‘We are no walkovers’: Five-year cricket revolution that sparked America’s T20 World Cup miracle

“We are no walkovers.”

Last month, USA all-rounder Harmeet Singh warned his forthcoming opponents not to underestimate the Americans ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Before the recent bilateral T20 series against Bangladesh, which the United States won 2-1, the nation’s lone victory against a Test-playing nation had come against Ireland back in 2021.

The USA, ranked 19th in the world, had never played a T20 international before 2019, but the associate nation was granted immediate qualification for the 2024 tournament due to hosting rights.

However, the Americans don’t consider themselves underdogs.

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“We are a very good team,” USA batter Aaron Jones declared ahead of the marquee tournament.

“I wouldn’t call it an upset if we beat Pakistan or India. I will just say that we played better cricket on the day.

“The bigger teams can lose as well.”

Jones’ words came to fruition on Friday morning AEST when the USA toppled Pakistan, finalists in the previous edition of the tournament, in a thrilling contest at Dallas’ Grand Prairie Stadium.

Jones, an early contender for player of the tournament, clobbered an unbeaten 36 (26) before American seamer Saurabh Netravalkar successfully defended a 19-run target during a tense Super Over, sealing the historic victory.

The USA outclassed Pakistan in all three facets of the game, dominating most of the contest. The Americans were in complete control during the run chase until some superb death bowling from Pakistan’s quicks forced a Super Over.

And while the result will undoubtedly cause shockwaves in the subcontinent, the American public is starting to sit up and take notice of their national cricket team. Major US publications, including ESPN, Bleacher Report and CBS News, have celebrated the victory on their social media channels, while a fan zone in New York erupted into chants of “USA, USA, USA!” after the winning moment appeared on the big screen.

“It’s a big day for Team USA,” captain Monank Patel declared after the match.

“Not just for USA, for the USA cricket community too.”

Cricket has embarked on a mission to restore the sport to mainstream status in the United States, but nothing has captured the attention of the American public more than Friday’s unexpected triumph in Texas.

Team USA’s recent success hasn’t come as a fluke; a revolution has been brewing since American Cricket Enterprise won the rights to own and operate a T20 league in the United States five years ago. ACE set up academies and turf wicket grounds across the country, while Major League Cricket has given local talent an opportunity to face the world’s best players on an annual basis.

The national team has historically struggled in ICC events due to poor infrastructure and shoddy administration, problems that are slowly being resolved courtesy of the sport’s recent privatisation.

Major League Cricket has prompted investment from private groups and benefactors, while ICC rules allow players to represent the US after residing there for three years, which is why the T20 World Cup squad featured the likes of former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson and former Canada captain Nitish Kumar.

America’s 15-player squad is packed with world-class talent – pace bowler Ali Khan became the first US cricketer to be snapped up in the Indian Premier League Auction in 2020, while Harmeet Singh is a former Indian Under-19 captain.

Netravalkar, the Super Over hero who claimed 2-18 during the regulation innings against Pakistan, represented India at the Under-19 World Cup in 2010. During the tournament, he came up against a young Babar Azam, with India losing the tight contest by two wickets.

Fourteen years later, the left-armer finally got his revenge.

Netravalkar, currently 20th on the ICC men’s ODI bowling rankings, works as a software engineer at computer company Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. His LinkedIn profile currently reads: “Principal Member of Technical Staff at Oracle, Professional Cricketer”.

On Slack, the 32-year-old is flagged as “out of office until June 17th”, a status he’ll need to change if the USA defeats Ireland next weekend.

Although toppling the almighty Indians in New York might prove a bridge too far for Team USA, the American misfits have already proven themselves capable of challenging the world’s best.

“Anything can happen in one-off games,” USA coach Stuart Law said last week.

“That’s what the World Cup is like. No one goes in as ultimate favourites.”

USA and India will face off at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Thursday morning with the first ball scheduled for 12.30am AEST.