Major League Cricket aims for US breakthrough
The HinduThe most ambitious attempt yet to establish professional cricket in the United States gets under way on Wednesday when wickets will be pitched for the start of the inaugural season of Major League Cricket. England opening batsman Jason Roy, Australian batsman Aaron Finch, South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada and West Indies spinner Sunil Narine are among the foreign players drafted by the six teams. It will be a challenge for coaches and captains to manage teams with experienced international players alongside emerging domestic players but South African Robin Peterson, head coach of the Mumbai Indians-backed MI New York team, says it will work. “I see the league here playing a similar role for USA cricket.” As well as the involvement of IPL teams, Australia’s Cricket Victoria has a high-performance partnership with the San Francisco Unicorns and Cricket New South Wales has a similar role with the Washington Freedom.