Ricky Ponting looked down at the recently laid pitch in the middle of Citi Field, the usual home of the New York Mets baseball team.
The former Australian captain then looked at some of the boundaries just 50 or so metres away.
Up came a big smile.
"Most of us need them nice and close," Ponting, who turns 41 next month, told AAP.
With such short boundaries, New Yorkers attending the Cricket All-Stars Twenty20 exhibition game at Citi Field on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), featuring Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and other big hitters should probably wear protective helmets and baseball gloves.
"In a game of baseball you might see one or two homers in a game," Australian paceman Glenn McGrath, 45, said.
"With us you might see one or two an over."
McGrath has a bigger concern than being smacked around by Ponting and co, with his luggage lost on the flight from Australia to the US.
He had to practice on Friday in designer joggers he usually wears out to the pub.
The ground is designed for baseball, with batters hitting from one end, but with the cricket pitch in the centre spectators are close.
Citi Field groundskeepers are taking no chances and have placed nets in front of the large multi-level glass press box that will be in the firing line.
They should also probably do the same to the stadium's huge scoreboard that sits up like a flashing bullseye.
Groundskeepers also sprayed green powder over the traditional red clay infield.
Fast bowlers and fielders will have to navigate the mixed grass and clay and the pitcher's mound.
Another issue is: will Americans throw back the ball after a six or pocket it as a souvenir like they traditionally do at a Major League Baseball stadium?
Shane Warne and Tendulkar have signed 28 former elite players, with the New York game to be followed by Houston and Los Angeles hit outs the next fortnight and another 12 games played around the world over the next three years.
They hope the All-Star series will excite young Americans to play cricket.
While expat Australians, Indians, Brits, Kiwis, Pakistanis and South Africans will attend, the big test will be how many Americans will spend between $US50 and $US175 for a ticket.
The players were impressed with the quality of the pitch that was grown in Indianapolis and driven on the back of a truck 1000km to New York.
Symonds had one issue.
The Queenslander brought over a brand new deflated Steeden rugby league football and was hoping to boot it around the hallowed Citi Field after the practice session.
"Who do I see to get a pump?" Symonds, holding the deflated ball before disappearing into the Mets dugout, asked.
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