The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket

CWI HAS NOW GIVEN UP THE AMERICAN MARKET

Emir 4/24/25, 2:11:00 PM
Emir avatar image

debut: 8/9/14
18,808 runs

Right under our nose, NZ cricket, like the BCCI are the boards that will influence and perhaps run cricket in America. It use to be the domain of WICBC


In a groundbreaking development, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced a strategic partnership with an upcoming MLC franchise set to be introduced in the 2027 season.


We have the opportunity to take equity stakes in the franchise, and thereby we have the opportunity to benefit from the growth of cricket in the US from a financial perspective when MLC gets lucrative. So that's very appealing to us to potentially grow our revenue base which provides an opportunity down the line to invest in our own game, in our community game, and our pathways game, and also in our high performance game"


we have smaller playing numbers than most countries but we have a system where we identify talent early and then put a wrap around them to really bring them through and develop them.


NZ CRICKET ADMINISTRATION- CRICKETERS ARE PARTNERS, NO PLANTATION SYSTEM
- edited -
PalsofMine 4/24/25, 2:48:38 PM
PalsofMine avatar image

debut: 2/2/23
2,076 runs

Good. Put out the fire in your own house before tackling your neighbour's
Jumpstart 4/24/25, 5:12:44 PM
Jumpstart avatar image

debut: 11/30/17
11,722 runs

In reply to Emir

i dont think cricket in america has that much of a future. and i know it has no future with regards to the wet indies. Guyanese and Trinis will support wi cricket if its played in florida, nyc etc. but that number is limited and decreasing as the struggles of the WI continue apace. SA, india and NZ have a better chance. one of the not widely known features of nz is that new zealand has a serious youth unemployment problem, and many young people are leaving the country. SA ditto. and there has always been a sizeable indian/sub continental population in the states. fact is those groups will not be motivated to support tkr, or gaw or any other WI franchise or team. if cricket had blown up 35 or 40 years ago, maybe but not now
SnoopDog 4/24/25, 7:11:12 PM
SnoopDog avatar image

debut: 1/24/04
16,204 runs

In reply to Jumpstart

If MLS is struggling in the North American market then cricket has very little chance.

The big 4 (NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL) dominate the North American sporting landscape. Those four leagues have support from all demographics and don't rely on expats or immigrants for their survival or popularity.

The only silver lining for MLS, women's professional leagues, and eventually cricket will be the sports betting market which has grown exponentially in the past few years.
hubert 4/24/25, 7:17:14 PM
hubert avatar image

debut: 11/14/02
19,633 runs

In reply to Jumpstart

Agree for the most part as USA cricket always seem to self destruct even when given
support from other countries and the ICC too.
But all is not lost. Maybe their last chance for a significant future is hosting the
Olympics which will be represented by the 6 best International teams.
The wish is that it will be a huge success that will translate into acceptance of the game
by American boys and girls leading to some High Schools /Colleges embracing it and
having programs.
It is a steep hill to climb. But if anyone can do it will be the Indian/Asian expertise
as they are the groups that have been keeping the game alive in the entire
United States.
West Indian participation in Leagues has been down significantly as the youngsters
are not really engaged and the older generation that were at the forefront in
places like New York and Philadelphia ,are gone and they unlike the Asian Countries
were not able to entice their children to take up the sport.
Very few of Caribbean are in the mix on most USA teams nowadays too. And that
is not a good sign.
When you visit Club games, the entire Indian family is there and even little ones with
toy bats have their own little action ,even if only to twiddle their bats.
I still have hope that the game will make progress but cannot be too optimistic.
Similar to the Caribbean, the game has to built from ground level and grow to
keep the youngsters for sustainability.
Not very easy with so much distractions and interests that youngsters are
gravitating to. It's tough but to quote Jesse Jackson ' Keep hope alive'
- edited -
SnoopDog 4/24/25, 7:34:12 PM
SnoopDog avatar image

debut: 1/24/04
16,204 runs

In reply to hubert

Some excellent points.

Cricket has been very popular in the expat/immigrant/diaspora communities for a long time in Canada and the US.

The problem I saw when I was involved in Canadian cricket was the national team hardly ever picked players who were born in Canada and learned the game in here or were immigrants but still learned the game here in our system.

The Canadian selectors almost always chose to select players who played international or first class cricket for other countries and were recent immigrants to Canada. This selection strategy discouraged a lot of young Canadians who basically knew that even if they played well in our domestic tournament they would get overlooked for some has-been who played a few Ranji trophy games in India.

So I agree with you that cricket has to take root in schools and universities and become part of the sporting culture for everyone (not just children of immigrants) if it is to stand a chance at the North American market.
Jumpstart 4/24/25, 7:43:23 PM
Jumpstart avatar image

debut: 11/30/17
11,722 runs

In reply to SnoopDog

If MLS is struggling in the North American market then cricket has very little chance.

yeah.
The big 4 (NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL) dominate the North American sporting landscape. Those four leagues have support from all demographics and don't rely on expats or immigrants for their survival or popularity.

exactly
natty_forever 4/24/25, 9:32:48 PM
natty_forever avatar image

debut: 4/28/03
60,418 runs

Once there is betting MLC will survive.
hubert 4/25/25, 4:51:27 PM
hubert avatar image

debut: 11/14/02
19,633 runs

In reply to natty_forever

lollollol
Never thought of that ,Right angle.