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Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton has defended Roy Hodgson’s decision to select Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley for tonight’s international friendly with Denmark at Wembley.

Hodgson has come under fire from bemused England fans who feel he is only selecting the midfielder on the basis that he plays for United and not because his performances deserve a call up.

But Shilton believes Cleverley has done enough to be called up by Hodgson and that he must stay loyal to his previous selections.

He exclusively told Football FanCast: “You’ve got to show a bit of loyalty as a manager, and Hodgson has already played Cleverley in the past.

“Obviously United are struggling at the moment but, I think it’s ridiculous what I’ve read in the papers about what fans have been doing.

“At the end of the day, he deserves to be there. He has played for England and, yeah he’s not in the United side at the moment, but things can change.”

But Shilton also admitted that the young players who have been called up by Hodgson, such as Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana, could prove an interesting addition to Hodgson’s World Cup squad.

“I think Roy Hodgson thinks a lot of Lallana because he can play on that wide position on the left and come inside as well, which has been a bit of a problem position for England recently, in terms of balance,” he added.

“Luke Shaw is lacking in experience having not been in the England team before, and it’s going to be a big ask for him, but he has played with Lallana and that’s an advantage.

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“Hodgson has hinted that a big name could be left out and, as Ashley Cole isn’t playing regularly for Chelsea at the moment, and obviously Baines will go,  Ashley could make way for Shaw.”

With 125 appearances, Peter Shilton is England’s most capped football player. Celebrating the launch of the Wasgij Original 21 Football Fever jigsaw puzzle, Jumbo Games is running a promotion offering the chance to watch England take on Uruguay alongside Shilton on 19 June 2014.

Brendan Rodgers has hit back at criticism of £15 million signing Joe Allen this week after the Welsh Player of the Year was scrutinised by “so-called pundit” Alan Shearer on Match of the Day.

Rodgers brought the 22-year-old with him from Swansea this summer, and has become part of the new regime at Anfield. His career for the Reds has started well, being voted player of the month for August by Liverpool fans. However, Alan Shearer criticised the midfielder for not doing enough on the ball in attack.

The Liverpool boss believes Shearer’s analysis is wrong, and that keeping the ball is integral to the Welshman’s role in the team.

“I saw something the other day criticising Joe Allen for not playing risk passes. Unbelievable – so-called pundits who don’t know the dynamics of a team and how it functions,” Rodgers said.

“Joe’s role is to keep the ball. And that, in Britain, is a special talent. It is why Paul Scholes is still playing to his age.”

Rodgers believes the return of injured holding midfielder Lucas Leiva next month will give Allen more licence going forward.

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“When Lucas is back, you’ll see more aspects of Joe’s game. Lucas could hold, with Joe playing in an advanced role. Lucas is more defensive, and that will help Joe,” he added.

“I’m quite confident in my team, I know what they are capable of”

S Sudarshanan24-Sep-20242:11

Harmanpreet: ‘Have same excitement for World Cup as I had as 19-year-old’

Harmanpreet Kaur is “quite confident” with the India squad at her disposal for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 because of the experience they bring. As many as 12 of India’s 15 squad members have prior experience of playing the tournament. Only Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and S Sajana are making their first appearances at a World Cup, having come through eye-catching performances in the Women’s Premier League.”If I talk about this team, we have a few players who have been playing for a long time and they know their roles really well,” Harmanpreet said at the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai. “I can say that this is the best team we are going for a T20 World Cup with.”Pooja [Vastrakar] is doing well and Renuka [Singh] is supporting her really well. She [Renuka] is someone who is always giving us breakthroughs. Arundhati [Reddy] is someone who can always come and bowl a few overs for the team and bat in the deep. I can’t compare our bowling line-up with other teams because every team has its own positives and negatives, but I’m quite confident in my team. I know what they are doing and what they are capable of.”Related

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• Women's T20 World Cup winners to get big increase in prize money

• Harmanpreet wants regular sports psychologist to address 'mental fatigue'

