The US cricket team is closing in on a major achievement at the Twenty20 World Cup

The sport of cricket is as foreign to most Americans as driving on the left-hand side of the road or drinking warm beer.

This year, though, the United States is getting a close-up view of the bat-and-ball sport originally from England that resembles a cockeyed version of baseball where the pitcher purposely bounces the ball in front of the batter.

The U.S. national cricket team — which dates to at least 1844 — has already made a dent in the hierarchy of the game by beating last week at the Twenty20 World Cup, which is being held in , Texas,