Cricket: NZC eye T20 league in UAE

First it was the United States, now New Zealand Cricket is investigating whether to set up an International Cricket Council-backed Twenty20 league in the United Arab Emirates in what could be dubbed Operation Desert Cricket.

Details are limited but early discussions have taken place between NZC and the UAE board made up of representatives from the Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ajman emirates.

It reflects a further drive by NZC to take a proactive approach towards its revenue-earning future.

There are fears with the rise of Twenty20 franchise competitions - such as the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash - that New Zealand will struggle to gain further significant territory on the international cricketing stage.

The recently released Woolf Report, a document outlining how the ICC should go about revamping itself, commended NZC's willingness to take the initiative as a second-tier test-playing nation behind India, Australia, England and South Africa.

The report recommended "extending the model of the supporting arrangement between New Zealand Cricket and the United States Cricket Association, so other Full Members support specific Associate and Affiliate Members".

The document also condemned a "culture of entitlement currently demonstrated by the Full Members" who rely too much on ICC funding.

Any NZC deal in the UAE is likely to resemble that signed in the US, where it's hoped six franchises could be sold to investors for a total of up to US$240 million ($290 million).

NZC would lend intellectual property and operations skills to a parent company; the UAE would provide facilities and logistics, while private investors would stump up the working capital.

The UAE appeals as a time zone, given its close proximity to India, the world's biggest cricket consumer.

The prevalence of the sport in the UAE is also rising. Pakistan use Dubai and Abu Dhabi as regular alternative venues because of security issues at home.

Sharjah also hosted one-day tournaments involving three or more international teams between 1984 and 2003.

The ground at Sharjah has also been home to Afghanistan since 2010.

The downsides to the venture are finding a space to rent on the international calendar outside the New Zealand summer. June and July were promoted as a time for the US-based tournament where the climate would be manageable.

Trying to do the same in the Middle East when the desert is baking during those summer months is a deterrent.

Limited crowds in Dubai when England, the world's top test side, were hosted in three tests by Pakistan also raises concerns.

Meanwhile, the US T20 league is likely to be postponed a year until at least June 2013. A chief executive officer is yet to be appointed to the operation which hopes to have franchises in Fort Lauderdale, Toronto, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

New Zealand is still looking to stage international T20 matches in the US during their tour of the Caribbean mid-year.

The West Indies are apparently keen to play in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which has an ICC-approved venue.