Editor’s note: Steve S. Rao is a Council Member At Large and Former Mayor Pro Tem for the Town of Morrisville and an Opinion Writer for WRAL Tech Wire. He served on the Board of the New American Economy, now the American Immigration Council, and on the NC League of Municipalities Race and Equity Task Force. He is a regular contributing writer to WRAL TechWire.
Note to readers: WRAL TechWire would like to hear from you about views expressed by our contributors. Please send email to: info@wraltechwire.com.
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MORRISVILLE – Cricket has a surprisingly long and rich history in America. The sport’s first ever international match was between America and Canada in New York in 1844. (Canada won.) Cricket was more popular than baseball before the civil war, and in recent years thanks to immigrants from all over the world, it has been gaining fans once again.
Cricket is currently being played by over 200,000 players in the United States. These players participate in competitions in the more than 400 local leagues, tournaments, academies, college and school programs across the United States.
Last week, in an Economist e-newsletter, I read the following excerpt which really brought this point home for me.
“Given the increasing number of immigrants from cricket-playing countries in America, Major League Cricket could be a lasting success. Owners of teams in the wildly successful, highly lucrative Indian Premier League have bought four of the MLC’s six sides. Their pulling power means that MLC teams are packed with some of the IPL’s top talent. America is also co-hosting the T20 World Cup—the shorter form of the game—with the West Indies in 2024.”
Steve Rao
Time for the locals to brush up on the laws of the game
I think it is fair to say that our locals have done far more than brush up on their cricket skills at Church Street Park in Morrisville. Thanks to the leadership of the Triangle Cricket League, our region has witnessed the explosive growth of youth and adult cricket leagues. Many Indian American immigrants have brought their love and passion for cricket to the Town, leading to a growing fan base and the transformation of Church Street Park to emerge as one of the most remarkable cricket venues in the nation.
And as for global talent …
Morrisville has emerged as a destination for the best Cricket players in the nation and world, who have come here to train, and to vie for minor league cricket championships. The driving force behind this push is the rising number of immigrants in America from cricket-playing countries—in particular from the Indian subcontinent. The investors in Major League Cricket include high-profile Indian-Americans, such as Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft. (Economist, 07/06/23)
These investors are betting on the fact that their fellow countrymen provide a ready market for cricket. Major League Cricket’s major multi million investment in Church Street really brings this point home. The evidence of America’s extensive amateur leagues suggest they might be right. Chicago’s “Premier League” already features ten full teams who play a dozen matches a week. There are over 2,000 players on the books, of whom nearly 300 have the surname “Patel.” (Economist, 07/06/23)
All the more reason for a motivated Indian American Cricket fan base here in Morrisville, where South Asian Indians make up 47% of the Town’s population.
Much of this cricket momentum was the result of the multi-million-dollar public-private partnership to jointly invest in the expansion of Church Street Park, upgrading the facility into an international-quality cricket venue. The investment has now resulted in the addition of more than 2,000 permanent seats to the scenic venue, increasing Church Street Park’s capacity to over 3,500. Upgrades have also included the installation of state-of-the-art broadcast infrastructure, additional parking and LED illuminated natural and artificial turf practice pitches and nets.
These enhancements will allow Church Street Park to host world-class MLC matches and serve as a flagship facility for USA Cricket’s National Team games and training. We are now hopeful that our Cricket venue would meet the criteria necessary to host games at the 2024 T20 Men’s World Cup, an event viewed by over 500 million cricket fans worldwide. The USA host venues are expected to be announced later this year.
Big-time cricket comes to Triangle
This week we have the opportunity to watch the best cricket players in the world firsthand as the first professional American cricket league, Major League Cricket will bring the Championships to the Town of Morrisville from July 20- July 24th.
A 19-match tournament, hosted primarily at a former baseball stadium in Dallas, kicked off this week. Six teams, representing five large American cities and Texas, will compete in “Major League Cricket” (mlc). They will play the Twenty20, or t20, format of the game, invented in 2003 as a faster version (by comparison, the current matches between England and Australia can each last for a gripping five days).
Professionals from all over the world are being flown in for these Major League Championships. Star players set to take part include West Indians Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, Australians Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson, England’s Jason Roy, South African internationals Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, and New Zealand’s Adam Milne and Glenn Phillips. In fact, on Tuesday, I welcomed the Washington Freedom with former Morrisvile Mayor Mark Stohlman and Cricket fans as they arrived at RDU Airport from the games in Dallas. Australian Cricketer and Team Captain Mosies Henriques told me he was so excitied to be playing the next round of matches at Church Street Park.
On Tuesday I was finishing up my run on the Shiloh Greenway which runs through Church Street Park. On the last stretch of my run, I could not help but get a little emotional, as I ran up to the top of the new Stadium seating. It seemed like yesterday when we broke ground for Church Street Park with our shovels in hand. At the time, my Colleagues on the Council and our residents were excited for a multi-purpose park, with tennis courts, a track, and a playground.
Eventually, we would put in a Cricket pitch.
Fast forward nine years, and I was viewing the same Park from the expanded Stadium Seating. Never did any of us imagine that we would be hosting Major League Cricket Championships at Church Street Park and that fans from all over the nation and world would be watching Professional Cricket in a town, which was home to some of the first freed slaves who would go on to grow the Shiloh Community.
Who would have thought, that Cricket would be making a major resurgence in the united States so many years after the Civil War?
I could not help but think that some of the last battles of the Civil War were fought not far from Church Street Park, and now, thanks to the passion and dedication of immigrants all over the world, we are seeing a Cricket Awakening and Transformation taking place before our very own eyes.
I run to music on my runs, and during my last mile was inspired by Carrie Underwood’s Song Invincible, which spells out the word CHAMPION. The song reminded me of how proud we should be proud of bringing Major League Cricket to our Town.
As I sprinted the last quarter mile, I revised the words and spelled out the word CHAMPION.
C is for Courage of the Triangle Cricket League, who brought their passion from their home countries.
H is for the Heart of our Cricket Fans.
A is for a never give up Attitude.
M is for Constant Motivation to develop the finest Cricket venue in the country.
P is for our Persistence.
I is for the Town of Morrisivlle’s innovative, public private partnership and vision for executing on a world class Cricket Park.
O is for always being Optimistic.
N is for Never giving up.
CHAMPIONS, our Cricket Journey has certainly been more of a marathon than a sprint. At each mile marker, we faced some adversity, but never lost sight on the finish line, developing a Cricket Park, where Cricket fans from all over the nation can cheer on the best Cricket players in the world.
Who knows? With Cricket being considered as an Olympic sport at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, we may see a future Olympian in our midst.
We look forward to seeing you at the Cricket Capital and now can set our sights on T20 World Cup Games in 2024.
Cricket championship & us: The best of American Democracy on display in Morrisville
