Saint Sway wrote on Jul 16
th, 2009 at 10:12am:
LONDON -- Cricket's governing body in the United States wants to create an elite Twenty20 competition along the lines of the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Cricket in the USA
For complete coverage of cricket in the United States, check out Cricinfo.com's U.S. page.
More coverage: Cricinfo.com
The USA Cricket Association announced Thursday it hopes "top-class international cricket" will finally take root in America by launching the first professional competition, the USA Premier League.
The first steps were taken by inviting proposals from potential organizers, sponsors and broadcasters in a country dominated by football and baseball. Proposals must be received by Aug. 7.
A Twenty20 game is a shortened version of cricket, completed in about 3½ hours to bring it closer to the length of other sports played in the United States.
Rushmans, an international sports event management company based in England, has been appointed as commercial adviser.
Nigel Rushman said he is confident, with the right partners, that the USA can host a world class Premier League and attract large television and online audiences.
The USACA said it wants to unlock the sport's potential in a "massive market" and use the revenues from the new league to help spread cricket across the U.S. and form a competitive international team.
"The commercial potential of cricket in the United States is widely recognized and that was underscored by the number of approaches USACA has received from many significant and prestigious organizations ranging from broadcasters to promoters and sports marketing companies," Rushman said in a statement.
Organizers hope to build on the existing passion for cricket in ex-patriot communities from the Caribbean, the Asian subcontinent and other traditional cricket playing nations like England.
"Cricket is a truly global sport which has been liberated by developments in the media," Rushman said. "The success of the IPL in South Africa is evidence of that."
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Mick n Charlie in London (Read 918 times)
