Warne declares All Stars a success

Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan expatriates filled the US stadiums, not curious Americans.

Despite the smallest crowd of his US tour, Shane Warne has declared the Cricket All Star series a success and is set to return to America with his group of golden oldies for more games.

The three-game series began a week ago in New York, moved to Houston on Wednesday and ended at Los Angeles' iconic Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

"We're all going to be back here," Warne, who hit a six to seal a thrilling victory for his Warne's Warriors All Star team, said.

The series pitted Warne's Warriors against former Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar's Blasters squad, with players coming out of retirement including Ricky Ponting, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose and Brian Lara.

Warne and Tendulkar came up with the idea of a golden oldies series as a way to take the game to regions like the US where cricket has a low profile.

After a crowd of 36,000 in New York and 27,000 in Houston, the official attendance in the 56,000-seat Dodger Stadium was 20,900.

Just like the first two games, the crowd in LA was largely expatriates from the India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, not the large contingent of curious Americans Warne and Tendulkar hoped.

With LA sports fans able to go to a Dodger baseball game for $US9, the minimum ticket price for Saturday's All Star game was steep at $US50 and the best seats $US175.

The high ticket prices were criticised by US media and US fans in social media.

Warne and Tendulkar said they'd think about lowering the prices.

They also kept open the possibility of taking the All-Star games to Australia and other nations.

Warne's Warriors appeared to be longshots to win when Tendulkar's Blasters scored 5-219 off their 20 overs.

Tendulkar took advantage of Dodger Stadium's short boundaries by smashing 56 runs off 27 balls, including six sixes.

Warne's Warriors began in the worst way when English opener Matthew Vaughn was bowled by West Indies quick Ambrose with the first ball of their innings.

They recovered, with Ponting scoring 43 runs off 25 balls and Jaques Kallis belting 47 runs from 23 balls.

When Kallis fell with two runs needed from two balls, Warne strode to the wicket and claimed the victory with a six.

Warne received a mid-game visit when his former flame, English actress Elizabeth Hurley, appeared in the players' dugout with co-stars of her TV series The Royals.


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Warne declares All Stars a success | SBS News