Whether its American Football, Baseball, Basketball or Hockey – everyone loves sport in the US. In fact, even the most popular sport in the world – Football (or Soccer as it is known here) – is gaining popularity fast. During last year’s FIFA World Cup, Americans followed team USA’s progress real close. However, interest for the sport of Cricket remains limited to expats who have migrated from Asia or the Caribbean.

United States of America was one of the first three nations to join Imperial Cricket Conference (the predecessor to ICC) as an ‘Associate’ nation. Sri Lanka, who joined as an Associate nation at the same time as USA, have managed to win World Cups in both formats already, but the USA still struggles to create a footprint amongst associate nations. This clearly shows that progress of the sport in USA has been slow in spite of being one of the first to join the bandwagon of Cricket.

Addition of a $5 Million Cricket facility in Indianapolis and involvement of well-known names such as Courtney Walsh and Robin Singh are surely some positives. Yet there needs to be a well thought vision and strategy to setup infrastructure at the grass root level and create a culture of Americans who play and support the sport of Cricket. For this, the following needs to done:

Introduction of T20 Cricket in the Olympics

USA has the most number of gold and overall medals in Summer Olympics and the second-most in Winter Olympics. If cricket is introduced in the Olympics, countries such as the USA will automatically start taking the sport seriously. USA Cricket Association will get more budgets, funding and attention to ensure that the sport is governed in a transparent and efficient manner.

In fact, not just the US, introduction to Olympics will ensure that a number of countries such as Germany and China will look at ways to introduce the game to the masses. Olympic associates around the world will try to provide the right financial and moral support to prospective players. Once, the infrastructure and talent mentoring programs has been set up, other formats of the sport can also be promoted in associate countries.

Telecast of all major events/series on basic cable

Thousands of Indians, just like me, grow up watching, following and adoring the game. These cricket fans are happy to pay a premium amount to watch their team to play. However, ordinary Americans who have never been able to relate to the sport, do not pay for cricket channels and therefore never have access to it. Telecasting major events such as World Cups on basic cable will give American kids the chance to follow the game from a young age and they will develop an interest in Cricket.

America’s youth will be able to pick Cricket up and this will ensure that interest in Cricket will increase in demographics other than expats of cricket-playing nations. With the kind of money that cricket broadcasters earn around the world, there will be a lot of challenges in pushing for a move like this. However, if cricket really wants to become a global sport then catching the attention of the youth is a significant step.

Setting up cricket facilities and coaching staff in 8-12 cities

Recently, the state of Karnataka in India started moving their domestic cricket matches to non-urban areas like Hubli and Mysore. The move has helped improve the facilities and in turn given the opportunity for young aspirants to practice in good conditions under the watchful eyes of good coaching and mentoring staff. Karnataka’s cricket governing body has been widely applauded for this decision. There needs to be a similar template to setup cricket facilities across the US where qualified coaches and support staff can work with youth.

Because of the size of the country, 1-2 facilities will not do. Bay Area, Chicagoland, Indianapolis, Virginia-Maryland, Florida, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston regions already have many club-level leagues. These places will be ideal to start cricket academies with coaching classes for different age groups. USACA will have to setup a system for interested people to take up coaching certifications just like the ECB does in England. This way, former club level cricketers and domestic players from cricket playing nations who now reside in the US could contribute to the development of the sport in the US.

Continues support to current and potential future players

Former USA player Usman Shuja, who had the most career wickets for USA in 50-over cricket, wrote how players received little to no support from the administration when they got injured or had to juggle work and personal situations to play for the national team. It created a lack of loyalty for playing for USA and their commitment wasn’t a 100%.

The recent case of Steven Taylor, star wicket-keeper batsman for the US, proves that Shuja was spot on. In June of 2015, Taylor decided to pull out of USA squad for World T20 Qualifier to play in the more lucrative CPL. With bad communication and no visible career path, talented players will be tempted to move to leagues like CPL to get the right value for their talent.

These steps may not form a comprehensive strategy to create a solid foothold for Cricket in the United States, but they need to be among the first steps taken by ICC and USACA to create the correct momentum. With strong intentions from the cricket administration and backing of former legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, USA should be able to make big strides towards becoming a consistent associate nation.

