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USA Cricketer
June 2010 - Posts
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
USA Cricket – 2010 Women’s National Tournament
Northern Belles Ring Loud Out West
By John L. Aaron
In a bright golden sunny northern California valley last weekend, the North East region’s women’s cricket team shone brighter than its competition in so many ways, it was hardly a surprise that the squad emerged USA Cricket’s 2010 national women’s champions.
Led by all-rounder Candacy Atkins, the bevy of belles convincingly defeated their near-east neighbor New York by six wickets, one day after annihilating a Seattle Chargers XI by a massive 229 runs. The victories all but ensured the North East XI the championship hardware, long before the tournament concluded on Sunday in the heart of Silicon Valley in Cupertino, California.
Following a modest, but very impressive opening ceremony at the Cupertino Civic Center’s Library ground - where three weeks earlier a turf wicket had been installed, some 60 plus ladies all decked out in colorful uniforms, saw the 2010 USA National Women’s Cricket Tournament get underway. With Cupertino Mayor Kris Wang and Vice Mayor Gilbert Wong in attendance, as well as the county officials of several neighboring municipalities, the participating teams assembled and were led into demarcated areas by very young girls each displaying a placard with the names of the participating teams – Atlantic Region Warriors, North East Region, Western Chargers, and the Western Firebirds, the latter two teams representing the West Region. The New York team arrived later in the afternoon. Once the opening festivities were over, it was time to get down to the business at hand. Five teams, three days, five matches – One national championship.
North East vs. West Region Chargers
 Winning the toss and electing to take first strike at the Cupertino Library ground, the North East team quickly began demolishing the bowling attack of the West Region Chargers by establishing solid partnerships and racing to 282 all out in 37.2 overs, which unfortunately included some 102 extras.
Pic (Right): Indomatie Goordial-John was player of the match in the first match [File photo of Ms. Goordial-John receiving the same award in 2009]
The newly laid batting strip was playing very low and was not expected to yield many runs. However, the batting of vice-captain Indomatie-Goordial John delighted those in attendance at the picturesque square, as she pulled and cut, displaying tremendous poise for her diminutive frame. Goordial-John’s entertaining knock of 75 would later earn her the Player-of-the-Match award. She was ably supported by wicket-keeper Monique Mathee, 45, and skipper Candacy Atkins, 23. The West Region Chargers’ Rohini Prabhune, Keerthana Kanagaraj and Sangita Jayaraman, each snared two wickets apiece and were the best among the eight bowlers used by the Chargers.
With each team required to play two matches and the championship being decided on most wins or a net run-rate, the North East was taking no chances, as they piled on the runs against an inexperienced Chargers XI. Credit must however be given to the Charges who collectively displayed a heart of gold in their gallant effort.
The North East wickets fell at 1-70, 2-100, 3-105, 4-188, 5-219, 6-260, 7-263, 8-264, 9-268 and 10-281.
In reply, the Chargers were unable to compete with the bowling attack of the North East, with a second-wicket partnership of 25, being their most charging of efforts, as 15-year old Shebani Bhaskar and Nadia Gruny captured the first three wickets, and the rest of the Chargers crumbled with zeros or single digits. Meghana Paranjape, 13 and skipper Yogita Manghnani, 12, and Extras 23, made a gallant effort to mount a charge at the imposing 281 North East total.
Bowling for the North East: Skipper Atkins 6.3-2-6-3, Nadia Gruny 2-0-6-2 and Bhaskar 3-0-18-2 were the pick of the bowlers. Triholder Marshall and Goordial-John each grabbed one wicket apiece, as the Chargers wickets fell at 1-0, 2-26, 3-27, 4-36, 5-41, 6-42, 7-48, 8-52, 9-52 and 10-52.
North East vs. New York
In a much-anticipated match-up of the tournament, the New York Region won the toss and elected to bat against a North East XI coming off of a 230-run victory against the Western Chargers at the Dilworth Elementary School ground, in San Jose.
New York was all out for 107 in 36.5 overs. Catherine Joy Jones, 21 and Louise Jackson, 20 were the only players to reach double-digits, along with Extras 38, as bad running between the wickets caused New York some crucial partnerships. Jones batting at eight was very aggressive in taking the fight to the North East as she participated in a gallant 48-run partnership, before falling a victim caught behind by wicket-keeper Monique Mathee off the bowling of Nadia Gruny, with the score at 103. It was too little, too late.
The New York wickets fell at 1-8 (Doris Francis), 2-8 (Beverly Browne), 3-23 (Joan Serrano), 4-39 (Catherine Crowe), 5-46 (Reneasha Richards), 6-55 (Louise Jackson), 7-55 (Donna Glasgow), 8-103 (Catherine Jones), 9-103 (Grace Richards), and 10-107 (Olga Charles).
Bowling for the North East: Indomatie Goordial-John with figures of 8-2-12-3 was the pick of the bowlers. However pacer Shondell Ward was impressive with 8-3-8-0. While Carlene Edwards, Nadia Gruny, Karen Bayles, and Triholder Marshall each snared one wicket apiece.
In response, the North East XI reached 108 off 35 overs and lost four wickets along the way, as they doggedly focused on completing their second win of the tournament, despite losing the opening pair of Mathee and Bhaskar with zero runs on the board.
It was Elizabeth Vitte, 16 and Goordial-John, 35 not out, who together put on a responsible 52-run fourth-wicket partnership. Skipper Atkins, 11 and Nadia Gruny, 7, along with 39 extras, ensured the win.
Bowling for New York: Catherine Jones was the most impressive with figures of 8-1-15-3. Joan Serrano bowled 8-1-27-1. Doris Francis was unfortunate with 8-0-16-0, as New York lacked the penetration needed after the initial North East opening pair collapse.
