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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)

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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.