January 2011 - Posts

• USA and Hong Kong strong favorites at ICC WCL Division 3

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket Comments [DreamCricket.com will provide live coverage of Team USA's campaign at the ICC WCL Division 3.] Team USA captain Steve Massiah told the ICC website that he believes Team USA's early arrival in Hong Kong will be key to its success in the tournament.  Pic (Right): The scenic Hong Kong Cricket Club ground.  [Courtesy HKCC and Lamma CC] "We've just concluded our National Championships and a team camp and will be heading out to Hong Kong on 15 January for a couple of practice games and training sessions. I think this will give us plenty of time before our first game on 22 January to prepare ourselves for the conditions in Hong Kong. "It's tough for us to get together ahead of the tournament with people spread from East to West but we've all got training schedules to stick to and we will all definitely have the fitness levels needed ahead of the tournament," Massiah told ICC. The inclusion of Ryan Corns, Durale Forrest, Steve Massiah and Ryan Corns will add to the diversity, Massiah felt.  "Forrest, Corns and Ritesh Kadu are all young exciting prospects for us. Forrest is a former West Indies under-15 player, Corns has represented the USA at U19 level while Kadu has been a consistent performer in his local league in Southern California. Asif Khan is also a positive addition for us as we've been in need of a left-arm spinner and Asif provides us that along with bringing the experience he's had as a former first-class cricketer in Pakistan. "All four of the guys have settled well into the side and I make it my responsibility as captain to make sure they're happy and well looked after by everyone in the side. We're a diverse group of guys but I like to think we've got good camaraderie in the team," Massiah noted. Talking about the team's strategy, Massiah told ICC that USA plans to take each game as it comes.  "We don't know all the teams particularly well apart from Italy who we played in August," he said.  "I personally have played Oman, Denmark and PNG before but that was over ten years ago now so I'm sure the sides have changed. We'll be sure to do our research so that we can get on and execute our game on the day," he concluded. Image (Right): Team USA poses for a picture prior to departure from JFK Airport on Saturday. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna] Meanwhile, hosts Hong Kong are equally confident of their prospects.  Hong Kong coach Charlie Burke told the ICC website: "We've been lucky as we've been playing a lot of cricket in the lead up to this tournament, including playing in the Asian Games, albeit in the shorter format, but the opposition we've faced has been strong and playing on a big stage against the likes of Afghanistan amongst others has really helped us prepare for Division 3. "We've just come back from a tour of Sri Lanka where we played three games against strong domestic teams and we won two out of three of those games. It's the first time we've had wins in Sri Lanka which to me is an extremely positive sign ahead of this tournament. We've also had turf practice nets put down now in Hong Kong which has been a huge plus for us when it comes to training," Burke said. Speaking about the other teams in the tournament, Burke said, "I've seen recent footage of the USA and we've done our homework on Denmark too. I suppose Italy and Oman are the interesting teams as we don't know too much about them. It's about growing from strength to strength with this tournament and playing each game as it comes." Aside from playing on familiar pitches, Burke's confidence is a product of the side's relatively young age and the range of ability. "I feel we've got a good squad who are young and prepared for this event. When I took over the side the average age was 29, we've reduced that now to 21 which is good sign for the future of the game in Hong Kong.  "Our vice-captain Courtney Kruger, who is a right-handed batsman is definitely one to watch for this tournament. I'd also say Mark Chapman who is just 17-years-old, he was our highest run-scorer in Sri Lanka and is technically very sound for someone so young. "Then when you look at our bowlers, the Ahmed brothers - Irfan and Nadeem - are the ones to watch in our side. Irfan is a great strike bowler, who knows how to bowl with great pace and yorkers, while his brother Nadeem knows the conditions here and gets some good spin. I have to say all four of those players have really stepped up a notch for us ahead of this tournament and it's great to see ahead of the first match on 22 January." USA starts its campaign on January 22nd against Hong Kong at Kowloon Cricket Club.  Following that, they play their remaining matches at Mission Road and HKCC. All facilities have natural turf wickets. Schedule (courtesy ICC): Sat, Jan 22, 2011 9:15 AM USA   vs   Hong Kong   Venue: KCC Sat, Jan 22, 2011 9:15 AM Denmark   vs   Italy   Venue: HKCC Sat, Jan 22, 2011 9:15 AM Oman   vs   PNG   Venue: Mission Road Sun, Jan 23, 2011 9:15 AM Oman   vs   Hong Kong   Venue: KCC Sun, Jan 23, 2011 9:15 AM Italy   vs   PNG   Venue: HKCC Sun, Jan 23, 2011 9:15 AM USA   vs   Denmark   Venue: Mission Road Tue, Jan 25, 2011 9:15 AM Oman   vs   Italy   Venue: KCC Tue, Jan 25, 2011 9:15 AM USA   vs   PNG   Venue:HKCC Tue, Jan 25, 2011 9:15 AM Hong Kong   vs   Denmark   Venue: Mission Road Wed, Jan 26, 2011 9:15 AM PNG   vs   Denmark   Venue:KCC Wed, Jan 26, 2011 9:15 AM Oman   vs   USA   Venue: HKCC Wed, Jan 26, 2011 9:15 AM Hong Kong   vs   Italy   Venue:Mission Road Fri, Jan 28, 2011 9:15 AM Denmark   vs   Oman   Venue: KCC Fri, Jan 28, 2011 9:15 AM PNG   vs   Hong Kong   Venue:HKCC Fri, Jan 28, 2011 9:15 AM USA   vs   Italy   Venue: Mission Road   Posted Jan 16 2011, 06:50 AM with 4 comment(s) Filed under: ICC Americas, USA cricket, US Cricket, ICC WCL Division 3

• USA Cricket: Player eligibility status needs to be more transparent

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna In the last few months, the selection process for USA’s senior and U-19 teams has been put under the microscope for a litany of reasons. Much discussion was made on the comment section of this web site regarding the fact that none of the players from the North West Region senior team were invited to the 18-man selection camp for the tour to Hong Kong for ICC World Cricket League Division Three. Atlantic Region captain Neil McGarrell was invited to the camp and was included in the 14-man roster submitted by USACA to the ICC. However, he was ruled ineligible for the Hong Kong tournament based on the fact that he did not meet residency requirements. Specifically, he did not fulfill 183 days of residency for four consecutive years prior to the date of the tournament. Image right: Neil McGarrell was selected in USA's squad for ICC WCL Division Three, but later found to be ineligible. [File photo] Last week, more consternation was made over the realization that both age and residency status restrictions were causing players to be removed from consideration for the USA U-19 selection camp that will take place later this month. According to Krish Prasad, chairman of USACA’s Cricket Committee, at least six to eight players were taken off a list of potential selections because they were found to be ineligible. The problem isn’t so much that players who selectors may have wanted to pick for either the senior or U-19 teams were found to be ineligible. It’s that the selectors and/or USACA only came to the realization just days before they were trying to finalize a list of players to bring to Florida or send to the ICC. To be fair, the problem is not limited to USACA. Cricket South Africa got itself into a bind last January when Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir was named in a 15-man squad for the fourth Test against England. However, he was withdrawn a day later when it was discovered Tahir was ineligible to play for South Africa based on residency requirements. He was forced to wait out all of 2010 before he was recently named in South Africa’s 14-man squad for the upcoming five-match ODI series against India. While Tahir was ineligible to represent South Africa, he was free to play domestic cricket in South Africa. The same is true for players from other countries who must wait out their time before qualifying. Irishman Eoin Morgan played county cricket for Middlesex while he waited to qualify to play for England. South African Kevin Pietersen had to go through residency qualification playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire before playing cricket for England. Likewise in USACA tournaments, if players are not eligible to play for USA that does not mean they should be prevented from playing for a regional team. It is helpful to selectors if they have a historical record of four years or more of a player participating in USACA domestic tournaments to know what they are capable of producing for the day when said player becomes eligible. In fact, one of the ICC’s other requirements for Associate players once they’ve reached four years of residency in order to be eligible is that they must have played 50% of games in national competition in any three of the preceding five years. However, there are several adjustments that USACA needs to make in order to promote and encourage players who are eligible right now. ICC guidelines state that for Associate teams, a minimum of nine players in a playing XI must be classified as “nationals” – born in the country, citizens of the country, or permanent residents who have lived in the country for a minimum of 183 days in the seven years preceding a tournament. A maximum of two players are allowed to play under “deemed national” classification – a resident in the country for a minimum of 183 days in the four years preceding a tournament. In women's cricket, the rule for deemed nationals is residency for a minimum of 183 days in the previous two years and not four. Right now, guidelines on USACA’s web site state that regional teams can consist of a minimum of five nationals, a maximum of four deemed nationals, and a maximum of two “open” status players – basically anyone who has been in the USA for at least one day but does not meet deemed national or national classification and is therefore ineligible to play for USA. Under this setup, the possibility exists for non-citizens to outnumber citizens in a starting XI for a regional team playing in a USACA tournament. Under the same premise, it means that in a regional team’s starting XI, as few as seven players could be eligible to play for USA at any given time – five nationals, two out of the four deemed nationals under ICC rules and none of the open status players. Generally, rules are much more stringent in other countries starting from the lower levels on up. For example, according to the Playing Conditions for Sydney Grade Cricket in Australia, clubs are allowed a maximum of one overseas player in the 1st Grade starting XI and a maximum of three overseas players registered with the club at any given time for participation in any other XIs a club may have. This guarantees that citizens are encouraged to develop and get as many opportunities as possible while allowing for an overseas player to get local experience. At the same time, the overseas player can share his foreign knowledge with the local members. The key word in that last paragraph is registered. When information about a player’s date of birth, residency and eligibility status is taken in at club level, it can then be relayed to the regional and national administration. At the moment, it is doubtful that most clubs or leagues in the USA care to register and process this kind of information, only for the blame to be placed on USACA later on. The only thing that most leagues take into account is that no new player can play his first match for a team past a certain cutoff date or that a minimum number of matches must be played by a player to be eligible for the league playoffs. They do not care to process information in regards to who is eligible for regional or national consideration. I have personally experienced playing in matches in this country where fake names were used for players at the ground, and seen names of players appearing on web site scorecards who were never actually at the match, presumably done in an attempt to make sure certain players qualify to play in the league playoffs. This kind of sloppiness is unacceptable but it is often encouraged by people who are just looking to play for selfish reasons and have no vision of a proper future for cricket in this country. As a result, it leads to a guessing game later on when teams are picked to play for the region and the country: who is and who isn’t eligible? It seems absurd that for a domestic tournament, a regional team could have non-citizens outnumber citizens in the starting lineup. In order to encourage more players to develop locally, more eligible players need to be given opportunities to play and that means more citizens too. The current 5-4-2 configuration for nationals, deemed nationals and open status players should be halved on the non-citizen front. The resulting 8-2-1 configuration would achieve three things. First, an 8-2-1 configuration would be more closely aligned to the ICC’s 9-2-0 configuration for Associate teams. Second, it would allow for more citizens and thus more eligible players to play instead of being shut out. Third, by still allowing one open status or overseas player to be involved, a player who may potentially become eligible to play for USA down the line can get his feet wet by adjusting to domestic tournaments and give selectors something to mark down for future reference. An elite level overseas player would also help to raise the standard of play of his teammates. Another part of this is making the eligibility status more transparent to stakeholders. Perhaps the one player from the 2010 North West Region senior team who should have been a slam dunk selection for the USA senior team based on merit was James Crosthwaite. He was the leading run-scorer in USACA tournaments this year. However, what many fans may not have been aware of is that the Australian-born Crosthwaite was an open status player who has been living in the USA for less than a year. He won’t be eligible to play for USA until 2013 at the earliest, and that’s if he keeps living here. Should Crosthwaite have been allowed to participate in USACA tournaments this year? Absolutely. He helped North West win the national championship. His teammates, especially the younger players, probably picked up a few tips from him on how to better approach batting. However, if the North West roster was overpopulated with players like him who are currently ineligible to play for USA, that would do more harm than good as too many players would be held back from developing. As for the confusion about the age restrictions regarding the U-19 players, this has happened as a result of a quirk in the ICC’s scheduling of events. Players who participated from regional teams in U-19 Eastern and Western Conference tournaments this year like Andy Mohammed and Zulkifl Nana were eligible to play for tournaments in 2010, but not in 2011. The 2009 ICC Americas U-19 Division One was played in July in Canada with the USACA U-19 National Tournament played two months prior in May as a selection tool. This year’s ICC Americas U-19 was pushed back five months from the 2009 edition. As a result, U-19 players who were eligible as recently as December when the Junior Nationals were scheduled wouldn’t be eligible to play in ICC events for 2011 or 2012. Things will get even more confusing when the qualification cycle for the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup begins. The ICC has declared that all regional qualifiers must be played by December 31, 2012. In that case, a scenario could happen where players who are eligible to play in a domestic USACA U-19 tournament in 2012 would not be allowed to play in the 2012 ICC Americas U-19 qualifier due to the rule stating that only players eligible to play in the 2014 U-19 World Cup (or any future U-19 World Cup) are eligible to participate in any corresponding qualifying tournaments. It’s up to USACA whether or not they want to allow 19-year-olds to play in their domestic U-19 events for 2012, even though they’ll be 21 in 2014 and thus ineligible to be picked for USA’s U-19 team for ICC events in the 2012-2014 cycle. A 19-year old would be eligible to play in the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup, but not the 2012 ICC Americas U-19 event later that same calendar year. All of these things mentioned here need to be made transparent. The greatest transparency though needs to be made in terms of evaluating residency status. It is a serious consideration for USACA because of the unique structure of cricket in this country. In USA’s 14-man squad for Hong Kong, there are zero American-born players. In USA’s 15-man squad at the 2010 U-19 World Cup, seven players, or less than 50%, were American-born. In the USA women’s team that won the Americas championship in Canada last July, there was one American-born player out of the squad of 14. As long as expatriates and first-generation immigrants are relied upon to sustain cricket at all levels instead of a proper grassroots development system, more transparency will be needed in terms of eligibility in order to avoid last minute chaos and confusion regarding selection. The focus should be on evaluating who is good rather than wasting time trying to figure out who is eligible. [Views expressed in this article are those of the author.] Posted Jan 11 2011, 06:12 AM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: USACA, USA cricket, USA U-19 cricket, Neil McGarrell, Imran Tahir

• USA Cricket: USACA invites 21 players to USA U-19 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 The preparation for USA’s U-19 team is gearing up after a list of 21 players was finalized for a selection camp to take place in Florida on January 22 and 23. At the conclusion of the camp, 14 players will be selected to represent USA in the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament next month in Fort Lauderdale. Five players were invited from New York, the most for any region, while no one from North East made the cut. As expected, four players – Salman Ahmad, Abhijit Joshi, Hammad Shahid and Steven Taylor –who represented USA at the 2010 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand were invited to the camp. Pranay Suri, who took eight wickets in two games at trial matches played last week in Los Angeles including 5 for 28 against South East, was also included. He was joined by three of his North West teammates – Krish Goel, Akash Jagannathan and Jodhbir Singh. Jagannathan was invited to a 20-man selection camp in December of 2009 but did not make the final 15-man squad that went to New Zealand. Image right: Akash Jagannathan is has a chance to make his first USA U-19 team later this month. [Copyright - DreamCricket.com] In addition to Ahmad and Shahid, spin bowlers Shayan Abdulghani and Gurpreet Sandhu have also been invited from the South West. A notable omission is off-spinner Viraj Sehgal, who took 6 for 39 against the Central West team at the U-19 Western Conference in August for South West. USA national selector Sunny Khan said that it was tough deciding who to invite to the camp because none of the three selectors attended either the U-19 Eastern Conference or U-19 Western Conference tournaments in August to be able to evaluate players and instead relied on scorecards and feedback from coaches. When asked why the selectors did not attend, Khan said it was because they were not invited to the tournaments. Opening batsman Fahad Babar and fast bowler Sohaib Choudhry received invites from the Central East along with Joshi. Babar has represented the Central East senior team as an opening batsman for the last two seasons and is considered a very strong candidate to make the USA U-19 team. Central East fast bowler Kishen Patel did not receive an invitation to the camp after taking the most wickets for his team at the U-19 Western Conference, including 5 for 42 against Central West. Image left: Shayan Abdulghani has a chance to join his brother Hammad Shahid on the USA U-19 team. [Copyright - DreamCricket.com] The lone representative from Central West is Parth Bhakta, a left-arm spinner who stood out by taking 3 for 24 against North West and 5 for 44 against Central East at the U-19 Western Conference. He is one of three left-arm spinners invited to the camp along with Abdulghani and Prashanth Nair, one of the five New York players. Joining Nair from New York are Foisal Muhammad, Amarnauth Persaud, Trevor Singh and Cameron Mirza. Left off the invite list is the highly impressive Zahib Tariq, who excelled both at the U-15 National Tournament and the U-19 Eastern Conference this year, taking 4 for 16 and top-scoring with 48 vs. the U-19 Atlantic team as New York defended a total of 127 to win by 7 runs. The South East and Atlantic regions both have two representatives. Taylor and Ryan Ramnarine have been invited from Florida. It is believed that both players will be healthy enough to participate after being involved in a serious car accident last week in Fort Lauderdale when they were driving back home after their flight to Junior Nationals was canceled. Waleed Javed Karimullah and Kalim Ahmed are the two Atlantic representatives. Players invited to USA U-19 selection camp by region Atlantic: Kalim Ahmed, Waleed Javed Karimullah Central East: Fahad Babar, Sohaib Choudhry, Abhijit Joshi Central West: Parth Bhakta New York: Cameron Mirza, Foisal Muhammad, Prashanth Nair, Amarnauth Persaud, Trevor Singh North West: Krish Goel, Akash Jagannathan (wk), Jodhbir Singh, Pranay Suri South East: Ryan Ramnarine, Steven Taylor (wk) South West: Shayan Abdulghani, Salman Ahmad, Gurpreet Sandhu, Hammad Shahid   Posted Jan 08 2011, 02:11 PM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: USACA, USA U-19 cricket, USA cricket, ICC Americas Cricket

• USA Cricket: USACA schedules U-19 selection camp for January 22-23 in Florida

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna USACA is planning to have an 18-man selection camp later this month in Florida in order to pick a final squad of 14 players for the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament due to take place from February 7-12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. According to USACA Cricket Committee chairman Krish Prasad, players will be flown to Florida to undergo final evaluation by the selectors on the weekend of January 22 and 23. “The selectors already saw the west coast guys. Between [chief selector Sew Shivnarine] and them, they know the east coast guys and invite them with the remaining guys that we have leftover from last year and get a 14-man squad with four stand-by players for a February tournament because February’s quickly approaching so we gotta do what we gotta do to get the best possible team,” said Prasad. An indoor camp had been tentatively planned for January 8 and 9 in New York for players from the New York, Atlantic and North East regions, but that plan has been scrapped. “The indoor place is not available number one and it doesn’t make sense for us to bring guys in here and then we’ve gotta pick another group of guys to go to Florida,” said Prasad. “We’re going to take about 18 or so guys and have the selectors come over there and pick the team.” “It’s approximately 18. There might be one or two more guys, but they know who the guys are they’re looking for. I mean they have the guys from last year and they’re gonna invite some more guys and get the 18 guys and have the 14 final players and the four stand-by players,” said Prasad. “We don’t want to bring a whole bunch of guys just to take 14 guys.” Salman Ahmad, Abhijit Joshi, Hammad Shahid and Steven Taylor are expected to be included in the 18 after participating in the 2010 U-19 World Cup for USA. Prasad said that the final group of players invited to Florida probably won’t be finalized until this weekend due to a variety of eligibility concerns based on age and residency that are currently being addressed by selectors. Image: Former 2010 U-19 World Cup squad member and South West U-19 captain Hammad Shahid is expected to be part of the selection camp later this month in Florida. [Copyright - DreamCricket.com] “We were going under the assumption that the cutoff date is September 1, 1990,” said Prasad, referring to the ICC deadline for Associate level players hoping to participate in the 2012 U-19 World Cup and any ICC qualification tournaments leading up to the event. “The cutoff date is no longer 1990, it’s 1991. For whatever reason, we didn’t pay attention to that or we were misled. It’s our own fault. We were going by the wrong dates.” “Guys like Andy Mohammed, [Regis] Burton and [Kavishwar] Bridgepaul who we thought were going to be included, now we found out they’re not going to be included and of course we have some guys who have not met the four-year [residency] criteria and we don’t want to go through the same scenario that we went through with Neil McGarrell because the ICC seems to be very tough on that.” A much bigger issue than the confusion about the age deadline is determining who is eligible based on residency. Prasad says that selection decisions are currently being hampered because of unreliable information supplied from the regions and the individual players about their residency status. Players who were believed to be eligible do not meet the criteria after a more thorough examination of documents. “It’s a whole different ball game when you have to go through the [residency] qualification and guys have not been giving us a lot of correct information,” said Prasad. “A lot of guys said they’ve been here for seven years, they came on such and such a date. Now when we ask them for the proof because Manaf [Mohamed] has to get the proof, we found out that they’ve not been telling us exactly what’s in their passport. So we’re having problems with qualifications.” “What has been holding us up a lot is the selectors have been going out upon themselves and trying to get information. If you call up certain regional people, they’re telling you this guy has been here for eight years, been here for six years. Now when you get a guy’s information and you call the guy and you say fax me this, this and this, then the guy faxes it and you’ve found out that he’s not been here for the time required. Then who’re you gonna blame? If you gotta pick the guys, you’ve gotta make sure you have the right information before you send 18 guys to Florida and you find four of them don’t meet the criteria.” USACA stated in a press release on December 28 that 24 players would be invited later this month to an U-19 selection camp in Florida, but apparently the ineligibility of numerous unidentified players has resulted in reducing the number of players that are due to be brought to Florida for the camp. In addition to the players who are too old to compete, there is also a growing list of players that have been found to be ineligible based on the residency requirement. “Shiv and Abrar [Ahmad] and Sunny [Khan] have been doing a very good job because these guys are constantly trying to get hold of the guys to make sure what they tell them is what they have on paper,” said Prasad. “I know they’ve ruled out about six or eight guys because the guys told them, ‘Yes. We’re good. We’ve been here for six, seven years.’ Then we get information that it’s not true.” As for the camp itself, Prasad hopes that the players don’t face the same kinds of weather and logistical problems that caused the cancelation of the 2010 Junior Nationals in Los Angeles last month. “We’re hoping that like everything else, we get good weather,” said Prasad. “The three selectors were told to be there.” The coach and manager for this year’s USA U-19 team have not been appointed as of yet. Prasad said that will take place after the final 14-man USA U-19 squad has been picked. Posted Jan 06 2011, 07:16 AM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: USACA, Abhijit Joshi, USA cricket, USA U-19 cricket, Steven Taylor, Salman Ahmad, Hammad Shahid

• USA Cricket: 10 players for the future from U-19 trial matches at Woodley Park

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna Although the USACA 2010 Junior Nationals were officially canceled, three matches were still played at Woodley Park last week in order to give players a chance to be evaluated by selectors. Players were competing not only for their respective regions, but for a chance to be selected to play for the United States in the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament in February, the first step in 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup qualification for USA. There were several players who performed incredibly well, but are too old to participate for USA during any qualification tournaments in the leadup to the 2012 U-19 World Cup. Zain Ali Syed, Haramandeep Kumar and Zulkifl Nana displayed a high level of skill at Woodley Park in last week’s trial matches. Syed has already played for the South East Region senior team and if Kumar and Nana keep developing, they will be promising prospects for future selection in the North West senior squad as well. Image (left) - South West U-19 vice-captain and USA 2010 U-19 World Cup squad member Salman Ahmad. [Copyright: DreamCricket.com] It is widely expected that four of the players from the 2010 U-19 World Cup squad – Salman Ahmad, Abhijit Joshi, Hammad Shahid and Steven Taylor – will be picked in the 14-man USA squad for next month’s U-19 tournament in Florida. A fifth player, Greg Sewdial, is eligible but is currently out until at least April after recently undergoing his second ankle surgery in seven months. Image (right) - South West U-19 captain and USA 2010 U-19 World Cup squad member Hammad Shahid. [Copyright: DreamCricket.com] Sewdial had ankle surgery in May to correct a ligament injury he sustained before the 2009 U-19 National Championship and just had a second surgery on December 28 after the first surgery failed to correct the problem. He currently faces three months of rehab after the most recent surgery, but if USA produces a top-two finish in Florida next month, Sewdial hopes he will be fit enough to rejoin USA’s U-19 team for the Global Qualifier in July. Therefore, it is expected that 10 spots are still up for grabs for USA’s roster that will take on Argentina, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and Cayman Islands in February. Here are the top five age-eligible players from the trial matches at Woodley Park who could be first time selections to USA’s U-19 team. (According to ICC rules, players eligible to compete for Associate countries in the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup must be born on or after September 1, 1991. In addition to this, ICC rules state that all U-19 Qualifiers must be played by teams/players who are eligible to play in the U-19 World Cup the qualifier is for – i.e. for the 2012 U-19 World Cup, the Regional Qualifier played in 2010-11 must be played by players eligible to play in the 2012 U-19 World Cup.) 1. Pranay Suri, North West (left) – The North West captain showed tremendous skill in running through both the South West and South East batting lineups to take eight wickets in two days. Perhaps the most impressive part of the off-spinner’s 5-wicket haul against South East was that it was done on a very cold and windy day with a temperature in the high 40s, making it difficult for bowlers to grip the ball. If USA makes it to the Global Qualifier in Ireland, the ability to adjust to varying conditions will be key because it’s very possible USA will encounter similar weather there. 2. Shayan Ahmed, South West (right) – Left-arm orthodox spin played a vital role in USA’s success at both qualification rounds in Canada in 2009 and Ahmed would fill that role for very nicely for USA in its attempt to qualify during 2011. He is physically gifted and has a smooth action with perfect flight and drift. He took four wickets in two games last week to lead his team and also scored the most runs for them in the trial matches. Ahmed could make a big impact for USA if selected. 3. Jodhbir Singh, North West (left) – Got out second ball to Shahid in the first match, but came back on Thursday to notch 50 against South East. He scored a century against South West in August. Equally adept against pace or spin, he should be a shoe-in for USA’s 14-man squad for Florida. 4. Sunil Deopersaud, South East – The leg-spinner from Florida quietly took three wickets on the weekend, but bowled better than his figures showed. It would have been interesting to see how many more runs would have been saved, and wickets taken, had he been bowling with eleven men in the field instead of nine. 5. Kwiese Edmondson, South East – He’s still very young and was a part of USA’s U-15 squad in 2009, but Edmondson exudes plenty of confidence at the crease and looks capable of stepping into international cricket at the U-19 level. Being a left-handed batsman is a plus and he demonstrated an excellent technique at the crease but twice got out to soft dismissals when he looked set for a big score. With increased discipline and maturity, Edmondson could be a menace to bowlers and might be worth a selection gamble. Here are five talented players who might find it difficult to squeeze into this year’s team, but are still young enough to be eligible to make major contributions in USA’s U-19 team for a qualifying run to the 2014 U-19 World Cup. At the very least, these five players have a good chance of being invited to the 24-man selection camp that USACA is organizing to take place in Florida in the middle of this month before the final 14 players are picked. 1. Krish Goel, North West (right) – A talented allrounder, Goel scored 79 not out against Central East in August but in his two chances in December he didn’t do as much as he could have. He needs to knuckle down and show more hunger for runs. His spin bowling is effective and his fielding is top-notch just like most of his North West teammates. Of the five players in this list, he may have the best chance of making it to USA’s squad due to the need for batsmen. 2. Roshan Varadarajan, North West (left) – North West’s U-15 captain the past few years, he may turn into an excellent off-spinner, but shouldn’t give up on his batting. He also has a reputation as a top fielder. Varadarajan has an outside chance to get picked for this year’s team, but at the moment there is a surplus of bowlers and not enough good batsmen so he may have to wait his turn. 3. Shakeel Ahmad, South West (right) – Salman’s younger brother could eventually develop into the better Ahmad. He is technically solid as a batsman, but still has some growing left to do. In two years, he will be bigger, stronger and able to dispatch balls to the boundary with ease. 4. Arsh Buch, North West (left) – Just like Shakeel Ahmad, Buch does all the right things from a technical point of view, but isn’t physically imposing. In two more years, he should be bigger and 100% ready to dominate at the U-19 level. 5. Faraz Jaferi, South East – This left-arm orthodox spinner has very nice flight, but batsmen have time to play him off the back foot. With a little more experience, he’ll find it easier to find the outside edge and get more wickets. [Views expressed in this article are those of the author.] Posted Jan 04 2011, 04:16 AM with no comments Filed under: USACA, Abhijit Joshi, USA U-19 cricket, USA cricket, Steven Taylor, Pranay Suri, Shayan Ahmed, Arsh Buch, Greg Sewdial, Faraz Jaferi, Jodhbir Singh, Kwiese Edmondson, Roshan Varadarajan, Shakeel Ahmad, Krish Goel, Sunil Deopersaud, Salman Ahmad, Hammad Shahid

• USA Cricket: North West and South West top undermanned South East in U-19 trial matches

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna Pranay Suri took 5 for 28 in a resounding 85-run win over a nine-man South East team before an all-round effort from Shayan Abdul Ghani Ahmed took South West past South East by 5 wickets in a pair of 25-over U-19 trial matches on Thursday at Woodley Park. In the morning match, South East won the toss and elected to field, hoping to get something out of the pitch conditions in the same manner that North West had done when fielding first against South West on Tuesday. North West’s opening pair prevented that with a 100-run stand. Jodhbir Singh top-scored with 50 while his opening partner Zulkifl Nana scored 34. Leg-spinner Sunil Deopersaud then dismissed both players in the space of five balls in the 17th over as both men were beaten in flight to be stumped by Zain Ali Syed. Syed then took off the wicketkeeping gloves to come back for a second bowling spell where he claimed the wickets of Akash Jagannathan and Krish Goel. Viraj Patel claimed the other wicket to fall, that of Suri, as North West finished on 151 for 5 in their 25 overs. Image: North West U-19 captain Pranay Suri took 5 for 28 against South East, finishing with 8 wickets for 49 in two trial matches at Woodley Park. [Copyright: DreamCricket.com] South East’s chase with a nine-man batting lineup became more difficult when they were deducted one over for a slow-over rate in the field. Kwiese Edmondson was dismissed in the fourth over for 7 by Happy Kumar and two overs later Kumar claimed Ricky Nayar for 5 to make it 22 for 2. Syed came to the crease and put on a 33-run partnership with Awais Yasin. Suri was on the receiving end of a harsh assault from Syed, who raced to 24 off 22 balls before he was run out. He tried to take off for a single from the non-striker’s end, but Yasin didn’t budge and Goel fielding at point alertly tossed the ball to Suri over the stumps at the bowler’s end, who broke the stumps with Syed well short trying to get back. On the very next ball, Suri had Yasin out LBW. He wound up claiming five wickets for two runs in his last 2.1 overs with one run coming off the bat and the other courtesy of a wide. South East went from 55 for 2 to 66 all out in the span of 4.2 overs.  In the afternoon match, South East won the toss and elected to bat. They put up a much stronger fight against South West with Edmondson and Nayar forging a 43-run opening stand before Syed and Deopersaud added 47 for the third wicket. Syed was dropped second ball for the second game in a row, but went on to top-score once again with 54 in only 41 balls before he was bowled by leg-spinner Gurpreet Sandhu. Ahmed then produced his second solid spell of left-arm spin in three days, getting Deopersaud and Yasin out stumped. Ahmed finished with 2 for 25 in five overs while Ryan Amaratunga, Salman Ahmad and Shakeel Ahmad each chipped in with a wicket. South East finished 149 for 6 in 25 overs. Image: Shayan Abdul Ghani Ahmed finished with 2 for 25 against South East and 4 for 48 in two U-19 trial matches for South West. [Copyright: DreamCricket.com] South East worked hard throughout the innings to restrict runs and build pressure, but with only nine men in the field, the task was too difficult to manage. Shakeel Ahmad worked to build a solid platform at the top of the order and finished with 33 to top-score for South West. However, the scoring rate was a little slow for the first 15 overs as South West stood at 65 for 2 with another 85 needed in the last 10. Ahmad got out to Syed in the next over which brought Ryan Amaratunga to the crease with Hammad Shahid. The two hustled between the wickets to score quick runs, rarely allowing dot balls to happen. Amaratunga batted unselfishly to score 24 in 16 balls before being caught on the midwicket boundary by Syed off the bowling of Patel to make it 103 for 4 in the 20th. Ahmed came to the crease and with his older brother Shahid continued the flow of runs. The two added 34 before Shahid was caught on the boundary at long off by Syed off the bowling of Faraz Jaferi for 29 to make it 137 for 5. South West needed 13 to win with 12 balls to go, but only needed four balls to reach the target. Nayar started the 24th over with a wide and then a single to Sandhu, who replaced Shahid at the crease. Ahmed showed tremendous energy when he produced an all-run four before blasting a six over midwicket. He then clipped a single to the leg side to finish the match on 20 not out, giving his team a 5-wicket win. North West vs. South East Scorecard South East vs. South West Scorecard Posted Jan 01 2011, 04:21 AM with no comments Filed under: USACA, South East Region, USA cricket, North West, Pranay Suri, Shayan Ahmed, South West Region