Cricket will take a giant step in its attempts to break into the lucrative US sports market, as the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) stages six of its matches in Florida.
Cricket authorities, and in particular the current administration at the International Cricket Council (ICC), have long coveted the United States as the most vital of all emerging markets.
As part of a strategic plan, the ICC wants USA to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, the 2020 World Twenty20 and, most ambitiously, a proposal for the US to host the 2024 World Twenty20.
That long road begins at the end of July, when the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida, hosts six games of the fourth season of the CPL.
CPL’s chief executive Damien O’Donohoe said-
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The US was always an exciting chapter for us because we’re best positioned,the Caribbean is kind of an extension of the US. We have also priced two-thirds of the tickets to less than $30, so that everybody cricket fan can see the match live.
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Along with hosting the matches,CPL has been working in collaboration with the ICC and will be running a number of grass-roots level initiatives alongside the matches.
It is actually the second big step that the game has taken in the US in the past year. Last November, Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar organised a series of Cricket All-Stars veteran matches in New York, Houston and Los Angeles.