Cricket boom in Minnesota, we're not talking about the insect

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (FOX 9) - An old sport is trying to make a new splash in the United States. Major League Cricket, which launches Thursday, will comprise six teams, from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, New York and Washington. The teams will play a competition of 18 matches before the first final on July 30.

Even before the professionals take to the pitch for their first match, the sport has seen growing popularity in the Twin Cities Metro. Cities like Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, Chaska and Brooklyn Park all have pitches at city parks. 

While cricket has flourished in England and India, it has never taken off to the same degree in the United States, but it’s slowly gaining more traction. 

Sanjaya and Krishanty Ranasinghe founded MVP Cricket Academy in the Twin Cities in 2021. The couple wanted to establish a program to teach players of all ages how to play the sport. They offer programs to teach the basics of cricket, and they operate four tennis ball cricket programs and one leather ball program. 

"For the countries outside of North America, cricket is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle," Sanjaya Ranasinghe explained. "I grew up in Sri Lanka. I started playing cricket when I was 4 years old, and I really want to pass the sport on to the next generation." 

For the Ranasinghe’s, seeing the sport grow locally is exciting, and they hope interest continues to explode. 

"Our programs are focused on the younger ages, but we are happy to coach anyone and teach them how to play the sport," Krishanty Ranasinghe said. 

If you want to learn more about cricket, MVP Cricket Academy is hosting a free event on July 28th at Nesbitt Preserve Park in Eden Prairie. Coaches will be on-site to teach the basics of the sport from 6-7 p.m.

If you’ve never watched cricket or played before, here are the basics: 

• Cricket is played with two teams on each side.
• Similar to baseball, one team bats while the other takes the field. That’s where most of the similarities between the two sports end.
• Batting and bowling: The striker takes pitches from the bowler. The bowler throws the ball to the batsman at the wicket.
• The wicket refers to three stumps at the end of a pitch. The batsman stands in front of the wicket to protect it. Their goal is to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket and knocking the stumps over. Teams are also working to score runs off of pitches. A catcher also stands behind the wicket and attempts to catch any balls that go past the wicket.
• The bowler is trying to prevent runs from being scored by getting the batsman out. This is referred to as a dismissal in cricket.
• The Pitch: Cricket pitches consist of a central strip in the middle of the field. Wickets are set up on either side of the rectangular-shaped area.
• Game Play: There are several different types of cricket matches. In the United States, the most popular is called the Twenty20, also known as T20. This is the quickest match type. Matches typically end within three hours.
• Scoring: There are several ways to score in a match. Points can be tallied when runners are able to make it from one wicket to the other on the pitch. A batsman can also score if the ball is hit past the boundary of the cricket field. This is the equivalent to a home run in baseball and the team is awarded six runs. If the ball bounces first before going out of the boundary, it's worth four runs. Points can also be awarded due to penalties during the match.