GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Grand Prairie has transformed into “Cricket City, USA” this week as a new professional sports league launches with some of the biggest names in the sport, even if those players are little known in the U.S.
After spending $20 million renovating the former independent league baseball AirHogs Stadium and recruiting big-name executives to invest in the startup league, bowlers and batsmen take the pitch Thursday for the first match in an 18-day test of whether the fervor for the sport translates across the globe from India and South Africa to the United States.
Six teams, each attached to a city and featuring some of the world’s best cricketers, will compete in an abbreviated form of cricket that decides a victor in about three hours. Top international names like England’s Jason Roy and Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga have joined the league. There are 19 matches scheduled over 18 days, including round-robin play and four championship playoff games. Most are played at Grand Prairie Stadium with some in Morrisville, N.C.
