By now, we know the success of a cricket World Cup depends heavily on India’s television eyeballs. The most anticipated match of the competition is the faceoff between India and Pakistan. Frosty relations between the two neighbours outside the cricket pitch gives the match that extra needle. Which is why no matter which corner of the globe the World Cup is staged, India matches are always on prime time at home and the India-Pakistan match is reserved for the stadium that holds the biggest crowd.
All those considerations have been factored in again for the June T20 World Cup in USA-West Indies. It’s just that the complexities involved – the geographical distance between the Indian sub-continent and the US and the absence of a cricketing culture and infrastructure in USA increases the challenge of making it work.
Of the 55 World Cup matches, 41 will be played in the West Indies. But all of India’s four league matches will be day games and three of them, including the Pakistan tie, will be staged in New York at a pop-up stadium.
“We are in New York because there is a hotbed of cricket fans there and we are bringing some of the most eagerly anticipated cricket matches, including the most eagerly anticipated match of all. We expect the atmosphere to be World Cup-amazing,” Chris Tetley, ICC’s Head of events told a select media gathering. “Day time is something we are taking into account, but when world class players put up a show, people will come to see.”
This is so far ICC’s most ambitious project to try and tap into USA’s lucrative sports market and the Indian diaspora. “Our global rights strategy speaks about the significance of US. It’s our third largest market (behind India and UK). We have identified 30 million cricket fans,” said Tetley.
He is excited that the New York stadium (34,000 capacity) will hold “more spectators than any ground in UK and more than Wankhede”. But it will be a first for cricket where a makeshift stadium including the pitch, outfield and spectator seats are set up for the event and dismantled later.
25 miles east of Manhattan in Nassau County, the ground currently holds a soggy outfield. The old ground will be hammered out, the work for which will begin in February, drainage installed and a new outfield put in place by early May. After that a drop-in pitch will be installed, and all through May there will be a testing phase, including the tournament’s warm-up matches.
The World Cup’s first match in USA will see Sri Lanka take on South Africa on June 3.
“It’s new for cricket. But it’s done every day of the week in other sports. What the Ryder Cup did is exactly what we are doing. Some of our equipment will come from Las Vegas F1,” said Tetley.
The outfield is being delivered by the LandTek group that built the Yankees field for David Beckham’s Inter Miami where Lionel Messi now plays. The drop-in pitch work is being done by noted curator Damian Hough from the Adelaide Oval. The grand stands used for the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix are being repurposed.
Will pop-up stadiums become more common in cricket after this? “Potentially. It requires space and time, but it will show cricket, what other sports do,” said Tetley.
Tournament Integrity
While the tournament itself will see the biggest ever participation (20 teams) at an ICC event, the arrangement through which fancied teams know where they will play their Super Eight matches and who they are most likely to play has raised questions on the integrity of the tournament.
The ICC defends the move, pinning it down to logistics and fan comfort. “It’s simple logic. The fans and venues need to plan for the highest followed teams and so a mechanism that does not compromise with the integrity of the competition but gives us an understanding of where a team would play if they were to qualify, is beneficial for everybody,” said Tetley.
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