A Major League Cricket box score might as well be hieroglyphics to most Americans. Overs, runs, sixes and fours aren’t exactly intuitive statistics, and deciphering scores can be a tall order for new fans.
Despite the language barrier, cricket is on the rise throughout the U.S., with USA Cricket co-hosting the T20 World Cup last year and the sport’s inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Locally, the defending Major League Cricket champion Washington Freedom said the sport’s diversity and international flavor make it a perfect match for the nation’s capital. The mixing pot of a club opened its 2025 campaign with a loss to the San Francisco Unicorns last week.
Freedom player Jason Behrendorff had some crucial advice for anyone looking to attend their first match.
“Don’t try to understand everything at once,” he said. “It’s too much. It’s like a novice trying to understand NFL football.”
But don’t worry, Behrendorff added.
This isn’t the “Test Cricket” that Americans might have heard about. That form, which features nearly 40 hours of play across five days while both teams sport white uniforms, hasn’t been widely adopted in the U.S.
Instead, the American major league plays “Twenty20” or “T20” cricket. The average game lasts about 3½ hours, not much longer than a pre-pitch clock MLB game. White uniforms are not required, and the pace of play encourages more rapid action.
Think baseball … sort of
The general rules of cricket are relatively simple. Several players compared it to baseball in their discussions with The Washington Times.
Imagine if, instead of rounding four bases to score a run, baseball players just needed to run to the pitcher’s mound. That’s how cricket players score: by hitting a ball and then running back and forth between where they started and where the ball came from.
They score a run each time they make it down the 66-foot strip and try to score as many times as they can before the fielders return the ball to the infield.
Behrendorff noted that if you’ve seen a cricket highlight, it likely came from a T20 match.
“The highlight reels are just getting longer and longer because players are starting to perform almost miraculous events throughout the game,” Behrendorff said. “Whether it be a super catch on the boundary, some unbelievable hitting with the bat, or the execution from the bowlers and deception with different slower balls and execution of their delivery.”
The Australian knows what he’s talking about. The left-arm bowler, a role similar to pitchers in baseball, has played internationally in Australia, India and South Africa. The upcoming season will be his first in the U.S. as a member of the Freedom.
A global appeal
The sport’s international flavor is a big draw for fans and players like Behrendorff.
“Some of the players that are coming to play in this competition are some of the best in the world,” he said. “That’s a really big thing to look and see where the big guns are wanting to play cricket: here, in the U.S.”
The 35-year-old hopes his American experience can mirror some of his treasured memories from playing overseas. There’s nothing like a sport breaking down cultural barriers.
“When I was in South Africa, one of the boys took us out to his family’s farm. So we had a ‘braai’ out there, very local South African meal,” he said. “That was something that I’ll remember for a long time going forward.”
Saurabh Netravalkar relates to the international appeal. The Freedom bowler became a global sensation when he led the underdog U.S. national team to an unlikely win over Pakistan in last year’s T20 World Cup.
The event, hosted in the United States, allowed the Indian-born Netravalkar to gain an even greater appreciation for the sport’s global nature.
“We get to play with and network with people from diverse backgrounds, get to understand where they came from, how they learned the game, how we react so differently to the same situation,” he said. “That helps us learn from each other but, at the same time, brings us together in the love for the game.”
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, according to most estimates. Its popularity in the Indian subcontinent and Oceania region has powered it forward, reaching the kind of cult status that the NFL holds in the U.S.
“I’m Indian,” Freedom CEO Dhiraj Malhotra said with a laugh when asked why he loves cricket. “In India, it’s a religion.”
Consider Mr. Malhotra a missionary, then. He, with the rest of his Major League Cricket compatriots, is spreading the gospel.
Recent events emphasized his point. Less than a week after sharing that sentiment with The Times, 11 people died in a stampede that broke out when more than 200,000 fans showed up for a celebration of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Indian Premier League cricket title.
“People are crazy for their cricketers,” said Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
In the U.S., players such as Behrendroff and Netravalkar enjoy relative anonymity, for now.
The T20 World Cup last year was a massive step forward for the sport’s American footprint, with more than 1 million tickets sold in stadiums in New York, Texas and Florida.
One report estimated an economic impact of more than $600 million. Most of those fans didn’t travel from India, Pakistan or Australia, though — 87% of Cricket World Cup attendees were American residents.
Primed for Los Angeles
The sport will return for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 after a 128-year absence. Fans should start preparing now, Mr. Mahlotra said.
“It’s just a bubble waiting to be explored,” he said. “It’s just a progressive growth.”
The Major League Cricket schedule this summer features a barnstorming schedule with games in California, Texas and Florida, a common strategy for burgeoning leagues. The season opened last week and runs through July 13.
After negotiations to build a new stadium at George Mason University in Virginia faltered, the Freedom are considering a potential home in Frederick, Maryland.
The proposed stadium along the Monocacy River would hold 25,000. That’s not the six-figure crowds the Indian Premier League attracts, but it’s a start.
For now, the Freedom’s players and leadership are encouraging fans in the Washington area to consume cricket in any way they can.
“You’ve got to experience it to really realize what a fun sport it is,” Mr. Malhotra said.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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