NEWS
Follow UsThe cricket team of the United States of America (USA) have been on a mission to grab the attention of the cricket world. Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, they proved to be an eye-opener for Bangladesh when they beat the nation with a Test status for almost a quarter of a decade in consecutive T20Is to nail the series. This came after Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan openly claimed their series against the co-host of the World Cup was “not an ideal preparation”
The USA well and truly established themselves as giant killers after they thumped Pakistan in the Super Over on June 6 (Thursday) in Dallas, Texas. Now, with Pakistan losing to India, the USA are favorites to accompany India for the Super Eights in the Caribbean.
For the hero of the co-hosts with the bat so far and their vice-captain, Aaron Jones, the opportunity to play the Super Eights of the World Cup will be a big boost for cricket as a sport in the United States.
“I think it'd [qualifying to the Super Eights] be great to be honest if we qualify. Obviously, we know that we really and truly want to get the word out there as it relates to cricket in the country for the American born and raised people," Jones said ahead of the match against India.
"I think the further we go in the tournament, the better for us, and the better for us bringing fans on board and stuff like that. So yeah, that's the aim right now and we're going to play hard cricket tomorrow and every other game to be honest.”
Jones played first-class cricket for Barbados in 2017 before starting to play for the USA in 2018. In their first game against Canada in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Jones smashed 10 sixes, joined second-most in a T20 World Cup innings, to help them complete their highest chase in T20Is. He also proved to be one of the stars of their victory against Pakistan by hitting a six in the 20th over against Haris Rauf after which the equation came down to six off two balls. He followed that up with 11 runs if the bat from the six balls he faced in the Super Over.
The final three games of Group A are to be played in Lauderhill, Florida, where the weather forecast as of now suggests a high probability of a washout. If either the USA’s or Pakistan’s game against Ireland is washed out, the USA will be through to the Super Eights. But for Jones, the focus is on the present.
“Yeah, we've been looking at the weather and stuff, but we don't really want to focus on it too much. At the end of the day whatever God wants, that's going to happen. So, we just want to play one game at a time. Right now, we are focused on playing India tomorrow, and then whatever happens after that and then we'll deal with it," the 29-year-old said.
Many of Jones’ teammates, including captain Monank Patel and ace pacer Saurabh Netravalkar, are of Indian origin. He described the mood in the camp as that of excitement about the prospect of them gearing up to play against their former colleagues.
“I think they're pretty excited to be honest. This is the first time USA will be playing against India. And obviously, like so many guys on our team are from India. They actually played against and with some of the guys back home in the past. So, they're definitely excited to play against some friends for sure," Jones observed.
USA’s game against India will also be the last game of the New York leg of the World Cup. While the pitch there has been widely criticized for being risky for the batters, it has resulted in closely fought contests. If the USA are able to pip India, it will be the first loss for the Men in Blue against a non-Test-playing nation in T20Is.
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