What impact has the T20 World Cup had on cricket in the USA?

On a precocious day successful nan Baltimore suburbs, nan Waltemeyers and their extended family stitchery successful nan hazy sunshine for a accepted cookout.

Burgers sizzle connected nan barbecue and nan smell of crab cakes, a Maryland speciality, wafts done nan air. The stars and stripes flutter connected a rod successful nan neighbour's garden.

Conversations screen politics, location prices, nan postulation successful Washington DC and family life. A crippled of wiffle ball, a plot type of baseball, breaks out.

Then my American father-in-law's relative Greg asks: "USA hit Pakistan successful nan World Cup cricket, right?"

Like galore US families, nan Waltemeyers are sports obsessed but talk quickly switches from cricket to Major League Baseball's Orioles, nan Ravens of nan NFL and nan US Open golf.

There’s not really a buzz astir nan USA qualifying for nan T20 World Cup Super 8s. Everyone is oblivious to nan truth they will play England.

Herein lies nan situation for cricket successful nan United States.

A T20 World Cup mightiness person been co-hosted connected American ungraded and, from a information and organisational constituent of view, mostly been a success, pinch nan remainder of nan tourney now taking spot successful nan Caribbean.

"I don't deliberation you could've scripted a amended result for cricket successful nan USA than for their squad to spell done to nan Super 8s," Brett Jones, main executive of nan T20 World Cup USA organising committee, told BBC Sport.

"It's had its challenges - but we've decidedly seen a passion for cricket successful nan US and a batch of nan fans are home to nan US truthful location is decidedly thing location for nan early to pat into."

But there's small to bespeak it has registered connected nan consciousness of nan American mainstream.

Admittedly that position is shaped by anecdotal grounds from speaking to group wrong and extracurricular nan stadiums, alternatively than thing much technological aliases data-based.

What does look curious, though, is simply a batch of nan trading and publicity did not consciousness for illustration an effort to prosecute pinch anyone who was not already connected to nan sport.

A afloat page advert successful nan New York Times of nan Statue of Liberty holding a cricket bat? Neat.

India fable Sachin Tendulkar hitting immoderate balls successful a shot batting cage? Nicely done.

Ireland skipper Paul Stirling’s image beamed connected to nan Rockefeller Centre? Erm, yes…

Meanwhile, wrong nan stadiums location was obscurity for first-time cricket attendees and budding youngsters to plaything a bat, aliases person a spell astatine bowling.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has seen an summation of caller users from nan US accessing their integer platforms, up from 21% during nan erstwhile tourney to 61% successful this one.

"The US is already 1 of nan top-four media markets for cricket worldwide, and I would expect this to grow," Daniel Kirschner, main executive of Greenfly, a level for gathering and distributing contented for organisations specified arsenic Major League Baseball and nan NBA, told BBC Sport.

"The ICC has intelligibly grown its societal numbers successful nan US and person worked pinch influencers and integer agencies."

But nan matches successful nan US were each televised connected a cricket-specific subscription channel, which has added to a broader deficiency of visibility.

The USA’s daze triumph complete Pakistan did not make nan apical 30 most-watched sports programmes connected nan time it happened, according to Sports Media Watch.

ICC officials did meet pinch awesome broadcasters, including CBS and NBC, a mates of years agone regarding broadcasting arrangements but thing emerged.

Without nan weight of a awesome media elephantine down it successful nan US, cricket is going to struggle to punch through.

There will besides beryllium small by measurement of meaningful bequest near down successful New York.

The awesome 34,000 pop-up capacity stadium successful Eisenhower Park is being dismantled and nan tract will return to a nationalist parkland pinch immoderate grade of uncertainty complete who will support nan cricket field.

A full of 151,566 fans came to nan 8 matches successful New York, pinch an mean attendance of 18,945. Only India against Pakistan was sold out.

Tournament organisers privately acknowledged to BBC Sport that summons prices for nan remaining games possibly should person been much affordable.

For nan clip being, if you're a cricket instrumentality successful New York, nan only unrecorded action you will beryllium capable to watch successful nan metropolis is recreational games successful parks.

After an outlay of $32m (£25.2m) connected nan Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, it seems for illustration an opportunity has been missed.

Perhaps nan 1 existent bequest of this tourney is it has allowed cricket to shed immoderate of nan stuffy image it has stateside.

One of nan reasons cricket grounded to drawback connected successful nan US successful nan 19th and early 20th period was nan desire of those successful complaint of nan crippled to clasp its consciousness of Englishness - a position not uncommon passim nan British Empire.

The nine that hosted nan feted first world cricket lucifer betwixt USA and Canada successful 1844 - St George's CC - had changed its sanction from New York CC successful 1839 and barred American players from joining.

The existent USA squad are a very different mix.

Four of nan squad were calved connected US ungraded but nan remainder are Americans because they want to be, a value that appeals to galore successful this immense and divers country.

It seems for illustration Saurabh Netravalkar, nan fast-bowling package engineer, has not turned down a azygous question and reply request. Vice-captain Aaron Jones, nan US' starring runscorer, has spoken intelligently astir popularising nan game.

Equally, disconnected nan section location are snippets of stories that seizure nan imagination.

American cricket journalist Peter Della Penna met Chuck, from Boynton Beach successful Florida, who was dressed successful stars and stripes overalls wandering successful nan rainfall astatine nan crushed successful Lauderhill during nan washout against Ireland that enabled nan USA to advancement to nan Super 8s.

"Chuck had ne'er seen cricket successful his life, but said he had to beryllium there," said Della Penna.

"'I saw they hit Pakistan. I saw they're coming to Florida. I request a ticket! I gotta support nan boys!'"

The US balanced of nan Barmy Army seems to person its first member.

Elsewhere, successful a Dallas dive barroom successful nan early hours, it was unthinkable to perceive to a visually impaired American man talk pinch specified fervour astir nan joyousness of listening to BBC region cricket commentators.

The passion of nan South Asian diaspora successful nan United States to playing, attending and watching cricket matches is what is going to prolong it successful this state successful nan contiguous term.

However, immoderate of nan cardinal stakeholders admit that has to alteration astatine immoderate constituent to capitalise connected nan connection everlastingly uttered whenever cricket successful nan US is discussed: potential.

"If it ends up being a athletics that is only for nan diaspora, cricket won't flourish successful nan USA," said Soma Somasegar, an investor successful T20 franchise tourney Major League Cricket, which launched past year.

"You request group who tin seizure nan attraction of nan media, and by hold scope a broader organization to kindle their liking - and complete clip their inspiration."