Lara for Twenty20 pro cricket in New York?
The “Gentleman’s Game” for New York!
And speculation is that attempts will be made to lure world record holder Brian Lara, who turns 40 on Saturday, out of retirement to take part in the American Premier League (APL), a Twenty20 competition planned for the Big Apple in October.
Lara could not be contacted to comment on the reports.
He has not played competitively since his arm was broken in a regional game last year but the appeal of big money could tempt him to buckle on his pads.
New Zealand bowling legend Sir Richard Hadlee, 57, is the point man and reports indicate that former Pakistan captain and batting great Inzaman Ul Haq have already agreed to be part of this new league.
According to Cricinfo.com, Jay Mir, 32, a Pakistani businessman who is president and chief executive officer of Sports and Entertainment Group Inc, is the man behind this planned cricketing extravaganza .
The proposed competition will be played on a converted baseball field on Staten Island, New York City, and will involve some six teams.
So far, six Pakistani cricketers, including Mohammed Asif, Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat have been contracted.
Hadlee said that the APL was a different league in that “it brings a different format of the game to the USA, namely Twenty 20 with top class players from around the world participating.
“This should be the best possible way to sell cricket to America’s sport loving people.”
He said that he was aware that the APL was keen to involve the United States of America Cricket Association in their plans.
Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson has been in negotiations with Mir.
“I’d be happy to get involved in cricket in the United States because it is a big market”, Richardson said.
He said that a lot of former West Indies players share his views.
There is one hitch in that the matches are not sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.