Players to watch for: Marlon Samuels

Unlucky to miss out: Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, Kieron Pollard

1. The batting

The worry for West Indies starts with their openers. Lindl Simmons has a poor record in Australia and NZ (averages around 20) and Chris Gayle has been in really poor ODI form. The destructive southpaw averages just 19 with 2 50-plus scores since 2013. Darren Bravo on the other hand, has averaged 31 since 2014 and has a handful of games in Australia and New Zealand. Dwayne Smith is not the most consistent batsman around - overall average of 19 with 8 50s, though he has scored at 30 with 3 fifties since 2014. WI shouldn’t make Smith bat above Marlon Samuels, who is fine form with 2 hundreds and 2 fifties in the 10 innings since 2014 (Avg-62). Keeper Denesh Ramdin doesn’t have a great record in Aus-NZ, but has been in good form recently (averages 46 since 2014). Allrounders Darren Sammy and Andre Russell are capable of changing the course of a match with their hitting, like they recently showed vs South Africa. Dwayne Bravo’s exclusion makes no sense to me as he averaged 46 since the beginning of 2014 with 1 hundred and 2 fifties. Even Kieron Pollard could have been a useful player.

2. The bowling

Skipper Jason Holder has been in good form with 20 wickets at 32 a piece to his name since 2014. He has a number of options to share the new ball with: Kemar Roach, famous for injuring Ponting with his feisty pace, Jerome Taylor as well as two lesser experienced bowlers - Cottrell and Carter. They will however miss Ravi Rampaul, who for some reason didn’t even make it the list of 30 probables. Dwayne Bravo had picked 20 wickets since 2014 at just 24 a piece, which makes exclusion even more baffling. Of course, Sunil Narine’s decision to not play the World Cup due to issues with his action, make things even tougher for West Indies. Nikita Miller and Suliemann Benn are the other spinning options for them and Chris Gayle as well as Samuels can also roll their arm over, if needed. 

3. Form and fixtures

Interestingly, 12 of the 15 players in the squad have been part of a World Cup squad prior to this one. Yet, the team doesn’t inspire too much confidence. In their last 18 ODIs, West Indies have won 8. That may not seem too bad, but 4 of those wins have come against Bangladesh and Ireland. If it was upto me, I would make Darren Sammy the captain and bring in Dwayne Bravo as well as Ravi Rampaul. With this squad, my bet is that West Indies will finish 4th in their group and end up facing hosts Australia in the Quarter-Final. 

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

Players to watch for: Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath

Unlucky to miss out: Ajantha Mendis

1. The batting

The big four of SL’s batting are undoubtedly Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayawardena and skipper Angelo Mathews. Dilshan’s ability to give quick starts make him the most important batsman. 16 out of Dilshan’s 20 ODI hundreds have resulted in ODI wins and his 160 at Rajkot helped SL nearly pull off a chase of 414 vs India. Sangakkara has been in fine form with 5 hundreds since the beginning of 2014 and Mathews has averaged 59 in the same period. Jayawardena will be playing his 5th World Cup and has had a very good time in the last two editions. Vice captain Lahiru Thirimanne has also had a good 2014 and Thisara Perera can produce some big hits towards the end.

2. The bowling

Except for Chameera (who was called in as a replacement), every Lankan bowler has at least 40 ODI wickets. Unlike Pakistan, the bowling line-up has good experience and their main 5 bowlers have all played in a WC before this one. Yorker-specialist Lasith Malinga is recovering from an injury and will get some good practice against the minnows during the Group stage. Kulasekara will look to improve his WC statistics (averages nearly 50), but Thisara Perera who can be occasionally expensive, had a good time in the 2011 edition. Rangana Herath is quality spinner and could bowl some tidy overs in the middle. Senanayake has been in good form, although his record away from home is not that great. Ajantha Mendis, who was SL’s highest wicket taker since 2014, should have been picked over Senanayake. Overall though, its is a good mix of bowlers and probably the best bowling attack from the sub-continent.

3. Form and fixtures

Sri Lanka have been in decent form leading into the WC with 22 wins from 39 ODIs since 2014, though most of them have been in the sub-continent. Their top 5 batsmen and 3 main bowlers have also performed well in the same period. However, like England, they are at the disadvantage because of the presence of Australia and New Zealand in their group. Had SL been in the other group, I would bet on them reaching the Semis. But, they are likely to qualify as the 3rd best team and face India in QFs. While India’s bowling is awful, all of SL’s main bowlers except Herath have a poor record against India. So, I would back India to out-bat them and progress to the semis.

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

Players to watch for: Misbah-ul Haq

Unlucky to miss out: Fawad Alam

1. The batting

Opener Ahmed Shehzad has been in fine form recently and will look to improve his World Cup stats (44 runs in 5 innings in 2011). With an injury to Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed or Nasir Jamshed will be Shehzad’s opening partner. Jamshed usually performs only in the sub-continent, but India will be wary of him since he has 2 hundreds in 3 matches against them. Pakistan need to ensure that they score quickly in what is going to be a batting friendly WC. Younis Khan will probably bat #3, but has a poor record since 2014 and his averages in Australia as well as NZ are less than 20. Younis wouldn’t be in my starting XI. Ideally, Younis should have made way for Fawad Alam who had 1 hundred and 2 fifties in 8 matches of 2014.

