by Howard Campbell
KINGSTON, Jamaica – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named sprint legend Usain Bolt as an ambassador for the T20 World Cup that will be played in the Caribbean and United States in June.
That announcement was made April 24 through a statement from the sport’s governing organization.
The eight-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder over 100 and 200 meters is particularly excited that the tournament will have matches in South Florida, New York and Dallas, Texas.
“When they (Americans) follow a sport, they follow a sport properly and they go all in and I feel like if they can crack into it, they will get into it the right way. If we bring energy like I know we will for the T20 (World Cup) it is going to be wonderful,” said Bolt.
On June 1, the United States will play Canada in the opening match at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Four matches will be played at Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, South Florida.
England are defending champions.
Bolt believes cricket will also benefit from participation at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. He pointed to the appearance of NBA superstars at sport’s biggest showpiece.
“If you listen to NBA players and the way they talk about winning a gold medal—they have won NBA titles, they have their rings— but they are like ‘we went to the Olympics’,” said Bolt. “The other day I watched the documentary about how they (USA basketball team) lost (at the 2004 Olympics) and there was a Redeem Team (at the Beijing Games in 2008) and the focus and the hard work (they needed to win). That is how big (important) getting a gold medal is.”
The West Indies first hosted the T20 World Cup in 2010. They have won the tournament twice, in Sri Lanka in 2012 and India in 2016.
Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago will also host matches in the T20 World Cup. The final is scheduled for Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on June 29.
