ICC Gives Its Blessing To Proposed Six-Team Cricket League In The U.S.

The Int'l Cricket Council is "blessing a new venture with ambitions to create a league of teams" in big U.S. cities, according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The new push in the country is built around Twenty20, the three-hour short form of the game "generating such popularity" in south Asia that the Indian Premier League is valued at around $3B. The new venture's organizers, Cricket Holdings America, will "launch a tender offering six team franchises" later this month for those willing to pay $40M. Half the money will go toward staging a Twenty20 tournament in N.Y. in June. A regular league competition would also begin in '13, played "on artificial pitches in temporary venues." CHA expects bids from India -- including teams from the IPL -- as well as from the U.S. and the U.K. It "claims to have the backing of 200 of the world’s leading players." ICC Regional Development Manager Tim Anderson said, "It's certainly a nut that can be cracked. There hasn't been a commercial venture into the U.S. that has had the support of one of our full members, and there is significant private investment in the league" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 10/5).