Steve Smith, one of this generation’s finest batters, has conquered much of the cricketing world during his career, and he now has set his sights on a new frontier: the United States.
Yes, Smith has signed to play Twenty 20 (T20) cricket for the Washington Freedom, which happens to be coached by former Australian great Ricky Ponting.
Washington is one of six teams in Major League Cricket (MLC), which began in 2023. The Freedom finished third in the inaugural season, won by New York.
The 2024 season will begin in July before the US co-hosts the T20 World Cup with the West Indies.
A number of established cricket stars have already played in the US league, including Quinton de Kock of South Africa, Nicholas Pooran from the West Indies, Trent Boult from New Zealand and Australians Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Finch.
Looking ahead, T20 cricket has been included for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
So, why is cricket suddenly interested in the US – and does this interest go both ways?
Cricket in the US: what’s the go?
Cricket is slowly becoming better known in the US.
Firstly, it is because of the rising South Asian population who mostly love their cricket.
It is a growing and affluent professional community – the South Asian diaspora is growing at a rapid rate across North America to the point that when you fly into most large US cities, you can spot cricket pitches.
Many South Asian immigrants to the US (and Canada) are engineers, doctors and entrepreneurs with good educations and professional jobs – Indian-Americans are the most affluent group in America by median household income, while Sri Lankans and Pakistanis are two of the eight wealthiest segments.
In terms of education, 70% of Indian-Americans have at least a Bachelor’s degree, compared to the US average of 28%.
A lot of this affluence is ploughed into supporting local cricket leagues in the US and watching the MLC.
In terms of participation, cricket is still very much a niche sport in the US, with about 200,000 registered players. However, this has grown from around 30,000 registered players in 2006, with emigration from South Asia driving the lion’s share of growth.
Consuming cricket anytime, anywhere
Secondly, live streaming has taken off worldwide in recent years, allowing Indians in the US to watch India Premier League (IPL) games back home, and Indians in India to live stream MLC matches.
According to Chris Muldoon, chief strategy officer of Cricket NSW, there are more than 4 million subscribers to Willow TV’s cricket-only streaming service throughout North America.
This means it is easy for most cricket fans can consume what they want, when they want it.
The growth of cricket franchises
Thirdly, IPL franchises are launching clubs and leagues around the world – in South Africa, the UAE and the US – to grow the sport and to attract talent and revenue to their respective franchises.
There is a strong IPL presence across many of the domestic T20 competitions that have launched in recent years, including in MLS where four IPL franchises are involved with the foundation clubs in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle.
This is a big shift in cricket governance, as it is not just the cricket boards of Australia, England & Wales and India calling the shots on schedules – it is now the IPL franchises too.
What does this mean for Australian cricket?
So, how does all of this affect elite cricket in Australia?
Australian cricketers have been competing in T20 competitions around the world for years now, with Cricket Australia occasionally having to step in to reduce the workloads of some of its best players.
Now the MLC will force governing bodies and players to react to another competition in a packed cricket calendar.
According to Muldoon, the opportunity in the US is too big to ignore. He says:
The US is the world’s most sophisticated and competitive sports and media market and Major League Cricket presents the most exciting and challenging opportunity in world cricket.
The proliferation of franchise T20 cricket around the globe, much of it driven by the commercial success of the IPL as well as changing preferences of consumers, is changing the way cricket is consumed. And it is bringing new revenue into the sport – which in turn is making it increasingly attractive to the world’s best players and coaches to be a part of these growing franchise leagues around the world on an almost full-time basis.
Will cricket really take hold in the US?
So does Smith’s signing indicate a cricket revolution? Does the US aspire to be a cricket nation?
Probably not in terms of Test cricket, but in the US, the shortened format of T20 is possibly appealing.
This is largely driven by the South Asian diaspora who have migrated to North America, and T20 is the format that has the consumer appeal to attract eyeballs – and broadcast partners. The addition of cricket as an Olympic sport for Los Angeles in 2028 may also add to the sport’s exposure.
Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Advocate Valanka Alemao is nowadays on the news for being a kind soul. Everyone around is talking about her social work and all the contribution she made to the society. She has been a part of many social awareness programmes and had always stepped with a charge to fight against the injustice. But like every one she always dreamt of meeting the Bollywood’s Shenshah Amitabh Bachchan. And her dram also came true when she was invited at a celebration of a brand recently in the town where she was been praised for all her contributions to the society. And amongst many big personalities present to listen her deeds were also her dream hero Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. He smilingly noted all the work done by Valanka. Valanka excitedly admitted, “Today I feel to be the only lucky person in this world. It’s always been a dream and I never expected that it will come true like this. He is my Dream Man. I felt so excited and was feeling so shy when I met him and was droven with joy when he praised and appreciated my work.His persona is really outstanding and his gesture is so kind. And promised me his full support in the welfare of the society.”The other personalities present were also Prime Minister of England Mr. Gordon Brown who also appreciated Valanka’s contributions to the society. It was an honorable moment for her. Alemao’s interest’s lies mainly in serving the people of Goa. She has taken a lot of initiative in development and upliftment of the people of goa. She also has taken a lot of efforts in the preservation of Goa’s Environment. Social work like Promoting Girl child has always been her priority list, for which she has faced a lot of challenges in her life. Valanka’s work doesn’t just revolve around social issues; she also loves sports and wants Football to be a major game in Goa. 
Kids’ wear brand Mickey is planning to step up its retail presence by opening company owned as well as franchise stores across the country. Highlighting their plans, Hitesh Ahuja, CEO says, “We have two EBOs, both in Kolkata. Two more are in the pipeline, one in Hyderabad and the other in Bangalore. There will be one more in Kolkata by December. By April 2013, we will have 11stores. And after the first 11 stores, we will tie-up with franchises to spread our retail footprint.” He goes on to explain that by launching exclusive outlets, they expanded their product line. “Earlier we were mainly into casual wear for boys and girls. Now we are doing summer wear, sportswear, designer wear and sleep wear for kids between the age group of 0 to 5 years. We have also introduced shoes recently and plan to add other accessories,” adds Ahuja. The company’s product line includes a whole range of children’s wear, which is casual as well as sports and lounge wear for girls and boys. Elaborating on the collection, Ahuja says, “We do baba suits, shorts, denims, cotton trousers, three-fours and track pants. For girls, we have skirts, harem pants, balloon skirts, shorts, long skirts and dresses. Our consumers belong to the middle and upper income group. We are able to cater to the middle income group as well as high end market because our price points are controlled owing to the latest manufacturing processes.” Mickey launched by reputed apparel company Bonie Apparels, is a reputed manufacturer and exporter of readymade kids’ wear. They launched Mickey in 1984 at Kolkata. Explains Ahuja, “We started manufacturing for the local market first and then spread our operations all over India. Mickey became a strong brand eventually. Then we entered into exports. But our local markets suffered. In terms of production, we couldn’t cater to the local market. But now with a new set-up, we have refreshed our operations. Now our average monthly production is of 150,000 pieces.” Mickey’s product line is also available in more than 300 MBOs. The company exports to the Middle East—Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. 
