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Prologue
1844 – The Birthplace of International Cricket
In 1844, New York City witnessed the birth of international cricket, hosting the oldest rivalry in the sport: USA v Canada. In a gripping three-day match, Canada triumphed by 23 runs.
This historic encounter gave rise to the Auty Cup, celebrating the enduring competition between these two nations, with the USA emerging as the most successful team with 33 victories.
2018 – A New Era for Cricket in the USA
Fast forward to 2018, and the USA and Canada clashed once again in the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Morrisville, North Carolina. The rivalry reached new heights as Canada edged out the USA in a super over during their first encounter.
However, in the decisive final match, Steven Taylor’s heroic performance saw the USA chase down 22 runs in the final over, securing the top spot in the group.
2024 – The Dawn of the T20 Cricket World Cup
Now, in 2024, the stage is set for another historic milestone. On June 1, USA and Canada will meet to inaugurate the first senior men’s T20 Cricket World Cup hosted by the United States and the West Indies.
This match follows a warm-up series in Prairie View, Texas earlier this year but significant changes to both squads and a new venue promise a thrilling encounter.
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Key Players
In the meeting of these sides earlier this year, it was the USA who dominated, winning four matches. In particular, the top three in the American lineup were impressive. Captain Monank Patel, Steven Taylor, and Andries Gous each notched quickfire half centuries in both clinical chases and blistering first innings where the team finished with 230 runs.
Former Canadian captain Nitish Kumar also impressed in the final match. Promoted to the opening spot, he fired off 64 runs off 38 deliveries.
Since that series, all-rounders Harmeet Singh and Corey Anderson have risen above, particularly in the first win against Bangladesh on May 21. Anderson’s unbeaten 34 from 25 balls and Singh’s 33 from 13, including the winning runs, were pivotal in chasing down 154 with three balls remaining. Against Canada, Singh led the series with 6 wickets at an economy of 5.56.
With the ball in hand, Ali Khan has returned to the side after not playing in the Canada series with a match winning 3/25 against Bangladesh defending 12 runs in the final over.
Noshtush Kenjige was impressive in the Canada series with a player of the match performance going 3/21 in the first T20. Expect him to be back into the side for the start of the World Cup.
USA will also look towards fellow pacers Saurabh Netravalkar to continue his impressive 6.69 T20I economy and Shadley van Schalkwyk’s all-round ability to lengthen both the batting and bowling lineup.
Despite not winning a match in the series, Canada did have some impressive individual performances. Aaron Johnson continued his free fire opening attack with a scorching 74 from 40 in the second match. Johnson also led the series in runs scored with 124 at an average of 31.
Captain Saad Bin Zafar took the third-most wickets at 5 at an economy of 7.15.
On this tour, Canada were missing some key fast bowling in Kaleem Sana and Jeremy Gordon, both of whom are in the World Cup squad.
Since the USA series, Canada have beaten Nepal in a warmup match headlined by impressive innings from both Nicholas Kirton (51 off 39) and Ravinderpal Singh (41* off 17). The bowling attack was in full force with both Sana and Gordon in the wickets, along with Zafar taking two himself.
The biggest X-Factor for Canada will be all-rounder Dilon Heyliger. In the warm up match, Heylinger took 4 wickets in just two and a half overs. He also boasts a strike rate of 180 in T20Is, alongside an average just above 42.
Check out our other T20 World Cup articles, including our collab with Line & Length WI on Nicholas Pooran’s role in leading the Windies to World Cup glory!
Venue & Conditions
Canada’s tour of the USA took place three and a half hours away from the start of the World Cup in Grand Prairie Stadium. In Major League Cricket last season, the ground averaged a score of 155 runs per innings. There is green on the surface that aids the swing bowlers. But in the daytime the surface tends to be dryer, where cutters and off-pace deliveries are beneficial.
There’s the dew factor at night, but not to the point we saw in IPL 2024. Spinners will benefit as well as there is turn in the surface. The venue tends to be very even and most matches come down to the finest of margins.
However match one of this World Cup will go, one thing’s for certain. This will be another leap for cricket featuring the USA and Canada.
Wicky’s Men’s T20 Portal breaks down batting and bowling stats by opposition, venue, and phase of game, plus batting records by bowler type and individual head-t0-head matchups from T20 leagues around the world!
Wicky’s player to watch: Harmeet Singh
In the curtain raiser to the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA & West Indies, we reckon it’s a former India U19 talent who could play a starring role.
Left arm spinner & lower order bat Harmeet Singh was named player of the series in the aforementioned USA v Canada rubber last month. He’s primarily a middle overs spinner, but don’t be surprised if captain Monank Patel throws him the ball early on Saturday. The numbers support bowling Harmeet up front.
In that series, in his most habitual deployment from overs 7-16, Harmeet’s economy of 5.75 looked healthy. But here’s the kicker – it looked positively sickly compared to his mark of 4.75, a whole run per over better, in the first six overs.
While economical, bowling Harmeet through the middle against Canada was essentially a trade-off. He only took a wicket every four overs; his strike rate was literally half that in the powerplay.
When bowling Harmeet up front v their northern neighbours, the USA don’t have to choose between wickets and keeping the runs down. The best case in the WC opener would be a repeat of game 4 in the series. That day, Harmeet removed Pargat Singh & Aaron Johnson in the powerplay and finished with 4-18.
His international career is young, but if the USA want to put the pressure on Canada early, bowling Harmeet up top is the way to go.
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