ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador Usain Bolt got a first look at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium from the best seats in the house, along with cricket legends and New York sports icons.

The Jamaican sprint legend was joined in this special preview by USA cricketers Corey Anderson and Monak Patel along with cricket legend Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), and Liam Plunkett (England). Also present during this landmark event was a star-studded line-up of New York sports stars, including John Starks (NBA / New York Knicks), Elena Delle Donne (WNBA/USA), Bartolo Colon (MLB/New York Yankees-Mets), Victor Cruz (NFL/New York Giants), and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Fencing/USA).

To commemorate the occasion, the stars all signed a giant cricket bat, which will be present at the venue for all eight ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches hosted there between June 3-12. The event marks the official final countdown to the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York, with Sri Lanka and South Africa set to clash in the venue's first match on June 3.

Bolt was confident the venue would provide an exciting and energetic cricket experience.

“Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, I’m very excited to be part of the T20 World Cup coming to the USA for the first time, co-hosting with the West Indies. Getting one of the sport’s biggest events into the USA is a big milestone and can provide a launching pad leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028," he said.

“The new stadium is going to be a fantastic place to watch from. It’s very enclosed and you feel very close to the action. I can imagine it will be full of energy when cricket fans get to Nassau County International Stadium next month," Bolt noted.

Brett Jones, CEO of T20 USA Inc. called the event a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA.

“Today was a fantastic celebration, showcasing a truly out of this world stadium. Having Usain and a host of New York sports stars and Olympic legends to experience it was fantastic and a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA," Jones said.

“Having Curtly Ambrose, Liam Plunkett, Shoaib Malik, Corey Anderson and Monak Patel here and seeing their response to the stadium and the playing surface was also pretty special. It gives us a real sense of what the fans can expect next month," he added.

The 34,000-seater temporary stadium is the first of its kind in international cricket, and is also believed to be the largest ever constructed in the United States.

Featured at the unveiling were extensive hospitality and media pavilions on the north and south ends of the venue, which join the east and west general admission stands. Among the new additions are the Cabana seats in the North pavilion along with the Corner Club seats with a private party area.

The stadium is one of the three venues in the USA for the upcoming mega-event. Florida and Texas will also host matches from the event.

The USA are co-hosts for the event alongside the West Indies, where 39 matches will be played across six venues. The Final will be held on 29 June in Barbados.

Fans celebrated 100 days to go to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with tickets going on general sale as the was launched with larger-than-life cricket balls landing in the nine host locations including in Times Square in New York City and Bridgetown in Barbados.

Cricket stars Dwayne Bravo and Liam Plunkett took center stage hitting sixes in New York’s Times Square with local fans and players ahead of the biggest cricket carnival ever. Chris Gayle was in attendance in Freedom Park in Barbados with a spectacle of colour and music, as a street parade in Bridgetown celebrated the biggest T20 World Cup ever.

A number of other spectacular events took place in Dallas, Miami, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Vincent & The Grenadines with sporting talent present and fans enjoying cricketing activities. The launch also signified the start of general ticket sales for the event which begins on 1 June where hosts USA face Canada in Dallas in a repeat of the first-ever international cricket match in 1844.

Tickets are available at tickets.t20worldcup.com

Dwayne Bravo expressed excitement about the build up to the tournament.

“I think the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is going to be an incredible event and here in New York for the first time you are going to have the greatest players competing against each other. It's going to create history. It's about time that cricket made its mark here in the USA and people here now can look forward to seeing their favourite players and can experience it first-hand," he said.

“The fact that it's co-hosted between the US and the West Indies is good for cricket. It's fantastic for our region in the Caribbean to be able to show the world that we are able to host events as big as the World Cup. We are also happy that we are able to contribute to the growth of the development of cricket in the USA," Bravo added.

For Chris Gayle the expectation is also high, especially given the talent that will be on show in the tournament.

“We have some fantastic entertainers within the sport and you're going to see them live in the West Indies and USA this year at the T20 World Cup. You're going to see the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, youngster Yashavsi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shaheen Afridi – the list goes on! It's going to be a cracking, entertaining event," Gayle said.

England have called up Brydon Carse to their World Cup squad in India, with Joe Root claiming the seamer could inherit Liam Plunkett’s mantle as master of the middle overs.

Struggling England lost their leading wicket-taker during Saturday’s record-breaking defeat by South Africa, when Reece Topley fractured his left index finger fielding off his own bowling.

Head coach Matthew Mott initially suggested there was no guarantee another seamer would be brought in as his replacement, inviting the likes of Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson and Rehan Ahmed into the conversation, but Carse’s selection maintains the status quo.

The 28-year-old was the next seamer in line and may have made a stronger push for the original 15-man squad had he not suffered injury issues of his own over the summer. He was ultimately overtaken by Surrey’s Gus Atkinson, but will now link up with the group in Bengaluru.

Thursday’s game against Sri Lanka will probably come too soon for Carse, who has taken 14 wickets in 12 ODIs to date, but with questions surrounding a team that has lost three out of their first four games he will hope to push hard for a chance.

England have never quite found their heir to Plunkett, the 2019 World Cup winner who nailed a tricky role through the middle of the innings, and Root believes Carse could carry that baton.

“Brydon is a brilliant all-round package. He scores some handy runs for you, is very dynamic in the field and he’s got a unique wicket-taking ability,” said Root.

“He’s got that Ben Stokes element to him where you sometimes feel like nothing is happening and then he’ll pick up wickets, almost in a ‘Junior Plunkett’ kind of way. He’s very similar.”

Plunkett was often undervalued for his role in England’s white-ball revolution but played a crucial role in the 2019 final and was the only squad member to enjoy a 100 per cent record at the tournament.

“Pudsey (Plunkett) won’t like me saying this, but he’s almost got more to offer with the bat,” Root continued.

“He’s probably not got as much to offer in the dressing-room just yet, but he’s a big personality too and a great character to have around, so he’s a good addition. Whenever someone comes in and they’re excited, and you can see it on their face straightaway, a smile is infectious isn’t it?

“It can bring the best out of everyone and having that come into the group can’t be a bad thing for sure.”