US automakers are finally treading on a long tortuous path to sustained profitability. Every month Big 3 and other automakers compete in a hope to end up disclosing the best monthly sales report. Every quarter people eagerly look forward to their financial statements to compare the economic outlook of these corporations. Every year these corporations work hard to grab the top Quality awards and then towards the year-end they scramble to beat the expectation of gains in their market share. However, there is one more arena where the Big-3 OEMs compete- in a sports park in Michigan playing cricket in US Corporate Cricket Championship (USCCC).
The game of cricket originated in Britain in 16th century but it took about two centuries for this sport to sail cross the North Atlantic Ocean and arrive in this land of opportunities. After a long period of negative growth in the USA during the last century, it's gaining significant momentum again for the past 8-10 years. USCCC was previously known as Big 3 Cricket Challenge Cup and it started in 2003 with teams from three companies- DaimlerChrysler, Ford and GM. MichCA (Michigan Cricket Association) organizes this T20 format championship every year and it gradually has become one of the biggest sports events in the Central East Region since its humble beginning. Exponential growth of cricket in US and rapid proliferation of cricketers under MichCA helped in increasing the popularity of this championship. Last year, six teams (Caterpillar and Sprint made their debut) participated in USCCC. This year we were expecting eight teams to play but finally we finalized six teams representing Altair Engineering, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), Chrysler Group, Ford, GM and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to play nine games in just two days to own the bragging rights for next one year of being the champions of this prestigious tournament.
Ford team was the champions in first three annual tournaments while the Chrysler team is on a song after adorning the throne thrice since 2006. After two hat-tricks of championship wins- one each by Ford and Chrysler, it's time for GM team to flex their muscles and show their mettle in wearing the crown yearned by all teams. For the first time since the inception of this tournament, with a prime objective of increasing competition & raising level of cricket, MichCA is allowing the participating teams to field 3 ‘guest’ players- certain restrictions apply. Teams from Chrysler Group, Ford and GM are revving up to rekindle their long rivalry. Altair team, like a crouching tiger, is just waiting for the right opportunity to show their true powers while the hidden dragons- BCBS and TCS teams, have already gathered enough firepower to score a few surprise wins. As the participating teams rush to grab the best talent in and around the wolverine state, MichCA is gearing up to serve cricket lovers their annual quota of pure adrenaline in just two days. We expect these games to be nail-biting and overall competition to be more action-packed than any other championships we have organized so far. Anyway, keeping in view the prevailing growth of cricket in the US, that day is not very far away when
professional cricket in USA will boom under USACA and will become as popular as MLB, NFL or NBA. For now, MichCA is fulfilling the annual Vitamin-T20 needs of all Michiganders through USCCC.
MichCA invites all cricket lovers to come with their family & friends and enjoy this exciting cricket tournament which slowly has also become popular community event promoting diversity in Michigan. You are welcome to join the party- drinks (soft) and snacks are on the house.
Happy Cricketing !
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