Florida to host West Indies domestic tournament

The West Indies Cricket Board has confirmed plans to stage the successor to the KFC Cup, the region's premier limited-overs competition, in Florida this September. The decision is expected to be confirmed by the board this weekend.

KFC's sponsorship expired at the end of last season and Cricinfo has learned that a Florida-based sponsor has stepped in with a lucrative package if the games are staged in Fort Lauderdale, where a new purpose-built stadium has recently opened. The seating capacity is 5000 but there is room for more on grass banks.

In a further bid to attract local interest Canada and USA will be invited to participate. Canada played without any real distinction in 1995-96 and 2002-03 while USA took part in 2000-01 and scored a surprise win over Barbados.

The event has been brought forward because if held at its usual time it would clash with the multi-million dollar Stanford match against England. It is likely to start in the last week of September and last three weeks.

"We are exited," Gladstone Dainty, the USA Cricket Association chairman, told Cricinfo. "We are awaiting final word from the WICB."

"I believe Lauderhill is strategically well-placed," Faoud Bacchus, the former West Indies Test player and USA captain, who now lives in Florida, told dreamcricket.com. "We have all the facilities, hotels and attractions and it's only a short plane ride from West Indies.