West Indies, India enter new world

WEST Indies face India in two Twenty20 internationals in Florida at the weekend in a litmus test for both cricket’s future in the US and Carlos Brathwaite’s credentials as Caribbean skipper.

After India cruised to victory in the Test series and in the aftermath of the Caribbean squad’s latest round of blood-letting, the sides head for the sport’s newest outpost, the Central Broward Regional Park, the only purposebuilt cricket stadium in the US.

Six matches in the recent franchise-based Caribbean Premier League were played at the $10 million arena while the first full international matches, two Twenty20 games between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, were staged there in 2010.

India will be full of confidence heading into Saturday and Sunday’s back-to-back fixtures. They have enjoyed a solid run in T20 series in recent times, winning in Australia, Sri Lanka and claiming the Asia Cup Saturday and Sunday’s back-to-back fixtures.

They will have revenge on their minds having lost to the West Indies in the semifinals of this year’s World Twenty20, which the Windies won.