The North East’s Shondell Ward was awarded the Player-of-the-Match for her controlled bowling spell of 8-3-8-0 which kept New York pinned down, at a time when the explosive and experienced New York batters appeared ready to fire. Ward, like New York’s Doris Francis bowled their hearts out without capturing any wickets.
New York vs. West Region Firebirds
New York would later bounce back to defeat the West Region Firebirds by five wickets on the final day of the tournament. The Firebirds won the toss and took to the crease, falling for 73 all out in 32 overs. Top scorers were Durga Das and cricket newcomer Erika Rendeler, each with 10 runs apiece, as the New York bowlers, with the exception of Jones 6-1-22-0, ran through the Firebirds batting line-up recording four ducks along the way, but conceding 35 extras to the Firebirds’ modest total of 73.
The Firebirds wickets fell at: 1-28, 2-33, 3-34, 4-45, 5-46, 6-64, 7-67, 8-71, 9-73 and 10-73. Bowling for New York: Doris Francis 8-3-10-3, Joan Serrano 7-1-9-3; Grace Edwards 8-0-27-2 and Brenda Cordner 2-1-5-2, recorded the scalps.
New York in reply reached the target of 74 at the 27th over, assisted by 27 extras. Skipper Beverly Brown, 24 was the top scorer and was adjudged Player-of-the-Match, as New York lost only five wickets along the way.
The New York wickets fell at: 1-10 (Joan Serrano), 2-15 (Doris Francis), 3-16 (Catherine Jones), 4-49 (Grace Richards), and 5-70 (Louise Jackson). The wickets were shared one each, by four of the six bowlers employed by the Firebirds.
The New York victory was not enough to earn them a second-place finish, mainly because they were not able to dismiss the Firebirds in five fewer overs. However, they did finish ahead of the Atlantic Region Warriors and the West Region Chargers, in the USA Cricket’s second national women’s tournament. The West Region Firebirds would go on to finish in second-place on the basis of a better net run-rate, behind the North East region team.
West Region Firebirds vs. Atlantic Region Warriors
 Winning the toss and opting to take first strike, the Warriors attempt was a bold move to soften the impact of playing with only nine players, following the suspension of two of its players by the regional administration, for on-tour indiscretions.
Pic (Right): The West Region Firebirds finished runners-up overall [Courtesy: Suganya Jayaraman]
Wicket-keeper Pauline Williams, 22 and opener Anju Malik, 14, along with Extras, 28 were the double-digiters, as the Atlantic Warriors posted 87 for 8 in 21.2 overs. Unfortunately the last two batswomen Bushra Imran and Gulrukh Imran, both retired hurt without contributing to the team’s total.
Erika Rendler was the Firebirds’ best bowler capturing 2 for 10 off 2 overs.
Firebirds in response raced to 91 for 4 in 19 overs, as Durga Das, 32 and Malathi Joseph, 21, along with 32 extras, helped the West Region Firebirds to the victory.
The Firebirds wickets fell at: 1-14 (Ritu Bhargava), 2-82 (Durga Das), 3-85 (Erika Rendler), and 4-85 (Malathi Joseph). Sahar Azmat was the Atlantic region’s best bowler with figures of 4-0-15-2, while Beulah Pidakala with 2-0-3-1, and skipper Ivy Mahabir, 4-0-11-1, were responsible for the other two Firebirds wickets.
The Western Firebirds’ Durga Das was awarded Player-of-the-Match.
Atlantic Region Warriors vs. West Region Chargers
The Atlantic Warriors in an effort to come away with at least one victory from the tournament, was determined to defeat the Chargers, and they did so handsomely by a convincing 8-wicket margin.
Winning the toss and offering first strike to the Chargers, the Warriors with an injured Timika Kowlessar sidelined, sought to penetrate the Chargers’ batting line-up early. However, the Western Chargers rallied to score 143 for 9 in their 40 overs, aided by a contribution of 79 extras from the Warriors.
Top scorers for the Chargers were Sangita Jayaraman, 19 and skipper Yogita Manghnani, 17, as the Chargers wickets fell at 1-17 (Heta Dave), 2-31 (Rohini Prabhune), 3-35 (Yogita Manghnani), 4-87 (Meghana Paranjape), 5-89 (Rohini Prabhune), 6-93 (Deepa Mahalingam), 7-105 (Sangita Jayaraman), 8-112, (Sangeeta Mudnal), and 9-143 (Shwetha Kayathi).
Bowling for Atlantic Region Beulah Pidakala 8-0-35-3, Gulrukh Imran 8-4-10-2, Anju Malik 8-1-25-2, and Sahar Azmat 8-1-20-1 were the wicket-takers.
The Atlantic Warriors responded with a steadfast passion reaching 147 in 33.3 overs and losing only its opening pair of Martha Randoo, 16, and Anju Malik, 14, along the way, as wicket-keeper Pauline Williams, 28 not out, and Gulrukh Imran, 11, aided by 78 extras, saw the Atlantic Warriors regain some pride, following an inglorious start in the tournament, with player personnel issues. Rohini Prabhune and Yogita Manghnani captured the two wickets.
The Atlantic Region’s Gulrukh Imran was named Player-of-the-Match.
Last year the women's tournament was conducted between an Eastern Conference XI and a Western Conference XI, with the Eastern Conference emerging champions. It is hoped that next year the tournament would attract a representative XI from each of USA Cricket's seven regions.
Tournament Awards
Champions: North East Region
Runners-up: West Region Firebirds
Third Place: New York Region
Fourth Place: Atlantic Region Warriors
Fifth Place: West Region Chargers
Individual Awards
MVP: Indomatie Goordial-John (North East Region)
Best Batswoman: Indomatie Goordial-John (North East Region)
Best Bowler: Beulah Pidakala (Atlantic Region)
Best Fielder: Erika Rendler (West Region Firebirds)
Best Wicket-keeper: Catherine Crowe (New York Region)
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Here is a funny take on the forthcoming USA vs England soccer match by an American who writes for The Nottingham Post.
