Cricket: We bring the ball, US the fans

It may seem daft, the Black Caps playing cricket in the United States. Like offering a vegetarian steak tartare.

But the New Zealand Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in Miami is the first stage of an ambitious New Zealand Cricket plan to expand into a potentially lucrative market.

International cricket at the moment is largely a business of haves and have-nots.

Australia, India, South Africa and England line up with deep pockets on one side while New Zealand is queuing, hand out, with everyone else on the other side.

Changing the financial status quo demands innovation which is why New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has signed a deal with USA Cricket (USAC).

Essentially, if New Zealand brings the bats, balls and personnel, the US will provide the facilities - and hopefully the people will come.

It's not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Compared to other countries, New Zealand has a limited season, only half the year.

Combine that with largely inconvenient overseas viewing times and it is always financially handicapped.

By taking a share in the US cricketing development, New Zealand gets another venue and potentially a chance to sell to other broadcasters.

For instance, if it is an 11am start in Miami it is 4pm in Manchester and 8.30pm in Mumbai.

The other core reason for signing up is to tap into a hidden fan base. USAC can never go head-to-head with baseball for popularity but chief executive Don Lockerbie still approaches his task with zeal.

"On an average weekend America has about 200,000 recreational cricketers of which 30,000 are official members of around 1000 clubs. We estimate there are about 15 million fans in the country because of the large expatriate population from mainly Commonwealth countries."

New Zealand Cricket Players Association boss Heath Mills says it is worth looking at the broadcast and internet market: "There is a significant expat population from the sub-continent and the West Indies with a huge interest. Cricinfo.com gets its second highest number of hits from the US, behind India.

"It mightn't reach the heights of baseball but look at a fledgling sport like soccer when the MLS [Major League Soccer] started 14 years ago."

Another example worth emulating is rugby sevens which has grown internationally over the past decade. Before 1999, sevens barely got a mention outside Hong Kong and country-of-origin Scotland. Now it will be at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Mills sees NZC's move predominantly in a strategic vein. He says it is a coup in an era when most cricketing ventures have been mopped up by the big four countries.

"Unfortunately world cricket is not well structured or governed. We've got a programme of numerous bilateral series with little context.

"India developed the IPL and lured the world's best players - so they keep the money from that. You have the other three countries looking to further enhance their Twenty20 leagues with overseas players and India, Australia and South Africa share the majority of the proceeds from the Champion's League. It seems to be just a smash-and-grab.

"In New Zealand we've sat back, seen this and realised we're not a big player. So [CEO] Justin Vaughan is to be commended for getting us into a strategically powerful position as a stakeholder in American cricket. It gives us another platform to grow from."

It has been a long time coming for Lockerbie: "We want to bring in some of the world's best teams to show we're open for business. Since we signed the partnership in November, we've been able to utilise coaching help at under-19 and senior men's level which we would otherwise not have had. ESPN is lining up to show it live which is a first in US cricket history."

Mills said it was intended to have an international series in Fort Lauderdale and though it may be a few years before a decent return, there could be significant long-term benefits.