Cricket in the World - Is Lauderhill really enough? - Opinion
Kicking off cricket in a place such as the USA, with little or no cricketing heritage is a massive challenge. Yet in a state which has witnessed just a handful of T20s being played at the Central Broward Regional Park, interest is definitely not going to
be generated overnight. The games had given American spectators a taste of what the gentleman’s sport is all about, yet the ICC’s ambitious drive to have the game blossom in every nook and corner of the planet definitely mandates more than just staging a few
odd games here and there and ignoring other aspects. The recent games and the impact that they have had has been minimal to say the least, and in a country as large and as diverse as the USA, cricket will continue to be low key as compared to other nations
which have the talent and have the structure to back it up.
The problem does not lie with staging ODIs in a place such as Lauderhill, but it is more to do with a lack of homework done by impartial aspirants. The nature of the population at the city would give a misleading picture of Americans having a genuine interest
in the game. Lauderhill is home to one of the largest concentrations of Americans of Caribbean descent in the country, who have always traced their ancestor’s culture with passion. This in itself guarantees a penchant for watching, playing and having an interest
in cricket from amongst the largely ‘West Indian’ population.
The CNRP has witnessed a tournament such as the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221 would be
the perfect target market for cricket in the USA and delight the ICC over its progress. The issue lies however, in most Americans sidelining events as mediocre and not even recognizing that cricket has taken place in the country. If one is to think of Minnesota,
California or even Colorado, cricket is normally perceived to be a game where one catches crickets in a handbag with an insect net.
The USA is probably the most isolated country when it comes to the International Cricket community. Thus, in a land http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Daniel-Harris-c1310 so huge and diverse, it is imperative to appeal to the indigenous population of the US, of which many are obsessed with Basketball, Baseball
and American Football. Florida’s close proximity to the Caribbean may guarantee an active audience, but for those who aim to witness cricket become widespread in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Usa-c759, other locations need to be targeted. China’s offer to host the Asia Cup in 2012 at Guangzhou
for example, was an opportunity for the Asian Cricket Council as well as the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ian-Douglas-Fisher-c63819 in
the Indus http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nathan-Coulter-Nile-c2070, yet the possibilities were endless in this prospect, which was shunned away.
In addition it is also imperative that regional and domestic competitions are focused on in the USA. Small scale leagues in California with relatively no recognition need to be reached out to and brought into the mainstream as was the case for countries
such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Papua-New-Guinea-c41002. Empowerment is necessary for the game to truly permeate into the American set up. It is more a case of getting down to the grass roots levels rather than staging a few T20s and expecting the game to reach out to the Americans.
It’s good for starters though.
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