Major League Cricket is the sport's first attempt at setting up a domestic competition in the United States of America, and some big names have been drafted in to help play a starring role in the latest T20 tournament.
While on the outside looking in for Blackcaps selection in recent times, Martin Guptill is set to feature in MLC's sold-out opener between his LA Knight Riders and the Texas Super Kings.
Guptill admits that while being a bit skeptical about the commotion around the tournament and what the attendance levels might be like beyond Friday, he’s still excited to take to the field with and against familiar faces from New Zealand, South Africa, England and more.
“From the cricket fraternity there’s been a lot of excitement about it, but I think that the general public still have no idea about what cricket is or how it goes. We’ve been talking to people at our hotel here on holiday, and they have no idea what crickets all about,” he told Ian Smith on SENZ Mornings.
“I haven’t caught up with them (Blackcaps) yet, although I did see Devon (Conway) at the airport on the way over here a few days ago, and Flem (Stephen Fleming) coaching and Mitchell Santner (playing) as well, so I’m looking forward to catching up with them tomorrow at the ground."
Regardless of his skepticism, Guptill states that he’s still looking forward to the atmosphere that attendees at T20 cricket matches can bring.
“They have said that the first game is sold-out tomorrow night, and while it’s only a 7,000-capacity stadium, I’m sure it’s going to be pretty decent as there are a lot of Indian and Pakistani expats here, and they’ll make a lot of noise as they usually do which should make for a good atmosphere.”
Situated thirty minutes west of Dallas and once a minor league baseball stadium, Grand Prairie Stadium has been converted into a purpose-built cricket arena with a 30-camera setup promising a world class production for TV audiences. It will play host to twelve matches, with a further seven to be played at Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.
While the competition does feature big international names such as Kieron Pollard, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, and David Miller, who will all be collecting a handsome paycheck, Guptill maintained that the tournament’s main goal was to grow the sport of cricket in America and give young talent an opportunity to feature on a big stage.
“This league is all about introducing it (cricket) and trying to have a bit of a U.S. spin on it, so being involved in the first game tomorrow night is going to be a lot of fun. It’s only two weeks max, but since it’s the first year they’re just trying to get it in here and get all the teething issues out the way, so that hopefully next year it can be a round-robin tournament."
The USA and West Indies will co-host the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup next year.
The full contingent of Kiwi cricketers in the tournament includes Guptill and Lockie Ferguson (LA Knight Riders), Trent Boult (MI New York), Corey Anderson and Finn Allen (San Francisco Unicorns), Conway and Santner (Texas Super Kings), plus Glenn Phillips and Adam Milne (Washington Freedom).
NZ cricket greats Stephen Fleming and Ross Taylor will also take part as coaches for the Texas Super Kings and Seattle Orcas respectively.
MLC starts Friday with the LA Knight Riders taking on the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, with the first ball set to be bowled at 12:30pm New Zealand time.
Matches will be broadcasted in New Zealand via Sky Sport, and Fox Sports in Australia.
Listen to the full interview below:
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