A new franchise cricket league to be launched in the U.S. next summer has "led to fears that English counties will miss out on signing leading overseas players," according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. The England and Wales Cricket Board is "monitoring the progress of the American league," and counties have already reported that overseas players are "holding off committing themselves to county contracts in case they get a more-lucrative offer" from the U.S. The American Twenty20 league will be at least the fourth launched in two years. The recent boom in leagues has prompted the Int'l Cricket Council to "form a working party to examine how the leagues impact on world cricket." Cricket Holdings America hopes to build an Indian Premier League-style Twenty20 tournament in North America. This week, CHA contracted three int'l public relations firms to help with a launch scheduled for next summer, with a tournament in N.Y. before the league kicks off in '14. CHA CEO Neil Maxwell said, “It will need local players, and that will grow in time, but we see New Zealand players and first-class players from around the world in each team. We have asked for an expression of interest and they have been quite strong. Around 200 players, or their representatives of those players, have been extremely supportive of it” (TELEGRAPH, 10/17).
