The rising USA cricket team is on to the next stage of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup.
USA will play South Africa on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the first match of the Super 8 Stage of the World Cup.
In this Super 8 stage, the eight teams who made it out of the first round are placed in two groups of four and will play the other teams in their group in a round-robin schedule. The two teams from each group wirh most wins will go on to the next Knockout stage, which will determine the two finalists for the World Cup on June 29.
USA is in Group 2, where they will play South Africa, followed by West Indies on Friday, and then England on Sunday.
So how did the USA team get this far in the T20 World Cup? And how can New Jersey and New York cricket fans cheer them on as they continue their improbable ascent in this tournament?
The USA national cricket team was formed in 1965, but this is the first time they have qualified for an ICC World Cup tournament until this year. The reason? They are co-hosts of the World Cup with the West Indies national team.
But the American squad has shown cricket fans they belonged with a comeback victory over their longtime rivals Canada on June 1. Then, they had an upset win on June 6 over Pakistan, the runner-up to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
However, they lost to India on June 12 in a thrilling, low-scoring match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium that saw India take over near the end and finish with 111 runs while losing only three wickets (outs) over the USA’s 110 and 8.
The USA’s final first-round game against Ireland on Saturday was abandoned due to heavy rain that hit Central Broward Park in Lauderhill, Florida. But the USA got a point along with its opponent. And with the four points earned from the wins over Canada and Pakistan, they made it into the next round.
The USA team boasts a solid hitting attack led by their captain Monank Patel, who came from the Indian state of Gujarat to the United States in 2016. He has connections to New Jersey — he was a member of the New Jersey Stallions team in the Minor League Cricket league and is currently a member of MI New York in Major League Cricket. Patel helped the team win the match over Pakistan with 50 runs.
Other top hitters include New York native Aaron Jones, whose 94 runs propelled USA over Canada, and African native Andries Gous. Their bowling attack is led by Saurabh Netravalkar, whose day job is software engineer at the tech company Oracle, who was the star bowler in the India match with two wickets while allowing 18 runs in four overs.
Their Wednesday opponent, South Africa, is a veteran, tournament-seasoned squad that won all four matches in the first round, but all by close margins.
They have a potent batting attack led by such stars as their captain Aiden Markram, Quentin De Kock, Heinrich Klassen, and David Miller. Their bowling attack is led by stalwarts like Tabaiz Shamsi, Marco Jansen, and Kagiso Rabada. They are currently ranked No. 5 in the world in the T20 format, according to the ICC (International Cricket Council), while the Americans are ranked No. 17.
The irony of the USA cricket team playing in the next round is that they are not playing any of the matches on home soil. The rest of the matches in the T20 World Cup will be in the West Indies.
Their next three games in the Super 8 stage will be played in the Caribbean, starting with their match on Wednesday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda. Then, the match against the West Indies on Friday at 8:30 p.m. will be at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, and their faceoff against England on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. will be again at the Kensington Oval.
Unless you’re a USA cricket superfan with ample vacation time and thousands of dollars to burn for travel and lodging expenses, the best way to see the game is on the TV.
The match can be seen on Willow TV, the sole cable broadcaster of the World Cup in the United States and Canada. Television providers that carry Willow TV are DISH, Sling, FIOS, Spectrum, Xfinity, Optimum, and Optimum TV. Unfortunately, there will be no public fan park at the World Trade Center’s Oculus Plaza to watch matches — as there were for the first round — until June 29 for the T20 World Cup final.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul
