By Ayeza Shaur
The famous sport across the world has finally made its way to the United States, as the T20 Cricket World Cup began earlier this week. This year, the World Cup will be co-hosted in the United States and the West Indies. And believe it or not, the United States will also be participating! The US T20 team was officially created last year, with the draft held in March 2023. Since then, they have been hard at work, preparing for the T20 World Cup. The first game took place this past Saturday, on June 1st, 2024. American viewers were pleased to see the US victory against Canada, winning by 7 wickets. This game took place in Dallas, Texas, in the Grand Prairie Stadium.
In preparation for the World Cup, the US built a new modular cricket stadium in Long Island, New York. The completion of this stadium was commemorated earlier in May, with the appearance of many celebrities to celebrate the event. Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, US cricketer Corey Anderson, West Indies star Sir Curtly Ambrose, England’s Liam Plunket, and Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik attended this ceremony among many others. Additionally, the ICC (International Cricket Council) said that there will be a special bat at the venue for all of the matches hosted there. All of the guests that attended have signed this large cricket bat. The stadium took about four months to finish constructing, and it is huge, to say the least. The ICC claims that it is believed to be the largest stadium constructed in the US. The most anticipated game is to take place in the stadium on June 9th, where Pakistan and India will face each other. Fans are getting ready for the big day, and many are excited to watch it in person! Tickets to this game sold out almost immediately back in February. Prices ranged from $175-$400 at the time, although this did not last very long. Very soon, they were being resold for thousands of dollars, and now can be found for a minimum of about $900 on Stubhub (if any remain).
Image: Getty Images
If you are new to the sport, this is the perfect opportunity to learn the rules and have a great time with other viewers! Be sure to tune in to see your favorite countries playing each other; you won’t want to miss it!
Image: USA Today
