The US cricket team is closing in on a big achievement at the Twenty20 World Cup

The sport of cricket is as foreign to most Americans as driving on the left side of the road or drinking warm beer.

This year, however, the United States is getting an up-close look at the bat-and-ball sport, originally from England, which resembles a lopsided version of baseball in which the pitcher deliberately bounces the ball in front of the batter.

The US national cricket team dating back to at least 1844 has already made a dent in the game's hierarchy by beat Pakistan last week at the Twenty20 World Cup, which is being held in New York, Texas, Florida and six other locations across the Caribbean.

The teams next game is scheduled to play India on Wednesday on Long Island, about an hour outside New York. The Americans are not expected to win it, but neither are they expected to beat Pakistan, a traditional powerhouse that reached the final at the last T20 World Cup in 2022.

We know we really want to get the word out when it comes to cricket in the country for the American born and bred people, said Aaron Jones, the top batsman of the US team. I think the further we get in the tournament, the better for us, and the better it is for us to get fans on board.

Still, as with the match against Pakistan, the Americans can expect the other team to get the bulk of the crowd's support on Wednesday at the temporary Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

The South Asian diaspora, like most people back home, loves cricket. They certainly showed up on Sunday for the much-anticipated match between India and Pakistan at the same venue, not far from the immigrant neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn.

Honestly, I think the crowd will support both teams, Jones said Tuesday. We also have many Indian players in our team. So I think the crowd will support both teams.

Although the United States is known for its participation in the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, the sport's participation has declined over the decades, while baseball is a pastime more akin to the game of rounders, where players play around running the bases instead of just back and forth. flourished on these shores.

However, it is making a comeback. Cricket was added to the Olympic program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the first time the sport will be played at the event since the 1900 Paris Games.

With cricket being one of the biggest sports in the world, it's only a matter of time before the majority of people get on board when it comes to American born and raised people, Jones said. I think America is a place where people love sports and it's clear that this World Cup will open a lot of people's eyes, and in a few years, with cricket in the Olympics, that will be very important too.

There is also a professional Twenty20 circuit in the United States that started last year. The second season of Major League Crickets will start on July 5 with six teams.

Twenty20 cricket is the shortest of the three main forms of the game. Each team bats for 20 overs (approximately 120 balls delivered, or six deliveries per over) or until the fielding team removes 10 of the 11 opponents. One-day cricket extends that to 50 overs for each team, while test cricket is unlimited overs with each side batting twice. A Test match, the most respected form of the game, can last up to five days, with breaks for lunch and tea during the approximately eight-hour daily sessions.

Teams in cricket score significantly more runs than in baseball. For example, the Americans amassed 159 runs against Pakistan to level the score after the twenty overs were completed, then won in a super over the equivalent of an extra innings in baseball.

The U.S. team is made up of players with roots in the sport's hotbeds, including India, Pakistan, South Africa and the Caribbean. They know their wickets from their stumps, their centuries from their dot balls and their pace from their spin, even if most of their countrymen do not.

They also know what they are up against on Wednesday, opposite Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two of the biggest stars in cricket.

Growing up as a kid, I always wanted to play against the best players in the world, and I'm definitely going to get the chance to do that now, Jones said. I wouldn't say intimidating. I'm excited to play against them, talk to them, and definitely beat them.

So far at the T20 World Cup, the United States defeated Canada in the opening match in Group A and defeated Pakistan on Thursday. If the team loses to India, the Americans will have to beat Ireland on Friday to have a chance of promotion to the Super 8 in the next phase, which sees the eight quarter-finalists split into two groups of four.

However, Pakistan got back into the mix by beating Canada on Tuesday. If Pakistan beats Ireland on Sunday, it could be a somewhat complicated series of tiebreaks to decide whether the Americans advance to the next round.

Right now we're focused on playing India tomorrow, Jones said, and whatever happens next… we just have to deal with it.

___

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket