As early as the 1700s, American cricket clubs were established and this was not long after they first appeared in England. Cricket quickly became established as a leisurely pastime. Not long after, eastern Canada developed their own clubs. This acted as a catalyst to both the US and Canadian cricket clubs to go in search of regular competition and it soon led to the first international cricket match.
The first Canada vs. USA cricket match has been played annually since the 1840s, and brings upwards of 10,000 fans to New York. Believe it or not it is one of the oldest international sporting events in the world today. The Canada vs. USA cricket match was to prove be the first of what would eventually lead to a far reaching international sport.
The 20th century saw cricket in America go into terminal decline. Whilst In the late 1800s, cricket remained an amateur sport, at the same time both England and Australia were on the verge of launching a professional system for their cricketers. Internationally, a real effort was put into improving cricketing standards but many North American cricket clubs chose to remain elite preserving their amateur status. Who now has heard of Town ball? A sport developed out of cricket and was played in small town and city squares. This was easily played in urban areas. More importantly a select number of cricket clubs went on to sponsor the first American baseball teams, as they came to be called .In the 1900s, the game of baseball became so popular in the USA that it all but put to death the game of cricket that gave it life. Within a few short decades, cricket in the USA was nothing but a distant memory.
Some 30 years ago in the back in the 1970s, the USA turned once again to cricket as populations increased with a corresponding interest in cricket. Disney even looked at the potential profits that could be gleaned by bringing cricket back to the United States. The jury is still out as to whether a new cricket association should be re launched or if the sporting American public would spend money investing in first-class cricket matches and watching international cricketers in their own cities and towns.
With down turn in the global economy, the time is possible not quite right to reintroduce the game to the North American shores but who knows what the future holds for this potentially lucrative market. The face of cricket continues to evolve and as you watch the bitter rivalry played out between the English and Australian cricket players for the 2009 Ashes series this summer, dare to believe that one day a the USA cricket team will visit these shore to contest an inaugural first test between the two nations.
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