On Thursday, Team USA Cricket made history with its victory over traditional power Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup. It was a momentous day for the sport in the United States, a nation which has dominated many sports but not cricket.
The result also helps fuel interest in a sport that is trying to gain interest in America. BetMaryland.com, the home of Maryland sports betting, wanted to see which states were most excited about this win, with the methodology explained below.
States Most Interested in Team USA Cricket
Rank | State | Search Interest Score |
1 | South Dakota | 100 |
2 | Wisconsin | 94 |
3 | Virginia | 93 |
4 | Iowa | 90 |
5 | Minnesota | 89 |
6 | Massachusetts | 75 |
7 | Maryland | 53 |
8 | Connecticut | 51 |
9 | California | 50 |
10 | Washington | 48 |
We used Google Trends to conduct a search of “USA Cricket” and ranked the top 10 states based on search interest scores, compared to other topics, in a 24-hour period. The search was done June 7, 2024.
Based on searches, Maryland came in seventh among all states with a search interest score of 53 compared to other topics. Among Eastern states, Maryland was behind only Virginia (third with a search interest score of 93) and Massachusetts (sixth, 75 points) in searching for Team USA Cricket.
The top states were in the middle of the country, where cricket grounds are scarce: South Dakota topped the list with a search interest score of 100, followed by Wisconsin with 94. Two Midwestern states, Iowa (90) and Minnesota (89) rounded out the top five.
Search interest and social media impressions jumped with the news that Team USA, ranked No. 18 in the world by the International Cricket Council (ICC), had defeated No. 6 Pakistan. The Americans won by scoring 18 runs in a Super Over (essentially overtime) to 13 for Pakistan after the teams tied at 159 in regulation.
There was a local tie-in for folks using the best Maryland sports betting promos and perhaps learning about the sport, or for existing cricket fans who are excited about this opportunity to spread the word. One of the standouts for Team USA was Saurabh Netravalkar, who plays for the Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket. MLC is a six-team league that began play in 2023.
Team USA Cricket Historic Performance in All T20 Matches
Year | W-L% |
2019 | .286 |
2021 | .813 |
2022 | .400 |
2024 | .833 |
Record for 2024 reflects results up to June 6
We also wanted to look at how the U.S. team has previously done, using ESPNCricInfo.com to track the team’s win loss percentage in all T20 matches since 2019.
The 2024 Cricket T20 World Cup (short for Twenty20) is co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies. This is the first time that the USA has hosted and the first time that the Americans have participated in the event.
There are 20 teams in this tournament, divided into four five-team groups. The United States is in Group A. The top two teams in each group advance to the next stage.
Thursday’s monumental upset victory over Pakistan – the 2009 T20 World Cup champion and 2022 runnerup – took place in Grand Prairie, Texas, just west of Dallas. Team USA has won twice already in this tournament, also beating Canada at the same venue June 1 in the tournament opener.
Up next for Team USA is India, the top-ranked T20 team in the world, on June 12 in Nassau County, New York. The final group stage game for the upstart Americans is June 14 against Ireland in Lauderhill, Florida.
FanDuel Maryland Sportsbook lists India as the tournament favorite with +210 odds. Team USA, in its T20 World Cup debut, is still a longshot at +9000 odds.
Team USA Cricket Q&A
