"Tonight's innings will open the eyes, of those who don't know USA cricket": Aaron Jones

Aaron Jones during his 94 not out v Canada. Pic/Getty Images

New Yorker Aaron Jones hoped his scintillating knock in the landmark T20 World Cup opener against Canada on Saturday would "open the eyes of those who don't know me or USA cricket".

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024, USA vs CAN: All the records from USA's victory over Canada

Jones' 40-ball 94 saw his team notch up a convincing seven-wicket victory over rivals Canada here, beginning the home team's campaign on a rousing note in a tournament they are hosting for the first time, along with the West Indies. Jones, whose place in the T20I side was under scrutiny and was released by Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise Seattle Orcas after its inaugural edition, said he showed he was "good enough" to play at the highest level. He was not picked in the last MLC draft.

"When I wasn't selected in the Major League, I just took it as a stepping stone in the journey. Hopefully, tonight's innings will probably open the eyes of those who don't know me or USA cricket. We have great players here and that we have a lot of talent here and are willing to play at the highest level for sure." Set a target of 195, USA stuttered initially, losing opener Steven Taylor for zero in the second ball of the innings, and were 42/2 after 6.3 overs. But Jones had other ideas as he came up with a counter-attacking innings to script a memorable win with as many as 14 balls to spare.

Brief scores
Canada 194-5 in 20 overs (N Dhaliwal 61, N Kirton 51) lost to USA 197-3 in 17.4 overs (A Gous 65, A Jones 94 not out) by seven wickets

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever