By 7:30 p.m. in Grand Prairie, as Ali Khan began his run-up, the temperature in this corner of Texas hovered around 102 degrees. A warm breeze blew across the ground, but there was hardly a cloud in the sky or a patch of green on the wicket. Ideal hitting conditions, all in all.
Not that Khan – opening for the LA Knight Riders – would have thrown the ball to anyone else. This was a moment to cherish for the American star. He was tasked with bowling the first pitch of Major League Cricket: this country’s newest professional sports competition and the sport’s last attempt to break America.
‘A gigantic leap across the Atlantic’, the broadcasters called it. ‘The American Dream of Cricket’.
No pressure then. And so Devon Conway – from New Zealand and the Texas Super Kings – waited as Khan sent the ball upfield into the unknown.
The fast bowler believes that in time this T20 tournament will leave only the Indian Premier League behind.
The Texas Super Kings lost the winners in the first game of Major League Cricket on Thursday
Thousands of adoring fans showed up for a successful first night in Grand Prairie, Texas
It remains to be seen if Major League Cricket can keep up the hype they’ve built up so far
The next two and a half weeks should tell us if he’s onto something. Or seduced by blind faith.
This was the first of 19 games split between this converted ballpark near Dallas and a 3,000-seat stadium in North Carolina.
Deep pockets and big plans mean that top international talent is scattered across the six teams: the Knight Riders, the Super Kings, the Seattle Orcas, the San Francisco Unicorns, Washington Freedom and MI New York. Jason Roy gave up his contract with England to come over. Liam Plunkett is also there.
The Foreign Legion also includes South African Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada, Australians Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa and Aaron Finch and West Indians Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.
They will be alongside local talent such as Pakistan-born Khan. About 6,000 fans flocked here on Thursday night, including Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene. The organizers estimate they could have flogged a few more thousand.
But it was a sale and a great atmosphere. ‘TSK, TSK’ sounded before half a century from Conway and David Miller blasted the Super Kings to 181/6. In response, South African-American Rusty Theron helped cut the Knight Riders to 7-3.
Russell led a fightback, hitting 10 boundaries and sending one out of the stadium. It was all in vain as the Super Kings won by 69 runs to raise yellow flags in Texas and cap off a promising opening night.
American Ali Khan (left) got the huge moment to bowl the first pitch of the competition
David Miller plays a shot from Khan during the Major League Cricket opener, in 100-degree heat
Fans watch as Milind Kumar stops the ball at the boundary during Thursday’s game
In March, when Major League Cricket gathered four hours south of here for its posh run, the symbolism was obvious. They chose the NASA Space Center in Houston for a reason. But will the next two weeks really be the starting gun for cricket on this vast frontier. Or just another false dawn? Another one of what Elon Musk might call a “rapid unplanned teardown.”
Because we’ve been here before. Over the past few decades, there have been several failed attempts to break America. The first incarnation of Major League Cricket – founded in 2000 – barely got off the ground.
No wonder the organizers of this venture admit that they have doubts.
But at least they’ve given themselves a solid foundation. In addition to an impressive cast of imported products, Major League Cricket has attracted some serious backers – both financial and cricket.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is one of the Silicon Valley types pumping in money, while IPL owners have stakes in four of the six teams. The other two are supported by Australian state bodies.
Those close ties could lure stars like Australian Steve Smith in the future.
But the organizers cannot afford for this to be yet another T20 tournament in an already overcrowded field. They know the cricket has to sell itself. And they know they have to lean on their environment.
Hence the pre-game pageantry and aerial acrobatics: they want to combine American glitz with cricket trickery.
Unmukt Chand can only watch as fans try to catch a ball hit for six by the Texas Super Kings
There was a party atmosphere and Major League Cricket has deep pockets and big plans
However, on Thursday night, Grand Prairie was laced with South Asian flavours.
Fans received a free flag and whistle upon entry. Some wore Stetsons. Many more wore shirts with the names of IPL teams and Indian stars such as MS Dhoni. Stalls on the ground, meanwhile, were supplied by Foodistaan, a local Indian restaurant.
Indian expats provide direct support for this tournament and the plan was to focus first on ‘low hanging fruit’ – existing cricket fans. However, to keep this going for as long as possible, MLC will need to attract more overseas stars and cricket can even dream of standing alongside baseball – America’s Pastime – will need to gain new fans. Preferably before next year when the US will co-host the T20 World Cup.
This opening night had its teething problems – a few loose shots and lost catches and a halftime drone show that fell victim to technical glitches.
But it ended with fireworks, after Miller, Russell and Co had caused a lot of fireworks.
Now we wait. To see if cricket finally lights up America, or sizzles in the dark again.