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USA Cricketer
April 2010 - Posts
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Ram Varadarajan wrote in an email dated March 30, 2010: “It has been
my belief that USA cricket can benefit from a national dialog with
inclusive participation and active and open communication.” That
belief was shared by roughly 60 participants who dialled into the first
call on Monday, April 26, 2010. The topic was - "A national youth program: Coordination among youth academies and youth programs across the country." The callers included leaders of nearly all cricket academies and coordinators of youth cricket programs.
 In
his introductory remarks, Mr. Varadarajan said that, "Youth cricket
(in USA) is mainly led by individuals and is a grassroots effort. There
is no real coordination at the national level." He said that
while academies and other league initiatives were doing a great job,
there is a need to "knit these (efforts) together into a national
plan." "USACA has a big role to play," he added.
Pic (Right): Ram Varadarajan began the first in a series of monthly calls for sharing ideas that benefit USA Cricket
Calling it an open forum, Mr. Varadarajan said, "we are just
starting a dialog, out of this may emerge a plan." He urged
the participants to look forward instead of backward: "no abuse, no
screaming, be civil and constructive, let us make this a progressive
call." He also asked that participants adhere to strict time limits
adding that there will be more calls, including at least one more call
on youth cricket.
The response to the national dialog was positive. In an email to
DreamCricket.com, one participant wrote: "I was worried that either
very few would call in, or that many would call in, [and] each with a
different perspective and different solutions, so that there would be
little agreed upon and little to take away. What I heard instead was
much general agreement, and many of the same experiences."
Another caller told DreamCricket.com he hoped that the call would
result in a national federation of youth initiatives and a league for
youth cricket that plays year round in various divisions, instead of
meeting once a year for a regional or national tournament. "Cricket
does not have to look very far for inspiration. Soccer has two
national youth organizations both of which are affiliated to the
US Soccer Federation. Those youth associations have their own bylaws,
national rules and regulations, and policies."
The call featured five speeches followed by a discussion. Speaking
first, Jamie Harrison, President of Maryland Youth Cricket Association,
told the participants: "You do great work on behalf of cricket in the
United States, and I want to say how much I admire your hard work,
innovation and dedication. Many of you have labored in obscurity for
years, seeking only to do right for those you coached."
Speaking about the Maryland Youth Cricket Association and the
national United States Youth Cricket Association, which is in formative
stages, Mr. Harrison said, "Our mission is to introduce
elementary-school age children to cricket by donating cricket sets and
instruction to schools, summer camps and youth groups." According to
Mr. Harrison, the US Youth Cricket Association would produce a huge
feeder system for upper-level schools, academies and cricket camps.
A former teacher and coach at Cardinal Gibbons, Mr. Harrison said,
"Instructors are always on the lookout for new games to break the
monotony of class, and schools love it when things are donated for
free. Also, cricket is the perfect game for gym classes and once they
are made aware of the benefits that cricket holds for themselves and
their students, many educators will welcome the game with open arms.
As a matter of fact, even now we have schools contacting us to ask that
we start them on cricket."
Following Mr. Harrison's speech, Rajesh Suthar of NCCA (Bay
Area) spoke about that league's efforts in promoting cricket. He said
that there were 60 kids in the league's program between the ages of 6
and 19. But he said that there were not enough teams within the
league - which made match-play a challenge. He hoped that the youth
programs in his region could put their differences behind and
collaborate to provide kids with a regional minor league.
Venu Palaparthi said that the two year old DreamCricket Academy
conducts summer camps and specialized coaching in New Jersey. Mr.
Palaparthi indicated that the summer camps in 2008 and 2009 were well
attended and gradually about 30 of the kids have become year-round
cricketers playing at the Academy's indoor facility and when
opportunities arose, on a ground. Not having a dedicated ground in the
entire state of New Jersey for youth cricket was the biggest obstacle,
one that the Academy is looking to overcome during 2010 with support
from the cricket community. The Academy has conducted camps across the
entire spectrum of junior cricket - from five-year olds at the Kiddie
Academy to students with special needs - such as a camp conducted for
the NJ School for the Deaf. And it plans to conduct camps in more
cities in the future.
Ajay Athavale of California Cricket Academy (Bay Area), the most
successful cricket academy in the country by any metric, said that his
Academy's goal was to spread cricket. He spoke about the Academy's
successful efforts in conducting national level age-group tournaments.
This year, the Academy was launching the U-17 age category in the
tournament which is planned for June 24-27. Speaking of his Academy's
tour program, he said not only had CCA invited outstation teams, most
recently a team from CAUSA in Atlanta, it traveled outside its region
including overseas tours. He then spoke of the CCA tours to England
and India which had given the CCA and some non-CCA boys invaluable
turf-wicket experience. He said that the Academy is open to coaching
all kids in the areas of skills training and playing in a variety of
conditions.
Florida Cricket Academy's Wayne Ramnarine said that several well
known junior cricketers such as Steven Taylor and Ricky Nayyar
had attended his Academy. He said that Ramnaresh Sarwan recently
visited the Academy and coached the boys. The Academy, which has nets
at the Ansin Park and plays matches at Brian Piccolo, has access to
some of the best facilities in the country for youth cricket. He said
that his Academy's biggest wish was to see greater funding from
corporate sponsors and USACA. Calling for a national youth coordinator
and national agenda, he said that his region's youth coordinator had
not visited his youth program.
Shyam Mayasandra spoke on behalf of Michigan Cricket Academy in
Detroit, Mr. Mayasandra said that his academy was begun by himself,
Vasant Krishnaswamy and Mike Makin in 2004. The academy has had year
round activities including winter activities in an indoor arena. He
said although 100 kids were on the roster, they did not have the
necessary strength to have a youth league. To address that, they
organized tournaments at U-15 and U-19 levels which were well
represented. He spoke of Detroit's beautiful grounds and also
proximity to Toronto's more advanced youth cricket scene as
advantages. Mr. Mayasandra hoped for greater cooperation between the
regions and called for an end to the island mentality. He hoped that
Detroit would one day has something like the Brijesh Patel Academy,
which he said had 40 nets in a single ground. He also hoped that USACA
would organize a week-long camp at the national level for talented
junior cricketers to supplement the national level tournaments.
In the discussion phase of the call, the callers unanimously agreed
on the need for a national database for youth cricket, the backbone for
which DreamCricket offered to provide. Mr. Varadarajan said
that submitting data should be voluntary so that there are no privacy
concerns. There was also general agreement on the need for greater
coordination, which was the main theme of the call.
Former New York Youth coordinator Clifford Hinds spoke about the
need for uniform curriculums among the programs in the country and
urged USACA to have a voting member on USACA board who watches out for
youth at all times. New Jersey parent Rahul Sharma said that
recreational programs were the way to cultivate interest in cricket.
He said that township and municipal administrators should be approched
for inclusion of cricket in their recreational programs.
Mike Thomas spoke of youth cricket in Philadelphia area and much
later, in response to a question by Shahid Ahmed, he also touched on
cricket at Haverford and surrounding colleges. In his view, most
people in his area espoused the idea of cricket and he saw no reason
why cricket could not grow rapidly. Krishna from Chicago wanted to
know more about fundraising experiences of other callers. Venu
Palaparthi responded with his experience saying it boiled down
to marketing and packaging. Mr. Palaparthi noted that having a
non-profit status offers a huge advantage for raising funds due to the
inherent tax benefits to the donors.
Speaking about his
experience with raising money for the national tournaments in
California, Mr. Varadarajan said that youth cricket tugs at the heart
strings of community and saw no reason why community oriented
businesses could not be persuaded to donate money.
Jay Shah of Dallas spoke about the need for product cricket! By
that he meant that if the sport was marketed better, more people would
play the sport. This was in response to an emailed question by Richard
asking regarding a path to a professional career. Mr. Palaparthi spoke
briefly about ManasSahu, the president of the Massachusetts State Cricket League, who had initiated a 'One Club, One School' program wherein each club in the league would be encouraged to adopt a school. In response, one caller suggested that leagues should be handed USACA funds based on their involvement with youth cricket.
Mike
Makin of MCA said that roughly 4 million kids played soccer and not
everyone really aspired to play professional soccer. And those that
did dreamt of playing for Real Madrid. His point was that there were
enough good reasons to play cricket that not having a professional
career path was not a limitation. Mr. Varadarajan ended the call with a quick note of thanks and promised another call on youth cricket in May.
Speaking to DreamCricket.com, Jamie Harrison said, "In the
next call, I would like us to develop further the concept of a
nationalized youth cricket organization. Even if we don't get to create
the organization, I believe that if we have broad agreement on what it
should look like and how it should function, our suggestions will be
incorporated into whatever plan eventually emerges. Being able to put
forth a specific plan will also make it easier to approach USACA, as
opposed to voicing multiple, varied ideas that may be in opposition to
each other. It also lets USACA know that they will have eager partners
awaiting them when they are ready to move forward in the area of a
nationalized youth cricket agenda."
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Click here for “USACA holds AGM, promises merit based incentives - Part 1”
Click here for "USACA holds AGM, promises merit based incentives - Part 2"
Click here for "Future seems bright - Dainty to USACA AGM" (Part 3 of our coverage)
Lockerbie lays out his plans for next two years
Dainty drops hints about North American Cricket League post-AGM (Part 4 of our AGM coverage and after)
Comments
Taking to the podium in the time earmarked for “Other Business” at
the USA Cricket AGM, Mr. Lockerbie said, “I have been in the job for
ust over a year,” and added “I am here to give you the State of the
Union.” Mr. Lockerbie called his first year a year for “transition,
vision and planning,” adding that his second year would be the year of
growth and by third year the growth would gain serious momentum and
cricket would become a force in USA. He finished his speech saying, “I
have had 1 year under my belt, the honeymoon is over.”
Pic (Right): Don Lockerbie presents at the USACA AGM on April 17, 2010
It is what Mr. Lockerbie said in his brief speech combined with what
the USACA President shared with Orin Davidson of NewYorkCricket.com
that give us the strongest clues about where USA Cricket is headed.
Mr. Lockerbie touched on a variety of topics including the possibility
of cricket grounds/stadiums in Nassau county, New York and
Indianapolis. He said, just as an example, that the Champions Trophy required just 2 full-fledged stadiums and 4 pitches,
something that was within USA Cricket’s grasp if it worked hard towards
that goal.
In the near term, Mr. Lockerbie listed ICC Americas in Bermuda and the
ICC Division IV in Italy as the tournaments that were critical for Team
USA as they once again embarked on the quest for greater recognition.
Mr. Lockerbie said that the team had done well in 2009 with very little
preparation and that the cricket community has taken note of the fact
that USA defeated UAE in practice and Scotland in a tournament fixture.
Crediting grassroots volunteers for sustaining cricket through years of hard work, he said that USACA was gaining in strength.
Mr. Lockerbie said that his goal was for USACA to attain an annual
budget of $3 to $5 million next year and an even larger amount the year
after.
Without elaborating on where the money was going to come from,
Mr.Lockerbie said that the worldwide tender attracted 106 expressions
of interest and 42 serious proposals from 16 countries. Of those, he
said that nine proposals were short-listed and 2 ‘programs’ were
currently being considered.
Although Mr. Lockerbie did not detail the programs, some aspects of
these proposals were divulged by USACA President Mr. Dainty in an
article that appeared on April 19th on NewYorkCricket.com. In addition
to a potential arrangement with New Zealand Cricket, Mr. Dainty spoke
of a deal with the NACL group that was focused on Twenty20 games.
A quick Google search for ‘NACL’ and ‘Twenty20’ leads one to the website of the North American Cricket League Twenty20 - NACLT20.com.
The website provides some early insights on the company’s plans. According to the NACL website:
“The intention of the Company is to work in close association with USA
Cricket Association (“USACA”) and under the guidelines and regulations
of the International Cricket Council (“ICC”) to organize, host,
promote and develop Twenty20 format cricket, develop cricket and
cricketing infrastructure in the United States.”
The website further states: “NACL’s ultimate objective is to spread the
game at the grass roots in the United States, have a school level and
University level development program, take the game to the American fan
base and in the near future provide opportunities for local home grown
talent to earn lucrative League contracts and conceptualize and build a
development program in sync with The International Cricket Council’s
mandate on globalization of the sport.”
 Eight
teams that will supposedly play in the Twenty20 league are also listed
- New York Warriors, Los Angeles Panthers, New Jersey Tornados, Chicago
Eagles, Houston Riggers, Florida Alligators, Seattle Indians, and
Washington Tigers. The website does not provide information on the
timeline or on the backers of this league.
Pic (Right): The logo of North American Cricket League. The league could stage T20 games, USACA President Dainty told a website.
The website, which features a photo of Ryan Corns, promises “team
composition rules [which] are geared towards a 60% - 40%
domestic/international contingent to ensure the participation of and
the development of American talent.”
The website further states that “NACL will adhere to all ICC and USACA
rules and regulations [..and will] work in cooperation with USACA to
develop, organize and manage major cricket events as part of USACA’s
“Destination USA” strategy.”
A USACA source declined to comment on NACL
for this article as discussions were still in progress. Not much was
said about any of this at the AGM either, but something big is clearly
on the anvil if the NACL website is to be believed.
Postscript: Also, in other business at the AGM, a discussion was initiated by GLCC President Sankar
Renganathan about the need for quality umpires. “Quality equipment,
quality grounds, quality players and quality umpires - all are
important for a quality match,” Mr. Renganathan told the gathering.
Mr. Renganathan said that in a country where roughly 25,000 play on a weekend, USA cricket
needs at least 1000 qualified umpires. He urged USACA to consider an
accreditation process for umpiring and creation of an elite umpire
panel for international events. Upon Mr. Renganathan’s urging, USACA
President passed a motion calling for USACA to hear the views of all
regional umpiring associations on the certification process for
umpiring and on creation of an elite panel of umpires.
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Speaking on a range of topics over the weekend in connection with the New Zealand vs Sri Lanka
series in Florida, both USA Cricket CEO Don Lockerbie and NZC CEO
Justin Vaughan concurred that the series should be viewed as a worthwhile
investment for the future.
"The series will run at a loss. The US is a market that needs to grow
to love and appreciate cricket before you can start really trying to
run profitable events," Mr. Vaughan told The New Zealand Herald. "In
the long term it could be a really good deal for us," he added.
Speaking to a different newspaper, The Dominion Post, Mr. Vaughan
said: "It is not like rugby [All Blacks playing Bledisloe Cup matches
in Asia] where you get an immediate financial return, that is not the
case. It is part of a longer term relationship."
In an email to DreamCricket.com, Don Lockerbie wrote: “This match
series is the launch of a long term commercial partnership between USA
Cricket and New Zealand Cricket and so we are not measuring the success
of the event in the revenues raised so much as we are the exposure for
the sport n the USA.”
“We have a long term business model in the works - and I can assure you
that the new venture will be profitable and raise significant revenues
to develop cricket in the USA and fund the initiatives our board has
been busy developing for the long term growth of cricket in the USA,”
Mr. Lockerbie noted.
Speaking about how this would evolve, Mr. Vaughan said: "We'd like to
think the Black Caps would play there (in USA) annually. Ideally we'll
go there to or from tours to the West Indies or on the way to England.
They will always be short series. Possibly we'll play Pakistan there."
 Mr.
Lockerbie said that the organization was working on quite a few sponsor
opportunities - besides announcing the Indian development firm PEARLS
as the title sponsor for the series.
Pic (Right): As readers who watched today's IPL final
may have observed, PEARLS is a major sponsor in Indian cricket. The
PEARLS logo appears on the right sleeve of the Mumbai Indians team
shirt.
“We hope to announce more sponsors in short order - meanwhile we are
happy to hear from any companies interested in a commercial
partnership,” Mr. Lockerbie wrote. Adding, “we are close to securing
the worldwide broadcast rights for the event and will make this
announcment when all becomes official”
Speaking about the logistics of managing such a large scale event, Mr.
Lockerbie said that The Pearls Cup will be managed in a collaborative
manner with New Zealand Cricket providing their experienced operations
staff to work closely with USACA Cricket Operations Director Sheikh
Manaf Mohamed.
He hoped that USA Cricket could host the two teams to world class standards.
“A full event calendar will be developed and finalized shortly. My
goal is to read in the press that the players have had a remarkable
experience in the USA and want to come back to help us develop the
sport. The goal for USA Cricket is to have our "Destination USA"
program launch our development initiatives - intended to resource our
regions with funding and programs to teach the sport and recruit
American players to build our base for future national teams.”
“We have a team developing of sports marketing and management people
from the area and also have quite a bit of interest from the ICC - who
are sending umpires and officials directly from the World T20 to
officiate.”
Answering a question on whether USA will also play in an exhibition
match in the tournament, Mr. Lockerbie wrote that the NZC vs SL matches
will be played on May 20th, 22nd and 23rd. According to Mr.
Lockerbie, USACA was working to finalize separate matches between USA
and Jamaica on the May 21st as part of the event. Similarly, there
would potentially be a double header on 22nd to compliment a T20 match
featuring New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Mr. Lockerbie noted that “these
USA matches will come a week before Team USA travels to Bermuda to
compete as the defending champions in the ICC Americas
Championships.”
“We won this tournament in 2008,” he reminded.
Commenting on USA's readiness to compete against test-playing
countries, Mr. Vaughan told The Dominion Post that USA still has some
ways to go. “I'm sure in three to five years they would like to see
themselves in a tri-series or something."
Responding to a separate question on whether the teams playing in
The Pearls Cup would be full-strength sides, Mr. Lockerbie noted: “The
two full members will come directly from the World T20 in the West
Indies.”
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Media Release
Sri Lanka and the BLACKCAPS will play a three-match Twenty20 series in
Florida next month to launch a new strategic partnership between USA Cricket and New Zealand Cricket.
 Indian property development company, Pearls Infrastructure, is the naming rights sponsor for the matches and the teams will be competing for the Pearls Cup.
The series - the first international cricket matches to be played by
full ICC members in the USA - will take place from May 20-23 in
Lauderhill, Florida, around 30 miles from Miami.
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, only behind
football (soccer). With approximately 15-million cricket fans living in
the USA, Gladstone Dainty, USA Cricket President, said on behalf of his
Board of Directors following USA Cricket’s AGM - “The historic event
will provide great exposure for cricket with some of the world’s top
players who will be on show here. USA Cricket has worked hard to bring
this event about and we are very excited about the potential impact of
this series for the growth and development of cricket in the United
States."
 USA
Cricket CEO, Donald Lockerbie said the three-match series has been in
the works for some time as part of the new "Destination USA"
initiative. Last November an important strategic partnership was also
made between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket to advance the game in
the region. Pic (Right): The Sri
Lanka vs New Zealand series will be played at the Central Broward
Regional Park Cricket Stadium (Lauderhill, FL) - File Photo
"We believe that in order to grow the game of cricket in the USA - we
need to have the best teams in the world play in our country,” said
Lockerbie. “We want to demonstrate to the American public just how
exciting the T20 format is. Cricket is already popular here but has
lacked major media coverage. This inaugural series is the first step
to reverse this situation."
Lockerbie also pointed out that the last time the sport of cricket made
significant history in the United States was in 1844, when the Canada
vs. USA match was the first international sporting event between two
nations in world history.
New Zealand Cricket CEO, Justin Vaughan added that NZC has long seen
the dynamic potential of cricket in the USA, and made a strategic
decision to offer to partner with USA Cricket; “We have the experience
and capacity to help develop the game of cricket in the USA. We are
looking at ways of helping USA Cricket grow the game both
professionally and at the grassroots. This T20 series is the first of
many initiatives between our two cricket boards and we envisage the
BLACKCAPS playing in the USA on an annual basis."
 Pearls
Infrastructure Managing Director, Mr. M.L Sehjpal says the company is
excited about its involvement in such a ground-breaking event.
“We are delighted to support the endeavors of USA Cricket and New
Zealand Cricket in growing the game in the United States" said
Sajchpal. We are an Indian based company, and whilst having
international interests we are appealing to Indians through a major
common interest and passion, the game of cricket.”
The match series follows on the heels of the ICC World Twenty20 in the
West Indies - with the finals in Barbados on 16th May. Sri Lanka was a
finalist in the 2009 event and is expected to perform well again this
year. Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said, "Our team
and nation is honored to be one of the first two ICC Full Members to be
involved in this historic series. We shall bring our finest team
possible and look to return home with a great experience in the USA,
helping the sport grow swiftly before thousands of American cricket
fans."
The BLACKCAPS were semi-finalists in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and
made it through to the Super Eight stage of the 2009 event. Their
current team includes many of the world’s leading players. Captain
Daniel Vettori said, “The BLACKCAPS are really excited about the
prospect of playing in Florida. We know the series against Sri Lanka
will be a great advertisement for international cricket to US fans.”
The matches will be played at the Central Broward Regional Park Cricket
Stadium - the only ICC approved cricket stadium in North America, in
Lauderhill, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The stadium holds up
to 20,000 and was completed in November 2007.
Matches are scheduled with the inaugural game set for Thursday night
20th May, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons (22nd-23rd May).
Ticket information and pricing will be announced by USA Cricket shortly on its website www.usaca.org.
ENDS
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By Peter Della Penna
With USA’s tour of Bermuda on the horizon for the ICC Americas Division One tournament, USACA is organizing a fitness and selection camp for a group of players in line for a chance to be drafted into a 14-man squad. The camp is scheduled to take place on April 24 and 25 at an undisclosed location in New York. The squad will be selected by a May 4 ICC deadline for roster submissions with the tournament slated to start on May 29.
.jpg) According to a USACA official, there is a possibility that between three and six new players could be selected to participate in the tour. A major reason is that multiple players from the February tour to the UAE and Nepal apparently will not be able to get more time off from work or school so soon after taking four weeks off.
Pic (Right): Ryan Corns completed a 1.5 mile run within 10 minutes and 30 seconds at the last fitness camp - which was one of the fitness tests [Picture Courtesy: ICC/Bryan Vandenburgh]
All 15 players from the February tour have been invited to the camp, but according to Krish Prasad, chairman of USACA’s Cricket Committee, Usman Shuja and Orlando Baker will not be attending the camp. When Shuja was contacted by phone on Tuesday, he confirmed he would not be available to go to Bermuda due to his impending graduation from the MBA program at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Baker’s status for Bermuda is unknown.
Four players from USA’s U-19 World Cup squad have been invited to the camp. According to Prasad, Greg Sewdial was not given an invite despite being the leading run scorer for USA at the U-19 World Cup because he is expected to have ankle surgery and will not be able to play cricket this season. When contacted by phone on Tuesday, Sewdial said that he has surgery scheduled for mid-May to correct a long-standing ankle injury which took place right before the U-19 National Tournament in Brooklyn last May. His doctors have indicated he will be on crutches until August and won’t be completely rehabilitated until November at the earliest.
At least 29 players have been invited, but Prasad and USACA VP of Operations Manaf Mohamed have said that the list is not finalized and that more players may be invited despite the camp being only days away.
As for the fitness requirements of the camp, players are expected to be able to complete a set of eight benchmarks to prove their strength and conditioning. Failing to meet the standards does not necessarily mean a player won’t be selected though. According to multiple sources who were at the December training camp in Florida used for selection for the February senior squad tour, players were expected to complete an approximately 1.5 mile run in 10 minutes and 30 seconds which was a major component of a fitness test. Only Akeem Dodson and Ryan Corns finished in the allotted time and neither player was selected for the tour.
According to a document obtained through a source, the eight fitness goals to be completed for this camp under the specified limit for players at the camp are as follows:
2 miles in 16 minutes
400 meters in 70 seconds
100 meters in 16 seconds
60 meter shuttle run in 12 seconds
40 meter backward run in 15 seconds
25 pushups in 1 minute
15 sit-ups in 1 minute
15 jumping jacks in 30 seconds
List of senior team probables invited to camp -
Atlantic Region: Imran Awan, Muhammad Asad Ghous, Gowkaran Roopnarine (wk), Clain Williams.
Central East Region: Ashhar Mehdi (wk), Usman Shuja.
Central West Region: Orlando Baker, Ryan Corns, Sushil Nadkarni.
New York Region: Dominic Audain, Lennox Cush, Kevin Darlington, Sudesh Dhaniram, Akeem Dodson (wk), Glen Hall, Andre Kirton, Rashard Marshall, Steve Massiah, O’Neil Powell, Dwayne Smith, Carl Wright (wk).
North East: Andy Mohammed.
North West: Bilal Khan, Nauman Mustafa (wk), Saqib Saleem, Saurabh Verma.
South East: Timroy Allen.
South West: Ravi Timbawala, Aditya Thyagarajan.
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On Monday, April 26, 2010, the USA cricket community will participate in the first of a series of conference calls to facilitate broader exchange of ideas on topics of interest to American cricketers,
 Readers of DreamCricket.com will remember Ram Varadarajan as someone who (unsuccessfully) ran for President of USA Cricket Association in 2008. He has largely remained behind the scenes taking a low-profile approach over the last two years, helping youth cricket activities in California and elsewhere. His New Inning campaign promised a Bill of Rights, and one of the rights was “Full and Inclusive Participation.”
Mr. Varadarajan wrote in an email dated March 30, 2010: “It has been my belief that USA cricket can benefit from a national dialog with inclusive participation and active and open communication.”
“It is in the spirit of openness that I want to set up a monthly call to discuss cricket matters, share ideas and solutions amongst constructive and like-minded group of individuals for the benefit of USA cricket.
"The call will be for one hour. This will be an open forum. All are invited. I will be accommodating 125 participants on each call. From time to time, we will have invited speakers as well.”
The topic for the first call, to be held on Monday, April 26, 2010, is - "A national youth program: Coordination among youth academies and youth programs across the country."
Inviting youth cricket coordinators and other key people in youth cricket to join the first call, Mr. Varadarajan wrote: “I know you have all done yeoman’s work for youth cricket as part of an academy, a coaching program, or a schools program. I do not wish for this to be a political conversation. We all have a lot of good ideas. When we share them kids all over the US will benefit.”
Extending the invitation to USACA officials and league presidents, he wrote: “Feel free to invite others that are involved in youth cricket to attend. Omissions, if any, are purely by accident.”
"The format of the call is simple," he explained. Following a quick introduction, five speakers who had RSVP’d to his initial email will present for 8 minutes about “what they have achieved, describe ways that they have overcome challenges, opportunities that they see in the future and any specific help that they need.”
Following that, there will be a Question and Answer session. Questions can be sent in advance or during the call – they can be emailed to varadarajan.rammohan@gmail.com with "Youth Cricket" in the subject line or via SMS to 408-772-3151.
Call Details:
When: Monday April 26, 2010 at 9:00 PM Eastern 6.00 PM Pacific.
Who can attend: First 125 callers can attend by calling 1-866-292-5107 toll-free from within the USA. There is no PIN required.
Topic: "A national youth program: Coordination among youth academies and youth programs across the country."
Agenda: Five youth cricket leaders will speak followed by questions and discussion.
Questions can be sent in advance or during the call: To avoid confusion on the call, questions can be emailed to varadarajan.rammohan@gmail.com with "Youth Cricket" in the subject line or via SMS to 408-772-3151.
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The 2010 USA Cricket Association AGM was held in Dallas on Saturday,
April 17 2010, with a strong message of merit based incentives to the
regions and greater funding for development.
The AGM was attended by roughly 30 leaders and administrators. The
proceedings were mostly official and extremely cordial, leaving aside
the usual trading of barbs, mostly in jest, between the New York and
non-New York administrators.
 Among
the attendees was a large contingent from the host league (North Texas
Cricket Association) and current and past administrators of the Central
West Region. The warm hospitality of the hosts, especially Mr. Ahmed
Jeddy and Ms. Anees Jeddy, was much appreciated.
Pic (Right): USA Cricket
Association President Gladstone Dainty delivers his opening address.
To the right are Ahmed Jeddy, Chik Masood, Nasir Javed, Tony Gilkes,
John Thickett and Krish Persaud
President Gladstone
Dainty opened the proceedings hoping that he could address the audience
next year as “Ladies and Gentlemen” instead of “Gentlemen.” Mr. Dainty
regretted that there were no women in the hall and he urged all to make
women’s cricket an integral part of their plans going forward.
Mr. Dainty said that he was grateful for a board that was “thoughtful
and intense” and acknowledged the efforts of the board members and the
various sub-committees in bringing about incremental changes and
putting in place new policies and procedures.
Mr. Dainty admitted that a lot of work remained to be done and that the
success of USA Cricket rested on a combination of bottom-up and
top-down initiatives. Mr. Dainty said that the board and the CEO were
working very hard on revenue growth and they would increasinly rely on
the regions and leagues for deployment of the resulting funds at the
grassroots.
Answering a specific question on whether USACA would provide funds for
turf wicket development by a league, Mr. Dainty said that supplemental
resources from USACA would be available for all noteworthy regional
initiatives. But he emphasized that the leagues and regions should
take a business-like approach and prepare comprehensive and viable
business plans that relied on a combination of funding sources. He
also said USACA would not only provide monetary help, it would also
lend its weight in non-monetary areas such as issuing letters, official
endorsements and authorizations needed in order to secure grounds. In
a subsequent address, Don Lockerbie explained how he and his board were
already working with several cities to secure grounds (more on that
later).
 As
USA Cricket became a beneficiary of larger amount of funds from the
commercial deals and from ICC during 2010 and after, he said the more
resources would be allocated to regions and leagues that were found to
be most effective and proactive through the use of performance metrics.
Pic (Left): USA Cricket Association CEO Don Lockerbie, John Aaron and Manaf Mohammed at USACA AGM
The great disparity among the regions in terms of overall development,
alignment with the ICC and USA Cricket’s objectives, and the overall
governance and communication processes was a recurring theme at the AGM
- a topic that will be covered in a separate article.
Perhaps the most engrossing presentation was the one by the Treasurer,
John Thickett, whose job it was to summarize the financial state of
affairs of USA Cricket. The presentation lasted two hours and touched
on several themes - the most notable of which was the deployment of key
performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking within the regions in
line with ICC.
Mr. Thickett provided hope to the audience when he showed USA Cricket’s
upward trend in revenue from $88K for Full Year 2007 to $460K for Full
Year 2009. A large portion of that increase was owing to an ICC
Administrative Grant and other ICC grants (roughly $285K) -
demonstrating USACA’s successful compliance with ICC requirements.
Of course, the costs too increased substantially during 2009 - owing
mainly to increased administrative costs ($272K), and increased cost of
participating in domestic and international competitions ($388K). Only
$5K or less than 1% was spent on development of cricket.
Understandably, there was some consternation when this breakdown was
presented. But Mr. Dainty explained that the allocation for
development was expected to change drastically as new revenue flowed in
through the anticipated commercial deals. (Mr. Thickett explained
later that the amount allocated for development in 2010 was in the
$300K range and efforts were on to ramp up development spend to 7-digit
numbers).
 Mr.
Thickett explained that the higher administrative costs were the
outcome of the hiring of CEO, the cost of maintaining an office for USA
Cricket and the cost of travel to meetings. Pic (Right): Treasurer John Thickett presents to the AGM
Both Mr. Thickett and Mr. Dainty explained that the administrative
expenses were like start-up costs and ICC had given an administrative
grant of $160K relating to these costs. Mr. Thickett further
emphasized that hiring a CEO was mandated by the ICC, and was expected
to yield rich dividends once the commercial arrangements that were
currently being evaluated by the Commercial Opportunities Committee,
were consummated. In a bid to assuage the fears of any remaining
skeptics, Mr. Thickett explained that these efforts were already
starting to generate additional revenue and that the 2010 year-to-date
revenue was already in the $660K range.
Mr. Thickett also cited the progress made in repaying creditors - some
dating back to 2003 - even as overall payables grew during 2009,
largely due to the drawdown of a Line of Credit from ICC.
The Treasurer explained that in line with ICC’s expectations, USA
Cricket had prepared a goal-oriented 2010 budget driven by key
performance indicators (KPIs) such as junior players and competitions,
senior men’s and women’s participation, educated and accredited umpires
and coaches, cricket education, and facilities such as grounds with
turf pitches and designated practice facilities.
Mr. Thickett stated that ICC’s funding was driven by these metrics and
urged the regions to be prompt in turning around the survey responses
and budgetary reports. Mr. Hemant Buch noted that the ICC budgetary
process was a tremendous planning tool and had helped his region
greatly in the development of its strategic plan. Mr. Thickett later
presented some noteworthy metrics (to be covered in a separate article).
One of the low-points of the AGM was the revelation that only two
regions (Central West and Western) submitted their 2010 budgets in
response to a USACA request. Even those budgets were handed past the
deadline that ICC had imposed on USACA. While this did not adversely
impact USACA’s compliance with the ICC, the Treasurer hoped that the
regions would embrace the fiscal and budgetary discipline that was
expected of USACA. Mr. Thickett said that each of the USACA regions
were bigger than most affiliate and indeed some associate members of
ICC and that they should develop processes in line with their stature.
The Treasurer noted that considerable progress had been made in the
areas of transparency and that USACA had posted its prior tax returns
from 2002 to 2008 and certain other financial information on the USACA
website. He also held conference calls with Regional Treasurer that
covered topics such as opening regional bank accounts, budgeting,
fundraising ideas, use of Quickbooks (for which he had negotiated a
preferential rate for the regions), etc.
Perhaps most significantly, he announced that USACA had gained charitable status in New York.
The Treasurer’s presentation also touched on other topics such as
membership fees, 2010 goals and benchmarking and was followed by
reports by the CEO and the Regional Representatives - all of which will
be covered in Part 2 of this report. [Part 2 of DreamCricket.com’s coverage of the USA Cricket Association AGM.] Increase in Membership Fees
A considerable debate ensued when the Treasurer, John Thickett, touched
upon the work of the sub-committee that worked to develop new
membership fees and insurance coverage.
 The new club member fees of $100 per club without liability insurance and $200 with liability insurance, constitute a substantive increase from the previous year when clubs paid $30.
Pic (Right): John Thickett, USACA Treasurer, presents to the AGM.
Certain members (including this author) expressed reservations on the lack of communication on the rationale for the increase, while some others questioned the quantum of the increase.
In response, members of the USACA board offered their thoughts on the question of the quantum of the increase.
Firstly, Raj Padhi of the Western Region, who was part of the
sub-committee that reviewed the membership fees along with Krish
Persaud and John Thickett, explained that prior to the increase, a
club was paying $30 in membership fees and (on average) about $125 for
liability insurance (i.e. a total of $155). Mr. Padhi said that he
had negotiated a lower cost insurance plan and the present total cost
per club inclusive of insurance came to $200, which was only $45 more
on average. In addition, the new plan offered an early payment rebate
of 25% or $50 to the region. After considering the rebate, this was a
win for the clubs and regions, Mr. Padhi explained.
Certain members offered a counterpoint stating that the aforementioned logic could not be applied to leagues that had opted out of
USACA negotiated insurance coverage. They said that they had good
reasons to opt out - they had better or cheaper insurance coverage than
what USACA had negotiated or found the insurance cover to be excessive
when compared to their needs.
In this context, Sankar Renganathan of Great Lakes Cricket
Conference suggested a per-player insurance plan instead of a per-club
plan as a way of realizing further savings.
In an attempt to bring things to a closure, Mr. Dainty took to the
podium and said that the sub-committee would remain open to
constructive inputs on achieving additional savings on insurance
premiums. Mr. Dainty was emphatic in saying that USACA was not going to
sugarcoat the issue of the fee increase. He said that the intent of
the sub-committee was to adjust and increase the club membership fee.
The fee, which was pegged at $30 for over a decade, had remained very
low for too long - a point that many board members agreed with. For
a club which had 15 players, the new $100 fee was still affordable at
less than $7 per annum per player. Mr. Dainty said that clubs may
petition for additional time but there was no question of a rollback.
He said that the rebate of $25 or $50 to the region, as applicable, was
a welcome outcome, but really was incidental to the entire exercise.
Talking about the impact on USACA's finances, Mr. Thickett said that
roughly $30K or less than 7% of USACA revenue in 2009 was from
membership fees, a very low percentage when compared to other
associates and affiliates. The present increase would certainly help
to increase USACA's financial capacity. Mr. Thickett noted that one
of the things on his list was the development of individual membership
options and a way for members to use credit cards to pay fees.
As the discussion shifted from the tactical to the strategic, Mr.
Lockerbie offered comparative analysis of member fees for various
sports. The point he tried to make was that a healthy level of
internal funding was a factor whenever external funding bodies were
approached. He said that USOC was potentially a funding source now
that cricket was a recognized as an olympic sport.
Mr. Lockerbie said that cricket should study what the other sports are
doing and create a masterplan for membership fees and benefits that was
in line with other olympic sports in USA. As an example, he said that
membership cost for badminton was in the range of $25 per player. For
team sports, such as soccer, the fee was much higher.
In response to Mr. Renganathan's suggestion that any plan to imitate
other sports' member fee structure should be carefully studied and any
migration should be carefully thought out, Mr. Lockerbie said that he
was not advocating for an immediate change to a radically different
model but was expressing his views in favor of an effective long-range
plan.
When presented in this manner by the Treasurer, the CEO, the President
and others, there was broader support for the increase from those
assembled despite the general dissatisfaction about lack of
communication.
On this last point, the Treasurer noted that the regional
representatives were informed of the increase and asked the leagues to
be more demanding of their regional representatives and their
directors. Mr. Dainty too acknowledged that there were weak links in
communication, and that this was was one of the biggest challenges for
USACA.
Commercial Opportunities
Speaking on the topic of commercial opportunities, Mr. Thickett said
that Mr. Lockerbie would provide more details shortly, but said that as
a member of the committee that was vetting and developing
opportunities, it was his hope that USACA would soon have stable
long-term cash flow which would allow it to thrive.
Even though Mr. Lockerbie and several other speakers hinted that the
signing of a deal was imminent, there was no indication of what, with
whom, or what kind of deal USACA was signing. One speaker said that
a deal was in legal review and felt that USACA could potentially make
an announcement within days. But on the details of the deal, his lips
were sealed.
Benchmarking
Mr. Thickett spent the last part of his presentation canvassing support
for KPIs and benchmarking. "To improve ourselves, we have to measure
where we are today as a nation and within each region," Mr. Thickett
said.
As an example, he showed a slide which illustrated that New York
Region had roughly 3.5 clubs per cricket ground (implying
crowding) whereas Atlantic Region had the best ratio of all regions at
just over 1 team per ground. He said this type of data could prove
useful for each region in prioritizing where they spend their human and
financial resources.
Talking about junior involvement, Mr. Thickett said USA as a whole was
weaker when compared to other associate countries in regards to the
ratio of number of juniors playing cricket to the number of seniors.
Likewise, when looking at the regions, he said that 2008 data showed
NYR, South East and the West were leading in junior cricket
initiatives. The remaining regions should act fast to improve their
metric in this area in order to close the gap and correct the
imbalance, Mr. Thickett noted. Otherwise, he cautioned, it would prove
harder for the national team to be representative of the country.
Mr. Dainty said that other associates were particularly focused on the
number of local-born players in the national team - an area that
received 3% weightage in ICC’s grants. He brought up the fact that
none of the senior US players were actually US-born.
Manaf Mohammed said that all but three members of the U-19 team were
US-born and that was an encouraging sign. However, it is imperative
that these cricketers continue on to the senior team, he noted.
Following that observation, once again, the discussion gravitated
towards how seriously the regions were taking these kinds of metrics
and benchmarking measures. As an independent observer, I sensed some
dissonance within the regions. It was a fact that some regions had not
been diligent in submitting all of the information that was requested.
In hind sight, not submitting complete information may have resulted in
USACA losing out on an additional $100K in ICC funding.
In this context, it is equally important for USACA to do more to build
bridges and invite all the non-affiliate leagues and clubs into USACA
fold. There are entire cities and leagues missing from USACA’s list
of member leagues. This leads me to believe that several of these
metrics could benefit from the inclusion of non-affiliate leagues. In
fact, the non-affiliated leagues in Philadelphia and NY/NJ alone could
lead to a substantial increase in each of the metrics.
2009 and 2010 ICC Capital & Development Grant Scorecard Factors
Source: USACA
Playing standard (senior men’s International ranking) - 40% importance
Senior playing numbers (men’s & women’s competition teams) - 15%
Junior playing numbers (teams) - 10%
Cricket grounds (4% turf, 4% permanent, 2% total) - 10%
Junior involvement participants - 6%
Coaches (3% qualified/education courses, 3% active) - 6%
Umpires (2% qualified/education courses, 2% active) - 4%
Employees (2 part-time = 1 full-time) - 3%
Junior/local development over time (i.e. number of senior playing team
through national junior programs/competition or lived 75%
of lifetime in-country) - 3%
Non-ICC income generated - 3%
Total - 100%
Part 3 of DreamCricket.com’s coverage of the USA Cricket Association AGM - USA Cricket Association President's Report
Comments
 In
the President’s Annual Report that was circulated at the AGM, Mr.
Gladstone Dainty observed that USACA is communicating better, is
becoming more purposeful and is moving rapidly in a positive
direction. He noted that this was possible “by empowering more
stakeholders.”
“USACA still has pressing need for more administrative, technical, and
financial resources to carry out the mandate of the organization. The
vastness of the USACA territory, the high operating costs, and lack of
suitable dedicated cricket facilities are highlighted due to these
deficiencies,” Mr. Dainty wrote.
On a positive note, he wrote: “We have succesfully overcoming some of
our obstacles by improving our cash flow problems.” [sic] and "we are
exploring new revenue generating avenues and the future seems very
bright.”
Just as he had said in his speech, Mr. Dainty reaffirmed his confidence
in his board in the annual report: “The USACA Board is evolving into a
thoughtful, skillful and deliberate team and I feel confident that
their actions and directions given to the CEO will result into a solid
foundation for progress of USA cricket.”
Progress since 2008
Expressing satisfaction with the progress made since the elections in
March 2008, Mr. Dainty listed the various accomplishments in his report:
- All Regional Boards have been established and partially functional;
- USACA Executive Board meetings are being held per schedule;
- An office has been established in Miami Beach, Florida;
- A CEO has been appointed and he has enhanced our capabilities;
- Several committees have been commissioned and some are functional; and
- A five year developmental plan has been completed with some phase
 being implemented.
Describing the status of USACA's relationship with the ICC Americas,
Mr. Dainty noted: “Regional Manager Martin Vieira and his staff are
valuable resources for USACA. Mr. Andy Pick and Wendell Copping have
made themselves available for a range of service including high
performance coaching methods, techniques and education.”
Talking about the growth of the New York City Public Schools cricket
program, he wrote that “it is imperative that USACA allocate more
attention and other resources to this program.” Separately, when New
York Region’s Selwyn Ceasar spoke of PSAL and Newcomers High School,
Mr. Dainty commended the effort and asked if the cricketers were
playing age-group cricket as well. Echoing the same theme elsewhere, NewYorkCricket.com reported on April
19th that Mr. Dainty was ‘disappointed that so far no players from
those programs have yet won places in the national Under-15 and
Under-19 teams.’
In his Annual Report, Mr. Dainty listed the many accomplishments of
USA Cricket on the field including the success of the senior team in
progressing to Division 4 and of the U-19 team progressing to the World
Cup.
What should we expect in 2010
Mr. Dainty wrote in his annual report that he was working with the WICB
President on “a proposal to host regional and international
competitions in the USA for the benefit of the Americas Region.”
Adding “I am hopeful that real soon we will reward them [Lauderhill
stadium] with cricket at the highest level.”
Speaking about the much talked about New Zealand versus Sri Lanka
T20 series at the AGM, Mr. Dainty sounded positive and said that
negotiations were in progress on that as well as several commercial
deals.
Although he did not elaborate on this subject further at the AGM, Mr.
Dainty was more forthcoming about the negotiations in the article that
appeared yesterday on NewYorkCricket.com where he was quoted as saying:
“If you ask me I will be more inclined to say the chances are greater
for it [the NZ vs SL series] to be staged than not.”
The website provided more pointers on the commercial deals: ‘USACA
and Cricket New Zealand, the ruling body for the sport in that country,
which has a partnership arrangement with the former, are collaborating
to stage the ODI series which would be complimented by matches between
the United States national team and one from the West Indies
territories.’
‘An investor is providing some of the funding and television rights are
shopped around for the games,’ Mr. Dainty told the website. He also
spoke of a separate deal for T20 cricket. ' CEO Don Lockerbie is working on a number projects outside of the Cricket New Zealand arrangement. One includes a deal with the NACL group to stage all Twenty20 games involving the national team in the United States.’
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SFCA Simms Cup Update
 The
South Florida Cricket Alliance (SFCA) Simms Cup Semi-Finals was marred
by some persistent showers which brought a premature end to both
matches at Lake Stevens Elementary School, on Sunday April 11.
Pic (Right): Mark Johnson scored a sizzling 111 with 11 fours and 6 sixes! [Courtesy: Mark Johnson]
The number one team Jamaica, playing Team USA in a match shortened by
rain, will advance to the final and Guyana, also in a match marred by
rain, scored a win over Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), by a faster
run rate, to set up a Jamaica vs. Guyana final. The man-of-the-day was
Jamaica’s Mark Johnson who banged a stroke-filled ton.
Semi-final 1 - Jamaica team vs. USA at Lake Stevens-East:
Taking to the crease first after winning the toss, Jamaica amassed a
respectable 290 all out off 38.3 of the allotted 40 overs. Leading the
way, the ebullient former USA left-handed hard-hitting batsman Mark
Johnson hit his second ton in the competition, when he blazed his way
to a sizzling 111, spiced with 11 peppery fours and six huge sixes.
The consistent Ken Wright, slammed 4 fours and 2 sixes in a sparkling
knock of 49, whilst Fredrick Redwood hit 21 (4 fours) and Jermaine
Thompson got 15 (2 fours). Johnson, whose 111 came off 82 balls and
with Wright’s 49 coming off 62, shared a 102 run fourth wicket
partnership.
Bowling honors for Team USA went to Cedrick Davis, who captured 3 for
50 from 6.3 overs, Dave Wallace 3 for 57 from 7 including 1 maiden,
Andre Forbes 2 for 42 from 5 and Mark Simpson, 1 for 24 from 2.
In reply, Team USA was on 57 for 2 after 11 overs when rain ended play.
Dave Wallace scored 23 (4 fours), Micton Wallace got 11 (2 fours) while
Shawn Beckford and Shane Ford, were both not out on 11 and 7
respectively.
Bowling for Jamaica, Andrew Williams took 1 for 20 from 5 overs and
Redwood, 1 for 37 from 6. Since the competition dictates that 16 overs
must be completed in a last innings effort, to make it a match, and as
this did not happen, Jamaica as the number 1 team will advance to the
final.
Semi-final 2 - Guyana vs. T&T at Lake Stevens-West:
Sent in to bat after losing the toss, T&T was dismissed for 171 in
the exact 40 overs allowed. Joel Lee cracked 7 fours in an
enterprising knock of 47, Bally Nayaik hit 45 including 3 fours and a
six and Timothy Surujbally got 23 (3 fours & a six). Bowling for
Guyana, the skipper, leg- spinner Masood Mohamed, captured 3 for 25
from 8 overs, another leg-spinner Vickram Ramoutar bagged 3 for 27 from
8, Imran Saddick took 2 for 30 from 8 and Nazim Ali, 2 for 38 from 8.
In reply, Guyana was on 94 for 4 after 18 overs, when heavy rain ended
play. Rasheed Bacchus hit 23 (2 fours & a Six), whilst Kayume
Mohamed and Vickram Kumar were both undefeated on 19 and 18
respectively. Kayume Mohamed smacked 2 fours and Kumar, 2 fours and a
7, which included an overthrow. Bowling for T & T, Tasmool Hosein
took 2 for 3 from 6 overs and Ken Singh, 2 for 27 from 8.
The final Jamaica vs. Guyana, is scheduled for North Dade Middle School on Sunday April 18.
MAQ T20 Lauderhill Night Cricket Round 11 Update
When the 2010 MAQ T 20 Lauderhill International Night Cricket
Competition completed Round 11 on Saturday evening April 10, at
Lauderhill Sports Park, Barbados whipped Guyana and Sri Lanka trashed
Leewards, while Barbados’ Raymond Denny and John Willoughby, stole the
spotlight in an unbroken scintillating second wicket partnership worth
119 runs.
First match at 5 PM, Guyana vs. Barbados:
Winning the toss and electing to bat first did not help Guyana, as they
were toppled for a not so competitive 132 from 14.4 of the allotted 20
overs. Opener Nazim Ali, banged 5 fours and 2 sixes.
In a topscore of 46. Andrew Permaul chipped in with a useful 32 (5
fours & a six) and Skipper Masood Mohamed got 29 (3 fours and a
six). Bowling for Barbados, Micton Wallace took 2 for 19 from 3
overs,Steven Brathwaite 2 for 30 from 3, Justin Holder 2 for 35 from
3.4 and David Brathwaite, 1 for 15 from 3.
In a positive reply, Barbados made light work of the winning total by
cruising to 133 for 2 off 15.2 overs, to inflict a convincing 8 wicket
victory. Taking them there, former USA captain Raymond Denny and John
Willoughby, flayed the Guyana bowling, whilst associated in a 119 run
third wicket partnership. Denny slammed 9 flawless fours and a six in a
sparkling 36 ball unbeaten 61 and Willoughby, smacked 4 scorching fours
and 5 towering sixes, while carrying his bat 55, scored of only 39
balls. The best of the bowlers for Guyana, were Ali with 1 for 27 from
4 overs and Avinash Rampersaud, 1 for 40 from 4.
Second match at 8 PM, Leewards vs. Sri Lanka:
Occupying the crease first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka posted a
respectable 209 for 7 off the arranged 20 overs. Naveed Ahmed,
smashed 3 fours and 5 sixes in a blistering 58, not to be left out
Nazir Javed, blazed his way to an exact 50 off 39 balls that included 7
fours.
The opening pair put on 101 for the first wicket. Other useful
contributions came from Syed Hassan, who hit 6 fours and 2 sixes in his
red-hot 18 ball 41, Mohamed Mahazar who got 20 (1 four & 2 sixes)
and Ken Singh 15 (1 four and a six).
Bowling for Leewards, Everton Mapp took 2 for 38 from 3 overs, as
Trevor Garvey, Steven Lewis and Boswell Jeffers each took a wicket for
12, 33 and 48, while there were 2 run outs.
In reply, Leewards were dismissed for 133 after 18.2 overs, leaving Sri
Lanka the victors by an emphatic 76 runs. Only Lewis who banged 5 fours
and 4 sixes in a blazing 54 off the 38 balls he received and Jeffers
who got 27 (2 fours and a six), offered any resistance.
Bowling Sri Lanka to victory, Singh scalped 4 for 20 from 4 overs,
Sadik Haque snared 3 for 17 from 2, Hassan 1 for 3 from 1.2 and Pieter
Potgieter, 1 for 20 from 4.
