Warne, Tendulkar taking cricket to the US

Australian Shane Warne and India's Sachin Tendulkar will captain two All-Star sides in a three-match Twenty20 series in the United States in a bid to spark interest in a sport alien to most Americans.

The ICC-sanctioned matches will be played on drop-in pitches at major baseball fields in New York, Houston and Los Angeles in November, with plenty of superstar talent on show.

Among the throng of cricketing greats signed up are Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath and Brad Haddin.

A portion of proceeds from the series will go to the ICC for the development of cricket within the US with the organisation's chief executive David Richardson saying it "would help cricket to reach its significant potential in the USA".

Batting great Tendulkar said he was excited about the prospect of taking the sport to a country more used to baseball and basketball.

The first match will be played on November 7 in New York.