Cricket fever hits Texas as Major League Cricket tops off first week
Cricket fever hit Texas as Major League Cricket (MLC) kicked off its inaugural season in a week filled with exciting matches, electrifying performances, and overwhelming response from fans.
The 7200-seated newly transformed Grand Prairie Stadium was jam-packed shining bright in yellow not once but twice as hosts Texas Super Kings took on Los Angeles Knight Riders and MI New York in the opening week of the tournament.
“We are really excited that cricket has come here to Texas,” said Jisha Patel, 40, CRNA from Coppell, who had come to Grand Prairie to watch the match with her family on Monday.
Jisha, dressed in an all-yellow long shirt, was supporting the home team Texas against the rival-franchise MI New York in the second sold-out game of the league. “The atmosphere, the ground, the stadium, it’s great,” she said.
“It’s really entertaining and good to see all these international players here. It reminds us of our days in India when we used to watch cricket there.”
The success of the opening night sparked considerable interest from the major broadcasting channel CBS Sports Network as the outlet announced to air three live matches of MLC this season on its platform the next day to bring cricket closer to American households.
Many international cricket stars were seen in action during the first eight matches played in the Lone Star State including Rashid Khan, Faf du Plessis, Aaron Finch, Shadab Khan, Andre Russell, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje.
“Major League Cricket showcases the very best players from the world’s second most popular sport playing right here in America,” said Vijay Srinivasan, co-founder of MLC, in a press release on Friday.
“Billions of fans worldwide love this sport and we’re delighted to bring adrenaline-packed matches taking place this July in front of sold-out crowds in Texas and North Carolina.”
The teams will head towards the Old North State to play the next seven matches of the first round at Church Street Park in Morrisville.
The Texas Super Kings are leading the points table with two victories in their last three matches followed by Seattle Orcas and San Francisco Unicorns on number two and three spots. MI New York and Washington Freedom are placed on number four and five with one win each while LA Knight Riders are on the bottom with zero victories.
“There has been so much work put into this taking place,” said Corey Anderson, who plays an all-rounder for San Francisco Unicorns, in the post-match conference on Friday. “It is tough to not get emotional about it because it is what you’ve been building towards for the last few years.”
Anderson is a former international cricketer from New Zealand who migrated to the United States in 2020 for family reasons and with an intention to play for the national team and grow cricket in the country. “To see a product like that with the American flag waving, it is the perfect product for what we want America to try and fall in love with,” he added.
While international cricketing icons added their star power to the tournament, the first week also saw the emergence of several talented local players. Anderson, who is participating in the league as a local player, is the top run sorcerer after the first eight matches with 142 runs to his name while Mohammad Mohsin from TSK with seven wickets is the leading wicket-taker so far.
As MLC ends the opening week with flying colors, expectations for the rest of the season are at an all-time high. With many matches to come and promise of an enthralling play-off stage, the tournament seems confident for a successful debut season.