MUMBAI: The newly-appointed New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO David White has been briefed about the progress being made by Cricket Holdings America LLC (CHALLC) towards bringing a professional Twenty20 league to the United States of America (USA).

White, who took over at NZC in January, met Neil Maxwell, a NZC-appointed director of CHALLC, in Auckland. White said: ?It was very exciting to hear from Neil about the progress that has already been made to turn the dream of professional Twenty20 cricket in the USA into reality.

?Neil briefed me on all aspects of the project and I am looking forward to working with CHALLC and the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) to take matters forward over the coming weeks and months.?

CHALLC is a joint venture between NZC and the USACA for the development of cricket within the USA. It is targetting the launch of a Twenty20 league next year.

Maxwell said, ?It was good to sit down with David to bring him up to speed on what CHALLC is doing. Since Keith Wyness?s appointment as CHALLC?s CEO last month we have had a significant number of people contacting us, not only to congratulate Keith on his new role but also enquiring how they can get involved in the project.

?That level of interest is extremely encouraging and we look forward to taking matters forward with ever-increasing momentum.?

MUMBAI: The newly-appointed chief executive officer of Cricket Holdings America LLC (CHALLC) Keith Wyness believes the organisation?s foundations will help turn the dream of bringing world-class cricket to the United States of America (USA) into a reality.

The dream has remained just that for many years despite the country being able to boast substantial interest in the sport. But Wyness said the framework that CHALLC has put in place will help ensure the venture will succeed where past efforts have failed.

Wyness said, ?We have been able to look properly at getting the correct permissions. We have involved the ICC (International Cricket Council) right from the start, we have got the Full Member involvement of New Zealand and we are working with USACA (the United States of America Cricket Association).

?So we have got it right in terms of the right pyramid of cricket authorities and that makes a fundamental difference to everything that has gone before. With that, we are able to sit back and plan properly and strategically to make sure we get everything in the right place.?

Crickey Holdings America is a joint venture between New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the USACA for the development of cricket within the USA.

Wyness, formerly the CEO of two Premier League football clubs, Everton in England and Aberdeen in Scotland, worked on the Sydney Olympic Games of 2000 and has for over a decade been living and working in the USA. He will be responsible for the delivery of a business plan which will include the sale of Twenty20 franchises for a professional league set to begin next year.

?At present we are looking at a target date of starting games in the summer of 2013. We will certainly have lead-up events through 2012 and that will give us (the chance) to introduce the game and give people (the opportunity to get) more understanding of what we are trying to achieve," Wyness said.

Twenty20 is the format that has been identified to push the visibility and penetration of cricket in the US. ?However, we will also be supporting other forms of the game if there is a need and desire (for them) as we move forward,? said Wyness.

Wyness played down suggestions that governance issues within the administration of the game within the USA could potentially hamper attempts to develop the sport.

?There are always going to be debates and different points of view and I do not see anything unusual in that at this time of the lifecycle of a sport. As we move forward with Cricket Holdings America and we can show there can be major penetration (of the game within the USA), those differing opinions will become things of the past and everyone is going to move forward towards getting the best interests of cricket promoted in the best possible way," he said.