...host the T20 matches of the Cricket All-Stars Series 2015
Queens, New York
Date: Saturday, November 7, 1300hrs
Population: 8.5 million, largest city in the USA, with a metro area population of more than 20 million
Venue: Citi Field, home of the New York Mets (45,000-seat capacity)
Surrounding area: Queens enclaves of Richmond Hill, Jamaica,
Ozone Park, Forest Hills, Jackson Heights and Long Island City are home
to some of the area's biggest south Asian and West Indian immigrant
populations, especially along the famed Liberty Avenue.
Local cricket scene: New York City has the largest concentration
of amateur cricketers anywhere in the USA. America's largest league, the
Commonwealth Cricket League, features over 70 hardball teams and plays
most of its cricket in Queens, Bronx and Brooklyn. The NY Metropolitan
& District Cricket Association is not far behind either. NYC also
has several other hardball leagues including the Eastern American
Cricket Association and NY Bangladesh League that cater to the strong
expatriate population in the area. Despite the abundance of teams, there
are zero turf wickets in the city.
History: The first international cricket match between USA and
Canada in 1844 was played in New York. British and Australian touring
teams have ventured through Staten Island's Walker Park. WG Grace and
Don Bradman both played there and the park is still used for cricket
today. All-Star teams played regularly at Shea Stadium,
the forerunner to Citi Field, in the 1980s while Pakistan and Australia
XIs featuring Wasim Akram and Dean Jones played at Randalls Island in
the 1990s. Most recently a West Indian XI featuring Brian Lara,
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle took on a USA Select XI at Floyd
Bennett Field in 2006.
Likely weather: Cool at best, but more than likely cold. Average
high at that time of year is 56F (13C) with the average low hovering at
43F (6C).
US sports competition: All the local pro sports teams are either
out of town - NBA's Brooklyn Nets play at Milwaukee Bucks and NHL's New
York Rangers are at Arizona Coyotes - but in the broader picture there
is heavy competition from NCAA College Football. The major sports TV
match-up that day features SEC powers LSU v Alabama while there are also
a pair of showdowns with potential national title implications on the
line involving current undefeated teams Florida State v Clemson and TCU v
Oklahoma State.
Houston, Texas
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 1400hrs
Population: 2.2 million, fourth largest city in the USA, with a metro area population of more than 6 million
Venue: Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros (41,574-seat capacity)
Surrounding area: Not nearly as densely populated as New York
City, Houston is a sprawling city. In terms of demographics, an increase
in the south Asian immigrant population in recent years has been
fuelled by growth in the energy industry.
Cricket scene: The Houston Cricket League has blossomed in the
last decade, growing to 28 teams in three divisions. Local entrepreneur
Sakhi Muhammad has spent the last two years constructing Texas' first
fully dedicated turf wicket complex on private property in the south
Houston suburb of Pearland. Two turf pitches are complete and land on
adjacent property has been secured to begin work on a third.
History: An attempt to stage a World XI v Asian XI at the Houston
Astrodome featuring a slew of Pakistani players including Shahid Afridi
and Inzamam-ul-Haq was aborted in 2005.
Likely weather: Houston's averages at that time of year are an
average high of 73F (23C) and a low of 54F (12C). Minute Maid Park is
the only one of the three venues being used that has a retractable roof
so even if weather is not great outside, the match should not have any
issues being played.
US sports competition: Houston Rockets host the Brooklyn Nets and
not too far away the Dallas Mavericks host the Los Angeles Clippers,
though both games are in the evening with 7pm starts. The cricket match
start time of 2pm on a weekday will make it challenging for fans to come
out without taking a day off work, a hard sell for a casual fan.
Los Angeles, California
Date: Saturday, November 14, 1830hrs
Population: 3.9 million, second-largest city in the USA, with a metro area population of more than 13 million
Venue: Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers (56,000-seat capacity)
Surrounding area: Just a few blocks from Chinatown on the north
side of the city center. Sixteen miles west is the famous Santa Monica
pier at the end of Route 66. Much of the city's cricket folk are based
to the northwest in the San Fernando Valley where the Woodley Cricket
Complex is located in Van Nuys.
Cricket scene: Woodley is home to the Southern California Cricket
Association, with 45 teams competing on a weekly basis. It is the
largest turf wicket complex in America, with four pitches located side
by side. A few other smaller leagues exist in the area.
History: Hollywood Cricket Club, founded by former England Test
captain Aubrey Smith in 1935, is one of the oldest clubs in America and
one of the original clubs in the SCCA. Prior to Woodley, the league's
main complex was at Griffith Park, right underneath the classic
"HOLLYWOOD" sign, before the land was designated for the equestrian
competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Woodley was provided as a replacement to become the new home of the SCCA
and has been there ever since. Woodley hosted a five-match series of
50-over matches between Australia A, captained by Adam Gilchrist, and
India A, captained by VVS Laxman, in 1999 but the fan attendance was
minimal.
Likely weather: Average high is 73F (23C) and average low is 52F
(11C). Chances of rain are unlikely as well. Best conditions for cricket
of the three venues.
US sports competition: The heaviest of the three cities on the
day. NBA's Los Angeles Clippers play at home against the Detroit Pistons
to start the day while at 7pm the NHL's Kings take on the Edmonton
Oilers, both at the Staples Center. However, the biggest clash may come
from the UCLA Bruins football team, who play at the 100,000 seat Rose
Bowl and is currently in the thick of the Pac-12 Championship race.
They'll be playing Washington State that day. On a national scale, a
6.30pm local start time might also knockout any potential TV interest
from the US east coast, where the game wouldn't get underway until 9.30
pm.
