Lockerbie optimistic New Zealand, Sri Lanka will tour US
NEW YORK CITY, USA (CMC) — Don Lockerbie is smiling a little wider at the prospect of the first series of matches between two top nations being played in the United States.
Lockerbie, the former venue development director for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, is now the new chief executive officer of the USA Cricket.
He emerged from meetings on Friday with the International Cricket Council, the sport’s World governing body, with a tentative agreement for New Zealand and Sri Lanka to contest a series of three One-day Internationals at Lauderhill Park, the only international cricket ground in the country, in Florida in late May, following the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
“We are experiencing increasing demand for ‘Destination USA’ cricket events from many full-member ICC countries, and the Sri Lanka vs New Zealand series will bring — as forecasted –world-class cricket in the United States,” said Lockerbie.
“The USA national team will also participate in warm-up matches for the full members.”
New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughan confirmed that negotiations between the three parties were advancing to making the three-match series a reality.
“Over the past months, we have advanced discussions with USA Cricket regarding the structure of our relationship, and both parties are very happy with how this is taking shape,” said Vaughan.
“We are looking to help introduce cricket to a wider audience, and to attract new investment into the sport.”
Lockerbie hopes that the New Zealand-Sri Lanka series will only be the first of many international series in the United States.
Already, Pakistan have indicated that they are planning to tour this year, with the USACA having offered to host a series between them and India.