Harare [Zimbabwe], June 15 : United States of America (USA) star Aaron Jones is set to put his friendship aside against West Indies in the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023.
The 28-year-old was born in New York and has a strong connection to West Indies. He received his cricketing education in Barbados, having moved there with his family in his early years.
That meant growing up alongside players now representing West Indies, who lie in wait for USA's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier Group A opener on July 18.
Jones knows his side will be underdogs but is relishing the opportunity to take on familiar faces.
"For me, it is just like playing against my friends," he said as quoted by ICC.
"I grew up playing with the guys from Barbados - Shai Hope, Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase - and I played against some of the other guys, like Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell."
"Barbados was a great place to play cricket and there was a lot of competition. The club game and First Class game are both very competitive. I want to go hard and I want to win, for sure, but I will just have to treat it like another game. It will be a great occasion," Jones added.
Jones is now back in his homeland but he will play a key role in his USA's first appearance at an ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier since 2005.
He was the top-scorer with 89 runs in a five-wicket defeat against Ireland in a warm-up match, which indicates that he is acclimatizing well to Zimbabwe conditions.
He believes the World Cup qualification would showcase the depth of cricketing interest which exists in the United States.
"A lot has changed in terms of facilities and investment in cricket in the US since we were last playing at this level," he said.
"There are more grass wickets around, as opposed to astro turf and matting, and the amount of quality players we have to play against has gone up."
"USA is not seen as a cricketing nation in terms of the world knowing about us playing but within the country, there are a lot of Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and people from the Caribbean, who all come from cricketing backgrounds from their previous countries," Jones signed off.
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