Long-lost New York stadium hosted forgotten first international cricket game

NEW York is currently hosting the T20 World Cup – and there’s more cricket history in the city than you might think.

The first-ever international cricket game was held at the St George’s Cricket Club in Manhattan way back in 1844.

4

4

Canada faced the USA in a low-scoring contest watched by around 5,000 spectators.

The event is regarded by many as the first international encounter in any sport, per the BBC.

BBC reporter Graeme Langford set out in search of the fabled St George’s, which has long since been lost to time.

The arena was founded in 1839 and hosted the first international cricket game anywhere in the world six years later.

According to a New York Herald match report, the lost stadium was located “near the Bloomingdale Road.”

“Bloomingdale Road is the old name for Broadway,” Langford explained.

The Last Days of Knickerbocker Life in New York, a book from 1988, claims the Gilsey Hotel was built on the location of the stadium.

That places St George’s between 29th and 31st Street off Broadway, just a few blocks away from where the Empire State Building stands today.

Langford admits his search is “not conclusive” and there is no official record from the city to indicate exactly where the stadium once stood.

“I don’t think it matters exactly where the game was played,” he adds.

“The sheer fact it was played in Manhattan 180 years ago is a brilliant, beautiful, and frankly bizarre little piece of cricket history.”

Most of the members of the St George’s Cricket Club in 1844 were British-born.

The USA team that faced Canada was drawn from “several New York clubs and also included players from Philadelphia, DC, and Boston”, per ESPNCricinfo.

The report adds, “bets of around $120,000 (close to $1.5 million in today’s currency) were placed on the outcome,” by the watching crowd.

Canada batted first in the four-inning game, making just 82 runs.

This is a brilliant, beautiful, and frankly bizarre little piece of cricket history.

Graeme LangfordBBC Sport

The Americans were dismissed for 64 in response before Canada stacked up another 63.

The US were set a total of 82 to win, but ultimately fell short by 23 runs and suffered defeat.

Since that first meeting 180 years ago, the two teams have played for the Auty Cup, with the last series in 2017.

Cricket is back in New York this June with the 34,000-capacity Nassau County Stadium hosting eight World Cup games.

The $30 million pop-up venue has been constructed 25 miles east of Manhattan in Eisenhower Park, Long Island.

It is one of three US venues selected to host the World T20, along with the Caribbean.

The tournament marks the first time the International Cricket Council has hosted an event in the United States in a bid to grow the game.

4