By Peter Della Penna

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.”

 

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.

 

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.

 

Atlantic vs. South West

New York vs. North West

 

Atlantic vs. North West

New York vs. South West

 

Atlantic vs. New York

North West vs. South West