HOUSTON — The West Indies cricket team are set to play a Twenty20 International in Texas for the first time later this year as part of a Tri-Nations Series involving Pakistan and Bangladesh.
An unnamed senior Pakistan Cricket Board official told the Indian Express newspaper that the series, scheduled for August, had been finalized following discussions between PCB chairman Najam Sethi and Cricket West Indies president, Dave Cameron, on the sidelines of the recent International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai.
Matches For Fort Lauderdale Too
The series, will also see matches also played in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is a reciprocal tour that follows from the highly anticipated three-match tour, carded for March/April, when Pakistan is expected to host the Caribbean side.
So far, every T20 International played on United States soil has been staged at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, with the most recent action being a two-match series between the Windies and India two years ago.
The proposal for a match to be hosted in the southern United States represents a further incursion into the lucrative North American market.
Only last year, the PCB had announced a five-year agreement that would have seen the Windies tour Pakistan annually for a three-match T20 series, with Pakistan contesting reciprocal series in the U.S., involving the Caribbean unit. But the PCB said this year they had been forced to scrap the agreement because it would not have been financially viable.
Meanwhile, the PCB have finalized the dates for the upcoming Windies tour, with matches scheduled for March 29th and 31st, and April 1st.
The PCB is hoping to have international tours of Pakistan resume, following an eight-year break after the Sri Lanka team bus was attacked by militants on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore back in 2009.
Following a three-match Independence Cup series, involving a World XI last September in Lahore, the ICC praised Pakistan for its handling of security, noting that the success of the event sent a positive message to the international community about safety in the country.