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USA Cricketer
September 2012 - 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 (on Twitter)
Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades
Click here for Part 2 - Player Grades
Outlook for 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three
Find a committed coach for USA
Next year’s ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda is scheduled for April
28-May 5, right smack in the middle of the IPL. This means that Robin
Singh will not be available, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Despite being paid a fee rumored to be five figures per tournament to
chaperone USA’s players, the results have been mostly unconvincing for
Singh in his efforts at women’s, junior and senior level for USA. Most
alarmingly, USA’s fielding has been dreadful at all three levels when he
has been in charge despite a reputation staked as a player on fielding
excellence.
 Outside
of a handful of days spent with the USA U-19 team in Florida in
February and July 2011, Singh has not spent any time on U.S. soil doing
any sort of coaching with USA’s teams. For Division Four, he flew into
Malaysia the night before the first match and somehow thought all he had
to do was snap his fingers to make magic happen. If Singh doesn’t fly
into the Mumbai Indians camp on the night before their first match in
the IPL to begin coaching them, why should it be acceptable for him to
do the same for the USA and expect the team to respond positively?
Image (right) - Robin Singh most likely will not be around to
coach USA at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three due to IPL commitments, not
that it will adversely affect USA on the field. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Former USA coach Clayton Lambert may not have been the best
tactician, but he knew the strengths, weaknesses and capabilities of all
the players he went on tour with because he spent considerable time
around the USA at tournaments and training/selection camps to get
familiar with the players he’d be working with on tour in order to
strategize the best possible batting lineups and bowling combinations.
Singh has not devoted any time in the USA to get familiar with USA’s
senior players and it is clear that it has negatively impacted the team
based on the disjointed results USA has had under his stewardship.
Speaking on behalf of the team, vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said
that USA approached the final match against Nepal by picking what was
felt to be the lineup that gave USA the best chance at winning that day
rather than giving younger players an opportunity to gain experience
against Nepal’s bowling attack in a match where promotion and relegation
wasn’t at stake. If USA was honestly going all out for a win that day,
there is no reasonable explanation for why Abhimanyu Rajp batted at
number three other than to say that the man in charge of setting the
batting order, Singh, didn’t have a solid grasp on the strengths and
weaknesses of the players who were a part of USA’s squad on tour.
Shifting Timroy Allen up, down and around the batting order cost the
team badly in the first game against Nepal. Shifting Aditya
Thyagarajan, Aditya Mishra and Orlando Baker all over the place also
worked to unsettle and undermine their considerable talents. Players
must have defined roles throughout the tournament so they can tailor
their games to maximize their output for the team.
USA needs to find a coach, whether currently in the USA or abroad,
who is willing to work with the players locally in the USA in camps
ahead of Division Three in order to form better plans and figure out the
best combinations before the first game begins on April 28, not in the
middle of the tournament as was the case at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20
Qualifier in the UAE and at times during 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in
Malaysia. Asif Mujtaba and Kumaran Thiru, who served separately as
assistant coaches for USA in the UAE and Malaysia respectively during
USA's two overseas tours this year, are both based in Texas and appear
to be qualified coaching candidates with international cricket
experience who would be useful if given an opportunity to assume the
head coach role for USA.
Better individual accountability for fitness
USA’s players may struggle from tournament to tournament with team
chemistry because the players do not play with each other year-round,
but there is no excuse for players to show up unfit because they haven’t
been playing with other national team players year-round. Fitness is an
individual responsibility. Players in California are not responsible
for running sprints on behalf of players in Texas or New York and vice
versa.
Other teams at the Associate level face the same struggles that USA’s
players do as amateurs in terms of getting enough time away from work
to dedicate to their games. However, USA’s Associate level opponents are
almost always head and shoulders above USA when it comes to their
fitness levels despite being fellow amateurs. The fact that this
tournament was played during the USA season means that not only were the
majority of USA’s players unfit when they showed up for national team
duty, it’s highly probable that they are unfit for club cricket duty on a
weekly basis as well.
 Instead
of being the number one priority for USA’s players, it appears that for
many of them fitness is something that is addressed if they get around
to it. USA may have gotten away with substandard in Division Four, but
that will not be the case in Division Three. Anyone who doubts this only
needs to check the DreamCricket.com Report Card for 2010 ICC WCL Division Three.
USA’s overall fitness contributed heavily to their downfall in the
round-robin match against Denmark in Hong Kong and consequently led to
them getting relegated.
Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni's fitness on tour in Malaysia was
top notch, but the rest of his teammates need to pick up the slack or
else finishing in the top two for Division Three in Bermuda may be
difficult. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
USA went 3-0 on the first day of back-to-back matches in Malaysia and
0-3 on the second day. A similar effort in Bermuda will definitely put
USA behind Nepal and most likely put USA behind Italy as well to finish
in third place and short of the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New
Zealand. Quite simply, if USA puts in a similar effort in Bermuda to the
one they produced in Malaysia, both individually and as a team, they
will finish out of the top two and the consequences will be severe.
An eye to the future
Attempting to qualify for the 2015 ICC World Cup may be the last
hurrah for many of USA’s players. Finishing in the top two in Bermuda
and then the top two again at the ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand
would be a massive achievement and result in clinching a spot at the
2015 ICC World Cup. However, even finishing in the top six at the
qualifier would be huge because it would mean that USA would be able to
participate in the next cycle of the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
Being in the Intercontinental Cup would not only provide increased
funding from the ICC, but would present tremendously valuable
opportunities for some of USA’s younger players to gain experience and
develop their skills in multi-day cricket on turf wickets against other
top-tier Associates without the pressure of promotion and relegation
being at stake. Having a bigger and more consistent schedule of matches
for USA’s players to participate in might also open the door for several
players to be given central contracts for the first time, a major step
toward professionalizing the game in the USA.
Conversely, if USA does not achieve these things and with
participation virtually non-existent for Associates in a 10-team 2019
ICC World Cup, it is conceivable that many of USA’s senior players would
step aside if they failed to reach the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier
and/or the 2015 ICC World Cup in order to allow a younger nucleus to
form and focus on qualification for the next several ICC World Twenty20
events which are due to have 16 teams in 2014 and 2016.
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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
[This is a satirical article. Any resemblance to the truth is just our misfortune.]
Hey American Cricketer! Here are answers to ten things you wanted to know about cricket in the US but were too afraid to ask.
 1) Biggest Challenge: With nearly all the leagues expelled, there simply are not enough leagues to oppress. So how do we get back to our regular business of suppressing cricket - that is the board's biggest challenge.
2) Status of the 100 day plan: You want to know the status of last 100 day plan? We will consider your request as part of the next 100 day plan or in our next board meeting, whichever is later.
3) Romney and us: Mr. Romney: Don't sweat the 47%. Figure out a way to disqualify nay-sayers from voting. Believe us, it works and you will win with a massive majority. C'mon Mr. Romney. What swing states? We took four regions off the map and nobody is complaining.
4) Influence: Austin Powers is not just a funny movie. Austin is where the powers are. Yeah baby!
5) Consistently inclusive: People should stop complaining about being excluded because they can no longer vote. We are consistently inclusive. See, we consistently include the same three people on free junkets, whether they have votes or not.
6) Progress: Trust us. The interim CEO assured us that he would keep us informed of all progress. When there is progress, you will be informed.
7) New CEO's 100 day plan: To remain in the job for 100 days. Let's keep it simple like that.
8) 2012 Tournaments: All the 2012 tournaments were held in 2010. We are always ahead of schedule.
9) Legacy: We don’t believe in legacy. To have a legacy, we have to leave.
10) Approval Ratings and other such BS: Who cares about public approval? ICC approves of us and we have a letter to show for it.
So, dear American Cricketer, quit complaining. Learn to do what cricketers before us have done for 47 years. Suck. It. Up.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
[Source: ACF Media Release]
The Inaugural T20 Tournament presented by the American Cricket Federation and hosted by Southern California Cricket Association (SCCA) at Woodley Park in Los Angeles has attracted a host of teams from across USA.
 Let the clash begin!This first ever national level inter-league T20 tournament presented by ACF is expected to provide a springboard for upcoming talent. The tournament will be played over the Columbus Day weekend (October 6-8).
Teams representing Minnesota Cricket Association, Michigan Cricket Association, Cricket League of New Jersey, Washington Metropolitan Cricket Board, Southern Connecticut Cricket Association, Midwest Cricket Conference and Massachusetts State Cricket League are participating in addition to the hosts (SCCA) and a team from northern California.
The participating teams welcomed an opportunity to play on turf wickets in Los Angeles and test their strength against their peers from across the country. There have not been any men's tournaments at the national level in any format in some fifteen months and there certainly have not been any men's national tournaments on turf wickets in the US in the last two years.
"We are very excited to be going to LA to showcase our talent and compete against some of the best cricketing talent in the country. Being able to do so on turf and in the best cricketing facility in the USA, that's icing on the cake," Rajiv Shah, Manager of the team representing the Midwest Cricket Conference said about the tournament.
All the participating teams have been encouraged to include U19 cricketers in their squads and ACF announced that an award will be presented to the best U19 cricketer at the tournament.
Speaking on the occasion, Kamal Azeez, the tournament organizer said: “We are fortunate enough in LA that we can play cricket well into November. We are excited to be hosting this tournament on the turf wickets at Woodley. For cricketers who have never played here, this will be an experience to remember.”
“Preparations are being made to enable live internet coverage,” Azeez added.
Media and blogger inquiries should be emailed to americancricketfederation@gmail.com. Sponsorship inquiries should be directed to gsingh@mail.sdsu.edu.
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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 (on Twitter)
Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades
Player Grades
Sushil Nadkarni – A-: USA’s vice-captain finished as
the leading scorer at the tournament with 238 runs at 47.60 and two
half-centuries. His century stand with Steven Taylor to open the
tournament against the host side set the tone for a solid event. He top
scored for USA in three of the five games he played. His highest score,
and the highest score at the event by a USA player, was his 84 in the
group game against Nepal. If he had been able to bat to the end to score
a century and take the team to victory, it would have been perhaps his
greatest knock in a USA uniform, but he fell just short thanks to a
spectacular catch by Binod Das at backward point.
 Nadkarni’s
fitness has waxed and waned over the last couple of years depending on
the tournament. It was definitely waxing at this event where he looked
much slimmer than he was at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in March.
Nadkarni and Timroy Allen were the only USA players who never looked
tired while at the crease. He was a spritely fielder inside the circle
as well, regularly flinging his body along the turf to save runs.
Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni completes a cut shot against
Malaysia. Nadkarni finished as USA's leading scorer for the second tour
in a row. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Steven Taylor – B+: The youngest player in the squad
may have taken over the mantle from Nadkarni as USA’s most intimidating
batsman during this tournament. He finished second overall in the runs
list behind Nadkarni with 216 at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate
of 104.85. He scored half-centuries against Malaysia and Singapore. The
only game he really failed to get going was in the final match against
Nepal where he made just 11.
While he had several explosive starts, Taylor somehow managed to get
out just when he appeared set to destroy the opposition. He looked tired
toward the end of the tournament, particularly in the ways he got out
against Nepal so fitness may be something he should focus on,
particularly if he is committed to keeping wicket. He finished with six
catches and a stumping, but also missed two stumping chances.
Steve Massiah – C-: The reinstalled captain
struggled to get going on a day when batting looked easy for everyone
else against Malaysia, then looked even more out of sorts against spin
versus Denmark. He made his highest score of the tournament against
Nepal with 41 coming in at number five, but the batting order was
mangled for that match to accommodate him after his early troubles
against spin. USA wound up paying for it by the end of the match despite
an 89-run stand between him and Nadkarni that put the team on the brink
of victory. He finished as USA’s fourth highest scorer on the week with
121 runs at 24.20, but generally did less with more opportunities at
his disposal than other batsmen.
In the past, Massiah has typically been one of USA’s most reliable
fielders, both on the ground and in the catching department. At this
tournament though, he looked a step behind, grassing three catches
against Nepal and missing a golden opportunity for a run out early
against Denmark. He was also responsible for a slow over rate against
Denmark that prevented USA from using some of their more desired options
later in the innings though he did well leading the side during a
hectic second innings against Singapore by going to spin within a few
overs after play resumed following a rain delay.
 Aditya Thyagarajan – C-:
USA’s leading scorer in 2010 had a lukewarm return from injury at this
tournament. He top scored in the team’s warm-up match win over Denmark
with 48 coming in at number four, but then managed just 35 runs in four
innings during the live matches. He didn’t seem to respond well after
being shuffled around the batting order to accommodate others, batting
at three different positions for his four innings.
Image (left) - Aditya Thyagarajan in action against Denmark at
the Selangor Turf Club. Thyagarajan had a rough return to the national
team after missing more than a year due to injury, making 35 runs in
four innings. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
He played for the team against Malaysia, going to slog after entering
with six overs to go and wound up getting out for 2. He failed against
Denmark, then got out cheaply again in a situation that appeared
tailor-made for him with 10 overs to go against Nepal. His 21 against
Singapore might not look special on paper, but it was part of a vital
59-run stand, providing the anchor at one end to allow Allen to swing
away at the other. Thyagarajan also gets credit for his fielding. In a
team full of butterfingers, he held on to three solid catches running in
from the boundary and never dropped a chance.
Aditya Mishra – C-: Mishra was one of USA’s best
batsmen in March at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, but overall in
this event he was inconsistent and mixed two decent innings with two
failures. He provided a solid late boost against Malaysia scoring 25 off
14 balls and along with Taylor tried to score as quickly as possible
against Tanzania to lift the team’s net run rate, which made a huge
difference by the end of the tournament. He had two sloppy failures
against Denmark and Nepal in the group stage and then threw away his
wicket in the final against Nepal after getting a decent start. He’s a
batsman who can be classified as a team player after being rotated into
three different batting positions to suit the needs of the team,
although it wasn’t always to great effect for him personally.
