I always thought if only Americans play cricket they can beat the heck out of Indians and Australians. Now I am glad to say cricket has come to America in the form of MLC (Major League Cricket).
To paraphrase Neil Armstrong “This is one small step for USA, one giant leap for the game of Cricket”.
Major League Cricket in USA, similar to IPL, has 6 teams this year. These are the teams and their current standing as of July 21.
Los Angeles Knight Riders (NO win and 4 loss) (Owned by KKR)
MI New York (1 win and 2 loss) (owned by Mumbai Indians)
San Francisco Unicorn (2 wins and 1 loss)
Seattle Orcas (2 wins and NO loss)
Texas Super Kings (2 wins and 1 loss) (Owned by CSK)
Washington Freedom (2 wins and 1 loss)
These matches started on July 13. The final will be played on July 30.
These six teams have recruited, in addition to local Americans, players from all over the world. Some of the famous names are:
Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Devon Conway, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Rashid Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Unmukt Chand, Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson, Lungi Ngidi, Sunil Narine, and many others.
I am confused. I read somewhere that Indians who want to play in MLC has to sever all connections with BCCI and IPL. I don’t know how far this is true.
Tickets to all matches are sold out.
Eagerly waiting for the final on July 30.
After so many centuries what made the Americans enter the world of cricket. I am also waiting for the final eagerly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Gowri. Let me tell you why. Americans are not lazy and don't have time to watch a cricket test match 9 to 5 for 5 days with lunch, tea, and drinks break. and ODI no one has time to watch for 8 hours. T20 is best because we can enjoy the game and see the result in 3 hours.
DeleteSince there is a huge Indian population in the US, this league can groom snd recruit players locally..
ReplyDeleteI learn that “active Indian players are barred from playing in overseas franchise leagues, including MLC, but the ones who have announced their retirement are allowed.”
ReplyDeleteI strobgly believe if American ( non immigrant) also participate US will become a great cricket nation beforelong. I think this MLC is the harbinger of cricket catching the fancy of the nation
Thanks for your comments Mr KP. Your observation is perfect.
DeleteStill a huge fan of Indian cricket. Something to say India is proud of.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Coach. I appreciate your patriotism. Please wait for 10 years. USA will make India come back to earth.
DeleteCricket has a rich but forgotten history in the US dating back to the late 1700s. Baseball eclipsed it after the civil war but cricket was a very American sport till then with George Washington to Abraham Lincoln known to be fans of the sport. Success of short form cricket as a mainstream sport will take time, effort and good luck. But there are enough folks from the cricket diaspora to sustain it as a niche sport till then. Without doubt it would need to establish itself at the grass roots to be more than an expat sport.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Jagan. And, welcome to my blog. I really appreciate your informing us about the history of cricket in USA. I did not know until I read your comments now.
DeleteJagan, please visit my blog as often as possible. Thanks.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-history-of-cricket-in-the-united-states-132185661/
DeleteThanks Dr. J for the link.
DeleteSo, this should be seen as a way of reviving cricket rather than introduce cricket to the Americans.
DeleteI totally detest cricket even in India
ReplyDeleteRenu
ReplyDeleteI was planning to put out a blog post on this. I read about MLC. There was an interview with the founder of San Francisco Unicorn. He was explaining why it was called unicorn, and also explaining the reasons for starting this.
ReplyDeleteOne doesn't know if it will take off or not .. Earlier days. But won't be surprised if it does become a grand success, and as the organisers are hoping it will be as popular if not more popular than baseball!
Thanks for your comments Pradeep. Hope it becomes as popular as baseball.
DeleteCricket is time waste.
ReplyDeleteA ball bowled takes 1 second to reach batsman. The batsman responds. Either leaves, defends, plays to a player or gets runs.
Then 10 seconds. From fielder/s to bowler who takes run up for the next delivery.
At least out of 11 seconds, 10 seconds is waste.
As USA is an advanced country, they should not waste so much time.
Thanks for your comments Kirtivasan. You are correct. Major League Cricket in America are all owned, played, and watched by Indians and Pakistanis. I don't see any American watching the games.
DeleteOne correction. Players are mostly from Indians and Pakistanis living in America and imported for the series from South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, and Australia. BCCI does not allow Indian players to participate.
DeleteSo you watched the final?
ReplyDeleteCricket is huge business now. Cricket has many fans worldwide.
Nations that never took interest in cricket before, now do :)