Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fl is set to host the first One-Day Internationals on US soil.
USA’s first round of ODIs against Namibia and Papua New Guinea, as part of the new Cricket World Cup League Two structure, are set to be hosted at the venue, beginning from Sept. 13, according to ESPNCricinfo.
It said these ODIs had been originally designated to be played in North Carolina.
A USA Cricket board member corroborated the match schedule outline including the change of venue to Lauderhill, ESPNCricinfo said.
Last month, the sports network reported that the ODI matches wre pulled from Church Street Park in the Raleigh suburb of Morrisville after the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in May that the venue would host these games.
Woodley Park in Los Angeles and an under-construction venue at Morgan Hill, California in the Silicon Valley became the frontrunners to land the hosting gig for USA’s first home ODIs, ESPNCricinfo said.
But it said the new turf venue at Morgan Hill — which is being paid for by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) — will not be ready in time.
“Meanwhile, Woodley Park’s recent investment upgrades from ACE funding were not enough to have the venue receive ODI ground accreditation from the ICC in time to host matches in September,” ESPNCricinfo said.
“The result is that, in spite of September being the height of the south Florida tropical storm season, the Central Broward Regional Park turned into the default host option due to its ODI ground status listing, which it received from the ICC upon opening in 2008,” it added. “Despite having had ODI status for more than a decade, the ground has never actually hosted an official ODI.”
Last Sunday’s 2nd Twenty20 International between India and West Indies was the ground’s 10th T20I match since the inaugural T20I was played between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in May 2010.
