After Years Of USACA Neglect, Cricket Is Trying To Fight Back In The USA
Some of the facilities Sport360 toured in USA.
By Barnaby Read
The addition of New York City FC to the sporting scene of the United States’ most famous metropolis this year was a seminal moment. Aiming to challenge the stranglehold of baseball, basketball and American football, the flag is now being flown for soccer. In a city known for its cosmopolitan immigrant population, the main surprise is that it took so long.
For another sport – also adored by immigrants – it is a reminder that much work is needed to be done. Cricket is going to have to be very patient.
In June, the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended the USA Cricket Association (USACA) over allegations of gross financial mismanagement and poor leadership. The USACA was found to be more than $4 million in debt and it left cricket in the US in crisis. Now, the game’s regional associations are attempting to pick up the pieces.
In New York City, the backdrop for cricket is one of chain-link fences, pop-up metal bleachers, overgrown fields and matted pitches. From ‘The Cage’ in Queen’s to Seaview Park on 108th Street, the venues project a picture of a game on its knees in terms of resources and facilities. Enthusiastic players and volunteers are keeping cricket afloat, but they are struggling.
On 80th Street, there is another pitch that encapsulates the current state of cricket in the US. In the middle of a large Caribbean community perfectly placed to be engaged with through cricket and $6m of investment, the facility on 80th promised much. Its skate park is filled with kids grinding and kick-flipping, its basketball courts and playgrounds are equally popular. Its cricket pitch, however, is empty.
“Facilities for cricket are hard to come by,” American Cricket Federation (ACF) secretary John Aaron explained to Sport360. “Mainly because cricket doesn’t take up a small driveway, you need a large expanse of land. Real estate, particularly in New York is very precious and hard to come by.
“For the most part, politicians will have constituents who are mostly American, so they will look to satisfy their needs. Any open space will be converted into American football or baseball fields. But in some of the more urban areas we have expats from the sub continent and Caribbean, so we have appealed to those local politicians to satisfy the cricket-loving constituency in the same way. As a result, we’ve managed to get some grounds like these more or less dedicated to cricket.”
Cricket organizers like Aaron face a real challenge keeping the game alive, particularly since the USACA’s suspension. A recent meeting with US cricket representatives in Chicago, attended by ICC chief executive David Richardson, was seen as encouraging, though the USACA declined to attend despite being invited.
After the meeting, Richardson said: “We came to learn earlier this year that although lots of cricket was being played in the USA, and lots of passionate people were supporting the game, these efforts were largely disconnected.”
Originally hailing from Guyana in the Caribbean, ACF chief Aaron has been in New York for more than 40 years and is now the heart that pumps blood around NYC cricket’s famished body. He was at that meeting in Chicago and described it as “very positive” and “auguring well for the future of cricket in the US.”
And as he took Sport360 around various cricketing facilities across Queens and Brooklyn, his knowledge, love of the game and determination to see it grow in the States was utterly infectious. Equally, his dismay at the current situation in the US was painfully clear.
“Prior to the establishment of the ACF, the governance of cricket in the US had hit an all time low, with no or very little adherence to the national governing body’s constitution, delayed elections, administrative dysfunction, law suits, low morale among players and stakeholders alike, and a general feeling of despair and disgust,” Aaron tells Sport360.
“Many would agree that the governance of the sport in the US had gotten so bad, that the poor performance of the US national team on the international stage was hardly noticed, compared to the political manipulation and unfair practices perpetrated on the vast majority of stakeholders. It was inevitable that the ICC would become involved.”
That poor performance on the international stage has resulted in the USA failing to qualify for a major ICC tournament since the 2004 Champions Trophy; the side is currently languishing in Division 4 of the World Cricket League alongside the likes of Bermuda, Denmark and Italy.
Aaron was executive secretary of the USACA from 2008, but was one of a number of people to jump ship when disaffected teams, leagues and players decided enough was enough. In 2012, this movement away from USACA association led to the creation of ACF, which is now seen as a genuine heir apparent to govern cricket in the US – given their investment and dedication to the game and its clubs.
And while Aaron wants the ACF to take on a more central role in US cricket, he believes that in such a vast country, there cannot be one sole governing body – instead calling for better leadership from regional organizers.
“What is needed most is a common vision and stakeholders to commit to that vision, with the understanding that it is important for everyone to be pulling in the same direction,” says Aaron.
“With the establishment of a sustainable cricket playing structure supported by honest and transparent governance, the size of the country does not matter.
“Once Regional Boards can relate to the established structure and governance model, they will see the value in unification of purpose, and cricket will blossom.
“Money should not be seen as the end game, it should be seen as a result of the hard work put in and the potential for excellent results.
“Such efforts, I am convinced will attract the sponsorship necessary to take the sport to the next level in the USA.”
It is not all doom and gloom for cricket, as shown by September’s cricket combine – which saw West Indies legend Courtney Walsh (pictured) pick 40 of the best players in the country in Indianapolis.
At grassroots it also isn’t as bleak as the undulated, overgrown fields suggest. In among the rough, there is a real diamond in Idlewild Cricket Club in Queens. As three kids tossed a cricket ball around before taking to the nets, club president Tony Hinds mowed the outfield before the club’s cricket academy entertained 30 youngsters that evening.
Idlewild Cricket Club is leading the way in New York.
It is these volunteers who are keeping the game alive in the States and they largely feel neglected by the game’s authorities. Idelwild CC relies on donations, memberships and canny food and beverage sales to maintain its picturesque pitch. Alongside the standard bleachers there are numerous picnic benches.
“They actually go out and buy a lawn-mower themselves. If you were to wait for the city, then they only cut it once every two weeks, but you have a match every week,” explained Aaron.
While the USACA have their sleeves buttoned up at the wrists, the ACF and the country’s cricketing enthusiasts are rolling up theirs to ensure there remains a real hope for the sport. Desperate for a new lease of life and direction, cricket in the USA is crying out for an end to the USACA’s ownership and the answer to its problems may well be found in New York; Idlewild and Aaron the examples to follow.
Story courtesy of www.sports360.com
