-serve basis. Tickets for sold-out matches are also available for purchase on third-party websites such as Stubhub, Tickets Center and SeatGeek for varying prices.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2024 cricket World Cup: Could T20 be a ‘milestone for the sport’?