India played T20Is against Australia, England, South Africa and Bangladesh, apart from the Asia Cup, in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. While they lost the series against England and Australia, each by a 2-1 margin, they won 5-0 in Bangladesh and tied the series against South Africa 1-1 after one game was washed out. The surprise result, though, came at the Asia Cup, where Sri Lanka beat them in the final to win their maiden title.”During the Asia Cup, we played really good cricket, if I talk about the entire tournament,” Harmanpreet said. “It was just one odd game that day when things didn’t go according to the way we wanted. We sat and discussed how we wanted to work on our shortcomings in the camps and where we can improve if next time these kinds of situations arise.”The Asia Cup, in July, was India’s last outing before the World Cup. Since then, they had a couple of camps while a few players played in the Hundred and the Women’s Caribbean Premier League. Head coach Amol Muzumdar said that the camps were designed with a focus on specifics and that the lack of game-time should not hamper India at the World Cup.”We had a fitness camp which happened at the NCA and fitness and fielding camp,” Muzumdar said. “That was specifically done for those two areas and the skills [aspect] were not touched. The entire 15 days were delegated to fitness and fielding.”Later on, we had a ten-day skills camp, where there were not just the net sessions but the players played almost five games in ten days. So if you ask for game time, we have ticked that box. We played some very competitive games. There were different oppositions, there were different skill sets that were chosen for those particular games.”In 2020, India lost to Australia in the final•AFP via Getty Images

India finished runners-up at the T20 World Cup in 2020 and lost in the semi-finals in 2018 and 2023. They also narrowly lost the gold medal to Australia at the inaugural Commonwealth Games in 2022.In a bid to deal with pressure better, the players have had sessions with sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare. In the past, Harmanpreet has spoken about how Bavare helped her overcome mental fatigue, and the sessions in the camp last month have helped the players, she said.”When you talk [to a psychologist] personally, you know what you are talking and the areas you want to focus on,” she said. “But when it comes to the team, it is important that everyone opens up so that as a team we can work together and help the player as needed. We had a few sessions where we talked to each other about how we wre feeling and how we wanted to go about it. With Mugdha’s help, there were a lot of sessions after which we felt well and then after executing it on the ground, we felt better. She is really working hard on us, and so far, it is really helping us.”

‘We will reveal our No. 3 closer to opening game’ – Muzumdar

Muzumdar was also guarded on the No. 3 spot, which has been in focus in recent times. Since Jemimah Rodrigues’ shift down to No. 5 in April, India have tried Yastika Bhatia, D Hemalatha, S Sajana and Uma Chetry at that spot. Hemalatha got the longest run, batting at No. 3 in seven of the 12 games India played since April. With Bhatia’s return, though, things are a bit unclear.”Ever since I’ve taken over, we have had some tough series against good teams – England, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and then Asia Cup. So, I think the preparation has been fantastic,” Muzumdar said. “As far as the top six is concerned, I think they’re the best in the country.”I know for a fact that in T20, the No. 3 sets the game up. We have identified [our No. 3] but we will reveal that only closer to our opening game.”The World Cup was moved to the UAE after the anti-government protests in Bangladesh. Muzumdar said while the change in the venue did put a spanner in the works, India were well-equipped for the challenges.Harmanpreet and Amol Muzumdar speak to the media before departing to the UAE for the T20 World Cup•PTI

“We had specifically gone to Bangladesh in May and played five T20Is to get used to conditions. I think conditions [in UAE] would be like what we have over here in India,” said Muzumdar, who was the batting coach of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020, which was held in the UAE around the same period. “It is just that start of the season, I think there will be a little bit of bounce on the surfaces in Dubai especially.”Humidity will play a part over there. There will be a lot of heat over there, hot and humid. But I think we’ll have to go there and just assess the situation, assess the ground conditions first. We do have three games in Dubai and then one in Sharjah. We will have to really go there, feel the pitch, and then decide how and which bowlers and what combination we need to play.”For Harmanpreet, it will be her ninth T20 World Cup, having played in every edition since the inaugural one in 2009. She said she would tap into that experience to handle the pressure.”I’ve played so many World Cups and that experience and atmosphere is totally different to any bilateral series or any other tournament,” she said. “I’m going with the same excitement as I had when I was just a 19-year-old. I just want to go there and enjoy myself. I know now I have so much experience with me.”I know what the pressure is like and how I’m going to handle it. [It is about playing] with full freedom and just not thinking about what is the result. But if I go there and play freely and enjoy my cricket, I know I can change a lot of things.”

