Did ICC make a mistake co-hosting T20 Men's Cricket World Cup in US?

FE Team | Published: June 01, 2024 23:45:15

With the T20 Men's Cricket World Cup due to start today (Sunday), co-hosted by the West Indies and the US, the build-up to the tournament has been relatively quiet. The West Indies is a cricket-loving nation, having won the men's T20 World Cup twice before, but cricket is yet to make a major breakthrough in the US, according to world-leading provider of sports market analytics portal www.sportcal.com.
The US is one of the richest sporting countries in the world, with major leagues such as the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), and Major League Baseball (MLB), making up the majority of the sports market capital in the country.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is hoping that a showpiece event, which is one of the biggest sporting attractions in the world, will kickstart cricket in the US.
Previously, the T20 World Cup has been hosted by traditional cricket-loving nations like India, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, and England.
The benefit of hosting a T20 World Cup in these countries is that they already have the infrastructure and resources to host a cricket tournament. The big issue in staging it in the US is the lack of infrastructure and resources that are necessary when hosting a major cricket event.
Nassau County Stadium is a purpose-built stadium for this year's competition, and construction began back in January. The venue is unique, with views of Manhattan skyline from its east and west stands and the outfield is using world-class Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass nurtured in Florida for its play surface.
The playing surface was transported over 1,000 miles to New York. According to Forbes, the stadium cost around $30 million to build.
The venues in the US are using 'drop-in pitches' which were the responsibility of Adelaide Oval's head groundsman, Damian Hough. The 34,000-seater Nassau County Stadium will be the venue that hosts one of the biggest matches in world Cricket, India vs Pakistan.
The two countries do not play each other in bilateral cricket for political reasons, which makes the contest even more anticipated, and the match is already a sell-out ahead of the June 9 encounter. With many expats from the subcontinent living in the US, this allows huge potential for the tournament's attendance.
The 34,000-seater stadium at Eisenhower Park is due to be dismantled after the tournament, but the cricket field will remain. The aim is for this to provide a 'world-class' foundation for local teams and potentially a future professional team.
The huge amount of investment that has been made for this year's T20 World Cup demonstrates the giant risk that the ICC is taking. However, the tournament is up against huge competition.
The NBA finals are due to get underway on June 06, ice hockey's NHL Stanley Cup is being played at the same time, and the US Open golf begins a week later. The T20 World Cup will struggle to find a place in this schedule.
The main goal for the tournament is to put cricket on the sporting landscape in the US, yet it is unlikely to have any chance of competing against the major sports leagues in America.
In 2023, the US held the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season which has, to an extent, provided a platform for international cricket. The first edition of MLC was a success, with the help of investment from Indian Premier League (IPL) owners which not only provided some of the top cricketers around the world but also gave American fans a gateway to cricket with something they love and are familiar with - a sports league format.
With the hype around a T20 World Cup usually big, this year's tournament appears to be different.
According to the ICC, it has plans to have a series of introductory events and activities leading up to the tournament, and the governing body kicked off the tournament celebrations with its 'Out of this World' campaign which saw giant cricket balls pop up in places like Bridgetown, Barbados, and New York's Time Square to mark the 100-day countdown to the start of the tournament. Despite these efforts, there is no buzz in the US for the tournament.
During the unveiling of the Nassau County Stadium, there was not a single Indian cricketer among the multiple sports stars who were there for the first look at the stadium. Understandably, the IPL is ongoing, but this was not the best advertisement for the tournament.
Disney, which holds the media rights in India for international cricket, and has a deal agreed covering the 2024-2027 period, is reportedly not happy with the lack of promotion of this year's T20 World Cup.