What could be tougher than selling ice to Eskimos?
How about selling cricket to Americans?
Not so says Ben Sturner, who along with legends of the game Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar, hopes to eradicate the general American perception of cricket as an odd, ancient, "watching paint dry" slow sport.
The trio have organised a three-game Twenty20 series next month in some of America's most iconic baseball stadiums.
"This isn't your grandfather's cricket," Sturner, founder of Manhattan-based brand, sports and entertainment company Leverage Agency, told AAP on Wednesday.
"This is fun cricket.
"Players will be boisterous, it'll be exciting, there's music, entertainment and we'll have a lot of runs because of the way the stadiums are."
Warne and Tendulkar will each lead teams of international greats, with the first game on November 7 at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets.
The series then moves to the Houston Astros' Minute Maid Park on November 11 and the finale at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on November 14.
There's a couple of obvious logistical and technical issues the organisers face in promoting a sport in a country where most of the population thinks cricket is an insect.
Then there's the issue of creating a quality pitch.
Adding to the stress is the New York Mets, traditional ugly ducklings to cross borough rivals the New York Yankees, look like they will defy the odds and go to the World Series.
That means they'll have just days to get the pitch ready on Citi Field.
A New Zealand curator has been hired and has prepared drop-in pitches in Minneapolis that will be delivered to each stadium.
"It's an expensive proposition, but we want to get it right," Sturner said.
Ticket sales "are going pretty well" and will get a bump when Warne and Tendulkar arrive in the US on October 31 to spread the word about one of the world's most popular sports, but largely ignored in the US.
Other players signed up include Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jonty Rhodes and Michael Vaughan.
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