Essex academy product moving to The Oval to “continue development as a cricketer”

Matt Roller15-Jun-2023Dan Lawrence will leave his home club Essex at the end of the season after agreeing a shock move to Surrey on a three-year contract.Lawrence, the spare batter in England’s Ashes squad, grew up in Chingford and has played for Essex’s first team since the age of 17, having previously represented the county’s age-group teams.Essex said in a statement that they had offered him a “very strong three-year contract” earlier this summer, but he declined a renewal and has agreed terms with Surrey. He will remain available for Essex for the rest of the season, around his England commitments.Related

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• Foakes, Sibley lead Surrey's 501 run chase to beat Kent

Lawrence said that he was leaving the club “with a heavy heart” and that it had been “an incredibly difficult decision” but believes that moving to Surrey, the defending county champions, would help him achieve his ambitions to become an England regular across formats.”It is with a heavy heart that I will be leaving Essex CCC at the end of this season,” he said. “Essex is the county who taught me how to play the game, developed me as a person and allowed me to play the sport I love professionally.”At this stage of my career, I believe a move to The Oval offers a new challenge and would hugely benefit my own ambitions. Whilst an incredibly difficult decision, it is one that I am taking to continue my development as a cricketer.”Lawrence’s Essex contract expires at the end of the summer and Surrey have moved quickly to secure his services. Counties are only allowed to approach out-of-contract players from June 1, and Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said he was “exceptionally keen” to sign him when the opportunity arose.”I first saw Dan play as a 17-year-old when he scored 161 against us in just his second first-class game, and it was obvious he had the potential to become a very special player,” Stewart said.”After just a couple of conversations it was apparent he wants to fulfil his ambitions of being the very best player he can be and become an England regular in all formats. He felt making this tough cricket decision and moving to The Kia Oval would help and we will do all we can to support his aims.”Anthony McGrath, Essex’s head coach, said that Lawrence would still be considered for selection for the rest of the season, despite the club’s disappointment about his departure. “Dan has expressed his desire to move to Surrey which we accept after turning down our contract offer,” he said.”He has been an important part of our achievements in recent years, and we are all proud of his progression to the international stage, which includes the opportunity to play in the Ashes this summer. He is an exemplar of the success that Essex’s academy has had in producing homegrown cricketers who go on to represent their club and country.”Dan still has a role to play in the remainder of the season as we strive for silverware across all formats. He is dedicated to working towards our aims this season as a club and will still be available for selection around his other commitments.”His move will add further international quality to Surrey’s Championship batting line-up, which already contains a number of recent England caps in Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes, as well as England Lions’ Jamie Smith.

“Over the last year or so my ability to [bat against] spin has increased, and I can bat [against] pace already”

Vishal Dikshit05-May-20222:15

Did Delhi Capitals find the perfect time to send Rovman Powell in?

Given the kind of IPL season Rovman Powell was having, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant went to his room after their previous game and asked him where he wanted to bat. Powell, who had scored just 135 runs in eight innings at 19.28, told his captain: “Just trust me and let me bat at No. 5.”Powell had started this IPL at No. 6, then batted twice at No. 5 in the middle, before being pushed down to No. 6 again, and was even held back to No. 8 against Rajasthan Royals, in a game in which they were chasing 223 and fell short. Bowling allrounders like Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur were sent in ahead of him, which hurt Powell.Related

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Sitting in his hotel room, Powell tried to convince his captain that he had the game to hit the spinners too and wanted to be back at No. 5.”Over the last year or so my ability to [bat against] spin has increased, I’m batting [against] spin a lot better and I can bat [against] pace already,” Powell told host broadcaster Star Sports after his unbeaten 67 off 35 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Capitals’ 21-run win. “I just told him [Pant] to trust me at No. 5, give me a chance to start, to bat the first 15-20 balls, that’s how I want to bat, and then [after] 20 balls I’ll try to maximise.”I came to the IPL knowing that I’m in good form, knowing that I’ve done a lot of work,” Powell said later at the post-match press conference. “At the start of the IPL, it was a little bit tough for me. I just keep believing in myself. I had a conversation with Rishabh, explaining to him that I was a little bit disappointed to bat at No. 8 in that game. But it is the nature of the game, whatever the situation you have been placed in, you have to do your best. Rishabh and the coach [Ricky Ponting], they came up with a conclusion and plan and let me bat a little bit earlier now.””I don’t mind having one or two conversations here and there,” Pant told Star Sports of his chat with Powell. “In the start, he was not getting enough runs but we knew what he can give us, so we backed him and now he’s coming out with flying colours.”On Thursday, when Capitals lost their third wicket on 85 in the ninth over, Powell walked out to give a well-set David Warner company. The platform had been laid and the stage was set for Powell. Following his ideal blueprint, he ambled along to 21 off 19 balls, even getting a life in between when Kane Williamson dropped him at mid-off on 18, and then took off. Powell had only hit one boundary until then – a six – but in the next 16 balls, he smashed three fours and five sixes.He pulled a Bhuvneshwar Kumar bouncer behind square, took back-to-back sixes off Sean Abbott down the ground, smoked a Kartik Tyagi length ball over long-on and then tore into Umran Malik in a final over that went for 19 runs, courtesy a six and three consecutive fours.Rovman Powell smoked 67* off 35 balls•PTI

“I was trying my best [to hit sixes] but I kind of got winded in the end, so that’s how it goes,” Powell said of how he had to resort to fours instead of sixes in the last over.Shane Watson, one of Capitals’ assistant coaches, told Star Sports at the end of the game that he believed it was all coming together perfectly for Powell.”I haven’t really seen him bat a lot in the last couple of years, but once I saw him in the nets for the first couple of training sessions I had with him, he hit the ball a long way,” Watson said. “And without having to really overhit the ball, the ball still travels. That’s the beauty of seeing him come together over the last three games in particular.”It took him just one innings, against KKR, to really find his groove and get his rhythm, his mindset and technique from ball one. From then on, he has been absolutely outstanding. He’s a world-class batsman in all types of conditions against quality fast bowling and some very fast bowling we saw tonight from Umran Malik.”

He played one Test as an opener on the tour of England in 1962

Umar Farooq14-Dec-2020Shahid Mahmood, the first Pakistan player to have taken all ten wickets in a first-class innings, has died in New Jersey on Sunday. Mahmood was 81, and had achieved the feat of taking all ten wickets in 1969 during a career that spanned from 1956 to 1970. He toured England with Pakistan in 1962, playing one Test as an opener, which remained his only international game.A left-hand opening batsman and medium-pace bowler, Mahmood was born in Lucknow in India in 1939, but moved to Pakistan after partition in 1947. He played most of his domestic cricket from the Karachi region. He earned a national call-up after averaging 44.21 in the domestic 1961-62 season, scoring 619 runs. On the tour of England, he played a total of 13 games, with 12 first-class fixtures in addition to his sole Test. He scored 369 runs across those games from 25 innings at an average of 16.04.He went on to play domestic cricket till 1970, making 3,117 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 31.80 with five hundreds and 15 fifties.ALSO READ: Full list 10-wickets in an innings hauls in first-class matchesHis ten-wicket haul in an innings came for Karachi Whites against Khairpur at the National Stadium, where he led his team to an innings-and-56-run win. He took 10 for 58 in 25 overs as Khairpur were bowled out for 146. No other bowler in the Karachi Whites side bowled more than nine overs. His feat remained unparalleled for 20 years until Imran Adil, a medium-pacer from Bahawalpur, took 10 for 92 against Faisalabad in 1989. Later on, Naeem Akhtar took 10 for 28 for Rawalpindi Blues against Peshawar in 1995, and then Zulfiqar Babar took 10 for 143 for Multan against Islamabad in 2009.Mahmood made 163 runs at 54.33 in his final season in 1969-70, and then moved out of Pakistan to settle in USA.

