Lack of venues rules out India-Australia series in New York

New Delhi, Jan 24 (UNI) The speculated one-day series between India and Australia in New York is unlikely to take place as the city does not have venues to host the matches.

The Mets' Shea Stadium was the only venue good enough to host the matches, which were likely to be played in June, but it will not be availible due to the baseball season.

Incidenmtally, Cricket Australia's Operations Manager Michael Brown had expressed his doubts about the availability of venues just after the reports of the planned series came out.

The 'Cricinfo' reported that the major NFL stadiums, which have astroturf, were also considered but the surface would not be suitable even after laying an atificial track.

California and Florida also have similar problems and making them good enough to host cricket would take some time.

ICC Pitch consultant Andy Atkinson was also consulted and even he has ruled out the possibility of pitches being ready in time for the planned series.

This has thrown up Toronto as a possible venue but the city may not offer the commercial returns that both the boards are expecting.

UNI