The opening game of next year’s T20 World Cup will be a meeting between cricketing minnows United States and Canada in America.
With the fixtures due to be released later this week the ICC have opted to start the tournament with a rare north American derby rather than a game featuring World Cup holders England or global giants India
The surprise decision is a nod to the fact that the first ever game of international cricket was a match between USA and Canada in Manhattan in 1844, 33 years before the first Test between England and Australia in Melbourne, a clash which gave birth to the Ashes five years later.
In the earlier contest that was billed at the time as USA v the British Empire’s Canadian Province the visitors won a two-innings three-day game by 23 runs.
In addition to the historical link the ICC are also seeking to kick-start the tournament in the USA, who are co-hosting along
with the West Indies.
Ten of the 20 competing teams will play their first game in the USA at stadia in Texas, Florida and New York with the other 10 starting in the West Indies, who will host all of the latter stages comprising a Super 8 round, semi-finals and final.
All of England’s groups games will be in Caribbean tourist spots such as Antigua and St Lucia and Barbados, which will also stage the final.
Three of India’s matches will be in the USA with the biggest game of the tournament against Pakistan to be held in a temporary stadium that has yet to be built in Long Island, 25 miles from downturn Manhattan.
India’s games will be scheduled to begin at 9:30am local time at the request of the ICC’s broadcast rights partner Star Sports in order to gain the biggest possible TV audience at home.
The ICC declined to comment.
(dailymail.co.uk)