Australia seamer helps run through Warwickshire before Essex build on first-innings lead of 84

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2019Peter Siddle took his second five-wicket haul this season to help Essex put Somerset under serious pressure at the top of the Specsavers County Championship. The paceman recorded figures of 5 for 33 as Essex looked to reduce the 15-point deficit to the Championship leaders and take advantage of Somerset’s travails at the hands of Yorkshire at Headingley.Siddle took his season’s tally to 32 wickets in the Championship at a cost of 19.87 each. On a personal note, his latest exploits were a timely reminder to the Australian selectors as they prepare to name their squad ahead of what would be Siddle’s sixth Ashes series.In removing four of the last five batsmen, Siddle helped Essex dismiss Warwickshire for 161 and gain a first-innings lead of 84. It was the sixth time in six Championship matches at Chelmsford this season that Essex had outscored their visitors; they won all five of those previous games.Siddle was recalled to the attack in an act of desperation by Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate after Tim Ambrose and Michael Burgess had compiled a big-hitting sixth-wicket stand of 64 in 19 overs that lifted Warwickshire from the depths of 62 for 5. The effect was immediate: Ambrose was out to the third ball of Siddle’s new spell, Burgess to the sixth.Henry Brookes and Olly Stone followed in quick succession before Aaron Beard wrapped up the innings by bowling Jeetan Patel.That left Essex with 29 overs in the evening to build on their lead, which had grown to 157 at the close with nine wickets still standing.After Nick Browne and Alastair Cook had recorded their fifth half-century opening stand of the season, Will Rhodes repeated his wicket-taking form of the first innings when he struck with his second legitimate ball of the second. Browne was adjudged lbw after hitting eight fours in a 71-ball 38.Essex sent in Matt Quinn as nightwatchman for the final three overs to accompany Cook through to the close. Cook had looked assured in reaching 34.Siddle had set Warwickshire on the slippery slope when he had Rhodes lbw to a straight one in his third over. Liam Banks followed in the next when he was bowled around his legs by Quinn.Adam Hose continued a sequence of low scores since his 111 against Nottinghamshire at the start of June. He faced 25 balls without scoring before falling to Beard’s second delivery, well held at first slip by Cook moving to his right.Debutant Dan Mousley, 18 just a week ago, gave himself room against Simon Harmer and was beaten by the extra bounce as he edged to Adam Wheater for 3. Rob Yates put on 29 for the fifth wicket with Ambrose during which Warwickshire’s first fifty was posted in the 28th over. But Yates had added just one run to his lunch-time 31 when he swept early at another Harmer delivery and was lbw.Ambrose decided the best means of defence against Harmer was to attack. When he late-cut Harmer for his sixth four, it brought up the fifty partnership in 16 overs. The run spree didn’t stop there: Burgess caned Quinn for three fours in an over. It was too much for ten Doeschate and Siddle was thrown the ball.Ambrose, having scored 38 from 93 balls, was unable to withdraw his bat in time and snicked to Tom Westley at third slip. Burgess had reached 35 from 55 balls when he picked out Westley at mid-off. Ten Doeschate caught Brookes at short leg and Wheater held on when Stone feathered behind and Siddle had four wickets in 23 balls for four runs.