"I may be American, but in many instances I am an England fan. Instances such as cricket. Or rugby league. Or soccer (soccersoccersoccersoccer) against, say, Slovenia.
And I've definitely put in the effort. I've lived here for more than seven years, and I've really tried to make it work with you people. I've embraced what I can.
I've been on holiday to Skegness. I've started buying Wisden every year. I complain about trains more than is necessarily healthy. I like my irony dry, my beer at room temperature and my cricket played over multiple days, thanks very much.
But I'm from Florida, and England v USA on the big stage is a bridge too far. Review my status if you must, but I'm backing the Yanks to win."
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna
A stunning display in the field was backed up by a steady chase of 101
as USA knocked off previously undefeated Canada by five wickets to win
the first ever 20-over championship in the ICC Americas Division One
Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the National Sports Club in Hamilton,
Bermuda. Orlando Baker was named Man of the Match for USA as he took 2
for 25 in the field before a crucial innings of 21 coming in at number
four to stabilize USA’s quest for glory.
USA won the toss and elected to field first as Moazzam Imtiaz came in
for Adrian Gordon after USA’s nail-biting win over Bermuda in the
morning semi-final. The decision to bowl was vindicated as Canada was
put under pressure immediately by the opening combination of Timroy
Allen and Lennox Cush.
“I though it was a perfect game for us today,” said USA captain Steve
Massiah after the victory. “We were off to an ideal start and we were
able to keep that momentum throughout the innings.”
Allen struck first with his fast-medium pace in the second over as
Hiral Patel tried to cut a short ball outside off but wound up playing
onto his stumps to be out for a five-ball duck with the score on 1. Two
overs later, Allen took the prized scalp of Rizwan Cheema for the
second time in as many days. Allen bowled a short of a length ball that
followed Cheema as he backed away from the stumps and he feathered a
simple edge to Carl Wright behind the stumps to be gone for 2, making
the score 6 for 2.
Cush rattled Canada on back-to-back balls in the fifth over to leave
them in serious trouble at 16 for 4. Zubin Surkari was bowled through
the gate for 6 attempting to drive a full length ball from the
off-spinner. Sunil Dhaniram went next for a golden duck going for an
expansive drive to a full and wide ball, offering a thick edge to
Wright that was well taken.
Sandeep Jyoti tried to rebuild the innings with Jimmy Hansra as the two
men put on 44 runs for the fifth wicket, giving Orlando Baker some
harsh treatment in his first over. But it was Baker who had the last
laugh sending both men back to the pavilion. First to go was Jyoti on
the first ball of the 13th over as he launched a full ball outside off
straight to Aditya Thyagarajan on the long off boundary to make it 60
for 5. Hansra fell on the last ball of the 15th as he miscued a paddle
sweep straight to Allen at fine leg in the circle to make it 78 for 6.
On the very next ball, Massiah took the first of his three wickets when
Umar Bhatti pulled a good length ball straight to Clain Williams on the
midwicket boundary to be out for 4. It became 79 for 8 in the next over
as Usman Limbada departed for 1 in almost identical fashion, pulling a
slightly short delivery from Muhammad Ghous to Williams who dove
forward coming in from the midwicket rope to take his second catch.
Massiah struck again on the last ball of the 18th over when Khurram
Chohan tried to loft him over long on for six but didn’t get enough of
it. Sushil Nadkarni covered a lot of distance to take a good catch
running to his left as Chohan fell for 4 to leave Canada at 88 for 9.
Rustam Bhatti was the final man to go for 9 as he tried to guide a full
ball outside off to third man, but took off without making contact and
Wright collected for a simple stumping to give Massiah final figures of
3 for 21. Harvir Baidwan finished not out on 6 as Canada was all out
for 100 in 19.3 overs.
USA received an early scare in their chase as Chohan removed Cush and
Massiah cheaply to give Canada hope. Cush walked out to open with
Nadkarni, but soon walked off for 1 as he was clean bowled going to
drive a full length delivery to make the score 3 for 1 in the second
over. Four balls later, Massiah departed for 1 when he chased a full
and very wide delivery, sending a thick edge that was taken by Cheema
over his head at slip to make it 6 for 2.
Nadkarni was joined by Baker and the two consolidated for USA, putting
on 36 for the third wicket. Nadkarni took back control with a big six
over long off followed by another over long on. He went to clear long
on again against left-arm spinner Patel, but didn’t get all of it and
Baidwan took the catch to send Nadkarni on his way for 25. With the
score on 60 in the 11th over, Baker lost his wicket when he came down
the track to hit off-spinner Dhaniram out of the ground but only
managed to send it to Hansra, who took a superb sliding catch at long
off as Baker finished with 21.
In the next over, Canada tried to turn up the heat with a new man at
the crease by stationing a man at silly point for Williams. The
distraction worked as Williams drove his sixth delivery straight back
to Patel for a simple caught and bowled dismissal and the match was
evenly poised at 64 for 5 in the 12th.
Thyagarajan was then joined by Wright and the two did enough to take
USA to victory. Thyagarajan played a series of trademark late cuts and
extra cover drives to keep the scoreboard ticking while Wright worked
the ball all around the ground. Canada’s last chance to heap pressure
back on USA for a late charge in the field was missed with the score on
91 for 5 in the 17th when wicketkeeper Rustam Bhatti fumbled a simple
stumping chance. Wright came down the track to a flighted delivery from
Jyoti and missed badly, but Bhatti looked even worse than Wright on the
sequence as he made a total mess of a straightforward opportunity to
get rid of Wright, who was on 13.
Thyagarajan hit the winning shot to third man with nine balls to spare
and the celebration began as USA’s players made their way onto the
pitch. USA finally managed to exact revenge on Canada for earlier
defeats in the 50-over competition and in the group stage of the
20-over competition. Canada won the 50-over event and was going for a
clean sweep of nine matches in 10 days, but fell just short.
