Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Ricky Ponting says the growth of cricket in the US has not been as fast as he had expected, but he still sees potential with the American national team becoming more competitive, and the sport set to feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Former Australia captain Ponting, who coaches Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, said more effort was needed at the grassroots level to grow the sport in the country.
“It’s been a slow-burn so far … if I’m totally honest,” Tasmanian-born Ponting told Reuters on a video call. “I don’t think it’s grown as quickly as I’d have expected over the last three years.”
However, the 51-year-old said he believed the US to be one of the best markets for the sport to expand.
“I think there’s such a great opportunity … for people like me to be involved and help grow the game,” he said.
Ponting led Washington to their maiden MLC title in 2024, his first season in charge, but they narrowly lost the final in the next two editions.
“Emotion-wise … hasn’t all been plain sailing,” he said.
The Australian was particularly impressed by the US men’s team, who went toe-to-toe with Test-playing nations in the past two T20 World Cups and earned a famous victory on home soil over former champions Pakistan.
“The US team’s now a lot better, a lot more competitive,” Ponting said.
“I think once you start having a successful national team, that’s when you can also start growing the game at different levels.”
Ponting is involved in the sport’s growth in the US, joining Century Cricket Centres as an investor as they opened their first indoor training facility in New York, with technology that can track a player’s performance.
“If the game’s going to really prosper in the US, we must break into the grassroots level and make the game attractive to young kids coming through primary school that might otherwise have played baseball,” he said.
