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For New Yorkers, the T20 World Cup is over
Teams that played in New York included India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ireland, Canada and the host USA.
New York was taken over by cricket fever. / X/@T20WorldCup
After eight of the 20 teams participating in the T20 Cricket World Cup went all out in their quest for a place in the Super 8, curtains were rung down on the makeshift Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. The closing game, between the two undefeated teams – India and the USA – was not without its anxious and exciting moments before the host team conceded defeat by seven wickets with 10 balls to spare.
Teams that played in New York included India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ireland, Canada and the host USA. India won all of its three games here to stay on top of Group A. South Africa also won all three games here.
Though India-US was the last game held on June.12, it was not the end of cricket here at Long Island where sports goods dealers are hoping for a huge demand for cricket equipment in the coming times. “The game has come to stay here. And the growing interest of the youngsters is reflected by growing demand for the game gear here,” remarked a shopkeeper of Floral Park.
Many youngsters felt encouraged to take their first lessons in the game from the players and officials of the participating teams.
Since there were terrorist threats, especially to the India-Pakistan game, the police did not take any chances for any of the eight games played here. It was only after the end of the India-USA game that the police started dismantling its security apparatuses. The police did not let their guard down till the end as India was playing.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder was quoted saying in the media that it has been the highest level of security that has been in place during the World Cup. Most of cricket fans had to walk from Nassau Coliseum to get to the stadium in Eisenhower Park. As fans made their way in, they were immediately ushered into security checks where they were moved through a screener and were checked two or three times before ever entering the grounds.
Police said it had on average deployed about 300 officers at the stadium alone. There were K9 units, mounted police and partners from multiple agencies working together to make sure everyone was safe.
County officials also claimed that they put a lot of work into making sure the event ran smoothly. The local businesses welcomed the holding of the T20 World Cup here as it gave a boost to them.
“When you are charged with keeping 34,000 people safe every day – a lot of work but it is worth it. As close to perfect as you can get,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, told media on the last day of the event.
A Long Island-based company Landtek, installed the field and the main pitch where the cricket matches were played. Getting the right type of grass for the historic event was no easy feat. “This job in our backyard was special,” said the owner of the company. He revealed that 22 tractor-trailers took the trip from Florida to New York. The trays carrying the drop-in pitches were approximately 10 x 82 feet long weighing approximately anywhere from 16 to 18 tons a piece.”
Nearly 200,000 pounds of sod made the long journey from Boynton Beach, Florida, to Nassau County as workers started installing it in April at the 34,000-seat temporary cricket stadium constructed for the event.
In the games played here, South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets, the Netherlands by 4 wickets and Bangladesh by 4 wickets; India beat Ireland by 8 wickets, Pakistan by 6 runs and the US by seven wickets; Pakistan beat Canada by seven wickets and Canada beat Ireland by 12 runs.
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