View from the USA: Getting ready for ICC T20 World Cup 2024...

[FearlessRoar]

‘Controlled Funding’ Put In Place For USA Cricket Ahead Of Home T20 World Cup​

USA Cricket avoided calls for suspension, but its funding is being 'controlled' by the sport's governing body, according to sources, amid ongoing turmoil ahead of co-hosting June's T20 World Cup.

At last month's International Cricket Council quarterly meetings, the continual saga engulfing American cricket was debated and an update of the T20 World Cup was provided, sources present told me.

Familiar warring has rocked USA Cricket with a spate of resignations while chief executive Dr. Noor Murad had his contract terminated last month. USA Cricket announced last week that it had starting searching for Murad's replacement.

There were calls from several directors on the ICC board to suspend USA Cricket, with even one calling for an expulsion, according to sources. But with a historic T20 World Cup on the horizon - with matches to be played in New York, Dallas and Lauderhill - USA Cricket has survived, but its funding is being controlled by the ICC, who make payments on its behalf (using USA's share of the ICC's money).

The ICC declined to comment.

It is a return to a chaotic American cricket scene after former governing body USA Cricket Association was expelled in 2017 capping a turbulent period marked by three suspensions.

The newly formed USA Cricket had started promisingly under the high-profile leadership of Paraag Marathe, the long-time San Francisco 49ers senior administrator, and former ICC chief operating officer Iain Higgins. But both departed in contentious circumstances in recent years and upheavel has ensued ever since.

It comes at a pivotal juncture ahead of the U.S. co-hosting cricket's biggest event of the year. But USA Cricket has had limited role in the organization and promotion of the T20 World Cup. That is almost unprecedented for a host nation, but seen as necessary given the circumstances.

T20 Incorporated, the entity established in the U.S. to deliver the event, is believed to have kept USA Cricket in the loop over matters regarding the event. T20 Inc. have been under pressure with a modular cricket stadium in New York still amid construction ahead of the World Cup starting on June 1.

The 34,000-seat Nassau County Stadium in Eisenhower Park, 30 miles east of Manhattan, is expected to cost $30 million, according to sources.

The turbulence of USA Cricket has raised eyebrows among senior administrators from other countries, some of who have long cried over "preferential treatment" granted to U.S. which is deemed a target market by the ICC.

According to the ICC, there are already 50 million cricket fans entrenched in the world's biggest sports market, with the U.S. boasting growing South Asian communities.

"What type of growth can cricket really have in the grassroots in the U.S. and proper development given the governing body (USA Cricket) is in such a mess?" an ICC board director told me.

USA Cricket hopes a new chief executive might stabilize the situation. “The board is launching this search for a dynamic and experienced leader to bring forward the next chapter of our organization,” USA Cricket chair Venu Pisike said. "The candidate’s experience and expertise in this area will be crucial to filling this incredibly important role at a critical time for us.”

The T20 World Cup opens with a clash between U.S. and Canada - cricket's oldest rivalry - on June 1 in Dallas.

‘Controlled Funding’ Put In Place For USA Cricket Ahead Of Home T20 World Cup

USA Cricket avoided calls for suspension, but its funding is being 'controlled' by the sport's governing body ahead of co-hosting June's T20 World Cup.

www.forbes.com

 

[MenInG]

ICC announce Match Officials for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
Media Release
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the 26 match officials for the first round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies.

Twenty umpires and six match referees will officiate the ninth edition of the event, which will see 20 teams playing 55 matches over 28 days, across nine locations in the biggest ICC T20 World Cup ever.

The experienced group of umpires includes the 2023 winner of the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year at the annual ICC Awards, Richard Illingworth, as well as Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney and Paul Reiffel, who were appointed for the final of the 2022 edition at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

It is an exciting time for Jayaraman Madanagopal, Sam Nogajski, Allahudien Paleker, Rashid Riaz and Asif Yaqoob, who will make their senior men’s event debuts.

The match referees’ team sees the return of Ranjan Madugalle, who oversaw the 2022 Final and also features the format’s most capped referee, Jeff Crowe, with 175 T20Is and Andrew Pycroft, who is one match away from 150 T20Is.

The Match Officials at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup are:

Umpires: Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Allahudien Paleker, Richard Kettleborough, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, Ahsan Raza, Rashid Riaz, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Shahid Saikat, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson and Asif Yaqoob.

Match referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath.

ICC General Manager – Cricket, Wasim Khan, said: “We are pleased to announce our team of match referees and umpires for the historic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“Within the selected cohort, we have a compliment of experienced match officials and other high performing members who have been recognized for their strong and consistent performances. The throughput from the pathway programme will continue to see the development and emergence of high-quality match officials across the game.

“With 20 teams and 55 matches played over 28 days, this will be the biggest T20 World Cup ever and we are proud of the team we have assembled. We are confident that our officials will perform strongly.

“We wish them all the best of luck for what promises to be a very exciting tournament.”

