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USA Cricketer
August 2011 - Posts
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna
The USA Cricket Association has announced the 14 players who will be
leaving on Wednesday for Toronto to play in three Twenty20 matches
beginning on August 11 against Afghanistan, Canada and Trinidad &
Tobago as well as a two-day match against Canada. Notable omissions from
the squad are Steve Massiah, Sushil Nadkarni, Orlando Baker, Usman
Shuja, Aditya Mishra and Gowkaran Roopnarine. It’s believed that the
majority of these players were not available because they were unable to
get time off work due to the fact USA’s involvement in the series was
confirmed only seven days before the first match.
Anand Tummala, Amir Nanjee, Charan Singh, George Adams, Stuart Mills
and Hussain Haidar will all be making their debuts for USA. Jignesh
Desai, who last played for USA at the 2006 ICC Americas Division One in
Canada, has been recalled at the age of 37 and named captain of the
squad while Andy Mohammed gets his second opportunity at the senior
level after debuting against Jamaica last year.
From the team that finished second at the ICC Americas Division One
T20 tournament last month in Florida, Bhim George has been kept in the
squad and named vice-captain while Muhammad Ghous, Japen Patel, Quasen
Alfred, Samarth Shah, Akeem Dodson have also retained their spots.
No players were selected from either the South West or the Central
East Region as Ravi Timbawala and Abhimanyu Rajp continue to be ignored.
Nauman Mustafa, who was controversially removed from the T20 squad for
Florida, was called but could not get out of work on short notice.
USA Squad: Jignesh Desai (captain, Central West), Bhim George
(vice-captain, South East), George Adams (New York), Quasen Alfred (New
York), Akeem Dodson (New York), Muhammad Ghous (Atlantic), Hussain
Haidar (South East), Stuart Mills (Atlantic), Andy Mohammed (New York),
Amir Nanjee (Central West), Japen Patel (South East), Samarth Shah
(North West), Charan Singh (Atlantic), Anand Tummala (South East). Head Coach: Howard Johnson
Manager: Arun Vittala
Physio: Akhtar Masood Syed
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Derry, Northern Ireland
Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Ball-by-Ball Commentary
Canada U-19 medium pacer Manny Aulakh took 6 for 32 as his side
bowled out USA U-19 for 101 before completing a 5-wicket win at Bready
Cricket Club on Sunday afternoon at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup
Qualifier in Magheramason, Northern Ireland. Aulakh was named Man of the
Match for his performance which keeps Canada’s hopes of a top-six spot
alive while placing USA’s chances of 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup
qualification in serious jeopardy.
“Seeing the way the pitch played, I think if I had the toss again I
think we would have definitely bowled first,” said USA U-19 captain Greg
Sewdial. “It looked a bit dry so we opted to bat but we’re not here to
make excuses. I thought that we played a few rash shots that cost us our
top order. I also thought Canada did well to keep pressure on us and
just take control over the game.”
USA won the toss and elected to bat first on a sunny morning but a
day which had plenty of rain in the forecast. Within the first five
overs, Aulakh had made his mark on the game by removing both USA
openers. Steven Taylor was the first to go, top edging a short delivery
to cover for 10, and Cameron Mirza was bowled for 8 to make it 21 for 2.
“We had a plan that if we won the toss we were gonna bowl first
because those first few overs there’s always dew in the wicket and we
always get help from the pitch,” said Aulakh.
Jobanjot Singh Sidhu kept the pressure on from the opposite end by
taking the wicket of Abhijit Joshi when the batsman went for a loose
drive and was caught at second slip for 1. Aulakh took the next three to
wreck USA’s middle order as Amarnauth Persaud spooned a catch to cover
for 7 before Sewdial was given LBW for 2. Five balls later, Jodha Singh
was cleaned up by a yorker for a duck to give Aulakh his five-wicket
haul and USA was in pieces at 35 for 6 after 11 overs.
“I just think it’s all about us being mentally prepared and I don’t
think for this game we were but hopefully for the next game we will be
against Nepal, our final game,” said Sewdial. “Having won four games, we
need five to definitely qualify.”
It was around this time that rain started falling steadily on the
ground. The umpires elected to play through it and as a result, batting
became increasingly difficult as more and more moisture went into the
pitch. Pranay Suri and Salman Ahmad fought for 13.2 overs to put on 27
runs together for the seventh wicket before Ahmad was caught behind for
13 off the bowling of medium pacer Rayyan Pathan.
Suri batted for 71 balls but his time finally came to an end when he
couldn’t get out of the way of a Sidhu bouncer. The ball went off his
gloves before popping up to Kyle Edghill in the slips and Suri had to go
for 14 to make it 69 for 8 in 30 overs.
Aulakh  returned
for his final two overs and had Shayan Abdulghani caught at cover for
11 before medium pacer Akash Shah wrapped up the innings when Mital
Patel was caught behind for 6 going for a big drive and USA was all out
for 101 in 40.3 overs. Hammad Shahid top scored at number nine with 15
not out in 45 balls while extras also contributed 14 to the total.
Image (right) - Manny Aulakh receives his Man of the Match award
after taking 6 for 32, the best statistical bowling performance at the
tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Canada’s chase got off to a fiery start with Pathan at the crease as
he punished Ahmad and Patel with a series of prodigious blasts over the
ropes. The only hiccup happened when he ran out his partner Shah for 2.
Nitish Kumar came in next and a day after making 150 against Papua New
Guinea was out stumped off the bowling of Abdulghani without scoring to
make it 48 for 2 in the eighth over.
At the other end, Pathan had slammed two fours and five sixes to race
to 42 but he tried to play a cute flick over fine leg in the circle to a
short delivery from the off-spin of Suri and mistimed the shot to Mirza
at square leg. From there, Canada’s chase crawled along with few runs
coming off the bat. However, they were aided by 17 extras conceded by
USA’s bowlers including 13 wides.
It wasn’t until the 23rd over that Shahid came on for a second spell
where he routinely caused problems with uneven bounce for deliveries
pitching on a good length. He had Nikhil Dutta caught at midwicket two
overs later for 19 to make it 83 for 4. Kesavan Juvarajan joined Edghill
at the crease and the two went through a challenging period as the
pitch become more treacherous. Juvarajan was hit on the gloves numerous
times in his 29-ball stay at the crease before he finally had a short
delivery go off his gloves and onto the stumps to be out for 7 with the
scores level on 101 after 33 overs. Edghill hit the winning single
through midwicket three balls later.
In the day’s other matches, Nepal defeated PNG by 29 runs to become
the second team after Scotland to clinch a berth at the 2012 ICC U-19
World Cup in Australia. Afghanistan trounced Vanuatu by 9 wickets and
Scotland defeated Kenya by 15 runs while Ireland’s match with Namibia
was washed out after only 8.1 overs had been bowled. The match between
Ireland and Namibia will be replayed on Monday.
After eight matches, Scotland remains in first place with a 7-1
record. Nepal is second at 6-2 while Ireland is third at 5-2.
Afghanistan, USA, PNG and Canada are all at 4-4 with USA in fifth place
on net run rate. Namibia is in eighth place at 3-4 but has a solid net
run rate and a win over Ireland on the reserve day would most likely
move them ahead of USA. Kenya is in ninth at 2-6 and is no longer in
contention for a top six spot while Vanuatu is in last at 0-8.
On Tuesday’s final day of play, USA takes on Nepal, a team which has
conceded the second fewest runs in the tournament behind Ireland, who
has played one fewer game. Ireland takes on Papua New Guinea while
Namibia takes on Kenya and Scotland plays Vanuatu. Afghanistan plays
Canada in a match with major implications for USA. A win by Afghanistan
would most likely prevent Canada from qualifying in the top six, but if
Canada wins it’s still conceivable that Afghanistan could qualify due to
their solid net run rate. If USA wins, they are most likely assured of
finishing fifth or sixth. However, if they lose, they would need Namibia
or Papua New Guinea to lose, regardless of the Canada vs. Afghanistan
result, in order to have a chance at qualifying and even then it would
come down to net run rate. If PNG and Namibia both win and USA loses,
regardless of the Afghanistan vs. Canada result, USA would most likely
finish out of the top six.
DreamCricket.com’s live tournament coverage, made possible in part by
New Inning Foundation, will continue based on internet availability on
Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. local time, 5:15 a.m. EST, with USA’s final match
of the tournament against Nepal. First ball is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Derry, Northern Ireland
Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Ball-by-Ball Commentary
USA U-19 has a winning record for the first time during the
tournament after completing a win by 42 runs on Duckworth Lewis Method
over Vanuatu U-19 at Drummond Cricket Club on Saturday afternoon at the
2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Derry, Northern Ireland. Steven
Taylor was named Man of the Match after top scoring in USA’s chase with
33 not out.
USA won the toss and sent Vanuatu in to bat in a match that was
reduced to 32 overs after a four-hour delayed start due to persistent
rain. Vanuatu’s innings struggled to get momentum but at the same time
USA’s performance in the field lacked a ruthless killer instinct that
should have been on display against the weakest opponent in the
tournament.
Vanuatu captain Patrick Matautaava was the first to go, bowled by
Mital Patel without scoring to make it 5 for 1. Worford Kalworai and
Jaxies Samuel combined to put on 27 runs for the second wicket before
Kalworai was caught at backward point for 16 off the bowling of Salman
Ahmad.
Three more wickets fell in quick succession as Samuel was bowled by
Hammad Shahid for 13, Nilin Nipiko caught behind off Shayan Abdulghani
for 0 and Callum Blake LBW to Shahid for 1 to make it 54 for 5 in the
17th. Rather than put the hammer down to finish Vanuatu off, USA let
them rebuild with a 30-run partnership between Jelany Chilia and Joseph
Rasu which came to an end when Chilia tried to slog Pranay Suri out of
the ground and got a top edge to Greg Sewdial in the circle for
Vanuatu’s top score of 29.
Rasu and Ronald Tari produced a modest 20-run partnership together
that was curtailed after Rasu was run out for 19 trying to steal a run
off a misfield. Tari and Kendy Kenneth chipped in with another
double-digit stand of 24 runs before Kenneth was caught behind on the
final ball of the innings off the bowling of Jodhbir Singh and Vanuatu
finished 128 for 8 in 32. Shahid returned USA’s best figures with 2 for
16 in seven overs.
Taylor and Cameron Mirza put on a half-century stand for the first
wicket before Mirza was caught for 24 driving to mid off to give Blake
one of the two wickets to fall. The other was taken by Matautaava when
Singh fell for 15 chipping a catch to mid on.
Taylor did have a life on 13 when a straightforward chance was
grassed at midwicket but from then on there were no hiccups as he used a
very cautious approach to accumulate runs. Sewdial came in and scored a
brisk 28 in 18 balls as USA reached 118 in 22 overs when the rains
returned to end play still 11 runs short of the original target.
According to Duckworth Lewis rules, the par score was 76 at the time
play was stopped.
In the day’s other matches, PNG captain Christopher Kent scored 166
not out to upstage the 150 scored by Canada’s Nitish Kumar in the first
innings as PNG won by 4 wickets. Nepal beat Ireland by 10 runs on D/L
Method as Rahul Vishvakarma took four wickets to go past USA’s Patel for
the tournament lead. Afghanistan beat Kenya by 9 wickets in a rain
reduced game while Scotland became the first team to clinch a spot at
the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup in Australia with a 40-run win over Namibia.
Scotland is currently top of the table at 6-1. Ireland and Nepal are
both 5-2. USA is level with PNG at 4-3 but USA has a higher net run rate
so is sitting at fourth. Namibia, Afghanistan and Canada are 3-4, Kenya
is 2-5 while Vanuatu has officially been eliminated from contention for
a top-six spot and is sitting at 0-7.
USA is scheduled to play Canada on Sunday at Bready Cricket Club’s
second pitch. If USA beats Canada and Afghanistan loses to Vanuatu or
Namibia loses to Ireland, USA will clinch a spot in the top six and
along with it a berth at the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup in Australia. Once
again, DreamCricket.com will provide live coverage of USA’s match
against Canada, subject to internet availability, beginning at 10:15
a.m. local time, 5:15 a.m. EST. The match is scheduled for a 10:45 a.m.
start, but rain is in the forecast throughout Sunday morning and af
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Derry, Northern Ireland
Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Ball-by-Ball Commentary
USA U-19 captain Greg Sewdial recorded his highest score in a USA
U-19 uniform to lead his side to a 130-run win over Kenya U-19 at Bready
CC on Friday afternoon at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in
Magheramason, Northern Ireland. Sewdial scored 68 in 104 balls with
seven boundaries to be named Man of the Match.
“The entire team came out mentally prepared for this match and the
results showed,” said Sewdial. “I just thought it was about people
digging deep down in their soul and knowing that we’re here for a
purpose and it was about time we got our act together and I thought we
did that.”
Kenya won the toss and sent USA in to bat in cold conditions on a
slightly slow wicket. Steven Taylor got out cheaply to Kenyan
all-rounder Duncan Allan for 17, caught driving to cover to make it 29
for 1 in the sixth. Cameron Mirza was dismissed LBW for the third time
in this event when left-arm spinner Raj Savala pinned him on the crease
with his second delivery to send the USA opener off for 13 at 46 for 1
in the ninth.
Abhijit Joshi was then joined by Sewdial and the two began building
up another solid partnership just as they had in the match against
Scotland. Rather than get carried away going for sixes and throwing
their wickets away, the two learned from the mistakes they made on
Wednesday to produce a 106-run partnership. It was the second century
stand in the tournament for USA and only the seventh overall by any team
in the event. USA has also been on the receiving end of two against PNG
and Scotland.
The stand was finally broken when Joshi edged behind to the keeper
off the bowling of Emmanuel Ringera for 41. It was Joshi’s highest score
in a USA U-19 uniform. Sewdial also eclipsed his previous best, 57
against Bahamas U-19 two years ago in Canada before being run out in
cruel circumstances when Amarnauth Persaud failed to respond to a second
run on a ball hit between long off and the cover sweeper and the score
went to 159 for 4 in the 38th over.
Jodhbir Singh was the next to go, bowled by Savala for 12 to make it
180 for 5 in the 43rd. Persaud was also dismissed for 12, caught on the
boundary off Ringera to make it 189 for 6. Salman Ahmad reached 12 as
well before being caught on the boundary to give Ringera his third at
216 for 7 and Hammad Shahid was gone without scoring, also caught in the
deep off Allan.
Pranay Suri provided a late surge to USA’s innings as wickets were
falling around him. Suri hit 28 in 18 balls with two fours and a six,
making the most out of USA’s batting power play at the death. He was
also caught on the boundary for Ringera’s fourth scalp. Mital Patel and
Shayan Abdulghani added on 5 not out and 7 not out respectively as USA
finished 238 for 9 in their 50 overs.
Kenya’s chase never got going as wickets tumbled regularly beginning
in the sixth over when Shahid came on at first change at teamed up with
Sewdial to have Irfan Karim caught at second slip for 2. Fellow opener
Rushabh Patel joined Karim in the pavilion when he too edged Shahid to
Sewdial in the slips for 10 to make it 25 for 2 in the 10th.
Allan came in at number three and tried to provide some stability to
Kenya’s innings, but got virtually no support as USA’s bowlers continued
to tear through his partners at the other end. Ahmad took the next
three wickets for USA as he bowled out his 10 overs right from the start
of the chase to finish with 3 for 14 including three maidens. His first
victim was Joseph Ochieng, given LBW for 0. Ringera could only manage 2
before he was caught by Taylor standing up to the stumps. Kenya U-19
captain Kennedy Ochieng then fell without scoring after being stumped
off a leg side wide to make it 35 for 5 in the 15th over.
Singh made his presence felt in the field when he had Rahul Vishram
caught behind for 8 before Abdulghani nabbed Raj Shikotra for a duck and
Harrison Angila for 12, caught at point by Mirza, to make it 99 for 8
in the 30th. Angila’s partnership of 42 with Allan was Kenya’s highest
on the day. Suri took his first wicket in the 31st when he had Martin
Ndandason stumped off another leg side wide for 0 before he ended the
match by bowling Allan for 46 and Kenya was all out for 108 in 34.1
overs.
In the day’s other matches, Ireland’s Graeme McCarter took 5 for 8,
including the second hat trick of the tournament to help bowl Canada out
for 37 before winning by 5 wickets. Nepal defeated Namibia by 8 runs
despite Merwe Erasmus’ fourth half-century of the tournament and 6 for
41 by medium pacer Christopher Coombe. Scotland defeated Afghanistan by
33 runs while Papua New Guinea disposed of Vanuatu by 118 runs.
Scotland and Ireland are tied at the top of the list with 5-1
records. Nepal is the lone 4-2 team and is in third place. USA, Canda,
Namibia and PNG all have 3-3 records with USA in fifth place on net run
rate. Afghanistan and Kenya are 2-4 and Vanuatu is 0-6.
USA’s tournament continues on Saturday from Drummond Cricket Club
where they will take on Vanuatu. Due to internet connectivity issues,
full ball-by-ball coverage may not be possible but DreamCricket.com will
do it’s best to provide as many live updates as possible throughout the
match. First ball is set to be bowled at 10:45 a.m.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
 Cricket Canada announced today that USA will join Canada, Afghanistan and Trinidad and Tobago in the 2011 Etihad Summer Cricket Festival which begins August 11th.
"Part of the mandate of the festival is to assist with the development of cricket in the region. Last year we were able to bring in Bermuda and this year we are excited to share this opportunity with USACA," Cricket Canada President Ranjit Saini said.
"The inclusion of the USA adds some more excitement to an already riveting schedule. The addition of Canada vs. USA and USA vs. Afghanistan to the slate is sure to draw interest from around the world," Mr. Saini added.
The 2011 Etihad Summer Festival also marks the resumption of the K.A. Auty Trophy, which is the oldest international sporting contest in the world. This historic 2-day match featuring USA and Canada will be played in Toronto on August 15th and August 16th.
USA vs Canada contests began in 1844. Forty three matches were played until 1912 when the series was interrupted by world events. USA won 27 and Canada won 11 matches. Six were drawn.
Through the efforts of John Marder of USA and Donald King of Canada, the event was revived in 1963 and USA presented the KA Auty Trophy in memory of Karl Andre Auty. Mr. Auty was a driving force for cricket in North America for roughly five decades beginning 1909 until his death in Chicago in 1959.
Between 1963 and 1980, USA and Canada contested for the KA Trophy. After a three year break, the series resumed again in 1983 through the efforts of Naseeruddin Khan of USACA and Jack Kyle of CCA. The last match was held in Toronto in September of 1995. It was the 69th encounter and was won handily by Canada.
In 1996, the KA Auty Trophy was shelved for a more lucrative India-Pakistan encounter. Saibal Chatterjee wrote in the October 2, 1996 edition of the Outlook magazine that "this year, cricket's oldest surviving rivalry had to make way for the contemporary game's most lucrative match-up: India vs Pakistan. To accommodate the nine-day Sahara Cup '96 in Toronto—the first edition of a series of five one-dayers scheduled to be played annually between the arch-rivals—the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) chose to shelve the Auty Trophy tie until next year. They sacrificed a bit of the past to get a hold on the future. And gladly."
Mr. Chatterjee wrote that "Canada plans to develop infrastructural facilities so that it can co-host the 2003 World Cup."
When asked in 2003 regarding the rumors surrounding world cup fixtures in North America, Dr. Ali Bacher, the World Cup chief told the BBC: "In theory the idea of playing cricket in the USA is a good one. But you can't only go to the US for the Cricket World Cup; it has to be a strategy. It would have to be a cricketing entrée for the USA market, you can't stop there it would not make sense to have World Cup cricket in the USA and then for the sport to just disappear. It needs to be carefully worked out, and it has to be a long term strategy." In any event, the World Cup never came to North America and the KA Auty Trophy went into cold storage.
Until its present resurrection in the new millennium. For the history of the tournament, the win-loss record is USA (32) and Canada (27).
2011 Etihad Summer Festival Schedule
T20 Matches:
11th August: Afghanistan v T & T, Canada v USA
12th August: Canada v Afghanistan, T & T v USA
13th August: Afghanistan v USA, Canada v T & T
K.A. Auty Cup:
15th-16th August: Canada v USA
Postscript: USA has not yet announced a team for the tournament. Manaf Mohamed of USACA confirmed that USACA had accepted the invitation from Cricket Canada. However, some members of the USA squad expressed inability to travel due to work commitments. As of today, a team had not yet been decided, he said.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Derry, Northern Ireland
Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Ball-by-Ball Commentary
Scotland U-19 off-spinner Kyle Smith capitalized on USA U-19’s
reckless batting to help bowl them out for 124 before his side coasted
to an eight-wicket win at Eglinton Cricket Club on Wednesday afternoon
at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Eglinton, Northern Ireland.
Smith was named Man of the Match after finishing with figures of 4 for
21 in 8.3 overs with two maidens. USA dropped to 2-3 with the loss while
Scotland improved their record to 4-1 at the tournament.
“The pace off the ball in the middle part of the innings is a key
part of our game plan in terms of just trying to bowl dot balls and
trying to build some pressure on the opposition,” said Scotland U-19
head coach Craig Wright. “The US batsmen didn’t really have an answer in
terms of the straight lines that our bowlers bowled and didn’t really
seem to have any idea about how to go and score against that, which
worked to our advantage obviously because they tried to play big shots
and then we took their wicket.”
USA won the toss and elected to bat first on a clear and cool morning
in Northern Ireland with temperatures in the range of 55 degrees
Fahrenheit. Steven Taylor once again got off to a fast start, reaching
24 in 22 balls with four boundaries and a six, but could not convert it
into a big score as he was clean bowled by left arm seamer Aman Bailwal
in the sixth over to make it 28 for 1. Amarnauth Persaud came in at
three and fended a good length ball from right arm medium pacer Patrick
Sadler to Smith at second slip for 2 to make it 31 for 2. Cameron Mirza
once again struggled before fending a short of a length ball from Sadler
through to the keeper Mathew Cross for 8 to make it 37 for 3 in the
ninth.
Greg Sewdial was joined by Abhijit Joshi and the two constructed a
sensible partnership, patiently defending the good balls and hitting the
odd boundary to push the score along. They added 65 for the fourth
wicket and after 23 overs, the score was 101 for 3. After Joshi took a
single off the second ball of the 24th bowled by Smith, USA’s rapid
collapse was set in motion when Sewdial lofted a full delivery straight
to long on where Bailwal jogged in from the boundary to take a catch,
sending the captain back to the pavilion for USA’s top score of 31.
Joshi crossed while the ball was in the air and wound up on strike for
the next delivery. He then repeated Sewdial’s mistake by lofting another
full ball straight to Bailwal who this time took a sliding catch coming
in from long on and Joshi had to go for 23 to make it 102 for 5.
Two overs later, Smith took his third in five balls when Jodhbir
Singh played inside the line of a good length ball and was clean bowled
for a duck to make it 104 for 6. Fellow off-spin bowler Ross McLean got
into the act in the 29th over when Salman Ahmad went to cut a short ball
on the stumps and was cramped for room, giving a thin edge to the
keeper for 2 to make it 107 for 7.
McLean struck twice more in the 31st to make it 111 for 9 as USA
continued to exhibit completely irresponsible shot selection. On the
third ball of the over, Hammad Shahid tried to clear mid off but spooned
a simple catch to Peter Legget for 1. Three balls later, Mital Patel
played a carbon copy shot and was caught by Sam Page at mid off for a
duck. Smith rapped up the innings by bowling Shayan Abdulghani for 8 and
USA was all out for 124 in 35.3 overs.
"Unfortunately after my wicket, the team sort of had the domino
effect and wickets just started falling one after the other," said
Sewdial. "A few poor shots were very costly to us. I would say most of
all it was a lack of concentration, not just by myself but the team in
general. Wickets just started to fall one after the other, but hats off
to the Scottish team. I thought they did well to keep the pressure on us
and unfortunately we were on the losing end today."
USA’s inability to turn over the strike and place the ball into gaps
in the field cost them dearly once again. There were only 55 scoring
shots off the bat in USA’s innings compared to 158 dot balls. That does
not include the 87 deliveries that went unused as a result of being
bowled out. In all, USA failed to score off the bat for 245 of the 300
legal deliveries that were available to them at the start of the match.
Patel provided brief hope in the field for USA when he claimed both
of Scotland’s openers, Cross caught behind by Taylor for 3 and McLean
LBW for 3 after missing a yorker to make it 13 for 2 in the sixth over.
However, Freddie Coleman quickly thwarted any momentum USA hoped to
build in the field when he unloaded on Patel for five boundaries and a
six in a 27-run eighth over and Scotland never looked back.
Lunch was taken with the score at 78 for 2 in 17 overs and after play
resumed, Coleman and Peter Ross knocked off the final 47 runs in
clinical fashion. Coleman finished 60 not out with Ross unbeaten on 40.
Despite having the leading scorer – Taylor with 343 – and the leading
wicket taker – Patel with 15 – in the tournament, USA is currently in
eighth place after five matches.
In Wednesday’s other matches, Ireland defeated Vanuatu by 165 runs as
Andy McBrine scored 107 not out for the host team in their total of 313
for 9, the highest innings score in the tournament for any side. Canada
held on to beat Nepal by three wickets in their chase of 107 as number
four batsman Kyle Edghill scored 52 not out for Canada. Afghanistan
recovered from a position of 104 for 6 in the 29th over, identical to
USA’s position vs. Scotland at the fall of the sixth wicket, and managed
to fight to the end before winning by one wicket with a ball to spare
chasing 209 against Namibia as Nasir Ahmadzai scored 64 not out coming
in at number seven for the Afghanis. Papua New Guinea also recovered
from a dire position of 106 for 8 in 31 overs to make 204 for 9 in 50
overs as number nine batsman Toua Tom scored 82 not out in a 66-run win
over Kenya.
Scotland and Ireland are currently at the top of the table with 4-1
records. Nepal, Namibia and Canada are next at 3-2. Afghanistan, Kenya,
USA and PNG are stuck together at 2-3. Meanwhile Vanuatu remains in last
place with an 0-5 record.
Thursday is an off day for all teams before embarking on a grueling
schedule of three matches in three days over the weekend. USA plays
Kenya at Bready Cricket Club, quite possibly the best club facility at
this tournament, in their next match on Friday. DreamCricket.com’s live
coverage, made possible in part by New Inning Foundation, resumes Friday
at 10 a.m. in Northern Ireland, 5 a.m. EST in America with first ball
scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
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By Venu Palaparthi
 Shekhar Aravind, the visionary president of the Midwest Cricket Conference passed away at 2:14pm CST yesterday, following a tragic boating incident on Lake Michigan over the weekend. Shekhs, 38, is survived by his beloved wife Mini and two loving sons - Tarun (7) and Tejas (5).
This is a huge loss not only for Chicago cricket fraternity, it is also a major setback for USA cricket.
Shekhs, as he was affectionately known, was zealous and self-effacing, and was widely regarded as a progressive force in USA cricket. In the two years that I have known Shekhs, I have known him to be the kind of administrator that USA desperately needs.
Shekhs was first introduced to me in 2009 by Jaggi Nadig, another respected administrator from Chicago who has since moved to Singapore. In a country where a lot of cricket administrators view the media as intrusive, Shekhs was like a breath of fresh air. Shekhs truly believed in transparency. He not only frequently contributed to the MidWest Cricketer blog, he conducted his entire election campaign in the ways of a progressive - from the start of his campaign to the actual polling itself - key aspects of the election were broadcast via the internet.
Ahead of his election in 2010, he wrote to his constituents that he stood for change, "Change for the better – where you get better services through better management." Not surprisingly, his fresh approach attracted a solid team. Once he became the president of the 46-year old league, Shekhs backed up his vision with a kind of energy that is rarely seen in USA cricket.
I will always remember Shekhs as someone who was brimming with ideas and open to dialog. Over the last two years, we communicated mostly by email, occasionally by phone. Shekhs was insightful and unfailingly on-target. In our correspondence, we covered a range of topics - from mundane technical details regarding cricket balls or synthetic turf to the topics he was most passionate about - youth cricket and better governance. On each occasion, he signed off with "Thanks bud."
Shekhs first rose to prominence in Chicago for his efficient organization of the Abid Laheri night cricket tournament - named after another respected Chicago cricketer who passed away in 2005 while playing cricket. At the 2010 Abid Laheri tournament, he told WTTW of Chicago, “This [T20 format] is what is going to be appealing for Americans. And I believe it’s going to catch on very soon and it’s going to be very popular. It will take a few years, but it’s going to be very popular.”
Shekhs truly believed in grassroots cricket and hoped the 'promotion of youth cricket in academies, schools, and park districts will pique interest and help grow the crowds here in the Midwest and around the country.'
The memory of Shekhs Aravind will remain forever in our hearts. In recognition of Shekhs' many contributions to cricket in USA, DreamCricket.com will launch an annual Cricket Spirit award in his name. Peace and strength to Shekhs' family and many friends.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Rula Brown of Vibes Sports Club, July 24, 2011
 Former Jamaican opening star batsman, Leon "Gadda" Garrick, now representing Vibes Sports Club in the Georgia Supreme Cricket League (GSCL) in Atlanta, scored a scintillating 294 runs for his third consecutive century in League competitions. Garrick has scored 638 total runs in five (5) appearances in 2011.
Vibes coming off thirty eight (38) wins in a row dating back to the 2009 cricket season, came to the field with a high level of confidence. With stalwarts in their line up such as Jamaica's leg spin bowler Odean Brown, all rounder Royan Smith, Mr. fireballer Evroy Dyer, prolific batsmen Ishmael Parchment, JoeWayne Powell and the aforementioned Leon Garrick, Vibes was ready to display their talents against the formidable UBACC.
Mark "The Sheriff" Baker, captain of Vibes, won the toss spin and decided to bat first on a very hard sun baked cricket pitch. Vibes started their innings with Leon Garrick and wicket keeper, Keeble Knight when in the third over of the day Knight was out caught by Hassan Ali off Robert Tulloch after smacking a powerful six straight to long off boundary. Meanwhile Leon Garrick was punishing the opening bowlers Robert Tulloch and Delroy Bisnott mercilessly, when UBACC's captain Alton Taylor called upon all rounder Mark Mumby to help ease the pain, but he too was met with horror when Garrick punished him with three towering sixes that almost kissed the clowdy skies. Mumby was pulled after yielding 25 runs in his only over of the day.
The incoming batsman Royan Smith came to the crease and settled in nicely with Garrick and pushed the score steadily along to a ten (10) runs per over rate. The big question at that point was would Vibes Sports Club reached the 500 run mark.
UBACC's captain, Alton Taylor, called upon his bowlers; Atkins, Tulloch, King and Duare, but these bowlers were pulverized with boundaries after boundaries. Then captain Taylor inserted himself in the bowling attack from the spectators end when he bowled Jeremy Francois with a dandy off spin, that tickled the bails and he was gone for a duck.
Vibes prodded out in-form batsman and SER selectee, Ishamel Parchment, who can explode in a jiffy when he is focussed. Parchment carefully watched the smart and economical spin bowling attack from Taylor by taking the easy singles to square leg and the occasional boundaries.
 In the interim, Leon Garrick was batting like a man on a mission. Ismael Parchment was given a controversial run out decision when he was on 34 runs. Evroy Dyer and JoeWayne Powell came to the crease and quickly mingled in the run fest off the tepid bowling attack from UBACC's bowlers.
By this time Garrick had raced past the 200 run mark and the 200+ jubilant spectators were wondering if Garrick would get to 300 runs on this sweltering day. He played confidently hitting back to back sixes and fours. The air in the park was thick and very charged and anticipatory for the record breaking triple century from Garrick, but it was not meant to be when he was caught on the boundary going for a six, which would have taken him to the magnificent 300. Robert Tulloch caught him deep on cover bounday for 294 runs.
A stellar performance in the heat with 34 fours and 15 sixes, he shattered all sorts of record in the GSCL with this tally. The fireworks was not over when the humble Odean Brown, an excellent leg spin bowler came to bat and scored 68 runs (9x6’s & 2x4’s ) off 18 balls, at one point he slammed four consecutive sixes straight over long off. Young Jeremy McGarvey batted out the inning with Captain Mark Baker to register the mind boggling total of 535 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs. Alton Taylor took 3 wickets for 80 runs off 10 overs for UBACC.
The sun drenched, psychologically spooked UBACC batsmen realized that at this point they had a huge uphill battle to overcome Vibes massive total of 535 runs.
On the very first ball of UBACC’s inning from Evroy Dyer to opener Glenn Atkins, he was caught by Jeremy Francois for a duck at square leg. Five UBACC batsmen quickly fell victim to fireballer, Evroy Dyer with little resistance. At this point, spectators were buzzing whether UBACC would reach the 100 run mark. Leg spin bowler, Odean Brown came to the bowling attack and made immediate affect getting Jermaine King and Hopeton Henry.
UBACC was quicky bowled out for 81 runs. Evroy Dyer took 5 wickets for 25 runs in 7 overs and Odeen Brown, 3 wickets for 16 runs off 6 overs in preserving Vibes Sports Club record 39th win in a row.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in Dublin, Ireland
Ball-by-Ball Commentary
USA U-19 medium pacer Mital Patel took six wickets and wrapped up the
first innings with a hat trick to help lead USA to a three-wicket win
over Afghanistan U-19 at The Hills CC on Monday afternoon at the 2011
ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Dublin, Ireland. Patel was named Man of
the match after finishing with figures of 6 for 35 and is now the
leading wicket taker in the tournament with 13.
USA won the toss and elected to field first and Afghanistan got off
to a quick start with 22 runs in the first three overs. A steady rain
began to come down after the third over finished but the umpires allowed
play to continue and on the first ball of the fourth over, Patel struck
for the first time on the day, getting Javed Ahmadi to edge behind for 8
to USA U-19 captain Greg Sewdial at first slip. Before the next batsman
arrived at the crease, the umpires took the players off the field for a
one hour 53 minute delay.
When play resumed, Patel finished the over by taking the wicket of
the new batsman Shir Shirzi, also caught in the slips by Sewdial for a
duck. Jodhbir Singh struck next, having Afsar Zazai caught by Cameron
Mirza on the cover boundary for 11 to make it 47 for 3 in the 10th over.
Hammad Shahid had entered the attack in the fifth over and bowled a
fantastic eight-over first spell, taking 2 for 12 with three maidens.
His first wicket was that of Rahmat Sahaq for a duck in the 13th over
before he removed opening batsman Hashmat Shaidi for 25, caught at point
by Nair on the last ball of the 15th over to make it 60 for 5.
As was the case in USA’s matches against Ireland and Namibia, the
opposition was allowed to regroup as Afghanistan middle order batsmen
Nasir Ahmadzai and Najib Zadran led a mid-innings revival for their
team. Zadran played a magnificent innings of 70 to dominate a 96-run
sixth wicket stand with Ahmadzai. The left-hand batsman hit exactly 14
fours and 14 singles in an elegant display before falling to the
off-spin of Abhijit Joshi, edging an attempted cut to wicketkeeper
Steven Taylor.
With Zadran gone, Patel returned for a third spell and finished off
the order. Mohib Paak drove a simple return catch back to Patel for 4 to
make it 167 for 8 in the 38th over before Yamin Ahmadzai was bowled for
2 to end the 39th. Number 10 batsman Aftab Alam was caught slogging to
Shahid at long on to start the 41st as Patel claimed USA U-19's first
five-wicket haul since Gurpreet Sandhu took 5 for 7 against Bermuda U-19
in February.
Nasir Ahmadzai,
on 47, crossed while the ball was in the air to get on strike for the
next delivery. Ahmadzai also attempted to slog Patel out of the ground
but skied a ball high over midwicket where Sewdial ran back to take an
excellent catch, giving Patel his hat trick as Afghanistan was bowled
out for 183 in 41.2 overs.
Image (right) - Mital Patel poses with the match ball after
taking a hat trick and 6 for 35 in the field for USA U-19.
[Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Because the rain interruption took place after the match had started,
the Duckworth Lewis calculation for USA’s target became 183 in 46 overs
instead of 184. Mirza opened with Taylor, who continued his red hot
form by blazing 49 in 43 balls with six fours and three sixes. He got
out attempting to flick a single against the turn through midwicket
while facing the off spin of Zadran and sent a leading edge to Shirzi at
cover who stumbled to the ground but managed to take a one-handed catch
anyway to stun Taylor and make the score 73 for 1 in the 15th over.
From there, USA’s scoring rate dropped rapidly as Afghanistan’s
captain Shirzi applied tight fields to put pressure on USA. Shirzi moved
himself into silly point in the 23rd over and two balls later Joshi
tapped a catch straight to him off left arm spinner Abdul Naseri to
leave for 10. Shirzi then remained there for Naseri or at short leg for
the off spin of Ahmadi for the majority of the rest of the innings.
Mirza departed LBW for 37 in the 32nd over playing back to a full
length ball from Ahmadi and Amarnauth Persaud, batting with a runner,
lasted only three balls before he edged Ahmadi behind to the keeper
Zazai for his second duck of the tournament to make it 128 for 4 in the
32nd.
Sewdial tried to alleviate the mounting pressure with a brief
counterattack to notch 28. One ball after hitting his fifth boundary
through the covers, he went for another big drive and missed while
dragging his back foot out of the crease to allow Zazai time to flick
off the bails for a stumping and Ahmadi had his third to make it 149 for
5 in the 36th. Pranay Suri was run out for the second time in three
games two overs later for 7 and Shahid got out LBW for 4 to a yorker
from Yamin Ahmadzai as USA was teetering at 169 for 7, 14 short of
victory.
Afghanistan’s bowling unit lost their nerve though, bowling a series
of wides down the stretch, finishing with 21 in all which cost them very
badly in the final result. Singh and Salman Ahmad patiently crept their
way to the target until Singh cracked a four over mid off on the final
ball of the 45th to clinch the second win of the tournament for USA
while handing Afghanistan their third loss.
In the other matches of the day, Nikhil Dutta’s century for Canada
was not enough as they lost by three wickets to Namibia. Duncan Allan
hit his second century of the tournament for Kenya but like Dutta his
came in a losing cause as Ireland won by two wickets. Scotland defeated
Papua New Guinea by two wickets in a 33-over match. In the only match of
the day that didn’t go to the wire, Nepal beat Vanuatu by 159 runs.
After the conclusion of the first week of matches in Dublin, four
teams are tied at the top with 3-1 records – Nepal, Namibia, Scotland
and Ireland. Canada, USA and Kenya are tied for fifth at 2-2 with USA
sixth on net run rate. Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea are 1-3 while
Vanuatu remains winless.
Tuesday is a travel day for all teams as the tournament shifts to
Londonderry in Northern Ireland. USA’s next match is against Scotland on
Wednesday at Eglinton. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage, made possible
in part by New Inning Foundation, begins at 10 a.m., 5 a.m. EST in the
USA, with the match starting at 10:45 a.m.
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