5 things you need to know about the upcoming Sachin-Warne series
Cricket is heading back to America and this time the sport is bringing out the big guns. Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne are going stateside this November for three Twenty20 exhibition matches this November along with a whole host of former stars. Its the latest in a long line of attempts to hook one of the worlds biggest markets on a sport they have so far shunned.Part of that is down to shoddy organisation. Twenty20 Internationals were played in Lauderhill, Florida a few years ago, but poor pitches generally resulted in low-scorers even the most fervent of cricket fans would have struggled to get through.The roadshow has been dubbed the Sachin-Warne Series although its official name is the Cricket All-Star Series. Some have praised the idea to take cricket back to the US a country which has a huge sub-continent expat community however, others, including Ian Chappell have criticised the concept as an Oldies Parade.The first match in New York is scheduled for November 7, the second game will be played in Houston on November 11, and the series will conclude in Los Angeles on November 14.Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming Sachin-Warne series.
#1 Move over baseball, cricket is in town
The series will start shortly after the conclusion of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season, and the three matches will be played in Major League ballparks with drop-in pitches. The first match is set to take place at Citi Field, home to the New York Mets, Minute Maid Park in Houston will stage the second game before the series concludes at the world-famous Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets, the Houston Astros and the LA Dodgers have all reached this year’s MLB postseason.
Many Americans live off an almost daily diet of baseball during the summer months, so to take cricket directly to them is a proactive step to arouse interest in the other bat-and-ball sport. While not like-for-like, T20s have much in common with baseball. Games typically last for around three hours and a party atmosphere is guaranteed.
In taking the Sachin-Warne series to baseball territory, the organisers are not just showing their intent to cater to a niche interest, but to showcase cricket to new fans they could potentially woo.