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USA Cricketer
May 2011 - Posts
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By Suresh Menon
It is ironical that the Indian cricket board – accused of debasing international engagements of the West Indies and Sri Lanka by waving IPL cheques in the faces of their players – seems to have scored a self-goal. Only four of the eleven players who won the World Cup are in the squad for the West Indies one-day series. Most of them were fit enough, happy enough to play a portion of the IPL if not all of it, but now find that family, health, rest must take precedence.
It is not a ‘country versus club’ debate as the media dub it simplistically. Yet the arguments have been interesting.
On the side of the let-the-player-choose brigade, the main arguments have been:
1. The player is a professional, and knows best when he needs to take a break, and if that break happens to coincide with a series abroad, then so be it.
2. Franchises which have sunk in so much money have the right to expect the players to turn out for them. It is a business/commercial relationship.
3. India have won the World Cup, so the Board has to listen to the players.
4. The West Indies are not such a great team, and our second-string should win comfortably.
5. The IPL is a Board tournament, and the players are bound to support it, so there is no question of taking a break from the IPL.
On the ‘patriotism’ side, the arguments have been no less convenient. Some of these are:
1. Players are being unpatriotic and anti-national by skipping the tour.
2. The decision cannot be left to the players; what is the cricket board for?
3. India must attempt to climb to the No 1 spot in one-day cricket, and they need their best team to play at all times.
4. When England refused to send their best teams to India, we screamed that India were being insulted. Now we are doing the same.
5. Whose bright idea was it to have such a packed international schedule following the World Cup and the IPL?
There is just enough merit in some of these arguments to keep the debate alive. But they also lead to some bigger questions:
1. Part of the frisson of international sporting competition is provided by nationalism. Whether it is war minus the shooting or war by other means. A Tendulkar century against Sri Lanka is far more valuable than anything he scores for the Mumbai Indians. But if nationalism is to be replaced by commerce, will that be the first step towards a Formula One type sport where it is every team for itself, and nationalism plays no part? Perhaps we will see matches between Adidas XI and Coke XI with players chosen from across the world in each side?
2. In the past, a tour of the West Indies was called off when India’s top batsman Sunil Gavaskar withdrew. This was partly because the sponsors were unhappy. That the channel which holds the television rights has not made a noise this time is significant.
3. If the Board tournaments are so sacred, how come players are allowed to miss Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments? It is a matter of shame that India’s most successful bowler, Anil Kumble has not bowled to the most successful batsman, Sachin Tendulkar in the national championship.
4. How much of this is due to the clash of interests within the cricket board? The Secretary owns a franchise, the chief selector is the brand ambassador of the same franchise and private interests seem to matter more than public responsibilities.
5. Who will take the blame should India perform badly in the West Indies? The players, the officials, the corporate?
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By Peter Della Penna
Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Kamal provided gritty contributions with the
bat while Hiten Patel’s all-round performance took Indoor Cricket USA to
a 57-run win over Cricket League of New Jersey on Sunday at Naaman
Williams Park in Somerset, N.J., on the opening weekend of the Radiant
Info Atlantic Region Inter-League Tournament. Patel scored 20 in ICUSA’s
50-over total of 183 for 9 before taking 5 for 12 to help bowl out CLNJ
for 126 in 34.5 overs.
CLNJ captain Venkat Krishnan won the toss and sent ICUSA in to bat on
a matting surface that provided variable bounce to go along with a
thick outfield and hot weather conditions, making run scoring very
difficult on the day. ICUSA’s first wicket fell at 31 in the ninth over
when Atlantic Region U-19 fast bowler Jasdeep Singh had Chintan Modi LBW
for 10.
After that, wickets fell at regular intervals as ICUSA entered the
second drinks break at 85 for 4 in 26 overs. Kamal and Patel staged a
key 43-run stand for the fifth wicket after play resumed and that was
the difference on the day as ICUSA battled for runs. Kamal finished with
30 before both he and Patel fell to off-spinner Waqar Imran, who
finished with 2 for 40. Kamal’s 30 was the high score off the bat, but
wayward bowling cost CLNJ as 33 wides were part of the 45 extras (24.6%
of team score) that wound up being the top score in the ICUSA innings of
183 for 9.
CLNJ never
had a chance to chase the runs after Patel claimed four wickets in his
opening burst of probing medium pace to make the score 33 for 6 in the
13th over of the chase. He was well supported by left-arm seamer Nazu
Mohammed, who took 2 for 37.
Image (right) : Hiten Patel (blue sleeves) gets congratulated by
teammates after taking his fourth wicket in an opening spell of 4 for 8.
[Courtesy Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]
Faisal Sulehri joined Jay Patel at the wicket to provide a glimmer of
hope for CLNJ with an 85-run seventh wicket stand. Sulehri clubbed
three sixes off a series of slog sweeps to pump some life back into the
contest. The stand came to an end when Patel was finally dismissed for
32 by Yousuf courtesy of a wonderful catch on the run by Mohammed at
long on. Sulehri was then run out for 45 a short time later by former
USA U-19 player Henry Wardley before Patel returned to wrap up the game
with his fifth wicket.
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 If
members of the Atlanta Georgia Cricket Conference (AGCC) were asked to
pick the one league player they would not want to bowl or bat against,
the most would likely reply would be, “Japen Patel.” Japen is not only
the most dangerous all-rounder in AGCC, but is also the biggest
match-winner in the league. Two consecutive five wicket hauls, followed
by two consecutive unbeaten match-winning hundreds (141* & 173*)
not only testify to Japen’s unbelievable form at the moment, but also
to the distance between him and his closest competitor.
Japen
sits atop of the batting and bowling ranks this year and seems set to
win his third consecutive AGCC Player of the Year award. So far, in six
matches he has accumulated 505 runs with average of 168.3 and has taken
17 wickets.
Moreover, his dynamic fielding, positive attitude
and unsurpassed passion for cricket has gotten him the respect on and
off the field, and there’s no doubt this talent is something to watch
for.
Talent, however, can only take a player so far; it’s
dedication and hard work that will bring him continued success. Japen
understands that, and knows that the success he is enjoying now is the
result of his efforts during a three-month stay in India earlier this
year.
