NYPD bridging frontiers with cricket

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New Delhi: How often have we heard cricket's bosses say they want to take the game to new countries? Well, they can smile ear to ear by looking at this story. The New York Police Department is having a go with bat and ball.

This is Brooklyn, New York. The men playing the Gentleman's Game are police officers from the NYPD. Police commissioner Raymond Kelly is the man who has introduced this new Twenty20 league, and most of the players are from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

"I think we have a strong relationship with the Muslim community in New York. I visit mosques on a regular basis, we have a lot of communication and this is a continuing effort to strengthen our relationship with all communities," commissioner Kelly says.

Players are youngsters belonging to the age group of 14-19, and the league kick starts with the first match between Pak Brighton and Punjab. The lads look quite confident.

"We're really high. We have a strong team, we've got a really good, strong team right now. All the bowlers and batsmen are in really good shape, so we have a good chance," says Hassan Tufail, the captain of Pak Brighton.

Looks like cricket can breach another frontier, with a desi touch of course.