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USA Cricketer
June 2012 - Posts
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Hillsborough, NJ— 26 June, 2012 [AVCC Media Release]
 The
Amwell Valley Cricket Club (AVCC) will host an Open Day on Sunday, July
1, from 10 a.m. to noon on its club grounds at the Hillsborough Golf
and Country Club. Adults and children of all ages are invited to come
learn all about cricket through hands-on tutorials followed by a fun
game. Our Open Days are free to the public, and beverages will be
provided. All are welcome to join the fun.
Picture Courtesy AVCC: AVCC's club grounds are the first in NJ to feature a natural turf wicket.
“Don’t
worry if you’ve never picked up a cricket bat before,” says AVCC
President Alan George. “We’ll provide you with equipment and explain
everything you need to know. Our Open Days are a great way for families
and kids to discover the wonderful game of cricket.” Cricket is one of the most widely played and watched sports in the world, with close to a billion followers.
Open
Day is an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about
this popular sport, which is now growing in the United States through
the initiatives of groups like the AVCC. The AVCC grounds
are located at Hillsborough Golf and Country Club, 146 Wertsville Road,
Hillsborough, New Jersey 08844. Once at the country club, simply follow
the AVCC signs to the cricket grounds. The Amwell Valley
Cricket Club seeks to provide a safe and fun environment for adults and
children to learn about and play cricket, and to promote and support the
growth of youth Cricket in America. The club always welcomes new
members.
For more information on the club, please visit amwellvalleycricket.com
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By Peter Della Penna in Brooklyn, N.Y. (on Twitter)
USA U-18 squad member posted the highest score of the day, 57 off 33
balls, for Queens 1 as they trounced Bronx/Manhattan by 113 runs to win
the 2012 NYC Mayor’s Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game on Saturday
at Gateway Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. Wilson was named the MVP on the day
after scoring 24 in a narrow 9-run win over Queens 2 in the first
15-over semifinal. Bronx/Manhattan reached the final after a 7-wicket
upset of Brooklyn, chasing 106 to win with a ball to spare in the second
semi-final despite 56 from USA U-18 squad member Zahib Tariq who
captained the Brooklyn side.
Bronx/Manhattan won the toss for the 20-over final and sent Queens 1
in to bat. Ahsan Riaz, a senior from Hillcrest HS who was later named
Best Batsman for the day, got Queens off to a tremendous start and
helped lay the platform for victory by striking 49 off 32 balls
including five fours and a six. When he departed, the score was 82 for 1
in the 11th over.
Troy Mars joined his John Adams HS teammate Wilson at the crease and
the pair blitzed the Bronx/Manhattan attack to put on 61 for the third
wicket in just 4.3 overs. Mars, the leading scorer in the PSAL for 2012,
cracked 35 in 19 balls including two fours and three monstrous sixes to
put the game well out of reach for Bronx/Manhattan to chase. He finally
fell to Taher Miah, the Dewitt Clinton junior who topped all PSAL
bowlers with 31 wickets in the regular season.
 Wilson
continued on until the 19th over. He brought up his 50 off 27 balls
with back to back boundaries through midwicket and mid off. He finished
with six boundaries and two sixes on the day and will be taking his good
form to Florida next month when the USA U-18 team takes on Bermuda and
Canada in a series of round-robin matches.
Image (right) - Randall Wilson pulls for 6 during his knock of 57
in the 2012 NYC Mayor's Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game.
[Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
A flurry of wickets fell in the final 10 balls as Queens finished on
178 for 7 in 20 overs. Miah had the best figures for Bronx/Manhattan
with 3 for 14 in four overs.
Wilson and freshman phenom Keifer Phil from HS of Construction opened
the bowling for Queens and their pace was too hot to handle for the
Bronx/Manhattan batsmen. Zahid Hasan of Herbert Lehman top edged a
delivery the skied to cover where Brandon Boodhoo of Richmond Hill HS
took a superb catch on the run.
The fall of the first wicket brought Bronx/Manhattan captain Asfaque
Chowdhury to the crease. The DeWitt Clinton junior had taken his team to
victory in the semi-final with 46, but was run out without facing a
delivery after getting into a terrible mixup with Zeeshan Arip and with
that Queens ran away with the match.
After Syed Islam was bowled by Phil, John Adams leg-spinner Zafaar
Yusuf ripped through the middle and lower order to take 6 for 13 in 3.4
overs and easily walked away with the Best Bowler award on the day. The
match was over in 15.4 overs after Yusuf took the final wicket to bowl
out Bronx/Manhattan for just 65. Phil, who had taken figures of 2 for 1
in two overs during the first semi-final, finished the final with
figures of 2 for 13 in four overs and marked himself as an exciting
prospect for the future with his raw pace.
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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)
New York City’s best high school cricketers have been chosen to take
part in the 2012 NYC Mayor’s Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game on
Saturday at Gateway Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. The group of 57 players from
PSAL high school teams across Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Queens
includes three USA U-18 selections: Amarnauth Persaud of Martin Van
Buren HS, Zahib Tariq of FDR HS and Randall Wilson of John Adams HS, who
was named MVP of last year’s Mayor’s Cup All-Star Game.
