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| Could America take to cricket? | Could America take to cricket? |
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| The Indian Premier League has announced plans to bring cricket to the US. But could the home of baseball ever take cricket to its heart? | The Indian Premier League has announced plans to bring cricket to the US. But could the home of baseball ever take cricket to its heart? |
| There are plenty of English people who find it hard to understand the joy of cricket. | There are plenty of English people who find it hard to understand the joy of cricket. |
| But could the United States, the home of brash, all-action sports like American football and basketball, ever embrace a sport steeped in etiquette and played by gentlemen in white trousers? | But could the United States, the home of brash, all-action sports like American football and basketball, ever embrace a sport steeped in etiquette and played by gentlemen in white trousers? |
| The Indian Premier League, the new powerhouse in world cricket, certainly hopes so. | The Indian Premier League, the new powerhouse in world cricket, certainly hopes so. |
| This week it promised to take its competition Stateside. Regional Indian sides could be competing in the Twenty20 competition by next year, according to Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. | This week it promised to take its competition Stateside. Regional Indian sides could be competing in the Twenty20 competition by next year, according to Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. |
| So could cricket take hold in the American imagination? | So could cricket take hold in the American imagination? |
| THE US CAPTAIN'S VIEW Steve Massiah was born in Guyana and is captain of the US team. He is also a real estate agent in New YorkNext month he takes the US team to Dubai for the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers"The problem when you look at American sports is that they like a fast pace, so going to the park to watch a 50-over match over six or seven hours is not likely"But the Twenty20 game is a sharp format that could capture the market."And the Indian Premier League coming here could be a start" | THE US CAPTAIN'S VIEW Steve Massiah was born in Guyana and is captain of the US team. He is also a real estate agent in New YorkNext month he takes the US team to Dubai for the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers"The problem when you look at American sports is that they like a fast pace, so going to the park to watch a 50-over match over six or seven hours is not likely"But the Twenty20 game is a sharp format that could capture the market."And the Indian Premier League coming here could be a start" |
| Many people would be surprised to learn that the US already has a strong cricketing heritage. | Many people would be surprised to learn that the US already has a strong cricketing heritage. |
| A fact that all pub quiz fanatics would do well to note is that the first international cricket match was played between the US and Canada in 1844, in Bloomingdale Park, New York. | A fact that all pub quiz fanatics would do well to note is that the first international cricket match was played between the US and Canada in 1844, in Bloomingdale Park, New York. |
| "Most of the white inhabitants at that time in America had come from Britain and they took cricket with them," says Peter Wynne-Thomas, author of The Complete Encyclopaedia of Cricket. Indeed, there are references to cricket in the US from the early 1700s. | "Most of the white inhabitants at that time in America had come from Britain and they took cricket with them," says Peter Wynne-Thomas, author of The Complete Encyclopaedia of Cricket. Indeed, there are references to cricket in the US from the early 1700s. |
| The first overseas cricket tour was by England in the US, says Mr Wynne-Thomas, but it was unfortunate that it came months before the outbreak of the Civil War, so there were no subsequent tours to build on that interest. | The first overseas cricket tour was by England in the US, says Mr Wynne-Thomas, but it was unfortunate that it came months before the outbreak of the Civil War, so there were no subsequent tours to build on that interest. |
| "At the same time, baseball got organised as a national sport and by the time the Civil War ended, baseball had taken off and cricket became more isolated, confined to the elite living in the Philadelphia and New York areas." | "At the same time, baseball got organised as a national sport and by the time the Civil War ended, baseball had taken off and cricket became more isolated, confined to the elite living in the Philadelphia and New York areas." |
| 15 million fans | 15 million fans |
| In the 1930s, the sport took an interesting twist when the actor and England cricketer C Aubrey Smith founded the Hollywood Cricket Club. He recruited the likes of David Niven and Boris Karloff to play in California, but it was already a minority sport. | In the 1930s, the sport took an interesting twist when the actor and England cricketer C Aubrey Smith founded the Hollywood Cricket Club. He recruited the likes of David Niven and Boris Karloff to play in California, but it was already a minority sport. |
| Relations between cricket and baseball had never got off to a great start. The first officially recorded game of baseball was in 1846 in New Jersey. The New York Knickerbockers were defeated 23-1 by the New York Nine, a team reportedly made up of travelling cricketers. | Relations between cricket and baseball had never got off to a great start. The first officially recorded game of baseball was in 1846 in New Jersey. The New York Knickerbockers were defeated 23-1 by the New York Nine, a team reportedly made up of travelling cricketers. |
