BY KAYLA KARIM
Johnny Grave, the Cricket West Indies chief executive wants cricket to grow in North America.
“Hopefully West Indies and USA can have a really good positive partnership to support each other and to build cricket in this time zone in the Americas and grow the game because that’s what we need,” Grave told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview.
“What USA Cricket needs is certainty, that we are coming. Then we can focus on how this becomes a real celebration of cricket, how we can promote the sport, get grassroots programs in and around it, how we can play USA or the opposition can play USA as warm-ups is definitely something that we are very open to. We’ve all said that we want to grow the game. Well, the North American market is somewhere we have to grow cricket if we want to become a truly global sport.”
Over the next few years, Cricket West Indies is open to expanding fixture arrangements with a focus on West Indies T20I matches played in Florida over the next few years. Before West Indies heads to India for their series in August 2020, a tentative agreement is in place for USA and West Indies to play a T20 warm up match. However, some sources say that USA pulled out so that they could have a three-week squad training camp in Los Angeles.
Grave said that practice matches between touring teams and the USA could definitely be a starting point for things to move forward.
“I think we’re open-minded. There’s always an opportunity to play behind closed doors, not open it up to the public, to not have full status. But we’d be really open to saying, ‘Well no, the international status is there. Let’s play a fully-fledged international.
“There’s so much cost in bringing in all the TV production kits. In terms of set-up costs that actually to add on another game when everything is already set up isn’t insurmountable, in which case that’s something we’d definitely want to discuss with USA Cricket.”
In August 2020, West Indies will play two T20Is against South Africa; Grave said that he expects the ticket prices to be much more affordable.
“We saw it in the World Cup that the Indian fans and subcontinent fans are the most passionate fans in the world and are desperate to see their stars when they come over on their doorstep,” Grave said. “The tickets get snapped up so quickly online and it’s difficult to hold them back necessarily for other fans. South Africa will definitely be a more affordable price point. Hopefully even Americans who have heard about these games will come and watch the cricket and see what it’s all about.”
