Ben Cutting to lead Premium Aussies in American PL

The 36-year-old Sydney Thunder player will be joined by a host of other stars at the T20 tournament which will be played at Moosa Cricket Stadium in Houston, Texas, from December 19.

The Aussies take on the Windies on December 21 before meeting the Indians on December 22.

This will be followed by matches against the hosts (December 23), Canadians (Dec 24), Pakistanis (Dec 25) and Afghans (Dec 29).

The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals on December 30 before the final on Dec 31.

Chris Gayle will captain the Premium Windies in the 13-day competition, which has been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

"I am excited to wear the captaincy band of a Windies team again," said Gayle.

"Playing in America is like playing at home. Cricket as a sport had to find a place in the USA some day and this is the best time to have a league like this.

"The tournament will not just give us an opportunity to show our experience to the local fans but all the young American cricketers who have qualified will get to learn a lot from this and take the game to the next level."

Dan Lawrence, the rising star from England who made his Test debut in Sri Lanka at the start of 2021, has been named as skipper for the Premium Americans, who meet the Windies in the opening game.

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth will lead the Indians, Sohail Tanvir will take control of the Pakistanis while current captain of the Afghanistan team Mohammad Nabi will guide the Afghans.

Punjab-born Canadian Navneet Dhaliwal, who led Canada in the ICC WT20 qualifiers and will take his team to the T20 World Cup next year, will captain the Canadians.

American Premier League captains:

Premium Afghans: Mohammad Nabi

Premium Americans: Dan Lawrence

Premium Aussies: Ben Cutting

Premium Canadians: Navneet Dhaliwal

Premium Indians: Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

Premium Paks: Sohail Tanvir

Premium Windies: Chris Gayle

Cri

Australian Associated Press