It’s quite fitting that cricket’s oldest international rivalry kicks off the biggest World Cup yet, with 20 teams competing. Before Australia and England played the first-ever Test in 1877, the USA and Canada faced off in a three-day game in 1844. In that historic match in New York, Canada won by 23 runs.
USA vs CAN T20 World Cup 2024
One hundred and eighty years later, the same two teams will meet in the T20 World Cup 2024 opener in Dallas. Interestingly, this is the first T20 World Cup for both teams. The USA qualified as the co-hosts, while Canada made it through by winning the Americas Qualifier.
Building Rivalries and Historic Connections
- USA vice-captain Aaron Jones: The rivalry with Canada has been ongoing for many years.
- T20 World Cup in America: There’s excitement, but not everyone in the USA is aware of the tournament.
- Dallas Cricket Dreams: Cricket is making its mark in the city.
- Oldest International Contest: USA vs. Canada is the oldest international cricket rivalry.
Saturday’s game will be the first T20 International at the Grand Prairie Stadium. However, there isn’t much buzz in Dallas, so the 7,000-seat stadium might not be full. Moreover, a thunderstorm might disrupt the game, just as it did during warm-ups for both teams.
Despite these challenges, the USA is favored to win on Saturday. They have played only seven T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup—all in the last two months—but that was enough to show their skills. They beat Canada 4-0 and then surprised everyone by defeating Bangladesh 2-1, both times playing at home.
If the rain holds off, Corey Anderson, the former New Zealand allrounder now playing for the USA, will become the fifth player to represent two teams at the T20 World Cup. Harmeet Singh, once considered the next Bishan Bedi, is also expected to play a key role with both bat and ball.
For Canada, left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana is notable for dismissing Babar Azam in a first-class game in Pakistan. They also have Jeremy Gordon, one of the fastest bowlers in associate cricket, who is 37 years old.
Adding to the drama, Canada’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake was previously with the USA in the same role, and all rounder Nitish Kumar, who now plays for the USA, was with Canada until 2019.
Form Guide
- USA: LWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
- Canada: LLLLW
Players in the Spotlight – Corey Anderson and Aaron Johnson
Corey Anderson made his T20I debut for the USA in April. He started with scores of 28 and 55 but looked a bit rusty. In the five T20Is he has played for the USA, he has a strike rate of 112.30. Once, he held the record for the fastest ODI century. Can he bring back those days of explosive batting?
Aaron Johnson, originally from Jamaica, is a powerful opening batsman who loves playing no-look shots. The 33-year-old debuted for Canada in 2022. In 16 games, he has scored 713 runs at an average of 50.92 and a strike rate of 166.58, with five fifties, two hundreds, and 48 sixes.
Team News
The USA has a solid top order with Steven Taylor, Monank Patel, and Andries Gous. Their pace attack is led by Ali Khan and Saurabh Netravalkar. Harmeet Singh, their main spinner, can also contribute with late-order hitting.
USA (probable XI): Steven Taylor, Monank Patel (capt, wk), Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Jasdeep Singh, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar
Canada will rely heavily on their bowlers. Along with Gordon and Sana, they have Dilon Heyliger in their pace attack. Captain Saad Bin Zafar and Nikhil Dutta are skilled at keeping batters quiet with their spin.
Canada (probable XI): Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Rayyan Pathan, Nicholas Kirton, Pargat Singh, Shreyas Movva (wk), Saad Bin Zafar (capt), Nikhil Dutta, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Kaleem Sana
Stats that Matter in USA vs CAN match
- Taylor and Patel have six 50-plus stands in the 12 T20I innings they have opened together for the USA, with a partnership run rate of 9.65.
- Since the last T20 World Cup in 2022, only two batters have scored 700 or more runs with a 50-plus average and a 150-plus strike rate: India’s Suryakumar Yadav and Canada’s Aaron Johnson.
- In all T20s, Johnson has scored 50 runs off 30 balls from Netravalkar, getting out only once.
- Aaron Jones has scored 23 runs off 11 balls from Heyliger, getting out once, but Saad has dismissed him twice in 23 balls for just 15 runs.
- Saad is the only bowler to have registered four maidens in a T20I, achieving this against Panama in 2021 with figures of 4-4-0-2.
- Only four players have represented two different teams at the T20 World Cup so far: Roelof van der Merwe (South Africa and Netherlands), Dirk Nannes (Netherlands and Australia), David Wiese (South Africa and Namibia), and Mark Chapman (Hong Kong and New Zealand). Anderson could join them on Saturday.
Pitch and Conditions
Of the four warm-up games scheduled here, only one saw some action. In that game, Canada posted 183 for 7 batting first, and Nepal was all out for 120 in response. There is a 40% chance of rain on Saturday.