A greater cause for concern for him is his fielding. Along the ground
he is okay and generally puts in some good efforts to slide or dive to
save balls from going over the boundary. In the air though, he is poor
at judging the flight of the ball coming off the bat and it leads to bad
mistakes, such as when he ran in from the rope against Nepal for a
chance against Paras Khadka only to see the ball go over his head before
landing inside the rope and bouncing over for a boundary.
Orlando Baker – C: Someone who didn’t do a lot
wrong, but didn’t set the world on fire either on this tour. Baker
stabilized USA with help from Allen against Denmark after a middle order
collapse, but the pair never got a proper chance to bring USA
completely back into the contest once rain intervened. He failed after
being thrust into the opening slot against Nepal in the group game and
then was somewhat harshly dropped for it. Recalled for the final against
Nepal, he showed that he still has some gas left in the tank by
grinding out 39 to top score with Nadkarni in the defeat. He finished
with 66 runs at an average of 33.00 on tour, USA’s fourth best average
in Malaysia.
With the ball, he wasn’t used that much, but took three wickets in 15
overs, a strike rate that other players in the squad would have gladly
traded for. He dropped two chances that came his way, a sharp one at
square leg against Nepal and a reflex return chance against Malaysia. He
also missed a chance to run out Subash Khakurel on 99 in the group game
against Nepal and fluffed a stumping late in the final against Nepal
after putting on the pads to relieve Taylor. The four misses by Baker
summed up a forgettable tour in the fielding department for USA overall.
However, the fact that Baker is willing to keep wicket if called upon
in an emergency shows his unselfishness for the team.
 Timroy Allen – A-: USA’s
most dynamic player, Allen showed how much USA missed him last year in
Hong Kong and again in the UAE in March. Came in with 15 overs to go
against Malaysia and produced his best score in a USA uniform, 72 not
out in 43 balls on his way to claiming the first of two Man of the Match
awards in Malaysia. Allen topped the averages for USA in the event with
166 runs at 55.33. Had he come in at number seven with 11 overs to go
against Nepal instead of number three in the fifth over of the chase
during their group game, USA would have had a much better chance of
winning that game.
Image (right) - Timroy Allen poses with his Man of the Match
award after USA's win over Singapore that clinched a spot in next year's
ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
In addition to topping the batting averages for USA, Allen took the
most wickets with 10 at an average of 19.80, although he was slightly
expensive going at more than five runs per over. Allen also had more
chances put down off his bowling than anyone else. USA’s fielders
dropped six chances off him and that had an effect on his numbers across
the board. In the field, he’s not as energetic as he used to be. He
took one catch and put down a sharp one at gully in this tournament. In
general he looks more reserved when it comes to throwing his body
around, mindful of how he aggravated a back injury in Italy two years
ago while diving to stop a boundary in a 10-wicket win over Tanzania.
Ryan Corns – C: When given an opportunity, Corns
responded quite well. His stats might not say so, but he was a valuable
niche player on tour and has plenty of room to grow into a position
where he can be a solid all-rounder for USA in the future. Selecting him
as the lone left-arm spin option ahead of Asif Khan was a bold move as
Khan is a better pure spinner, but Corns justified the move with some
handy performances and the tour did a lot for his continued development.
Batting wise, Corns did about as well as could be expected when
thrust into a role he is not suited for, coming in late in the innings
to slog quick runs batting at number eight. He finished with 45 runs in
three innings at an average of 15.00, his best contribution coming
against Singapore with 24 in a tight match. Fielding wise, he needs to
work on his throwing accuracy. He is very energetic fielding at point,
but dropped a chance and missed two run out opportunities, including a
crucial one against Nepal when Subash Khakurel was on 22, before finally
converting one against Singapore.
Elmore Hutchinson – B-: Quietly was one of USA’s
better bowlers on tour. Hutchinson had the best economy rate for any of
USA’s pace bowlers at 3.90 in 40 overs, the second most overs bowled by
USA behind Muhammad Ghous. He sometimes had trouble locating his line
though, bowling a team-high 14 wide deliveries that went for 19 wide
runs out of the 62 wide runs USA conceded. He finished with six wickets,
tied with Ghous and Shuja for second on the team.
 With
the bat, he had USA’s sixth best average on tour, 17.66. Hutchinson
scored 53 runs in four innings and was used as a pinch hitter against
Tanzania, coming in at three to slog some runs when USA was looking to
boost their net run rate. He showed good athleticism overall in the
field and despite only taking one catch, never grassed any and always
showed tremendous effort and hustle to save balls from going over the
boundary.
Image (left) - Elmore Hutchinson bowling against Nepal at Kinrara
Academy Oval. Hutchinson was one of USA's better bowlers in Malaysia
and finished with the second best economy rate on the team behind
Muhammad Ghous. [Courtesy: ICC/Peter Lim]
Abhimanyu Rajp – C-: Rajp was dropped after three
games, which may have mystified many back home as he was USA’s second
best wicket-taker at the time behind Allen, but his economy rate was
frightfully high for a finger-spinner. Rajp shined at the ICC World
Twenty20 Qualifier because it’s a format where a bowler can get away
with trading off runs for wickets. A 7.55 economy rate in that event
looked okay next to 10 wickets, which was good enough to tie for the
team lead. However, a 5.73 economy rate standing next to five wickets in
Malaysia was not good enough. Rajp has a learning curve to adjust to in
50-over cricket. He must strike a balance between being economical and
attacking for wickets.
With the bat, he was bizarrely asked to bat at number three in the
final against Nepal in his only appearance at the crease and didn’t
score. Fielding wise, teams aren’t afraid to take him on in the circle
and he missed a critical run out chance against Andreas Lambert of
Denmark, but in the air he is one of USA’s sure-handed fielders. He got
official credit for two catches but also took two other very crucial
ones as a sub fielder in a tense battle against Singapore.
Usman Shuja – C: Shuja was named Man of the Match in
an easy win over Tanzania after taking 3 for 14. Overall though, he was
very average. In the other four games he played against Singapore,
Denmark and twice against Nepal, he took just 3 wickets for 116 runs.
While he was economical against Denmark, he struggled to make the most
of the new ball when conditions were in his favor in that match, taking 1
for 20 in seven overs. Entering the tournament, he had a phenomenal
record against Nepal with 14 wickets in six games at an average of 11.86
and an economy rate of 3.25. In the two matches USA played against
Nepal in Malaysia, Shuja finished with 1 for 75 in 12 overs.
Shuja had multiple chances dropped off his bowling in the group game
against Nepal, but in general was just not as effective as he usually
is. His batting has also been marginalized by the current management.
This is the same player who rescued USA from 20 for 7 against Oman and
took them to a remarkable two-wicket win at Division Three in Hong Kong
last year by scoring 43 not out. He is good enough to bat at number
eight, definitely no lower than nine but he was sent in at numbers 10
and 11 in this tournament and responded by batting down to that level,
scoring 4 runs in three innings.
Muhammad Ghous – B: After going through a sophomore
slump in 2011, Ghous has bounced back during his third year with the
senior team to be a dependable performer. He had the best economy rate
for the team on tour with 3.62 runs per over in a team high 48.3 overs.
He can sometimes look lethargic when not a lot is at stake, but put
Ghous in a pressure-packed situation and he is very hard to rattle. He
was chiefly responsible for the shift in momentum during the second
innings against Singapore. After batsman Chetan Suryawanshi flew out of
the gate following the rain delay, Ghous reeled Singapore back in by
applying outstanding pressure. It didn’t take long for dot balls to turn
into wickets.
Like Mishra, Ghous reacts very poorly when the ball comes off the bat
in the air and it can result in some angst for his fellow bowlers. When
the ball travels directly to him though, he is a solid catching
fielder. He put down a difficult return chance in the final against
Nepal, but took two catches during the tournament. He finished tied for
second with Shuja and Hutchinson by taking six wickets, but also had
three chances dropped off his bowling.
Andy Mohammed – Incomplete: Mohammed played two
matches, batting just once at number four against Singapore in the final
group game. He entered in the 21st over in a situation that called for
pushing the ball around for singles and doubles to rebuild in the middle
overs after both openers had been dismissed. Instead, he kept trying to
slog Singapore’s spinners for six. He succeeded once before being
caught on the boundary for 10. Mohammed needs to show greater maturity
and awareness of match situations to get more opportunities in the
future. In the field, he converted a run out chance against Tanzania and
had a brilliant diving catch against Singapore to spark USA’s fightback
in the field.
Akeem Dodson – Incomplete: Dodson only played one
match, scoring 3 against Singapore. He took one catch behind the stumps
but also missed a straightforward stumping. Regardless of whether he was
fielding inside the boundary or wearing a 12th man’s pinnie outside of
it, no one brought more positive energy to the team when they were at
the ground than Dodson. He’s eager to improve and his attitude
demonstrates he has unwavering commitment to the team, supporting the
squad wholeheartedly whether he plays no match or every match.
Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades
Coming up in Part 3 - Outlook for 2013 ICC WCL Division Three [Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was
present at all of the team's matches. 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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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)
Batting – B: USA had the tournament’s two highest
run getters in Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor. The team had five
half-centuries against four ducks, two of which came in the final
against Nepal where promotion and relegation wasn’t at stake. None of
the four centuries scored in the tournament were made by a USA batsman.
USA had 14 individual scores between 20 and 49, showing that lots of
people were getting starts but then failed to convert them into more
substantial scores.
 The
team had one century stand, the very first partnership of the
tournament between Nadkarni and Taylor against Malaysia, and seven
half-century partnerships. USA’s first wicket partnerships in Hong Kong
at Division Three last year produced an average stand of 11.33 runs. At
Division Four in Malaysia, it was 53.67. In theory, having starts like
that should take pressure off the rest of the batting unit.
Image (right) - Steven Taylor completes a cut shot against
Denmark at the Selangor Turf Club. Taylor made a huge difference to the
top of the order for USA compared to the team's opening partnership
struggles at Division Three in Hong Kong last year. [Courtesy: Peter
Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
However, USA’s middle order, in its many jumbled configurations
during the tournament, largely disappointed. Nadkarni made one of his
two half-centuries at number four against Nepal and the other 50 that
didn’t come at the top was Timroy Allen’s assault on Malaysia at number
four when he was sent up the order with less than 15 overs to go to
boost USA’s total. Otherwise, the middle order didn’t have anything
significant to write home about.
Part of the lack of overall success from the middle order can be
attributed to batsmen constantly being shuffled around without having a
clearly defined role. There were also some strange decisions made, like
having Allen come in to bat at number three in the fifth over of the
group match vs. Nepal and Abhimanyu Rajp entering at number three in the
fifth over against Nepal in the final.
Several other batsmen could have been utilized to knock the ball
around for ones and twos in the early to middle overs to make 29 off 39,
which is what Allen wound up with in the group game against Nepal.
However, no one else on the team is better suited to come in at number
seven with 10-15 overs remaining and clear the ropes when the team needs
a major acceleration. Some fans may try to assign blame for that loss
to some of the batsmen who came in later and couldn’t get USA across the
line when the pressure started to rise in the final 11 overs, but it
was a tactical blunder to have Allen unavailable to walk in at that
stage. Experimenting with Rajp at three was also a mistake, or a
two-word British phrase that rhymes with it.
Bowling – C+: There were 11 individual performances
where a bowler took four wickets or more at this tournament, but none of
them were by a USA player. Collectively the bowling unit was average.
Allen tied for fourth overall on the wickets list with 10. USA took 39
out of a possible 60 wickets, the same amount Malaysia took and less
than Singapore’s 49 and Nepal’s 59 in six games.
No
bowler really stood out, but more importantly no one really threatened
to devastate the opposition. On the whole, it never appeared that the
better teams felt intimidated by USA’s pace bowling attack, which was
supposed to be one of USA’s strengths heading into the tournament.
Image (left) - Timroy Allen took home two Man of the Match awards
and was USA's leading bowler at the tournament with 10 wickets bowling a
combination of pace and spin. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
USA’s lack of incisiveness was on full display over the first two
days against Malaysia and Denmark. USA only managed to take eight
wickets against Malaysia while allowing them to reach 219 in 50 overs.
In their next two games, Malaysia reached 91 for 8 against Singapore and
was steamrolled by Nepal for 69. USA won the toss and bowled first
against Denmark with overcast conditions at the Selangor Turf Club and a
seaming wicket weighing heavily in their favor but they made poor use
of the new ball as Denmark rode out the testing conditions to eventually
post 244 for 9. The only batting lineup USA managed to bowl out was
Tanzania, not exactly a stellar achievement.
Not only were they not able to take wickets easily, but USA’s bowling
attack struggled to keep the runs down as well. It was not often that
USA’s bowlers were able to string together six dot balls in a row to
build pressure individually or as a unit. USA’s attack completed 13
maidens in the tournament compared to 23 bowled against USA. The only
team that had fewer maidens bowled than USA was Tanzania with 12, but
Tanzania fielded for just 173 overs whereas USA’s bowlers completed 80.1
more overs in the field than Tanzania and had just one more maiden.
USA’s bowlers allowed four half-centuries and one century to be
scored against them. The opposition also had six half-century stands
and one century stand against USA. Some of those lengthy stands could
have been curtailed had the fielders provided better support to back up
the bowlers, but the bowlers didn’t make life easy on them either.
Fielding – F: On most days, USA’s fielding would
make any fan want to cover their eyes. It reached its nadir against
Nepal in USA’s fourth match when they dropped five catches, missed two
run outs and never got a hand to perhaps as many as four other balls in
the air that could have been chances. USA should consider themselves
fortunate that the fielding output that day didn't wind up costing them a
spot in Division Three.
By this journalist’s count, USA missed out on 23 clear cut chances
during the tournament: six missed run outs, four missed stumpings and 13
missed catches. Not included in that figure are numerous other
half-chances that fielders never got a hand to because they were slow to
react to the ball coming off the bat. Regardless, 23 misses in the
field over six games is a staggering number, especially since USA didn’t
field for 50 overs in every game. They fielded for 251.3 overs in the
tournament. That means that USA missed out on a clear chance every 11
overs they were in the field. Conversely, USA’s opponents offered them
eight chances in 238.1 overs. That’s one chance about every 30 overs.
USA’s missed chances allowed their opponents to score an additional
307 runs. On average, batsmen added 21.93 more runs from the time they
were initially given a life until the time they were dismissed, if they
were dismissed at all. Four batsmen finished not out after being
dropped. Conversely, USA’s batsmen produced 92 more runs off the eight
extra chances they were given, adding 13.14 runs after the initial
missed chance until they were dismissed.
Nadkarni said at the end of the tournament that one way to fix USA’s
fielding woes was to hire specialist fielding coaches to work with the
team, which is quite ironic since USA’s head coach in Malaysia, Robin
Singh, used to be employed as a specialist fielding coach by the BCCI
and was known as a superb fielder during his playing career.
Fitness – D: The team looked very tired batting
second after having to field for 50 overs against Denmark and Nepal. The
heat In Malaysia was draining on every team, but a team’s strategy
can’t be based on winning the toss to avoid having to field first.
 USA
looked particularly woeful on the second day of back-to-back matches.
The team had a 3-0 record playing after an off day and an 0-3 record
playing for the second time in two days. The World Cricket League format
is not new to USA, so there shouldn’t have been any surprises about
what was expected in regards to the fitness requirements to make it
through six matches in eight days.
Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni finishes a cut shot with a
flourish against Malaysia at Bayuemas Oval. Nadkarni was the
tournament's leading scorer and never appeared to be troubled by the hot
and humid conditions in Kuala Lumpur. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Just about the only players who looked like the heat didn’t affect
them were Nadkarni and Allen. Otherwise, most players struggled whether
it was batting, bowling or fielding. USA’s 23 missed chances in the
field can be partly attributed to the poor fitness standards. The
playing field was level for all teams with regards to the heat, but it
looked like USA felt the effects more than most.
Coming up in Part 2 - Player Grades
[Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was
present at all of the team's matches. 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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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
[Cricket Holdings America Media Release]
Cricket Holdings America today announced that Neil Maxwell would
assume the position of CEO as the project enters its next phase.
 Neil will take over as the CEO from Keith Wyness who will retain a strategic advisory role for the project going forward.
Neil Maxwell said: “We are very grateful to Keith for his creative
leadership in the initial phase of this project and in helping us
achieve the crucial first phase of funding to allow the project to move
forward. He will continue to be a very important advisor to us in many
areas and we look forward to a long relationship as the project moves
through the operational phase to reality.”
Keith added: “I have been pleased to add my experience to this start
up and get one of the most exciting sports projects moving from the
drawing board to reality”.
Cricket Holdings America will be starting a series of T20 matches on a franchise based competition from June 2013.
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)
Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary
Left-arm spinner Basant Regmi took five wickets for the second
consecutive match against USA to catapult Nepal to an eight-wicket win
in the 2012 ICC WCL Division Four championship match on Monday at
Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Just three days after
Regmi took 5 for 35 in a 32-run win over USA, he claimed 5 for 20 to
help bowl out USA for 145 before Nepal chased the runs for the loss of
two wickets in 28 overs. Not only was Regmi named Man of the Match, but
he also walked away with the award for Player of the Tournament after
taking a tournament-best 21 wickets in six matches at an average of 6.66
and an economy rate of 2.80.
“Mentally we thought we had some momentum going into the game from
our win against Singapore yesterday but the end result was something
different,” USA vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said after the match. “I
think it’s a combination of tiredness as well as the ability to play
good spin bowling. I think the Nepal guys are good spinners and the guys
in our team, some of them are more used to playing fast bowling than
spin.”
USA won the toss and batted first on a day that was overcast to start
with but turned clear and sunny as the match wore on. Nepal fielded an
unchanged lineup from the win over USA in the group stage while USA made
three changes to their starting eleven from Sunday’s win over
Singapore. Aditya Thyagarajan was out injured while Andy Mohammed and
Akeem Dodson were subbed out in favor of Aditya Mishra, Orlando Baker
and Abhimanyu Rajp.
