Sports
A day to believe cricket is not just an American Dream
Saurabh Netravalkar moved to the United States in 2015. He was 23 and had accepted a difficult reality. He wasn’t going to be a professional cricketer.
“It was a very emotional call,” Netravalkar said in an interview last year. “I packed my bags and moved to the US to study. I never dreamt that I’d get to play cricket again. I didn’t even bring my cricket shoes.”
A decade later and Netravalkar is stood at the top of his mark in a World Cup, tasked with bowling the Super Over against Pakistan that will earn USA cricket the biggest win in their history.
“It’s a very humbling feeling that life has given me a second chance to pursue what I love doing,” Netravalkar said. “And I really feel that bliss as soon as I walk onto the field to play competitive cricket.”
As Netravalkar bowled, the bliss was evident. Ten minutes earlier, Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir, a veteran of over 100 international matches and a 2009 T20 World Cup winner, had lost his cool in a nine-ball over that went for 18. But Netravalkar, an eight-year veteran of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, where he continues to work full time, held his nerve. Dot, four, wide, wicket and the match was done.
To this day, Netravalkar’s Twitter bio lists his role as a Principal Member of Technical Staff at Oracle, first, and Professional Cricketer at USA Cricket, second. It is time to swap those around.
For many, this result was a confirmation of what they already knew. That cricket’s potential in this country is immense, with the challenge being harnessing it.
Those facts were evident in the aftermath of Netravalkar sealing victory. A historic win, met with as much an outpouring of relief as an explosion of joy.
USA were full value for their win. And had they not crossed the line, the reaction wouldn’t have been pats on the back and better luck next time, but a side of quality professionals bereft at the opportunity they’d let slip. After the first eight overs of Pakistan’s innings, the visitors were 40 for 3. And with seven overs to go of USA’s, they were 104 for 1 with only 56 left to win.
In both instances, Pakistan pulled it back, but far from being a day belonging solely to Netravalkar, it was one that highlighted the depth of US cricket and the playing ability below the big names.
For all the noise of parachuted players like Corey Anderson who flipped nations after a successful international career with New Zealand, this was an Anderson-less victory. His sole contribution to the match was a single over that went for six runs.
Instead, the heroes were lesser known figures such as captain Monank Patel, who made 50 off 38 balls, Nosthush Kenjige and Nitish Kumar.
Kenjige, born in Alabama but raised in Karnataka, took 3 for 30 in his first match of the competition. He moved back to the States in 2015 and worked as a hospital technician. When he decided he wanted to requalify for the US as a cricketer, he’d work from 9-5 before driving to an indoor centre from 6-10 in order to complete the 800 hours of coaching that were necessary to prove to the ICC that someone had “a commitment to the local community.” This isn’t a team of people mumbling the national anthem with a new badge on their chest, but a group of players living out, if not their childhood dream, then their adult one.
That context applies to Nitish, who was born in Canada and represented them in the 2011 ODI World Cup as a 16-year-old, before switching nations in 2020.
World Cups provide the opportunity for people to live out their dreams, but they also offer the opportunity for people to live out their nightmares. And with one ball of USA’s innings to go, Nitish was experiencing the latter.
Arriving at the crease at No.5 with 49 required off 35 balls, he went boundary-less for a tortured 10 not out off 13. Off the final ball of the innings, he managed to chip a low full toss over mid-off and to the boundary to force a Super Over. He’ll remember this day for the rest of his life, and mercifully, for good reasons rather than bad.
However, throughout the hysteria and the joy, there was also a reminder of the challenges that cricket in the USA faces. Five days ago, Aaron Jones, who shone once again here with 36 off 26 before playing the defining batting role in the Super Over, inspired a roaring stadium with the innings of a lifetime.
The fist pumps that followed each boundary on Saturday night were back again this Thursday afternoon, but rather than revving up an adoring home crowd, they were defiant in the face of a more sparsely attended stadium consisting mainly of Pakistani supporters.
“We knew that we don’t have support from the crowd,” captain Patel said after play. “Pakistan had more support from the crowd and I thought it would backfire on them…they’ll be under more pressure.”
This World Cup in the USA is primarily about harnessing the interest that already exists here rather than expanding it. A position that carries with it pragmatic strengths, but blue-sky weaknesses.
For instance, the broadcaster carrying the World Cup in North America is Willow. A cricket specialist channel that if you’re an existing fan is gold dust as it carries almost any match that’s happening on the planet. But if you’re not an existing fan, you don’t even have the opportunity to accidentally scroll onto it as you’re flicking through channels. You won’t even know it’s not there.
America loves winners. But largely America doesn’t know it currently has one in its cricket team. Through Major League Cricket and the national side, they have the money and the quality to look after the short term of the game. And in growing diasporas such as the Nepali community that saw 5,500 people turn up to the middle of Texas to watch their match against Netherlands, they have the genuine interest and passion to look after it in the long term.
Far from just having the opportunity to grow the game, American cricket has a responsibility to, because if they get it right, this is a fairytale that’s only just beginning.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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