In January of 2011, Japen made a crucial
decision about his cricketing career and decided to join the Rajasthan
Royals Development Camp under the guidance of Coach Mrugang (Monty)
Desai. Cricket in the United States has yet to professionalize and so
Japen decided to attend the camp to get a taste of how young Indian
players train to become first-class cricketers.
In the camp,
Japen was specially monitored by trainers Afzal Khan and Pratik Kadam
and tested with fitness drills that focused on leg work, such as
shuttles, lunges, sprints and long jogs.
Japen was pushed to
bowl for hours, working on specific skills such as bowling slow balls,
bouncers, yorkers and wide yorkers with correct field sets. These are
especially helpful as they are tactics; that can be in match scenarios.
To test his mettle, Japen bowled against the likes of Rahul Dravid,
Ajinkya Rahane, Abhishek Raut and Stuart Binny.
Batting
practice concentrated on drills designed to make Japen capable of
standing in against quality spinners. In these sessions, his batting
was tested by some imaginative fields set by a few present and future
Rajasthan Royals spinners who bowled well to him, such as Dinesh
Salunke and Ankit Chavan.
He also got the priceless
experience of mingling with first-class players and learning firsthand
how they prepare for a match. Under the watchful eye of Coach Desai,
Japen improved both his bowling action and batting technique.
“I
am sure these camps have not only made him more confident technically
and tactically but also mentally as he feels he belongs to the next
level,” Desai said. “I really hope USA looks at investing in talented
players like him which I am sure will be many all over the states.”
“He
(Japen) is a very good listener and fantastic student of this game
which is one of the important attributes for a sportsman,” Desai said.
“I wish him all the success for his future.”
Before the camp,
Japen was a raw talent that needed direction and guidance to fulfill
the tremendous potential he possessed. He was more streaky than
consistent, but even then stood out as one of the top players in the
AGCC.
Japen joined the Atlanta Rising Stars Cricket Club in
2009 and has played a key role in their achievements since. He is also
a member of the US Tigers Cricket Club that competes nationally in
Twenty20 tournaments across the country. As a member of the South East
Regional Team for the last 4 years, Japen has made important
contributions in national tournaments. Selected to the U-19 South East
Regional Team of 2006-2007, he captured both the Best Batsman and the
Most Valuable Player awards of the tournament.
Those
following Japen’s accomplishments during the last four to five years
would conclude that he has matured as a cricket player and is ready to
move on to better competition. He seems ready to play with the best
cricketers in the USA and has the track record to merit consideration
for selection to the US national team.
Ask his opposition in
the AGCC and they will tell you that it’s about time he stops torturing
the club cricketers of Atlanta every Sunday.
[Article and picture - Courtesy of AGCC]
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By Peter Della Penna
USA Cricket Association General Manager Manaf Mohamed has disputed
the claim that the Central West did not know the USACA Twenty20 national
tournament was removed from Dallas until after a report was published
on Dreamcricket.com Wednesday night. According to Mohamed, the Central
West “recused themselves” from hosting the tournament on May 18 in an
email sent by Tournament Director Ramesh Thyagarajan, joint secretary of
the North Texas Cricket Association.
“While we would have loved to hold the first national Twenty20 in
Dallas, our ability to conduct a seamless, classy tournament without
sufficient time to plan organize and execute, and without the approved
budget and funds, would be seriously hampered,” were the words written
in a May 18 email by Thyagarajan, according to Mohamed. Thyagarajan
acknowledged sending the email after being contacted by phone, but says
that the Central West only pulled out of hosting the event because USACA
management ignored and failed to respond to a series of emails
requesting approval for organizational aspects of the event.
“Everything you send in an email seems to go into a black hole,” said Thyagarajan. “I know there are vested interests at play.”
Mohamed claims that the region sent him a budget that included a rate
of $95 per night for hotel rooms during the tournament, but that he
recently researched and found a similar-style hotel in the Plano area
for $39 per night. Thyagarajan disputes this.
“If he’s able to show me a quote for a Holiday Inn at $40 a night, show me it,” said Thyagarajan.
When Mohamed was asked why volunteers are tasked with the
responsibility to negotiate hotel rates and other aspects of tournament
budgets when he is a full-time paid employee who can take care of such
matters, he said he will most likely have to do so in the future.
“Traditionally, we’ve left it to the regions because they’re familiar
with the local businesses and can negotiate better rates, but
apparently we’re going to have to change that process,” said Mohamed.
Mohamed was also asked why the matter of researching and deciding on
acceptable hotel rates was not done in March or April rather than
waiting until the last minute. “We should have looked at that earlier,
but we’re depending on the regions to get us that budget,” said Mohamed
in reply. “Historically, what we’d do is let the hosting regions
organize with a hotel and put together a budget on what it would cost.”
Thyagarajan does not understand why the hotel rates were an issue when the payment is ultimately USACA’s responsibility.
“At the end of the day, the hotel was going to be paid directly by
USACA,” said Thyagarajan. “They didn’t even have to go through the
region.”
“The fundamental issue here is to be able to go lock in the grounds
with the city, to be able to pay the contractors for the renovation of
the pitch, the ground set up – tents, tables, chairs - meals and water”
said Thyagarajan, saying that the Central West was given a task of
assembling the aforementioned aspects of the tournament with a budget of
$13,000. The budget was separate from any costs relating to hotels. “It
is wrong and untruthful for them to say they could not come to an
agreement. If they had a budget issue, why didn’t they come to us? Can
we slash this or that? We never had that discussion. For them to say we
had a budget issue, it’s plain lying.”
“There’s no reason for them to do this unless it was all a sham in
the first place. I know the fact that our regional director [Ahmed
Jeddy] stood up against some of these things happening at USACA board
level obviously swung some of the thought process in a different way at
the leadership level.”
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By Peter Della Penna
An official involved with Dallas area cricket is unhappy with the
decision to remove the USACA Twenty20 Nationals from the Central West,
disputing the statement made on Wednesday by USACA General Manager Manaf
Mohamed that it had to do with an inability to finalize a budget.
