Cricket Comes To Indianapolis

It’s May in Indianapolis, and that means … fast cars … and cricket?

As the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis draws thousands of race fans to Speedway today, devoted fans of cricket – second only to soccer as the world’s most popular sport – are gathering at the World Sports Park, on Indy’s eastside.

Four teams – from Bermuda, Canada, the U.S. and Suriname, in South America – have been competing this week to advance to the next round of the International Cricket Council World Cup.
Andrew Stephens, a senior marketing manager for Indy Parks and Recreation, said the city is happy to host the ICC tournament.

“Indianapolis is known for its ability to host international-level sporting events,” Stephens said. “While we in the U.S. many not think of cricket as a large-caliber sport, cricket is the second-largest sporting event in the world, so it’s great to see it being played out here, and everybody seems to be having a good time.”

It’s the first major cricket event at the park. Last year, the city cancelled a contract with the USA Cricket Association for its tournament in the midst of the organization’s financial troubles.

Hugh Macdonald-Smith grew up playing cricket in England, and now lives in Hamilton County. He said he’s thrilled that the tournament is being played so close to home, but said he’s disappointed that more people don’t know about it.

“I was aware that the tournament was coming, and I had a note in my diary for a couple of weeks before hand,” Macdonald said. “It took me literally hours to find a schedule of times for the individual games. I don’t expect it to be promoted very heavily, but to let people know would be fun. Most people in America are keen on sports, and they’ll go see a lot of things as a novelty. "

The U.S. team has advanced to the next round of the tournament and will play in Scotland in July. They will also play Canada later today. The tournament is free and continues through Sunday.