Pro Cricket
Encyclopedia
Pro Cricket was a professional cricket
league in the United States
. It was operated by American Pro Cricket LLC (APC), a private company independent of the ICC
and the USACA
. Kalpesh Patel served as Pro Cricket's chairman and commissioner.
The league was formed in 2004 as one of several independent efforts by different organizations to develop and promote cricket in the United States. APC originally announced that it was fully funded for at least three years of competition, but the league struggled through in its initial season due to poor attendance. Also, a deal to televise games on Dish Network
apparently fell through. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-20-2004/0002213438&EDATE= The league quietly expired after the 2004 season.
a side, similar to Twenty20
cricket. However, there were two major changes from the rules of cricket used elsewhere:
Additionally, the league used a "designated hitter" rule, in which teams consist of 12 players, 11 of whom field and 11 of whom bat. This was similar to such rules existing in some domestic List A cricket competitions. All of these changes were designed to shorten the game and produce more aggressive batting, which the league administrators believed would help make the sport more appealing to the US public.
Each team was allowed a limited roster of global players from professional cricket teams outside the U.S. The ICC however ruled that because Pro Cricket was not organised by the USACA, contracted players from ICC Test nations could not be released from their contracts to play in Pro Cricket matches. However, several notable players without contracts, such as Ajay Jadeja
, Daren Ganga
, Mervyn Dillon
, and Rahul Sanghvi
took part in the competition.
Although cricket had a strong following in the U.S. up to the mid-19th century, its popularity dwindled with the rise of baseball
, and it remained an almost unknown sport throughout the 20th century. The U.S. was one of the first nations to become an Associate Member of the ICC, in 1965, but growth of the game there languished until the late 1990s, when the ICC focused development efforts on the country. Progress since has been slow but steady, and many hoped that Pro Cricket would prove to be a turning point in the popularity of the sport in the U.S. As events unfolded, it became clear that this was not to be.
The competition involved round-robin home and away games between all pairings within a division, followed by inter-divisional semi-finals and a final. The schedule ran from the opening game on 19 June, 2004, to the final on 4 September, 2004. In addition, Pro Cricket had a policy of not playing the games that have no importance to them on the points table. The game scheduled for 21 August, 2004, between Chicago and Los Angeles was canceled due to the lack of importance of the game. Neither team could have made the playoffs even if they won the game; therefore, Pro Cricket chose to not play the game.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
league in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was operated by American Pro Cricket LLC (APC), a private company independent of the ICC
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
and the USACA
United States of America Cricket Association
The United States of America Cricket Association is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in the United States. USACA sponsors the United States cricket team that is recognized by the International Cricket Council, and has been an associate member of that body since 1965.USACA...
. Kalpesh Patel served as Pro Cricket's chairman and commissioner.
The league was formed in 2004 as one of several independent efforts by different organizations to develop and promote cricket in the United States. APC originally announced that it was fully funded for at least three years of competition, but the league struggled through in its initial season due to poor attendance. Also, a deal to televise games on Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
apparently fell through. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-20-2004/0002213438&EDATE= The league quietly expired after the 2004 season.
Game-play format
The format of the games were 20 oversOver (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
a side, similar to Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket. However, there were two major changes from the rules of cricket used elsewhere:
- Overs consist of five balls instead of six.
- Bowlers could bowl up to five overs each (25% of the total), meaning only four bowlers will be needed rather than five.
Additionally, the league used a "designated hitter" rule, in which teams consist of 12 players, 11 of whom field and 11 of whom bat. This was similar to such rules existing in some domestic List A cricket competitions. All of these changes were designed to shorten the game and produce more aggressive batting, which the league administrators believed would help make the sport more appealing to the US public.
Each team was allowed a limited roster of global players from professional cricket teams outside the U.S. The ICC however ruled that because Pro Cricket was not organised by the USACA, contracted players from ICC Test nations could not be released from their contracts to play in Pro Cricket matches. However, several notable players without contracts, such as Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja
Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja was born on 1 February 1971 in royal rajput family of Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was a regular in the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000, playing in 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals. His cricketing achievements were overshadowed by a 5 year ban for...
, Daren Ganga
Daren Ganga
Daren Ganga is a West Indian cricketer of East Indian descent. He is a right-handed top order batsman and part-time right-arm offbreak bowler. After debuting as a 19 year old he has found himself in and out of the West Indies team, playing regularly for and at times captaining the West Indies A...
, Mervyn Dillon
Mervyn Dillon
Mervyn Dillon in Mission Village, Toco, Trinidad and Tobago, is a West Indian cricketer. He has played 38 in Tests and taken 131 wickets. He has also played 108 One Day Internationals from 1997-2004. At one stage, after the bowling greats Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose retired from...
, and Rahul Sanghvi
Rahul Sanghvi
Rahul Sanghvi is an Indian cricketer, specialising in left arm orthodox spin. He played one Test Match, which was the First Test between Australia and India in 2001, but was dropped after Australia claimed a 10 wicket victory. He played in 10 One Day Internationals...
took part in the competition.
