June 1, 2024, is all set to be a significant day in the history of USA cricket as the country is all set to play its first ever World Cup game in Cricket, two decades after playing its first ever ‘official’ international match. The ‘official’ has been emphasized because, it was back in 1844 that USA actually played their first ever cricket match, incidentally against Canada.
For this crop of USA players, the sweetness of the occasion is set to be compounded by the fact that the game will be played in front of home fans at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
And ahead of the special day, USA vice-captain Aaron Jones has vowed that he and his teammates will ‘leave everything out there on the park’ in the curtain-raiser of the T20WC 2024 against Canada.
“We don't want to regret anything. We want to leave everything out there in the park,” Jones said on the eve of the game.
“If we come out on top, it's great. If we don't come out on top, that's how cricket goes sometimes. But we don't want to regret anything.”
USA, who last week registered a famous 2-1 series win over Bangladesh, will enter the curtain-raiser as favorites. Not least because they thumped Canada 4-0 in a bilateral series as recently as April.
But Jones made it clear that bilateral results will count for nothing come Sunday, due to the World Cup being a completely different ballgame.
"I don't really want to focus on the 4-0 victory in the last series [against Canada]," Jones said.
"I mean, that's gone already and, you know, the team that we played against in that series is not the exact same team we'll be playing against tomorrow.
"It's a World Cup game, the first World Cup game. There's going to be pressure on both teams. And obviously we know the outstanding rivalry we have with Canada, so pressure will be on both teams. It's whoever handles the pressure best tomorrow [that will come out on top] to be honest."
It’s a dream come true moment for Jones, who is the third-most capped USA player in history (across formats), with 69 appearances to his name. The 29-year-old, who made his international debut back in 2019, admitted that, on a personal level, it feels surreal to be embarking on a World Cup journey.
“I think growing up as a kid, the majority of cricketers want to play a World Cup. The World Cup being the highest stage you could play, so just being a part is very exciting to me, to be honest," he said.
“It’s probably the highest height really and truly over the last couple of years, being able to play in a World Cup.
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