 Tariq
will captain the Brooklyn team against Asfaque Chowdhury’s
Bronx/Manhattan team. Persaud and Troy Mars of John Adams, PSAL’s
leading scorer in 2012, will captain each of the two Queens squads.
Three matches will take place as part of the Mayor’s Cup festivities
beginning at 10 a.m. The first two matches will be 15 over affairs as
Queens #1 will take on Queens #2 in the morning contest while a combined
Bronx/Manhattan team will take on Brooklyn at 1 p.m. The winners will
advance to the 20 over championship match at 4 p.m.
 The
two semifinals were reduced by five overs each this year after last
year’s matches ran long, forcing much of the second innings of the
showpiece championship match in the evening to be played in bad light.
The game was eventually halted in the 18th over of the Queens chase.
Brooklyn eventually defeated Queens to claim the championship.
Image (left) - Randall Wilson, USA U-18 selection and
NY PSAL All-Star from John Adams HS. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Three schools have four selections each in the All-Star squads:
DeWitt Clinton, Herbert Lehman and 2012 PSAL champion Long Island City.
Martin Van Buren, John Adams, Richmond Hill, Hillcrest, FDR, Bronx HS of
Science and Stuyvesant all have three representatives from their
schools. Midwood, Franklin K. Lane, Abraham Lincoln, Sheepshead Bay,
Jamaica, Queens HS of Teaching, Newcomers, William Bryant and Aviation
have two representatives each. Lafayette Educational Complex, Prospect
Heights, Brooklyn International, John Bowne, HS for Construction and
Thomas Edison each had one selection. Wingate Educational, which went
0-12 on the season, was the only high school which failed to have a
player selected.
Click here for complete All-Star squads.
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By Peter Della Penna in Queens, N.Y. (on Twitter)
Number one seed Long Island City High School lived up to its ranking
by completing an undefeated season with a 39-run win over number three
seed John Adams High School to claim the 2012 NY PSAL High School
Cricket championship on Saturday at Baisley Pond Park in Queens, N.Y.
LIC finishes the season 17-0 while John Adams ends as the runner-up for
the third time in the PSAL title game and closes the season at 14-2. LIC
lost the 2011 final to FDR High School in a super over after scores
were level at the end of 20 overs but this time they came through
convincingly after playing the semifinal and final on back-to-back days.
Image (above) - LIC celebrates on the pitch as the players hoist
head coach Dharmvir Gehlaut onto their shoulders to carry him off the
field. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
“It was a very exhilarating moment for everyone,” said LIC head coach
Dharmvir Gehlaut. “I’m happy to have this championship because my
players were very dedicated. They put in lots of work, lots of hours.
This was Regents [Final Exams] week. They had to take the exam yesterday
and they were on time for the match. Last evening we were playing
semifinal here at the same ground. A little more than 12 hours later
they were playing the final. We didn’t have enough rest, but that shows
how much hard work they’re putting in.”
John Adams won the toss and elected to field first only to watch LIC
post an imposing first innings total of 158 for 5 in 20 overs. John
Adams had chased down a total of 159 against John Bowne HS as recently
as May 25 and also chased down Richmond Hill’s 147 at the same ground on
May 29 with 6.5 overs to spare, but LIC was too much to handle in the
final.
“I’m devastated right now,” said John Adams head coach Alex
Navarrete. “I believed in this team from day one. I still believe in
this team. You never know what’s gonna happen in cricket. Yesterday, we
scored 113… and we bowled out the defending champion. Today it could be
anything. It’s a city final and these are youngsters. [LIC] knocked out
our key players and we couldn’t respond to that.”
Randall Wilson struck an early blow for John Adams by removing Mahnaz
Mustafa for 8 in the third over to make it 16 for 1. Overall, the John
Adams bowlers struggled to make an impact though and it was up to the
their fielding unit to pull their side back in the game with a pair of
runouts.
The first occurred in the ninth over when Salam Sajib got into a
dreadful mixup with Redwanur Khan and was runout for 25. Khan pushed the
ball toward midwicket where Michael Katwaroo hustled to field the ball
and flick toward the bowler Daniel Singh. Sajib was ball-watching while
Khan bolted for a run. With Khan about to arrive at the non-striker’s
end, Singh tossed the ball to Troy Mars, who had opened the bowling but
was now wicketkeeping for John Adams, to flick off the bails. As Sajib
left his ground to sacrifice himself, Khan made a desperate dive to
ground his bat over the crease at the non-striker’s end. Khan injured
his leg in the process and needed to retire hurt. The whole sequence
resulted in LIC falling to 57 for 2 with two new batsmen arriving at the
crease.
Two overs later more indecision occurred as MD Islam was run out for
3. Mohtasi Hossain nudged a ball toward point where Stefan Rampersaud
charged in to field. Islam took off from the non-striker’s end when
there was never a run on offer. Rampersaud panicked and threw to Mars
but the keeper had enough time to send the ball to the bowler Singh for
another dismissal to make it 64 for 3 in the 11th.
Rather than get flustered, LIC regrouped as Hossain found an able
ally at the crease in Attaur Khan to build a stabilizing 47-run
partnership. The pair seized on Nevin Sadhoo for 17 runs in the 14th
over, including a pair of sixes by Attaur, which shifted momentum back
toward LIC.
Gurprit Singh struck twice in the 17th over to remove Hossain and
Attaur for 20 off 26 and 33 off 20 respectively, but with the score at
122 for 5 and three overs remaining, it allowed Ahmad Wyne and Jawwad
Khan to tee off. The pair took 16 off Wilson in the 19th and another 13
off Mars in the 20th to boost LIC to a total that turned out to be
comfortably out of reach for John Adams.
“Last year was a great chance to win the match,” said Sajib. “This
year we got the chance again so we couldn’t let this go this time.”
Despite having a pair of explosive batsmen in Mars and Wilson, the
scoreboard pressure was enough to force John Adams into desperate shots
and make mistakes. Gurprit and Mars got off to a rapid start, putting on
35 in 3.4 overs, but Gurprit swung over a knee high full toss to be
bowled for 21 off 13 balls.
The scoring rate slowed down slightly when Wilson came to the crease
as he and Mars looked to rebuild by rotating the strike through singles
rather than boundaries. However, Mars could hold back no longer in the
eighth over and an attempted slog against Redwanur missed badly as the
stumps were knocked back.
 
 
Images (clockwise from top left) - Troy Mars goes for a
big heave to midwicket (1), and misses to have his leg stump knocked
out of the ground (2). LIC bowler Attaur Khan (facing camera) is mobbed
by teammates (3) as Mars walks off the ground in a key moment of the
match(4). [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Mars walked off with 18 off 16 and the last hope for John Adams was a
classic knock from USA U-18 selection Wilson. It wasn’t to be as Wilson
missed a sweep in the next over against Islam’s off-spin and was given
LBW for 16.
“I think that 159, it was a number we could handle,” said Navarrete.
“I was confident enough that we can, especially the first six overs. I
told my opening batsmen that you guys have to hang in and stay there.
Once they start knocking down one wicket after another, it’s very hard
when they knock down your best batsmen.”
With the dismissal of Wilson, the LIC fielders could sense that
victory was only a matter of time. Harmanveer Singh was bowled in the
next over without scoring while John Adams lost three wickets in the
space of two runs in the 14th and 15th overs to sink to 90 for 7. Zafaar
Yusuf held out until the 18th over before he was runout for 25 to top
score in the innings and Sadhoo was bowled for 18 in the 19th to make it
117 for 9. While the result had been established well before, Mustafa
used the final ball of the match to take the final wicket of John Adams,
bowling Zadd Singh for 2 to wrap up the innings for 119, as LIC’s
players rushed to rip the stumps out of the ground and wave them wildly
in celebration.
Image (above) - 2012 NY PSAL champs LIC. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
At the post-match presentation, Gurprit Singh of John Adams was named
the Best Bowler of the final after taking 2 for 11 in two overs. Attaur
Khan was named Best Batsman after scoring 33 off 20 while Redwanur Khan
was named Finals MVP for scoring 21 not out from 24 balls before
retiring hurt and following it up with 2 for 12 in four overs in the
field.
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By Jamie Harrison
“Stage 2 – Here children are formed
into community softball cricket leagues, where the fun can continue
outside of the limitations of gym class. By expanding the time when they
can play, we are allowed to do some rudimentary instruction and we can
devote more resources to nurturing not just their love for the game, but
also their understanding of it. It is in Stage 2 where some children
will begin to separate themselves from their peers, and many of these
children will yearn for something more challenging; these we will
channel toward local academies, indoor facilities and other
instructional programs.” - From the article, "Six Stages of US Youth Cricket Development" published by DreamCricket.com on May 16, 2010.
Over two years ago, I laid out the USYCA youth cricket development
program on this site amid the launch of what would quickly become the
nation’s youth cricket organization. Since then, USYCA has donated over
800 cricket sets to schools across the United States, brought
international coaches to camps, contributed to the construction of
cricket pitches and generally raised the volume and profile of youth
cricket in America.
 While
these initial steps were ongoing, there have been naysayers who refused
to believe that our efforts would have a measurable impact. The chief
complaint of these “Negative Nancys” has been some variation of this:
“Sure, it’s easy to give away cricket sets, but you’ll never get
American kids to actually pay money to play junior cricket. Until that
happens, nothing you do means anything.”
Image (right) - Cricket program in Maryland. [Courtesy: USYCA]
Well, Nancy, just as we started our schools cricket in Maryland and
then replicated its success nationwide, this summer new junior cricket
programs, targeted at the children who’ve been introduced to the game in
their Physical Education classes, have been launched in Maryland. And
guess what? American children, some with ex-pat parents but mostly those
without, are coming out of school and paying to play in these nascent
junior cricket programs.
Is the level of play on par with established cricket academies? Of
course not. But we have to bring the game to children where they are
(developmentally), and that means low-cost programs that teach the
basics while keeping the emphasis squarely on fun. To pad these novices
up and push them into the nets would be self-defeating, and also
dangerous to the children.
The three Maryland programs will teach cricket to over one hundred
children this summer, and the lessons we learn as coaches and
administrators can then be used to help leagues, clubs and individuals
across the country to start their own programs next year and into the
future. The revolution is truly underway, and what’s going on at USYCA
today is a vision of a bright future for American cricket.
I’m sure that those who secretly wish us to fail will now move the
goal line again, and will do their best to downplay the success we have
so far experienced. No matter. The train is leaving the station, with or
without those who would seek to stop it. The only question now is which
individuals, leagues and clubs will be on the train, and which will
choose to be left behind.
