First Live International Game Played In the US

The exciting Kumar Sangakkara will be on display for fans. Photo by Shiek Mohamed.

USA Cricket and New Zealand Cricket launched a strategic partnership featuring a historic Twenty20 international series between the BLACKCAPS and Sri Lanka set to take place this week in Lauderhill, Florida.

The Central Broward County Regional Park Cricket Stadium in Lauderhill, FL the only ICC approved cricket stadium in North America will host the international matches. The stadium holds up to 20,000 people and was completed in November 2007. Matches are scheduled with the inaugural game set for Friday, May 21st with afternoon matches taking place Saturday, May 22nd and Sunday May 23rd.
Although still an embryonic sport in the USA cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, only behind football (soccer). With approximately 15-million cricket fans living in the USA the goal of the strategic partnership between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket is to generate awareness and establish a fan base and appetite for the sport.

WHEN:  May 21, 2010 – May 23, 2010

WHERE: Central Broward County Regional Park- Cricket Stadium, 3700 NW 11th Pl, Lauderhill, FL 33311

ABOUT: The historic event will provide great exposure for cricket with some of the world’s top players showcasing their talents. USA Cricket has worked hard to bring this event to fruition and we are very excited about the potential impact of this series for the growth and development of cricket in the United States”, said Gladstone Dainty, USA Cricket President, on behalf of his Board of Directors.

USA Cricket CEO, Donald Lockerbie said the three match series has been in the works for some time as part of the new “Destination USA” initiative.  Last November an important strategic partnership was also made between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket to advance the game in the region.
“We believe that in order to grow the game of cricket in the USA – we need to have the best teams in the world play in our country,” said Lockerbie.  “We want to demonstrate to the American public just how exciting the T20 format is.  Cricket is already popular here but has lacked major media coverage. This inaugural series is the first step to reverse this situation.”

The two matches will be shown exclusively on ESPN3.com, ESPN’s live sports broadband network, giving fans a 24/7 online destination that delivers more than 3,500 live, global sports events annually. On an international level the matches will be broadcast on ESPN International and ESPN StarSports. Additionally legendary cricket stars including Aussie great, Ian Chappell and Indian great, Sunil Gavaskar will provide commentary during the ESPN coverage allowing fans across the world the opportunity to hear from the cricket icons.

Ticket information and pricing is available on www.usaca.org and tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com