United States cricket officials hope the team's stunning tournament victory in the Middle East will spark Americans' interest in a game where the bats are flat and balls are stuffed with hard cork.
The US team won the Six Nations Challenge limited-overs event on debut on Saturday, and qualified for the prestigious Champion Trophy in England in September for the first time.
"We have been looking for a starting point, and this victory will be the launching pad for cricket in America," said Gerald Singh, a board member of the United States of America Cricket Association.
He said the association was inundated with congratulatory calls from home and abroad after the US edged 2003 World Cup entrants the Netherlands, Namibia and Canada, along with Scotland and the host United Arab Emirates.
"We are so happy and thrilled with this victory, it has came as a surprise to all of us," said Singh, speaking by telephone from his home in Suffolk County, New York.
The Americans finished tied for three wins with the Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, and Emirates, and qualified first on net run rate, with .550542 to Scotland's .522868.
In the final round on Saturday, the US team beat Scotland by five wickets in 47.2 overs. If Scotland had lasted five balls longer, it would have won the tournament, said event manager Tim Anderson.
"It's like the Americans sneaked in from the back door," Anderson said.
The Champions Trophy features cricket's top nations, and the US joins World Cup winner Australia and New Zealand in Pool 1.
The US is an associate member of the International Cricket Council, and its 19th-century trailblazers helped to start baseball in America.
While cricket is the rage in England, the Indian subcontinent and Down Under, it is played in all 50 US states, mostly by immigrants or first and second-generation Americans. There are major cricket centers in New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Chicago and Texas.
In the United States, cricket continues to be an amateur sport, mostly played in public parks on weekends. There are 29 established leagues, 500 clubs and more than 10,000 players nationwide.
"When they came here, everyone thought the US side was weak and that they will not make it very far in the tournament," said Shah Hussein, the Emirates liaison officer of the American squad.
"But they proved otherwise and it was a big shock for everyone," Hussein said.
Anderson agreed. "I think the US performed beyond everyone's expectations. I think everyone is still in a state of shock."
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
RSS