by Arjun Wadhwa

Created on: April 14, 2009

Cricket is only popular in a few countries. Although there are over a billion fans of cricket, there are some areas of the world where cricket is not popular. One of those areas is North America. There is barely any international cricket in North America.

Most people in North America don't play cricket and are not aware of it. This is due to the amount of time required to play cricket, the origins of cricket, and the lack of exposure through media.

In North America, football, baseball and basketball are some of the most popular games. There is a common element involved in all these games. The common element is that all these games last a few hours only. Cricket game can last up to 5 days! Since North Americans believe in a working life style and already have shorter games running on television, no one really has the time to watch cricket.

One day International cricket games can also last for over 6 hours. This is a lot of time for a game. When there are shorter alternatives available, then most people would pick those alternatives. That is why Americans prefer watching baseball, basketball and football because these games come to an end within a few hours.

Secondly, history of cricket suggests that it was invented in England. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and many other countries were British colonies. These countries play cricket today. North American country was under British control, but there were other groups of people such as the French, Aboriginals, etc. This is why English culture of playing games was followed by India more quickly than Canada.

There is also a lack of exposure to cricket. Once a country adopts their sports, it is nearly impossible to change that trend. The media focuses on North American games only, and there is barely any exposure given to cricket.

Most schools in North America don't have cricket teams, and they also teach their students to play North American sports and games. This way the North American generations never get exposure to Cricket. They continue to play hockey, basketball and football.

When a country doesn't play a certain type of sport, then there is no demand for the equipment. As a result, there are very few places in North America, which provide cricket equipment. The equipment is mostly expensive as well, and most people end up playing North American games.

In conclusion, lack of exposure, lack of interest, amount of time taken to play and watch cricket are some of the reasons why cricket is not a famous sport in North America.

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