Thyagarajan finished 27 not out to top score for USA while Wright was
21 not out as USA won seven of nine matches on tour.
“It’s always great to win the inaugural tournament,” said Massiah about
USA’s 20-over tournament win. “It’ll always be remembered that we won
the first Twenty20 tournament.”
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna
After an unconvincing start, USA plunged even further into a hole after
a middle-order collapse and never recovered, losing by seven wickets to
Canada on Saturday on day two of the 20-over competition at the ICC
Americas Division One Tournament in Bermuda. Hiral Patel was named Man
of the Match after taking 1 for 6 in two overs of off-spin followed by
40 in 31 balls to propel Canada to victory as they chased 127 with 20
balls to spare.
The loss means USA finishes second in Group A and will take on the top
team from Group B, Bermuda, in a semi-final match on Sunday. Canada
also defeated Argentina earlier in the day to top Group A. As a result,
Canada will take on Group B runner-up Cayman Islands in the other
semi-final on Sunday morning before the championship match between the
winners of both semi-finals takes place at the National Sports Club in
Hamilton on Sunday afternoon.
Canada won the toss and elected to field first as Adrian Gordon
returned to USA’s lineup in place of Moazzam Imtiaz. Medium-pacer
Calvert Hooper put USA under pressure straight away as he dismissed
Carl Wright for 1 in the second over with the score on 6. Lennox Cush
was dismissed without scoring for the third time on tour and second
time against Canada as Khurram Chohan had him LBW to make it 20 for 2
in the third. It became 44 for 3 in the sixth over when Sushil Nadkarni
was bowled by Hooper for 22.
Captain Steve Massiah did his best to weather a storm that rolled
through the middle order a few overs later. Aditya Thyagarajan had
joined Massiah at the crease and contributed 17 runs in a 22-run fourth
wicket partnership, but fell to Rizwan Cheema in the 10th over to
trigger USA’s slide.
In the next over, left-arm pace bowler Umar Bhatti struck twice for
Canada. With the score still on 66 after the departure of Thyagarajan,
Bhatti ran out Orlando Baker off his own bowling for a second-ball
duck. Rashard Marshall was then dismissed by Bhatti for no score as
well, caught by Usman Limbada to make it 67 for 6.
Massiah forged USA’s best partnership of the match with Ashhar Mehdi,
adding 34 runs with USA’s wicketkeeper before the captain was finally
bowled by Sunil Dhaniram for 35 in 36 balls with four boundaries and a
six to make it 102 for 7 in the 16th. One run later in the next over,
Mehdi was out to Patel for 9. Timroy Allen scored a quick 14 to give
USA a fighting chance before he was out LBW to give Hooper another
wicket as the opening bowler finished with figures of 3 for 21 in four
overs. Gordon finished not out on 3 while last man Muhammad Ghous was
run out for 4 off the final ball of the innings as Canada took all 10
USA wickets for 126 runs.
Canada suffered early setbacks in their chase at the hands of Allen as
he dismissed both openers cheaply. Trevin Bastiampillai was bowled for
a run-a-ball 7 to make it 10 for 1 while the dangerous Cheema was
cleaned up two overs later for 3 with the score on 26.
Patel then joined Zubin Surkari at the crease and the two batsmen
negotiated USA’s bowling unit to steer Canada towards the target. They
constructed the biggest partnership of the match, 54 runs for the third
wicket. Patel managed to hit four boundaries and two sixes in his knock
before he was bowled by Gordon to make it 80 for 3 in the 13th over.
Dhaniram then continued where Patel left off, hitting another four
boundaries to go with a solitary six as he finished 25 not out in 13
balls to help get Canada over the line. Surkari remained unbeaten on 42
in 37 deliveries with two fours and a pair of sixes to be the highest
run scorer in the match.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna
 A
soul-crushing eighth wicket stand between Timroy Allen and Orlando
Baker was the difference as USA defeated Argentina by two wickets on
Friday afternoon at Sea Breeze Oval on the first day of 20-over matches
at the ICC Americas Division One Tournament in Hamilton, Bermuda. USA
was in dire straits at 105 for 7 after 11 overs but managed to chase a
target of 184 with 11 balls to spare due in large part to their 67-run
partnership. Pic (Right): Orlando Baker kept his cool to take USA past Argentina [File photo]
USA won the toss and elected to field first as Baker returned to the
USA lineup for Bilal Khan. Argentina lost opener Lucas Paterlini with
the score on 15 as he was stumped for 7 by Ashhar Mehdi off the bowling
of medium-pacer Moazzam Imtiaz. Grant Dugmore then joined Matias
Paterlini at the crease and Dugmore dominated the innings for
Argentina. The two put on 46 runs in 5.2 overs before the elder
Paterlini was bowled by Muhammad Ghous for 21. Dugmore, who is the
43-year-old CEO of the Argentine Cricket Association, bashed 68 runs in
35 balls, with six fours and five sixes before he was finally dismissed
by Lennox Cush in the 12th over to make it 97 for 3.
Donald Forrester then joined Tomas Francis at the crease and the two
built Argentina’s biggest partnership of the innings, putting on 63
runs in 5.2 overs before Forrester was out for 32 to Ghous at the end
of the 17th over to make it 160 for 4. Alec Ferguson was dismissed two
balls later for a duck by Steve Massiah while Francis fell for 35 to
Massiah as well with three balls to go in the innings. Martin Siri
finished 13 not out while Alejo Tissera walked off with 1 off 1 ball as
Argentina made 183 for 6 in their 20 overs.
USA started briskly in pursuit of the runs with Sushil Nadkarni and
Carl Wright at the crease, but lost wickets at regular intervals.
Wright was the first to go for 17 to Gary Savage with the score on 24
in 2.2 overs. Savage then claimed Cush for 15 to make it 40 for 2 in
4.5 overs. Massiah fell for a second-ball duck to Lucas Paterlini six
balls later to make it 51 for 3.
Tissera then made serious inroads on the USA batting order to put
Argentina in the driver’s seat. The 19-year-old took his first wicket
in the ninth over as Nadkarni fell short of another half-century,
caught by Savage for 42 in only 23 balls with four boundaries and three
sixes. Tissera then had a destructive 11th over when he took three
wickets to put USA in a perilous position. Mehdi was out for 8, caught
by Siri to make it 100 for 5. On the next ball, Aditya Thyagarajan was
stumped off a wide ball for 6. Then on the last ball of the over,
Rashard Marshall was out for 1 in 2 balls as USA were reduced to 105
for 7.
Despite the fall of wickets, USA still maintained a solid run rate and
if they could keep two men at the crease, they would have a good chance
to chase the runs which is exactly what happened. Undeterred by
Tissera’s previous over, Allen tore into him for a four and a six in
the 13th over while Baker also helped himself to a maximum as Tissera
finished his spell giving up 54 runs in four overs to go with his four
wickets.
Allen and Baker maintained the asking rate and it seemed they would get
USA over the line until Allen was given LBW to Lucas Paterlini for 32
on the first ball of the 18th over with USA still needing 12 to win.
Imtiaz then came in and coolly struck a set of boundaries. Imtiaz
finished 8 not out as Baker hit the winning runs off the first ball of
the 19th over, finishing unbeaten on 28 as USA came out on top.
USA will now take on Canada on Saturday morning in their final Group A
match. Canada will have two games in one day as they will also face
Argentina in the afternoon.
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Andy Bull of "The Spin" is skeptical in a piece titled "Cricket goes west to the USA." So skeptical that he declares that the "average American sports fan has no need for, or interest in, cricket, whether it is Twenty20 or Test."
Andy's blog piece appears to be based on what he has heard or read elsewhere. He looks at Don Lockerbie's now-familiar statistics on number of fans, players and grounds in the light of the some failed private ventures. Of course, he does not forget to toss in Allen Stanford's one-off spending spree in Fort Collins while at it.
"The trouble is that these are familiar numbers. We heard them in 2004, when the entrepreneur Kay [Kal] Patel launched the Pro Cricket League. We heard them again in 2005, when the Pro Cricket League folded and was replaced by Major League Cricket. And we heard them in 2009, when another visionary, Jay Mir, launched the American Premier League."
According to Andy's own assessment, the latter was just a "fine plan on paper". But did he actually read the plan? He calls Mr. Mir a 'visionary,' but USACA, which recently executed an international event in Florida gets little or no credit?
I think Pro Cricket was way ahead of its times - and not just for the U.S. market. At the time it was introduced, it was radical to play a T20, leave alone one with 5 ball overs played in baseball stadiums.
NZ vs SL in Florida successfully implemented a somewhat simpler idea - a neutral venue international cricket match series in USA's first international stadium. One series cannot convert Americans into screaming cricket fans!
Andy is right - building a coherent infrastructure needing a lot of money. But an "insurmountable obstacle" it is not!
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Phoenix, Arizona, May 15, 2010
 MetroStars Cricket club, the biggest cricket club in Arizona has
been organizing day-night cricket tournament in Phoenix, AZ since
2001. ( www.az2020cup.com).
The club's masterminds - Mahesh Naik (founder) and Vivek Govekar
- started pondering an idea that Vivek envisioned after looking at the
success of IPL and various regional T20 leagues in India.
Pic (Right): Auction in progress [Courtesy: Arizona Premier League]
The idea was to have premier cricket players from Arizona play in
highly competitive T20 tournament and usher in the concept of team
auctions and player auctions into Arizona's regular club-based cricket
season. The two organizers worked around the clock to bring this idea of combining recreational weekend cricket and fantasy sports team ownership into a reality.
On May 15th, an auction was held to sell 5 teams to interested
owners who will manage the teams that comprise the Arizona Premier League (APL) - a premier T20 day-night tournament.
All cricketers in Arizona were given an opportunity to register to play in
APL. Owners were given an assurance that 40% of the profits going to
winning team and 20% going to runners up. Players get a chance to play
in a top-tier tournament without paying a single penny and the potential of
getting paid by owners depending upon the success of this new format.
The auction was extremely successful and yielded thousands of dollars, well beyond everyone's expectations. Each owner was given fantasy money that was proportionate to what they
actually paid to buy a team.
 Owners used that money to acquire players, each of whom had a notional price. Salary caps,
bidding caps and player trading was introduced and team owners went in high-gear with planning and strategy. Five top players who attracted the highest bids were assured 10% share
of profits. Auction was held in highly professional manner using
software tools developed specially by Vivek Govekar.
Pic (Left): Team owners evaluate players [Courtesy: Arizona Premier League]
What APL has achieved is a sign of things to come, especially for the T20 format in Arizona. APL has
managed to forge alliances between clubs who generally play as rivals
in regular leagues. Players from different clubs have instantly joined
together to provide their owners every chance to win a trophy and 40%
bonus money. Owners are taking pride in providing best possible
facilities to their players with an eye on luring them for next season.
A complete software tool along with
auction automation, player registration and format/rules templates are
being made available by APL to organizations that want to roll out this
phenomenal format in their leagues.
Please visit APL's website for more details.
Contact:
Source: Arizona Premier League
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By Peter Della Penna
 Another
solid bowling performance paved the way for USA to wrap up a quick
victory over Cayman Islands on Thursday, chasing down a target of 130
for the loss of no wickets in only 13.5 overs at Rangers CC in
Southampton, Bermuda on the final day of the 50-over competition at the
ICC Americas Division One Tournament. Sushil Nadkarni was named Man of
the Match for a rampaging century, smashing 12 fours and 6 sixes to
finish 101 not out in only 54 balls. Pic (Right): Sushil Nadkarni finished 101 not out - 84 of those runs came from boundaries [File photo from WCL Div 5 - Courtesy Daniela Zaharia/USACA]
USA finished second at 4-1 in the 50-over portion of the event behind
Canada, who beat Bermuda by four wickets on Thursday to go undefeated.