ICC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Share your early predictions for the 2024 World Cup below:

Predicted Winners:
Runners-up:
Expected Player of the Tournament:
Top Batter:
Top Bowler:
Flop player:

Mine will be:
Australia
England
Travis Head
Virat Kohli
Bumrah
Rohit Sharma

 

[RidiculousMan]

Share your early predictions for the 2024 World Cup below:

Predicted Winners:
Runners-up:
Expected Player of the Tournament:
Top Batter:
Top Bowler:
Flop player:

Mine will be:
Australia
England
Travis Head
Virat Kohli
Bumrah
Rohit Sharma

Pakistan
India
Shadab Khan
Babar Azam
Shaheen Afridi
Sky

 

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan
India
Shadab Khan
Babar Azam
Shaheen Afridi
Sky

Well, that is a bold claim if it is not written in a sarcastic way. Nice anyways

 

[BouncerGuy]

If India qualifies for the knockout stage of the men’s T20 World Cup, they will play the second semi-final on June 27 in Providence, Guyana. This is likely due to the match timings, with the first semi-final in Tarouba, Trinidad being a night game and the Guyana semi-final starting at a more TV-friendly time in India.

The final will be a day game in Bridgetown, Barbados. There will be no reserve day for the second semi-final, but extra time has been allotted to ensure a finish in case of weather interruptions. This is due to the tournament schedule allowing no time for a reserve day.

In semi-finals and finals at ICC events, a decisive result can only be achieved if both teams have batted for at least ten overs each. This rule differs from most T20 games, where the team batting second only needs to bat for five overs for a result in shortened games. This was also the case for the semi-finals and final of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.​

 

[FearlessRoar]

As per media reports, Pakistan and England are likely to miss their warm-up matches for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 set to take place in the USA and West Indies next month. This decision stems from both teams gearing up for a crucial four-match T20I series, slated to kick off on May 22nd.

Additionally, BCCI has put forth a request for India’s warm-up game to be held in New York, aligning with the team's base.

Initially, the ICC and Cricket West Indies (CWI) had proposed Florida as the venue. However, Indian players, dealing with fatigue from extensive travel and the rigorous Indian Premier League (IPL), are hesitant about the additional trip from New York to Florida and back.

The ICC will soon announce the schedule for these matches. Given that the multi-team tournament is set for June, it is anticipated that the warm-up fixtures will take place around May 25th and 26th.

 

[BouncerGuy]

How the teams qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

The biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in history will include more teams and more matches than ever before.

For the first time, 20 nations will take to the stage and battle for world glory in the United States and West Indies across 55 matches and four weeks of thrilling action.

You may be familiar with the teams but here is a refresher on how they got here.

The hosts

West Indies and USA earned automatic entry as the host nations, with the latter set to play in the tournament for the first time.

Two-time winners West Indies will host the competition for the second time after staging the 2010 showpiece which saw England beat Australia in the final.

Just as in 2010, the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, will host this year’s final.

Top eight from 2022

The top eight teams from the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup all ensured automatic qualification to the tournament’s ninth edition.

In Australia, England recorded their second triumph as Ben Stokes steered his side to victory with the bat after Player of the Tournament Sam Curran helped restrict runners-up Pakistan to 137 in the final.

Beaten semi-finalists India and New Zealand also secured entry for 2024. India will be looking to build on their 50-over triumph last year while the Black Caps will be hoping to add their name to the trophy for the first time.

The sides which finished third and fourth in the Super 12 groups also achieved qualification. Those four teams are former winners Australia and Sri Lanka, two-time semi-finalists South Africa, and Netherlands, who achieved their best T20 World Cup finish last time round.

Team rankings

Afghanistan and Bangladesh are included due to their status as the next two highest teams in the T20I rankings.

The Tigers came close to a couple of shock victories last time out and will be hoping to build on that, while the likes of Rashid Khan and Qais Ahmad will be tapping into their experiences in the US franchise tournament, Major League Cricket, to aid their team’s cause.

The qualifiers

The remaining eight spots were determined by regional qualifiers with Ireland and Scotland coming through the European section.

Scotland hosted the regional finals in July 2023 and powered through the group stages unbeaten, joined by Ireland thanks in no small part to a crucial seven run victory over Italy.

The East Asia-Pacific qualifiers took place at the same time and Papua New Guinea also recorded a perfect run to reach their second T20 World Cup.

Canada emerged from the Americas qualifier, sneaking past Bermuda on net run rate to reach the main event for the first time.

Nepal and Oman qualified in Asia, defeating UAE and Bahrain respectively in the last four before sharing a thrilling final which Oman claimed after a Super Over.

The final country to secure their place in the 20-team line-up was Uganda. The Cricket Cranes usurped regional powerhouse Zimbabwe for their first-ever T20I win over a full-member team en route to their first T20 World Cup.

Namibia were the other side to qualify from the Africa Qualifier, having previously played in the 2021 and 2022 editions

ICC