 Will US cricket fans get a chance to see Sachin Tendulkar? |
The head of American cricket hopes the prospect of one-day games being played there by India will help speed up the game's development in his country. India have sold TV rights for a series of games in neutral countries over the next five years for �125m.
And they see the USA as one of their key markets because of its large expatriate population.
"We do have a very hungry fan base for that level of cricket," said US Cricket Association chief Gladstone Dainty.
"It will certainly help our effort to expose kids who are new to cricket to a high level of play and we also hope the intensity of that type of atmosphere is something that will rub off on people."
US cricket has been through a difficult period following the national team's involvement in the 2003 Champions Trophy in England.
Last year, the International Cricket Council called a halt to its own Project USA because they were not satisfied with the way the game was being run.
"We have never seen a sporting organisation that combines such great potential and such poor administration as USACA," a leaked letter said.
And the USA were later banned from taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup because two factions vying for control could not agree on a team to represent them in the competition.
The situation has improved, however, and last month the ICC agreed to reinstate formal recognition of the USACA, subject to it holding independently-monitored elections of its officials before the end of November.
 The 2003 Champions Trophy showed the US has a long way to go |
The ICC has reservations about India's proposals to arrange high profile matches outside its own Future Tours programme.
But that will not stop the USACA from doing everything possible to encourage India to bring international cricket to their shores.
"The New York area is a (cricket) hot-spot, the south Florida area, a couple of places in Texas and the Chicago area," Dainty told BBC World Service.
He believes Pakistan, West Indies, Australia and England would all draw crowds for games against India.
"Cricket is at a transitional stage in the United States.
"Recreational cricket has done very well and what we have to do now is have cricket being played at a more competitive level.
"In terms of our structure to cultivate players to be competitive worldwide, that's a work in progress," said Dainty.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
