lol Canada
So went down the rabbit hole a bit and it seems like most of the American team has some legit cricket experience. It seems like most of them played it at a very high level in the countries in which they were born and then immigrated here. I’m guessing they would all be scrubs in their native countries, but they’re also not complete donks (which is what I was kind of expecting).
That is changing a bit.
Team USA used to be retirement fun for elite cricketers (mostly West Indian) who had or could get a US passport.
Ali Khan, for example, is our best bowler and while he was born in Pakistan all his high-level cricket stemmed from recognition by the US system (such that there is one).
Just prior to this tournament the USA did win a series 2-1 against Bangladesh. The contracted players make up to $90k, so these definitely aren’t hobbyists.
USA Cricket still has the problem of being a vanity job for wealthy Indian-Americans. There was a domestic tournament a few years back that supposedly was in danger over which board members had their photos in which place on official documents.
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I was in Australia for a while and found cricket better than golf to have on in the background when napping. Nothing much happens and the scores are so high that any scoring event is basically just statistical noise. Then went to a 20-20 match at the MCG and it was like a rock concert. Here is one of the teams entering with fire cannons!
Here is some bowling:
And here is the Shot Tower at some Melbourne train station/mall
Isn’t there an India/Pakistan match? Hope everyone stays safe, that rivalry gets heated.
There is some fairly serious league play in my local park. I always make it a point to watch for a few minutes (was just there this morning in fact) but can never quite figure out what is going on. All the players are super friendly though.
Mayor Adams found out about the leagues and tried to respond by building a giant temporary stadium to host some World Cup games - an endeavor that would necessitate canceling the leagues for a year as well as ruining the park - and was surprised that noone was keen to the idea. They did it in Long Island instead lol.
Sunday in Long Island.
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West Indies not looking great! Won comfortably in the end but PNG is in the running for the weakest team by far in this tournament.
WI is looking fine, 97/5 is greater than 136/8 if my math is correct.
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It’s not linear. The batsmen get worse the deeper you go.
Oman vs Namibia
WHO YOU GOT?
Oman seemed like they might be the top associate team around 2019 but they seem to have fallen back to being average among the non-test countries that are competitive.
Namibia knocked out Zimbabwe in qualifying which is something (but not much of something).
Two wickets in two balls for Trumplemann!
Some of these cricket teams seem pretty sus. It would be like if East Timor granted citizenship to 20 Brazilians and then qualified for the World Cup.
Well, obviously not that extreme, but you get the idea.
You’re not entirely wrong but the US, Canada and Oman having a significant population of people with roots in the subcontinent isn’t due to cricket.
I’ll give you US and Canada.
I could be wrong, by my impression of Oman is that most of the Indians/Pakastanis/Bangladeshis/Sri Lankans there are working there more or less temporarily and fully intend to return to their home countries. Based on 1 min of google, it seems very rare foreigners to get Omani citizenship.
Hmm this was streamed on ESPN+ last time around but not this time apparently. Any good source to watch? Feel free to PM if suss lol
My understanding is UAE used to have youth teams that outperformed their senior team because players (all or almost all with subcontinent roots) would lose eligibility at adulthood due to UAE’s nationality laws. In the past few years though their senior team has been made up of players who were almost all born in UAE. They compete at the same level as USA and Oman but didn’t qualify for this World Cup.
Oman is fairly new to this level of cricket (12th to 18th-ish ranked) so without looking I’m guessing they are predominantly foreign-born. That said, I doubt heading to Oman is a lucrative option for Pakistanis who are just outside national team selection contention.
Resident Aussie here to fill you in or whatever in a few days when I get back from work.
T20 format is way hugher variance than most cricket formats (imagine a 2 inning baseball game vs a full one) and the tournament format much like the World Baseball Classic is a bit of a flippament so should be fun.
Sick photos from the Aus T20 btw, judging by kits look to be circa 2015 or so?