As the United States gears up to co-host its first ever International Cricket Council tournament, the Men’s T20 World Cup this June, tournament director Fawwaz Baksh says that this event is just the beginning of a new chapter of the sport in the country.
‘The U.S. has always been part of I.C.C. and cricket,’ said Baksh, speaking to USA TODAY over the phone from West Indies. ‘It’s a massive market, and cricket, and I won’t say it’s new to the U.S., but it’s not as popular as other sports. And part of the objective to grow the sport [here].’
Baksh said that Major League Cricket (MLC) opened doors for T20 cricket in the U.S. with its debut season in the summer of last year. The majority of the matches were played in front of sold-out crowds in Texas and North Carolina.
‘They basically did a lot of the groundwork for us by getting the sport introduced to the U.S.,’ said Baksh. ‘They had very good crowds.’
US was an ‘obvious choice’ for 2024 T20 World Cup, says tournament director
When the time came to decide the host countries for the ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, U.S. was one of the ‘obvious’ choices, said Baksh.
Besides a developing appetite for the sport in the U.S., stimulated by the growing diaspora, especially from South Asia where cricket is huge, the U.S. also offered a ‘discipline-loving party atmosphere’ and exciting locations where matches could be played.
Baksh said that the U.S., as co-hosts with the West Indies, presented ‘a perfect cocktail for a very, very great tournament’. West Indies has previously hosted several I.C.C tournaments including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2007 and 2010, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2018 and most recently the ICC Men’s Under 19 World Cup in 2022. ‘
‘Tremendous’ response
That appears to have been a good call because ballot applications for match tickets received a ‘tremendous’ response from within the U.S.
‘We expected that to have a good interest in tickets, both in the West Indies and the U.S., especially the novelty of being a World Cup,’ Baksh said to USA TODAY. ‘But the response we’ve got is actually very, very exciting. Very well beyond our expectations actually.’
‘At the end of the pilot period [of the public ballot], we [had] almost close to 6 million tickets requests for the tournament,’ added the tournament director. ‘So, it’s been a really good response from people across the region.’
Baksh said that ‘quite a bit’ of the response came from within the U.S. and that all matches in the country were ‘oversubscribed’. The much-awaited Pakistan vs. India match to be held in New York on Jun. 9 was ‘more than 200-times oversubscribed’, according to the I.C.C.
‘Being a new market, you’re not always sure what the response will be, but it was almost an easy job getting people in,’ he said. ‘They definitely want to see the magic.’
Matches in the U.S. are scheduled to be held at stadiums in Fort Lauderdale, Dallas and New York.
While the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas and the Central Broward Park in Lauderhill have limited seating capacities of 7,200 and 20,000 respectively, New York is setting up a 34,000-seat modular stadium in Eisenhower Park on Long Island to host the tournament.
Despite the managing committee’s best efforts, scores of fans were unable to secure tickets for their preferred matches.
‘It’s an unfortunate reality that not everyone who applied for tickets will get tickets,’ Baksh said Friday. ‘I wish everyone could get a ticket but that’s just not possible.’
Baksh is hopeful that tickets for some matches may become available if sponsors and other stakeholders return tickets to the pool. He encourages those wishing to attend the matches to keep an eye on the ticket portal for a chance to secure tickets for the matches of their choice.
‘I encourage fans to keep checking but if they’re still unsuccessful, they can still enjoy the tournament and feel part of the action by visiting the fan parks and participating in the many activities that will be planned leading up to the tournament and around tournament time,’ he added.
Baksh told USA TODAY that the I.C.C. is planning a lot of fun activities to engage cricket fans and help new ones learn and familiarize themselves with the game.
‘A big part of this tournament is not only what’s going to happen on the field with the players, but also everything outside of the stadium,’ said Baksh. ‘We will make it a real carnival-like.’
But will it be able to generate the same amount of euphoria the Super Bowl does? Baksh is confident that his team and him ‘will put up a very good show,’ though planning for that is still in its early stages.
‘We’re going to do something big for the opening game in Dallas,’ Baksh said. ‘We need to celebrate the tournament.’
Putting their words into action, the I.C.C. kick-started celebrations for the upcoming tournament with an ‘Out of this World’ campaign featuring larger-than-life cricket balls in nine host locations including in Times Square in New York City and in Bridgetown in Barbados to mark 100 days to go for the event.
England’s Liam Plunkett and former captain of the West Indies cricket team Dwayne Bravo participated in the launch, hitting sixes with local fans and players in New York on Thursday, while Chris Gayle celebrated the launch in the West India.
Tournament will be more inclusive
The upcoming tournament will also mark the debut of several teams, including the U.S. and Canada, in an I.C.C. event and T20 cricket.
‘The great thing about this tournament that is more inclusive,’ said Baksh. ‘Instead of the usual 16 teams, we booked up to 20, which means a lot more people across the world had the opportunity to play a bigger stage.’
Leaving a lasting legacy
While putting together a good tournament for all those involved is Baksh’s primary focus, the tournament director also wants to ensure that the event leaves a lasting legacy, one that stays with the audiences, fans and players long after they have exited the stadium.
‘I also want to make sure that there’s a legacy after the tournament,’ Baksh said. ‘I hope for this sport to keep growing in the U.S.’
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