For those of us at USYCA, though, it’s back to work.
[Views expressed in this article are those of the author. If you
have differing views or opinions, we respect those views and urge
you to provide your feedback - both positive and negative - in the
comments section.]
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By Peter Della Penna in Brooklyn, N.Y. (on Twitter)
John Adams High School (14-1, #3 seed) knocked off previously
unbeaten FDR High School (14-1, #2 seed) to advance to the 2012 New York
Public Schools Athletic League championship match against Long Island
City High School with a stunning 50-run win on Friday at Gateway Park in
Brooklyn, N.Y. John Adams was bowled out for 113 in 19 overs, but a
remarkable batting collapse by FDR saw them wiped out for 63 in 19.3
overs, their lowest total of the season.
It was FDR’s first loss since losing to eventual champions William C.
Bryant in the quarterfinals of the 2010 PSAL Playoffs. FDR went
undefeated in 2011 to win the PSAL title. Meanwhile, John Adams advances
back to the PSAL final for the third time and is seeking their first
title after losing both the 2008 and 2009 finals to Newcomers High
School. In Friday’s other semifinal Long Island City (16-0, #1 seed)
beat Hillcrest by 8 runs (12-3, #4 seed), defending a first innings
total of 143, and returns to the final after losing to FDR last year in a
super over after scores were tied at the end of 20 overs.
FDR won the toss and elected to field on a sunny Friday afternoon in
Jamaica Bay. Gurprit Singh and Harmanveer Singh opened the batting for
John Adams and put on 43 for the first wicket. Gurprit hit three
boundaries and a six before he slogged USA U-18 all-rounder Zahib Tariq
into the wind and was caught at mid on for 26. Harmanveer departed two
overs later, bowled by Antu Das for 14 to make it 53 for 2 after 7.
USA U-18 selection Randall Wilson joined Zafaar Yusuf at the crease
and while Wilson is the more heralded player it was the diminutive
junior Yusuf who stole the show. Yusuf top scored with 28 off 24 balls,
feasting on a pair of leg side deliveries and launching them over the
square leg boundary for six. He was bowled in strange circumstances at
the end of the 12th over, ducking and turning his back to a loopy full
toss from spinner Hamza Rana only to hear the ball hit the stumps.
 With
the score at 87 for 3, John Adams appeared well set to launch for a
massive score with captain Troy Mars, 739 runs in the regular season and
another 121 in the playoffs, joining Wilson at the crease. However, the
partnership lasted only four balls when the pair got into a terrible
mixup that left Wilson stranded halfway down the pitch. Mithun Mishu
fielded at mid on and tossed to Tariq over the bowler’s stumps to run
out Wilson for 15.
Image (right) - John Adams HS captain Troy Mars hits a six over
long on during his team's semifinal win over 2011 champion FDR HS.
[Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
The score was taken to 103 in the 16th when Daniel Singh was caught
at mid on by Khawar Abbas off the bowling of Abrar Zafar for 2. Two
balls later, Mars was attempting his second six when he skied Zafar to
Abbas again, who took an outstanding catch on the run at mid off to
dismiss the dangerous Mars for 14. After a run out in the 17th,
Mohaiminul Islam wiped out the tail with three wickets in the 19th over
and John Adams was all out for 113. Islam finished with 3 for 19 in
four, FDR’s best figures on the day.
It should have been a simple target for FDR to chase, but John Adams
bowled and fielded with precision and intensity to put FDR under
pressure from the start. Wilson took a wicket in the first over as
Islam, a senior with an average of 86 during the regular season, skied a
chance to midwicket that was well caught running in from the boundary
by Gurprit Singh to make it 2 for 1.
After five overs the score was 13 for 1 as John Adams kept things
tight but a costly over bowled by Yusuf looked like it might finally
give FDR the momentum back and propel them towards the target. Zafar hit
sixes off three consecutive deliveries from the leg-spinner, including a
chest-high no-ball, as part of a 22-run over to take the score to 35
after 6.
However, the gentle medium pace of Daniel Singh proved to be the
undoing of FDR beginning in the next over. Tariq went to pull a short
delivery down the leg side and a massive appeal for caught behind was
upheld. Tariq appeared unhappy with the decision, gesturing that it went
off his thigh pad and after taking a few moments finally walked off for
7. Two overs later, Singh dismissed Zafar for 25, caught by Harmanveer
Singh at long on. Five balls later he had Zain Ali splicing a simple
chance to Wilson at cover for a duck and the wheels started to fall off
for FDR with the score 38 for 4 after 9.
Despite a shaky first over by Yusuf, John Adams captain Mars stuck
with him and the move paid off in the 10th when he bowled Das for 4 to
make it 42 for 5. Daniel Singh capped off his match-turning spell in the
11th when Rana sliced a full delivery to Ganesh Bheir at gully for 1 to
make it 44 for 6. FDR’s raucous support from the first innings had now
been silenced.
FDR’s tail tried to bat out the overs, but they were finally bowled
out for 63 three balls into the final over to spark wild celebrations on
the field by John Adams. Daniel Singh finished with 4 for 10 in four
overs while Wilson took 2 for 3 in three overs including a maiden. John
Adams as a team bowled three maidens during the innings. Yusuf had 2 for
7 in his final three overs to finish with 2 for 29 in four. After the
22-run sixth over, the next best over FDR had in the chase was seven
runs in the 18th as John Adams built relentless pressure which
ultimately took them to victory.
The final between John Adams and Long Island City takes place on
Saturday at the Baisley Pond Park South field in Queens, N.Y. Both teams
are attempting to win their first PSAL title.
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MBA student to undertake analysis of cricket in USA
By Venu Palaparthi
 Professor
Gangaram Singh of San Diego State University announced on Tuesday that
one of his MBA students, Christian Jensen, had begun working on an
applied research paper in cricket. The paper will focus on developing a
framework for cricket in USA so that cricket can replicate the
successes of other sports leagues.
Christian Jensen, who is pursuing his MBA in Sports Management, has
developed an affinity for the T20 format although he has never played
the game. Jensen believes that his outsider’s approach is just what
cricket needs in America. "Insiders don’t always recognize factors
that an outsider can observe. I hope that my analysis will follow a
systematic approach, with an objective outcome," Jensen wrote.
Leading by Example - Lacrosse and Rugby
Jensen is right on the money about the three fast growing sports and
the lessons to be learned from them. Even though we should want cricket
to emulate soccer, soccer is pretty much a mainstream sport in the U.S.
today and already enjoys higher per game attendance than ice hockey or
basketball.
Lacrosse and rugby are now at the leading edge of emerging sports and
offer very realistic benchmarks for cricket. Lacrosse (+41.8%) and
rugby (+37.7%) showed highest participant gains over the last four years
according to SGMA's 2012 survey of team sports.
In fact, US Lacrosse, lacrosse's governing body formed in 1998,
presides over a sport that has the greatest momentum of any sport in the
US today with junior lacrosse participants increasing at a rate of
117.6% between 2000 and 2008. US Lacrosse now has registered membership
that is over 300,000 and core participants totaling 565,000 last
year. Rugby is estimated to have over 98,000 registered participants
and over 67,000 high school students play rugby for their schools or
clubs. Another 32,000 play college rugby.
The dominant professional leagues for lacrosse and rugby - Major
League Lacrosse (MLL) and USA Rugby League (USARL) - are independent
leagues and are not sanctioned by their respective national governing
bodies. In fact, this is true of most American sports including
basketball, baseball and football.
Academia to the Cricket Field
Jensen's and Prof. Gangaram Singh's efforts to analyze cricket in USA
is expected to fill a huge void in a sport that generally is lacking in
data and metrics.
The last meaningful study of cricket in America was conducted in
2009, when three different groups of MBA students at Columbia University
set out under the supervision of Professor Rajiv Kohli to analyze
demand for international cricket in United States. The students
shared their results with USACA's CEO, Don Lockerbie, who was then
working on Destination USA. Prof. Kohli is also the author of a
Columbia University case study titled "The launch of the Indian Premier League." Prof. Kohli sits on the advisory board of DreamCricket.com.
 Interestingly,
Prof. SP Kothari of MIT-Sloan, who like Prof. Kohli is a board member
of DreamCricket.com, wrote an opinion piece in October 2007 titled "Let a private cricket league boom"
in The Economic Times arguing for a city-based private league months
before the IPL was announced. His article was so compelling that when
the original IPL Franchise Prospectus was released, his quote
accompanied the introduction.
Another keen cricket fan from academia is Prof. Vijay Govindarajan,
Earl C. Daum professor of international business and the founding
director of Tuck’s Center for Global Leadership.
"We have to ask more fundamental questions about how the world of
cricket is changing and how we need to get the right people and the
right processes to compete in the future," Prof. Govindarajan once told a
newspaper. "Let us selectively forget the stalwarts whose great years
are behind them and focus on building a pipeline of young talent," he
added noting the dearth of the three most important ingredients of world
class organizations - talent, team spirit, and execution discipline.
For the record, he was talking about the Indian debacle in 2007.
Prof. Govindarajan might as well be talking about USA cricket.
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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)
USACA has selected the 14 players who will represent the USA against
Bermuda and Canada in Florida next month at the 2012 ICC Americas U-18
Match Play Camp. The squad for the 50-over double round-robin event was
announced on Monday night. It contains six players who have previously
represented USA at the U-15 or U-19 level.
Steven Taylor will captain the squad, a strong indication that he
will hold onto the role in 2013 when a USA U-19 squad will compete in
the ICC Americas U-19 Division One Tournament for a chance to qualify
for the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup in the UAE.
 Amarnauth
Persaud, a teammate of Taylor’s on the USA U-19 team last summer at the
2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland, was named in the squad.
Persaud was one of the top scorers this season in the NY Public Schools
Athletic League high school cricket competition while representing
Martin Van Buren High School.
Image (right) - Steven Taylor will captain the USA U-18 team next
month in Florida. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
The vice-captain will be Dave Parikh, who captained the USA U-15
squad to a first place finish last August at the ICC Americas U-15
Northern Division Tournament in Winnipeg, Canada. Parikh was also named
Tournament MVP of that event.