Bermuda placed third at 3-2 followed by Argentina at 1-3-1 after they
tied Bahamas on Thursday. Cayman Islands finished fifth at 1-4
while Bahamas wound up last with four losses and a tie as they could
not get over the line against Argentina, finishing their chase level at
333 when they lost their last wicket in 33.3 overs with one run needed
to win. If Bahamas had scored a single to win instead of losing their
final wicket on the same delivery, Cayman Islands would have finished
fourth, Bahamas fifth and Argentina last based on net run rate.
Cayman Islands won the toss and elected to bat first as USA brought in
Bilal Khan and Moazzam Imtiaz for Adrian Gordon and Orlando Baker. Khan
struck first for USA, having Sacha De Alwis caught by captain Steve
Massiah for a second-ball duck with the score on 8 in the second over. Ramon
Sealy was then joined at the crease by Ricardo Roach, but Timroy Allen
bowled Sealy for 17 to make it 32 for 2 in the fifth. Allen took his
second wicket two overs later, having Omar Willis caught behind by
Ashhar Mehdi for 5 to make it 48 for 3. Khan set Cayman Islands back
even further when Roach was caught behind as well for 12 with the score
still on 48.
A brief recovery by Cayman Islands came with a 34-run partnership
between Saheed Mohammed and Ryan Bovell. It ended when 20-year-old
off-spinner Muhammad Ghous, who has had impressive figures throughout
the tournament, bowled Bovell for 16 to make it 82 for 5 in the 18th
over. Two overs later, Ghous claimed Ronald Ebanks for 5 to make it 96
for 6. In the next over, medium-pacer Imtiaz took his first wicket in
his first match of the tournament when Carl Wright caught Mohammed for
18 with the score unchanged. Wright took another catch for Imtiaz four
overs later as Kevin Bazil fell for 5 to make it 104 for 8 in the 25th.
Ghous made it 109 for 9 in the 26th when he bowled Conroy Wright for 4
to claim his third wicket. He finished with 3 for 21 in 10 overs
including three maidens. A 20-run partnership pushed Cayman Islands to
129 before Massiah had Alessandro Morris caught by Khan for 16 to wrap
up the innings in 32.1 overs as Kervin Ebanks finished not out on 3.
Extras were the high score in the innings as USA conceded 28 of them,
including 18 wides.
Nadkarni put his foot on the throat of the Cayman Islands bowling unit
and never let up as he teamed with Wright to open and close USA’s chase
of 130 in quick time. Kervin Ebanks and Bazil received the harshest
treatment as Ebanks went for 40 in four overs while Bazil was clubbed
for 24 in his two overs. Wright walked off 24 not out in 29 balls with
four boundaries as Nadkarni ended the match and raised his century on
the same delivery, hitting a four off the fifth ball of the 14th over
bowled by Willis.
Nadkarni finishes as USA’s second leading run-scorer with 243 runs in
five innings, including a century and two fifties. Only Aditya
Thyagarajan was better for USA as he chalked up 250 runs in four times
at the crease, with his 159 against Argentina the highest total of the
event to go along with one half-century.
Ghous, Gordon and Lennox Cush all claimed six wickets for USA to have a
share of the team lead. However, Ghous’ average of 12.83 was the best
of any bowler who bowled a minimum of one over per match. He also
possesses the best economy rate at 2.57, well ahead of USA’s next best
bowler in the category, Khan at 3.46.
The Twenty20 portion of the tournament begins on Friday as USA takes on
Argentina in Group A while Cayman Islands and Bahamas face off in Group
B in the only matches of the day.
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San Jose, California, June 2, 2010
Some of the best
cricketers in the Bay Area gathered among the vineyards of Northern
California to participate in the 2010 Kirigin Cellars Invitational, a
triangular series of 50-over and 20-over matches over the long Memorial
Day weekend to combat a top team visiting from Southern California, the
LA Invaders.
The Kirigin Cellars Invitational this year was a compact contest
organized by the host, Dhruv Khanna, owner of Kirigin Cellars. Khanna
invited the Northern California Cricket Association, an association in
which Khanna has played his cricket since 1986, to field a team
after securing the participation of the LA Invaders, a team organized
by Khanna’s friend, Veman (Polam) Reddy from Southern
California. Kirigin fielded the third team - the Kirigin Tigers.
All matches were played on the scenic Cabernet Cricket Field at Kirigin
Cellars located in the southern part of Santa Clara County equidistant
from downtown Morgan Hill and Gilroy. 
Pic (Above): Match in progress at the extremely scenic Kirigin Cellars' Cabernet cricket ground.
In the first match, on Saturday, May 29th, a 50-over contest between
NCCA and the visiting LA Invaders, the NCCA team proved emphatically
dominant. NCCA appeared intent to build on its record-setting win over
the North-West Cricket League of Seattle-Portland in April 2010 (where
NCCA’s opening bowler, Imran Khan took 5 wickets and caused NWCL to
lose all-ten wickets for 19 runs). Batting first again, NCCA ran up a
score of 300 runs, with local favorite Sunny Singh smashing a quick 28
runs with 3 sixes as an opening batsman. Sunny’s team-mates almost all
pitched in with significant scores – Shiva Vashishat scored 77,
Shantanu Divekar scored 53 and Saqib Saleem scored 48.
