Follow UsUnited States’ 2024 T20 World Cup campaign is all but over following a second straight loss in the Super 8s, but their head coach Stuart Law lavished praise on his side, claiming that the team’s inspirational showing in the competition has helped open a few eyes in the country about the sport of cricket.
USA, who gained automatic qualification by virtue of being co-hosts, were expected to not make it out of their group, which included India and Pakistan, but they qualified for the Super 8s against all odds, stunning Pakistan in a Super Over in Dallas to progress to the next round.
The Super 8s have not gone as per plan for USA, with them suffering back-to-back losses, but they’ve still had their moments, notably in the South Africa game where they gave the Proteas a mighty scare.
Despite an exit looking imminent, Law said that he was incredibly proud of what his side have managed to achieve in this competition.
“I think it's been an awesome experience to be honest. At the halfway mark out there in the field, at the 10-over mark, I said, I gathered everyone in and I said, I'm just so proud of where we're at,” Law said after the West Indies game.
“No one gave us a chance at the start of the tournament, no one gave us a chance and here we are, we're here in the Super 8’s. So, look, I'm super proud of the effort the boys have put in.
“I think we've opened a few eyes in America about this game of cricket. That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to make a statement, create a bit of interest. I think we've done that tenfold.
“The way the guys have gone about playing has been exciting to watch as well. Just wasn't our night tonight, it was probably a bad performance considering where we have been, but still immensely proud of the group.”
This World Cup, however, hasn’t been a special one just for USA. The expanded 20-team competition has helped showcase the strength in associate cricket overall. While USA have made it to the Super 8s, the likes of Scotland, Nepal and Netherlands put up impressive showings.
Scotland would likely have made it to the Super 8s if not for rain intervening in the England clash. Even a side like Papua New Guinea (PNG) nearly upset West Indies on the very first day of the tournament.
Law asserted that this expanded T20WC has shown that giving associates the limelight is crucial to growing the sport of cricket.
“Look, I think Associate cricket is one of the toughest formats going around,” Law said.
“I remember going to Zimbabwe with West Indies to the World Cup qualifiers, the 50-over World Cup qualifiers to watch, to go there. It's a brutal tournament. If those guys play those tournaments quite often, they're going to be pretty relaxed playing something like a World Cup where you get a game and then you have a day, maybe four days off.
“In those qualifiers you get game, day off, game, day off. So, it's brutal. The way that Scotland nearly would have been great to see that game play out against England. They could have pushed them hard.
“But the Associated Nations shouldn't be discounted either. We're trying to grow the game of cricket. It's called a World Cup. I think the 20-team format was done pretty well.”
Law, who was appointed USA head coach just two months ago, said he’s been ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the depth in talent in the country.
Following the team’s impressive showing in this T20WC, which has helped them seal automatic qualification for the next T20WC, the 55-year-old believes that the only way forward for USA cricket is upwards.
“Before I got to Houston, I wasn't really sure what I was expecting. But when I got to Houston, I was pleasantly surprised knowing that there is some talented cricketers in the US,” Law said.
“Even the boys back home, there's some promising talent as well. We don't have the depth of pool that other nations have. We will hopefully continue to grow that, gain more interest from other parts of the US. And if we can unearth a couple of more players, because we've got automatic qualification into the next T20 World Cup, we can pick up a few more players from local tournaments.
“Major League Cricket will be a big part of that too because it's a high-pressure T20 format. There's lots of positives to take out of it. My expectations weren't, I wasn't sure, but now I believe that these guys can mix it with some of the better teams going around. Given the right preparations and the right cricket to play, I think they'll improve greatly over the coming years.”
Law finally reflected on what’s been an ‘amazing’ tournament for his side.
“It's been amazing, to be honest. Starting in Dallas, where we had two games, first up game against Canada under lights, and a chase down 194 with Aaron Jones, 94 not out, off 40 odd balls. It was an amazing game to watch. And then the next one, the big one, against Pakistan, to take it to a super over and see the boys perform under that sort of pressure was just great to see.
“So, the journey has been great. The ICC have done their best logistically. It's a bit tough to coordinate from the West Indies to America. Flights are scheduled, sometimes they take off on time, sometimes they don't.
“We've had hurricanes, we've had rainstorms, and it's been - the boys have taken it all on their chin, all in their stride and as I said before, I can't be any prouder of this cricket team for what we've achieved. We set out to make a name of cricket in the US and I think people are now talking about cricket a little bit more which is fantastic.”
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.