America is going to be a major player in World Cricket within the next 20 years.
There I said it, I know I sound stupid, but somebody had to point it out.
The sport of cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world, with countries such as Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and England all obsessed with the game, however, it never quite landed in the USA, until now.
This is because America already has baseball, a very similar bat and ball game. However, the USA is now catching on to the phenomenon that is Twenty20 cricket, as they have realised that it is the closest thing they can get to baseball in the sport’s offseason.
According to SponsorPulse, over 50 Million Americans actively engaged with the sport of Cricket in the past 12 months and while that largely revolved around ex-pats from Cricketing nations, there is no escaping that Cricket is on the rise, with a 600% increase in active players in the last 15 years. When it comes to homegrown cricketing talent from the USA, it isn’t unrealistic to think the country could produce some world-class talent. there has been an experiment in the US for many years that sees Indians, Aussies, Kiwis and more poached from Cricket and taught the basics of baseball as they believe the mechanics of pace-bowling translates well to pitching. This experiment produced mild results with no prospect ever making it past the Minor League stages.
But, I always suspected that they had the experiment wrong. I believe if you took a baseball pitcher and taught him how to be a Cricketing pace-bowler, the results could be magnificent. Imagine a 100 Mile-an-hour cricket ball launched at your stumps for a yorker with the ball held with a knuckleball or screwball grip. Just imagine the potential speed and swing that it could produce! Plus, the single hardest thing to do in sports is claimed to be hitting a Major League fastball in baseball, so it isn’t crazy to think you could put a cricket bat in a baseballer’s hands and it starts raining sixes.
Anyways, big business is looking to capitalise on the growing popularity of Twetny20 cricket within the country by launching Major League Cricket. A 6-team Twenty20 competition that will see the best players in the world Mix with homegrown American talent, launching in 2023. Foundations have already been put in place for this as well to develop player talent and fan awareness with a successful Minor League Cricket competition already taking place.
Now Major League Cricket holds exclusive rights to Cricket within the country, meaning they hold a complete monopoly on all players, fans and investors’ money. The league has already raised $120 Million and has the backing of The Microsoft CEO and the popular IPL Franchise the Kulcutta Knight Riders, who have already secured the Los Angeles-based franchise and plan on building a 10,000-seater stadium purpose-built for the sport in both LA and Dallas.
Throw in the fact that the next Twenty20 World Cup is being co-hosted by the USA and there is a heavy push for the sport to be included in the 2028 US Olympic Games there is a significant push to grow the sport of Cricket within America, so I think it isn’t completely unrealistic to suspect that American could finally get on board with cricket and become the next powerhouse within the sport.