The International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 (T20) World Cup has just kicked off in the U.S., where it is being hosted. There has been no shortage of excitement thus far in the group stage; in fact, one of the largest upsets in cricket history has just occurred, with the fledgling USA Cricket team defeating the 2022 T20 WC runner-up Pakistan Cricket Board in overtime. This victory is foundational for American cricket, as they now have a serious chance to get past the group stage, despite never having previously qualified for any ICC World Cup.
The USA Cricket team is making headlines in tournament coverage with two impressive comebacks against Canada and Pakistan. Pakistan’s roster consists of full-time cricketers, whereas the USA cricket roster includes mostly part-time cricketers. Team USA’s captain, Saurabh Netravalkar, is a full-time software engineer at Oracle, only playing professional cricket on the side. In an interview with the BBC, Netravalkar discussed moving to the U.S. after having to make the hard decision to focus on his studies and software engineering career over playing professional cricket in India. Since a recent ICC rule change allowed him to play for the U.S., he debuted in April 2019 and became a consistent member of the roster. His performance against both Canada and Pakistan has been on par with some of the best cricketers in the world and he has a bright future captaining the USA Cricket team as they get closer to moving past the group stage.
The T20 format of cricket consists of each team batting for 20 overs (hence the name) of six balls each. This format is rising in popularity as matches last only around three hours, breaking the reputation of cricket matches lasting weeks. The T20 World Cup format includes 20 teams split into four groups of five teams each. Each team will play every opponent in their group once, earning two points for a win, zero for a loss, and one each if the match is canceled. The top two teams in each group will move past the group stage into the “Super 8” consisting of another, shorter group stage and then a four-team bracket to the championship.
A common misconception is that cricket’s rules are exceptionally complicated — however, the basics are quite similar to baseball. The batting team’s goal is to hit the ball as far as they can, allowing them to run back and forth between the stumps to score runs. A batter can get out primarily if the ball they hit is caught by a fielder, or if the stumps placed directly behind the batter are knocked over by the bowler. After each over (six balls each), the bowler swaps with one of their teammates. After 20 overs (or if 10 batters have gotten out), the batting team and the bowling team swap, giving each team one chance to bowl and one chance to bat.
Since the restructuring of the USA Cricket governing body in 2017, after the USA Cricket Association collapsed following budgetary issues, the organization has become more reputable and stable. USA Cricket gained associate status in 2019, allowing them to play official international matches, and created a new domestic franchise league, Major League Cricket. The ICC and USA Cricket also constructed a temporary stadium in New York, a huge accomplishment for the hosts of the tournament, but as the group stage of the tournament is over, the stadium is already being decommissioned.
As the USA cricket team continues to outperform expectations, the outlook for their future and the sport’s future in the U.S. as a whole continues to get brighter. Growth in the sport is better for everyone, as the opportunity to make international cricket more competitive and topple the dominance of India and Pakistan will only make the sport more popular.
