The US cricket team has one of the strangest stories in world sport. The United States played the very first international cricket match in history, then almost disappeared from the game for more than a century, and then came back to beat Pakistan at a World Cup on home soil. This guide follows that whole journey: how cricket arrived in America and why baseball pushed it aside, the long road back through associate membership, a first ODI and a first T20I, and the team as it stands today — its captain, key players, ODI and T20I records, and the domestic league now feeding it. It ends with the road ahead: the 2027 World Cup Qualifier and cricket at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The short version is this. The US cricket team, nicknamed the Stars and Stripes, is an ICC associate member with ODI status. It has never played Test cricket. Its captain is Monank Patel. Its greatest modern moment came at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where, as co-hosts, the Americans beat Canada and then Pakistan in a Super Over before reaching the Super 8. In October 2026 the team won its first Cricket World Cup League 2 title, sending it straight into the Qualifier for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Early History of Cricket in USA

Cricket came to America with British settlers and was played in the Thirteen Colonies in the early 18th century. For a long time it was not a fringe pastime. It was played widely, followed by newspapers, and supported by clubs in New York, Philadelphia and other eastern cities.

Philadelphia became the stronghold. From the end of the 19th century until the First World War, the city produced a first-class side, the Philadelphians, also known as the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. Over 35 years they played 89 first-class matches, winning 29, losing 46 and drawing 13. An American side was playing, and sometimes beating, serious opposition from England and Australia.

The outstanding name of that era was John Barton "Bart" King, born in Philadelphia in 1873. King was a fast bowler who helped develop swing bowling, troubled the best batsmen of his day on tours of England in 1897, 1903 and 1908, and scored a North American record 344 at home. Major League Cricket still names its domestic player of the tournament award after him.

The decline had several causes. Baseball grew faster in the 1850s and 1860s, partly because it was quicker, cheaper and easier to organise. Cricket in America stayed largely amateur and socially exclusive, while England and Australia were building professional cricket. When the first international cricket body was formed in 1909, membership was limited to countries in the British Empire, leaving the United States outside the official structure. By 1900 baseball was dominant, and the last first-class match on the American mainland was played by the Philadelphians in 1913.

The First International Match

On 24 to 26 September 1844, at the St George's Cricket Club ground in Manhattan, New York, the United States played Canada in what is now recognised as the first international cricket match. Canada won by 23 runs in a low-scoring game: Canada made 82 and 63, the United States made 64 and 58. Rain wiped out the second day, so the match ran into a third day, and contemporary reports put the crowd at up to 20,000.

That match matters for three reasons. First, it predates the first Test match, between Australia and England in 1877, by more than 30 years. The USA-Canada rivalry is older than the Ashes. Second, it shows American cricket was not a late arrival: the United States was there at the very start of international cricket, before the game had a world governing body or a World Cup. Third, the fixture never fully died. The two countries kept playing each other, and the annual series became known as the Auty Cup, still the longest-running international sporting rivalry in the modern era.

For about a century and a half after 1844, the national side played very few matches against other national teams, mostly against Canada or visiting club sides. It did not grow steadily from 1844. It stopped, started again, and had to rebuild almost from scratch in the second half of the 20th century.

Road to International Cricket

The modern road back began in 1965, when the United States of America Cricket Association, USACA, became an associate member of the International Cricket Council. The side debuted at the 1979 ICC Trophy in England, finished sixth in 2001, and won the ICC Americas Championship in 2002.

The breakthrough came in 2004. By winning the ICC Six Nations Challenge, the United States qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy in England and played its first two One Day Internationals. The first ODI, on 10 September 2004 against New Zealand at The Oval in London, ended in a 210-run defeat: New Zealand made 347 for 4, with Nathan Astle unbeaten on 145, and the United States were bowled out for 137. Then, for 15 years, the United States did not play another ODI.

The reason was governance, not just results. USACA was expelled by the ICC in June 2017 because of governance and financing problems. A new body, USA Cricket, was granted associate membership in January 2019, becoming the ICC's 105th member. Governance troubles have returned since then, but the team kept playing through that period.

On the field, 2019 was the turning year. In April 2018 the ICC had decided to grant full Twenty20 International status to all its members, so every T20 match between the United States and another ICC member from 1 January 2019 onwards would count as a T20I. The first T20I, against the UAE in Dubai on 15 March 2019, had no result because of rain, after the Americans made 152 for 7 in 15 overs with Steven Taylor scoring 72. The UAE won the second match, the next day, by 24 runs.

