|
USA Cricketer
July 2011 - Posts
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Official Scorecard I Ball-by-Ball Commentary
West Indies U-19 opener John Campbell crossed 150 for the second time
in as many games while Kyle Mayers notched the fourth century of the
series for his side as they defeated USA U-19 by 220 runs on
Duckworth-Lewis Method on Tuesday at the Central Broward Regional Park
in Lauderhill, Florida.
USA won the toss and elected to field on another warm sunny day in
south Florida. Kalim Ahmed, who flew down to Florida on Sunday night for
what USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed said was a training camp, was
inserted into the starting XI along with Jodha Singh and Hammad Shahid
in place of Trevor Singh, Shayan Abdulghani and Amarnauth Persaud from
the lineup that played in Sunday’s game. West Indies also made three
changes with Donovan Nelson, Justin Greaves and Sunil Ambris sitting out
in place of Amir Khan and Kieron Joseph and Jerome Jones.
West Indies produced another century stand for the first wicket as
captain Kraigg Brathwaite turned over the strike as often as possible to
Campbell, who was swinging at virtually every ball he faced and
connecting for runs at a brisk rate. He crossed 50 in only 22 balls,
putting the USA bowling attack under immense pressure.
During the big opening stand, Campbell hit a Prashanth Nair delivery
in the 12th over high in the air between Singh at long on and Ahmed at
long off. The ball landed between them before the two players collided.
Both men stayed down on the field for about five minutes before walking
off under their own power and were taken to a local hospital where Ahmed
received stitches in his lip and Singh got treatment for a facial
injury before both players were released and came back to the stadium.
Amarnauth Persaud and Trevor Singh then came on as substitute fielders.
In Nair’s next over, he managed to dismiss Brathwaite for 18 after
the batsman pulled a full toss to Greg Sewdial at midwicket. At the fall
of the wicket, some confusion arose as USA brought on Christopher van
Tull, a player not in the 14-man squad, and had him put on the
wicketkeeping gear in place of Steven Taylor who started the game in the
designated position. After some discussions between the on field
umpires and members of both management staffs, van Tull was allowed to
keep wicket for USA for the duration of the innings. van Tull is
registered as a player with the Guyanese-West Indian Association CC in
the Garden State Cricket League (New Jersey).
Four overs later, Nair took his second wicket when Ramon Senior was
caught for 3 slogging a full length delivery to Shahid on the midwicket
boundary to make it 116 for 2. A short time later, Campbell pulled a
short ball through midwicket to bring up his ton in 62 deliveries with
10 fours and three sixes while having only 17 dot balls in his innings
to that point. Kavem Hodge was the next to go, run out for 16 by Taylor
in the covers, who made an excellent stop before firing to van Tull
behind the stumps as Hodge was just short trying to make his ground.
From there, Campbell and Kyle Mayers produced a century stand, but
one that could have been nipped in the bud much earlier. In the 29th
over bowled by Shahid, Campbell was on 115 when he tapped a delivery
toward Taylor in the covers and set off for a tight run. Taylor attacked
the ball, collected it from close range and then fired it past the
stumps with Campbell a yard short of the crease. Two balls later, Mayers
was on 19 when he mishit a drive that floated straight to Nair fielding
at midwicket in the circle, but the left-arm spinner put down a simple
chance and the two batsmen continued to take West Indies to another
insurmountable total.
A short time later, lightning was detected and the players were taken
off the field for the first of two weather delays with the score at 230
for 3 in 33.4 overs at which time the umpires called for the lunch
break with Campbell on 134 and Mayers on 45. The two added another 32
runs to their stand after play resumed before Campbell holed out to
Shahid at long on to give Salman Ahmad his first wicket in the match.
Campbell finished with 152 in only 96 balls with 13 fours and five
sixes. He only had 24 dot balls in his innings.
Mayers
reached his century in 83 balls before getting out to Nair, caught by
Mital Patel who made a great sliding catch coming in from long off for
107 with 11 fours and two sixes. Nair got his fourth four balls later
when Joseph took a full delivery and hit it to another sub fielder not
in the 14-man squad, Stephon Singh. Singh is registered with Windies CC
in the Washington Metropolitan Cricket Board league.
Image (right) - Kyle Mayers takes off his hat and points his bat
to the West Indies bench after reaching his century. [Courtesy: Peter
Della Penna/DreamCricket]
Nair completed his five-wicket haul by getting Derone Davis to drive
another catch to Patel to make it 351 for 7 in the 49th over. West
Indies finished their innings at 368 for 7 in 50 overs. Nair finished
with 5 for 57 in 10 overs, one of the few highlights for USA in this
series.
In reply, USA’s opening partnership of 29 runs between Taylor and
Cameron Mirza was the biggest partnership of the series for the team,
another sign of gradual improvement. The stand ended when Taylor chipped
an easy catch back to left-arm spinner Davis for 9. Persaud came out to
bat next as the match turned into a field XI, bat XI contest on USA’s
side.
A short time later in the 16th over with the score 30 for 1, the
second weather delay took place when more lightning was detected near
the stadium despite no rain and the players had to leave the field. When
the match was restarted, eight overs were reduced and the target score
went from 369 to 322. Persaud then became Davis’ second wicket when he
spooned a catch to Ronsford Beaton at mid on for 7.
