Cricket, a popular activity in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, makes a significant comeback to North American shores with the T20 World Cup, but will it leave an impression on a local audience that knows little to nothing about the gentleman's game? Cricket is mostly driven by India, but the International Cricket Council sees enormous potential in the American market, claiming that there are currently 30 million followers who follow the game in the large country.
The T20 final is also viewed as a significant step toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where cricket will make its debut after 128 years when the big event begins on June 1.
A total of 16 games will be played in three locations: New York, Dallas, and Lauderhill, with the majority of 55 matches scheduled in the Caribbean, including the knockout rounds.
South Africa and Sri Lanka will face off on Day 3 of the competition in New York, the site of the first international cricket match between the United States and Canada in 1844.
It was a period when the sport was popular throughout America before a much faster alternative, baseball, rose to prominence during the Civil War in the 1860s.
"...(T20) It's entertainment and that's what people look for. That's what Americans look for, you know, they want entertainment," stated legendary West Indian Brian Lara, one of the most recognisable cricketers in the world but someone who admits that he could walk around Miami without getting a second look.
"You know, you speak to an American and I've done that many times and they'd say 'You play a game for five days and then you end up in a draw? What's that all about?' So it's, it is difficult," he explains the challenge of selling Test cricket to an American, who might just warm up to the shortest format though.
A few weeks of international cricket in an unfamiliar area will not be enough to pique the local audience's attention, and stakeholders will require a longer time to ensure the game expands beyond the South Asian and Caribbean expat communities.
Cricket can be difficult for a newcomer to grasp, especially when they are exposed to words like "third man," "fine leg," or "deep mid-wicket," which refer to the game's many field positions.
The ICC is going all out to engage the American public, whether it's bringing eight-time Olympic gold medalist sprinter Usain Bolt on board as the World Cup ambassador or advertising the event during the last Formula One race in Miami.
Cricket must expand at the grassroots level to divert the ordinary American household's attention away from baseball, the NFL, and the NBA.
"I surely think the game can grow in the USA. When you have a presence in a country people start gravitating towards it and want to know more about it," Bolt, who belongs to the cricket-loving Caribbean, told PTI in a recent interview.
The Americans have at least one motive to follow the event. Their side, primarily composed of players of South Asian and Caribbean descent, will be making their World Cup debut.