For the T20 World Cup 2024, the USA will import pitches from Australia
The International Cricket Council is actively working to expand its horizons and captivate a broader audience for cricket. This is one of the key reasons why the USA was picked to co-host the T20 World Cup 2024, starting in June.
However, the question of whether the USA, a nation still acquainting itself with cricket, is capable of hosting such a massive tournament remains. Dallas, Florida, and New York have been selected as the venues for the T20 World Cup in the USA. However, given the lack of experience in preparing cricket pitches, the USA Cricket Board has sought assistance from the pitch curators at Adelaide Oval.
With the pressure of hosting IND vs. PAK, the biggest clash of the tournament, the USA has decided to use drop-in pitches at the venues for the tournament.
Head groundsman of Adelaide Oval, Damien Hough, confirmed that trays are being built in Adelaide before being shipped to Florida and then transported to the venue ahead of the tournament.
Hough said, “It’s a bit tricky; we basically built six of the 10 trays here in Adelaide. We made them modular. We’re really proud of them. We’ve got a couple out of the back that will probably come out here [on Adelaide Oval] next year.”
He added, “We put them in a shipping container and send them really wherever we want around the world. But they’ve gone over to Florida.”
Hough also confirmed, “Four go into that venue, that pop-up stadium, that 34,000-seat stadium. Eight games in 10 days. One of them is Pakistan and India, which will be amazing. And then there’s six that go into the warm-up venue with so many teams rotating through and so much training.”
The T20 World Cup is set to begin in June this year. The blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9 in New York.