USA U-19 captain Sewdial joined Mirza and produced a dogged stand,
fighting off the Windies spinners for as long as possible. Davis and
leg-spinner Amir Khan bowled in tandem with an immaculate line and
length as the batsmen became bogged down and had trouble rotating the
strike. After Khan and Davis finished their spells, more spin came in
the form of Brathwaite and Campbell.
Mirza’s long vigil at the crease ended in the 34th over for 34 runs
when he tried to cut Brathwaite and sent a thick edge to Campbell at
slip. Sewdial fell for 15 in similar fashion as Campbell pulled off a
stunning catch to give Brathwaite two scalps. Pranay Suri was bowled
behind his legs by Campbell for 9 with one over remaining. Abhijit Joshi
played a few nice shots off the back foot to make his way to 17 not out
as USA ended at 101 for 5 in 42 overs.
USA U-19 and West Indies U-19 will play their final match on Thursday
at 11 a.m. EST. Live coverage on DreamCricket.com begins at 10:30 a.m.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Jamie Harrison
US cricket fans who have been following DreamCricket's coverage of the USA-Windies U19 series almost certainly recognize that we are being outclassed in every category by which these two national teams might be measured. Judging from the comments that have been posted, it also seems as if many of these fans are sincerely surprised by the magnitude of the defeats. If one examines the situation in depth, however, it really could not have been any other way.
What we are witnessing demonstrates the vast gulf between not just the two sides, not even between the two national programs, but really between two cricket cultures. This goes far deeper than just this team or this series and cannot be rectified in the short term.
No program of preparation on Friday would have appreciably changed the fitness or abilities of the players before the matches, and no amount of clever coaching maneuvers would have brought Team USA to within 100 runs of Windies. It must also now be admitted that there are probably no eleven U19 players in the United States that, were they selected, would have gotten close to the Windies this weekend.
We are a nation with a vast geography, speckled with only a handful of training facilities and even fewer decent junior programs. We have few professional cricket coaches and no professional cricketers. Even if an American cricket prodigy were somehow discovered, we would not have the means to properly develop his talents.
The good news is that there is one solution to all of the above challenges: increase the number of children playing cricket.
If millions of children were learning cricket in their schools and playgrounds, this would provide the basis for thousands of "little league" cricket programs, which would not only grow young cricketers, but would do the same for new adult cricket fans, drawn largely from supportive family members learning the game through their children. Cricket fans create a cricket marketplace, which brings money and infrastructure into the game. These fans would also be the fan base for the new T20 league being planned for next year.
Of the millions of eager young players, thousands would no doubt be willing to pay for advanced cricket coaching, spawning and supporting a new cricket coaching industry of cricket academies and cricket entrepreneurs that would help to professionalize this critical aspect of the sport. The presence of highly trained international coaches in US cricket would be commonplace.
From these thousands of children, high-quality junior cricket leagues would spring up across the country, aiding in the coaching and development process.
Within a few years, the quality of our U13s would dramatically improve, followed in intervals by the U15s, U17s & U19s. Within ten years, the senior team would start to feel the impact of the cultural shift. Within 15 years, our national teams would be considered legitimate threats to win major international tournaments.
And in that last statement comes the problem that has always plagued US cricket - impatience.
Let's face it - most cricketers and coaches are only interested in those who already have the fundamentals in place, and this eliminates all but a few. However, without a large mass market to draw on, none of the necessary infrastructure pieces I described above can exist, which deprives even the most promising young player of the chance to develop his potential to the fullest.
If we aspire to dominate Canada and Bermuda, the current structure is fine. However, if we ever want to give a team from the Windies cause for concern, a long-term solution must be embraced, and that solution starts with getting millions of children playing cricket in America. And that's why USYCA's work is central to the future of US cricket, and should receive the enthusiastic support of not only USACA and the ICC, but also anyone who dreams of one day watching US teams compete at the highest levels of international cricket.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
In a bizarre twist, USACA has apparently made an about face regarding
the composition of the 14-man squad for the USA senior team at next
week’s ICC Americas T20 tournament in Florida by recalling Sushil
Nadkarni in favor of Nauman Mustafa. The information was first obtained
by email through a source on Saturday and was confirmed by USACA General
Manager Manaf Mohamed on Sunday.
“Yes, that’s true,” said Mohamed when asked if the change was
official. “That was about two days ago.” When asked why it was made,
Mohamed replied, “I don’t know. I was just told that Nauman is off the
team and Nadkarni is on the team.” When asked who made the decision,
Mohamed replied, “The president gave me that instruction.”
However,  neither
player says they’ve received an official email or letter stating that
they’ve been added or dropped from the squad. Nadkarni was contacted on
Sunday night and says he has received no official notice from USACA, nor
any email confirming he has been added and no information about travel
arrangements to get to Florida.
Image (right) - A file photo of Sushil Nadkarni from ICC WCL Division Five in Nepal. [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]
An email that was sent on Monday afternoon to the ICC Americas office
in Toronto requesting confirmation of the roster switch was still
awaiting a response at the time this article was published.
Mustafa was reached by phone on Saturday night and he also said he
has not received any official email or letter saying he had been
dropped. Mohamed says that he spoke with Mustafa on the phone to inform
him of the decision, but Mustafa says he has gotten no official email or
letter from USACA.
“I’m just trying to keep myself positive, that’s all I can say,” said
Mustafa. “Obviously it’s not an ideal situation to be in. For the last
two weeks I’ve been training really hard. I’m just trying to keep
positive because there’s nothing I can do nor is it my fault. I did my
part and it’s up to USACA and others to do their part. So obviously I’m
disappointed, or I’m going to be disappointed if it’s true, but I’m just
trying to keep myself positive.”
All of the matches at the ICC Americas T20 will be played at the
Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhil, Florida. The original
schedule included one game each day at Boca Raton Cricket Club.
According to Mohamed, the outfield at the BRCC ground was supposed to be
relaid with new sod, but the work has not been completed in time and so
there will be three matches a day squeezed into the stadium with the
first match each day beginning at 9:30 a.m.
In USA U-19 news, Kalim Ahmed and four other players have arrived in
Fort Lauderdale for what Mohamed says is a training camp for the next
week alongside the USA U-19 squad. Ahmed was part of the USA U-19 team
that won the ICC Americas U-19 title in February.
“He’s not been added to the squad,” said Mohamed on Monday afternoon.
“He’s there to join the training also with a bunch of other kids we’ve
got coming in to join the training. Nobody has been added to the squad.
The squad is 14 and remains that way. The squad remains the same for
now. These guys are just coming in to be a part of the training.”
“We’ve got two kids that came in from Washington D.C., and we have
some local kids from right here who will be joining the camp. It’s all
part of a camp and training. Offhand, I don’t have their names.” USACA
has paid for the players to be in Fort Lauderdale.
“We haven’t decided how long they’re gonna be here yet,” said
Mohamed. “As they go through training and get them camp instructions and
everything, then we’ll see how that develops. They’ll probably be here
until this weekend, at least until the 17th.”
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Official Scorecard I Ball-by-ball Commentary
West Indies U-19 opener John Campbell benefitted from a wretched
fielding display by USA U-19, surviving seven missed chances on his way
to 154 as West Indies U-19 defeated USA U-19 by 268 runs on Sunday
afternoon at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida.
Campbell remained at the crease after missed chances on 7, 27, 41, 68,
95, 117 and 127 while two other chances also went begging on batsmen
Ramon Senior and Kyle Mayers.
“I think that we’ve got to look to score 400 runs [in the next match]
to be honest,” said West Indies U-19 coach Roddy Estwick. “I think we
can score 400 runs. There are areas – there are still too many dot balls
– that we can improve on and 400 is gonna be the target. We’ve got to
bring the extras down to within single figures. That’s acceptable,
anything under 10 extras is brilliant and we’ve got to make sure that
there’s no dropped catches and no misfields and restrict the opposition
to 60 or less.”
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first on a hot clear day
in conditions that offered little assistance to the bowlers. USA was
also playing without the services of opening paceman Hammad Shahid, who
was sitting out with leg cramp problems from the first match. USA opened
with Salman Ahmad at one end and in Shahid’s place his brother Shayan
Abdulghani opened with spin from the other.
The move to start with Abdulghani should have paid off immediate
dividends in the fourth over with the score on 20 when the left-arm
spinner induced a top edge off a slog by Campbell, but Trevor Singh at
mid off had trouble judging the skied chance and couldn’t complete a
catch. It was a harbinger of things to come. Abdulghani wound up having
another two catches dropped off his bowling.
Left-arm spinner Prashanth Nair deceived Campbell in flight after the
batsman came down the track with the score on 74 but a stumping chance
was botched by Amarnauth Persaud and Campbell continued, bringing up his
50 in 60 balls. Nair also had a catching opportunity missed off his
bowling at the end of the innings.
Campbell brought up his 50 in 60 balls, as well as a century stand
with Brathwaite, off Steven Taylor in the 19th over and a short time
later got his next reprieve off the bowling of Pranay Suri with the
score on 124. The off-spinner induced two more chances during the
innings that were left on the table, including a caught and bowled
opportunity that he put down diving to his left.
At the other end,
Brathwaite brought up his 50 in 69 balls with a single to end the 24th
over. The partnership was finally broken at 144 when Mital Patel came on
for his second spell and on his second ball had Braithwaite bowled off
an inside edge for 53. It would take 133 runs and 18.2 overs before USA
would make another breakthrough.
Image (right) - John Campbell acknowledges his West Indies U-19
teammates after reaching a century against USA U-19. [Courtesy: Peter
Della Penna/DreamCricket]
Campbell brought up his ton in 104 balls off Patel in the 34th over
at which point he had seven fours and three sixes in his knock. Senior
wound up retiring hurt with leg cramps after the 40th over, leaving the
field with 42 off 44 balls and the score at 249, having added 105 runs
with Campbell. The opener’s charmed innings finally came to an end on
the fourth ball of the 44th over when he launched Abdulghani to the long
on boundary where Nair held onto the ball just inside the rope to make
it 277 for 2. Campbell finished with nine fours and six sixes on the day
as he made USA pay time and again for failing to convert the numerous
chances he presented.
“I think the fielding is a concern at the moment,” said USA U-19 head
coach Robin Singh. “I think bowling and batting is something that the
more you play, the more exposure you get, the better you will get.
Fielding, you need to put in a lot of hard work so I think over the next
three weeks or so you will see a totally different setup and we intend
to make amends.”
Ahmad took the other two wickets to fall, having Sunil Ambris caught
by Mirza on the long on boundary for 26 and Kavem Hodge caught by Taylor
at deep midwicket for 17 to make it 323 for 4 in the 49th. West Indies
U-19 finished 339 for 4 in their 50 overs.
USA was then bowled out for 71 in reply and it could have been even
worse were it not for three drops by the Windies. Taylor was put down by
at second slip by Ambris after chasing after a wide ball on the first
delivery of the chase from pace bowler Ronsford Beaton. In the sixth
over, Taylor edged the other opening paceman Jason Greaves to first slip
where Brathwaite got one hand to the ball on a diving effort to his
left.
Taylor’s opening partner Mirza departed for 8 in the next over,
fending off a rising delivery from Beaton to the keeper Steven Katwaroo
and USA’s highest partnership of the innings ended at 22. In the next
over, Taylor became the first of three USA batsmen to run himself out
after hitting the ball straight to Senior at cover and setting off for a
run that wasn’t there.
Mayers followed up his five-wicket haul on Saturday with 3 for 13 on
Sunday by dismissing Joshi, Suri and Singh. No one reached double
figures for USA and extras top scored for the second day in a row with
20.
“Everyone knows that it was a very disappointing performance
individually,” said Robin Singh. “I think they realize that they’re way
below standard at the moment. I don’t think you can complain for
anything. The point is that whatever time we have now, we’ve got to make
the most of it. We’ve got to put in some quality practice, not just
about practice, but I think the quality is very critical at this time.”
The two sides will square off for the third match in this series on
Tuesday at 11 a.m. EST. Live coverage on DreamCricket.com begins at
10:30 a.m.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Official Scorecard I Ball-by-ball commentary
West Indies U-19 captain Kraigg Brathwaite made the most of three
reprieves to score 122 not out as his side defeated USA U-19 by 215 runs
Saturday afternoon at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill,
Florida. Braithwaite was dropped on 1 and 51 and survived a missed
stumping on 117, three of six genuine chances that USA failed to convert
in the field.
The
match started 64 minutes late as the teams waited for morning
thundershowers to clear. When they finally did, West Indies won the toss
and elected to bat first, sending Brathwaite and John Campbell to open.
On the first ball of the fifth over with the score 17 for 0, USA
committed the first of five drops as Brathwaite chased a short and wide
delivery from Salman Ahmad and sliced it straight to gully where Hammad
Shahid spilled a straightforward chance. Brathwaite continued to bide
his time, reaching 1 off 24 balls before he started to get comfortable.
Image (right) - West Indiest U-19 captain Kraigg Brathwaite and
USA U-19 captain Greg Sewdial shake hands at the coin toss before the
first match of their four-match series in Florida. [Courtesy: Peter
Della Penna/DreamCricket]
“At first as an opening batsman I had to assess the pitch because
I’ve never played here before,” said Brathwaite. “The ball wasn’t really
bouncing and the fellas were bowling a good line. The ball that I got
dropped off, it was fairly wide. So I decided just to try to get through
this period. It was tough, but it would get easier. As I bat longer it
would get easier so I decided just to fight through it despite the
drop.”
USA made their first breakthrough six balls later when Shahid had
Campbell caught driving to Mital Patel at mid on for 13. The next wicket
fell at 65 in the 15th over when Shayan Abdulghani had Kieron Joseph
stumped for 17.
However, USA’s energy in the field was drained by the 20th over on a
humid 90 degree day. After seeing off solid new ball spells from Shahid
and Ahmad, Brathwaite and Sunil Ambris ground USA into submission with a
121-run third wicket stand.
“It wasn’t swinging a lot, but it was swinging just a tad, just a
little, but the wicket wasn’t really bouncing,” said Brathwaite. “The
outfield wasn’t that fast. Not a lot of boundaries were being scored so
you really had to push for the singles.” Brathwaite only had two fours
and a six in his knock. He brought up his 50 in 83 balls and just one
run later with the score on 128, he was dropped for the second time as
Cameron Mirza’s leaping effort at long on wound up knocking the ball
over for a maximum.
Ambris was put down on 50 with the score at 159 as Pranay Suri
couldn’t hold on to a low diving effort at cover. He hung around until
he had reached 67 before he was bowled by a yorker in Ahmad’s second
spell. It sparked a mini collapse for the Windies as three more wickets
fell in the space of 24 runs to set the team back to 219 for 6 in the
42nd over.
Brathwaite
was still going strong though and brought up his 100 in 130 balls with a
two on the first ball of the 44th over, showing no visible signs of
wearing down in the heat. A few more wickets fell late, but not before
two more drops and a missed stumping took place. For the second time on
the day, a drop turned into a six as number 10 batsman Steven Katwaroo
hit Shahid to long on where Amarnauth Persaud misjudged the ball before
letting it go through both hands over his head and over the rope with
five balls to go in the innings.
Image (right) - Kraigg Brathwaite walks off the field after
batting through all 50 overs to finish on 122*. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket]
The final miscue was a microcosm of USA’s sloppy fielding throughout
the day in which they cost themselves, by a conservative estimate, 35
runs in dropped catches and misfields. As a result, West Indies finished
at 278 for 8 in their 50 overs.
“As far as our fielding, we dropped six catches today which was
obviously vital. Hopefully next game we can bounce back, take our
catches and make some more runs,” said USA U-19 captain Greg Sewdial.
“We definitely don’t go out there to drop catches and misfield. We try
to give our best, 100%, all of the players out there. As far as the
dropped catches, as the saying goes, catches win matches.”
USA’s chase never got going. Their highest partnership was 13 runs
and extras wound up being the top score with 15. First change left-arm
spin bowler Derone Davis entered the attack in the 11th over and
suffocated USA by bowling four maidens in a row. At the other end, Kyle
Mayers was the chief destroyer for the Windies, taking 5 for 17 in his
six overs which wiped out USA’s middle order. After leg-spinner Donovan
Nelson claimed two wickets, Davis finished off the match with his first
scalp to end with figures of 10-6-14-1. USA was bowled out for 63 in 29
overs. Only Sewdial and Shahid crossed double digits with the bat.
“This four day tournament was meant for us to gradually improve as
quickly and as efficiently as possible,” said Sewdial. “Today we didn’t
give our best effort in the field. It could have been from lack of
physical fitness. It could have been from lack of concentration. It
could have been from anything but our job is to come back tomorrow,
discuss the things that went wrong today and some of the things that
went right, try to correct those mistakes and come back tomorrow
strong.”
USA U-19 returns to the field on Sunday for match number two against
the West Indies U-19 team at Central Broward Regional Park in
Lauderhill. Play is schedule to begin at 10 a.m. EST. Live coverage on
DreamCricket.com starts at 9:30 a.m.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The first match of the four-match series between USA U-19 and West
Indies U-19 at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla., has
been postponed until Saturday. Despite gorgeous conditions at the ground
on Friday morning, the decision was apparently made on Thursday night
according to USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed.
“Last night we decided to move it to tomorrow,” said Mohamed when
contacted on Friday morning 30 minutes before the original scheduled
start of play. “We expected some more rain today and we just wanted to
give the ground more time to dry out.” When this journalist pointed out
that it is bright and sunny at the ground with a perfectly dry outfield,
Mohamed responded, “We were just looking at the weather reports and
there might be rain later in the afternoon today.”
Image (above) - The scene at the Central Broward Regional Park
stadium at 9:20 a.m. on Friday, July 8. The first match between USA U-19
and West Indies U-19 was postponed the night before. [Courtesy: Peter
Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
USA U-19 and West Indies U-19 will now play on back-to-back days
Saturday and Sunday. According to weather.com, the forecast for the next
five days in Fort Lauderdale, including today, calls for isolated or
scattered thunderstorms with a 30-40% chance of rain and a temperature
in the high 80s.
Image (above) - The view from above the pitch at the Central Broward Regional Park at 10:05 a.m. on Friday, July 8. The
first match between USA U-19 and West Indies U-19 was postponed the
night before. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna
The final day of the 2011 USACA Women’s Tournament was washed out on
Sunday July 3. As a result, Tri-State Lynx were crowned champions based
on net run rate, beating out North West Phoenix with both teams even at
2-0. New York Warriors finished third and Hollywood Rebels fourth at
1-1. North West Rockstars wound up fifth and the USACA Developmental
Squad last with 0-2 records.
At the  post-tournament
presentation ceremony, Phoenix captain Doris Francis took home both the
Best Bowler Award and Tournament MVP. Francis was tied with four other
bowlers in the event with six wickets, but turned in the best individual
statistical performance of the weekend by taking 5 for 21 against
Rockstars. Francis also scored a vital unbeaten century in a
three-wicket win over the Warriors.
Image (right) - Doris Francis accepts the Tournament MVP Award
from USACA board member Krish Prasad. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket]
Indomatie Goordial-John received the Best Batsman Award after
finishing first with 152 runs. She retired in both innings she played
after reaching scores of 102 and 50.
All teams were informed at the banquet that a group of 18 players
will be selected to take part in a weekend camp at the end of this
month. From that, 14 will be invited to a training camp in Barbados from
August 6-16. USACA intends to then have at least one more camp before a
final squad of 14 is selected to go to Bangladesh in November for the
ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier.
The funding for camps being used to prepare the USA Women’s team has
been made possible through a $100,000 grant from businessman John
Warburg through The Apple Pickers Foundation.
Tournament Scorecards
Tri-State Lynx vs. North West Rockstars
North West Phoenix vs. New York Warriors
Hollywood Rebels vs. USACA Developmental Squad
Tri-State Lynx vs. Hollywood Rebels
North West Phoenix vs. North West Rockstars
New York Warriors vs. USACA Developmental Squad
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna
The International Cricket Council officially released the schedule on
Monday for the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier beginning July 28 in
Dublin, Ireland. According to the ICC media release, Greg Sewdial will
captain the USA U-19 squad in Ireland.
USA will have their hands full immediately when they take on the
hosts on day one of the tournament. Ireland is captained by left-arm
spinner George Dockrell, who has garnered respect worldwide for his
performances at the senior level.
The following day, USA takes on a Papua New Guinea team featuring
seam bowler Raymond Haoda, the leading wicket-taker at the 2010 ICC U-19
World Cup in New Zealand with 15 scalps. They are captained by
Christopher Kent, who played with the senior team against the USA men at
ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Hong Kong last January. PNG
was the first place finisher in the ICC East Asia-Pacific Region
Qualifier in February.
After
a rest day on July 30, USA must play the first place teams from Africa
and Asia on back to back days. First up is Namibia on July 30 before
they square off against Afghanistan on August 1 on the team’s final day
in Dublin. August 2 is a travel day for all teams as the tournament
shifts northwest to Londonderry in Northern Ireland.
USA plays Scotland on August 3, the top qualifier out of Europe.
Another rest day follows on August 4 before USA commences a grueling
slate of three games in three days against Kenya, Vanuatu and Canada.
Nitish Kumar returns to the Canadian squad after missing out on the ICC
Americas Qualifier in February to travel with the men’s team to India
for the 2011 ICC World Cup.
A final rest day follows on August 8 before USA finishes up the
tournament against Nepal on August 9. The second place finisher out of
Asia features left-arm spinner Rahul Vishvakarma, who took 7 for 15
against the USA men’s team at ICC World Cricket League Division Five in
Nepal last year.
All matches for the tournament are scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m.
local time, 5:45 a.m. EST in the US. Conditions permitting,
DreamCricket.com will provide live coverage for all of the USA U-19
team’s matches at the tournament.
Prior to leaving for Ireland, the USA U-19 squad will be playing four
matches against West Indies U-19 in Florida beginning on Friday July 8
at the Central Broward Regional Park. West Indies U-19 will be captained
by Kraigg Brathwaite who was the second highest scorer at the 2010 ICC
U-19 World Cup in New Zealand with 335 runs. He scored 168 not out in
April against Australia U-19 in a three-day youth Test before making his
Test debut for the West Indies against Pakistan in May. He made his
first-class debut at age 16 for Barbados and has two first-class
centuries to his name.
DreamCricket.com will also provide live coverage for every match
between USA U-19 and West Indies U-19 in Lauderhill on July 8, 10, 12
and 14. Matches are expected to begin at 10 a.m. EST.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Suresh Menon A day after the second Test against the West
Indies at Barbados ended in a draw, Harbhajan Singh turned 31. Even
allowing for the greater number and variety of international matches
played, the cliché about spinners still holds: they mature late.
Harbhajan’s one-time partner in crime, the great Anil Kumble played 71
Tests after the age of 31, picked up 343 wickets and at a better strike
rate than in his previous Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne
too have similar records, their strike rates improving with age. Yet
if Harbhajan hopes to match those figures, he will have to give his
bowling some serious thought. With India chasing victory on the fourth
day of the first Test on a track that was assisting the bowlers,
Harbhajan struggled. By spearing the ball in he appeared to have
compromised on his craft, his role now to keep the runs down rather
than claim wickets. The signs have been clear for some time now.
Harbhajan, the man who once had 32 wickets in a three-Test home series
against Australia, appears like a confused teenager, and never mind if
he has played 95 Tests and is only two wickets short of 400. Harbhajan
has been consciously avoiding the doosra for some time now, which is a
fine thing. It has caused his action to be questioned in the past. But
in the bargain he is struggling to bowl the off break. Perhaps his
success in the first Twenty20 World Cup (which India won) is turning
into a curse now. It is unlikely that even after his mediocre
showing in the series so far (five wickets spread over four innings in
68 overs), he will be dropped for the final Test this week. Incumbents,
especially bowlers who have claimed lots of wickets in the past, are
usually given another chance to fail. And with India leading, and a
series in England to follow, Harbhajan needs to be given a chance to
rediscover himself. To find the route that made him a world class
off spinner, Harbhajan might have to give up the shorter formats of the
game. There is little doubt that one-day cricket and T20 have reduced
his effectiveness in Test cricket. It is unlikely that he will take
that step, though. For one, he is a fiercely combative player who will
see any such move as an admission of defeat. For another, he loves to
bowl, and cannot contemplate lean periods, especially if he believes
(as he has in the past) that all problems can be solved in the running,
as it were. That is, by playing as much as possible. Apart from
the limited-overs bowling, it is the limited-overs mentality that is
restricting Harbhajan’s effectiveness. In the shorter formats, there is
no room for planning or laying traps, and if something doesn’t happen
very quickly, the pressure is on the bowler. When he started his
career, and then began to be successful he was criticised for not being
Erapalli Prasanna – a rite of passage all Indian spinners have had to
go through since the Quartet of Prasanna, Bedi, Chandrasekhar and
Venkatraghavan retired – before it was conceded that he is a different
type of bowler altogether. With an action resembling a windmill
winding down, he had to be watched at all times for his ability to
control the spread of the off break without any apparent change in his
action. Bounce was another factor, as Ricky Ponting, whom he regularly
dismissed, kept rediscovering. Harbhajan was 18 when he made his
Test debut and has packed into the 13 years since more cricket than the
Quartet did during its two-decade spread. With Kumble he has taken over
a thousand Test wickets, which is significantly greater than the 853
the Quartet had among them. With that experience and that record,
it would be a pity if Harbhajan made the wrong choice at this critical
stage in his career. For, as history has shown, it may be that the best
is yet to come.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Queens, New York
Tri-State Lynx player Nadia Gruny scored the fourth century of the
tournament on Saturday morning, notching 110 off 65 balls, as the Lynx
annihilated the Hollywood Rebels by 509 runs at Idlewild Park in Queens,
N.Y., on the second day of the 2011 USACA Women’s Championship. North
West Phoenix also made it two for two with a 77-run win over North West
Rockstars at Baisley Pond while New York Warriors won by nine wickets
over the USACA Developmental Squad at Gateway Park.
Tri-State won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny morning in
Queens. The Rebels task against the tournament’s best trained team was
made even tougher due to the fact that they had only nine players to
field. Monique Mathee and Karen Bayles set the tone for the day by
putting on 82 runs for the first wicket in only seven overs.
Mathee fell first for 41, edging off-spinner Ivy Mahabir behind to
the keeper Veronica Gumbs. Gruny came to the crease and added 42 with
Bayles before the opener was caught behind trying to heave Sandra Ibarra
over square leg but the ball popped up off her glove to Gumbs for a simple
catch. However, the score was 150 for 2 at the first drinks break and
there was no sign of things letting up.
Gruny and Melissa Sandy put on 169 runs for the fourth wicket as
things went from bad to worse for the Rebels. The bowling unit struggled
mightily, giving away 87 wides as part of 93 extras. On the rare
occasions when they managed to bowl a proper line, the ball was usually
either a half-tracker or a full toss and the Lynx batting order showed
no mercy.
With all the extra deliveries that the Rebels were forced to bowl on
the day, as well as the frequent trips to the boundary to retrieve the
ball after it had been dispatched, the over rate was so slow that lunch
was taken after 38 overs in the first innings at which point Tri-State
had already crossed 400. The first 50 overs wound up taking nearly four
and a half hours.
Sandy finished with 79 while Indomatie Goordial-John came in at
number eight and scored 50 off 24 balls before retiring. Triholder
Marshall scored 41 not out off 40 balls at number seven while Shinead
Emerson reached 43 not out off 20 balls at number nine. The Lynx scored
65 boundaries spread amongst the nine players that batted. Gruny had the
most with 14 and also hit the tournament’s first six as Tri-State
finished at 552 for 7. Three bowlers for the Rebels conceded over 100
runs apiece. Mahabir had the best figures for Rebels with 3 for 61 in 10
overs.
Image (above) - The 2011 Tri-State Lynx with head coach Linden Fraser. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]
The Lynx then bowled out the Rebels for 43 in 17.2 overs. Gumbs
scored 14 and Rupal van Sweeden 11 for Rebels, the only two players to
cross into double-figures. Emerson, Gruny, Goordial-John and Shondell
Ward each had two wickets. The win moved the Lynx to 2-0 on the weekend
while Rebels dropped to 1-1.
At Baisley Pond, Delkash Shahriarian scored 58 off 86 balls to propel
Phoenix to an insurmountable lead, keeping her team undefeated as the
Rockstars suffered their second defeat in two days. Phoenix won the toss
and batted first, racking up 185 in 41.1 overs. Claudine Beckford
chipped in with 25 at the top of the order while Doris Francis scored a
quick 20 at number seven. Neha Sukhija bowled an impressive spell of
medium pace for Rockstars to finish with 4 for 22 in 10 overs, claiming
both Francis and Shahriarian along the way. Fellow opening bowler Erica
Rendler took 3 for 50.
The Rockstars chase never got underway as captain Rajashree Mahale fell in the first over to Anahita Arora for a duck. Francis claimed
Mahale’s opening partner Durga Das for 13 as well as first drop Nusrat
Khan for 17. Beckford bowled a tidy spell to knock out the middle order,
finishing with 3 for 37, before Francis wiped out the tail to take 5
for 21 only a day after scoring a century as Rockstars were bowled out
for 108 in 27.1 overs.
In the match at Gateway Park, USACA Developmental Squad was no match
for the New York Warriors. After winning the toss, USACA Developmental Squad batted first and crashed for 28 in 12.2 overs as 10 extras were the
innings top score. Spin bowler Brenda Cordner took three wickets for no
runs in 1.2 overs. New York then knocked off the runs in 4.2 overs for
the loss of one wicket. New York is now 1-1 while the USACA
Developmental Squad is 0-2.
Sunday’s fixtures are in doubt with heavy rain coming down in Queens
in the early part of the day and more expected in the afternoon. The
day’s featured match is scheduled to be the Lynx and Warriors at
Idlewild. Rockstars are due to play Rebels while Phoenix are paired up
with the USACA Developmental Squad.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Queens, New York
North West Phoenix captain Doris Francis scored an unbeaten century
to rescue her side from early trouble, guiding them to a three-wicket
win over New York Warriors at Idlewild Park in Queens, N.Y., on Friday
afternoon at the USACA Women’s Championship. In the other matches on day
one, Hollywood Rebels easily defeated the USACA Developmental squad
while Indomatie Goordial-John and Candacy Atkins scored centuries to
lead Tri-State Lynx to a resounding win over North West Rockstars.
Warriors won the toss and elected to bat on a hot sunny morning and
got off to a brilliant start, scoring at better than eight per over in
the first 20. Shirley Bonaparte and Joan Alexander scored half-centuries
for Warriors, but Bonaparte started to flag towards the end of her
knock getting tired between the wickets and wound up being run out for
51 to make the score 169 for 3 in the 21st over, ending a 128-run third
wicket partnership.
Alexander followed soon after, pulling a long hop from off-spinner
Claudine Beckford straight to Marlene Subhashini at midwicket for 61 and
from there Warriors collapsed to be all out for 214 in 33.5 overs.
Beckford finished with 3 for 43 in eight overs to lead the way for
Phoenix.
The failure to bat out their overs proved quite costly for the
Warriors in the end. The Warriors put on early pressure in the field,
just as they had when batting as Alexander and Catherine Joy Jones
bowled superb spells with the new ball. Jones took 2 for 27 in her first
seven overs while Alexander was generating plenty of away swing to
trouble the top order, trapping opener Delkash Shahriarian LBW before
clean bowling Beulah Pidakala and Subhashini to leave Phoenix in a
massive hole at 30 for 5 after the first ball of the 12th over.
Francis, who came in at number six, was then joined at the crease by
Anahita Arora and the two calmly saw off the rest of Alexander’s opening
spell before rebuilding the innings in stunning fashion. Francis
punished anything short from Samantha Ramautar and Grace Richards while
Arora nudged and knocked the ball around for ones and twos. The pair
added 100 for the sixth wicket before Arora was run out for 30 setting
off for a single to the off side that Francis showed no interest in.
Another
wicket fell 15 runs later, Petula Felicien fell for 1 to give Alexander
her fourth scalp and that’s when Francis started to assert herself,
coming down the track to the spinners at every opportunity to clip
through the on side while taking singles off the last ball of the over
to keep strike. Francis survived a sharp caught and bowled chance on 65,
but cruised to her century afterwards off 101 balls. With victory in
sight, she also was let off on a missed stumping attempt on 109. She
stayed to the end however, walking off 115 not out with 11 fours. The
winning run was brought up by a leg side wide.
Image (right): Doris Francis walks off unbeaten on 115 for the North West Phoenix. [Courtesy - Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]
At Gateway Park in Brooklyn, Indomatie Goordial-John and Candacy
Atkins both scored centuries for Tri-State Lynx as they defeated North
West Rockstars by 202 runs. Both players retired out shortly after
crossing 100. Goordial-John then took 3 for 19 in seven overs to lead
the way for the Lynx in the field.
At Baisley Pond, Hollywood Rebels defeated the USACA Developmental XI
by seven wickets. USACA Developmental XI was bowled out for 95. The
Rebels reached the target in 13.5 overs as Veronica Gumbs top scored
with 24 not out in the brief chase.
|
-
Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna
Comments
 Global CC tail-ender Carlton Crandon smashed a six off the final delivery of the match from Freedom CC’s Dennis Evans to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as Global won the inaugural North American Telugu Society T20 tournament by one wicket under the lights at Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Pic (Right): Global CC team poses with the silver at the post-match ceremony. Carlton Crandon (first from left - seated) hit a sensational last ball six to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The team took home the $3000 winner's purse.
The match seemed all but finished after Global’s big-hitting top order failed to fire. Glen Hall, Oneil Powell and Andrew Gonsalves were all gone by the fifth over. Sean Stanislaus boosted his side with 24 runs at number four, but he was one of three wickets that fell in the 12th over bowled by Evans as Global fell to 84 for 8 in pursuit of 175 to win.
However, Global captain Neil McGarrell and Crandon put on a 71-run stand for the ninth wicket to breathe life back into the chase before McGarrell fell for 32 top-edging a pull with nine balls to go. Rushi Amin joined Crandon at the crease and they took five runs off the next three balls to enter the final over with 15 needed to win. Freedom opted to use the off-spin of Evans, whose first three overs gave up 20 runs.
 After a three by Amin put Crandon on strike, the number 10 hit a two to midwicket and then inside edged a three to fine leg to cut the margin down to seven in three balls. A single by Amin put Crandon back on strike and then another two was hit to midwicket so that heading into the last ball, a boundary was needed to win. Crandon then took a full pitched delivery and blasted it over the bowler’s head, clearing the boundary with ease to spark wild celebrations in front of a crowd of about 300 people. The Global players hoisted Crandon into the air and carried him off the field. He finished 47 not out with three fours and two sixes to steal the Man of the Match award away from Freedom’s Carl Wright (pictured right).
Freedom had won the toss and elected to bat first with Wright putting on a scintillating display of clean hitting. He finished with five fours and five sixes in his knock of 79. Wright could have easily scored a century were it not for a severely sprained ankle he suffered late in his innings. After using a runner for a few overs he was caught off the bowling of Kumar Nandlal in the 17th over.
Pic (right): NJ's best field - Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus.
Freedom entered the last over of their innings with five wickets in hand and the score at 170. McGarrell, fresh off his four wickets in four balls at the USACA Twenty20 Nationals, bowled the 20th over and only conceded four runs while taking one wicket and dispatched another batsman with a run out. The stingy final frame in the field proved vital in the end.
The winners will be recognized on Saturday at the NATS American Telugu Sambaralu at the Raritan Convention and Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey. Former Indian Test legend Kapil Dev is also scheduled to be in attendance.
Pictures below:
Vasu Tupakula of NATS T20 presents the trophy to Global Cricket Club. Global also won the DreamCricket.com organized Radiant Info T20 in September of 2010.
Neil McGarrell led from the front, as has become the norm.
|
More Posts « Previous page
DreamCricket strongly disapproves of spam and we appreciate your taking the time to report this abuse to us so we can remove it accordingly. If you find any content or comments to be inappropriate, abusive or infringing other people's copyright please report it. To report abuse, please email us at content@dreamcricket.com.
|
|
|