| KEVIN CONNOLLY, BBC CORRESPONDENT IN WASHINGTON "Cricket is a hardy flower which has always flourished in unlikely places - I've seen it played in France and Afghanistan myself. So it could flourish again here, as it has throughout history. It won't replace baseball or the NFL but there's room for minority sports in the United States. Just look at soccer. | |
| "George Washington's troops are said to have amused themselves playing cricket as they wintered at Valley Forge before defeating the inventors of the game in battle. And Barack Obama demonstrated a promising batting stance when he met Brian Lara in Trinidad last year. In between a Philadelphia XI toured Edwardian England and British Hollywood team demonstrated the importance of the tea break. Hopes for the future lie with immigrants from South Asia and the Caribbean" | "George Washington's troops are said to have amused themselves playing cricket as they wintered at Valley Forge before defeating the inventors of the game in battle. And Barack Obama demonstrated a promising batting stance when he met Brian Lara in Trinidad last year. In between a Philadelphia XI toured Edwardian England and British Hollywood team demonstrated the importance of the tea break. Hopes for the future lie with immigrants from South Asia and the Caribbean" |
| Today, there are 30,000 registered players and about 200,000 people who play cricket of some sort at weekends, says Don Lockerbie, chief executive of the USA Cricket Association. Throw in an estimated 15 million fans, 950 clubs and 48 leagues, and the game probably hasn't been this healthy since that famous match in 1844. | Today, there are 30,000 registered players and about 200,000 people who play cricket of some sort at weekends, says Don Lockerbie, chief executive of the USA Cricket Association. Throw in an estimated 15 million fans, 950 clubs and 48 leagues, and the game probably hasn't been this healthy since that famous match in 1844. |
| "In the 1960s, a huge [immigrant] influx began from Commonwealth countries, but it took 40 years for them to find themselves in communities that became both affluent and influential enough to have cricket games in public parks or private pitches." | "In the 1960s, a huge [immigrant] influx began from Commonwealth countries, but it took 40 years for them to find themselves in communities that became both affluent and influential enough to have cricket games in public parks or private pitches." |
| Developments in recent years suggest fortunes are changing. The first international-standard stadium has been completed in Florida, at a cost of $15m (£9.3m). A pilot scheme in New York, in which 32 schools play cricket, is in its third year, for pupils aged 15 to 19. And in Atlanta, 35 schools have introduced the sport into their physical education class. | Developments in recent years suggest fortunes are changing. The first international-standard stadium has been completed in Florida, at a cost of $15m (£9.3m). A pilot scheme in New York, in which 32 schools play cricket, is in its third year, for pupils aged 15 to 19. And in Atlanta, 35 schools have introduced the sport into their physical education class. |
| Cricket's supporters in the US have also been finding themselves in the publishing spotlight. Joseph O'Neill's bestselling novel Netherland, which has been championed by Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama, tells the story of cricket-playing immigrants in New York and is to be made into a Hollywood film. | Cricket's supporters in the US have also been finding themselves in the publishing spotlight. Joseph O'Neill's bestselling novel Netherland, which has been championed by Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama, tells the story of cricket-playing immigrants in New York and is to be made into a Hollywood film. |
| But Mr Lockerbie realises it will take more than velvet prose to sell the sport to the American public. | But Mr Lockerbie realises it will take more than velvet prose to sell the sport to the American public. |
| "I've tried to explain Test cricket to Americans who say 'How can any sport go on four or five days?' To that I say 'Tiger Woods starts on a Thursday and plays until Sunday or even Monday.' We watch eight hours of golf at a time and still don't know the winner. | "I've tried to explain Test cricket to Americans who say 'How can any sport go on four or five days?' To that I say 'Tiger Woods starts on a Thursday and plays until Sunday or even Monday.' We watch eight hours of golf at a time and still don't know the winner. |
| Actor C Aubrey Smith played cricket for England and brought the sport to Hollywood | Actor C Aubrey Smith played cricket for England and brought the sport to Hollywood |
| "It's not so much whether cricket is boring or slow but Americans just want to see the great players excel. They don't need high-scoring games. Some of the great baseball games are the low-scoring ones. Twenty20 is the form of the game to put before Americans." | "It's not so much whether cricket is boring or slow but Americans just want to see the great players excel. They don't need high-scoring games. Some of the great baseball games are the low-scoring ones. Twenty20 is the form of the game to put before Americans." |
| The next target is to have a professional Twenty20 league by 2012 and top international teams regularly playing in the US. | The next target is to have a professional Twenty20 league by 2012 and top international teams regularly playing in the US. |
