Charles Lafleur, AKA "Chuck from Boynton Beach", was one of many new fans who turned up in Lauderhill to support USA. Even though no match was played, he went home happy after split points sent USA into the Super 8 stage of the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup.

Photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
There have been many days over the last 16 years since the opening of Broward County Stadium when rain and weak drainage systems have been the source of immense frustration for cricketers looking to get on the field and complete a match. 
 
On Friday, the accumulation of historic levels of rain over the last week on the Broward County Stadium outfield was a source of relief and unbridled joy for USA players and supporters as their scheduled Group A match against Ireland in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was abandoned without a ball bowled due to a wet outfield. The split points moved USA to five on the Group A table and meant they have officially clinched a berth in the Super 8 stage of this year’s tournament. It also means that USA has secured automatic qualification to the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. 
 
“Definitely we celebrated, everybody’s happy right now,” said USA vice-captain Aaron Jones in a press conference after the result had been confirmed. “Obviously qualifying for the Super 8s is a big thing. The camp is happy right now.”
 
“As a cricketer, me coming to the ground today and the boys coming to the ground today, you don’t wanna leave home and don’t play cricket. I want to play. But at the end of the day, the rain fell, the outfield was wet. There’s nothing that we could control. We are grateful that we got the one point and got through to the Super 8s. At the end of the day, we left the hotel this morning thinking about playing cricket.”
 
On the flip side, the result meant that both Pakistan and Ireland have been eliminated from the tournament. USA’s confirmed spot in the Super 8s as team “A2” means they will now have three additional matches against South Africa at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua on June 19, and then two matches at Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 21 against West Indies and on June 23 against team “B2”. That team will be either Scotland or England, depending on the results of the final two matches yet to be played in Group B. If Scotland beat Australia or their match is washed out resulting in split points, Scotland will advance. An England win over Namibia combined with an Australia win over Scotland will see England advance.