Although cricket had a strong following in the U.S. up to the mid-19th century, its popularity dwindled with the rise of baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and it remained an almost unknown sport throughout the 20th century. The U.S. was one of the first nations to become an Associate Member of the ICC, in 1965, but growth of the game there languished until the late 1990s, when the ICC focused development efforts on the country. Progress since has been slow but steady, and many hoped that Pro Cricket would prove to be a turning point in the popularity of the sport in the U.S. As events unfolded, it became clear that this was not to be.
2004 Season
The league consisted of eight teams in two divisions. The East division was also known as "The Covers" and the West was known as "The Mid Wickets"http://web.archive.org/web/20040826160039/www.procricket.com/launchrelease.asp, listed with home grounds:East Division
- New York StormNew York StormThe New York Storm were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season. The team failed to make the playoffs during...
(Staten Island, New York) – Richmond County Bank BallparkRichmond County Bank BallparkThe Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George is a baseball stadium located on the north-eastern tip of Staten Island. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island Yankees, the NY-Penn League affiliate of the New York Yankees, and of Wagner College Seahawks Baseball. The ballpark was also... - New Jersey FireNew Jersey FireThe New Jersey Fire were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season...
(Bridgewater, New Jersey) – Commerce Bank BallparkCommerce Bank BallparkTD Bank Ballpark is a 6,100-seat baseball park in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey that hosted its first regular season baseball game on June 7, 1999, as the tenants of the facility, the Somerset Patriots, defeated the Newark Bears...
, - D.C. ForwardD.C. ForwardThe DC Forward was a professional cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season. The team failed to make the playoffs during...
(Bowie, MarylandBowie, MarylandBowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of...
) – Prince George's StadiumPrince George's StadiumPrince George's Stadium is a multipurpose sports venue located in Bowie, Maryland primarily used for baseball. It is home of the Baltimore Orioles' AA affiliate in the Eastern League, the Bowie Baysox...
, - Florida ThunderFlorida ThunderThe Florida Thunder were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season...
(Homestead, FloridaHomestead, FloridaHomestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
) – Homestead Sports ComplexHomestead Sports ComplexHomestead Sports Complexis a baseball training facility located less than three miles from downtown Homestead, Florida. The facility, seats 6,500 and expands to 9,000, and provides parking for over 3,900 vehicles....
,
West Division
- Chicago TornadoesChicago TornadoesThe Chicago Tornadoes were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season...
(Schaumburg, IllinoisSchaumburg, IllinoisSchaumburg is a city located in Cook County in northeastern Illinois. A common misspelling of the city name is Schaumberg, a spelling which persists on some modern maps. Schaumburg is located just under northwest of downtown Chicago and approximately northwest of O'Hare International Airport. As...
)– Alexian FieldAlexian FieldSchaumburg Baseball Stadium is a stadium in Schaumburg, Illinois formally known as Alexian Field. It is primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Schaumburg Flyers minor league baseball team from 1999 through 2010...
, - San Francisco FreedomSan Francisco FreedomThe San Francisco Freedom was a professional cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season...
(San Francisco, Northern CaliforniaNorthern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
) – Kezar StadiumKezar StadiumKezar Stadium is a stadium located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. It is the former home of the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL, and of the San Francisco Dragons of MLL. It also served as the home of the...
, - Los Angeles UnityLos Angeles UnityThe Los Angeles Unity were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season. The team failed to make the playoffs during...
(Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San BernardinoSan BernardinoSan Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...
, Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
) – Arrowhead Credit Union ParkArrowhead Credit Union ParkArrowhead Credit Union Park is a stadium in San Bernardino, California, United States. Located adjacent to Downtown San Bernardino. Arrowhead Credit Union Park has been the home ballpark to the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino minor league baseball team since when it was originally built in 1996... - Texas Arrow HeadsTexas Arrow HeadsThe Texas Arrowheads were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket league. It was one of eight founding teams in the league in 2004. This was the only year that the team played as the league was disbanded following the season. The team failed to make the playoffs during...
(Houston, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) – Cougar FieldCougar FieldCougar Field is a baseball stadium in Houston, Texas. It is the home field of the Houston Cougars baseball team. Several iterations of Cougar Field have existed. The current stadium holds 5,000 people, and opened for baseball in 1995. Since its opening, Cougar Field has hosted several notable...
at the University of HoustonUniversity of HoustonThe University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
The competition involved round-robin home and away games between all pairings within a division, followed by inter-divisional semi-finals and a final. The schedule ran from the opening game on 19 June, 2004, to the final on 4 September, 2004. In addition, Pro Cricket had a policy of not playing the games that have no importance to them on the points table. The game scheduled for 21 August, 2004, between Chicago and Los Angeles was canceled due to the lack of importance of the game. Neither team could have made the playoffs even if they won the game; therefore, Pro Cricket chose to not play the game.
External links
- Pro Cricket official web site (as archived by the Wayback Machine on September 4, 2004)