Taking 4 wickets, Imran Khan once again gutted the visiting team’s
batting. He was ably supported by Piyush Shanker who pitched the ball
with robotic consistency, giving nothing away to the batsmen. The LA
Invaders, including Captain Tarun Bhoomireddy, and leading lights Ravi
Timbawala and Nikhil Iyer, folded meekly putting 90 runs on the board.
Early the next (Sunday) morning, the visiting LA Invaders came back
strong in its T20 match against Khanna’s Kirigin Tigers. Kirigin
Tigers posted a respectable score of 140 in 20 overs. Recovering from
two successive strikes by Timbawala to take out the Tigers’ opening
pair, Majeed Mohammed and Kitty Kulwant each made significant
contributions with the bat. However, the LA Invaders knocked off the
runs in 17 overs losing only 5 wickets in the process. Captain
Bhoomireddy was the highest scorer with some assistance from dropped
catches by the Tigers.
Sunday afternoon, the LA Invaders, with the exception of Ravi
Timbawalla, batted poorly again, posting a score of 89 runs all out in
the T20 against NCCA. In an unconvincing display of batting, based
only in part on an experimental batting-order, NCCA managed to score
the needed runs with the loss of 7 wickets and considerable
heart-burn. Sher Ali and Divekar remained unbeaten but the outcome may
have been different had Bhomireddy held on to a difficult chance behind
the stumps offered earlier by Ali.
On Monday, Memorial Day, NCCA added some youth-power to its side and
rested some of its more experienced players. It is not clear whether
or not, going into the match, the young NCCA side expected to walk all
over and otherwise trample on the wine-drenched Kirigin Tigers. But
that is not what happened. NCCA was bowled out 70 runs (batting 12)
with Jaggi Singh, Majeed Mohammed and Arsh Singh for the Tigers sharing
the key bowling honors, and Prabhjot Gossal (substituting behind the
stumps for an injured Khanna) and skipper Ayan Banerjee sharing the
fielding honors. The Tigers knocked off the runs in 7 overs for the
loss of one wicket with Tigers bastmen, Prabhjot and Jodha Singh, doing
most of the damage.
While NCCA (2-1) trumped the LA Invaders (1-2) and Kirigin Tigers (1-1)
with their win-loss record in the tournament, NCCA’s batting clearly
displayed some vulnerability in the NCCA’s second match against the
Invaders and caused its pitiful loss to the Tigers.
The matches were sporadically attended by a smattering of spectators –
2 a-piece from the leading cricketing clubs in the area, Santa Clara
and Cougars; and 5 Gilroy residents picnicked through the T20 matches
clearly enjoying the contests.
Based on a reliable poll which revealed that the average cricketer in
the Kirigin Invitational works out 2-3 times a week, and the
up-and-down display of batting, bowling and field on display, it is
clear that local cricket unsurprisingly, and like most other things in
life, needs improvement. The gulf between local and first-class
standards was demonstrated by a cameo first T20 over bowled by the LA
Invaders' NC Aiyappa, a Karnataka Ranji Trophy player in which a
leading NCCA batsman had great difficulty in persuading his bat to make
any contact whatsover with the ball.
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By Peter Della Penna
 A
tight bowling performance from USA’s spin contingent set up a
comfortable chase as they defeated Bermuda by six wickets on Tuesday at
the National Sports Club in Hamilton, Bermuda on the fourth day of
matches at the ICC Americas Division One Tournament. USA and Bermuda
both stand at 3-1 in the tournament behind 4-0 Canada with one day of
50-over games remaining before the Twenty20 event begins on Friday. Pic (Right): File photo of Man of the Match Steve Massiah [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]
USA
captain Steve Massiah was named Man of the Match after a solid
all-round display, taking 2 for 33 in 10 overs of off-spin before he
steered USA toward the target of 189 by top-scoring with 67 coming in
at number three.
USA won the toss and opted to field. Carl Wright and Timroy Allen came
back into the lineup for USA in favor of Clain Williams and Bilal Khan.
For the second day in a row, Adrian Gordon struck with only one run on
the board, having Fiqre Crockwell caught behind by Ashhar Mehdi in the
second over for 1. Jekon Edness was then joined by Stephen Outerbridge
and the two built some momentum for Bermuda with a 76-run second wicket
stand. It was Massiah who finally made the breakthrough for USA, having
Outerbridge caught behind for 48 in the 21st over. Seven balls later,
off-spinner Muhammad Ghous struck another blow for USA, removing Edness
for 26.
Massiah set Bermuda back even further when he had captain David Hemp
out stumped for 8 to end the 25th over and Bermuda’s innings had been
turned upside down with the score at 91 for 4. The in-form Janeiro
Tucker was joined at the crease by Irving Romaine. Tucker had scored
136 against Argentina, including 15 sixes, as well as 77 the day before
against Cayman Islands. However, Lennox Cush produced the first of his
four wickets, bowling Tucker for 17 to make it 113 for 5 in the 32nd
over.
Romaine and Rodney Trott battled to put on 48 runs for the sixth wicket
before Romaine was finally dismissed for 34 by Cush to make it 161 for
6 in the 46th. Two overs later, Cush got Trott for 15 to make it 172
for 7. A runout by sub fielder Williams sent back Joshua Gilbert for 5
before Cush took his fourth by bowling Jim West for 2 with two balls to
go in the innings. Bermuda finished 188 for 9 in their 50 as Jordan
DeSilva finished not out on 13 while last man Kevin Tucker was unbeaten
on 1. Cush finished with a superb 4 for 30 in his 10 overs while Ghous
was USA’s most economical bowler for the second match in a row, with a
miserly 1 for 22 in 10.
Wright opened up the chase with Sushil Nadkarni, but Wright didn’t last
long as he was dismissed for 11 in the 7th over by 20-year-old left-arm
paceman DeSilva to make it 28 for 1. Massiah arrived and soon took
control of the match once more for USA, constructing a 113-run
partnership with Nadkarni as they eased their way towards the target.
Nadkarni was finally dismissed by Trott at the start of the 34th over,
but not before scoring his second-half century in as many days,
finishing with 57 in 96 balls with two fours and four sixes.
Cush joined Massiah at the crease, but USA stumbled briefly when
Massiah was out to West at the end of the 41st over with the score at
167. He finished with seven fours and a six. Three balls later, Aditya
Thyagarajan suffered his first failure of the tournament, out to
DeSilva without scoring. Rashard Marshall came to the crease and teamed
up with Cush to get USA over the line in the 47th over. Marshall ended
the match with back-to-back sixes to finish 17 not out while Cush was
22 not out.
After a day off on Wednesday, USA plays 1-3 Cayman Islands on Thursday
in the final 50-over match day of the event. Cayman Islands lost to
Argentina by 13 runs on Wednesday while Canada chased a target of 99 in
8.5 overs, demolishing Bahamas by 10 wickets. Bermuda faces Canada on
Thursday. Even if the host country wins and USA disposes of Cayman
Islands to produce a three-way tie at 4-1, USA has virtually no chance
to become the tournament champions as they are way behind both Canada
and Bermuda on net run rate. At the other end of the table, 0-4 Bahamas
must not only beat 1-3 Argentina on Thursday, but do so by a wide
enough margin to pass Argentina on net run rate in order to avoid
relegation back to Americas Division Two.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna
Two days after a massive defeat to Canada, USA bounced back to defeat
Bahamas by 115 runs on Monday at Somerset Cricket Club in Bermuda at
the ICC Americas Division One Tournament. The win kept USA in third
place in the tournament at 2-1 while Bahamas remains winless at 0-3.
Lennox Cush was named Man of the Match for scoring 48 runs in USA’s
total of 307 for 8 before taking 2 for 38 bowling off-spin as Bahamas
were bowled out for 192 in the 48th over.
For the first time in the tournament, USA won the toss, but for the
third match in a row they batted first. Carl Wright, who opened the
batting against Canada, was left out along with Timroy Allen in favor
of Clain Williams and Muhammad Ghous. It meant that Sushil Nadkarni
moved back up the order to open the innings with Orlando Baker. The two
batsmen produced the highest partnership of USA’s innings with 82 runs
for the first wicket at better than a run a ball.
Baker was the first wicket to fall, going for 33 to the medium pace of
51-year-old Mario Ford. Nadkarni then reached his half-century with
captain Steve Massiah at the crease, but fell soon after for 53 to the
spin of Narendra Ekanayake.
Wickets then fell at regular intervals for the rest of the innings as
almost every USA batsman got a start without carrying on to a major
score. Massiah fell for 34 to Ekanayake to make it 156 for 3 in the
28th over. Cush got some valuable time at the crease after notching
back-to-back ducks, scoring 48 for USA. He put on 44 runs for the
fourth wicket with Williams before Williams fell to Dwight Weakley for
a run a ball 25. Cush fell soon after to the same bowler to leave USA
at 227 for 5 in the 41st over.
A sharp burst from Aditya Thyagarajan helped get USA past 300. He
continued his impressive form by hitting six fours and three sixes on
his way to top score with 58 in only 43 balls, which makes it hard to
believe he hasn’t earned a promotion up the order. Rashard Marshall
teamed up with Thyagarajan for a 54-run sixth wicket stand before
Marshall was dismissed by Marc Taylor for 24. Ashhar Mehdi was out for
11 to Whitcliff Atkinson before Thyagarajan was dismissed on the final
ball of the innings by Jonathan Barry. Adrian Gordon finished not out
on 1.
Gordon then came out and took the first wicket with only one run on the
board courtesy of an extra as Atkinson was bowled for a six-ball duck
at the end of the first over. Bahamas provided some resistance though
in the form of Rohan Parks and Taylor, who played for the Bahamas U-19
squad against the USA U-19 team in Toronto last July at the Americas
Qualifier for the ICC U-19 World Cup. The two put on 58 runs for the
second wicket before Ghous took his first wicket of the tournament,
having Parks caught behind by Mehdi for 39, which turned out to be the
top score in the match for Bahamas.
Taylor and Barry tried to keep Bahamas in the hunt, forming a 35-run
partnership before Taylor was finally dismissed by Baker for 31 to make
it 94 for 3 in the 21st over. From there, wickets fell quickly as Ghous
had Ford caught by Thyagarajan for 1 before Weakley was out LBW to
Massiah, also for 1, making it 108 for 5 in the 27th. Barry and captain
Gregory Taylor teamed up to add 30 runs before Barry was finally sent
packing by Cush for 37. Massiah accounted for Ekanayake as he became
the third Bahamas batsman to be out for 1, making the score 147 for 7
in the 33rd.
Bahamas did their best to survive all 50 overs as Albert Peters hung
around until the 44th over before he was out for 11 to Cush. In the
next over, captain Taylor was given out LBW to Bilal Khan for 33 before
Gordon wrapped up the match, getting rid of Dereck Gittens for 2 to
bowl out Bahamas with 14 balls to spare.
One thing USA will be looking to focus on heading into their Tuesday
encounter with Bermuda will be cutting down on wides. USA gave up 27
wides and 36 extras in all on Monday with Cush the chief offender as he
conceded 13 of his 38 runs on wides. Ghous was the only one of USA’s
six bowlers on the day not to bowl a wide and he also returned the best
bowling analysis for USA, taking 2 for 34 in 10 overs of off-spin with
two maidens.
Bermuda improved to 3-0 on Monday with a 148-run win over Cayman
Islands. In Monday’s other match, Canada also joined the host country
at 3-0 but is slightly behind Bermuda on net run rate after beating
Argentina by six wickets. Cayman Islands are fourth at 1-2 while
Argentina is at the bottom of the table with three losses in as many
games. Argentina also has a worse net run rate than Bahamas at the
moment with the teams sharing identical records.
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