The rise of baseball and fall of cricket

[Blockaderunner]

I am currently watching the Second Test between New Zealand and England. This got me thinking about a cricket related question I submitted to the trivia quiz a while ago. The question was about a Capt. Walter S. Newhall. Newhall was the first international cricketter to be killed in time of war. But what happened to cricket in the US?
I would guess most Americans are unfamiliar with what can be a most confusing game. The game is the national sport of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the countries making up the West Indies. The game is also very popular in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the game was also popular in the US. The first ever international match in 1844 was played between the US and Canada. Although played in all areas of the country, cricket was most popular in New York and Philadelphia. In 1859, an English touring side visited the US. The English players were pro's and were a big crowd draw. A match in New York attracted a crowd of 10,000. A huge crowd for a sporting event in that era.
The coming of the Civil War ended the tours. An English tour had been planned for 1861, but was deemed to be inappropriate. That seems to have been the end for cricket in the US. There was a revival towards the end of the century up to about World War One, but the game never regained its former popularity.
The Civil War period also saw the rise of baseball. One major difference between cricket and baseball probably lead to the end of American cricket. Baseball can be played just about anywhere there is an open space. Cricket needs a carefully prepared pitch. Troops in camp who wanted to play a bat and ball game, had only one choice, baseball. Naturally, the hundreds of thousands of troops returning home from the war were interested in the sport they themselves played.

[M E Wolf]

Dear Blockaderunner,

I would wager to think, that Cricket required more equipment then Baseball. Stick, ball, glove and 4 spots on the ground with teams. Perhaps more simplistic rules.

Just some thoughts.

M. E. Wolf

[Blockaderunner]

The equipment needed to play cricket could be easily made by troops in camp. But the pitch is another problem. If you're unfamiliar with the game, the pitch is the small strip in the middle of the ground. This really has to be perfect to get a decent game. When an international test match is played, sports broadcasters spend hours in the days before the match talking about the pitch. Will it be 'grassy', hard, slow, quick? Will small cracks open up as the game progresses? Having said that, kids on the Indian sub-continent play anywhere.

[mt155]

I still play, if you can call it that, soccer(futbol) every Sunday and we have a few Brits on our team and league. They got me interested in cricket and I have played few times. I had no idea what I was doing and since I'm also a baseball fan I would just try to crush it "over" every time. We have a family from India on my street and their kids play out front all the time. I asked to play with them and after they realized that this slightly pudgy guy was nice they let me play. After a few games all of the other kids on the street started to join the fun and now Westlake Rd has a regular game. A bat, a ball and two trash cans for wickets and we're having a blast. I'm sure that we're not playing by all the proper rules but it gets all the neighbors out and everyone has a good time. I get Sky Sports News here and I watch the results and try to learn what I can. In England, does cricket have the stereotype of upper class only like golf before Tiger Woods does here in America?

Mike T.

[Blockaderunner]

The image of cricket in England is really quite strange. Many people view it as some sort of rich mans game, but the truth is quite opposite. All of the current England test squad are basic down to earth working class blokes. In the current squad, England have 'called up the empire', with players of Indian and South African ancestry. I'm not surprised the Indian family in your street are cricket fans. India have about 1 billion supporters. Indian cricketers are millionaires and are called the 'demigods' in their own country. I sometimes look in on an Indian cricket forum. I read this comment: "In India if you win a test match, they will name a street after you. The next week if you lose, they will punch you in the face in that street." Next time you are batting in the street, say you are Sachin Tendulkar. He is a living legend in India.

[hoosier]

I vaguely remembered from my years in Philadelphia that there is a club in the Philadelphia area known as the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

This thread caused me to look and see if they have a website. Of course, in this day and age, they do. Their website is www.philacricket.com.

If you go to their website and click on “Activities,” you will find a list consisting of Golf, Paddle Tennis, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, and Other. You have to click on Other to find the information that yes, they do play cricket at the Philadelphia Cricket Club – though the sport was only reintroduced there in 1998 after having been abandoned in 1924.

[Blockaderunner]

The Philadelphia Cricket Club were the biggest club in America. The revival at the club may be due to an influx of members from the Indian sub-continent. I believe quite a few of the current US national team have surnames like Singh and Patel.