The Rise And Fall Of Cricket In The USA

By Clifford Hinds
The main objective of this project is to discuss the reasons for the rise and fall of the game of cricket in the USA. However, instead of focusing on the national cricket organization, I give some focus to New York.

Clifford Hinds

The Rise Of Cricket
Cricket in the 1700 s was basically a sport for the rich gentlemen of the times, who had the financial means to support the game. Prize money was associated with the game and so was gambling. In England, the sport began to be professionalized  where players who played full time were recruited and paid by the rich” gentlemen” who built a team for fun and profit. The game was brought to America by the colonizers.

As early as 1709, a Virginia plantation owner noted “I rose at 6:00 am and read a chapter in Hebrew. At about 10:00 am we played cricket. After we ate lunch, we played cricket again.” William Stephens, a planter, living in Georgia in 1737 reported, “Many of our townsmen, freeholders, inmates and servants were assembled in the principal square for cricket and other sports.”

After years of   developmental changes, the game of cricket finally started to take shape. In 1744 the first Laws of Cricket were published in England and revised in 1789. NY weekly Post Boy reported a match in 1751 won by a NY team 80/86 over another team, 43/47. It is likely that both teams were selected from players in NY.

The laws of the game in the USA were formalized in 1754 after Ben Franklin brought back from England, a copy of the 1744 laws. There was notice of a cricket match in Maryland in 1754 and an ad for cricket equipment in April 1786. NY Independent Journal.

At the turn of the 19th century, the game took its modern form in England.  The 2 stump design of the 1789 laws gave way to three and balls per over went from 4-5-6. Fields were enclosed, manicured and mowed. Pitches rolled smooth to provide more consistent bounces so batters could develop consistent stroke play and score more runs.  Nothing like that occurred in the USA.

It is reported that George Washington was strong supporter and probably played a game in Valley Forge, PA. When Congress was deciding what to call the head of the US government, John Adams that if leaders of cricket clubs could be called presidents then so should the leader of the nation. Others disagreed with him.

The revolutionary war between England America created a dislike for anything British. However in the late 1700s cricket was played in Philadelphia, NY, Hartford and Boston.

1n 1833, students at Haverford College formed what is considered the first cricket club exclusively with Americans. It was short lived but laid foundation for other clubs.  1844 St Georges Cricket Club played a Canadian team in Bloomingdale Park, New York city. This first international sporting event attracted 20, 000 persons who placed wagers on the game of about$120,000, about $2.3 million today.

As the new Americans moved west and south so did the game. It is reported that Abe Lincoln turned out to watch a game in Milwaukee in 1849. By then, 10,000 persons were already playing the game and many more watching. As late as 1855 NY press was still devoting more space to cricket than baseball.

In early 1859, a Mr. Waller of New York put up 500 pounds for 2 matches in the USA and in September 12 professionals from England headed for the USA. This was the first overseas tour of an England X1. George Parr was captain. The Game took place in Hoboken, New Jersey on the 3, 4, and 5 of October. England won both games. England 156. Philadelphia 38/54. England also won the second game, Philadelphia 94/60, England 126/29 for 3. If such tours had been followed up USA may be playing test cricket today but then came the Civil war 1861 between the north and south.

In 1868 an English team led by Edgar Willsher and those of 1872-1873, by R. A Fitzgerald played in Philadelphia. This team also included the great WG Grace.

At its peak, in the mid 1800, cricket was being played in 22 states with up to 1000 clubs.

In Philadelphia, the game remained popular until about the beginning of WW1. The Philadelphian cricket team represented Philadelphia in first class cricket between 1878 and 1913.  Most players came from the four chief cricket clubs in Philadelphia. Belmont, Germantown, Merion and Philadelphia. The City of Philadelphia produced a first class team that rivaled the best teams in the world.  There were also players from smaller clubs such as Tioga and Moorestown and colleges, UP and Haverford. Over 35 years, the team played- 89 first class games- won 29 –lost 46 – 13 drawn and one abandoned.

Bart King, universally the best American cricketer of all times, Nelson Graves who made his first class debut at age 14, Percy Clarke and John Lester led batting averages from 1897-1908 were the top players of that era.

Primarily a bowler, Barton King, (1873-1965) was a right arm fast bowler and a right handed batsman. RHB RAF. On a tour to England where they played the top counties, he led county bowling averages in 1908.  He was highly regarded by Sir Pelham Warner and Sir Donald Bradman.

Staten Island Cricket Club and baseball club was formed in 1872 and the Metropolitan Cricket League was formed in 1890.

1893 an Australia team stopped by on way back from England for a 3 day match at Belmont ground. Philadelphia scored 525 Australia made 199 in their first innings with King taking (5 for 78).  Australia was bowled out for 268 in their second innings, giving Philly the win. Australia won the second game by 6 wickets. In another tour in 1912 Philadelphian won the first game by 2 runs with King taking 9 for 78. Australia won the second game by 45 runs with King taking 8 for 74.

The Fall Of The Game
1) The US Civil War stunted the growth of cricket and favored baseball. Baseball was promoted as a native and patriotic sport and it needed only a couple of hours to complete. A game of cricket took too long.
2) INTEREST IN BASEBALL BEGAN TO RISE
The competition with cricket was instant. For example, they used round bats to contrast with the flat bats used in cricket.
3) American cricket remained elitist reserved for the privileged, while England and Australia were professionalizing their game. Clubs such as Philadelphia and Merion paid less attention to cricket and more to other sports.
4) Some City clubs also contributed to their own demise by sponsoring baseball clubs increasing popularity of baseball. The Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team brought bowler Harry Wright from St. Georges in New York as player and manager. Harry introduced to baseball, the scientific batting and specialized field placement he had learnt in cricket.
5) The Formation of the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 under cut any momentum cricket may have had at this time. It excluded non commonwealth countries and denied membership to USA.  The Imperial Cricket Conference changed its name to the International Cricket Conference in 1965.
6) The strict and archaic Code of Conduct turned off a lot of young cricketers.
In addition to the above, three major events drove the final nails in the coffin of US cricket.
(a) World War 1 from 1914-1919
(b) The Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s
(c) World War 2 from 1940-1945
Towards the second half of the 20th century immigrants from Asia and the Caribbean helped to stimulate the rebirth of the game.

The first match televised in the USA was one between the Corinthians and Hollywood cricket Clubs of California in 1958. Cricket received some promotion in the USA when in 1959, the then President Dwight Eisenhower attended a game at the Karachi National Cricket Ground in Pakistan.

In 1961 an expatriate Englishman, John Marder helped to established USACA and that organization was admitted to the ICC as an associate member in 1965. Over the years, the organization has been handicapped by poor governance and lack of proper funding. USA teams continue to compete at the men and Under 19 levels but no money is available for   women cricket.  The main areas for cricket are now California, Florida and New York.

When New York Region Was Great
The early 1990s signaled the beginning of the glory days of New York.  The Inter League competition was of a very high standard. Then came the Red Stripe Competition where players represented their countries. This was followed by the Ed Ahmad Competition which produced some nail biting and exciting finishes.

New York team won the first USA Cricket open which included teams from Canada and the first USACA National Tournament also held at Woodley Park, California. The team repeated in 2004 and 2005 and at one time had 9 picks out of 14 on the USA team.  New York also found time to win the LA Open in 2003. This game is remembered because the more games New York won, the lesser the prize money became.

The youth team has done well winning many national tournaments when they have been organized and the women team are the USA national champions.  In the last eight years, the men team has floundered even finishing last in a national tournament.

New York has lost its standing on the national scene and only you the stakeholders can bring it back to #1. People need to put petty differences aside and put cricket first. New York is the only region where the leagues and officials are no more than 1 hour apart and yet we don’t have meetings.  Other regions include 3 and 4 states.
As Mahatma Gandhi said,” You must be the change you want to see”.

Here are my recommendations:
1. A burning desire and agreement by the major stakeholders to make NY #1 again.

2. Group has to be exclusive with a Regional Outlook.  You need to get new people involved.
3. Check your basics- create what you do not have.
   Constitution – Incorporation – Bank account – (Later 501C3) – Compile list of all clubs with contacts, Strategic Plan, Standing   Committees
   Regional plans should be completed by December of each year so that the leagues have enough time to make their adjustments.

4.Reorganize The Regional Administration
Regional Director
League Presidents Representative to USACA
At least 4 Independent Directors
1 male cricketer rep.
1 Youth Coordinator.
1 Women Coordinator.
1 High School Representative.
A Secretary
A Treasurer
An Independent Director should be someone from the community who can assist the organization in planning, data processing, fund raising, etc.
5. Plan your own activities, Inter League, NY T/20, and NYPL.

Prescription For Cricket In New York Cricket Region
Introduction
The objective of this project is to consolidate the cricket operations in New York and transfer jurisdiction over all inter-club games from the leagues to the New York Region. Clubs would be divided into divisions based on evaluated competence, with promotion and demotion each year to ensure that the best teams are in the top division and so on. This classification will ensure that the best teams and players compete against one another. Such a change will require the cooperation of a majority of the league administrations. The leagues will continue to exist and the league presidents will not lose their power because they are permanent members of the regional administration and also have the majority vote on that body.   The good players of the various leagues want to compete against another. They know that a century against a good team is much more rewarding than runs against a weak team. Of course, this presupposes that the New York Region is reorganized into a credible organization. If this project is properly executed it will guarantee that New York Region regain its long lost supremacy in USA cricket.