Parikh is joined by four other North West Region players. Krish Goel
was in the list of probables for the USA U-19 squad in 2011 and is a
former USA U-15 teammate of Steven Taylor and Persaud. Roshan
Varadarajan was Taylor’s vice-captain on the USA U-15 team in 2009 and
previously captained the North West Region to an undefeated title-run at
the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament while Arsh Buch, another USA
U-15 representative, was the Tournament MVP at the 2010 USACA U-15
National Tournament. Vibhav Altekar, who represented the USA U-15 team
in 2011, scored a double-century at the 2011 USCA U-15 National
Tournament.
Three other New York Region players join Persaud on the team. Zahib
Tariq emerged as a solid prospect for USA at the 2010 USACA U-15
National Championship for his all-round abilities. Just last week he
scored 28 not out and took 6 for 13 in a quarterfinal win for FDR High
School over Persaud’s Martin Van Buren High School in the NY PSAL
Playoffs. Randall Wilson, who took 2 for 34 and scored 51 not out in a
quarterfinal win for John Adams High School over Abraham Lincoln, has
scored three centuries in the last two years at USACA U-15 National
Tournaments.
Omar Afridi is also from the New York Region and in 2011 was named
Scotland’s U-17 Player of the Year. He previously represented Scotland
at the U-13 and U-15 levels but his family moved to the USA last summer.
He is able to play for USA without having to wait four years by virtue
of his US citizenship and because he did not represent Scotland at the
U-19 level or above.
Ryan Persaud was selected from the Atlantic Region. He was the
leading wicket-taker at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament. Shakeel
Ahmad, the younger brother of USA U-19 player Salman Ahmad, is the lone
representative from the South West Region. Ahmad scored a century this
past weekend for Citrus Valley CC against Hollywood CC in Division Two
of the Southern California Cricket Association and currently averages
44.40 in Division Two matches this season. Karan Patel and Omari
Williams hail from the Central West and South East Regions respectively.
Williams made headlines last year as a 15-year-old when he scored 128
in a match for Osswald Park against Myrtle Grove in the South Florida
Cricket Alliance Premier Division.
A coach, manager and physio have yet to be named by USACA. The ICC
Americas U-18 Match Play Camp runs from July 9-14 at the Central Broward
Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla.
USA U-18 Squad: Steven Taylor (captain, South East),
Dave Parikh (vice-captain, North West), Omar Afridi (New York), Shakeel
Ahmad (South West), Vibhav Altekar (North West), Arsh Buch (North
West), Krish Goel (North West), Karan Patel (Central West), Amarnauth
Persaud (New York), Ryan Persaud (Atlantic), Zahib Tariq (New York),
Roshan Varadarajan (North West), Omari Williams (South East), Randall
Wilson (New York).
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Mike Thomas
I’m
a cricketer. Some would say a keen and passionate cricketer. Let’s face
it, to withstand twenty-six years of club and league cricket in the
U.S.A. after a similar length in the English game, needs a certain
amount of passion besides the ibuprofen.
 One
forges all manner of friends, acquaintances and relationships in the
game after so long. Countless long evenings dissecting, analyzing and
absorbing all manner of opinion on every facet of the priceless pastime.
Strangely, only one subject appears to unite all those opinions – the
parlous state of U.S. cricket organization. How so, one asks: is cricket
not the fastest growing sport in the U.S? Are clubs and leagues not
mushrooming across the land? Are there not promising development signs
in the schools and colleges? Are not global authorities hungrily eying
such a vast market?
All true, yet stranger still, everybody
seems to know the answers - and they’re always all the same. A litany of
intangibles: transparency, democracy, fairness, openly representative,
altruism, service to the whole cricket community. All nod sagely in
agreement, but implementation always seems to escape similar unity.
Generations of clubs, leagues and putative national bodies have now
embraced, or purported to embrace such ideals, so why the lack of
success?
This is not rocket science. The Founding Fathers got
it right in infinitely more complex circumstances. Why is not every
member of the cricketing community, social player, league player,
national star, youth player, female player, coach, umpire and plain
enthusiast, up in arms clamoring at the gates, demanding resolution?
Well,
apathy and those unable or unwillingly to commit effort cut the throng
substantially from the get-go, while some of the activists already there
have a few problems of self-interest, or with ego, power or money, or
all of the above. Frustration, disgust and a sense of helplessness are
powerful disincentives to commitment. Don’t get me wrong, there are some
very bright and well-intentioned people who have been or currently are
involved in emergent cricket organizations. There are however, many war
stories out there about the difficulties in reaching democratic or
collective decisions with both communities present.
So..er..ok,
resolution is still easy right? Just find a few good men and women who
are prepared to work their socks off for some years, have no
self-interest, ego or wish for power, reward or benefit and who will
readily accept ballot box banishment by their peers. This sounds
onerous, but it will happen in time because the crowd at the gates is
swelling and ultimately any national body gets held accountable for its
results. There is one case-book study out there, already
operating successfully to the joy of all. The United States Youth
Cricket Association (USYCA). Guess what? It’s altruistic, democratic,
decentralized, apolitical, financially transparent, has a simple
laser-like focus and is united and driven by a single commonly held
belief. U.S. cricket development will pivot on the degree that
generations of boys and girls in the nation’s school learn about, play
and enjoy cricket. The rewards for the many hard-working volunteers?