I would rather promote Haris Sohail and the exciting Umar Akmal up the order, with Misbah-ul Haq, Pakistan’s most sensible batsman at #5 to hold the innings together. The lower order will have explosive Shahid Afridi, who averages just 12 with the bat in the 4 WCs he has played. Sohail Maqsood has also played himself into decent form with an unbeaten fifty against Bangladesh in the recent warm-up game and can bat anywhere in the middle order. Pakistan desperately need to bat better in the last 10 overs, since they have the worst run rate among the top 8 teams since 2013.

2. The bowling

Injury to Junaid Khan and problems with Saeed Ajmal’s action make Pakistan look terribly inexperienced. 5 of their 8 bowlers put together have 16 ODI wickets between them. Two of these 5 bowlers, last played an ODI back in 2011, while 1 played in 2012. I don’t follow Pakistan’s domestic circuit, but such minimal international experience probably doesn’t inspire too much confidence among their supporters.

Mohammed Irfan, whose strike rate bowling first is just 32 (as compared to 44 otherwise) will lead the pace attack. With Sohail Khan or Ehsan Adil sharing the new ball, Wahab Riaz will the 1st change bowler. Riaz has a good record in New Zealand with 8 wickets at just 18 a piece. Shahid Afridi and Yasir Shah will be main spinners for Pakistan and Haris Sohail will put in a few overs to share the load. Afridi has a good WC record, mainly because of his good performance in 2011. Yasir Shah looked impressive in the little I saw of him in test matches in UAE. Since 2013, Pakistan just like the English, have conceded too many runs in the last 10 overs. Surely, they will need to improve in this domain.

3. Recent form

Pakistan has been in ordinary form in ODIs in recent times. They have managed 6 of the 18 ODIs they have played since 2014. Their W/L ratio is worse than even England. Both their batting as well as bowling look shaky and they will badly miss Saeed Ajmal as well as Mohammed Hafeez. With South Africa, India and West Indies in their group, I would expect them to finish 3rd. Therefore, Pakistan will be likely to face Australia or New Zealand will in the Quarter-Finals. Pakistan are always very unpredictable but I would be surprised if they reach the Semi-Finals. 

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

Players to watch for: Ian Bell, James Anderson

1. The squad

Opener Ian Bell is the key to England’s batting in my opinion. Bell has played over 30 ODIs in Australia and New Zealand and managed 8 fifty plus scores in them. 23 of his 30 ODI fifties and 3 of his 4 hundreds have resulted in England victories. Opposition teams will surely look to dismiss him with the new ball. His partner Moeen Ali is relatively new, but an exciting talent with the bat as well as the ball.

James Taylor is another inexperienced batsman at #3, though he has already managed a couple of fifties in Australia. Joe Root at 4 is in very good form with 3 hundreds and 3 fifties in 2014, but skipper Eoin Morgan will play a bigger role in the middle order. Morgan’s ability to attack the bowling with unconventional shots is well known, however he needs to pick up his game in World Cups, where he currently averages just 18. Ravi Bopara’s average of 16 (in Aus, NZ) isn’t anything to boast about either, however Jos Buttler (strike rate: 109) can provide some big hits towards the end.

The bowling looks pretty good on paper with Steven Finn, Stuart Broad and the leader of the pack, James Anderson. This will be Anderson’s 4th World Cup although his record has been ordinary. Broad also doesn’t have a great record in Australia and NZ either. Finn on the other hand, had a ordinary 2014 but has come back in the recent Carlton Tri-Series. England will need James Tredwell to continue his tight bowling of the last year to control runs in the middle overs and hope Chris Woakes can finish well in the final 10 overs.

2. ODI form and fixtures

Since the beginning of 2013, England have played 51 ODIs and managed only 21 wins in those. In 2014, they have 9 wins in 25 ODIs. I doubt any keen follower of Cricket will say that England are among the better teams for the WC. They have issues in both the departments - batting and bowling. While the batting has been scoring too few runs in the last 10 (2nd worst among top 8 teams since 2013), the bowling has been conceding way too many (worst among top 8 since 2013).

To add to this, England are placed in a group which already has Australia as well as New Zealand. Therefore at best, they will probably qualify as 3rd best team from their group which will make them meet the 2nd best team of the other group, possibly India. While India did lose to them twice in the recent tri-series, I don’t expect that to happen in a WC, where India generally pick up their game towards the end. Hence, I would be surprised if England reach the semi-finals of CWC 2015.

Prediction: Quarter-Finalists