The following matches will be played on Saturday evening April 17:
First match at 5 PM, Windwards vs. Team USA, and in the second match at
8 PM, Jamaica play India.
Lauderhill Jammers wins seventh straight Parkway Masters title as Charles and Henry steal spotlight
Current champions Lauderhill Jammers, defeated Palm Beach to retain the
Annual Parkway Over-45 Years-Old Title, for the seventh straight year,
when the two teams squared off at North Dade Middle School, on Saturday
April 10. 2010.
The Jammers’ Victor Charles cracked an exact 100 and Ivor Henry, a sparkling 76, to steal the spotlight.
Winning the toss and deciding to occupy the crease first, reigning
champions Lauderhill Jammers posted a very competitive 242 for 4 off
the arranged 25 overs. Victor Charles, smacked 5 fours and 5 sixes in
fiery unbeaten 100 to lead the way.
Not to be outdone Ivor Henry, with an array of shots on either side of
the wicket, of which 9 fours and a six were the most rewarding, stroked
a classy 76, whilst Horace Stanley got 24 (1 four & a six). Charles
and Henry shared a valuable second wicket partnership worth 92 runs.
Bowling for Palm Beach, Ronald West took 2 for 28 from 3 overs, Val
Campbell 1 for 32 and Paulton Hall 1 for 48.
In reply, Palm Beach looking for 243 for victory and the Parkway
Masters title, was restricted to 162 for 4, off the regulated 25 overs,
to concede victory by an emphatic 80 runs. Ross Livingstone, banged 5
fours and 2 sixes in a well played 41, Vickram Ramoutar in a cameo
knock, blasted 4 fours and 2 sixes in 38, and Steve Wint hit 24 (2
fours & 2 sixes).
The best of the bowlers for the victorious Jammers, were Gaythorne
Williams, Virgil Francis and Conroy Henry, with a wicket each for 3,
17, and 34 respectively. Congrats are very much in order for Lauderhill
Jammers.
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In an election for the governing body of Midwest Cricket Conference (MWCC) that was held on April 3rd, the league's members voted for a new executive team - the 'Team Change' - headed by Shekhar "Shekhs" Aravind as President.
 Going into the election, Shekhs Aravind urged the voters to "remember 3 things when you cast that ballot - sponsorship, schedule and independent committees. You be the judge!" That message appears to have resonated with the majority.
Pic (Right): Shekhar Aravind, President of Midwest Cricket Conference.
Established in 1965, MWCC is among the largest cricket leagues in the country. It comprises 46 clubs with players drawn from several states in the American Midwest. The three divisions of the league play their cricket on 19 grounds, 13 of which are astro-turf wickets, and matches are held in several cities and suburbs including Chicago, Peoria, Milwaukee, Madison and St. Louis.
It was not an easy victory for 'Team Change.' Shekhs Aravind was locked in a tight contest with Tariq Ahmed, a tireless worker and a passionate cricketer who led the league for over a decade. In the end, the vote was a close one with 22 votes in favor of Shekhs Aravind and 19 for Tariq Ahmed, opening the door for change, even if by a thin majority.
Many of the changes promised by the new team are consistent with the aspirations of cricketers across the country. Shekhs has promised to inject greater transparency into the organizational structure, launch a sponsorship drive that is in line with the reach of the league's membership, and review the scheduling process so that fixtures are communicated sufficiently in advance.
Among the other changes Team Change is proposing is an amendment to the MWCC constitution to let an individual only run for 2 terms - each term lasts 2 years in the league. A change that other cricket administrators should also emulate.
The new team appears to be keen on increasing interactions with leagues in the region and in the country. "Our vision is to make MWCC the largest and most competitive cricket league in America. To attain our objective, the most important aspect is maintain cordial relationship with the peer leagues in the area. MWCC plans on engaging with the peer leagues, to establish an extended relationship with all the leagues in the region and the country," Shekhs Aravind told DreamCricket.com.
As a large league, MWCC has the same concerns as their peers across the country regarding the current USACA rule that grants one vote per league - regardless of the size of the league. "I think its unfair to allow smaller leagues to cast the same amount of votes as a larger league," Shekhs said adding that it could lead to creation of bogus leagues.
Shekhs, who is a Technical Architect by profession, is well known within the league for his contributions as VP of the Abid Lahiri Night Tournament. Shekhs attributed the successful campaign to his team mates and thanked them for staying the course in a tough election.
The new VP, Mohammed "Moe" Iftikhar, plays for the Muslim Gymkhana and is a well connected local businessman. Alpesh Gohil, the new General Secretary is "a consummate cricket bachelor, who pretty much eats and sleeps cricket. Someone who is extremely dynamic and has a never say "no" attitude," Shekhs said.
Hemant Shah, a CPA by profession, is the incoming Treasurer. Hemant plays for Deepark. Gaurav Patel, who is a Business Officer of the league, "is a local Dentist, who not only keeps your teeth clean, but also keeps our slate clean," Shekhs noted.
Shekhs made it a point to thank the invaluable contributions over the years made by the previous management headed by Tariq Ahmad and Sohail Alvi and the tireless work of many individuals including Marghoob Qazilbash, Humayun Baquai, Humayun Mirza, Krishna Meluvettil, Sridher Jagath, and countless others.
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By Peter Della Penna
 The
USACA Super League will remain in South Florida, but new sites are in
store for the rest of the national tournaments set to take place in
2010. According to a schedule obtained from USACA 2nd Vice President
Manaf Mohamed, USACA will be holding six tournaments in 2010.
Pic (Right): Lauderhill Stadium at the Central Broward Regional Park
The most noticeable part of the schedule is that the Men’s Eastern and
Western Conference tournaments will not be held until September. As a
result, it will be harder for newer faces to force their way into the
USA national team for the ICC tournaments currently on USA’s radar: the
ICC Americas Division One, scheduled to take place from May 29-June 7
in Bermuda; and the ICC World Cricket League Division Four, scheduled
to take place from August 14-21 in Italy.
However, the USACA Women’s Nationals are scheduled for June 4-6 in
Cupertino, Calif., providing an opportunity for players on USA’s
women’s team to get some match preparation ahead of the ICC Americas
Challenge Series, a three-match 50-over series against Canada scheduled
to take place in Toronto from July 12-17. The winner will advance to
the Women’s World Cup Qualifier tournament on the road to the 2013 ICC
Women’s World Cup in India.
On the junior cricket front, the U-15 Nationals are in line to take
place from July 15-18 at a site yet to be determined in the Atlantic
Region. The U-19 Nationals have been set for August 6-9 in the Central
East Region. No site has been announced, but Chicago would be the
strongest candidate while Minneapolis deserves a look as the Minnesota
Cricket Association did a commendable job hosting the Western
Conference tournament in 2009. It will be a preview for players looking
to stake their claim to a spot on the next U-19 squad picked in 2011 to
represent USA for the qualification journey to the 2012 ICC U-19 World
Cup in Canada.
USACA 2010 Tournament Schedule (subject to change)
Women’s Nationals
June 4-6 in Cupertino, Calif.
U-15 Nationals
July 15-18 in the Atlantic Region at a site to be determined.
U-19 Nationals
August 6-9 in the Central East Region at a site to be determined.
Eastern Conference Tournament
September 10-12 in the South East Region at a site to be determined.
Western Conference Tournament
September 17-19 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Super League National Championship
November 12-14 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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