Kuldeep Yadav of India lifts the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup Trophy (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The last time a cricket World Cup was played in Central America (before the T20 World Cup in 2024), it was a disaster. That was in 2007. Several factors contributed to the debacle, with the poor quality of pitches and the early exit of India and Pakistan, the two cricketing powerhouses from Asia, at the top of the list.
Seventeen years later, another World Cup just concluded across the length and breadth of not only Central America (more popularly known as the Caribbean Islands and, in cricketing parlance, the West Indies) but also mainland USA and South America — and on every measurable parameter, it was a massive success, creating a new market for cricket in the Americas.
RG looks at some factors that made the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA/Caribbean/South America (Guyana) a massive success.
Large crowds across all venues
The 2024 T20 World Cup marked a turning point for cricket in the Americas, attracting record-breaking crowds and unprecedented engagement on digital platforms.
While decent crowds were always expected at the venues in the Caribbean, the real challenge was to attract people to the stadiums across the three venues in the United States. The official attendance figures suggest that the ICC (International Cricket Council) and other organizers were successful in their endeavors. A total of 190,000 tickets were sold across the first round of games in New York, Dallas, and Lauderhill.
There was also a lot of engagement and activity on social media platforms, with 2.7 million US-based users visiting the ICC website and app during the course of the tournament.
"The time spent on the ICC website and app has doubled compared to that recorded in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, and 71% of the users are coming from organic search, showcasing the increased interest in the sport," quoted the ICC.
The ICC successfully created a new market for the sport in the United States, which has a large Indian diaspora. New stadiums will be built across the country in the next few years. There will be more bilateral series between major cricket-playing nations across the United States – for example, New York may host an India-Pakistan bilateral T20 series on the lines of the famous Sahara Cup hosted by Toronto in the late 1990s. And the LA Olympics in 2028, which sees a return of cricket to the roster, will be the ultimate pinnacle, further boosting the game in the region.
Performance of the co-hosts – United States of America
The USA's debut in the T20 World Cup not only showcased their potential but also captivated a new fan base, igniting nationwide excitement for cricket.
The United States of America, playing their maiden T20 World Cup, shocked the cricketing world when they defeated the more fancied Pakistan team in a group-stage game in Dallas. The game ended in a tie (both team scores were level), but then the USA prevailed in a Super Over—basically a one-over contest between the two teams.
The result meant that the USA qualified for the next round—termed the Super 8—whereas Pakistan exited the tournament. Apart from the Asian-origin USA citizens, a new set of fans was created—the local USA population came out to support their team in large numbers, and a buzz around the local team went viral nationwide.
Surprise results and performance of the so-called ‘minnows’
Apart from the biggest upset of them all – i.e., USA’s win over Pakistan – the 2024 T20 World Cup also witnessed several other surprising results where the low-ranked teams defeated their higher-ranked opponents. This made the contest more competitive and the tournament more interesting. Afghanistan routed New Zealand for 75 and beat them by 84 runs in Providence in Guyana. They finally made it to the semi-final, another glorious chapter in their remarkable cricketing journey. Even Uganda earned a victory against Papua New Guinea.
There were also a number of close encounters, keeping the spectators on the edge of their seats in the stadium and in front of their TV sets in their living rooms. The tournament saw 18 close and competitive games where the result could have gone either way.
Expansion of the World Cup to 20 teams
A number of cricket pundits were skeptical about the expansion of the T20 World Cup from 16 teams in 2022 to 20 teams in 2024. The major concern was that the quality of the cricket would be compromised, especially the games contested by the Associate nations. The fear was that some one-sided encounters would hurt the sport's popularity and push people away from it. A similar reason was given for limiting the number of participating teams to just 10 in the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and 2023.
"Expanding the T20 World Cup to 20 teams not only maintained the quality of cricket but also highlighted the growing global appeal and competitive spirit of the sport."
However, as it turned out, the tournament was a big success, and some lesser-known teams – like the USA, Scotland, and Uganda – made the tournament special – giving some of the ‘big and powerful’ cricket-playing nations a run for their money. It was a great format that saw many twists, turns, and thrillers, giving a big message to the fraternity at large – that the expansion of the sport – which is one of the major objectives of the ICC – need not necessarily compromise the quality of cricket played on the field.
The quality of pitches – normalcy restored between bat and ball
The 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) – the world's biggest and most prestigious T20 franchise cricket tournament – witnessed an unhealthy balance between bat and ball. The batters dominated the bowlers like never before with record totals and sixes. While the crowds lapped it up, it was a mockery of the game with the bowlers reduced to mere bowling machines. And the main reason for that was the flat batter-friendly pitches across most of the venues for the tournament.
Fortunately, normalcy was restored in the T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean with a more even and competitive contest between bat and ball. It made for more compelling and attractive cricket. Except for the wicket in New York, which was two-paced and inconsistent, all the other pitches during the competition were of top quality – yes, some were slow and low and challenging for the batters, but in a format designed for them, a bit of a challenge only makes the cricket better and improves the quality of the game. It also separated the truly great batters from the average ones who may have benefitted due to the flat nature of surfaces in the IPL.
"The balanced pitches in the 2024 T20 World Cup provided a fair contest between bat and ball, elevating the overall quality of cricket and making the games more thrilling."
“While there are many opinions and reservations around the pitch at the New York stadium, I have an alternative view. I felt the pitch was a refreshing change from the belters we saw late in T20Is. There was an even contest between bat and ball, and each run had to be earned. It was painful to watch some of the games in this year's IPL where scores over 230-240 were being chased down. Flat wickets, fast outfields, and smaller boundaries meant no balance in the contest between bat and ball,” said Venugopal Rajagopalan, former business head of Fanisko – North America and India, exclusively to RG.org.
India won the tournament in a pulsating final
India lifted its first ICC title in 11 years, beating South Africa in a dramatic thriller final in Barbados. This was the icing on the cake of a very successful tournament already! India is the most powerful cricket-playing nation in the world in terms of finances, broadcasting, and advertising; the game’s popularity and their lifting of the title gave a major boost to the tournament in terms of eyeballs. It also made it a mighty successful World Cup in terms of revenue as the broadcasters, the local cricket boards, the ICC, and other interested parties milked the opportunity and made profits (unlike in 2007, when India and Pakistan’s early exit made it a financial nightmare). It also did wonders for the game's growth in the United States and Caribbean and injected much-needed fuel into the sport's global appeal.
"India's victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup provided a significant boost to the tournament's visibility and financial success, solidifying cricket's expanding footprint in the Americas."
“For me, the positive additions to infrastructure and the USA lift in popularity are most important,” Cheryll Rogers, the CEO at Fairbreak Global and one of the pioneering voices in women’s cricket worldwide, said to RG.org.
The 2024 T20 World Cup was a massive success for America, the Caribbean, and cricket at large. At last, the ghost of 2007 that haunted the region has been exorcised.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