Stokes’ hamstring injury picked up before the Test at Headingley means he will miss the Scotland ODI and at least the start of the Australia series

George Dobell03-Jun-2018Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the ODI against Scotland and the “first part” of the ODI series against Australia due to his hamstring tear.Stokes, who sustained the injury during fielding practice ahead of the second Test at Headingley, will be assessed again later this week before it is decided how many games in the five-match ODI series against Australia he will miss.Dawid Malan, who is yet to play an ODI, has been added to the England squad for the ODI in Edinburgh on June 10, while Sam Billings, who was already in the squad for the Scotland game in place of the rested Jos Buttler, has been added to the squad for the Australia series. That series begins at The Oval on June 13.Stokes was somewhat controversially rested for the T20I against West Indies in Durham – his home ground – at the end of 2017, but there is a chance he will be fit to return to the England side for the fourth ODI against Australia at the same ground on June 21.

Liam Norwell led a determined Gloucestershire bowling display in Canterbury where Kent were dismissed for 298 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship season

ECB Reporters Network07-Apr-2017
ScorecardCraig Miles got among the wickets when he removed Joe Weatherley•PA Photos

Liam Norwell led a determined Gloucestershire bowling display in Canterbury where Kent were dismissed for 298 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship season.The 25-year-old paceman bagged 3 for 46, while Chris Liddle, Craig Miles and Graeme van Buuren snaffled two apiece as Kent succumbed inside 89 overs on a green-tinted pitch that offered the visiting seamers some assistance throughout the day.Batting first after an uncontested toss, Kent had 25 on the board within half an hour before Daniel Bell-Drummond became their first casualty of the Division Two campaign. Prodding forward to a fine Norwell leg-cutter, the England Lions opener was caught low down at third slip by George Hankins to go for 11.At the other end, Joe Weatherley, who has joined Kent on a long-term loan from Hampshire, looked assured and confident on his club debut. Getting off the mark with a rasping square cut, the wiry right-hander then straight drove left-armer David Payne for another eye-catching boundary.Gloucestershire made a double bowling change before noon – introducing Liddle and Miles – but Kent trundled to 50 in the 18th over of the day and, by the 26th over, Weatherley and Joe Denly had posted their half-century stand.Weatherley’s stay ended soon after for 36 and to the second delivery of a new spell by Miles. In looking to shoulder arms to a good length leg-cutter, Weatherley inadvertently allowed the ball to brush the face of his bat to offer keeper Phil Mustard the simplest of chances.Gloucestershire’s bowlers strengthened their hand in mid-session, taking four more wickets for 129 runs as Kent’s batsmen failed to cash in on decent starts.Denly continued Kent’s profligate trend. Driving imperiously, he cantered to a 96-ball fifty with nine fours but, with 62 to his name he chased a wide one from Norwell to edge to slip and bring an end to a bright third-wicket stand with Sam Northeast that added 58 inside 13 overs.Without addition to the total, Northeast (22) pushed at one from Liddle that nibbled away off the seam and feathered the outside edge to present Chris Dent with a sharp chance at second slip that made it 134 for 4.Will Gidman raised Kent’s 150 with a square drive that rattled the boundary boards but, with his score on 10, the left-hander pushed firm-handed at another beauty to edge to slip and give Norwell a deserved third wicket.Darren Stevens lifted the run rate with a straight six off Jack Taylor that bisected the Cowdrey and Woolley stands as he posted a 51-ball fifty with seven fours to go with his maximum. But, in attempting to clip his next ball through midwicket, Stevens miscued to square leg to be caught by Cameron Bancroft off the bowling of Van Buuren and leave the hosts six wickets down.Soon after the resumption Adam Rouse (13) fenced at a lifting away-swinger from Miles to edge to Mustard, then, after a couple of lusty blows, Matt Coles (11) holed out to deep midwicket to gift Van Buuren a second scalp.James Tredwell and James Harris, the Middlesex seamer and Kent’s second debutant loanee of the day, took the home score beyond 250 until the second new ball accounted for Tredwell (26) who was caught behind off a full-length away-swinger from Payne.Harris and last man Mitch Claydon continued to go for their shots but Claydon spooned to mid-wicket to give Liddle a second wicket and leave Harris unbeaten on 33.In the five overs through to stumps, Gloucestershire’s Bancroft played inside a Stevens away-swinger to lose off stump as the visitors reached 9 for 1 to trail by 289 going into the second day.

