New York pitch installation underway ahead of T20 World Cup

New York, though not so popular for cricket, is witnessing efforts to popularize the sport in the United States. In the coming months, Nassau County International Cricket Stadium is preparing to host matches of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, except for a few matches. The stadium in Nassau County has made significant progress in its preparations for hosting the T20 World Cup.

The Sri Lanka vs. South Africa match on June 3 will be the first match at this stadium. Prior to this, 10 pitches have been brought to New York. Installation work for these pitches, prepared in Florida using Adelaid Oval Turf Solutions since last year, has already begun.

Among the 10 pitches, four will be prepared at the center of Nassau County International Cricket Stadium under the supervision of Damian Hough, the head curator of Adelaid Oval, while the remaining six will be set up in adjacent training facilities.

A total of 20 semi-trailer trucks were used to transport the pitches from Florida to New York. Hough has stated that there have been no obstacles in these endeavors, and everything is in order in Nassau County, where preparations are underway for matches at the 34,000-seat stadium located in Eisenhower Park in Manhattan's east.

"We couldn't be happier," Hough said. "Everything is proceeding according to plan, they (the pitches) are in really good condition, and all our benchmarks and initiatives that we set out to achieve are being met."

Nine out of the 20 participating teams in the T20 World Cup will compete on this field. The most anticipated match will undoubtedly be between India and Pakistan, which is scheduled for June 9.

The host team, the United States of America, along with neighboring Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, and Bangladesh, among others, will play matches on this ground, specially constructed for this tournament, and Hough hopes that the pitch conditions will facilitate a good contest between bat and ball.

"We hope that we have a good T20 pitch, one that offers good pace, good bounce, and rewards for shots," Hough said.