“It may have to do with the budget as far as USACA is concerned, but
not from the Central West,” said the official on Thursday afternoon, who
spoke on condition of anonymity. “If they had a problem with the
budget, if it was too much or whatever, that wasn’t communicated to us.
So I’m surprised to learn it’s a budget issue.”
“To say that this is a Central West budgetary issue is wrong. It’s a
USACA budgetary issue. You’ve got to spend money regardless of where you
hold it. So I’m really curious to know how much they are spending for
the tournament in New Jersey now.”
The official said that the first time he learned that the tournament
was moved from Dallas to New Jersey was after it was reported through
this web site. No one from USACA communicated it and the last time any
information was communicated by USACA to officials in Dallas was more
than a week ago.
However,  the
biggest issue according to the official is the fact that this decision
has fractured relationships at the local level in Dallas between the
cricket officials and local government, businesses, potential sponsors
and media.
Image (right) - A layout of Russell Creek Park in Plano, Texas.
All four matches could have taken place at the same ground in Plano
whereas matches in New Jersey will most likely be played at three or
four separate facilities.
“I’ve burnt a lot of bridges,” said the official. “I had excellent
relationships with a lot of people in Plano. Tomorrow, we still have to
conduct our league’s games here and tomorrow if I need to go to the city
for any infrastructure improvement, they’ll say, ‘Hey, you know what?
You’re a joker. You said the national tournament was coming here.
Nothing came here. This game is never ever gonna grow. I’m actually
going to cut you from two grounds to one ground.’ Then what am I gonna
do? That is the real problem.”
“It was such a waste of a whole lot of people’s time, including the
city of Plano. We had many meetings with them to convince them on how
this is really gonna take off and help this city.”
The official says that more than 70 rooms were blocked off at an area
hotel for teams to use during the tournament, but the hotel management
became increasingly agitated as they had not yet received a deposit from
USACA and as such they would not be willing to continue to reserve the
rooms.
“The hotel wanted at least the first night’s pay because they were
turning away every other customer,” said the official. “We had booked
this for two or three weeks while negotiations with USACA were going on.
USACA said they would pay. They said they had written to Dainty and
they were waiting on his approval. Then no word came… there was
absolutely no response from Manaf or John Thickett or Dainty.”
“I feel bad. I burnt my bridges with some of the people, with the
hotel guy because he held on for two or three weeks without giving rooms
to anybody. I can’t compensate for his lack of revenue now.”
Plans had also been put in place with the city of Plano to make
improvements to the cricket facilities at Russell Creek Park before the
start of the tournament, but they could not start work until they
received a 100% confirmation from USACA to stage the tournament.
“We had four grounds all in a single facility in Russell Creek Park. I
had spoken to the city to get the [astroturf wickets] replaced and
everything, get it spruced up for the national tournament. They agreed
to do it,” said the official. “We talked to the contractors. We had
started project managing that and we had to start pulling back
everything because everybody was waiting on some advance deposit
payment. The physical work to start the relaying of the pitches
fortunately did not start because we would have been in a financial
hole.”
“Cricket in general would have benefitted,” said the official. “All of that has fallen flat on its face.”
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By Peter Della Penna
The inaugural USACA Twenty20 Nationals has been shifted from Dallas
to New Jersey according to USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed. The
event will still be held on the same dates, June 17-19, but it means
that the Atlantic Region now has three weeks to prepare for hosting the
tournament.
“We were unable to come to an agreement on a final budget with the
[Central West] region,” said Mohamed by telephone on Wednesday
afternoon. Mohamed said that the decision to move the tournament to New
Jersey was made by USACA President Gladstone Dainty.
However, an anonymous source close to the situation claims that
Dainty made the decision to take the tournament out of the Central West
Region as “retribution” for internal division within the USACA board. A
report
surfaced on May 13 which described opposing factions over the manner in
which four people were appointed from USACA to the Cricket Holdings
America LLC board.
Meanwhile,  20
players have been invited to participate in a training camp from June
11-12 in New York which will help decide the final 14-man squad going to
Ireland for the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in July. Mohamed says that
USA U-19 coach Robin Singh will not be present for the camp and that it
will be run by USA selectors Sew Shivnarine, Sunny Khan and Abrar
Ahmad.
Eight players who were not part of the USA U-19 squad that won the
ICC Americas U-19 title in February received invites in addition to 12
of the 14 players who were part of the championship squad. According to
Mohamed, USA U-19 captain Abhijit Joshi and fast bowler Mital Patel will
not be attending the camp as they are both currently training in India.
Five of the eight players who have been invited to the camp – Sohaib
Choudhry, Prashanth Nair, Krish Goel, Akash Jagannathan and Amarnauth
Persaud – were also invited to a January selection camp prior to the
selection of the team for the ICC Americas U-19 tournament in February
but did not make the final squad. Jasdeep Singh and Prumjot Panesar are
getting their first opportunity to try out for the team.
The remaining invite was given to Greg Sewdial, who will be
attempting to force his way back into the USA U-19 squad for Ireland
after an extended layoff from cricket. Sewdial was the vice-captain and
leading scorer for USA at the 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup in New Zealand,
but is trying to overcome a career threatening ankle injury that
required a pair of surgeries in May and December of last year.
Mohamed also revealed that USACA is trying to negotiate a series of
matches between USA U-19 and West Indies U-19 to be played in Florida.
The target date for the matches is between July 6 and 16, prior to the
USA U-19 team’s departure for Ireland. If a series can be organized
between those dates, the USA U-19 team would remain in Florida for a few
more days of training before leaving from Miami for Dublin on July 19.
The ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier begins on July 28.
