How the American Dream came true
What was once deemed improbable has become reality: the American dream for cricket, a dream of inclusivity, diversity, and boundless opportunity, has unfurled its wings.
The ICC T20 World Cup, a grand spectacle of the game of cricket, is making its grand debut on American soil in June 2024, marking a monumental milestone in the realization of the American Dream for cricket.
For decades, cricket had been a whispered tale in the American sporting narrative, a niche pursuit cherished by immigrants from cricket-loving nations but largely overlooked by the mainstream. Yet, against all odds, the seeds of this elegant sport found fertile ground in the melting pot of America.
From bustling city parks to suburban backyards, the love for cricket began to take root, transcending cultural boundaries and captivating hearts.
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Now, as stadiums prepare to host roaring crowds and players from around the globe lace up their boots, the narrative of cricket in America is undergoing a remarkable transformation.
What was once deemed improbable has become reality: the American dream for cricket, a dream of inclusivity, diversity, and boundless opportunity, has unfurled its wings.
How the dream came true
In November 2021, ICC confirmed the host countries of men's white-ball events from 2024-2031. This included two World Cups, four T20 World Cups and two Champions Trophy. The regular hosts Australia, England, India and New Zealand etc. were part of the list of 14 shortlisted countries but the surprise entrant USA, selected as co-host of T20 World Cup 2024 with Cricket West Indies, came as a big surprise.
It's the first instance of USA, an Associate Member in cricket, hosting a major ICC event.
It has been learnt that there was a joint written submission from CWI and USA Cricket which was assessed and approved.
"It was a joint written submission from CWI and USAC as part of a competitive bid process that was assessed by the Board sub-committee with the ICC Board taking the final decision," an ICC source was quoted saying last year.
Former USA Cricket chairman Paraag Marathe and chief executive Iain Higgins were the key figures in the joint successful bid for T20 World Cup 2024. Higgins, before taking over the role in USA Cricket, worked in the ICC from 2008 to 2019 as general counsel and also took on the dual role of chief operating officer in 2015.
Higgins helped USA Cricket get the support it needed for the bid to co-host the ICC event with Cricket West Indies. After serving for little over two years, Higgins resigned as the chief executive of USA Cricket on 15 November 2021, a day before the announcement for ICC men's events post-2023 was made.
Marathe too didn't last long after Higgins' departure and tendered his resignation in May 2022. Within a space of six months, USA Cricket lost two key administrators and instability in the cricket body continues.
Where exactly is the money coming from?
Hosting international sporting events like the T20 World Cup typically involves significant investments in infrastructure, security, promotion, and other logistical arrangements.
Grand Prairie in Dallas, Broward County in Florida and Nassau County in New York are the three venues shortlisted for the tournament and significant amount of expansion work will be carried out in Dallas and Florida while the temporary facility in New York will be built from scratch.
New York's cricket stadium, which will host the money-spinning India and Pakistan blockbuster, will cost around $30 million, according to sources.
The money spent in New York has irked ICC's finance committee as the venue would be razed down just a week after culmination of the T20 World Cup.
There is still no clarity over how ICC is actually funding the upgrades in the USA. The hosting agreement, which is signed between ICC and a Full Member (Cricket West Indies in this case) host nation, clearly states that all upgrades will be carried out by the host nation and the global body doesn't pay.
Just like it happened during the 50-over World Cup in India where the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) footed the bill for all the infrastructure work across the venues.
"A lot of money is being spent in the USA to bring venues close to standards laid down by the ICC themselves. Florida and Dallas venues are ready but still need a lot of upgrades to make them meet ICC's venue checklist, and lot of money is at play. The major concern is the venue in New York which would be built from scratch and will be brought down just a week after the tournament ends," a senior ICC official was quoted saying.
Will USA, an Associate Member in the hosting agreement, get any hosting fees? If not, will ICC pay for those upgrades? If yes, are other Full Members of the global body in agreement to this?
These are the basic questions which have remained unanswered till date.
The US is one of the richest sporting countries in the world, due to tournaments like NBA, NFL, and MLB, which make up the majority of the sports market capital in the country.
Hosting a showpiece event in a country that's one of the biggest attractions in the world when it comes to sports, the ICC might have pulled off a masterstroke.
One of the reasons why USA is ready to host this event is because there's room to make a "statement", to create more craze for cricket. The fact that most of the games are already sold out, including the much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash which will be played in New York, speaks volumes about the craze of cricket in the States.
