Cricket stars set to play on US soil for first time

Instead of home runs and home plates, it will be all wickets and sixes at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets baseball team, on 7 November when two of the world’s best known cricket stars, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, are set to play for the first time on American soil.

Exactly what kind of draw the two men will be on what may be a chilly Saturday afternoon remains to be seen – there are 45,000 seats at the Queens, New York, ground – but organisers have high hopes for the one-day match between teams that will captained respectively by the two men.

Nor will they stop at New York. The Citi Field encounter between “Sachin’s Blasters” and “Warne’s Warriors” will mark the start of a three-city, all-star exhibition tour of America that also take them to Houston and Los Angeles. Other players - from eight countries more familiar with the game - slated to take part include Ricky Ponting (Australia), Brian Lara (West Indies), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Jonty Rhodes (South Africa) and Michael Vaughan (England).

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Cricket is not completely alien to America, particularly in New York where West Indian communities in particular, drive enthusiasm for the sport and several parks in the outer boroughs offer space for wickets in the summer.

Other minorities with cricket in the blood, including Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, will also be first in line at Citi Field for the New York match, which will feature the truncated but popular Twenty20 version of the game.

“Americans are so passionate about sports, and I think there’s a huge potential for cricket to take off,” Sachin Tendulkar said in a statement. “This is also the first time that international cricket will be played in these beautiful baseball stadiums in New York City, Houston and Los Angeles, which will be a lot of fun. We’re also planning some other events and festivities in each city so we can reach as many fans as possible.”

“We’ve signed all the top players you’d ever want to see,” Shane Warne added. “I’m excited for cricket fans in the United States to be able to see these amazing players for the first time, and I also think that the T20 format will appeal to new audiences who have never seen or played cricket before. I’m really looking forward to the matches in November, and helping to grow the sport of cricket in America.”