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Lockerbie outlines plans for US-style IPL

July 17, 2009

Don Lockerbie: 'We're going to do it well, we're going to do it smart, we're going to do it best' © Cricinfo Ltd

There was a certain irony that on the day plans for a major Twenty20 tournament in the USA were announced, the USA Cricket Association's chief executive, Don Lockerbie, was at Lord's watching an Ashes Test, a format many seem to think is growing less relevant by the year.

Lockerbie was in town to meet with leading administrators to advance his plan to make the USA a major cricketing destination. While he wants to build the USA into a leading cricketing power, he also believes Twenty20 cricket is a format made for the American audience.

"I'd like to see a successful, world-class, best-players-in-the-game tournament, an invitational franchise league or something like that, in the near future," he said. "That would be the dream. It's too early to say what kind of format that would be, but we're putting out a tender for proposal."

Will that, as has been rumoured, be another IPL? "The IPL as I look at it now is a remarkable, fantastic model to follow. Look at what it's been able to do. Our hat is off to Lalit [Modi] and the people behind this fantastic sports property.

"So, of course, you want to look at it as a model to emulate, or as a model to partner with, or at least to come up with something that has its own fresh appeal.

"The USA is a country that wants to see the superstars, and that's what we have to focus on. We have to invite them to come and play in the USA, and eventually we hope to develop our own superstars."

The USA already has one major venue, in Florida, and Lockerbie said more are planned, either in new areas, such as Indianapolis, or by expanding existing facilities in California and New York.

"The proof will be, is the USA ready to undertake these type of events? When the US was announced back in the late 1980s as the host for the 1994 [football] World Cup, the world laughed and said 'what are they going to do with our game'. And yet we still hold the record for the most tickets sold at a football World Cup.

"Before the world laughs at the US taking on cricket, it's important to say we're going to do it well, we're going to do it smart, we're going to do it best and with the world's experts and put together a programme that will be successful."

And he added that his plans were very much in tune with the ICC and would fit in with the existing international calendar. "We're going to make sure what we do has ICC backing. That's the promise we made when we did a presentation to the ICC in Dubai [in April].

"We made a commitment we will be a significant contributor to the world of cricket and a good partner. I don't see us as a competitor, I see as being a partner in something that will make sense to the game as it continues to evolve."

Unlike many previous comets who have blazed into US cricket with bold ideas only to disappear without trace, Lockerbie has the professionalism and drive to make you think he really can pull off these plans. A highly-regarded sports organiser and event administrator, he was venue director at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and is well connected in not only the game but also the corporate world, something vital for the backing he seeks.

Martin Williamson is executive editor of Cricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa