Cricket World Cup’s American adventure has had serious problems – but it might just work

Saurabh Netravalkar, who bowled the super over, played in an under-19s World Cup for India alongside KL Rahul and against an England team that included Joe Root and Ben Stokes. He moved to the USA to work in tech when his professional career in India hit a dead end and started playing social cricket at the weekends. “I’m grateful destiny gave me opportunity to do this again,” he said.

The Major League Cricket T20 competition is giving players a chance to earn proper money. All of the USA team have MLC contracts and the league this week secured its biggest coup, Pat Cummins signing a four year deal with the San Francisco Unicorns, a move that rules him out of ever playing the Hundred. 

With Steve Smith, Matt Henry, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Haris Rauf and Jake Fraser-McGurk also signed up for MLC, the counties and ECB need to wake up fast to the American threat.

Cummins chose the league because of the business opportunities it affords him, a slap in the face for English cricket while it wrangles over the kind of private investment encouraged Stateside and which proves an allure to the game’s top players.

It was also announced last week that global professional services giant Accenture have signed a three-year deal with the New York franchise owned by the Mumbai Indians and will offer the use of its AI and data services to help boost the “performance of MI New York’s coaches and players both on and off the pitch.” This world Cup will attract more big business when they see the South Asian market the sport offers.

The test for USA’s India-born players of course will be holding their nerve and not be overawed against the giants from their own country when the teams play in New York on Wednesday. Repeating their Pakistan win would be the greatest shock in World Cup history. Steyn might be stopped and recognised on the streets of New York if that happens.