A few weeks later came the result that changed the team's status. At the 2019 World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia, the United States beat Namibia by two runs, Papua New Guinea by ten wickets, and Hong Kong by 84 runs, after losing to Oman. The win over Hong Kong on 24 April 2019, with Xavier Marshall scoring a century, sealed a top-four finish and with it ODI status. The United States then entered Cricket World Cup League 2 and played its first home ODI series in September 2019, hosting Papua New Guinea and Namibia.

USA in ICC Tournaments

In 2024 the United States co-hosted the men's T20 World Cup with the West Indies. The opening match, on 1 June 2024 in Dallas, was against Canada. Canada made 194 for 5, and the United States chased it down, reaching 197 for 3 in 17.4 overs to win by seven wickets, with Aaron Jones unbeaten on 94 from 40 balls, including ten sixes, and Andries Gous making 65.

Five days later, also in Dallas, the United States played Pakistan. Pakistan made 159 for 7, and the United States finished on 159 for 3, with captain Monank Patel named player of the match. The match went to a Super Over: the United States scored 18 for 1, Pakistan replied with 13 for 1, and the United States had beaten a former world champion. It remains the most famous single result in American cricket history. The United States then lost to India by seven wickets, and its final group match against Ireland was washed out. That point took the United States to five points, second in Group A behind India, and into the Super 8.

The Super 8 was a step too far, but not a collapse. South Africa won by 18 runs, West Indies by nine wickets, and England by ten wickets, with Jos Buttler unbeaten on 83 in the last of those games. The United States finished without a Super 8 win, but it had qualified for the next T20 World Cup automatically.

The second appearance came in 2026, in India and Sri Lanka. The United States lost to India and Pakistan, then beat the Netherlands by 93 runs and Namibia by 31 runs, both in Chennai, to finish third with two wins from four matches. Two wins at a second successive World Cup confirmed that 2024 was not a one-off.

In ODI cricket, the equivalent story is League 2. After finishing fifth of seven in the first cycle, the United States won the 2023-27 League 2 title in October 2026, sealing it with a four-wicket win over Namibia in Dallas, with Monank Patel scoring 108. The win took the United States to an unassailable 47 points and, with Scotland and the Netherlands, into the ten-team Qualifier for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

One League 2 record is a world record. On 18 February 2025, at Al Amerat in Oman, the United States defended 122 against Oman, bowling the hosts out for 65 to win by 57 runs — the lowest total ever successfully defended in a full men's ODI. Nosthush Kenjige took 5 for 11, and every ball in the match was bowled by a spinner, the first time that had happened in a men's ODI.

US Cricket Team Today

The US cricket team is an associate member of the ICC, in the Americas region, with ODI status. It plays ODI and T20I cricket regularly, mainly against other associates in League 2 and in bilateral T20I series, with occasional matches against full members at World Cups. It has never played Test cricket. Test status is given to a very small group of countries, currently twelve, and it requires a deep first-class structure, sustained performance, and a professional domestic system that the United States is still building.

In the ICC rankings published in late 2026, the United States were ranked 15th in ODIs and 13th in T20Is, with a best-ever ODI ranking of 11th, reached in August 2026. Rankings move with every series, so treat those numbers as a snapshot. The match record is more useful: by October 2026 the United States had played 86 ODIs, winning 46, losing 37 and tying three.

The team is run by USA Cricket, based in Dallas, Texas, and its home grounds are spread across the country: Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas, Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida, and the newer grounds in California and New York used for Major League Cricket. That spread reflects where cricket is played in America, in large South Asian, Caribbean and other immigrant communities, but it also means the team has no single fortress ground. Many leading players were born outside the United States and came to America to study, work or play club cricket before qualifying, while younger age groups are increasingly home-grown.

Key Players and Captains

Monank Patel is the captain, and the player around whom the modern team is built. A wicketkeeper-batter, Patel took over the T20I captaincy in October 2021, replacing Saurabh Netravalkar, and has led the side through its most successful period: its first T20I win over a full member, against Ireland, its first T20I series win over a full member, against Bangladesh at home in May 2024, and the League 2 title in 2026, sealed by his century against Namibia. At the 2024 World Cup he was player of the match against Pakistan. He is also the team's leading ODI run-scorer.

