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By Peter Della Penna

Defending champion North West Region scratched their way to a 23-run win over the Atlantic Region on the first day of the USACA U-15 National Tournament at Weequahic Park on Thursday afternoon in Newark, NJ. The match was delayed two hours after being moved to Weequahic Park because Watsessing Park, one of the original venues, was unplayable due to heavy rain in the area on Wednesday.

Pic (Right): Ryan Persaud took 4 for 15 and scored 38 runs [Courtesy: ICUSA]

Atlantic won the toss and elected to bowl first, but their attack was jittery at the start and it cost them in the end. A combination of nerves and inexperience from the pace bowlers contributed to a total of 50 wides bowled by Atlantic.

Arsh Buch and Dave Parikh constructed a 44-run opening partnership in 9.3 overs in which 25 of the runs came from wides. Buch wound up finishing as the top batsman for North West with 22 in 72 balls. He did not try to dominate the bowlers but instead defended as many deliveries as he could as the runs continued to come in extras.

NWR was 95 for 3 in the 22nd over when Ryan Persaud finally ended Buch’s stay at the crease by looping up a big leg-break delivery down leg side which Buch left alone, only to see it turn back sharply and rattle his stumps as Buch was bowled around his legs. This triggered a collapse as NWR could not handle the twin leg-spin of Persaud and Rishi Patel. Between them they accounted for the final seven wickets to fall for only 40 runs. The only other player to cross double-digits for NWR was Neil Tagare who tallied 21 off 52.

Persaud finished with 4 for 15 in 6.2 overs while Patel finished with 3 for 15 in 4 overs. Patel was on a hat-trick at one point after claiming the wickets of Sefath Yasini for 5 and Vivek Jayram for 6 on consecutive balls when they were caught on the boundary trying to slog. Patel wasted his hat-trick ball though by bowling a wide down leg side, which summed up Atlantic’s effort in the field: flashes of brilliance neutralized by lapses in concentration. Persaud took the final wicket of Ankush Prakash for 1 as NWR was bowled out for 135 in 35.2 overs.

Atlantic’s chase never really gained any momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals. Patel was the first wicket to fall for 5, caught brilliantly by Parikh diving forward from point off the left-arm seam bowling of Buch. Persaud came out to join William Gillard, who soon left LBW to Yasini for 5 to make it 27 for 2 in the 8th over.

Pic (Left):  Arsh Buch was top scorer for North West with a cautious but effective 22 from 72 balls.

Persaud tried his best to lead Atlantic back into the game as wickets kept falling around him. He was also fortunate to survive on 6 when he was trapped in front of the stumps, but was spared when the umpire called no-ball on Buch for overstepping the mark. North West bowled 13 no-balls on the day. Persaud teamed up with Gauranshu Sharma to add 32 for the 5th wicket, but with the required run rate rising, the pressure started to build until Sharma went for a big heave and was out stumped for 11 against the off-spin bowling of North West’s captain Roshan Varadarajan, who finished with 3 for 15 in 8 overs.

Atlantic still held hopes of winning as long as Persaud was at the wicket, but he finally perished in the 37th over going for a risky single to get back on strike and was run out for 38 to make it 108 for 9. Parikh bowled Sahan Ratnayake for 2 in the next over to seal the win as the left-arm seamer finished with 3 for 12 in 7.4 tidy overs.

In the other matches of the day, New York made short work of Central East’s 141 at Branch Brook Park, winning by 10 wickets in 25.1 overs. Randall Wilson scored 61 not out and fellow opener Zahib Tariq walked off unbeaten on 57 for New York.

South West defeated Directors’ XI by 128 runs in the other match at Branch Brook Park. Batting first, SWR made 186 for 9 in 40 overs with Shakeel Ahmad scoring 72 coming in at number three. Pace bowler Murad Khan then took 6 for 5 in 7 overs for SWR to help bowl out the Directors’ squad for 57 in 21.4 overs.

South East defeated North East by seven wickets in a match that was shifted from Watsessing Park to Orange Park. Faraz Jaferi turned in a solid Man of the Match all-round display for South East taking 2 for 14 in the field from 8 overs before scoring 66 not out as South East chased down North East’s total of 158 for 7, passing the target in 30 overs. 

Friday’s games will see North West take on South East in a battle of unbeatens at Branch Brook Park while Atlantic will take on North East at the same ground. Central East will play Directors’ XI at Orange Park. South West will play New York at Weequahic Park. Officials are hopeful that Watsessing Park will be suitable to use by Saturday as temperatures are expected to be in the 90s for the rest of the weekend and should help to dry up the wet field there. All matches are scheduled for a 10:30 am start.


USACA U-15 National Tournament
Atlantic vs. North West
North West won by 23 runs
Atlantic won the toss and elected to field

North West Batting
Batsman        Runs    Balls     4s    6s    Dismissal
A Buch        22    72    0    0    b Persaud
D Parikh        9    24    0    0    ct Gillard b Khan
V Altekar        0    4    0    0    b Ratnayake
R Varadarajan*    4    7    0    0    runout (Gillard/Razac+)
N Tagare        21    52    0    0    ct Sharma b Patel
M Athavale        5    21    0    0    ct Silva b Persaud
S Yasini        5    8    1    0    ct Rajram b Patel
I Amritharaj+        0    2    0    0    ct Patel b Persaud
V Jayram        6    18    0    0    ct Silva b Patel
A Prakash        1    3    0    0    ct Razac+ b Persaud
S Pedada        0    3    0    0    not out
Total Extras        62 (2 no balls, 8 byes, 2 leg byes, 50 wides)
Team Total         135 all out in 35.2 overs

Atlantic Bowling    Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
V Rajram        5-0-23-0
S Khan            6-1-20-1
S Ratnayake        4-0-18-1
N Mehdi        5-0-20-0
G Sharma        5-1-0-14
R Persaud        6.2-0-15-4
R Patel            4-0-15-3

Atlantic Batting
Batsman        Runs    Balls    4s    6s    Dismissal
R Patel            5    30    0    0    ct Parikh b Buch
W Gillard        5    22    0    0    LBW Yasini
R Persaud        38    87    1    0    runout (Athavale/Amritharaj+)
T Silva*         2    19    0    0    runout (Varadarajan/Amritharaj+)
S Khan            0    7    0    0    b Varadarajan
G Sharma        11    43    0    0    st Amritharaj+ b Varadarajan
S Razac+        0    3    0    0    ct & b Varadarajan
M Singh        2    6    0    0    ct Athavale b Parikh
V Rajram        1    3    0    0    ct Jayram b Parikh
S Ratnayake        2    13    0    0    b Parikh
N Mehdi        3    3    0    0    not out
Total Extras        43 (13 no balls, 1 bye, 1 leg bye, 28 wides)
Team Total        112 all out in 37.4 overs

North West Bowling    Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
A Buch        6-0-24-1
S Yasini        7-0-21-1
D Parikh        7.4-1-12-3
R Varadarajan        8-2-15-3
M Athavale        3-0-12-0
S Pedada        2-0-4-0
N Tagare        1-0-6-0
V Altekar        3-0-16-0