Cricket in the Caribbean (and USA): The T20 World Cup is here
The latest T20 World Cup gets underway on Sunday and England look in good shape for their defence, but 19 other nations will be also raring to go
The T20 Cricket World Cup is an event that gets plenty of attention, with the eyes of the cricketing world set to be on the Caribbean and the USA. Twenty nations, many of which have lovely new kits for the occasion, will fight it out for a trophy that for only the second time ever will be defended by England.
The usual suspects including Australia, India, West Indies, and Australia will join England. Namibia will play at just their third T20 World Cup, with Nepal featuring at the tournament for the first time since 2014. In any sport, the best part of an international tournament is when teams qualify for the first time.
In 2024, this mantle will be placed on three sides. The first is the USA, which got its chance on the world stage for the first time ever after being named as host. No doubt eager to make an impression, recent victories for the USA include one against Ireland and two against Bangladesh.
The popularity of cricket was high during the American Revolution and the fight for Independence, but by the 19th century, baseball was edging out cricket as a popular sport. Interest in the game is back on the rise, however, and with this World Cup, an improving national side, and the Major League Cricket franchise tournament kicking off fully this summer the future of American cricket looks bright.
The next side making their T20 World Cup debut is Uganda. The African nation heads to the T20 World Cup having won 69 of the 91 matches they’ve ever played but in nine matches against the Netherlands and Namibia (who are both also at the tournament), they are yet to win any.
In their bright yellow kits and players who love to have a dance, Uganda won’t head to the Americas to make the numbers up. In their group, Uganda will face New Zealand, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and joint-hosts the West Indies. With an element of the unknown, Uganda might be a tricky side for established World Cup sides to face, and their tournament gets underway on June 4 against Afghanistan.
Canada is the third and final country making their bow at the T20 World Cup in 2024. The Maple Leafers have been playing more cricket in 2023 and 2024, with a three-match ODI tour of Nepal one of the most recent. They face hosts USA in their group along with India, Ireland, and Pakistan.
England head to the World Cup in good form having defeated Pakistan in a warm-up series. Jos Buttler’s side won the four-match series 2–0, with the England captain and opening partner Phil Salt getting in the runs and the wickets being spread amongst the bowlers. Jofra Archer has been a welcome return to the side, and he brings his pace and bounce to a bowling attack that seems to be fitting together well.
The side has plenty of experience throughout, with many of the squad members involved being the proud owners of a World Cup-winning medal. Defending their title will be easier said than done, but England can do so- yet every other team out there will have their eyes on taking the title off them.
India are always a threat at big tournaments, and New Zealand have been the bridesmaid and not the bride finishing as runners-up at several tournaments in the last few years. Australia will be keen on building on a successful period for their country, but West Indies undid them in a warm-up series as the Carribean side moved up to number four in the world T20 rankings.
T20 cricket is still seen as the most exciting and enthralling format of the game, and a T20 World Cup still has plenty of people excited. The biggest names in the sport will be gunning for success, and seeing how American crowds take to a sport that is still going under the radar for most people will be interesting bordering on exciting.
There’s a lot of cricket between now and June 29, but at the start of a tournament, any of the sides involved will fancy their chances, with pre-tournament optimism fueling every one of them. Under the sun of Barbados on the day of the final, we’ll see the best of the best face off with each other.
