Howdy or howzat? When USA and Canada made cricket history in

The two teams in the opening T20 World Cup match have a long and curious history and lay claim to a sporting milestone

Back, back, back, before anyone had invented Twenty20, before the Ashes and back beyond, before basketball had even been invented, and when baseball was still a little kids’ game, the 11 best cricketers in Toronto travelled south across the border to play a two-day game against the 11 best cricketers in the US.

It was September 1844, seven years before the first America’s Cup, 16 before the first Open championship and 33 before the first Test match. Which means Canada v USA, the opening fixture of this year’s World Cup, isn’t just the oldest international match in this sport, but, historians believe, the oldest in any sport.