Aaron Jones is the vice-captain and the team's most destructive batter on his day. His unbeaten 94 against Canada at the 2024 World Cup, with ten sixes, is the innings most fans will remember. Steven Taylor is the longest-serving member of the modern side, an aggressive left-handed opener and useful off-spinner who scored 72 in the first T20I in 2019.

Saurabh Netravalkar, the former captain, is the bowling leader. A left-arm fast-medium bowler who played for Mumbai and India Under-19 before moving to the United States to study at Cornell University, Netravalkar captained the side when it regained ODI status in 2019 and remains its leading ODI wicket-taker, with more than 100 ODI wickets. Ali Khan, whose full name is Mohammad Ahsan Ali Khan, is the fast-bowling spearhead when fit. Born in Attock, Pakistan, and raised in Ohio, Khan has played franchise cricket around the world, including for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Harmeet Singh and Nosthush Kenjige, both left-arm spinners, give the attack variety in the middle overs, while Jasdeep Singh, known as Jessy Singh, has been a seamer in the side since 2019. Among the newer names, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Milind Kumar and Andries Gous — the leading run-scorer for the United States at the 2024 World Cup, with 219 runs — have all played important innings, as have Shayan Jahangir, Smit Patel and Shehan Jayasuriya. The full current squad is covered in the separate players and squad guide.

USA Team Records

Records in associate cricket move quickly, because teams play each other often and a single series can change a career chart. The figures below are verified landmarks, and they should be read as a snapshot, not a final list. For the latest figures, the USA team page on cricvic.com is the place to check.

ODI records

The highest team total in ODI cricket for the United States is 361 for 3 against Canada at Lauderhill on 17 May 2025, followed by 339 for 4 against the UAE in September 2024 and 323 for 8 against Oman in June 2022. That progression, from struggling to reach 250 to regularly passing 300, sums up how far the batting has come.

The highest individual ODI score is Jaskaran Malhotra's 173 not out against Papua New Guinea at Al Amerat on 9 September 2021. It was the first ODI century by an American, and it included six sixes in the final over, only the second time that feat had been achieved in an ODI. Malhotra finished with 16 sixes. The next highest scores are Milind Kumar's 155 against the UAE in 2024 and Smit Patel's 152 against Canada in 2025.

With the ball, the standout ODI figures belong to Ali Khan: 7 for 32 against Jersey in April 2023. Nosthush Kenjige's 5 for 11 against Oman in February 2025 is the most famous five-wicket haul, because of the world record it helped set. Saurabh Netravalkar leads the ODI wicket-taking chart, with more than 100 wickets, and Monank Patel leads the run-scoring chart.

T20I records

In T20I cricket, the highest team total is 201 for 6 against Singapore at Bulawayo on 12 July 2022, when Steven Taylor and Jaskaran Malhotra both scored 58 and Netravalkar took 5 for 12 in a 132-run win. The next highest totals are 199 for 4, achieved twice in the 2026 World Cup, against the Netherlands and Namibia, and 197 for 3 against Canada at the 2024 World Cup.

The highest individual score at a T20 World Cup for the United States is Aaron Jones's 94 not out against Canada in 2024, and the highest score in the Super 8 was Andries Gous's 80 not out against South Africa. Netravalkar's 5 for 12 against Singapore remains the standout T20I spell. One record belongs in both formats: the lowest total successfully defended, 122 against Oman in February 2025, a world record.

Major League Cricket's Role

Major League Cricket, MLC, is the professional Twenty20 league in the United States, and the most important domestic development in American cricket since the Philadelphian era. The league began in 2023 with six teams: Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom. Four of the six are linked to Indian Premier League ownership groups, and the league is run by American Cricket Enterprises under an agreement with USA Cricket. It was granted List-A status by the ICC before its second season.

MLC matters to the national team in three practical ways. First, it gives American players regular matches against world-class opposition. Second, it gives the national selectors a form guide, with American-qualified performers the first names considered for national squads. Third, it gives the sport visibility, with matches at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas, at the Oakland Coliseum in California, and at the Knight Riders' ground at Fairplex in Pomona, Los Angeles.

Expansion, with eight teams discussed for 2027, was not confirmed at the time of writing and is covered in the separate Major League Cricket guide. MLC is not a magic solution: most of its star players are overseas professionals. But without it, the United States would have no professional domestic cricket at all.

Women's and Under-19 Teams

This section is deliberately short, because both of these teams deserve their own guides, and those guides follow in this series.

