With the US on the brink of hosting the T20 World Cup alongside the West Indies, the big question on everyone’s mind is whether this hosting will raise the sport’s visibility in the US.
This event is being compared to the 1994 Football (Soccer) World Cup, which sparked a surge in the sport’s popularity in the US. Could the T20 World Cup in the US be the shock to the system to transform one of the most populous countries in the West into a cricket-rabid nation?
How Does Cricket Look in the US Today?
Cricket has been gaining ground in the US, with an estimated 200,000 players and 30 million fans, according to USA Cricket. However, the huge numbers of followers are not mainly Americans. The vast majority of the fans of this sport are expats from cricket-playing nations like the West Indies, India, and Pakistan.
Cricket faces an uphill battle against established American sporting pastimes like American football and baseball. Even football/soccer has only recently managed to gain a foothold in the country and establish a professional league in the MLS. What issues does cricket have compared to other nascent sports like soccer?
Stadiums And Their Placement Matter
The T20 World Cup will be played in stadiums around the country, in places such as the Central Broward Regional Park in Florida, Nassau County, in New York, and Grand Prairie Stadium, in Texas. Unfortunately, these grounds are not near major city centers and will likely not attract the crowds that cricket needs to cause a splash within the US.
Cultural Barriers For The T20 World Cup to Overcome
Ask any American about their local American Football or baseball team, and they’ll have dozens of stories. That history and legacy is something cricket lacks in the US, and with the lack of easily available grounds, it might not have for some time. The rules and format of cricket can seem complex and unfamiliar to American audiences, making it challenging to attract new fans.
Similarly, football/soccer faced cultural barriers in the US before its recent surge in popularity. In the early days, soccer was seen as a foreign sport, with limited media coverage and a lack of understanding among the general public. With time, the sport saw more and more people getting into it, as the US Men’s National Team made it on their own into a few World Cups. The T20 World Cup may not change the fact that Americans see cricket as a foreign sport.
Unfortunately, cricket is unlikely to have such a fairytale story, even after the T20 World Cup. The game’s rules are complex and unrelated to any other North American sport. Soccer had the advantage of being similar enough to sports like hockey and lacrosse that it could capture some of those sports’ audiences with only minor adjustments.
Will The US See a Rise in the Popularity of Cricket?
The most straightforward answer is no. Most people who watch cricket matches live at the stadiums are either arriving to support their teams or are already fans of the game. WillowTV and ESPN+ will broadcast the games live in the US, but these channels don’t have a significant following.
ESPN+ has a larger market share with 26 million paying viewers, but that still only accounts for 7% of the entire nation’s population. The US may not see a rise in cricket’s popularity for some time to come, even with the T20 World Cup coming there.
About the Author
Jason Dookeran is a writer and editor based in the Caribbean. He has been featured in several other publication outlets and pays close attention to sports and entertainment.
