Major League Cricket launches in Grand Prairie
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - A brand-new professional cricket league is launching in the U.S., and the games began Thursday night in front of sold out crowds in Grand Prairie.
Grand Prairie Stadium has been transformed from a baseball field into the perfect place to hold Major League Cricket matches.
The stadium, which used to be home to the Texas AirHogs, has 7,200 seats and a grass pitch.
"The eyes of the world will be on Grand Prairie," said Vijay Srinivasan, the co-founder of Major League Cricket.
The Texas Super Kings represent North Texas in the six-team league that features clubs from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and Washington.
Firoz Samnani was the first fan to enter Thursday’s inaugural match.
"I just wanted to be there, the first person to enter the ground," he said.
North Texas fans of all ages are stoked for the Texas Super Kings to play local matches this summer.
"I like the batting and balling and fielding," said fan Dev Tanna.
The first-ever match comes during an Excessive Heat Warning.
At the start of the match, the temperature was still above 100 degrees with feels like temperatures even higher than that.
Still, some die-hards say nothing will keep them away from their favorite sport.
"It doesn’t matter. Cricket, baby," Samnani said.
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"It’s a historic day for cricket in America and cricket in Texas," said Tom Dunmore, with Major League Cricket. "These are the world’s best players coming here to the Dallas area to play professional cricket."
What is this global sport?
"It’s like baseball with 10 times the energy and action, which sounds funny because people think cricket might be a slow game, but the ball is actually in play a lot more," Dunmore said.
"I would say within an hour you’ll know what’s going on," Samnami said.
Some fans came from out of town, and one fan attended from South Africa.
Major League Cricket hopes to establish a cricket culture in North Texas.
Thursday’s match to a crowd of thousands is just the beginning.
The teams will play a competition of 18 matches before the first final on July 30.
Most of the matches will be held in Grand Prairie, with some others played at Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.
Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen says he's heard from people across the region and from other countries who are interested in the sport.
Jensen says there are more than 400,000 North Texans who subscribe to WILLOW, a TV channel dedicated to 24/7 cricket coverage. He says the best way to enjoy the sport is to get out and watch it.
"It's really not that complicated once you get out and watch a game," said Jensen. "It's very simple, high-scoring, there's going to be a lot of runs scored, so it is very exciting."
"Think of it as a baseball game, with ten times what happens in a baseball game," said Srinivasan.