Caribbean Premier League officials have announced that the league will stage six games in the United States in the 2016 season after receiving approval from the ICC

Peter Della Penna11-Feb-2016Caribbean Premier League officials have announced that the league will stage six games in the United States in the 2016 season after receiving approval from the ICC. Though no cities or venues were mentioned by the CPL, multiple sources have told ESPNcricinfo that the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida will be hosting some if not all of the games.A stadium official at the Central Broward Regional Park confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that the facility had been blocked off for use by the CPL from July 17-31. The CPL matches will be the first revenue-generating cricket matches at the $70 million facility since West Indies played host to two Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand in June 2012.”This project has been in discussion for many months and we are grateful to the ICC for supporting this move which enables us to step up our planning and open up opportunities for the cricket-hungry American public,” CPL chief executive Damien O’Donohoe said. O’Donohoe first told ESPNcricinfo at the conclusion of the 2014 season that he was keen to explore matches in the USA and Wednesday’s announcement made that a reality.”The CPL has already had a positive impact in the Caribbean and we are excited about bringing top quality cricket to the USA. We are committed to developing the next generation of cricketers and we believe that by exposing the best talent from across the Caribbean and the Americas region in the CPL, we can inspire a new generation of cricketers in the USA.”Though the ICC Americas Division One T20 championship was held at the newly-opened Indianapolis World Sports Park in 2015, Lauderhill’s CBRP remains USA’s only ICC ODI-certified venue. It is also the only purpose-built cricket venue with the requisite infrastructure in place – TV broadcast facilities, locker rooms, food concession stands and parking lots – to be able to host the matches.From a geographic and demographics standpoint, the CBRP is also far more appealing for the CPL than hosting games in Indianapolis or Los Angeles as south Florida boasts a West Indian expat population in excess of 200,000. Lauderhill Mayor Richard J Kaplan told ESPNcricinfo that he was thrilled at the announcement and hoped that it will pave the way for more high-level cricket to return to the facility, which opened in 2008.”The stadium will go back to being used in a way that we initially started using it for,” Kaplan said. “A variety of international games are important to us and I believe that’s what is going to happen. There has been an expression of interest by several international teams to play in the United States and we have the facility in which they can do that.””I think it’s what we’ve been all looking forward to and hoping for. We hope to make this not just a single one-year thing but to make it a long-term arrangement so that it will be an annual event. I think it will be very popular and they have a natural audience to come here and see the game.”Though Kaplan would not divulge which teams have expressed interest, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland stated in November that playing limited-overs matches in the USA was an option he was pursuing for Australia. They are scheduled to tour the region in June for a limited-overs tri-series involving West Indies and South Africa, thus making the logistics for a Twenty20 series in Florida more feasible.Kaplan heaped praise on the ICC for taking the decision in June 2015 to suspend the USA Cricket Association and stripping them of sanctioning authority for matches in the country. Kaplan told ESPNcricinfo in 2014 that the city tried to sign an agreement to hold CPL matches in Lauderhill that summer, as well as Twenty20 matches between Pakistan and West Indies in 2013, but negotiations fell apart when approval from USACA was denied. That road block no longer exists.”This result is not surprising once people that are really and truly interested in developing cricket are allowed to do so,” Kaplan said. “It took an act of the ICC to suspend USACA [in order to allow] what should have been happening all along and it’s a very positive development. As long as we can continue having people that want this type of activity to go forward, and don’t put up impediments to it, I believe that we’re going to be able to have further development with more games.”You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the ICC for taking the position that it did because without it, this would not be happening. There should hopefully be some future announcements as well. Now it’s just a matter of sorting out the contracts and scheduling. We don’t have the prior problem of someone saying, ‘No, we’re not going to let you do it.’ Now it’s more, ‘We want to do it and let’s see how we’re going to get it done.’ People who are very into cricket are going to be very happy about it.”