West Indies take on India in the first of two Twenty20 internationals in Florida on Saturday in what will be a litmus test for cricket’s future in the United States.
After India cruised to victory in the Test series and in the aftermath of the Caribbean squad’s latest round of blood-letting, the sides head for the sport’s newest outpost, the Central Broward Regional Park, the only purpose-built cricket stadium in the US.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that the US is a special market which cricket authorities need to crack.
“It is a new venture for cricket. Looking at everything, it is a perfect staging ground. Few other international teams have already played here, also not to forget that some of the T20 leagues have happened. The infrastructure looks good. Overall it is a big occasion,” Dhoni said ahead of the first T20.
“As far as effort is concerned, I always felt the USA was a big market, a lot of sub-continent people stay here, not only Indians. I feel it is a good start. It feels good to be here.
“Earlier, people living in US used to travel to the Caribbean to support us but now they have the opportunity to catch the action here itself,” added.
Six matches in the recent Caribbean Premier League were played at the $10 million arena while the first full international matches, two Twenty20 games between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, were staged there in 2010.
Officials from WICB and WIPA meet with players at symposium in #Florida as we chart way forward for Windies Cricket pic.twitter.com/0vrrWxRyGy
— westindies (@westindies) August 25, 2016
There is a lot riding on the matches as Indian Premier League franchises and the Indian cricket board will be keeping a close eye. The matches will give an idea about the possibility of hosting a ‘minIPL’ some time in the future.
On his part, India coach Anil Kumble was thoroughly impressed by the facilities in Florida.
“I certainly didn’t expect the facilities to be as good as they are in the United States,” Kumble said.
“I certainly felt that it could be a makeshift. I had heard about Florida and this ground, but very impressed with the facilities that we have seen. It’s the first time that I’m seeing this ground and the wickets are good, ideal probably for a T20, and the practice facilities have been good, the outfield looks fantastic. So all in all, really impressed with the facilities here.”
Saturday and Sunday’s back-to-back fixtures come at a crucial time for the West Indies.
They may be the reigning world champions in the format, but that didn’t save Darren Sammy’s job as skipper. He was sacked in what he claimed was a “30-second phone call” and replaced by Carlos Brathwaite who etched his name into West Indies cricket folklore by smashing four sixes in the final over against England to win this year’s World T20 final in Mumbai.
“I think a team like this will be pretty easy to lead, from the point of view that the dressing room is a fun place to be,” said Brathwaite. “I don’t think it’s a case where I have to negotiate too many egos.”
Despite his heroics in Mumbai, 28-year-old Brathwaite is a lightweight when it comes to international experience, having played just three Tests, 14 ODIs and eight Twenty 20s.
In contrast, the team’s superstar Chris Gayle has 103 Tests, 269 ODIs and 50 T20s to his name as well as a host of batting records. India, meanwhile, have no worries over their confidence levels heading into the weekend.
They have enjoyed a solid run in T20 series in recent times, winning in Australia, Sri Lanka and claiming the Asia Cup before recovering to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in June.