Benefits To The Region
1) All teams will be competing under the same Rules and Playing Conditions.
2) The best clubs and the best players of each league will be competing against one another.
3) Because of the principle of promotion and demotion, the best teams will be in the top division the next best teams in the division below, and so on.
4) Games will be more competitive and players will be motivated to perform at their best because the top teams will not want to be demoted. Other teams will be competing to be promoted.
5) Cricket balls will be standardized.
6) It will be easier to evaluate players as the runs scored and wickets taken will have the same value. The selectors will have a longer time to select a credible team.
7) There will be more cross support and integration of spectators as they will now travel to the other boroughs to support their teams. Imagine Everest/ACS against Westbury or Cosmos versus Richmond Hill or Big Apple in a New York Region final.

What Will Not Change
1) The leagues and their administrators will continue to exist. NYR would have a Presentation Ceremony each year but each league could choose to continue to have their presentations based on playoff competitions as outlined below or, they could do everything under NYR.

2) The clubs will continue to pay their annual dues to their leagues and vote for their league administrators. New clubs must apply to a league for admission.

3) Clubs and leagues who have traditionally held permits for grounds will continue to apply for and maintain their permits. Clubs will be scheduled for approximately 50% of their games on their “home” grounds.

4) Home teams will continue to prepare grounds and each team will continue to pay an umpire. Umpire fees will be standardized.

5) Although the Metropolitan Cricket League has clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and upstate New York only clubs from that league will play away games in those places.

The change to the new system will require a majority vote of the NYR administration.

How Will The Program Be Administered
All Inter Club and Inter League games will be administered by NYR. To make the transition it is recommended that NYR appoint a Transition Committee comprised of a knowledgeable and objective representative of each league, submitted by the leagues, and should not be a league president. NYR would also appoint a chairperson and vice chairperson who are perceived to be impartial and committed to the principles of the program and who do not represent any leagues. The duties of the TC would be:
1. To allocate the clubs into 3 divisions – Premier- First – Second.
2. To prepare a schedule of games and grounds.
3. To prepare the Playing Rules and Conditions, to include the criteria for promotion and demotion.
4. To propose any rules or ideas that will promote the proper conduct of the tournament.

How Will The Program Work
The Transition Committee will make a list of all bona fide clubs of the leagues. For example, let us say there are 80 clubs. After a careful and objective evaluation of the strength of the clubs, they would be allocated to the Premier Division, First Division and Second Division. For example, 16, 24, 40.  The Premier Division would be reserved for the best 16 teams. The First Division would be for the next best teams. The second Division would mostly include teams that only want to play for leisure.  At the end of each cricket season a certain amount of teams would be promoted and others demoted.
Based on the example, at the end of the cricket season, the top 4 teams from Division 1 would be promoted to the Premier Division and the last 4 teams from the Premier Division would be demoted to Division 1. The top 4 teams from Division 2 would be promoted to Division 1 and the last 4 teams from Division 1 would be demoted to Division 2.  Even if there were evaluation mistakes in the initial allocation, the system will correct itself and by the end of the third year there will be no doubt as to which division each team belongs.

In addition to the Inter Club and Inter League competitions administered by NYR, each league could administer its own play offs to determine their league champions.

Determining League Champions
For Example. If a league has 4 teams in a Division it would have a playoff (semi final and final) based on the order they finished.  If there were 6 teams, then the league would take the top 4. If there were only 2 teams then those two would play in the league championship finals. The winners would be the league champions.  The league playoffs would take place after the completion of the NYR competition. It could be before or after the NYR playoffs.

Leagues could present their trophies after their championship game, have their own presentation function or do it at NYR’s presentation.
While NYR will keep statistics of individual performances, the leagues would also keep statistics of (1) the performances of players in their clubs for all games and (2) only in games between teams from their leagues.

Finances
The regular season club and Inter League games would be played as usual with home teams preparing the ground, providing refreshment and where it is customary, food after the game. NYR would be responsible for playoff expenses including umpires and trophies.  Each member league would pay the following to NYR.

1. Medical and property insurance premiums for the current year at current costs. NYR would procure blanket coverage at the best rate.
   2. USACA annual dues. NYR would then consolidate same and forward it to USACA.
   3. A percentage of annual dues per club would be paid by the leagues to the region
   4. NYR would continue to solicit funds from USACA and other relevant corporations.
   Other financial arrangements could be worked out.

Conclusion
Clubs and leagues tend to be satisfied to live within their own comfort zone. However, the standard of the game will never be lifted if all we do is maintain the status quo. It is well known that the leagues are struggling to keep afloat and many are insolvent because clubs do not meet their financial obligations. Some leagues are losing grounds they have held for years. The old league system has reached the end of the line.  This is a wonderful opportunity for the leagues to make a fresh positive start.

Our regional cricket teams, especially at the senior level needs complete makeovers, and this program will make it easier to have the best squad available.

This format, if accepted could be effective from 2016. This should not be regarded as a perfect proposal but should be viewed as a starting point for discussion.