Members of the West Indies T20 cricket team haver arrived In South Florida, and the wicket is ready for an historical two-match series against Bangladesh at the Central Broward Regional Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday and Sunday August 4 and 5th.
Massive crowds expected
The matches are sure to attract a massive crowd, as both teams have strong support among the large cricket-loving expatriate community in South Florida.
The West Indies are the ‘home team’, given that Lauderhill is synonymous with the Caribbean community in South Florida. The Caribbean team have previously played T20 and One Day Internationals at the Lauderhill cricket grounds against India and New Zealand, pulling enthusiastic crowds, but will be facing Bangladesh at the location for the first time..
This weekend’s matches close the Bangladesh tour of the West Indies and United States, including two Test matches and three ODI’s. The Windies won the Test series 2-0, but Bangladesh turned the tables by winning the ODI series 2-1.
The first match in the T20 series was played in Basseterre, St. Kitts on July 31. The West Indies won the rain-affected contest on the Duckworth/Lewis system after Bangladesh posted 143 for nine off their allotment. The hosts posted 93 for three with man-of-the-match Andre Russell hitting an unbeaten 35.
Top Windies players here
Jamaican Marlon Samuels, WI captain Roland Holder of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago’s Samuel Badree will be key players for the West Indies during the Lauderhill series,. Bangladesh’s top men are dashing allrounder and captain Shakib Al Hassan and batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das.
Abm Mustafa, vice-president of the Bangladesh Association of Florida, recently told CNW that the over 25,000 Bangladeshis who live in South Florida are excited about the T20 fixtures.
“The response for tickets has been overwhelming. Our people here love cricket and can’t wait to see their team,” he said.
An interesting tidbit. The Bangladesh bowling coach is former Jamaica and West Indies fast-bowler Courtney Walsh.
“The weekend series coincide fittingly with the celebrations of Jamaica’s 56th independence anniversary on August 6,” said Sammy Bullock, an enthusiastic Jamaican American cricket fan from Lauderdale Lakes, a city adjacent to Lauderhill. “I will be securing tickets for me and my entire family for the two days of cricket.”
Broward Commissioner Dale Holness is proud of South Florida’s growing reputation as an international cricket hub. “These games are extremely important for South Florida as they have great economic impact with visitors coming in from all over.”
This weekend’s matches kick off a month of T20 cricket at Central Broward Regional Stadium, the only cricket facility in the United States sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.
From August 18-22, three matches in the Caribbean Premier League T20 will be played there between defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders, Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents.
