The United States of America will play the first ever international match. (Source: USA Cricket/Twitter)In January 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the inclusion of USA Cricket as an associate member of the cricketing body. The country became ICC’s 105th member. Now, the team will get ready to play their first ever international match on Friday as they face off against the United Arab Emirates at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. Doing so, the USA will become the 28th nation in the world to play a T20I match.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in an interview, USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake expressed hope that the two-match T20I series against UAE could provide a platform for his side to have a successful T20I World Cup qualifying campaign later this year. “Of course, it’s the first T20 International USA is playing, so we want to win, so winning is important. But having said that, at the end of this year there’s a big tournament coming up, the T20 global qualifier and regional qualifiers. So we want to see what is our best combination and best players for that version. We’re going to try a few combinations tomorrow and the day after and see what’s best for us,” he told the website.
Venue:
The United Arab Emirates will host United States of America in the historic T20I at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
1751: 1st report of a cricket match in USA
1844: 1st ever international match in any sport 🇺🇸 v 🇨🇦
1913: Philadelphia hosts final first-class match in USA for 90 years
1932: Donald Bradman tours USA
2004: USA play 1st ODI Matches v 🇦🇺+🇳🇿
2019: USA play 1st T20 Internationals v 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/Bp0VRB6LX3— USA Cricket (@usacricket) March 14, 2019
Full schedule:
Apart from the T20Is, USA and UAE will also play three ODIs. USA will play three 50-overs matches against UAE XI and one 50-overs match against a county side. Here is the full schedule:
March 15: UAE vs UAE 1st T20I – 3:30 PM IST – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
March 16: UAE vs UAE 2nd T20I – 3:30 PM IST – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
March 18: UAE vs USA1st ODI 11:30 AM IST – 50 Overs – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
March 19: USA v Lancashire 11:30AM IST – 50 Overs – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
March 21: USA v UAE XI 11:30 AM IST– 50 Overs – Sevens Cricket Ground, Dubai
March 22: USA v UAE XI 11:30 AM IST– 50 Overs – Sevens Cricket Ground, Dubai
March 24: USA v UAE XI 11:30 AM IST – 50 Overs – Sevens Cricket Ground, Dubai
March 25: USA v UAE 11:30 2nd ODI AM IST – Sevens Cricket Ground, Dubai
March 28: USA v UAE 11:30 3rd ODI AM IST – Sevens Cricket Ground, Dubai
UAE vs USA Live Streaming:
Both the T20Is between USA and UAE will be live streamed for free via the USA Cricket Youtube channel or USA Cricket Match Center on the official USA Cricket website.
Squads:
United Arab Emirates Squad: Mohammad Naveed (c), Abdul Shakoor (wk), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammad Boota, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
United States of America Squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (c), Monank Patel (wk), Steven Taylor, Timil Patel, Xavier Marshall, Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Hayden Walsh, Jasdeep Singh, Roy Silva, Jannisar Khan, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan
