November 2010 - Posts

• USA Cricket: 18 players invited to selection camp in Florida

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna   A selection camp is being organized by USACA to take place from December 18-19 in Florida in order to select a final squad to go to Hong Kong for ICC WCL Division 3 in January.   Pic (Right): Former West Indies cricketer Neil McGarrell was short-listed for the selection camp [File photo]   Multiple sources have confirmed that 18 players have been invited to the camp. According to USACA Cricket Committee chairman Krish Prasad, the camp will be held at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill or Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City.   Seven players who have never played for USA at the senior level have been invited to the selection camp, meaning that there will be at least three new players touring with USA for the first time. They are Ryan Corns, Durale Forest, Hussain Haidar, Elmore Hutchinson, Ritesh Kadu, Asif Mehmood Khan and Neil McGarrell.   Three players who were part of USA’s WCL Division 4 winning squad in Italy have not been invited to the camp. Nasir “Charlie” Javed, Steven Taylor and Adrian Gordon did not make the list. In regards to Gordon’s omission, head coach Clayton Lambert hinted at the possibility of it at the conclusion of Senior Nationals.   “We are anticipating that the wickets are going to be turners, kind of Asian-style wickets,” said Lambert. “Instead of overloading on the fast bowling side, we were looking to keep the senior fast bowlers and try to bring in more allrounders and include a few spinners in there.” One source indicated that Gordon’s exclusion is also related to eligibility constraints for the entire squad.   It is understood that Gordon is currently qualified to play for USA as a “deemed national,” a player who has lived in the USA for more than 183 days in each of the previous four years but less than seven years. According to ICC rules, only two players under this classification are allowed to be in any Associate or Affiliate member starting XI. Players such as McGarrell and Kadu also fall under the same classification. In order to make room for them should they be picked for the final 14, someone needed to make way.   McGarrell is a favorite for selection after his strong performances in USACA tournaments this year. The team is seeking to add a left arm spinner and he will be competing with Khan to claim that position. Kadu is also a potential pick as a reserve gloveman. First-choice wicketkeeper Carl Wright struggled with the bat this year, averaging 17.62 in 18 50-over matches for USA in 2010 with only one half-century against Jersey at WCL Division 5 in Nepal last February.   Off-spinner Abhemanyu Rajp, who claimed two Best Bowler awards in USACA tournaments this year, was not invited to the camp. The squad is currently overloaded with off-spin options including Muhammad Ghous, Lennox Cush, Timroy Allen and captain Steve Massiah. While South East off-spinner Haidar has been invited, Rajp is left on the outside looking in.   It is also notable that not a single player from the 2010 National Champion North West Region squad was invited to the camp. North West vice-captain Saurabh Verma represented USA on their February tour to the UAE and Nepal, but has not played for USA since.   Players invited to the USA selection camp from December 18-19 in Florida: Steve Massiah (captain, New York), Sushil Nadkarni (vice-captain, Central West), Timroy Allen (South East), Orlando Baker (Central West), Ryan Corns (Central West), Lennox Cush (New York), Kevin Darlington (New York), Durale Forest (Atlantic), Muhammad Ghous (Atlantic), Hussain Haidar (South East), Elmore Hutchinson (South West), Ritesh Kadu (South West), Asif Mehmood Khan (Central East), Rashard Marshall (New York), Neil McGarrell (Atlantic), Usman Shuja (Central West), Aditya Thyagarajan (South West), Carl Wright (New York). Posted Nov 30 2010, 07:35 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Steve Massiah, Ritesh Kadu, USACA, US Cricket, Ryan Corns, Adrian Gordon, Neil McGarrell, WCL Division 3

• We made a lot of strides - USA Cricket's President Gladstone Dainty

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna After a banquet held by USACA at the 2010 Senior Nationals in Lauderhill, Fla., Gladstone Dainty sat down with Peter Della Penna for 30 minutes to discuss some of the current topics and issues relating to USA Cricket. Here is Part 1 of the transcript of that interview from November 20.   The final part will appear on Monday. PDP: What can you tell us about what’s happened in the board meeting so far today? GD: I would say that it was a very productive meeting. We had some issues like the commercial opportunities. We made a lot of strides on a lot of issues. PDP: What other issues would you say you made strides on? GD: Well, the commercial opportunity for one. We made a lot of strides on that. The board approved or ratified the actions of the commercial committee. I would say that was the key thing because it’s been occupying many of us for a while now. We see it has something that is key to the survival of United States cricket at that level, the high that we’re trying to take it to. PDP: I know all the people here would have noticed that Don Lockerbie’s not here. Why is he not here? He wasn’t at the stadium yesterday and he’s not here today obviously. GD: Well I’m sure you got a press release from the secretary that Don and us have parted ways and we wish him well. PDP: Why? Was this a mutual thing or why is he no longer part of the organization? GD: Well you know getting into details about personal issues, that’s not my style and I don’t think that should be discussed of anybody that’s professional. That was a personal issue and there’s a confidential aspect of that that I won’t get into that. But we’re not together anymore. He’s not together with USACA. PDP: But what I’m asking is was that a USACA decision or was it that he left on his own. Was he fired, was he dismissed or was this mutual? GD: We’re just not together anymore. PDP: When did this take effect? When was this decision made? GD: Well that, we parted ways on November 19, yesterday. PDP: Friday? GD: Friday. PDP: What does that mean then in terms of the CEO position? Is there now going to be a search to replace him with a new CEO? GD: Absolutely. Pic: A search will commence to replace Don Lockerbie (Right). PDP: And what will you be expecting from the new CEO? GD: Well, we are expecting to have somebody who would lead the organization. We’ve got a lot of developmental issues to address. We have a lot of financial issues to address, creating a good revenue stream, and to… those are the key because we are trying to get that conveyor belt type of operation going where things are going so development is very key. It costs a lot of money and administratively with Don being there we realized that having a full-time person is very important so we’re trying to get not only a CEO but hopefully we can get resources to increase our professional staff. PDP: And by how much would you be looking to increase your professional staff by? GD: Well it depends on the type of funding we are able to put together and the convincing we are able to do to our stakeholders. The regions, etc., are important in this that this should be a full-time job or a part-time job for people rather than a volunteer some time situation. PDP: The situation regarding the Western Region position. I know I’ve seen emails that have been passed along and there have been reports put out online in terms of who is the representative. We saw here tonight when Manaf [Mohamed] got up and asked the board members to recognize themselves, Raj [Padhi] got up and recognized himself as the board member from the Western Region. Has that issue been resolved? Is he official the board member from the Western Region? What is Gangaram Singh’s status? GD: Well Raj Padhi is the board member for the Western Region. That is what was decided by the board. What has also happened is that at this meeting we had planned to split that region anyway. So effective tomorrow night, we will put into place a mechanism to have the North West Region and the South West Region. PDP: That’s official? There will be two? GD: There will be two regions, but in terms of the issue with Gangaram and Raj, Raj Padhi is the director of the Western Region and he sat in the meeting and represented the Western Region. PDP: Did Gangaram Singh sit in the meeting? GD: No. PDP: He did not, at any point in time? GD: No. PDP: With the two new regions being created, when will there be… what is the process that’s going to take place? GD: There’s going to be within 60 days, USACA is going to have, these two seats will be… we have a process with elections. It’s going to be 60 days before because we don’t want this to be a closed situation. It’s going to be just what’s advertised. Everybody’ll know that there’s two vacant seats that they have the opportunity. PDP: Two vacant board seats? GD: Yes. PDP: And then the positions regional secretary, regional chairman, all those positions. GD: Yeah, all of those are gonna be. PDP: So does that mean then the positions in the current Western Region, all of those people will have to run in the next election within those regions. So there’s people currently in the Western Region from the South West territory and there’s people on the Western Region board currently from the North West section of the territory, those people will all still have to run again within their own region territories? GD: Yes. PDP: And Raj will have to run again if he wants to get the North West position? GD: Yes. PDP: What is being done in terms of the Under-19 tournament? What is the status of that? Has that been discussed at all at the board meeting? GD: We’ll discuss that tomorrow but what is in place, we’re keeping that date. You know Christmas… It’s in December, I think the 18th or the 11th, something like that, we’re having that tournament in December. PDP: In terms of camps for the men’s team before Hong Kong, how… GD: We’re gonna have a camp. I don’t know the date, we haven’t set a date yet. We’re gonna have a camp. We’re having some issues with cash. We plan to solve that problem within the next day or two but it’s part of it, we’re going to have a camp. Pic (Right): File photo of Steve Massiah holding the Division IV trophy PDP: When, you mentioned within the next 60 days the Western Region will have a set of elections for the two new regions that are going to be created, what about the broad USACA elections. Do you know when that will be, the next set of elections? GD: Quite possibly we’ll discuss that tomorrow. Our governance issues are going to be discussed tomorrow. Quite possibly we’ll discuss it. PDP: Is there anything else you didn’t get to today that is of major relevance that is going to be brought up and discussed tomorrow. GD: Governance encompasses a lot of things. The board members might have stuff. I try not to be judge or whatever, I chair the meeting and that’s what I do. Everything we discuss is important and they might have things but we have governance. We need to talk about the constitution, the way it’s structured, etc. That’s the important, that’s what it is. PDP: Was anything resolved in terms of deciding if Nabeel [Ahmed]’s 1st Vice President’s position will be left vacant? GD: We’ll deal with that tomorrow. We did read his letter of resignation. There was no objection to his resignation. PDP: Are you concerned that because of Nabeel’s resignation and Don Lockerbie no longer being a part of the organization, are you concerned that that might present an image to the ICC and to other countries and to other people involved in potential commercial opportunities and future commercial opportunities, that that might present an image of instability? GD: Well, you’re always concerned about your image, especially when people leave. But in any organization, you have change and I mean to say that change for better or for worse sometimes people are uncomfortable with it. But once you know the facts surrounding these departures, then… you know it’s not as… the organization will continue. We’re moving… a lot of decisions we had today were unanimous decisions. The board is moving forward and the departure of those two gentlemen certainly doesn’t put us in a position of crisis. We wish both of them well and we will continue to function and make great strides. We made great strides. We’ve made great strides over the last few years and especially this year so we’ll continue to make great strides. PDP: How would you consider, how would you evaluate the whole current status and the whole current state of affairs within USACA both on and off the field? I know you mentioned talking in your speech to everyone who was gathered here tonight that progress on the field has been better than the progress off the field. How would you assess the whole state of affairs within US cricket? GD: I would say that we are a maturing organization. We are not quite matured. I feel confident that maturity will come sooner rather than later. I feel that for many of us this whole cricket thing and the way we are doing it is that we are addicted. It’s certainly not about the money, it’s not about the glory, it’s not about the power. Sometimes when you have addiction, it’s like it makes you a little irrational. Sometimes we can be very irrational. But with all of this, we’ve been improving on the field in terms of our on field capability and with additional administrative capability and financial capability, it will provide the remedy for some of the immaturity. PDP: When you said what you said earlier about on the field has been ahead of off the field, what needs to happen for the off the field administrative things and performance to catch up to the performance of the team on the field. GD: Well what needs to happen off the field, we need to have more cricket. We need to improve our facilities and certainly we need to create an organization that’s kinder and gentler to the volunteers who are trying to do a job. I mean to say we should strive for perfection but we know how difficult that is and especially with the sacrifice people are making, we should be more appreciative of that rather than trying to create an atmosphere or have a development mentality where it’s the last man or the last woman standing rather than a lot of people standing and holding hands and laying a foundation for things to come. I would say last but not least, this is a United States of America organization and you look around, we have a lot of United States citizens but our foundation is still immigrants in developing immigrant cricket. We’ve got to be more aggressive in terms of getting Americans to participate and to share the joys of this great game. PDP: For the youth level, you mentioned about trying to get more Americans involved. We saw a lot more American-born talent for the 2010 U-19 World Cup. For the USA as part of that team, half that squad was born in the US and the other half of the squad mostly was raised in the US. Some of those players, even though they weren’t born here they are citizens now. With the U-19 Americas Tournament coming up that’s supposed to be in February, a lot of people feel that, fans and players and some administrators, that there has not been a lot of attention paid to help the Under-19 players and help people at that level out and help that team out in order to improve on the performance from the 2010 World Cup team to improve for the 2012 cycle. Do you feel that enough attention has been paid to the Under-19 squad especially considering that this tournament has been postponed? GD: We’re paying attention, but we do not have the resources to give full attention. A lot of attention, but we do not have the resources to develop the talent and to do all of the things which are necessary. We’re certainly very short in that because we don’t have the resources, but we’re paying attention. I mean to say the tournaments, we’re still having national tournaments. We’re still trying to encourage regions to play the Under-19 talent and groom the young kids because it ties with the regional tournaments. So hey, we’re paying a lot of attention so I don’t know how people can say we’re not paying attention. PDP: But are you concerned that because these resources that you say have been holding the team and the development of the team back, are you concerned that that might affect the performance of the team should they qualify for 2012 or do you think that it would cause them to not qualify for the 2012 Under-19 World Cup so that instead of building on the progress of the team making it in 2010, do you think they would be taking a step back? GD: Well a couple of things, let’s get a couple of things straight here. Now we’re not satisfied with the amount of resources we happen to be giving to the team. But this year we have dedicated or we have spent more, we have provided more resources than we’ve ever provided for youth cricket, okay. So it’s all relative. Are we providing as much resources as India and Australia and the West Indies? No. But we’ve provided more than we’ve ever provided but still we need to provide more. Pic (Right):   Ryan Corns (pictured right) awaits his turn to play for USA.  President Dainty said that USA had made 'significant progress in terms of having young people play with the seniors'.  [Courtesy ICC] PDP: What have you? What has been provided this year then compared to the past? GD: Well first of all we had the Under-19 team go to New Zealand. We’ve been very… we had our Under-19 tournament you understand. We’ve fought and made significant progress in terms of having young people play with the seniors, okay, so that in itself… And over the past year we also had the qualification. The tournament is not like before when you win and you automatically go. Remember we had the 10-nation qualification and then we had to go to the World Cup. So we have been providing that. PDP: But those are ICC events, the Americas and then the World Qualifier that was also in Canada. GD: No, but although they are ICC events, they cost us money. With the camps, you understand what I’m saying. The cost for camps, the ICC when they provide resources they provide for instance they would say, ‘Hey, you get a ticket out of New York. You pick one place,’ and with a country like a United States of America, we gotta get hotel rooms and fly players to that. So although the ICC would say that they pick up all the costs, it can still cost us $10,000-12,000 or more just for that additional thing. So just like I said tonight, we’re not complaining. The more you win, the more you have to put up, but then it lifts the profile and we’ve got to take advantage of that and get more resources. So we’ve been winning. Now the idea whether the team will outperform or we build up on that, to me it’s like college sports. Something like Under-19 because of the restrictive nature, it’s not like you’re having the same players. You have a period where you recruit and not recruit. Now as you would notice, we only maybe have about four kids, four or five kids from that team who are eligible for this year. So we’ll be bringing new kids. Their level of performance or whatever, we don’t know. But it will be certainly a very young team in terms of experience we’ll be sending there. We will prepare them to the best of our ability, or even beyond our ability, but to say that… this is not like the Dallas Cowboys or the Redskins where you can use the same people. We are restricted by who we play so it’s not the same guys going back there to play. PDP: In saying you’ve spent a lot more on resources for last year’s team and the money that’s been spent you’ve raised the bar, do you feel that because the bar has now been raised, it’s difficult to get back up to that level again? GD: Oh no. The bar has been raised. I’m not trying to put unnecessary pressure on these kids because at that age, we would like to win and win everything. But we are also very committed to is producing well balanced young people. We’re not going to play a kid only to win, you understand. Part of it is a teaching process. So the expectation, we’re going there to qualify for the World Cup. So is Canada, so is Bermuda, so is Cayman or whoever else and I feel sure that we will qualify but hey we’re not putting pressure and say we’ll this is the only thing. That’s win at all costs. We’re committed to winning and that’s it but we don’t expect not to be among the top two. The last two Under-19 World Cup elimination tournaments we participated in, we actually went to the World Cup, the last two. We missed one of them because of the issue there with the ICC, but we’ve done well. The last time was not the first time we went to the World Cup. We went to the World Cup before. PDP: Last time I talked to you, you mentioned the women’s team too. You’re trying to prepare them by potentially getting Pakistan. How realistic is that? GD: Well, Pakistan are now apparently not going to the West Indies until August or September so we’d have to do something before. We’re working on that. We’d certainly still like to get them, but we’re not going to have [the USA women’s team] waiting until August or September. We’re gonna have our tournament and we’re talking about having them have a tour. We want them to be active. PDP: In terms of the partnership and having New Zealand come here in May and talking with John Thickett in the article that I had his quotes where he said there’s potentially this commercial partnership that will involve New Zealand, you just mentioned the West Indies. Canada got to participate in the West Indies domestic Twenty20 competition this past summer and not the US. What is being done, or is anything being done, to improve the relationship with West Indies which is the Test playing team within the Americas region? What is being done? GD: We have a great relationship with the West Indies. Pic (Right):  Dainty said that his board would work more 'aggressively' with organizations such as USYCA which was approved as an affiliate member of USACA.  In the picture, Dainty visits the Cardinal Gibbons cricket program [Picture Courtesy USYCA] PDP: Why is Canada then getting opportunities and the USA not? GD: I speak with the President of the West Indies board very frequently and the CEO of the West Indies board, a great man. That thing with Canada and the T20 or whatever, once again we were preparing to go to Italy at the same time so it made the West Indies board easier, made the decision easier to invite Canada rather than the United States. At the time, we were contacted and we didn’t necessarily decline, but they knew that it would present a financial hardship because you gotta remember the players we have, they’ve got jobs. PDP: Next year, they’re talking about inviting teams from England and also inviting Canada back again. Is USA potentially, has USA been approached to be included? GD: Potentially they are discussing. PDP: How realistic would that be? GD: I don’t know. I know they’ve already announced those teams that are coming. That tournament is in January. You know what we’re doing in January so once again it’s going to be difficult. PDP: I know [USA] had the matches against Jamaica in May. Are there any other things potentially in the future in terms of playing with West Indies domestic teams, Barbados, or Jamaica or Trinidad & Tobago? GD: Well from time to time if only because of proximity, we can play any teams from the Caribbean. But do we have something definitely? Do we know who we are playing next year? No, but we definitely we’re playing somebody. PDP: What about, one last thing, the teams within the Americas Region, I know I remember reading stuff in the last year or two about trying to build a better relationship in terms of playing more consistently against Canada or Bermuda in 50-over matches, scheduling 50-over matches and scheduling an annual series outside of the Americas competition. Is any progress being made with that or is that a possibility? GD: Well, like I said, we’ve been playing a lot of cricket and playing a lot of cricket with guys who are not professional cricketers, a lot of these guys got jobs and you know that in this country it’s one or two weeks vacation. In one tournament they can use that up. Until we maybe have the resources where we put people there professionally and we know that they’re there and we can play every week or every day, but at this particular time we’ve got just like the full Test playing countries, their future tours tournament or whatever, they’re complaining about their schedule, etc. So I would say our first obligation is to meet the ICC mandated participation tournaments which also gives us the opportunity to raise our standing, and then of course we have to be very selective with what else we participate in if only because we don’t have the resources to make these guys professional. Coincidentally, one of the major decisions we made today is that a couple of youth organizations, one of them in Atlanta led by Lada Bedi, also Jamie Harrison’s group, they made an application for affiliate membership. We approved it and we will be working very aggressively. What we need to do if only because of the numbers they’re claiming, we will work aggressively with them to convert that into more active participation in mainstream US cricket.   Posted Nov 26 2010, 04:25 PM with 6 comment(s) Filed under: USACA, USA cricket, USA Cricket Association, Peter Della Penna, Gladstone Dainty

• Nabeel Ahmed to contest for presidency of USA Cricket - APP reports

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket "Pakistani American, Nabeel Ahmed who stepped down as the Senior Vice President of USACA, will be contesting for the office of President during the elections of of the body March next year," Associated Press of Pakistan reported yesterday in Lahore. “Yes, Nabeel has made up his mind to contest the election and surely he will be contesting for the Presidentship of USACA,“ sources close to Mr. Ahmed were reported as saying.   "Nabeel was not happy the way USACA was being run by the President [Dainty] and Chief Executive Officer Don Lockerbie who was sacked with immediate effect hours before a board meeting in Florida last week," according to the source. The news agency further noted that Mr. Ahmed enjoyed the support of a 'majority of the important members of the USACA who [have] assured him their all out support if he comes forward and contest the Presidential elections of the body.' Nabeel Ahmed resigned as the First Vice President of USA Cricket Association earlier this month fuelling speculation that he intends to run for President.  In a letter to the media explaining his resignation, Mr. Ahmed noted: I have been doing whatever was in my control and power in USACA but as a 1st VP you have limited authority and power.  Over the last two and a half years I am frustrated and confused by the actions or lack of actions of some important members of USACA under the president Dainty's leadership. Over the last year I have been approached by different leagues and individuals that have issues and concerns that in my mind should have been settled in a regular face to face board meetings per our constitution which did not take place in last seven to eight months." "My resignation is out of protest that the lack of action by the important members of the board, executive and division in the board," Mr. Ahmed wrote in the letter.  "After many warnings to the board, President and CEO I have taken this action when I did not see any concern. I gave up and decided to part myself from the board when I say I can not do anything for the well being of the association," he added. In the context of the Pearls Cup in Florida, APP quoted sources close to Mr. Ahmed as saying: “He (Nabeel) was not happy with all that he tried to raise this issue and other issues pertaining to the promotion of cricket in USA in Board’s meeting time and again but the sitting President and the outgoing Chief Executive did not take measures to address Nabeel’s grievances." “We are confident that Nabeel will win the next elections because he has the vision and ideas to duly fit in the role of President and to do what has not done in the past for the betterment of cricket in USA," according to the source.   Posted Nov 25 2010, 01:58 PM with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Nabeel Ahmed, US Cricket, USA Cricket Assocation, President of USACA

• USA Cricket 2010 Senior Nationals - Top Performers & All-Tournament XI

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna   The USACA 2010 Senior Nationals that took place in Lauderhill, Fla., from November 19-21 was the final opportunity for players from the four participating regional teams to present their case for inclusion in USA’s squad for ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Hong Kong next January. The best performers are being recognized by this writer in an All-Tournament Team.   The All-Tournament Team has been determined by the author based on three days of cricket witnessed for entire matches inside the stadium at the Central Broward Regional Park as well as brief viewings of the matches that took place outside the stadium on the artificial turf wicket. Information was also obtained and used from multiple sources about performances throughout matches played on the artificial wicket.   When compiling the list, several factors were taken into consideration. First, I took into account the statistical achievements of the players involved since they are the most tangible proof of a player’s contributions to their team. As such, there will be players left off the team who may be viewed as more talented than players who made the team, but just did not perform that well over the three days.   Second when choices between players with similar stats became close, more weight was given to performances achieved during matches played inside the stadium on the turf wicket due to the fact that players in this tournament were competing for roster spots in USA’s team for ICC WCL Division 3, which will be played on natural turf. Very little weight was given to performances delivered against the team who finished placed first compared to the team who finished placed last. This is due to the fact that all four teams entered the tournament having either won or placed second in their conference tournaments and thus had established themselves as being evenly matched.   These factors are combined with what I saw with my own eyes and from information obtained from sources in matches where I was not present. This was not just the runs or wickets they took, but how they did it. It includes match situations and technique exhibited, as well as the talent they had surrounding them which could have affected how they performed.   Finally, I tried to select a balanced team. If the five highest wicket takers in the tournament turned out to be spinners, not all five would stand a chance of making the team as there needs to be pace bowlers to support them. Likewise, if the four highest scorers in the tournament were opening batsmen, only two of them can be slotted into a role on an All-Tournament Team as an opener.   Five players who appear in this team were repeat selections from the All-Tournament Team for the Eastern & Western Conference Tournaments in September.   1. Ritesh Kadu, South West (pictured right) – Kadu arrived on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles on Friday morning and a few hours later contributed 29 runs for his team against Atlantic in a narrow defeat. With a proper night’s sleep in a hotel bed, he returned to the stadium on Saturday and top-scored with 66 in a win over New York. He was the top run scorer for opening batsmen and fourth overall despite not getting a chance to bat on Sunday. However, he doesn’t get to wear the gloves in the All-Tournament Team after producing a sloppy performance behind the stumps against North West.   2. Nauman Mustafa (wicketkeeper & captain), North West (pictured left) – Second most runs for openers with 50 in three innings is a far cry from his exploits in Los Angeles at the Western Conference when he turned in 126 total runs in Los Angeles including a century vs. Central East. However, he captained his team to the tournament title in Florida, including a resounding victory over New York to knock the defending champs off their pedestal.   3. Rishi Bhardwaj, North West – Bhardwaj was not in the original squad for North West at the Western Conference, but was added late as a replacement when Saqib Saleem pulled out. He only got one chance there, but made it count with 66 against Central West. He retained his spot for Florida and rewarded the region’s selectors by leading the team in runs scored with 128, second overall in the tournament and also posted the highest individual innings score at the event with 77 vs. New York.   4. James Crosthwaite, North West – Not as dominant as he was in Los Angeles, Crosthwaite still provided stability in the middle order for the highest scoring team in the tournament. He finished with 82 runs in three innings, good for fifth overall in the tournament.   5. Aditya Thyagarajan, South West – USA’s Iceman (pictured right, courtesy ICC) only had two innings, but put on a scintillating show against New York with 63 in 44 balls. Whether it’s playing for Hollywood CC, South West or USA, he performs on a consistent basis.   6. Neil McGarrell (vice-captain), Atlantic (pictured left) – McGarrell provided the spine as well as the spin for his team. He took 6 for 44 in 20.3 overs of left arm spin, then lifted up a fragile batting lineup by leading the tournament with 147 runs in three innings without getting dismissed a single time. McGarrell wasn’t the most talented batsman in the tournament, but no one put a higher price on their wicket than him. He also had two runouts in the field. At the age of 38, there is no excuse for the younger players on his team to be outworked and outhustled by him, but he still manages to do it.   7. Shantanu Divekar, North West – An indispensible player for North West, Divekar top scored for North West in two of the three matches on the weekend. He typifies the hard-working nature of the entire squad. While he’s not a flashy player, he gets the most out of his talent and was third overall in runs scored on the weekend with 111, which was also his average. He also chipped in with one wicket against New York.   8. Jermaine Lawson, Atlantic – He doesn’t bowl as quick as in years past, but Lawson was still effective enough to tie for the tournament lead with seven wickets. He helped set the tone with his opening spells for Atlantic and helped them to a second place finish.   9. Elmore Hutchinson, South West – This tall left arm quick quietly had a very solid tournament for the third place team. He was generally on target and was particularly effective bowling yorkers. He stuck to a full length on the slow wickets inside the stadium and snagged four wickets to tie for sixth in the event. He also could have had two more wickets had another pair of chances in the slips been taken. On a faster track, it would be interesting to see how uncomfortable he might make batsmen feel with the short ball.   10. George Adams, Atlantic – Another player who arrived in Florida without much fanfare but came out of it looking impressive after tying for fourth with five wickets bowling medium pace. He was not originally in Atlantic’s squad for the Eastern Conference but was added when Lawson pulled out a week before the event with a hamstring injury. He kept his place for Florida and rewarded his team for it.   11. Abhemanyu Rajp, South West (pictured right) – A vicious turner of the ball, it means this off-spinner will bowl the occasional delivery down leg side. But that hasn’t stopped him from being a lethal wicket taker. Rajp’s 16 wickets in six matches across two tournaments have netted him back-to-back Best Bowler awards at the Western Conference and again at the Senior Nationals.   12th Man: Timil Patel, South West – The 27-year-old former Ranji Trophy player for Gujarat would have been the headline spinner at USACA senior tournaments this year were it not for his teammate Rajp and Atlantic’s McGarrell. After taking seven wickets at the Western Conference, Patel claimed another five in Florida with his accurate and attacking leg-spin.   13th Man: Saqib Saleem, North West – One of USA’s rising stars, Saleem is a steady allround performer. He scored 67 runs in the middle order for North West and also took three wickets against New York bowling leg-spin. Saleem didn’t participate in the Western Conference because of school commitments, but the region and the country should hope that he can manage studies and cricket effectively in the future. It would be a terrible shame if this 20-year-old does not continue to develop.    14th Man: Mehul Dave, South West – South West’s captain was the most economical pace bowler on the weekend. While he only took three wickets, that does not fully demonstrate the effectiveness and pressure he built by tying up one end. He also feasted on New York’s vaunted bowling for an aggressive 49 not out in one of his two knocks.   Top Five Players in Contention for Selection to USA Senior Team   1. Neil McGarrell – It all depends on whether or not he makes himself available from work commitments, but McGarrell would fill the need for a left arm spinner, add batting depth to the lower order and significantly raise fielding standards. 2. Ryan Corns – Even though his Central West team did not qualify for Senior Nationals, his batting performance on the final day at the Western Conference against the newly crowned National Champion North West team still stands head and shoulders above anything else that was seen in Florida. He deserves to make his senior level debut. 3. Abhemanyu Rajp – All he does is take wickets. With behavior once again becoming a problem for Muhammad Ghous in Florida, Rajp’s performances have put pressure on Ghous to shape up or ship out because a suitable replacement is waiting in the wings. 4. Durale Forest – He led Atlantic with 126 runs at 63.00 at the Eastern Conference, including a 62 against Steve Massiah’s New York team. In Florida, he was on 66 not out against North West on the second day when play was stopped and Massiah was there to witness a good portion of that knock too. Massiah hinted that certain players were “earmarked” for selection from that match on Saturday because he was there to witness them play and Forest may be one of the lucky ones. He can also bowl solid medium pace. 5. Asif Mehmood Khan – It depends on how good a memory the selection panel has. He is another solid left arm spin candidate after his performances in USACA tournaments for the last two seasons, but was severely hurt by the fact that his Central East team did not qualify to play in Florida.   Most Wickets T1. A. Rajp, South West, RA off-spin – 7 for 82 in 25 overs with 3 maidens T1. J. Lawson, Atlantic, RA fast-medium – 7 for 105 in 23 overs with 3 maidens 3. N. McGarrell, Atlantic, LA orthodox-spin – 6 for 44 in 20.1 overs with 3 maidens T4. T Patel, South West, RA leg-spin – 5 for 80 in 26 overs with 3 maidens T4. G. Adams, Atlantic, RA medium – 5 for 97 in 21 overs with 1 maiden T6. E. Hutchinson, South West, LA fast-medium – 4 for 64 in 20.3 overs with 3 maidens T6. D. Smith, New York, RA leg-spin – 4 for 78 in 18 overs with 1 maiden T6. D. Thomas, New York, RA medium – 4 for 88 in 25 overs with 3 maidens T6. A. Gordon, New York, RA fast-medium – 4 for 125 in 20 overs with 1 maiden T10. M. Patel, South West, LA orthodox-spin – 3 for 40 in 10 overs with 1 maiden T10. S. Saleem, North West, RA leg-spin – 3 for 55 in 8.3 overs with 0 maidens T10. I. Awan, Atlantic, RA fast-medium – 3 for 56 in 14 overs with 0 maidens T10. M. Dave, South West, RA medium – 3 for 57 in 25 overs with 5 maidens T10. S. Santhanam, North West, RA medium – 3 for 76 in 17 overs with 2 maidens T10. K. Darlington, New York, RA fast-medium – 3 for 82 in 16 overs with 1 maiden   Five-Wicket Hauls J. Lawson, Atlantic – 5 for 22 vs. New York   Most Runs 1. N. McGarrell, Atlantic – 147 runs in three innings, N/A AVG, one 50 2. R. Bhardwaj, North West – 128 runs in three innings, 42.67 AVG, one 50 3. S. Divekar, North West – 111 runs in three innings, 111.00 AVG, zero 50s 4. R. Kadu, South West – 95 runs in two innings, 47.50 AVG, one 50 5. J. Crosthwaite, North West – 82 runs in three innings, 27.33 AVG, zero 50s 6. D. Forest, Atlantic – 73 runs in three innings, 36.50 AVG, one 50 7. Aditya Thyagarajan, South West – 72 runs in two innings, 36.00 AVG, one 50 8. S. Saleem, North West – 67 runs in three innings, 22.33 AVG, zero 50s 9. C. Wright, New York – 65 runs in three innings, 21.67 AVG, zero 50s 10. Arjun Thyagarajan, North West – 58 runs in three innings, 19.33 AVG, zero 50s   Half-Centuries R. Bhardwaj, North West – 77 vs. New York N. McGarrell, Atlantic – 68* vs. North West D. Forest, Atlantic – 66* vs. North West R. Kadu, South West – 66 vs. New York Aditya Thyagarajan, South West – 63 vs. New York   [Views expressed in this article are those of the author.] Posted Nov 23 2010, 03:36 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Aditya Thyagarajan, Neil McGarrell, James Crosthwaite, Nauman Mustafa, Abhemanyu Rajp

• USA Cricket 2010 Senior Nationals Day 3: North West crowned champions, Atlantic takes second

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna   South West’s plot to end North West’s undefeated run to the title was derailed by rain and no result in their match meant that North West was crowned USACA’s 2010 Senior National Champions on Sunday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. Atlantic finished in second place after defeating New York by 27 runs on the artificial wicket outside the stadium at CBRP.   “I think it’s a great achievement for us,” said North West captain Nauman Mustafa. “We have been participating in this tournament for the last four or five years. There have been a lot of players playing for four or five years. We have always come close and we have always demonstrated a lot of talent in batting bowling and fielding, but this time we prepared well and wanted to show everyone that we have batsmen, bowlers and fielders who can compete at this level.”   North West won the toss and elected to bat after the match was reduced to 35 overs because of dampness in the pitch and wet runups from overnight rain. Left arm paceman Elmore Hutchinson bowled an outstanding opening spell for South West, taking the wicket of Ashok Singh for a duck. He also had Mustafa edging a delivery straight to captain Mehul Dave at first slip who couldn’t hang onto the chance. However, Mustafa was runout for 16 a short time later by Ravi Timbawala when the batsman took his time getting to the other end and the alert Timbawala fired a direct hit to make it 35 for 2 in the 13th.   Abhemanyu Rajp then struck twice more for South West, clean bowling the dangerous James Crosthwaite for 5 in the 13th. After the 15th over, drinks were taken and the covers brought on as rain started coming down. Play was stopped for 30 minutes, but when play resumed, Rajp forced Arjun Thyagarajan to edge a good length ball to Dave at slip for 3 to make it 52 for 4 in the 17th.   Image: Abhemanyu Rajp pictured with his Best Bowler award from the 2010 Western Conference Tournament, picked up the same award at the Senior Nationals after taking 7 for 82 in 25 overs during the tournament.   North West then tried to muster up a few partnerships to build a respectable total as Rishi Bharadwaj and Saqib Saleem added 23 before Bharadwaj was caught behind by Kadu off left arm spinner Mrunal Patel for 26. Saleem then added 28 with Shantanu Divekar before Saleem played onto his stumps for 27 to give Patel his second wicket. Patel took his third when Saurabh Verma sent a leading edge to Ricky Singh at cover to depart for 2 and the score was 107 for 7 in the 31st.   Divekar then batted aggressively but sensibly to boost North West’s total in the last five overs as North West added 46 runs in that span. He didn’t hit a single four and only had one six, but he was effective at picking off ones and twos. Srinivasa Santhanam scored 11 as part of a 26-run partnership with Divekar before he was caught on the boundary by Timil Patel off Dave to make it 133 for 8. Divekar finished 39 not out after helping his team score 16 runs in the last over bowled by Hutchinson and North West finished 153 for 8 in 35 overs.   During the innings break, the rain stopped and started numerous times. Just when it seemed like things were clearing up and the sun was shining enough for the covers to come off, rain started pouring down again. After an inspection was made at 3:15 pm, the umpires called off the match and with no result, North West erupted in celebration while South West was left to rue their costly decision to bat first on Friday in a 2-wicket loss to Atlantic. South West finished the tournament at 1-1 in third place.   In the other match between Atlantic and New York, play was reduced to 33 overs after a delayed start. Sean Stanislaus scored 27 opening the innings in place of Aditya Mishra, who sat out after receiving two stitches on his finger from dropping a chance in the slips on Saturday. Neil McGarrell came in at number six and rescued Atlantic after another collapse, scoring 37 not out. Jermaine Lawson came in at number seven and also chipped in with 42, including a seven that was scored when he ran three before four overthrows occurred. It was indicative of New York’s sloppy performance all weekend long. Atlantic finished at 165 for 7 as leg-spinner Dwayne Smith took three wickets.   Image: Neil McGarrell, pictured left, turned in a superb allround performance over the weekend and was named the Best Batsman after scoring 147 runs in three innings without getting dismissed.   Atlantic then took the field and jumped all over an uninspired New York. New York’s top six contributed seven runs as Jermaine Lawson took 5 for 22. Steve Massiah was run out without facing a ball while Carl Wright and Rashard Marshall were dismissed by Lawson without scoring as New York started their chase at 9 for 5.   The score was 44 for 8 after 12.2 overs when the players were taken off the field for rain. However, play was able to resume outside the stadium because of the artificial pitch they were playing on and a new target of 111 in 22 overs was established. Number 10 batsman Adrian Gordon top scored with 24, but New York was bowled out for 83 in 20.4 overs to the delight of Atlantic coach Basil Butcher. It was sweet revenge for Atlantic, who lost to New York by 9 wickets in the final game of the 2009 Eastern Conference Tournament when Atlantic was bowled out for 82 batting first. New York's loss meant that the 2009 national champions finished the 2010 Senior Nationals 0-3.   New York’s questionable behavior from Saturday also carried over to the ground on Sunday. Former West Indies Test fast bowler Adam Sanford, who had taken 1 for 93 in 17 overs in New York’s first two games, was left out of the starting XI on Sunday. He could be seen sitting outside the boundary in his New York uniform drinking alcohol while his team was in the field and continued to drink when his team went out to bat.   “I can’t comment on yesterday, but if the New York players weren’t there, I think that’s pretty bad and that’s not a right precedent,” said New York captain Massiah in reference to Saturday’s incident when several players left early during their match against South West and as a result did not shake hands at the game’s conclusion. “I think cricket is a sport that you form great friendship and the camaraderie should be great. I wasn’t there because I had to be over at the Atlantic game because there were a few players that were kind of earmarked [for selection] since I was there.   “On behalf of the New York Region, I’d sincerely like to apologize to the team yesterday for us not going over and shaking hands with them. I think it wasn’t right and hopefully come next year or come the next time we wouldn’t have a repeat of that. Again today, I can’t really comment on who was drinking in uniform because I wasn’t there. I had to be in a [selection] meeting. Once again if New York offended anyone over the last two days I would like to apologize for it.”   The selection meetings that took place this weekend included Massiah, vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni who was in Florida on Saturday and Sunday observing matches, and coach Clayton Lambert. National selectors Sew Shivnarine, Sunny Khan and Abrar Ahmed did not attend the national championship in Florida this weekend.   Atlantic also was not without its problems. USA national player Muhammad Ghous started all three games, but on Saturday and Sunday he did not bat and did not bowl any overs in both games. Team sources said that Ghous had a disruptive attitude throughout the weekend. Ghous has had discipline issues in the past, including his role in an on-field fight during a New Jersey league match that resulted in a four-match ban in 2009. At the USACA tournament banquet on Saturday night in Florida, many of USA’s current and former national players at U-19 and senior level were recognized, but Ghous was not recognized because he did not attend.   At the end of tournament awards presentation, South West’s Rajp received the Best Bowler Award for taking 7 wickets for 82 runs in 25 overs. He tied for the tournament lead in wickets with Lawson, but Rajp had a better average and economy as Lawson finished with 7 for 105 in 23 overs. Rajp also won the Best Bowler Award in Los Angeles at the Western Conference Tournament in September after taking 9 for 96 including 7 for 35 in one match vs. Central East. The 24-year-old off-spinner has established himself as a strong contender for selection for USA’s team that will go to Hong Kong in January for ICC WCL Division 3.   Former West Indies Test player McGarrell walked away with the tournament’s Best Batsman award after he scored 147 runs for Atlantic to lead all batsmen. McGarrell was not dismissed a single time in Florida. McGarrell also took 6 for 44 in 20.1 overs of left arm spin and also has a strong chance of representing USA in Hong Kong. McGarrell took the Best Bowler award at the Eastern Conference Tournament this year in Atlanta after taking 7 for 60 in 22.5 overs. Despite being 38-years-old, McGarrell’s fielding and fitness continue to put younger players to shame.   Official Scorecard South West vs. North West 35-over match No result North West won the toss and elected to bat   North West Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s       6s         Dismissal N Mustafa*+                16         42         0          0          runout (Timbawala) A Singh                         0           2           0          0          b Hutchinson R Bharadwaj               26         53         0          0          ct Kadu b M Patel J Crosthwaite              5           5           0          0          b Rajp A Thyagarajan             3           9           0          0          ct Dave b Rajp S Saleem                     27        41         1          0          b M Patel S Divekar                     39         43         0          1          not out S Verma                       2           4           0          0          ct Singh b M Patel S Santhanam             11         9           2          0          ct T Patel b Dave S Shah                         2           2           0          0          not out Extras                          22 (0 no balls, 0 byes, 4 leg byes, 18 wides) Team Total                153 for 8 in 35 overs   Did not bat: N Jamali.   Fall of Wicket: 1/1 (Singh), 35/2 (Mustafa), 48/3 (Crosthwaite), 52/4 (Thyagarajan), 75/5 (Bharadwaj), 103/6 (Saleem), 107/7 (Verma), 133/8 (Santhanam).   South West Bowling   Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets E Hutchinson               7-0-32-1 M Dave                          6-1-18-1 N Malik                          4-0-19-0 A Rajp                            6-0-31-2 T Patel                           7-0-29-0 M Patel                          5-0-20-3     Unofficial Scorecard Atlantic vs. New York 33-over match Atlantic won by 27 runs (revised target based on average runs per over/net run rate) Atlantic won the toss and elected to bat   Atlantic Innings Batsman                      Runs    4s       6s         Dismissal S Stanislaus+             27         1          1          ct Mills+ b Smith C Singh                        1           0          0          ct Wright b Thomas N Chokshi                   10         1          0          ct Hall b Thomas K Baride                       9           0          0          ct Gordon b Smith D Forest                       7           1          0          ct Mills+ b Smith N McGarrell*               37         3          0          not out J Lawson                    42         3          1          b Gordon G Adams                     0           0          0          b Darlington I Awan                          20         1          2          not out Extras                          12 Team Total                165 for 7 in 33 overs   Did not bat: M Ghous, M Nisar.   New York Bowling    Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets K Darlington               6-1-31-1 D Thomas                  7-2-21-2 A Gordon                    5-0-34-1 D Smith                      7-0-20-3 A Kirton                       6-0-36-0 R Marshall                 2-0-18-0   New York Innings Batsman                      Runs    4s        6s         Dismissal C Wright                       0            0          0          ct Adams b Lawson G Hall                           2            0          0          LBW Lawson S Massiah*                  0           0          0          runout (Adams) A Mohammed             1            0          0          ct Singh b Lawson R Marshall                   0            0          0          ct McGarrell b Lawson S Mills+                        4            0          0          b Awan D Thomas                  12           2          0          ct Singh b Lawson D Smith                       14           0          0          runout (Forest) A Kirton                        5             0          0          b Adams A Gordon                     24          3          0          ct Adams b Forest K Darlington               2             0          0          not out Extras                          19 Team Total                 83 all out in 20.4 overs   New York’s innings interrupted by rain after 12.2 overs with the score on 44 for 8. When play resumed, the target was reduced from 166 in 33 overs to 111 in 22 overs.   Atlantic Bowling        Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets J Lawson                     6-2-22-5 I Awan                          6-0-19-1 G Adams                     4-0-22-1 N McGarrell                4-0-16-0 D Forest                      0.4-0-0-1 Posted Nov 22 2010, 08:29 AM with no comments Filed under: Steve Massiah, USA cricket, Neil McGarrell, Nauman Mustafa, Abhemanyu Rajp, Shantanu Divekar

• USA Cricket 2010 Senior Nationals Day 2: West coast humbles east coast

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna A complete team effort from South West resulted in a total annihilation of New York by 157 runs while the North West squeezed out a tight win over Atlantic when the match was decided by scoring rate after Atlantic’s chase was halted after 44 overs due to bad light on Saturday at the USACA Senior Nationals in Lauderhill, Fla. It means that North West has a chance to go undefeated with a win over South West on Sunday inside the Central Broward Regional Park stadium while New York tries to avoid going winless when they take on Atlantic on the artificial pitch outside the stadium.   New York won the toss and elected to field on a perfect morning in south Florida. Ricky Singh opened with Ritesh Kadu and they added 30 for the first wicket before Singh was bowled for 19 by Kevin Darlington. Five runs later, Darlington had Ravi Timbawala LBW for 1 and New York looked to be establishing control of the match.   But Mrunal Patel joined Kadu at the crease and the two produced an attritional 82-run stand for the third wicket that ate up 22 overs and set the platform for the surge that followed in the final third of the innings. New York captain Steve Massiah struggled to decide on a fifth bowling option in an attempt to take wickets after using leg-spinner Dwayne Smith for just one over. He eventually chose to bring himself on in search of wickets and Patel was finally bowled by Massiah for 32 in the 33rd over, but Patel’s contribution was just as vital as the next man in, Aditya Thyagarajan.   Kadu was dismissed a short time later by Adrian Gordon for 66 to make it 139 for 4 in the 37th over, but vice-captain Thyagarajan and captain Mehul Dave teamed up to devastate New York’s bowlers over the next ten frames. Thyagarajan rotated the strike at will, opening the door for Dave to strike some lusty blows. While Thyagarajan focused on finding singles, he didn’t hesitate to dispatch anything loose to the boundary. The two men added 92 for the fifth wicket before Thyagarajan was caught behind off Gordon for 63 in only 44 balls. He only had 10 deliveries he didn’t score off, including the wicket. Meanwhile, Dave continued the onslaught for the last few overs with Elmore Hutchinson there in support as South West finished 251 for 6 with Dave 49 not out.     New York’s chase never got going as South West heaped the pressure on in the field, showing far more desire to win than the reigning national champions, a reign that has less than 24 hours remaining. Dennis Evans was the first man to go, out for a duck when Hutchinson took a splendid over the shoulder catch running back from point to give Dave his first wicket. Hutchinson then clean bowled new man Rashard Marshall for 4 to make it 14 for 2 and there was a growing sense in the air that a rout was on the cards.   Dave dismissed Glen Hall for 8 when the batsman foolishly drove in the air straight to sub fielder Theo Mavrokefalos stationed on the long off boundary. Andy Mohammed was then caught by Timbawala at second slip for a duck to give Hutchinson his second scalp and New York was crumbling at 19 for 4.   Massiah joined Carl Wright and the run rate ground to a halt while the men tried to rebuild. However, there did not appear to be any serious intent to go for a win as too many balls were blocked instead of trying to tap the ball into open spaces. They took 16 overs to add 37 runs before Wright was spectacularly caught by Thyagarajan on the long on boundary off of Abhemanyu Rajp for New York’s top score of 20 to make it 56 for 5 in the 25th.   Immediately, New York collapsed into a heap as Massiah edged Nadir Malik to slip for 15 and Smith was caught behind off Malik for a duck to make it 56 for 7. Adam Sanford had a brief burst of three sixes off Malik, but he was bowled for 18 by Rajp with the score on 77 and then Denison Thomas gave a return catch to Timil Patel for 1 with New York still on 77. The last wicket pair of Darlington and Gordon became a nuisance for eight overs before Gordon was finally bowled for 9 by Hutchinson and New York was all out for 94.   In a disappointing scene, several of New York’s players did not stick around for the end of the match to shake hands with the victorious South West team, including former USA national team member Hall and current USA players Wright, Marshall and Massiah.   In the game played on the artificial wicket outside the stadium, North West won the toss and elected to bat. Several players made starts, but no one was able to go on and make a big score as Shantanu Divekar led North West with 40 in their total of 212 before they were bowled out on the first ball of the last over. Neil McGarrell once again turned in a tremendous spell of left arm spin, taking 4 for 16 in 9.1 overs. The Atlantic captain was also responsible for two runouts in the field.   It appeared that Atlantic’s performance at bat would stoop beneath New York’s woes when they had three men out with only one run on the board. Both openers, Charan Singh and Aditya Mishra, and the first drop batsman Sean Stanislaus all got out without scoring. Kunal Baride chipped in with 19, but it was McGarrell and Durale Forest who turned the match upside down for Atlantic, putting on an unbroken 125-run fifth wicket stand. Forest finished 66 not out and McGarrell 68 not out, but bad light ended play with six overs to go and the score on 169.   According to the tournament playing conditions, average runs per over is to be used to decide a winner when the full amount of overs can not be bowled. Based on North West’s scoring rate of 4.24 runs per over, Atlantic needed to have reached 188 by the end of the 44th to have won. Initial protests were made that Duckworth-Lewis calculations were not used, but according to a USACA official, even if Duckworth-Lewis was used in this situation, Atlantic would have been three runs below the par score and would have still lost.   Going into the final day, there exists a possibility for a three-way tie for first place. If North West wins against South West, they are the undisputed national champion. If North West loses, then a two-way tie will be created at 2-1. If Atlantic also beats New York, there would be a three-way tie for first. Net run rate is the tiebreaker in both instances to decide the national champion.   Here are the unofficial net run rate calculations below heading into the final day.                                       Runs For                        Runs Against              NRR North West (2-0)      522 in 100 overs          343 in 94 overs            +1.57 South West (1-1)      410 in 100 overs          254 in 94.3 overs         +1.41 Atlantic (1-1)              329 in 88.3 overs         371 in 100 overs          +.01 New York (0-2)          268 in 100 overs          561 in 100 overs          -2.93   Official Scorecard New York vs. South West South West won by 157 runs New York won the toss and elected to field Man of the Match: Mehul Dave   South West Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s     6s         Dismissal R Singh                       19          18        2          1          b Darlington R Kadu+                      66         110      4          0          ct Sanford b Gordon R Timbawala              1           12         0          0          LBW Darlington M Patel                         32         68         2          0          b Massiah A Thyagarajan             63        44         5          2          ct Wright b Gordon M Dave*                        49        44         4          1          not out E Hutchinson              3           4           0          0          runout (Smith/Wright+) Extras                          18 (1 no ball, 0 byes, 6 leg byes, 11 wides) Team Total                 251 for 6 in 50 overs   Did not bat: N Malik, A Shafi, T Patel, A Rajp.   Fall of wicket: 30/1 (Singh), 35/2 (Timbawala), 117/3 (M Patel), 139/4 (Kadu), 231/5 (Thyagarajan), 251/6 (Hutchinson).   New York Bowling    Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets A Sanford                   10-0-46-0 K Darlington              10-0-51-2 A Gordon                    9-1-54-2 D Thomas                 10-1-29-0 D Smith                      1-0-6-0 S Massiah                  9-0-53-1 D Evans                      1-0-6-0   New York Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s     6s          Dismissal D Evans                       0            9           0        0          ct Hutchinson b Dave G Hall                           8           25          1        0          ct sub (Mavrokefalos) b Dave R Marshall                   4           6            0        0          b Hutchinson A Mohammed             0          12           0        0          ct Timbawala b Hutchinson C Wright                      20         63          0        0          ct Thyagarajan b Rajp S Massiah                  15         35          1        0          ct Timbawala b Malik D Thomas                   1          12           0        0          c & b T Patel D Smith                        0           2            0        0          ct Kadu b Malik A Sanford                   18         13           0        3          b Rajp A Gordon                     9           28          0        0          b Hutchinson K Darlington               4           26          0        0          not out Extras                          15 (0 no balls, 3 byes, 4 leg byes, 8 wides) Team Total                 94 all out in 38.3 overs   Fall of wicket: 9/1 (Evans), 14/2 (Marshall), 18/3 (Hall), 19/4 (Mohammed), 56/5 (Wright), 56/6 (Massiah), 56/7 (Smith), 77/8 (Sanford), 77/9 (Thomas), 94/10 (Gordon).   South West Bowling  Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets E Hutchinson              8.3-3-13-3 M Dave                         7-4-8-2 T Patel                          9-2-19-1 A Rajp                          10-3-20-2 N Malik                         4-1-27-2     Unofficial Scorecard Atlantic vs. North West North West won by 19 runs (on average runs per over/net run rate) North West won the toss and batted   North West Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s       6s         Dismissal N Mustafa*+                26          77        1          0          ct Forest b McGarrell S Singh                        12          17        2          0          ct McGarrell b Forest R Bharadwaj               25          40        2          1          LBW McGarrell J Crosthwaite              29          22        4          0          runout (McGarrell) A Thyagarajan             10          24        1          0          LBW Adams S Santhanam               4            9          0          0          ct Stanislaus+ b Adams S Divekar                      40          43        3          2          ct Lawson b Chokshi S Saleem                     21          33        2          0          LBW McGarrell S Verma                       13          12        2          0          b McGarrell S Shah                          1            15        0          0          run out (McGarrell) N Jamali                       0            1          0          0          not out Extras                            31 Team Total                   212 all out in 49.1 overs   Atlantic Bowling        Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets J Lawson                     9-0-40-0 I Awan                           2-0-17-0 D Forest                      10-0-40-1 N McGarrell                 9.1-2-16-4 G Adams                      9-1-52-2 N Chokshi                   10-1-35-1   Atlantic Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s       6s         Dismissal C Singh                        0            2          0          0          ct Saleem b Jamali A Mishra                       0            6          0          0          ct Crosthwaite b Santhanam S Stanislaus+             0            3          0          0          ct Mustafa b Jamali K Baride                      19          44        0          2          ct Divekar b Shah D Forest                       66         127      5          0          not out N McGarrell*               68          75        6          3          not out Extras                           16 Team Total                  169 for 4 in 44 overs   Did not bat: M Ghous, I Awan, N Chokshi, G Adams, J Lawson.   North West Bowling   Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets N Jamali                      8-3-15-2 S Santhanam            10-1-50-1 S Divekar                    8-3-17-0 S Shah                        8-0-24-1 S Verma                     4-0-25-0 S Saleem                   3-0-25-0 S Singh                       3-0-8-0 Posted Nov 21 2010, 01:29 AM with no comments Filed under: Steve Massiah, USA Cricket Assocation, Aditya Thyagarajan, Neil McGarrell, Durale Forest, Mehul Dave

• BREAKING NEWS - USA Cricket CEO Don Lockerbie Let Go

  BREAKING NEWS - USA Cricket CEO Don Lockerbie Let Go! Update reflects USACA Media Release confirming the news. Comments Don Lockerbie was removed as CEO of USA Cricket ahead of this weekend's Board Meeting in Florida, a highly informed source told DreamCricket.com this morning. USA Cricket Association issued a media release at 6:25PM confirming the news.   The one-sentence release stated: "The USA Cricket Association today announced that Donald Lockerbie has been relieved of his position as Chief Executive Officer of the organization, with immediate effect."  No further details were provided.  Don Lockerbie could not be reached for comment. Lockerbie's dismissal as CEO comes at a critical juncture for USACA, which is reportedly close to finalizing a commercial deal that he was negotiating.  The news comes on the heels of the resignation by Nabeel Ahmed as First Vice President of USA Cricket Association. Meanwhile, this weekend's board meeting has become a high-stakes drama, especially for the Western Region.  While the region has repeatedly asked for Prof. Gangaram Singh to be recognized as their representative at the board meeting, USACA board has ignored the wishes of the region and has insisted on seating Mr. Padhi at meetings of the board.  According to reliable sources, both Prof. Singh and Mr. Padhi are in Florida for the meeting of the board and it remains to be seen whose trip will be an exercise in futility. Posted Nov 20 2010, 08:59 AM with no comments Filed under: USACA, USA cricket, US Cricket, Don Lockerbie

• USA Cricket 2010 Senior Nationals Day 1: Atlantic and North West pull off shock wins

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna   A gritty allround performance by captain Neil McGarrell took Atlantic to a 2-wicket win over South West while North West’s lineup torched New York’s bowling attack on their way to a 136-run win on Friday at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla., on day one of the 2010 USACA Senior Nationals.   In the match played on the stadium natural turf wicket, South West won the toss and elected to bat first against Atlantic, but were immediately behind the eight-ball when opener Kanishka Chaugai was caught behind off Jermaine Lawson on the second ball of the match.   After bowling four wides in his first over, Imran Awan settled down to bowl a terrific spell, snaring the wickets of Theo Mavrokefalos for 8 and captain Mehul Dave for 5 to keep South West pinned down at 35 for 3 in the eighth over. Awan finished with 2 for 20 in six overs.   George Adams was also responsible for claiming two vital wickets in the innings. First he dismissed Ravi Timbawala for 35 as the opener played onto his stumps trying to cut a delivery. Then Adams took care of Aditya Thyagarajan, trapping the star batsman on the crease for 9 and Atlantic had South West in even bigger trouble at 75 for 5 in the 19th over.   Timil Patel and Ritesh Kadu did their best to resurrect the innings and constructed a 58-run stand for the sixth wicket to get South West back into the game. Muhammad Ghous finally broke the partnership by bowling Patel for 22 and that sparked the final collapse from South West.   Kadu fell next for 29 to left arm spinner Muhammad Nisar. Elmore Hutchinson was clean bowled by Lawson for 13 before Hammad Shahid and Abhemanyu Rajp were dismissed by McGarrell in the 46th over to wrap up South West’s innings for 159. Mrunal Patel finished not out on 9.   Atlantic’s modest batting lineup was weakened even more with the absence of Clain Williams, who has not arrived yet for the tournament. But they used a positive approach at the top with Charan Singh and Aditya Mishra to get the chase started on the right foot. Singh routinely played through the air and found the gaps on his way to 24 in 29 balls. He was finally dismissed by the leg-spin of Timil Patel, who kept South West’s hopes alive by taking 4 for 32.   Rajp then broke through with the wicket of Sean Stanislaus, LBW for 3 to make it 51 for 2. Kunal Baride fought hard to stay at the crease and give Mishra support, forging a 28-run stand before he was stumped for 8 by Kadu off the bowling of Timil Patel after overbalancing on an attempted drive. Patel struck again five balls later, getting Ghous to produce an edge to first slip and the see-saw battle waged on at 79 for 4.   Mishra eventually succumbed to muscle cramps and needed a runner. A short time later, he succumbed to the bowling of Rajp, LBW for 36. In Rajp’s next over, he had Durale Forest trapped on the crease for a third ball duck and at 96 for 6 in the 29th over, South West looked moments away from wrapping up the game.   However, captain McGarrell carried his team to victory by scoring 42 not out, teaming up with Lawson for a critical 54-run partnership in the process. Lawson finally suffered a rush of blood to the head and holed out to long on to give Timil Patel his fourth when only 10 were needed to win. Adams was run out with the scores level, but Awan came in and on his first delivery, a wide was sent down leg side, the 27th by South West, to end the game.   “There was a lot of pressure up front knowing that we were missing a couple of batsmen, but in the end it was just a matter of somebody putting a hand up and playing through the innings,” said Mishra. “I tried to do that but sadly due to a cramp it didn’t work out. But I think Neil stepped up and what a knock he played.”   Image: Atlantic Region captain Neil McGarrell.   On the artificial field outside the stadium, North West unleashed a ferocious batting assault on New York’s vaunted bowling attack, scoring 310 for 7 in their 50 overs to set the platform for a resounding victory. Rishi Bharadwaj top scored with 77 as he and his teammates torched the Big Apple bowlers for nine sixes.   “I think the way we played cricket today as a team, a hungrier team than New York, I totally think we deserved the win,” said North West vice-captain Saurabh Verma. “I think people are going to step up and take notice of the region and of the players who are playing in the region now.”   Even without the services of Kevin Darlington, New York’s attack boasted two former first-class players and a current USA national team weapon, but no one was spared by the lineup comprised of players from the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland and Seattle.   In reply, New York lost wickets at regular intervals as their biggest partnership went for 41 runs. Carl Wright top scored for New York with 45 in the chase, but realistically they were never in it and they were finally bowled out in the 37th over for 174. Saqib Saleem finished with 3 for 30 as spin bowlers were responsible for six of the 10 New York wickets to fall.   On Saturday, New York and South West will square off inside the stadium on the natural turf wicket as both teams aim to notch their first win of the tournament. Meanwhile, North West and Atlantic will duke it out on the artificial wicket to see who can remain unbeaten heading into Sunday. Matches are now scheduled for a 9:30 AM start.   USACA Senior Nationals Official Scorecard Atlantic vs. South West Atlantic won by 2 wickets South West won the toss and elected to bat   South West Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s     6s         Dismissal K Chaugai                   0            2          0          0          ct Stanislaus+ b Lawson R Timbawala              35         60        4          0          b Adams D Mavrokefalos           8          14        1          0          LBW Awan M Dave*                        5          11        1          0          b Awan A Thyagarajan             9          23        1          0          LBW Adams T Patel                          22        46        1          0          b Ghous R Kadu+                       29        70        1          0          ct Awan b Nisar M Patel                         9           22        1          0          not out E Hutchinson             13         23        1          1          b Lawson H Shahid                     1           6          0          0          LBW McGarrell A Rajp                          0           1          0          0          LBW McGarrell Extras                          28 (3 no balls, 4 byes, 5 leg byes, 16 wides) Team Total                 159 all out in 46 overs   Fall of Wicket: 0/1 (Chaugai), 17/2 (Mavrokefalos), 35/3 (Dave), 73/4 (Timbawala), 75/5 (Thyagarajan), 133/6 (T Patel), 135/7 (Kadu), 158/8 (Hutchinson), 159/9 (Shahid), 159/10 (Rajp).   Atlantic Bowling        Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets J Lawson                     8-1-43-2 I Awan                          6-0-20-2 G Adams                     8-0-23-2 N McGarrell                7-1-12-2 M Nisar                       10-0-29-1 M Ghous                     7-2-23-1   Atlantic Innings Batsman                      Runs    Balls    4s      6s         Dismissal C Singh                        24         29         5         0          ct Rajp b T Patel A Mishra                       36         69        1          1          LBW Rajp S Stanislaus+              3          12        0          0          LBW Rajp K Baride                        8          35        1          0          st Kadu+ b T Patel M Ghous                       0           5          0          0          ct Dave b T Patel N McGarrell*                42        69         4          0          not out D Forest                        0          3           0          0          LBW Rajp J Lawson                     12        39         0          0          ct M Patel b T Patel G Adams                       5          6          0          0          runout (T Patel/Kadu+) I Awan                            0          0          0          0          not out Extras                            30 (2 no balls, 0 bye, 1 leg bye, 27 wides) Team Total                  160 for 8 in 44.3 overs   Did not bat: M Nisar.   Fall of Wicket: 31/1 (Singh), 51/2 (Stanislaus), 79/3 (Baride), 79/4 (Ghous), 93/5 (Mishra), 96/6 (Forest), 150/7 (Lawson), 159/8 (Adams).   South West Bowling   Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets E Hutchinson              5-0-19-0 M Dave                        10-0-31-0 T Patel                         10-1-32-4 H Shahid                     3-0-15-0 A Rajp                          9-0-31-3 M Patel                         5-1-20-0 A Thyagarajan            2.3-0-11-0     Unofficial Scorecard New York vs. North West North West won by 136 runs North West won the toss and elected to bat   North West Innings Batsman                      Runs    4s      6s         Dismissal N Mustafa*+                8           1          0          b Gordon S Singh                        26         0          2          b Thomas R Bharadwaj               77        5          2          ct Gordon b Evans J Crosthwaite             48         5          2          ct Marshall b Smith S Santhanam              6          1          0          ct Thomas b Sanford A Thyagarajan             45        5          1          b Evans S Divekar                     32        4          1          not out S Saleem                    19        1          1          ct Wright b Thomas S Verma                       8          2          0          not out Extras                           41 Team Total                  310 for 7 in 50 overs   Did not bat: S Shah, B Khan.   New York Bowling    Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets A Sanford                   7-0-47-1 D Thomas                 8-0-38-2 A Gordon                    6-0-37-1 R Marshall                 1-0-13-0 S Massiah                 10-0-69-0 D Smith                      10-1-52-1 D Evans                     8-0-35-2   New York Innings Batsman                      Runs    4s      6s         Dismissal D Evans                       18         3          0          ct S Singh b Santhanam G Hall                            25        4          0          ct Verma b Divekar S Massiah*                  6          1          0          ct Mustafa+ b Santhanam C Wright                       45        4          2          ct Thyagarajan b Verma R Marshall                   9          2          0          ct Bharadwaj b Shah A Mohammed             38        3          1          ct & b Saleem A Dodson+                   6          1          0          ct Shah b Saleem D Thomas                    6          1          0          runout D Smith                        3          0          0          ct Mustafa+ b Verma A Sanford                     2          0          0          ct Mustafa+ b Saleem A Gordon                      0          0          0          not out Extras                           16 Team Total                  174 all out in 36.3 overs   North West Bowling   Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets B Khan                          6-1-33-0 S Santhanam              7-1-26-2 S Shah                         7-0-25-1 S Divekar                     3-0-19-1 S Verma                       8-1-35-2 S Saleem                     5.3-0-30-3 Posted Nov 19 2010, 09:38 PM with no comments Filed under: Saurabh Verma, USA cricket, Aditya Mishra, Neil McGarrell, Abhemanyu Rajp

• Pelham Warner's XI Cricket Tours to USA - 1897 and 1898

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket In 1897 and 1898, Pelham Warner, the Grand Old Man of English Cricket, led two successive tours to USA.   Although Warner is remembered most as the manager of the infamous Bodyline tour, that was an aberration in an otherwise sterling career in cricket which included tours to South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, South America, Portugal, Holland and Denmark. Pic (Right): Pelham Warner led two successful tours of USA in 1897 and 1898. 'Plum' Warner was named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1904 and 1921, became the President of MCC in 1950, founded The Cricketer magazine in 1921, had a Lord's stand named after him in 1958, and was knighted in 1937.  Not only did he captain MCC and Oxford, he captained England on tours to Australia and South Africa.   Ironically, his brother Aucher Warner, a Trinidadian, captained West Indies on their first tour of England in 1900. In September 4, 1897, Pelham Warner's team left for USA on board USMS St. Paul.   Warner was just 23 years old but sought inspiration from Lord Hawke before him.  There was a lot of anticipation surrounding this tour, and a lot of that had to do with one man - John Bart King. The Gentlemen of Philadelphia had toured England in the summer of 1897 and John Bart King impressed everyone who came to watch.   He shocked the hosts, Sussex, with his bowling feats which included a match-winning 7 for 13 effort.  GOP won the match after dismissing the hosts for 46 in just under an hour.   In the second innings, King took 6 for 102 giving his side a much-needed victory after two consecutive losses to Lancashire and Cambridge University.  In an otherwise lacklustre 15 match tour, in which GOP lost 9 matches and won 2, Bart King played an instrumental role in the GOP's second win against Warwickshire.   In this match, he took 12 Warwickshire wickets (5 for 95 and 7 for 72) and then scored 46 not out in the second innings. Pic (Right): Following his performances in 1897, Bart King was declared the greatest bowler in USA and perhaps the world. The tour of USA by Warner's XI in the fall of 1897 was essentially a return tour.   Warner was one of three first class captains on the team which included Gilbert Jessop (captain of Gloucestershire), W McG Hemmingway (also of Gloucestershire), HDG Leveson-Gower (captain of Surrey), Harry Chinnery (Surrey), HH Marriott and FW Stocks (of Leicestershire), JN Tonge (Kent), Frank Bull (Essex), RA Bennett (Hampshire), JR Head (Middlesex), and AD Whatman (Eton). The first two matches were played at Livingston Field in Staten Island which Warner observed was "rather small but exceedingly pretty" in his book "Cricket in many climes."   A New York Times report recorded the events of the second of these two one-day (but not limited overs) matches.   In this match, played on September 15, 1897, New York had the upper hand.  All New York scored 182 for 7 (declared) and restricted the English side to 129 for 8 in 33.2 overs before the match ended in a draw.  From here, Warner's XI proceeded to Philadelphia and Baltimore where they played four matches in all.   The first two of these matches were against weaker sides as the series gradually progressed towards the highlight of the tour - two 3-day matches between the Gentlemen of Philadelphia (GOP) and the Englishmen in Philadelphia.   In the first of the two matches against the GOP, Plum Warner's XI met with a fate similar to Lord Hawke's XI in 1891.  At the Belmont Cricket Club ground on September 24, 1897, the hosts batted first and scored 242 all out.   They then dealt the most serious blow on any visiting side when John Bart King, a pioneering exponent of right arm in-swing bowling and one of the greatest bowlers of all time, bowled a magical spell of 9 for 25 from 14.3 overs.   The Englishmen were all out for 63!  Following on, Warner's XI scored 372 but the damage was already done and the home side attained their target with 4 wickets to spare.  Bart King, playing on his home ground, scored 44 runs in the second innings giving his side a decisive victory against a highly rated team.   Pic (Right): Warner wrote about his USA tour experience in the book "Cricket in Many Climes" In the last match at Merion, Warner's XI restored some of the lost pride by defeating the hosts by 7 wickets.   Thus, the 1897 tour of the English against Gentlemen of Philadelphia ended with a remarkable 1-1 record.   In 1898, the visitors led by Warner had an easier time thanks to the prodigious talent of Bosie Bosanquet who invented the googly as I wrote in an article titled "Cricket and the real origin of google." and tried it on the hapless Americans to great effect.   Bernard Bosanquet, wrote: "about the year 1897 I was playing a game with a tennis ball, known as `Twisti-Twosti.' The object was to bounce the ball on a table so that your opponent sitting opposite could not catch it. After a little experimenting I managed to pitch the ball which broke in a certain direction; then with more or less the same delivery make the next ball go in the opposite direction!" "I practised the same thing with a soft ball at `Stump-cricket.' From this I progressed to the cricket ball. I devoted a great deal of time to practisting the googly at the nets, occasionally in unimportant matches." The first "unimportant" matches happened to be in USA. Even though he did not use the delivery in county cricket until about July of 1900, for Middlesex v. Leicestershire at Lord's, Bosanquet got a chance to try this out on his international tours - and his first such tour was the P. F. Warner's tour of USA in 1898. For his part, John Bart King reached 150 first class wickets and got a 6-wicket haul in the only match played by GOP on the 1898 tour. 1897 Tour: Match 2: Livingston Field, Staten Island on 15th September 1897 (1-day match) Result    Match drawn  All New York first innings   MR Cobb    b Chinnery    25                     RT Rokeby    c Warner b Leveson-Gower    11                     JF Curran    b Chinnery    3                     FF Kelly    b Chinnery    2                     CH Clarke    c Whatman b Warner    47                     HC Wright    b Chinnery    5                     HN Townsend    b Leveson-Gower    14                     FJ Prendergast    not out    49                     J Adam    not out    10                     SA Webb    did not bat      TS Hope-Simpson    did not bat      Extras    (12 b, 3 lb, 1 w)    16 Total    (7 wickets, declared, 61 overs)    182 Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-42, 3-46, 4-47, 5-69, 6-90, 7-103 PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls Leveson-Gower    20       3    55    2    -    - Head    11       5    28    0    -    - Chinnery    19       6    47    4    -    - Marriott    3       0    21    0    -    - Warner    8       3    15    1    -    - PF Warner's XI first innings AD Whatman    c Cobb b Kelly    8                     +RA Bennett    b Kelly    16                     WM Hemingway    b Kelly    5                     HB Chinnery    c Wright b Cobb    14                     FG Bull    b Cobb    12                     FW Stocks    b Kelly    22                     *PF Warner    b Kelly    0                     GL Jessop    c Prendergast b Cobb    4                     HDG Leveson-Gower    not out    36                     HH Marriott    did not bat      JR Head    did not bat      Extras    (6 b, 6 lb)    12 Total    (8 wickets, 33.2 overs)    129 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-16, 3-41, 4-57, 5-60, 6-61, 7-72, 8-129 (33.2 ov) All New York bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts   Cobb    15       0    72    3    -    - Kelly    16.2    3    37    5    -    - Clarke    2       1    8    0    -    -     Source: New York Times Match 4: Belmont Cricket Club Ground, Philadelphia on 24th, 25th, 27th September 1897 (3-day match) Result    Gentlemen of Philadelphia won by 4 wickets Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings HC Thayer    st Bennett b Bull    35                     AM Wood    b Bull    0                     WW Noble    b Bull    20                     JA Lester    c Leveson-Gower b Chinnery    73                     JB King    c Stocks b Bull    14                     HC Coates    c and b Stocks    44                     EW Clark    not out    17                     EM Cregar    c Chinnery b Jessop    8                     W Brockie    c Stocks b Jessop    1                     PH Clark    b Bull    3                     +JH Scattergood    c Leveson-Gower b Bull    4                     Extras    (14 b, 7 lb, 2 nb)    23 Total    (all out, 85.4 overs)    242 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-40, 3-84, 4-114, 5-186, 6-205, 7-226, 8-229, 9-238, 10-242 (85.4 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts  Jessop    24       2    62    2    -    - Bull    36.4    4    95    6    -    - Stocks    17       4    42    1    -    - Chinnery    8       2    20    1    -    - PF Warner's XI first innings    *PF Warner    c King b EW Clark    0                     HB Chinnery    c EW Clark b King    0                     HH Marriott    b King    0                     FW Stocks    b King    0                     JR Head    b King    14                     JN Tonge    b King    10                     GL Jessop    b King    7                     HDG Leveson-Gower    b King    5                     +RA Bennett    c Brockie b King    10                     WM Hemingway    b King    9                     FG Bull    not out    6                     Extras    (2 lb)    2 Total    (all out, 28.3 overs)    63 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-12, 6-31, 7-34, 8-41, 9-52, 10-63 (28.3 ov) Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts King    14.3    6    25    9    -    - EW Clark    14       2    36    1    -    - PF Warner's XI second innings (following on)  HB Chinnery    c Wood b EW Clark    8                     *PF Warner    c Scattergood b PH Clark    51                     WM Hemingway    c Scattergood b PH Clark    56                     JR Head    c Brockie b Cregar    101                     GL Jessop    st Scattergood b PH Clark    11                     HDG Leveson-Gower    b King    63                     JN Tonge    c Scattergood b PH Clark    23                     +RA Bennett    c Scattergood b Cregar    3                     HH Marriott    c Wood b PH Clark    26                     FW Stocks    not out    4                     FG Bull    c Scattergood b Cregar    0                     Extras    (18 b, 3 lb, 1 nb, 4 w)    26 Total    (all out, 119.3 overs)    372  Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-123, 3-141, 4-157, 5-311, 6-312, 7-315, 8-361, 9-370, 10-372 (119.3 ov)  Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts  King    28       4    103    1    -    - EW Clark    37       11    94    1    -    - Cregar    18.3    6    49    3    -    - PH Clark    27       7    60    5    -    - Lester    9       0    40    0    -    -  Gentlemen of Philadelphia second innings     AM Wood    c Stocks b Chinnery    10                     HC Thayer    b Bull    44                     JA Lester    c Bennett b Stocks    24                     WW Noble    b Head    42                     JB King    b Head    44                     HC Coates    st Bennett b Head    2                     EW Clark    not out    7                     EM Cregar    not out    2                     W Brockie    did not bat      PH Clark    did not bat      +JH Scattergood    did not bat      Extras    (15 b, 1 lb, 2 nb, 1 w)    19 Total    (6 wickets, 62.3 overs)    194 Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-79, 3-89, 4-174, 5-178, 6-? PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls Jessop    19       7    42    0    -    - Bull    20.3    4    67    1    -    - Stocks    14       2    35    1    -    - Chinnery    3       0    9    1    -    - Head    6       1    22    3    -    -    Match 5: Merion Cricket Club Ground, Haverford on 1st, 2nd, 4th October 1897 (3-day match) Result    PF Warner's XI won by 7 wickets PF Warner's XI first innings  *PF Warner    b King    8                     HB Chinnery    b PH Clark    63                     WM Hemingway    b Baily    0                     JR Head    c Scattergood b PH Clark    16                     GL Jessop    c Wood b PH Clark    66                     HDG Leveson-Gower    c King b Baily    85                     JN Tonge    c Wood b PH Clark    7                     +RA Bennett    b King    9                     HH Marriott    run out    42                     FW Stocks    not out    2                     FG Bull    b PH Clark    0                     Extras    (15 b, 5 lb, 1 nb, 3 w)    24 Total    (all out, 77 overs)    322 Fall of wickets: 1-?, 2-?, 3-?, 4-?, 5-?, 6-?, 7-?, 8-?, 9-?, 10-322 (77 ov) Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts King    20       4    102    2    -    - Baily    17       4    51    2    -    - PH Clark    22       2    78    5    -    - Morton    7       0    28    0    -    - EW Clark    9       1    28    0    -    - Noble    2       0    11    0    -    - Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings  JEC Morton    b Bull    4                     PH Clark    lbw b Bull    0                     EW Clark    b Jessop    22                     HC Coates    b Jessop    9                     WW Noble    b Jessop    38                     HC Thayer    b Jessop    2                     AM Wood    c Chinnery b Jessop    9                     JB King    not out    22                     N Etting    b Bull    0                     HP Baily    b Bull    2                     +JH Scattergood    c Bennett b Bull    11                     Extras    (7 b, 2 lb, 4 nb)    13 Total    (all out, 54.3 overs)    132 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-11, 3-30, 4-54, 5-65, 6-90, 7-93, 8-98, 9-99, 10-132 (54.3 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls Bull    27.3    6    64    5    -    - Jessop    27       7    55    5    -    - Gentlemen of Philadelphia second innings (following on)  AM Wood    c and b Bull    14                     HC Thayer    b Chinnery    27                     WW Noble    c Head b Jessop    64                     N Etting    st Bennett b Bull    13                     JB King    c and b Jessop    68                     HC Coates    st Bennett b Bull    5                     EW Clark    b Jessop    7                     PH Clark    c Warner b Bull    31                     HP Baily    b Jessop    8                     JEC Morton    b Bull    1                     +JH Scattergood    not out    7                     Extras        11 Total    (all out, 69.1 overs)    256 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-95, 3-122, 4-124, 5-136, 6-?, 7-225, 8-?, 9-?, 10-256 (69.1 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts Bull    27.1    1    98    5    -    - Jessop    23       4    70    4    -    - Stocks    8       1    33    0    -    - Chinnery    6       0    22    1    -    - Head    5       1    22    0    -    - PF Warner's XI second innings  *PF Warner    c Thayer b King    3                     HB Chinnery    c Etting b King    26                     WM Hemingway    b PH Clark    3                     JR Head    not out    6                     GL Jessop    not out    26                     HDG Leveson-Gower    did not bat      JN Tonge    did not bat      +RA Bennett    did not bat      HH Marriott    did not bat      FW Stocks    did not bat      FG Bull    did not bat      Extras    (2 b, 3 lb, 1 nb)    6 Total    (3 wickets, 19 overs)    70 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-37, 3-37 Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts King    10       0    50    2    -    - Baily    6       3    9    0    -    - PH Clark    3       0    5    1    -    -   1898 - Pelham Warner's XI Tour of USA     21 Sep 1898              All New York v PF Warner's XI     Livingston Field, Staten Island     misc29603     23 Sep 1898              Philadelphia Colts v PF Warner's XI     Merion Cricket Club Ground, Haverford  - no report     28 Sep 1898              Baltimore v PF Warner's XI     Catonsville  - no report         30 Sep 1898              Gentlemen of Philadelphia v PF Warner's XI     Germantown Cricket Club Ground, Manheim, Philadelphia      08 Oct 1898              Chicago v PF Warner's XI     Chicago - no report   Match 1: Gentlemen of Philadelphia vs PF Warner's XI at Philadelphia Cricket Club (16 Sept, 1898) Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings  NZ Graves    b Bosanquet    3                     AM Wood    c Bray b Ainsworth    0                     FH Bates    c Bray b Bosanquet    21                     WW Noble    c Bosanquet b Ainsworth    3                     *RD Brown    st Bray b Bosanquet    10                     PH Clark    c Bray b Bosanquet    5                     JB King    not out    28                     W Thayer    lbw b Ainsworth    0                     JEC Morton    b Ainsworth    8                     HC Townsend    b Ainsworth    6                     +JH Scattergood    c Bray b Ainsworth    10                     Extras        0 Total    (all out, 52.3 overs)    94 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-3, 3-6, 4-21, 5-32, 6-46, 7-49, 8-59, 9-82, 10-94 (52.3 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts Bosanquet    24       9    35    4    -    - Ainsworth    26.3    5    54    6    -    - Hill    2       0    5    0    -    - PF Warner's XI first innings *PF Warner    c Scattergood b Clark    25                     F Mitchell    c Morton b Clark    21                     COH Sewell    c Bates b Clark    0                     VT Hill    b Morton    3                     BJT Bosanquet    c Scattergood b King    20                     GE Winter    b Morton    2                     +EH Bray    b Morton    4                     RSA Warner    c Brown b Morton    0                     R Berens    b King    4                     JL Ainsworth    not out    3                     CJ Burnup    c Morton b King    0                     Extras    (1 b, 1 lb)    2 Total    (all out, 42.1 overs)    84 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-46, 3-53, 4-53, 5-74, 6-75, 7-79, 8-79, 9-79, 10-84 (42.1 ov) Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts King    14.1    6    29    3    -    - Townsend    8       1    19    0    -    - Clark    7       1    21    3    -    - Morton    13       5    13    4    -    - Gentlemen of Philadelphia second innings NZ Graves    b Hill    1                     AM Wood    c Bray b Ainsworth    15                     FH Bates    c Hill b Ainsworth    0                     WW Noble    c Bray b Ainsworth    0                     *RD Brown    c Bosanquet b Hill    10                     PH Clark    st Bray b Ainsworth    1                     JB King    b Ainsworth    10                     W Thayer    not out    4                     JEC Morton    c Hill b Bosanquet    9                     HC Townsend    c Hill b Bosanquet    3                     +JH Scattergood    c and b Bosanquet    0                     Extras    (2 b, 2 lb, 2 w)    6 Total    (all out, 46 overs)    59 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-21, 3-22, 4-26, 5-30, 6-31, 7-48, 8-48, 9-57, 10-59 (46 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts Bosanquet    13       3    26    3    -    - Ainsworth    23       16    13    5    -    - Hill    10       4    14    2    -    - PF Warner's XI second innings *PF Warner    c Bates b King    4                     CJ Burnup    c Scattergood b Clark    12                     F Mitchell    not out    20                     COH Sewell    not out    25                     VT Hill    did not bat      BJT Bosanquet    did not bat      GE Winter    did not bat      +EH Bray    did not bat      RSA Warner    did not bat      R Berens    did not bat      JL Ainsworth    did not bat      Extras    (4 b, 4 lb, 1 nb)    9 Total    (2 wickets, 22.4 overs)    70 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-34 Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts King    7.4    1    18    1    -    - Townsend    1       0    7    0    -    - Clark    4       1    16    1    -    - Morton    9       2    15    0    -    - Bates    1       0    5    0    -    -     Match 2: All New York vs PF Warner's XI at Livingston Field, Staten Island (21 September 1898 - 2-day match) Result    PF Warner's XI won by an innings and 247 runs All New York first innings MR Cobb    b Ainsworth    10                     CH Clarke    c PF Warner b Ainsworth    8                     CP Hurditch    c Bray b Bosanquet    7                     JF Curran    st Bray b Ainsworth    0                     RE Bonner    lbw b Ainsworth    0                     SB Lohmann    c Bosanquet b Ainsworth    10                     RT Rokeby    b Bosanquet    8                     FF Kelly    b Bosanquet    1                     FWT Stiles    b Bosanquet    0                     HC Wright    b Bosanquet    2                     WSR Ogilby    not out    1                     Extras    (2 b)    2 Total    (all out)    49 Fall of wickets: 1-?, 2-?, 3-?, 4-?, 5-?, 6-?, 7-?, 8-?, 9-?, 10-49 PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls Ainsworth    ?    ?    ?    5    -    - Bosanquet    ?    ?    ?    5    -    - PF Warner's XI first innings *PF Warner    b Cobb    22                     COH Sewell    b Kelly    14                     RSA Warner    lbw b Kelly    5                     CJ Burnup    c Bonner b Cobb    61                     F Mitchell    b Lohmann    66                     VT Hill    b Kelly    84                     BJT Bosanquet    lbw b Cobb    7                     GE Winter    c Wright b Kelly    28                     +EH Bray    b Cobb    83                     R Berens    c Wright b Lohmann    14                     JL Ainsworth    not out    0                     Extras    (30 b, 5 lb)    35 Total    (all out)    419 Fall of wickets: 1-?, 2-?, 3-?, 4-?, 5-?, 6-?, 7-?, 8-?, 9-?, 10-419 All New York bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls Cobb    ?    ?    ?    4    -    - Kelly    ?    ?    ?    4    -    - Lohmann    ?    ?    ?    2    -    - All New York second innings MR Cobb    st Berens b Ainsworth    2                     CH Clarke    run out    22                     CP Hurditch    c and b Ainsworth    9                     JF Curran    st Berens b Ainsworth    11                     RE Bonner    not out    16                     SB Lohmann    c Winter b Hill    16                     RT Rokeby    c Sewell b Winter    23                     FF Kelly    c Mitchell b Hill    6                     FWT Stiles    c RSA Warner b Hill    0                     HC Wright    c PF Warner b Hill    0                     WSR Ogilby    st Berens b Ainsworth    2                     Extras    (13 b, 3 lb)    16 Total    (all out)    123 Fall of wickets: 1-?, 2-?, 3-?, 4-?, 5-?, 6-?, 7-?, 8-?, 9-?, 10-123 PF Warner's XI bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls Ainsworth    ?    ?    ?    4    -    - Hill    ?    ?    ?    4    -    - Winter    ?    ?    ?    1    -    -      Match 4:  PF Warner's XI vs Gentlemen of Philadelphia, Germantown Cricket Club Ground, Manheim (30th Sept - 3rd October 1898 - 3-day match) Result    PF Warner's XI won by 4 wickets Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings JB King    c Sewell b Ainsworth    18                     NZ Graves    run out    37                     WW Noble    b Hill    28                     JEC Morton    b Bosanquet    0                     *RD Brown    b Ainsworth    37                     DH Adams    b Ainsworth    0                     AM Wood    c Bray b Ainsworth    2                     HC Thayer    b Ainsworth    0                     PH Clark    b Ainsworth    3                     FH Bates    c Mitchell b Ainsworth    9                     +JH Scattergood    not out    0                     Extras    (5 b, 4 lb)    9 Total    (all out, 55 overs)    143 Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-61, 3-63, 4-97, 5-103, 6-113, 7-113, 8-117, 9-140, 10-143 (55 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling Ainsworth    27       7    61    7    -    - Bosanquet    19       5    37    1    -    - Hill    3       1    12    1    -    - Winter    6       0    24    0    -    - PF Warner's XI first innings CJ Burnup    c Noble b King    43                     *PF Warner    c Wood b Clark    21                     F Mitchell    c and b Clark    31                     COH Sewell    c Wood b Clark    1                     VT Hill    c Graves b King    4                     BJT Bosanquet    b King    9                     +EH Bray    b King    0                     GE Winter    b Clark    12                     RSA Warner    lbw b King    0                     R Berens    b King    0                     JL Ainsworth    not out    1                     Extras    (5 lb, 1 nb, 5 w)    11 Total    (all out, 44.1 overs)    133 Fall of wickets: 1-62, 2-101, 3-106, 4-106, 5-119, 6-120, 7-121, 8-121, 9-129, 10-133 (44.1 ov) Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling King    16       5    32    6    -    - Morton    4       0    20    0    -    - Adams    10       1    34    0    -    - Clark    14.1    6    36    4    -    - Gentlemen of Philadelphia second innings JB King    c Burnup b Ainsworth    1                     NZ Graves    b Ainsworth    9                     WW Noble    b Bosanquet    3                     JEC Morton    st Bray b Ainsworth    6                     *RD Brown    c Burnup b Ainsworth    13                     DH Adams    c and b Ainsworth    19                     AM Wood    c Ainsworth b Winter    53                     HC Thayer    c Burnup b Winter    5                     PH Clark    b Bosanquet    16                     FH Bates    c Bray b Ainsworth    0                     +JH Scattergood    not out    3                     Extras    (16 b, 2 lb, 1 w)    19 Total    (all out, 56.4 overs)    147 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-13, 3-13, 4-54, 5-87, 6-88, 7-132, 8-138, 9-142, 10-147 (56.4 ov) PF Warner's XI bowling  Ainsworth    28.4    5    55    6    -    - Bosanquet    15       3    39    2    -    - Hill    7       3    18    0    -    - Winter    6       1    16    2    -    - PF Warner's XI second innings *PF Warner    c and b King    13                     CJ Burnup    c Wood b Clark    13                     F Mitchell    lbw b King    20                     COH Sewell    c Clark b King    7                     BJT Bosanquet    c and b Clark    30                     GE Winter    b Clark    26                     VT Hill    not out    41                     +EH Bray    not out    5                     RSA Warner    did not bat      R Berens    did not bat      JL Ainsworth    did not bat      Extras    (3 b, 1 nb, 2 w)    6 Total    (6 wickets, 59 overs)    161 Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-30, 3-49, 4-69, 5-96, 6-127 Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling    Overs    Mdns    Runs    Wkts    Wides    No-Balls   King    29       3    71    3    -    -   Adams    4       0    12    0    -    -   Clark    26       6    72    3    -    - Posted Nov 19 2010, 07:51 PM with no comments Filed under: USA cricket, US Cricket, Pelham Warner

• Clayton Lambert honored at Atlantis CC annual event

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket On November 13, Atlantis Cricket Club of NY held its gala annual event at the John F. Kennedy Plaza Hotel in Jamaica, New York, honoring USA national men’s cricket coach Clayton Lambert, along with former Guyana and Atlantis club player Vibert Durjan, and several of the club’s 2010 outstanding players. Pic (Right): USA's head coach said that blending of youth and experience was the best option for USA men's team The event marked the organization’s 44th anniversary as a cricket club in the New York metropolitan area. The sold-out black-tie event saw several in the New York cricketing community stepping out in style to help the club celebrate 44 years of being…more than just about cricket! Among those in attendance were the New York Regional representative to the USA Cricket board Krish Prasad and Mrs. Dolly Prasad, along with the New York City Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) program’s Cricket Commissioner Bassett Thompson and the PSAL’s Administrative Assistant and Cricket Coordinator Ms. Lorna Austin, along with American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah.   The evening’s main honoree Clayton Benjamin Lambert, a former Guyana and West Indies Test player and former USA player and now USA’s head coach, addressed the dinner guests on some of the issues facing the growth and development of USA national cricket teams, in a sports environment somewhat foreign to cricket. Lambert cited some of the difficulties in selecting the best eligible national team, as opposed to the “people’s choice.” He opined that selecting fourteen players was a very complex and at times frustrating task, based on the International Cricket Council’s eligibility requirements.   Lambert lauded the efforts being made by the USA Cricket Association to encourage and support its national teams, along the way. The former hard-hitting left-handed opener and successful right-arm leg-break bowler said that despite a public outcry for a more youthful USA senior men’s team, he felt that a blending of youth and experience was the USA’s best chance for further establishing itself on the international cricket scene.   Granted honorary lifetime membership of Atlantis, Lambert praised the club for the strides it has made over the past 44 years, while reflecting fondly on representing Atlantis on the field over the years, before moving to Atlanta, GA.   Vibert “Darge” Durjan, a penetrative off-spinner and former Guyana national player, was also awarded Honorary Lifetime Membership of Atlantis. He lamented on missing out on representing the West Indies behind Lance Gibbs, a phenomenal bowler in a field that had little room for more than one exceptional off-spinner in the 60’s. However, the bespectacled Durjan does not hold any grudges against the record Test-bowler Gibbs. On the contrary, he reminisced about playing alongside Gibbs as a member of the Demerara Cricket Club in Guyana and maintaining an ongoing friendship with cricketing legends such as Lance and Clive Lloyd. Pic (Left): A dance performance by Cashel Saffire Among the evening’s other recipients was Metallica Commodities Corporation, one of Atlantis’ main sponsors. President Steve Welcome presented Metallica’s CEO Dr. Glendon Archer with a plaque acknowledging the support of the corporation over the past five years.   The night however, was reserved for the 2010 cadre of young cricketers who joined Atlantis and excelled on the field. This year more than fifteen players under the age of 22 joined the New York based club, and in the club’s tradition of attracting players from across the global cricketing community. Atlantis President Steve Welcome noted in his opening remarks the “big deal” that it was for Atlantis to support such an enormous turnover in its player personnel roster in one season, adding it was testimony to the club’s willingness to invest in youth cricketers as the future national representatives of the sport in the USA. Leading the pack in receiving awards was the 2010 MVP Prashanth Nair a leg-spinner who captured 23 wickets for the season and the Bernice Bouyea Memorial MVP award. The 17-year old also captured the Best Bowling Performance in a Single Match with figures of 5.3-0-16-8, as well as a five-wicket match haul, sharing the latter accolade with fellow teammate Casper Davis, Jr. who also captured the Reggie Aaron Memorial Most Promising Player award.   Nicholas Standford secured the Highest Batting Aggregate and Highest Score in a Single Match awards. Hugh Craig captured the Best Bowling Average for the Season - 7.43 runs per wicket; Zaheer Saffie – the Most Economical Bowling Performance for the Season – 2.13 runs per over, and Ileo Freeman walked away with the Highest Batting Average for the Season - 56.5 runs per inning. The Most Disciplined Player award was earned by pacer Trestan Messina.   Former Atlantis player Leslie “Tulu” Lewis was awarded the 2010 President’s Most Outstanding Member award – reserved for non-playing and non-Executive members. The award is in recognition of the dedication, commitment and outstanding contributions made by an ordinary member of the club, and beyond the call of a mere member. Pic (Right): MVP Prashanth Nair receives his award from Coach Lambert as Lester Hooper looks on   Former President John Aaron, current Executive Vice President Courtney Legall and Secretary Colin Sandy, received 2010 recognition awards for their supportive roles during the past year.     Part proceeds of the dinner will go to Atlantis’ Shevonne Mentis Educational Scholarship Fund. Since its inception in 2002, the fund has awarded fourteen financial scholarships to college-bound students, as well as a memorial scholarship in the name of Shevonne Mentis at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where Ms. Mentis was a Business major, before perishing in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center, where she worked. President Steve Welcome noted that Atlantis strives to maintain its motto “…more than just cricket!” through its community and humanitarian efforts, with projects such as Habitat for Humanity, annual coat and toy drives, and its educational scholarship awards. The awards dinner also featured the drawing of a raffle and the awarding of several door prizes, in addition to a solo dance performance by a contemporary interpretative dancer - Ms. Cashel Saffire, performing an Indian Bhangra dance, before encouraging several of the well-appointed ladies to join her in a national flag soca dance rendition. Immediate past President John Aaron served as the Master-of-Ceremonies for the evening’s gala dinner and awards event.   Posted Nov 19 2010, 06:38 AM with no comments Filed under: Prashanth Nair, Clayton Lambert, Cashel Saffire, Atlantis CC

• USA Cricket: 2010 Senior Nationals Preview

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna   This weekend, the USACA Senior Nationals will be played at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. The following includes a profile of each team involved in the event.   Atlantic – The firm underdogs in this event have a very good bowling lineup. Jermaine Lawson makes his debut after missing the Eastern Conference in Atlanta due to a hamstring injury. Captain Neil McGarrell and Lawson each boast West Indies Test match experience. Fellow bowlers Muhammad Ghous and Imran Awan have experience playing for USA. Muhammad Nisar also was impressive in Atlanta and these five will eat up most of the overs. Pic (Right): The most experienced cricketer in America, Neil Mc Garrell   But the team’s batsmen need to step up if they are going to have any chance of winning this tournament. Aditya Mishra and Clain Williams have both played for USA in the last year, but outside of those two, there is not much depth. Durale Forest scored 126 runs to finish third overall in Atlanta and will need to produce a similar output if the top order falters again.   Atlantic squad: Neil McGarrell (captain), George Adams, Imran Awan, Kunal Baride, Nisarg Chokshi, Durale Forest, Muhammad Ghous, Jermaine Lawson, Aditya Mishra, Muhammad Nisar, Junaid Rasheed, Charan Singh, Sean Stanislaus, Clain Williams.   New York – The defending national champions come back with a team that is virtually twice as loaded as the team that won it all in 2009. The bowling attack is hands down the best out of any of the four teams competing. Adam Sanford, Kevin Darlington, Denison Thomas and Adrian Gordon form a potent fast bowling unit while Dwayne Smith is one of the best young leg-spinners in the country. Pic (Left): Kevin Darlington has been the cornerstone of NY's bowling   Carl Wright, Rashard Marshall and Dennis Evans bolster the batting lineup after not participating in Atlanta.   “With Wright and Marshall coming in, it’s a big plus and also Evans who has had the opportunity to play at the national level,” said captain Steve Massiah. “Obviously, I think our chances are very good of repeating, but at the end of the day it comes down to execution.”   Glen Hall continued his prolific form to be the leading run-scorer and tournament MVP in Atlanta and will be counted on again for good starts at the top of the order. In addition to the experience provided by Steve Massiah, the youth is there with Andy Mohammed and Akeem Dodson.   New York squad: Steve Massiah (captain), Kevin Darlington, Akeem Dodson, Dennis Evans, Adrian Gordon, Glen Hall, Andre Kirton, Rashard Marshall, Stuart Mills, Andy Mohammed, Adam Sanford, Dwayne Smith, Denison Thomas, Carl Wright.   North West – A new entry into the Super League this year, North West arrives hoping to make a splash and will have a perfect opportunity to do so in their first match when they play New York.   “For the North West Region to really start making a mark on the US cricket scene, the starting point for that would have to be, to qualify for the Super League is the first step, but it’s when we beat New York,” said vice-captain Saurabh Verma. “That’s when people can say the region has arrived. So I’m super excited about having the opportunity to bowl against the New York batsmen.” Pic (Right): Saurabh Verma will be looking to make a comeback to the national side   Verma is part of a spin heavy bowling attack that includes fellow leg-spinner Saqib Saleem and left-arm spinner Samarth Shah. Joining the team for nationals along with Saleem is fellow 2010 U-19 World Cup teammate Naseer Jamali, who will help to ease the fast bowling workload off Bilal Khan.   The team has some very capable batsmen, including James Crosthwaite, who lit up Woodley in Los Angeles at the Western Conference in September to finish as the leading scorer in that tournament with 247 runs. His lowest score was 73 and if he can replicate that form in Florida it will take pressure off his teammates and throw it squarely on the opposition. Captain Nauman Mustafa scored one of the two centuries posted at Woodley and if he puts on a good showing in the stadium he may force his way into the USA squad to go to Hong Kong in January.   North West squad: Nauman Mustafa (captain), Rishi Bharadwaj, James Crosthwaite, Shantanu Divekar, Naseer Jamali, Bilal Khan, Saqib Saleem, Srinivasa Santhanam, Samarth Shah, Ashok Singh, Sunny Singh, Srikanth Sundaragopalan, Arjun Thyagarajan, Saurabh Verma.   South West: The Western Conference champs are looking to bounce back from a frustrating experience in Florida last November. They went back to the west coast winless and feeling victimized by poorly prepared pitches and logistical snafus. This year they come in as the team best suited to give New York a run for their money. Pic (Left):  Ravi Timbawala was one of the top scorers in SCCA Division 1   The team has a very well balanced bowling attack led by captain Mehul Dave, the Western Conference MVP. His medium pace keeps things tight while Elmore Hutchinson and Hammad Shahid will counted upon to make the breakthroughs at the start of the innings. The team opted to replace two other pacers from the squad that won in Los Angeles, David Pieters and Salman Ahmad, in favor of a pair of left arm spinners, Nadir Malik and Mrunal Patel. It could prove to be a wise move depending on how many matches they get to play inside the stadium on the slow turf wicket. Off-spinner Abhemanyu Rajp is also coming off a 7 for 35 performance while leg-spinner Timil Patel had the second most wickets at the Western Conference with seven in three games. South West certainly won’t be lacking options to choose from.   Wicketkeeper Ritesh Kadu is returning to the squad after being unavailable in September and is joined as a new addition by Kanishka Chaugai, the former captain of Nepal’s 2006 U-19 World Cup Plate Championship winning side.   “Ritesh and Mrunal Patel are really two talented youngsters who should be trying to impress the coach and the captain and the selection committee to make a claim for the US team,” said vice-captain Aditya Thyagarajan. USA’s Iceman, Thyagarajan is the rudder in the middle order for South West. Ravi Timbawala, Kadu, Ali Shafi and Theo Mavrokefalos finished as the top four scorers in SCCA’s Division 1 in 2010. They need to carry that form to Florida if South West wants to finish the weekend on top.   South West squad: Mehul Dave (captain), Kanishka Chaugai, Elmore Hutchinson, Ritesh Kadu, Nadir Malik, Theo Mavrokefalos, Mrunal Patel, Timil Patel, Abhemanyu Rajp, Hammad Shahid, Ali Shafi, Ricky Singh, Ravi Timbawala, Aditya Thyagarajan.   Tournament Schedule – All games are scheduled for 50 overs starting at 9 AM at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. DreamCricket.com will be providing live updates for all games taking place inside the stadium.   Friday November 19 Atlantic vs. South West New York vs. North West   Saturday November 20 Atlantic vs. North West New York vs. South West   Sunday November 21 Atlantic vs. New York North West vs. South West     Posted Nov 18 2010, 07:40 PM with no comments Filed under: Aditya Thyagarajan. Clayton Lambert, Saurabh Verma, USA cricket, US Cricket, Kevin Darlington, Neil McGarrell, Adam Sanford, Ravi Timbawala

• USA Cricket: Nabeel Ahmed issues letter to explain resignation from USACA board

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket On Wednesday evening, former 1st Vice President of USACA Nabeel Ahmed emailed a letter to several members of the media to explain why he decided to resign from his position on the USACA board. The body of his letter is printed below. The reason why I joined USACA was for the benefit of the game. I believed I will make a difference because I have been involved in cricket for over twenty five years in USA. I thought I will help bring USACA out of suspension from ICC. I have been doing whatever was in my control and power in USACA but as a 1st VP you have limited authority and power. Over the last two and a half years I am frustrated and confused by the actions or lack of actions of some important members of USACA under the president Dainty's leadership. Over the last year I have been approached by different leagues and individuals that have issues and concerns that in my mind should have been settled in a regular face to face board meetings per our constitution which did not take place in last seven to eight months. We have many offices and committees to handle different issues but for some reason either they do not feel like working or are hesitant to handle the issues in timely manner. With the lack of action by the leadership of USACA I feel that we are not moving forward fast enough. Image: Former USACA 1st VP Nabeel Ahmed [Courtesy: www.greatlakescricket.org] Also as of late it came to my attention that we have individuals in the executive that have placed the integrity of USACA at risk. My resignation is out of protest that the lack of action by the important members of the board, executive and division in the board. My desire was to unify the board so that it can take united stand on any given issue but unfortunately due to the division in the board it was not possible. I tried my best but I did not succeed. After many warnings to the board, President and CEO I have taken this action when I did not see any concern. I gave up and decided to part myself from the board when I say I can not do anything for the well being of the association. When I ran for the election and won by the biggest margin I was under the impression that the constitution will be followed by everybody from top to bottom but unfortunately it appears that majority of the members have their own agendas. It is my desire to see USACA board works to gain national and international level of integrity keeping stake holders interest in mind. Operate USACA where any misconduct should be dealt with proper constitutional procedure and speed. The constitution is to be followed strictly and work towards improving cricket for our cricketers. I wish USACA best of luck and hope things start getting better. Nabeel Ahmed Posted Nov 17 2010, 06:39 PM with no comments Filed under: Nabeel Ahmed, USACA, USA cricket

• USA Cricket: There's nothing 'Spooky' about the talent of Akeem Dodson

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna   In the summer of 2004, a 16-year-old named Akeem Dodson was just starting to earn his stripes at Villagers Cricket Club in New York’s Metropolitan League. At the time, he had just joined the club and even though he had represented USA at the U-19 level a year before in Canada, he was mostly unknown to his Villagers teammates. Villagers captain Orlando Baker then decided to slap a nickname on him to make him a little bit easier to identify.   “This guy used to play first class for Jamaica, Mario Ventura, a left-hand batsman,” said Baker. “He resembled Spooky. They bat the same way, left-handed, the way they *** their bat and everything. So I said, ‘Yo Dodson, your new name is Spooky.’ This guy reminds me so much of Spooky and that name stuck on him.”   “When I first got to Villagers, he was the captain of Villagers. I remember the first time I went there, I went to watch one of the games and they told me to come to a meeting,” said Dodson, recalling his version of events. “I went to a meeting and sat down and they were playing dominoes. I don’t think he remembered my name. He looked at me and just called me Spooky. Like a smart person I answered. So since then it’s been that.”   However, Baker says he knew exactly who Dodson was and he could tell just by looking at him bat that the teenager had a promising future and that was the reason behind giving him the nickname. “He’s like, ‘Bakes, who is Spooky?’ I said, ‘Spooky’s a big bat mon. I’m giving you a big bat name, so don’t worry.’”   Dodson’s big bat and big name have been making the rounds of US cricket since he went with USA’s squad to the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Like most of the other players in that team, it was a rapid rise for Dodson to national prominence.   After being born in Queens, N.Y., Dodson’s family took him back to his father’s native Guyana when he was two years old. He stayed there until he was 12 when his parents divorced and his father took him to rural Pennsylvania where cricket became an endangered species in his life.   Image: Akeem Dodson in action for the Bedessee NY Destroyers. [Courtesy: www.newyorkcricket.com]   “For the two years I was in Pennsylvania I didn’t play any cricket,” said Dodson. “I always had a bat and a ball with me though. I would hit it in the house up against the wall sometimes. My dad would get mad at that.”   When he was 14, he moved to Brooklyn and once again resumed cricket. His skills hadn’t eroded and just a year later in 2003, he was selected to play for USA’s U-19 squad in Canada at the Americas Qualifier for the 2004 U-19 World Cup.   “I felt a certain sense of accomplishment,” said Dodson. “If you get picked for a national team, you were among the 14 best in your country. Being picked to represent your nation is always an honor. I felt really proud. My father was proud of me.”   The bigger accomplishment though was when USA did a u-turn in the span of two years to go undefeated at the 2005 U-19 Americas Qualifier, knocking off Canada in the process to qualify for the U-19 World Cup, USA’s first ever World Cup appearance at any level in cricket.   “I remember that year when we won, we had gone from losing the time before to going and blowing out everyone,” said Dodson. “We were hyped. Yeah let’s go now. We couldn’t wait to go [to Sri Lanka].”   With limited training resources compared to the Test level countries, it could have been a daunting and intimidating process for many of the players. But one member of the management team says he was impressed how Dodson adjusted under the circumstances.   “When we went to the World Cup, the thing that I was most curious about was to see which one of our guys on the team would be able to step up to that next level to compete against the best at their age group in the world and in my opinion, Akeem was one of the guys that did that,” said Basil Butcher Jr., USA’s trainer on the U-19 tour to Sri Lanka.   “The World Cup really taught me to be more patient, especially batting,” said Dodson. “Before that, they used to call me a shotgun because I used to play shots off everything.”   Coming off the heels of the U-19 World Cup, Dodson made two tours with USA’s senior team. The first was going back to Canada later in 2006 with the squad for the ICC Americas Division One tournament. He did not get a game, but got valuable experience being around the side. In November 2008, he did get to suit up for three games when USA went to Guyana for the WICB Cup, where he was captained by Baker, and then stayed in the squad for the ICC Americas Division One tournament in Florida where USA went undefeated to win the title. Since then, he has not appeared for USA.   Butcher has tried to pin the reason down to a few areas, one of which he feels is that Dodson never completely eliminated his shotgun habit.   “He has to bat longer,” said Butcher. “He seems to have a tendency, he’ll hit a bowler around for a short period of time and then give his wicket away. That’s one thing I think he needs to improve on in terms of just wanting to put a higher price on his wicket.”   Image: Akeem Dodson keeping wicket at the Radiant Info USA Twenty20 2010. [Copyright: DreamCricket.com]   Another point that Butcher says that Dodson needs to work on is fine-tuning his technique, something which Dodson wholeheartedly agrees with.   “I think the biggest part of my game that’s hurting right now is the technical stuff,” said Dodson. “As I start to mature in my game, that’s what’s really giving me away. When I was younger, a lot of times I would lack the strength or the physical ability to do something, but now that I have the physical ability, it’s the little technical things that usually gets you.”   One extremely beneficial experience that Dodson took in during his time away from the senior team was to spend the summer of 2009 playing for Waresley Cricket Club, which plays in the UK’s Huntingdonshire & Cambridgeshire League on Saturdays and the Bedfordshire County League on Sundays. Over the summer he posted a career best 190, which was the highest score at the club during the season. Dodson hopes he’s helped to play a part in changing the perception in the minds of Waresley’s opponents about the capabilities of Americans playing cricket.   “They were shocked,” said Dodson. “Every time I’d tell them that I’m an American, they were like, ‘What?! You’re American?!’”   Baker for one has noticed how that time in the UK has helped Dodson’s game.   “I think Dodson’s cricket has progressed a lot. I think the stint he did in England did a lot for his cricket. When Dodson joined Villagers, he was still at youth level cricket and his cricket has grown and he’s matured a lot,” said Baker. “Sometimes I’m just kind of surprised that he’s not really given the opportunity at the national level but then everybody see things different. For me he’s always one for the future because he’s a naturally talented cricketer. He’s very athletic. He can keep, he could bat, he could field. He’s not only a good keeper but he’s also a very good fielder. I always encourage him to keep working and whenever time you get an opportunity, you make use of it.”   Just weeks after turning 23, Dodson had a disappointing time with the bat in Atlanta at the USACA Eastern Conference Tournament playing for the New York Region in September, but this weekend he has a chance to make amends at the USACA Senior Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the process, he can plant a seed in the minds of selectors that he is ready for another shot at returning to the national team. At last year’s December trials, Dodson was harshly overlooked despite being one of only two players, with Ryan Corns being the other, to complete a 1.5 mile fitness test in under 12 minutes. It’s that kind of hunger and serious approach that Baker feels will stand Dodson in good stead for whenever his next chance may come.   “He’s always in good physical shape,” said Baker. “I’ve never seen him turn up to a camp unfit. That’s one thing that I admire about him as a kid. That’s something you can’t take away from him because he’s always ready.”   Posted Nov 17 2010, 06:39 AM with no comments Filed under: New york cricket, USA cricket, Akeem Dodson, USACA Nationals

• Cricket Development in America: An Open Letter from a concerned foot soldier

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket From: Tom Melville, Author and Sports Historian To: Don Lockerbie, CEO of USA Cricket Don, Know what you’re up against, and that there are three facets of any given culture that are incredibly difficult to change: (1) its language, (2) its religion, and (3) its sports. For anyone to claim “I’m going to turn America into a cricket playing country” is tantamount to claiming, “I’m going to turn America into a Spanish speaking country; I’m going to turn America into a Muslim country.” A pretty tough row to hoe! Expectations must be brutally realistic; efforts must be highly imaginative; planning must be exceptionally creative. Know that America is not a “cricket culture,” it’s a culture that does not know, does not care about, and, in many ways, is hostile towards cricket. No matter how much experience, no matter how much “expertise” anyone may have accumulated in a cricket culture, he will soon discover they’re virtually worthless here, and can never be a substitute for hands-on, face-to-face, experience working with Americans at cricket. Know that, like any other business enterprise, you’re bringing a product to market and that you’re bringing the most culturally sensitive product (sports) to a foreign market. Know this market well. What do Americans think about cricket? What do they like about it? What do they dislike? How can we modify this “product” to make it acceptable to this market? Exceptional efforts must be made to bring cricket to Americans. Americans will never come to cricket. Know that there isn’t anyone who’s going to put you under any obligation to bring cricket to Americans. Not the ICC, not the immigrant community, and certainly no Americans are complaining that no one’s bringing cricket to them! Only one thing will oblige you to do this: your own moral responsibility, which should say: this is America and we can no more truthfully speak of “American cricket” without Americans than we can speak of “Indian cricket” without Indians or “West Indian cricket” without West Indians. Know that you can send the national teams to as many tournaments as you can find; that you can stage as many first class matches in this country as you can arrange; that you can build as many cricket stadia in this country as you can get. The fact remains; these are all means to an end, and that end is: are Americans taking up the game, are they, in any way, raising cricket up from being an “underground” sport? If any of these can demonstrably show they are contributing to this end they must be supported and encouraged. If they are not their continuation must be seriously questioned. Look to Canada. Their national team has been to the World Cup three straight times but it hasn’t raised the game’s profile in that country one iota. With the Sahara Cup first class cricket was before the Canadian public for years yet they ignored it. The road the Canadians have taken with their cricket is a dead end and the United States must not blindly go down this same path. Know history, and this history says the cricket world has been trying to get Americans to take up cricket for over a hundred fifty years, over which time just about every idea, scheme, and angle has been tried with little success. Anyone who takes up this age old cause must look deep, deep, within, put aside enthusiasm, avoid presumptions, and coldly ask themselves: “What, exactly, will I be doing that’s different from everything that’s been done in the past?” Tom Melville [Opinions expressed here are those of the author.  Tom Melville is a member of the rare species of American-born cricketers and a historian and researcher.  He is the author of The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America (Bowling Green State University Press) and Early Baseball and the Rise of the National League (McFarland & Company).]   Posted Nov 14 2010, 06:42 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: USA cricket, US Cricket, Don Lockerbie, USA Cricket Assocation

• USA Cricket: SrA Dunae Nathaniel goes from playing for to serving America

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket On Veterans Day, DreamCricket.com salutes all those who have served and protected America including SrA Dunae Nathaniel, a former member of USA’s 2006 U-19 World Cup squad who is now an enlisted serviceman in the United States Air Force.   By Peter Della Penna   Many sports figures grow up dreaming of getting a chance to represent their country by making a national team in a particular sport. Rarer is an American athlete who not only played for his country but also serves it in uniform. In USA cricket, there is someone who has managed to do both and his name is SrA Dunae Nathaniel.   Nathaniel’s path to both accomplishments started in St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands. He was born there in 1987 where his Aunt Lilith was living at the time.   “My mom and dad are both from Antigua,” said Nathaniel. “When my mom was pregnant, my aunt told her to bring me down there because she was not doing well.” Shortly after he was born, his mother brought him back to Antigua. While Nathaniel leads a disciplined lifestyle in the military now, he wasn’t exactly an angel growing up.   “I went to school there and I got expelled so she sent me back [to St. Croix]. I was probably like five or six. I got expelled from the school so she sent me to live with my aunt,” said Nathaniel. “I was told not to go outside and play in the stones and me and two others were tossing the stones and throwing them all over and then I got expelled so my aunt told her to send me down there.”   “He’s never been rude, but very obstinate,” says Lilith Joseph, Nathaniel’s aunt. “One day for instance the teacher called me and they had a whole box of crayons and he had the crayons all over the floor, do things that he shouldn’t be doing, touch this, move this, break this, something like that. He wouldn’t get into fights, just trouble things that he wasn’t supposed to. But like I said he has never been rude, he’d never talk back.”   He moved back to Antigua when he was eight where he started to discover cricket, something that helped keep him busy without causing too much trouble. When interviewed, Nathaniel said that it was a youth cricket camp that first got him excited about the game.   “They had a training camp in Antigua. My uncle told my mom there’s a kiddie cricket camp in Antigua downtown and to send me and my little brother down there. We went down there. I never used to play cricket, went down there and that was it.” Nathaniel said the coaches there included Curtly Ambrose and Andy Roberts.   However, his Aunt Lilith had a much better answer when asked how Nathaniel got into cricket.   “We have a cousin, Vivian Richards, and that’s where he started from,” said Joseph.   Cricket was in his blood and even though he had spent some of his early years in St. Croix, once he got a slice of the game in Antigua, he was hooked. Nathaniel was too humble to mention his family ties to Richards, but apparently he spent some of his years between the ages of eight and 13 living under the same roof as Sir Viv and used The Master Blaster’s old cricket kit when he wanted to play.   Nathaniel’s six degrees of separation also link him to Regis Burton, a member of USA’s 2010 U-19 World Cup squad who is also related to Richards, and current USA national team player Adrian Gordon.   “I used to go to his house every Saturday morning,” says Nathaniel of his long-time friendship with Gordon, “and we used to go to Hayden Walsh’s Technical Cricket Academy.” The two then went on to open the batting together at Clare Hall Secondary School where Nathaniel was the captain and Gordon the vice-captain.   Nathaniel played age level cricket for Antigua, but when he was 16, he moved to live with his Aunt Lilith again. This time it meant going to Kissimmee, Fla. He went to Osceola High School for his junior and senior years, earning varsity letters in soccer before graduating in 2005. Nathaniel held off going to college and worked construction part-time. Meanwhile, his cricket skills had become valuable to America as he helped USA go to Canada and win the ICC Americas U-19 Qualifier.   The tall and muscular Nathaniel was slotted in to be one of the team’s opening bowlers and a handy lower order batsman. But when they arrived in Sri Lanka, Nathaniel was injured in the first warm-up game.   “After my first spell, I think I blew my lower back out,” said Nathaniel. It meant that he couldn’t bowl for the entire World Cup and was restricted to contributing as a batsman only. He finished behind only captain Hemant Punoo to score the second most runs on the team with 88 in five matches including a top score of 41 against South Africa.   Image: Dunae Nathaniel (center, crouching) celebrates with his teammates after USA's victory over Namibia at the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Nathaniel opened the batting and scored 19 for USA in their two-wicket win. [Courtesy: Dunae Nathaniel]   However, when he returned from Sri Lanka, life meandered along and trying to make a name for himself in cricket didn’t appear realistic with USACA under suspension. He continued to work construction until the fall of 2007 when he met with a recruiter for the Air Force and decided to enlist at the age of 20.   “I wasn’t going to school. I was tired of working construction. I wasn’t doing anything so I decided to do something, make a positive move. I spoke to a recruiter and it sounded like the right thing to do,” said Nathaniel. “I was just being lazy so I figured I’d take control.”   Joseph says that she noticed a rapid change in Nathaniel in the first few months of his military experience saying that it taught him how to grow up.   “For instance, even when he had graduated from basic training, when we went there, we could not have even sat on his bed. His clothes, everything was nicely folded. He even showed us how to fold a shirt,” said Joseph. “So being in the military give him a good good way of being more responsible and seeing things and do things the right way.”   Nathaniel was originally given orders to go to Japan after completing his basic training in Texas, but he got married during a short break in December in the middle of his training and as a result was reassigned to stay close to home in Florida. He is currently a Senior Airman (SrA) working as a fuels apprentice at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Fla.   Being in Florida means that he is still able to play cricket on the weekends for Caribbean Sports Club in the Central Florida Cricket Association. Nathaniel also recently represented the South East Region at the 2010 USACA Eastern Conference Tournament in Atlanta. He participated in selection trials for the USA squad that was picked to play in the ICC Americas Tournament in 2008, but has slipped off the national selection radar since then. He still hopes that one day he might get a chance to play for his country at the senior level. Gordon says it is just a matter of staying focused and getting the chance to practice outside of Nathaniel’s day job.   “I think he still has the skills,” said Gordon. “The good thing about him is his determination and his attitude toward the game. He actually wants to still be on top and I think the one thing that he should work on is just being more patient even though things aren’t going his way.”   While maintaining that Nathaniel’s role in the military is of utmost importance, his superiors try to give him support in his cricket endeavors.   “Being in the military, the military does come first. You do have to take into account your mission when it comes down to being allowed to go play sports for an extended amount of time,” said Sgt. James Hastings, Nathaniel’s supervisor at MacDill AFB. “We try as hard as we can to get him to tournaments.”   Even with high standards in the military though, Hastings says Nathaniel’s athleticism stands out.   Image: SrA Dunae Nathaniel, now in the US Air Force. [Courtesy: Dunae Nathaniel]   “He’s always talking about cricket, always talking about soccer, just an all-around good guy,” said Hastings. “He’s slacking a little bit right now as far as his PT standards, but he could be one of the fastest guys in the shop that’s for sure.” Nathaniel says that he currently runs a mile and a half in around 11 minutes but that his fastest time clocked is 9:45.   Even though he’s mostly shaped up since joining the military, he’s still prone to the odd mishap.   “We have Nate to thank for new doors on our hangar,” said Hastings while struggling to hold back his laughter. “He drove into our hangar doors with the forklift and knocked the doors off the building… The guy that was supposed to be marshalling him in went running and hiding for cover because he thought the whole building was coming down. It was pretty good.”   However, Nathaniel is mostly known on base as a guy who always has a smile on his face.   “He’s just an easy-go-lucky kind of guy,” said Hastings. “It just kind of seems like his nature. He just kind of makes the best of everything and takes everything in stride.”   His Aunt Lilith says that’s one thing that will never leave him.   “Up to now, he still kids around. We call him ‘The Clown,’” said Joseph. “He’s very playful and he jokes around a lot. He’ll make you laugh even when you don’t want to.”   “I can’t stop smiling,” said Nathaniel. “I know that. Everybody always says that.”   USA’s cricket fans should smile too knowing that SrA Dunae Nathaniel represented USA on the cricket field and has gone on to dedicate himself to serving America off the field as well. Posted Nov 11 2010, 03:48 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: US Cricket, Dunae Nathaniel, U-19 World Cup