Caribbean Premier League heads to South Florida for 2016 season

Caribbean Premier League to also support American players

South Florida cricket fans will soon have the chance to watch some of the greatest players in the world this summer in the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) . The Caribbean Premier League confirmed plans to host T20 matches in the U.S. – including Florida! – for the forthcoming 2016 season.

Six league games stateside will be staged stateside. Though dates have not been officially confirmed, the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill has been marked as a venue for some, if not all, of the games.

“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. The Caribbean Premier League in South Florida will unite all cricket fans around Florida who have been yearning for an event such as this," said CPL CEO Damien O’Donohoe. O’Donohoe also asserted the league commitment to engage U.S. players.

Caribbean_Premier_League-2015_champs_red_steel — Caribbean Premier League 2015 Champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel

“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.”

The Caribbean Premier League recently announced a record number of applications for this year’s draft. Four Caribbean-American cricket stars are up for the upcoming HERO CPL Player Draft, set for February 11th in Barbados.

From New York, Jamaican-born Timroy Allen, Guyanese-born Alex Amsterdam, and Guyanese-American Akeem Dodson are up for selection, while South Florida’s lone candidate is Miramar-based Steven Taylor, who played last year for CPL’s Barbados Tridents.

A record number of local and international stars have also been officially registered for the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Player Draft.

Commenting on this year’s record list of applicants both in the West Indies and across the world, Director of International Cricket for CPL, Tom Moody said, “Some of the leading names in world cricket have signalled their intentions to join the biggest party in sport at the CPL, so this year’s competition is sure to be our most exciting to date.