| One advantage cricket has over baseball is that the top batsmen can have hours at the crease to demonstrate their run-making prowess, he says, while the rules of baseball conspire against players having more than four scoring hits in a match. | One advantage cricket has over baseball is that the top batsmen can have hours at the crease to demonstrate their run-making prowess, he says, while the rules of baseball conspire against players having more than four scoring hits in a match. |
| "Cricket is much better at showing the action of the great players. It's far more exciting at hitting balls and scoring runs than baseball, yet baseball is over in three hours. | "Cricket is much better at showing the action of the great players. It's far more exciting at hitting balls and scoring runs than baseball, yet baseball is over in three hours. |
| "If Twenty20 cricket is marketed properly and fans, television and sponsors embrace it, we could see the sport of cricket becoming the next great sport in the US, where other sports have tried." | "If Twenty20 cricket is marketed properly and fans, television and sponsors embrace it, we could see the sport of cricket becoming the next great sport in the US, where other sports have tried." |
| There is some way to go, says sports historian David Brooks. To many Americans, cricket is a mobile phone company of the same name, or to those who know their sports, it's a strange English quirk. | There is some way to go, says sports historian David Brooks. To many Americans, cricket is a mobile phone company of the same name, or to those who know their sports, it's a strange English quirk. |
| A CRICKET SHOP IN NEW YORK Dupaul Singh owns Singh's Sporting Goods in Queen'sIt is, he says, the only shop in the US entirely devoted to cricketHundreds of cricket bats line the walls"I came from Guyana to the US in 1986 and arrived on a Thursday. On the Saturday I was playing cricket."People are optimistic about the future of cricket but there have been many false dawns, so there is caution too, he says | A CRICKET SHOP IN NEW YORK Dupaul Singh owns Singh's Sporting Goods in Queen'sIt is, he says, the only shop in the US entirely devoted to cricketHundreds of cricket bats line the walls"I came from Guyana to the US in 1986 and arrived on a Thursday. On the Saturday I was playing cricket."People are optimistic about the future of cricket but there have been many false dawns, so there is caution too, he says |
| "I think demographics were vital in the early days when the sports market was still relatively open. But cricket, with its need for a lot of time and good facilities, was not well suited to a country dominated by low-income immigrants, many of them from European non-cricketing nations. | "I think demographics were vital in the early days when the sports market was still relatively open. But cricket, with its need for a lot of time and good facilities, was not well suited to a country dominated by low-income immigrants, many of them from European non-cricketing nations. |
| "Today I think time is important. I'm not sure what it is in the American psyche that makes long attention spans rare, but it is a fact that none of the US sports last more than three hours. They've found a formula that works, and cricket - with the possible exception of Twenty20 - does not fit into it." | "Today I think time is important. I'm not sure what it is in the American psyche that makes long attention spans rare, but it is a fact that none of the US sports last more than three hours. They've found a formula that works, and cricket - with the possible exception of Twenty20 - does not fit into it." |
| American sports fans also can't stand a draw, or a tie as they call it, he says. They always play until there's a winner, so the concept of playing five days and not having a result is completely alien. | American sports fans also can't stand a draw, or a tie as they call it, he says. They always play until there's a winner, so the concept of playing five days and not having a result is completely alien. |
| Today's demographics also count against cricket taking off, because the fast-growing Latino community prefers soccer and baseball. | Today's demographics also count against cricket taking off, because the fast-growing Latino community prefers soccer and baseball. |
| On the other hand, the sport has some things going for it - plenty of time for adverts and lots of statistics, which Americans love. So how could it spread in popularity? | On the other hand, the sport has some things going for it - plenty of time for adverts and lots of statistics, which Americans love. So how could it spread in popularity? |
| Given its need for facilities and equipments, it will need to take hold in schools and universities, says Mr Brooks. And Americans will need to be exposed to world-class cricket, although the time difference means that mostly happens when they are in bed or in work. | Given its need for facilities and equipments, it will need to take hold in schools and universities, says Mr Brooks. And Americans will need to be exposed to world-class cricket, although the time difference means that mostly happens when they are in bed or in work. |
| "Perhaps if the US team, complete with a baseball star selected by reality TV, qualified for a Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, with a game or two in Miami, then perhaps, just perhaps, with the right marketing, cricket could get the exposure it needs." | "Perhaps if the US team, complete with a baseball star selected by reality TV, qualified for a Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, with a game or two in Miami, then perhaps, just perhaps, with the right marketing, cricket could get the exposure it needs." |
| Sounds like a plot for a novel, but who wants to read about American cricket? | Sounds like a plot for a novel, but who wants to read about American cricket? |
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