By Peter Della Penna
At
the conclusion of the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto on Sunday
night, there were a number of acknowledgments made and people
recognized for contributions made throughout the two-week event at an
end of tournament banquet. However, no greater contribution was made to
any team than USA’s Ryan Corns.
As
a result, he was recognized by the ICC as the Player of the Tournament,
the only individual honor handed out to a player on the night. As a
tremendous ovation filled the room from all teams and officials, Corns
walked up to the stage to receive a handsome trophy.
Picture (Left): Ryan Corns in action at U19 Qualifier. Courtesy of ICC/Bryan Vandenburgh.
“To
be honest, I thought I had a bit of a chance of maybe getting the Best
All-rounder Award, but when I saw that there was only the Player of the
Tournament, I didn’t think I stood a chance,” said Corns. “I thought,
along with all the teammates, that Ireland’s Paul Stirling would get
the award. When I heard my name being called out, my heart just about
stopped because it was totally unexpected. But I can’t take all the
credit. If it wasn’t for Team USA, and all the coaching staff, this
would never have happened.”
Votes
were tabulated based on umpire nominations for Man of the Match awards
from each game played in the tournament. Even though Stirling finished
as the highest run scorer in the tournament with 423 runs in eight
innings including two centuries for the tournament champions Ireland,
he had great support from a team that had outstanding depth and skill
all around him. Corns was the heart and soul of USA’s squad and their
qualification for the ICC U-19 World Cup in New Zealand next January
was largely due to his all-round contributions. He was named Man of the
Match in each of USA’s first three matches after top scoring in
victories over Vanuatu, Ireland and Uganda.
“Corns
is our main batsman right now,” said USA U-19 captain Shiva Vashishat
after the match against Uganda. “He’s been coming through for us and
his bowling helps us in the end a lot.”
His
best performance came against the Irish squad, who suffered their only
defeat of the tournament at the hands of the Americans. He entered with
the score at 6 for 1, but went on to build a 71-run partnership
second-wicket partnership with Henry Wardley and an 89-run
fourth-wicket stand with captain Shiva Vashishat. Corns finished with
86 runs in USA’s total of 217 for 6 before being run out late in the
innings. He then took two wickets at the end to help USA seal an
impressive 42-run win.
“My
best memory from this tournament was scoring 86 against tournament
champions Ireland, and then going on to beat them,” said Corns.
Picture (Right): Ryan Corns in action at U19 Qualifier. Courtesy of ICC/Bryan Vandenburgh.
Corns
was the only player in the tournament to finish in the top ten for both
runs scored and wickets taken. He scored 230 runs in eight innings at
an average of 28.75 to lead USA in both categories and took 13 wickets,
second most on the USA squad, with a best of 3 for 7 against Vanuatu.
He also had the sixth best bowling average in the tournament at 13.53.
Corns
has now established himself as one of the rising stars of not only USA
cricket, but international cricket as well. He will definitely be a
player that teams from full-member nations will be targeting when the
ICC U-19 World Cup begins four months from now on January 16.
Corns knows he still has a lot of preparation to do before then to get ready for the event. “I
am going to work even harder on my fitness, but I think this is
something that everyone needs to work on because to be quite honest, we
were one of the least fit sides,” said Corns. “But I also need to work
on mental toughness because the games in the World Cup are not exactly
going to be a walk in the park.”