The United States women's team has ODI and T20I status and has been a regular participant in global qualifiers, without yet reaching a senior World Cup. Its long-serving captain was Sindhu Sriharsha, a wicketkeeper-batter who led the side to Americas Region Qualifier wins in 2019, 2021 and 2023, and who retired in February 2025 after 32 T20Is and seven ODIs. The full story is covered in the separate USA women's cricket team guide.

The under-19 men's team has played at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2006, 2010, 2024 and 2026, returning in 2024 after a 14-year absence and again in 2026 after winning the 2025 Americas Qualifier in Georgia. Its results at global events have been modest, with no wins in 2024, but it is the pathway: players who come through the under-19 system, and through Minor League Cricket, will decide whether the senior team's success is sustained. The full under-19 story is covered in the separate USA Under-19 guide.

Upcoming Schedule and Future

The next confirmed landmark is the Qualifier for the 2027 ODI World Cup. By winning League 2 in October 2026, the United States, along with Scotland and the Netherlands, secured a place in the ten-team Qualifier, which will decide the final four places at the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The date and venue were not available at the time of writing, so no fixture list is given here. When the ICC confirms the schedule, it will be added to the separate national team schedule guide.

Beyond the Qualifier, the biggest date on the horizon is the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Cricket returns to the Olympic Games for the first time since Paris 1900, with six-team men's and women's T20 tournaments. The qualification system guarantees the United States, as hosts, a place in the men's tournament, provided the team appears in the top 15 of the ICC men's T20I rankings at some point during the qualification period, which ends on 31 December 2026. Hosting does not automatically mean playing, but with the team ranked 13th in T20Is in late 2026, that is a realistic target.

Can the United States become a full member, and play Test cricket? Not in the near future: full membership requires a first-class structure, sustained results and professional depth that the United States does not yet have. A more realistic ambition for the next five years is to stay in the top group of associates, qualify for the 2027 World Cup, compete at the 2028 Olympics, and keep producing players through MLC and Minor League Cricket.

For fans, the practical point is this. The United States now plays League 2, bilateral T20I series, MLC, and World Cup qualifiers regularly enough to follow week by week. The schedule guide in this series, and the live scores page, are the best places to keep up.

FAQs

What is the US cricket team?

The men's national team of the United States, nicknamed the Stars and Stripes, run by USA Cricket, an ICC associate member with ODI status. It has never played Test cricket.

When did the USA play its first international match?

Against Canada, on 24 to 26 September 1844 at the St George's Cricket Club ground in New York. Canada won by 23 runs.

When did the USA play its first ODI and first T20I?

The first ODI was against New Zealand at The Oval on 10 September 2004; New Zealand won by 210 runs. The first T20I was against the UAE in Dubai on 15 March 2019; it had no result because of rain.

Who is the captain of the US cricket team?

Monank Patel, captain in both ODI and T20I cricket since taking over the T20I captaincy in October 2021.

What is the USA's best result at a World Cup?

Reaching the Super 8 at the 2024 men's T20 World Cup, as co-hosts with the West Indies, after beating Canada and Pakistan in the group stage.

What are the USA cricket team records?

In ODIs: highest team total 361 for 3 against Canada in 2025, highest individual score Jaskaran Malhotra's 173 not out against Papua New Guinea in 2021, best bowling Ali Khan's 7 for 32 against Jersey in 2023. In T20Is: highest team total 201 for 6 against Singapore in 2022, highest World Cup score Aaron Jones's 94 not out against Canada in 2024.

Conclusion

The US cricket team has come further, in a shorter time, than almost any other associate side. It started international cricket in 1844, lost its way for a century, and then, in less than a decade, went from regaining ODI status to winning League 2 and beating Pakistan at a home World Cup. That is the result of a core group of players staying together, a domestic league giving them professional cricket, and a qualification system that rewards consistency.

The next step is also clear: turn a League 2 title into a World Cup place, and a World Cup place into a regular presence at global events. The 2027 Qualifier will decide the first part. The 2028 Olympics, on home soil in Los Angeles, will decide whether American cricket becomes a mainstream story or remains a niche one. Either way, the team is no longer a curiosity. It is a competitive international side, with a history older than any other, and a future finally in its own hands.

For live scores, fixtures and results, follow the USA team page on cricvic.com and the live cricket scores page. The supporting guides in this series — on Major League Cricket, USA team players and squad, the women's team, the Under-19 team, cricket in USA, and the national team schedule — will link from the relevant sections above as they are published.