The first ever international match of cricket was played in New York City between USA and Canada in 1844. And it only took a mere 166 years for the next first international game of cricket to be played in the USA, between NZ and Sri Lanka. According to Richard J. Kaplan (Mayor of Lauderhill, FL) the second-first-international-game took so long to be played because all the men in the USA who played cricket died in WWI.

Anyway…there are an estimated 15 million cricket fans in the USA (that’s 4 x the entire population of NZ) and NZ Cricket is very keen to explore the potential of cricket being played in the USA. In fact NZC has high hopes of tapping these fans and turning them into a viable business and marketplace.

Making cricket a mainstream sport in the USA will not be an easy task, some might say an impossible dream. But if anyone can help…who better than TimeZoneOne.

So with cricket in our hearts Tatts and I headed to Lauderhill, FL for a spot of cricket and conversation with Justin Vaughan CEO, NZ Cricket.

(Due to the highly confidential nature of our conversations, I cannot type anymore…) But I can show you what we experienced…

Me and Ian Chappell casually chatting in the pavilion.

Me and Sunil Gavaskar seconds before he began commentating

Tatts, Me and 4301 Sri Lankan fans.

Me and security (Tamil Tigers are everywhere in Florida).

The Pearl Cup (which no one actually won).

Central Broward Cricket Ground – just 400m from the number 2 tourist attraction in FL

The best way to carbo-load the night before an international game of cricket

Here is a clip from a surf trip with two buddies last weekend. If you are a non surfer to truly appreciate this epic day you have to imagine your favorite activity, good friends, excellent weather at a world class location.

For some that will be playing cricket for the Fenders in the suburbs, for others it will be burning a hole in a credit card in Cashel mall.

Enjoy Andy

Timezoneone, like most companies with antipodian connections, has cricketing connections. If you have been following our blog then you will no doubt be familiar with our Chicago based Fenders cricket team, a large number of Zoners have indeed been recruited from the Fenders to work at Timezoneone for their stamina, deflection techniques and ability to bowl them over.

However, I would like to draw your attention to my humble cricketing connections. For the past 5 months I have been following the Heathcote Junior Super 8 Cricket team and am happy to report that cricket is alive and well in backyards and playgrounds all around Christchurch. Basically Super 8 Cricket is a modified version of the big boys game, where everybody has a go at batting, bowling, wicket keeping and fielding on a rotational basis. My boys simply adore it and I am happy to report that their skill level has definitely improved and they can now high-five with the best of them. Thomas, my eldest son, had his first catch of the season, William, my second son, Bowler of the Year. Here is a little something that inspired them.

Sadly, it is the end of the season which also heralds the end of summer here in New Zealand, which reminds me of an Edmund Blunden quote, “Cricket to us was more than play, it was worship in the summer sun”.

Kim