BRAVE NEW WORLD

Step into virgin territory set to be most exciting advance in 150 years

- Mike Walters

IN that famous cradle of bat and ball, the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup opens in the early hours of tomorrow morning with a sporting rivalry for the ages.

When the United States and Canada christen a brave new world for the game, woe betide the established order if our friends in stars, stripes and maple leaves decide it is better than the Yankees and Red Sox, except every pitch is not a full toss.

When another temple of cricket, the Nassau County International Stadium – a 34,000-seater pop-up venue 25 miles east of New York City knocked up in barely five months since January – hosts India against Pakistan on June 9, they will discover the true definition of needle. For far too long confined to Commonwealth outposts, the sport’s excursion into virgin territory for a major tournament is potentially its most exciting advance for 150 years.