Just the laughter and smiles on the faces of the kids and PE teachers
alike, the satisfaction of bringing free equipment and coaching to
schools and a tangible contribution to the Game. Who knows, maybe
the children can teach something to us all in the search for appropriate
leadership of U.S. Cricket. It’s the Game stupid! Playing it, enjoying
it, creating the community and environment where more can enjoy it.
Haggling over rewards, TV rights, national selection and lawsuits before
lifting a finger is soooo adult!
So, for what it’s worth, one tiny voice of suggestion for those that would rule, or reform, or replace: - Get the Constitution right to start with, preferably both decentralized and with strong independent oversight of the Executive.
- Win the hearts and minds of all cricket constituencies – by effort, achievement and providing service
- Listen to those constituencies. U.S. Cricket needs management of those needs, not dictatorship.
- Keep early goals simple: under-promising and over-achievement wins friends (and sponsorship!)
- Maintain a sharp focus on that which can be unanimously agreed. Dissention is a killer.
- Eliminate
barriers to entry for individuals, clubs and leagues, focusing on
member’s “W.I.I.F.M.” (What’s in it for me?). If today’s playing
cricketers and enthusiasts are not clamoring to join, something’s wrong!
AND MOST IMPORTANT – AND CHALLENGING - OF ALL? - Leave
egos and self-interest behind. U.S. cricket cannot stand further
debacle: those who cannot put the greater good of the Game ahead of
self-interest - stay away!
How nice it would be to hear 100
tiny voices, then 1000 tiny voices: it is time the gates really rattled
from the rank and file….
[Mike Thomas has been playing
cricket for 26 years in the U.S., and is a former captain and president of his club. He
is also a board member of the C.C. Morris Cricket Library and Museum at
Haverford College, PA.]
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In May, BCCI made a decision that effectively allowed IPL teams to play 'out-of-season' friendly matches overseas.
The idea to commercially exploit the IPL brand overseas
was formally proposed at the IPL workshop in Goa in January. Teams
welcomed the May decision, but their initial enthusiasm has been
dampened as conditions were laid out in an email that was sent to the
team owners on June 2, 2012.
BCCI wrote in the email that the friendly matches can only be
played in associate countries. "It's our responsibility to popularize
the T20 format in other [associate] countries. If the IPL teams can
organize such matches, it will be good for the game," a BCCI official
was quoted as saying.
Teams are said to be unhappy about this condition, since it is seen
as severely limiting the commercial opportunities. But this is not the
only reason for the unhappiness. BCCI has also said that the teams must
treat these as 'separate events,' and that separate contracts must be
signed with players who are selected to play in these friendlies. Teams
were hoping to use previously contracted players by amending their
contracts.
A third restriction allows the IPL franchise to play just three
matches in a calendar year, between the months of June and
August. Despite its pronouncement regarding its responsibility to
popularize the sport in associate countries, BCCI appears to want to
control game-related aspects such as umpiring, match referee,
anti-corruption and anti-doping services for these friendly fixtures,
for which it expects to be compensated. This does not bode well for
USA's small but eminently qualified umpiring community, which might have
appreciated an opportunity to officiate in these friendly fixtures.
Not surprisingly, a majority of the franchises want these limitations
to be eased. “To begin with, the decision to play in associate
countries is the biggest problem. Almost all the teams wanted to play
these exhibition games in regular Test-playing nations," one team
official told HT Media, adding that 'there can be just no quality
cricket' in developing countries.
Whether BCCI relaxes its conditions or not, BCCI's decision already
works in USA's favor as it is an associate nation and the time window
coincides with the summer season in America. DreamCricket.com has
reliably learned that at least two teams are giving a series in USA a
serious look. However, the chances of that happening in 2012 are slim
to none.
Friendlies against IPL teams will provide a much needed boost to the
new T20 league announced by Cricket Holdings America that expects to
kick off in 2013. These international friendlies have worked well for
soccer. Major League Soccer (MLS) has had annual All-Star games against
international clubs since 2003. MLS' matches against EPL teams are
among the most popular fixtures on its calendar. The best of MLS played
and defeated Fulham FC (2005), Chelsea FC (2006), West Ham United FC
(2008). Everton FC defeated MLS All-Stars in 2009 and Manchester United
defeated them in 2010 and 2011.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Venu Palaparthi
At a recent party, a guest excitedly told me, "I was driving on Route 27 and I saw some people playing cricket." I asked him whether he stopped to watch the game. "Nah! I had to get home to watch the CSK match."
 Pic (right): Cricket has received some coverage in the US media. But the coverage is rarely about domestic cricket.
Despite loud proclamations that USA is home to the second largest cricket audience on the internet, the fact remains that a vast majority of these fans are disconnected from grassroots cricket in the USA. In fact, most of these netizens are actually consumers of international cricket news via Cricinfo or Cricketnext.
Only the most die-hard fans, perhaps fewer than a thousand, can actually name a player on the United States men's national cricket team. It doesn't help at all that the stories they read on Cricinfo about American cricket are about poor governance and listlessness. That only vindicates the fans' disconnect with the local cricket scene.
Type "USA cricket" in Google News Search and all that the famed search engine will retrieve is DreamCricket.com's coverage of American cricket and the occasional CricInfo piece. To the American cricketer's annoyance, articles about wireless telephone service provider Cricket sometimes creep into the search results.
It wasn't always like this. National newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post were known to have had regular cricket coverage in the mid to late 19th century. Now, cricket only makes an occasional cameo on editorial desks, reserved for major events and sensational news.
Sachin's 100th international century deservedly got some attention. Wright Thompson wrote a column for ESPN in the run-up to Sachin's milestone. Time Magazine featured Sachin in their print publication, calling him the World's Best Cricketer and even landed an interview with the unusually reticent cricketing legend which was published online. Manu Joseph wrote a piece for The New York Times calling Sachin a 'Balm of the Nation.' Allen Stanford and Raj Rajarathnam, especially their much publicized love for cricket, was headline fodder for two years until their conviction.
When an article on the sport of cricket appeared in The Washington Post last week, it quickly went viral among cricket fans in the United States. It was heartening to see grassroots cricket get some coverage.
 Pic (right): Screen grab of the Post article that appeared on May 21, 2012
Articles like the one that appeared in the Post also are sporadically seen in other city-based newspapers like The Hartford Courant, The Newark Star-Ledger or The Philadelphia Inquirer, sometimes on the invitation of the local leagues. The reporters writing these one-off articles often portray cricket with curiosity and puzzlement. These are men and women who are in the unenviable position of writing about cricket after witnessing their first game ever.
The articles follow the same format - a brief description of what the writer is witnessing, a walk through the game's roots in England, the customary invocation of John Adams, some social commentary regarding the game's resurgence, a random reference to tea, an equally incongruous mention of matches stretching to five days, some clairvoyant predictions regarding the made-for-US T20 format, sound bytes from local administrators, a few lines on the game's popularity in the Indian subcontinent, gratuitous comparisons with baseball and a text flyout box containing a cricket primer. Not to forget, the mandatory and quaintly spelled words - "cricketeer" and "batman", and the slightly misplaced "valium" and "pitcher."
Just like the Post article, these occasional articles are circulated and commented on with enthusiasm by cricket fans in blogs and via social media. Among the commenters are Americans who have traveled to cricket playing countries, passive cricket fans who have just discovered the existence of a league in their own city, and a handful of random commenters from India or Pakistan claiming extraordinary talent and wondering how they could come and play club cricket in the US.
Frequently, the articles also get basic facts wrong, especially regarding the number of cricketers or cricket grounds. They cannot be faulted too much for that - data on cricket in the USA is spotty at best.
A shy and insular community
A good amount of blame for the sport's low profile within the USA should go to the American cricket community, which is affected by a general disregard for media engagement. From the local cricket club to the national cricket body, from the local club president to the president of the national association, few individuals or organizations in the US can be described as being media savvy.
 Pic (right): The most common criticism of USA cricket is that the clubs and leagues aren't rowing in the same direction.
It all begins with the tone set at the top. USACA's website is unwelcoming and its media efforts are uninspiring, bordering on unbelievable. For pointers, look at this undated interview that until a couple of weeks ago inhabited the main page of the national body's website. The interview appears to be from 2010, because there is a reference to the departure of Don Lockerbie 'earlier this year.' In the interview, USACA President Gladstone Dainty says that the USACA board would start searching for a CEO early in the New Year, implying 2011. About the attributes of the national CEO, Dainty says: “We will be looking for someone to help us to get more Americans to play and have the ability to communicate to all people.” Over a year later, the board just recently announced on May 27 that it would look for a full-time CEO. An interim CEO was named in April. The only communications with 'all people' aimed at getting 'more Americans to play' are news articles that appeared in foreign media soon after the appointment was confirmed.
Local cricket leagues, which are the hubs of cricket activity, have been highly ineffective in establishing connections with each other. They exist as islands of cricket on the internet and rarely celebrate cricketing achievements and feats, even the more astonishing ones, outside of their own leagues. Leagues have paid very little attention to the long term direction of cricket in the US and many cricketers have no interest in what goes on at the national level. In fact, some five years after DreamCricket.com began continuous coverage of domestic cricket, most American cricket clubs and leagues do not carry links to the website, preferring to link to Cricinfo and other international feeds.
This insularity has hurt American cricket a lot and resulted in poor coverage by other media outlets. Publicity, media engagement and media attention are all interconnected. Community support and domestic cricket coverage in the media can help to catalyze the passive undercurrent of interest in the sport into a trip to the local cricket ground.
 Pic (Right): USYCA has been very effective with using internet and social media.
USYCA, Philadelphia Cricket Festival, Radiant Info T20, American College Cricket and Edison Cricket Club are examples of organizations that have given publicity and media relations some attention. As a result, these organizations have been rewarded with a fair amount of coverage in regional, community-centric and national media.
Philadelphia Cricket Festival and the DreamCricket organized Radiant Info T20 are examples of why positive news cycles are important for generating greater interest in domestic cricket. Not surprisingly, the finals of these events have drawn sizable crowds, and for many in the audience, it's their first live cricket match in the United States. In turn, the interest and the resulting eyeballs help drive more sponsors.
USYCA is the organization that clubs and leagues must emulate. The organization releases a steady flow of positive news via the internet and is also very active on social media. Little wonder then that it is the fastest growing cricket organization in the United States and the world has taken notice.
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