Players invited to USA U-19 selection camp by region (ICC Americas U-19 champion squad members in bold)
Atlantic: Kalim Ahmed, Waleed Javed Karimullah, Jasdeep Singh
Central East: Fahad Babar, Sohaib Choudhry
Central West: None
New York: Cameron Mirza, Prashanth Nair, Amarnauth Persaud, Greg Sewdial, Trevor Singh
North East: None
North West: Krish Goel, Akash Jagannathan (wk), Prumjot Panesar, Jodhbir Singh, Pranay Suri
South East: Steven Taylor (wk)
South West: Shayan Abdulghani, Salman Ahmad, Gurpreet Sandhu, Hammad Shahid
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North West Region is set to organize first T20 inter-league tournament during Memorial day weekend (May 27-29, 2011). The tournament will feature top players from the Bay Area's Northern California Cricket Association, California Cricket League and Bay Area Cricket Alliance; Seattle's North West Cricket League and Sacramento Cricket Association.
Announcing the first T20 inter-league tournament, Hemant Buch, Chairman of the NW Region said: " Within two days of the formation of the region, our board met and decided to organize this tournament to assist with regional team selection."
"Three weeks to organize the tournament [is] a challenge, but the committee got all the ducks lined up through hard work and cooperation from all the leagues. The committee is hoping that all participants and cricket lovers will enjoy this 3-day tournament”, Hasu Patel, member of the region's cricket committee told DreamCricket.com.
Joining Hasu Patel are several experienced volunteers from the region -Alok Agarwal, Ozair Nana and Ravi Shankar. The Seattle team will travel to the Bay Area at a huge expense to participate in the event despite the short notice.
Reebok Cricket and G1G insurance are the official sponsors of this event. Extending his support to the tournament, Zain Jeewanjee of G1G insurance said: "I am very pleased with North West Region's leadership and I am always there to help them succeed."
Logitech Inc., the leading manufacturer of audio, video and computer peripherals has donated Revue, Google TV box and other audio equipment as awards for the tournament.
Test O Pack, a packaging design and testing company in San Jose also signed on as sponsor.
Schedule
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By Peter Della Penna
USACA Gladstone Dainty says the USA men’s team is not in danger of
suffering another subpar performance due to lack of preparation for the
ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament scheduled to take place
July 17-24 in Florida. In a phone call last week, Dainty was questioned
as to why nothing had been arranged for the USA senior team since their
return from a last place finish at ICC World Cricket League Division
Three in January when many, including himself, said in the immediate
aftermath that USA’s last place finish at the January tournament was a
result of being under prepared.
“That’s a big statement to make that what happened in Hong Kong was a
lack of preparation and a lack of activity,” said Dainty in reply. “I
think that what happened in Hong Kong, first of all I think it’s
disrespectful to the teams who were there who won to believe that they
weren’t good. What happened in Hong Kong, we ran into some very good
teams playing very well and I really don’t buy into this stuff that
we’re more talented than anyone else. People have got individual
responsibilities and they’ve got to be ready when called upon.”
“Local competitions have started and in due course we’ll have some
practice and some camps, etc., very shortly. We played a lot of cricket
last year so what happened in Hong Kong maybe can be attributed more to
over preparation rather than under preparation and a lot of other
factors. You’ve gotta remember that we did beat Hong Kong didn’t we? So I
don’t know that the answer is as simple as lack of preparation. I
really don’t believe in excuses. We had very good teams playing and we
had to be ready to play every step of the way and we had some bad days.
Maybe we had some other factors, but we’ll be ready for the Americas
Cup. It’s the same Americas Cup we played last year and we actually went
to Bermuda and we did pretty well, didn’t we?”
This
stance regarding the team’s preparation contradicts the overall views
expressed by the players, manager, coach and even Dainty himself. In an
interview conducted at the ICC Americas U-19 Division One in February,
Dainty said the blame lay in USACA not doing enough to prepare the team.
Image (right): USACA President Gladstone Dainty addresses the
participants of the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament last
February in Florida. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna]
“The team to me didn’t do very well in Hong Kong,” said Dainty in
February. “I’m not going to be the one that’s blaming the team alone.
For all of us, I would say that the team was not a very well prepared
team. In terms of they were playing, it was their offseason for most of
them. Even during the national championships, I didn’t see the energy.”
“We needed additional funding for them to play some more. From what I
was made to understand and from what I observed, conditioning was a
factor,” said Dainty. “The conditioning aspect didn’t seem to be there
and that is not their fault alone. It’s all of us and as president I’ve
gotta accept responsibility that it was not a very well prepared team.”
After USA’s loss to Italy which resulted in relegation to Division
Four, USA captain Steve Massiah was quoted as saying, "We didn't prepare
for this tournament as well as we have done in other events and our
performances here were nothing like what we know we are capable of when
we play cricket. Certain things didn't go our way this tournament and we
now need to go back to the USA and rethink our strategy and how we are
going to bounce back from this and rebuild our team to climb back up the
leagues."
Head Coach Clayton Lambert admitted even before the tournament in
Hong Kong had started that he was concerned the team did not have ideal
preparation. That sentiment was also expressed by Team Manager Imran
Khan after a second defeat to Denmark to end the tournament.
“The team itself I think is of a certain quality,” said Khan. “We’ve
played opposition that’s of a lot higher standard than the teams here,
people like Scotland, UAE, Canada, Bermuda who we’ve beaten regularly.
So we’ve proven that we can perform at this level, even higher.”
“However, coming into this specific tournament, we were undercooked. I
keep reiterating that point. We were undercooked, we weren’t prepared
and that’s not really the fault of the players, or the management or the
coaching staff. That is an issue within the administration that they
need to look at with the whole development process, how we’re preparing
teams, how we’re organizing our schedules and to really get those people
involved who are competent enough to do that. Right now, without being
too critical or judgmental of people involved, I think there are certain
individuals who maybe don’t really understand the way teams function at
this level and how the organization should be carried out.”
“So maybe the entire US structure needs to be looked at again to see
whether we can produce a more efficient structure that can actually help
the team grow. We should start now with the Under-19s, prepare them,
start organizing tours for them and really start giving them the
experience so that we can push these players forward. If we don’t do
that, we keep repeating the same old tactics. Then you’ll eventually see
the same results like this tournament.”
In regards to Dainty’s February quote about the team needing
additional funding, Dainty hopes that funding will arrive soon from the
Cricket Holdings America deal. USACA reportedly was due to receive $5
million in the first year of the deal, but Dainty hinted that USACA has
not received anywhere close to the full amount near the halfway point of
2011. Dainty is still in negotiations with Robin Singh about an
expanded role in US cricket beyond coaching the Under-19 team, but this
and many other goals for US cricket can’t be achieved until funding
comes in. He also called for more play within the region between the
Associates.
“There are no secrets out there about our financial position or
hopeful financial positions. I’m hoping that once we dot the i’s and
cross the t’s with our commercial deal that some of what we do will be
to beef up our infrastructure,” said Dainty.
“Everybody, the cricket committee, the board, we are committed to
giving as much resources as we can give, but then we have to deal with
the affordability factor. There’s no question that
everybody would like to give all and every resource available so if we
can afford it and that’s what’s necessary… but like I say, the cricket
committee as good as they’ve been and as functional as they’ve been,
we’ve reached a stage where because of the quantity and quality of the
cricket which we must play now, we’re talking about youth, women and
men, we need to have full-time people working at these programs, working
with our players because it’s close to a semi-pro situation we’re
getting involved in right now. It’s a situation where we’ve gotta be
ready.”
“The Americas as a whole have gotta look at what we’re doing at home,
maybe playing each other more often, maybe playing the Caribbean more
often, maybe having more tours, etc., because our Associate level of
play in the Americas once upon a time we were the top tier. I see not
only the United States, but the Americas as a whole, I see some
slippage. I don’t know about you, but I see slippage in the Americas as a
whole.”
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By Peter Della Penna
ICC Americas is strongly considering a plan to restructure the top
division in men’s and U-19 cricket to correct a competitive imbalance.
The plan was discussed last weekend at the ICC Americas Regional
Development Forum in Costa Rica and could be pushed through as early as
2012 according to USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed.
“There’s a new division alignment that’s coming up that was
discussed. It needs to be confirmed but they’re gonna change the
alignment,” said Mohamed. “Instead of six teams in Division One, it
would be four. The winner of Division Two would go into Division One.”
“Division One for the Region would be USA, Canada, Bermuda and one
team from Division Two. They would play T20 along with 50 overs. So it’s
gonna be a combination of both formats in the Division One tournament.”
The realignment would not apply to women’s cricket or any junior
cricket below the U-19 level within the region.
The move would address what some in the region feel is a lack of
competitiveness outside the traditional top three. This was particularly
evident at this February’s ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament
where USA, Canada and Bermuda routinely demolished the bottom three
finishers, Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Argentina. The lone exception was
a tight match between Bermuda and Cayman Islands which Bermuda won by
four runs but lopsided contests sometimes finished in less than three
hours and many administrators questioned how much either side benefitted
from such contests.
Mohamed also said that the qualification process for the ICC U-19
World Cup would be undergoing changes. The process would be similar to
how teams qualified prior to the creation of the global qualifier event
in 2009.
“ICC have changed the qualification from 2014 for the U-19 World
Cup,” said Mohamed. “There will be 16 teams. It will be the 10 Full
Members and one team from each of the regionals. We usually have from
the regionals two people would qualify to go to the global qualifier.
There would not be that global qualifier anymore. The regional winner
would automatically qualify. So you’ve got the 10 Full members, each of
the regional winners, that would be 15, plus the host team and that
would be from 2014.”
According to an ESPN Media Zone press release in March, the UAE will
be hosting the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup. UAE finished fifth in the
10-team Asian Cricket Council U-19 Elite Cup this past February, failing
to reach the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland. However, Dubai
does have some of the best facilities on offer since the opening of the
ICC Global Cricket Academy in October of last year.
ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson and West Indies Cricket
Board Vice President David Cameron were in attendance at the meetings in
Costa Rica and Mohamed said that there is a proposal to form a regional
Associate team at both the U-19 and U-15 level that would compete in
West Indies domestic tournaments beginning in 2012. Not only would it be
a more competitive squad than accepting an individual Associate team,
but Mohamed says that from a financial standpoint, it could potentially
alleviate costs from the individual Associate boards. If a combined team
of Associate players played as an Americas regional team, Mohamed says
that ICC Americas might cover any costs rather than the respective
national boards for each player representing an Americas regional team.
Another piece of news from Mohamed is that the USA is being
considered to host the ICC World Cricket League Division Four tournament
due to take place in the summer of 2012. Mohamed feels that USA has a
good chance of hosting the event, either in Fort Lauderdale or Los
Angeles.
“It would be good to get a tournament like that,” said Mohamed. USA,
Denmark, Nepal and Tanzania will be joined in Division Four by the top
two finishers from Division Five, due to be held in Singapore next
February.
The chances of Nepal being awarded the tournament are slim after
riots marred USA’s group stage match against Nepal at Division Five in
Kathmandu last year. In the wake of an ICC inquiry, Cricket Association
of Nepal accepted an ICC directive to not host further international
cricket at the Tribhuvan University Stadium until remedial measures were
carried out.
Denmark only has one turf pitch in the country while Tanzania hosted
Division Four in 2008 and no team except Singapore has been given the
chance to host a WCL event more than once since the WCL was started in
2007. Singapore hosted Division Six in 2009 and the decision to make
them the host of next year’s Division Five was viewed by some as a move
to right a sense of injustice done to Singapore at Division Five in
2010.
Riots by the home crowd in the USA vs. Nepal game forced a lengthy
delay to that match. The reduction of overs and revised target upon
resumption of play helped Nepal finish above Singapore by a .004 margin
on net run rate to qualify for WCL Division Four in Italy last August.
Singapore had hoped to replace Nepal in 2010 ICC WCL Division Four but
that plea was rejected by the ICC.
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By Venu Palaparthi
Comments
Creating a strong Inter-league system
 A strong and competent zonal cricketing system forms the backbone of the domestic cricket structure in most cricket playing countries. Cricketers aspiring to play for their country must rise through the ranks of club cricket, and pass through inter-league cricket, and from there progress to the national team.
By inference, players should choose country over region, region over league, and league over club. That is the natural order.
In USA, I know of cricketers who would rather play for their club when they could be playing for their league. This is not a case of cricketers choosing to play for an IPL team instead of their country - after all, money is not the draw in USA's club cricket.
In the absence of a clearly merit-based heirarchical selection structure, there is no compelling reason to turn out for the league when they could be playing for the club.
Another reason I frequently hear is that the inter-league is not very challenging. A successful zonal competition presupposes parity among the leagues that take part. In several regions in the US, because not all leagues can put together a 'strong' side, a player might find an inter-club match more challenging than an inter-league match.
This problem be easily resolved by creating a divisional structure so as not to dilute the competition. Even India's Ranji trophy has a super-league and a plate-league!
In summary, players are likely to embrace the zonal inter-league system if the competition forms an integral part of a heirarchical selection structure.
A successful zonal competition also has the potential to generate huge local interest. In theory, two leagues playing each other could attract the support (and eyeballs) of their entire leagues as opposed to two clubs playing each other within a league. This greater interest should be sufficient to encourage local sponsors to get involved at the inter-league.
Atlantic Region Inter-league receives sponsorship interest
The Atlantic Region, like every other USACA region, has had an inter-league tournament as part of its playing calendar for some years now. Even though a good number of the top players do play in the inter-league, a concerted effort is being made by the region to give the inter-league its rightful place in the pecking order.
First things first, the league has received a sponsorship boost.
Radiant Info, a prominent sponsor of cricket in the region has signed on as the Title Sponsor. As a result of the sponsorship initiatives, the tournament will now be called the 'Radiant Info Atlantic Region Inter-league Tournament.'
InfoDrive, CES, New Inning Foundation and DreamCricket.com have joined the list of sponsors. In addition, DreamCricket.com will lend its score repository system for the tournament.
While a trophy and a cash prize of $1000 will be presented to the winner of the inter-league, rewards and medals will also be awarded to the tournament MVP, the best bowler, the best batsman and the best fielder of the tournament. The New Inning Foundation will present a $250 gift certificate and the New Inning Emerging Player award to the region's U-19 player in the tournament.
The prizes, sponsorship interest and greater visibility are certain to enhance player participation in the inter-league. But that is only half the battle. A more important determinant of success is the emphasis that the leagues and the region place in encouraging the best senior and U-19 players to take part in the inter-league.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
 The USA Cricket Association announced the results of the South West and North West Regional elections for Regional Representative positions.
Pic (Right): Madhukar "Mark" Sood will represent the South West Region.
Madhukar “Mark” Sood has been elected unopposed as the South West Region’s Representative. Mark Sood served as the vice president of the Southern California Cricket Association (SCCA) for 8 years and was president of SCCA for two years. Mr. Sood is a member of the Ventura Cricket Club in Los Angeles.
Ajay Athavale, President of California Cricket Association (CCA), was elected to represent the North West Region. Mr. Athavale has been closely involved with youth cricket in the San Francisco Bay Area for some years now.
 Besides his involvement with the CCA, Mr. Athavale played a key role in conducting the area's Inter School tournament in 2008 and is active in outreach efforts in his region.
Pic (Right): Ajay Athavale is the new NW Region representative
USACA also apointed Michael Gale and Rafey Syed as interim vice presidents. Michael Gale is the new interim First VP, a vacancy caused by the departure of Nabeel Ahmed. Mr. Ahmed resigned from the board in November of 2010 citing 'disappointment with Dainty's leadership.'
 Mr. Gale, who is a member of the Hill Country Cricket Association, is well known for his sponsorship of cricket and his involvement with the Inter-city tournament in Texas and in youth cricket activities in Central Texas.
Pic (Right): Michael Gale was appointed interim First VP.
Rafey Syed replaced Manaf Mohamed who vacated his position as 2nd VP to become USACA's General Manager. Mr. Syed is the Secretary of the Central East Region where he was associated with the American Cricket Conference.
 Mr. Syed was also part of the management of the team from the Central East Region that participated in Moin-ud-dowlah Tournament in Hyderabad.
Pic (Right): Rafey Syed is the newly appointed interim 2nd VP.
USACA reported that both Mr. Gale and Mr. Syed expect to seek reelection once their terms end. This should result in a keen contest for the position of First VP. In separate interviews with ESPNCricinfo, Ganesh Sanap and Hemant Buch expressed their intention to run for the position of First VP.
[Pictures courtesy of Travel Talk Radio, Ajay Athavale, USACA.org]
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By Peter Della Penna
Pakistan's 2011 World Cup captain Shahid Afridi will embark on a
three-day, three-city fundraising tour this week for Islamic Relief USA.
The first “Building for the Future” dinner will take place tonight May
18 in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash., before Afridi moves on to
Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday May 19. The final dinner will be held on
Friday May 20 in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas.
“We wanted to target specifically our Pakistani community and in
order to do that there’s various ways,” said Daud Mohmand, Special
Events Manager at Islamic Relief USA. “You’ve gotta bring some sort of
celebrity and what better celebrity to bring from Pakistan besides the
cricket players.” According to Mohmand, this will be the fifth year that
a tour of Building for the Future dinners has been organized across the
USA involving Pakistani cricketers.
In February 2008, Afridi made a six-city tour – San Jose, Los
Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Dallas and Secaucus, New Jersey – of
“Building for the Future” dinners in the USA which helped raise $1.2
million dollars in aid for relief projects. Much of the money went to
help people affected by floods in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
“When we get into the fundraising aspect, the way we do it at Islamic
Relief, we show people the projects that we’re doing and then we ask
people to contribute to those projects,” said Mohmand. “People raise
their hands, they write a check or fill out a credit card form for us
and from that, or they provide pledges, that’s where most of our money
is gained. The other item that we do in the end, because we have one of
the largest one-to-one sponsorship services, as a donor you can sponsor
an orphan. We also do that and then the last item, the fun portion if
you will of our event, we have usually that particular athlete’s jersey,
a bat or a ball, caps as well for him to sign and we also auction those
off.”
Mohmand says that on average, 500 people typically attend the dinners
but when Afridi came in 2008, the turnout swelled to between 700 and
800 in Los Angeles and Dallas. Tickets are $35 for the dinner in
Bellevue, $40 for the dinner in Texas and $40 if purchased beforehand in
Anaheim or else $45 at the door. Also featured to appear with Afridi on
the event listing is Pakistani poet Alamgir.
Mohmand says
that Afridi has been helpful not just in raising funds in the USA, but
also in visiting the areas receiving the aid in Pakistan in order to
help projects on site.
Image (right): Shahid Afridi celebrates a wicket against Kenya at the 2011 World Cup. [©AFP - Lakruwan Wanniarachchi]
“He had also helped and assisted us in Pakistan as well,” said
Mohmand. “He has visited our field projects. He went to our beneficiary
in Pakistan and seen the projects and has even had press conferences
about what we do and who we are and kind of given his support to Islamic
Relief in the States as well as overseas.”
“What we do is not just the emergency relief, but it’s also for the
development work we do. Just because an emergency or a flood or another
natural disaster has passed, that doesn’t mean the people still don’t
need any help. So we have various projects, ongoing projects, making
sure there is redevelopment of those areas. If the schools have been
washed away or people are living in tents or they’re displaced, we
assist with that as well as providing the basic necessities, meals and
shelter.”
Afridi and Younis Khan were also involved in a series of “Building
for the Future” dinners across the UK in 2009. The two cricketers
embarked on a five-city fundraising tour in August that year that took
them to Birmingham, London, Manchester, Cardiff and Leicester.
Aside from projects in Pakistan, Islamic Relief has also aided in
numerous other projects recently including earthquake relief in Haiti,
humanitarian support in Libya and tornado disaster relief efforts in
Alabama.
Ismlamic Relief is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in
the UK in 1984 by Dr. Hany El Banna. Currently, there are fundraising
offices for Islamic Relief located in 15 countries. Islamic Relief USA
was started in 1993 and has offices in New Jersey, Illinois, Texas,
California and a headquarters in Alexandria, Va. For more information
about the “Building for the Future” fundraising dinners with Shahid
Afridi and Alamgir, visit www.islamicreliefusa.org/events or call 818-450-7561.
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By Peter Della Penna
The inaugural USACA Twenty20 championship will now take place from
June 17-19 in Dallas instead of 17-20 as was previously reported.
According to tournament director Ramesh Thyagarajan of the North Texas
Cricket Association, the tournament will take place at Russell Creek
Park in the northern suburb of Plano with all eight teams playing
simultaneously on four grounds located at the park.
The move to cut the tournament by a day was reportedly done as a
cost-cutting measure. Thyagarajan has said that the tournament will be
staged with an Eastern and Western Conference group round-robin format
over the first two days.
On Friday June 17, each team will play two matches followed by a
final group match on Saturday June 18. On Sunday June 19, the first
place team from the Western Conference will play the first place team
from the Eastern Conference for the tournament title. Corresponding
second, third and fourth place teams in each conference will also play a
third place, fifth place and seventh place match.
In related news, USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed said last week
that USACA would look to hold a training camp, most likely on July 9 and
10, for players selected from the USACA Twenty20 championship to
represent USA at the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 championship in
Florida from July 17-24.
As for the U-19 team, Mohamed said that since there will not be a
domestic national tournament held prior to the team’s participation in
the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland, USACA will likely hold a
training camp on June 11 and 12 to help select a final squad. Mohamed
anticipates that 20 players will be invited – the 14-man squad that won
the ICC Americas U-19 championship in February as well as six other
contenders decided by selectors – before a final squad is picked to go
to Ireland.
The 
ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier will take place from July 28-August 9 with
matches to be played in Dublin and Derry. According to one source, the
ten participating teams will each play their first four matches in
Dublin before the tournament shifts northwest to Derry in Northern
Ireland for the final five days of group play. The top six teams will
advance to the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup in Australia.
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Comments
 The much awaited New Jersey Junior Cricket League (NJJCL) roared to a start on Saturday with a match between Black Ops and Alpha Wolves. Alpha Wolves led by Pranav Kanukollu defeated Black Ops led by Sahan Ratnayake by 3 wickets in a 25-over rain-shortened match played at the Colonial Park in Somerset, NJ.
Pic (Right): Captains of the teams Pranav Kanukollu and Sahan Ratnayake after the toss.
“Not even mother nature could keep the players, parents and supporters from their long awaited debut! Although the skies were overcast, the kids both seasoned and novice were a pleasure to watch! The kids made both Coach Daley and I proud to be their coaches!” Coach Malika Frank said on the occasion.
Speaking at the launch, Venu Palaparthi, who assisted with the league’s formation said: “This is another milestone in a long but very satisfying journey. There were several obstacles to overcome before we could launch - firstly and most importantly, the league needed a ground, and we also needed to recruit enough players to form at least two teams.”
A word-of-mouth recruitment effort in the weeks following the ICC World Cup helped bring in enough players into the league for two teams. More kids are expected to join after the school year ends. The league has also launched a Facebook campaign to recruit more players.
A breakthrough on the ground was achieved thanks to the efforts of the Amwell Valley Cricket Club (AVCC). Hillsborough based AVCC teaches Americans how to play the game in a family-oriented and recreational setting. “NJJCL’s coaching and development of youth cricket aligns well with our mission,” Alan George, President of AVCC wrote notifying his club's agreement to sharing the use of its ground.
.jpg) Pic (Right): NJJCL boys raise their bats at an overcast sky as they pose for a picture ahead of the inaugural match. Also in the picture are Coaches Earl Daley and Malika Frank.
As a result of the agreement, the NJJCL will move to its permanent home at the Hillsborough Golf and Country Club next week and will play all its matches there until mid-September.
The cricket ground, situated on the far-end of the golf course is a one-of-a-kind facility with a well-groomed outfield maintained by the golf course. “The weed-free outfield is cut to 2 inches, the square has four well maintained pitches and there is also a practice facility with two nets. Not to forget the clubhouse and the other amenities of the golf course. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best ground for the junior cricket league,” Palaparthi said.
The other important thing that needed to be addressed was governance. “For this, we studied cricket development models in other countries and came to the conclusion that the best programs were actually those that were supported by the local cricketing bodies. I proposed to the Cricket League of New Jersey to see if they would take the youth cricket activities under their umbrage, and they agreed in principle,” Palaparthi said.
Pic (Right): The NJ Junior Cricket League will be played at the Hillsborough Golf and Country Club (top-right corner of this aerial-view of the golf course).
The NJ Youth Cricket Program will be an autonomous extension of the CLNJ from a legal standpoint. CLNJ is a non-profit 501(c)(7) organization. The NJ Youth Cricket Program will be financially self-sufficient and a youth cricket committee comprising parent representatives, coaching staff and volunteers will run the operations of the program.
Clarifying the difference between the NJ Youth Cricket Program and NJ Junior Cricket League, Palaparthi said, “The NJ Youth Cricket Program comprises three initiatives - the NJ Cricket Outreach to enhance participation in the sport across the garden state, the NJ Junior Cricket League to provide year-round playing opportunities and the CLNJ Colts team, which will serve as a feeder from age-group cricket to the senior league.”
While the NJJCL has found a home at the Hillsborough Golf and Country Club, the remaining initiatives of the NJ Youth Cricket Program are on the lookout for cricket grounds in order to be successful. Negotiations are underway with several other grounds in Edison, South Brunswick, Piscataway and Plainfield so that the activities of the program are not constrained by ground availability.
Pic (Right): The cricket ground at Hillsborough Golf and Country Club is in the background to the left of the barn.
“We are thankful for the support of NJ’s leagues, especially CLNJ, the Millennium Cricket League and the NJ Soft Ball Cricket League for their enthusiastic support in addressing the ground needs,” Palaparthi said singling out Bharat Patel for special praise. “Bharat has been playing a crucial role in the league and his ongoing support is vital to the success of this league and the program,” he said. Also, the Staten Island Cricket Club, the oldest operating cricket club in USA, has also agreed to provide the use of its ground and facilities.
The NJJCL is not affiliated to any academy even though a majority of the kids are graduates of the DreamCricket Academy. “The academies, including our own, provide a means to an end. The academies help to improve skills but what the kids really need is a cricket league where they could play year-round within their age-group,” Palaparthi said.
Palaparthi emphasized that the NJJCL is open to all kids as long as they want to play the game. “We invite all kids over the age of 11, regardless of whether they received formal coaching or were coached informally by their own family members. If they have the ability and the inclination, the league’s doors are open,” Palaparthi added.
To find out more information regarding the league, please email venu.palaparthi@gmail.com or join the Facebook page at "NJ Youth Cricket."
Pic (below): Picture of the practice nets at the NJJCL ground.
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By Peter Della Penna
Muhammad Ghous has returned to New Jersey after spending four weeks
training with reigning English County champions Nottinghamshire. The
21-year-old USA off-spinner was joined at the county by fellow USA
prospect Adrian Gordon and can’t say enough good things about his time
there.
“The atmosphere was really good,” said Ghous. “They had a standard.
Everything was really good. The practices were totally different, like I
had never seen before. It was totally proper cricket, proper training.
Everything was set up, organized in a good way. It was probably the best
organization I’ve seen.”
“I would like to go back there. The people are really nice. I would just want to go every year.”
The trip was
organized by ICC Americas Performance Officer Andy Pick and financed in
part by USACA. According to Ghous, the experience allowed him to
participate in training sessions for up to four hours a day.
Image (right) - Muhammad Ghous bowling against Australia at the
2010 ICC U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. [Courtesy Daniela Zaharia/USACA]
“We had the best training,” said Ghous. “They provided everything. We
attended all the practices with the first team, the second team and the
academy. Afterward if you wanted to do another little practice, you
could use the indoor [facility], the gym. We used everything.”
Ghous particularly enjoyed getting to work with some of the various
players with international experience including Chris Read, Adam Voges,
Samit Patel and Stuart Broad.
“I got a chance to work with Stuart Broad,” said Ghous. “I had a net
session with him twice. I was bowling to him. It was a good experience. I
bowled good to him. He actually was injured so he couldn’t bowl. He had
a rib injury so he was just practicing batting.”
The one thing that stood out to Ghous that he felt set the county
players apart from those he’s played with and against in the USA is
their fitness.
“Every time we practiced, the first 15-20 minutes, the physio will
take us and do some fitness training. If we don’t have a practice, we
would just go to the gym, do some cardio and lift some weights,” said
Ghous. “Once you’re fully fit, you can compete with these players too.
These guys are all fit.”
Ghous realizes it’s a major challenge to achieve the same fitness
standards in the USA and the success that it can lead to for the
national team without a professional structure in place. Until then,
players will continue to struggle for consistency heading into tours.
“I don’t think it’s the players fault. We don’t have enough time.
Before the tournaments, everyone is busy with their work. If we don’t
have contracts like these other players… these other players have
contracts. All they do is practice and fitness. That’s all they do
rather than work.”
“With us, we have to go to school. We have to go to work. In our own
time, we have to go to the gym which is really hard to stay on track. If
you’re not gonna make money, you cannot run your family… unless the
board is paying you good money, and in that case, you can practice every
day. You can go to the gym every day and you don’t have to worry about
working and you can support your family too.”
While in the UK, Ghous played as a club pro for a pair of matches in
the Durham area for Evenwood Cricket Club. He also played one match in
Doncaster and two matches for the Notts Academy side. Ghous says the
only grounds that are better than the ones he played club cricket at in
the UK are the ones he played on in New Zealand during the 2010 Under-19
World Cup.
“The grounds are so nice,” said Ghous. “Everything is properly
organized so you want to come there early to do your warmups,
throwdowns, a little bit of bowling practice. You want to play cricket.
Everybody is an hour early.”
Outside of the cricket, the players were taken by Nottinghamshire
batting coach Paul Johnson to a Nottingham Forest soccer match on one of
their first nights in the city. Ghous was grateful for the hospitality
provided by everyone in Nottingham, but especially the generosity shown
by Pick and Johnson.
Ghous was eager to apply the things he learned in the UK to his club
cricket in New Jersey and in his first match playing for Prince Cricket
Club in New Jersey’s 40-over Millennium Cricket League, Ghous scored 77
and took three wickets on May 7 in a win for Prince.
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