USA’s best partnership of the day went for just 39 runs as they
looked tired and overmatched against Nepal’s fresh and energetic
fielding unit. Steven Taylor opened the batting with Mishra but just as
he did on Friday, Taylor fell in the fifth over to Sanjam Regmi, this
time playing onto his stumps for 11 to make it 16 for 1.
Despite the fact that he was the only player in the USA squad who had
yet to face a single delivery in a match on tour, off-spinner Rajp was
bizarrely sent in to bat at number three. He lasted just six deliveries
before edging medium pacer Binod Das behind to wicketkeeper Subash
Khakurel for a duck to make it 17 for 2.
Nadkarni arrived and has he has done all tour long provided some
stability to proceedings and built up a steady partnership with Mishra.
They added 39 runs for the third wicket but just when it appeared they
were steering USA out of trouble, Mishra skipped down the track and
lofted Basant to Pradeep Airee at long off to go for 28. Steve Massiah
came in and departed without scoring when he spooned a catch to Amrit
Bhattarai at mid off to give Paras Khadka a wicket at 57 for 4 in 19
overs.
Baker entered and the veteran knuckled down with Nadkarni to grind
out runs against the Nepal spin attack which was making excellent use of
a turning track. They added 26 together before Nadkarni got out in
uncharacteristic fashion, pulling left arm spinner Shakti Gauchan to
Bhattarai at deep square leg for 39 to make it 83 for 5 in the 28th
over. Nadkarni finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 238 runs
in five matches at an average of 47.60.
Timroy Allen joined Baker and the two built a methodical partnership
to take USA to 98 for 5 when the batting power play was taken to start
the 36th. Allen cracked the fourth ball of the over for a boundary,
USA’s first since the 24th over, but on the very next delivery he was
hit on the back leg in front of the stumps and given LBW for 10 to make
it 104 for 6.
Ryan Corns entered at eight and fought hard with Baker to extend the
USA innings through all 50 overs. He added 33 runs for the seventh
wicket with Baker before driving Basant to Gyanendra Malla at cover to
leave for 9 and make it 137 for 7. Two balls later, Baker tried to flick
a short ball through the leg side and sent a leading edge back to
Basant for 39 to put USA at 138 for 8 in 45 overs.
Basant removed Elmore Hutchinson for 2 with his second successful LBW
appeal of the day in the 47th to make it 141 for 9 and then wrapped up
the innings on the first ball of the 49th by winning a third LBW
decision to claim Usman Shuja for 2 with USA all out for 145. Nepal’s
innings in the field was especially impressive because they conceded
just one extra, a leg bye.
Nepal had a brief hiccup at the start of the chase, losing Anil
Mandal for 3 when he drove Hutchinson to Massiah at cover to make it 9
for 1 in the third. Khakurel was then joined by Malla and they added 93
runs for the second wicket as Nepal cruised toward the target. Malla
played a free spirited and enterprising knock, successfully connecting
on numerous reverse sweeps over the off side, including one that went
for six, before crashing USA’s spinners down the ground for two more
sixes. He brought up his 50 in 53 balls and eventually finished with 66
before finally perishing to the reverse sweep as Muhammad Ghous knocked
back leg stump to make it 102 for 2 in the 20th.
Khadka entered and took just 8.2 more overs to finish the job with
Khakurel. Khadka hit the winning runs through cover to finish 25 not out
and cap an undefeated run to the tournament title. They’re the first
team to go 6-0 at a World Cricket League tournament since the UAE did it
at Division Two in 2011. 
Image (above) - Some of the more than 100 Nepal fans in
attendance celebrate with the players after Nepal received the World
Cricket League championship silver. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Both USA and Nepal now progress
to 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda from April 28-May 5. Denmark
and Singapore stay in Division Four, which won’t be played again until
2014. Malaysia and Tanzania drop down to Division Five which is also due
to be held in 2014 where they join Guernsey and Cayman Islands.
In the other playoff matches on Monday, Singapore beat Denmark in the
third place game by five wickets after bowling them out for 83 at
Selangor Turf Club. In the fifth place match, Malaysia beat Tanzania for
the second day in a row, winning by five wickets after chasing down
Tanzania’s 187.
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)
Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary
A sensational final day of the group stage saw USA surge to a 37-run
win by Duckworth-Lewis Method over Singapore while Nepal defeated
Denmark by 25 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method on Sunday at 2012 ICC
World Cricket League Division Four in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The
combination of results vaulted USA from fourth to second place and
secured them promotion to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three
in Bermuda from April 28-May 5.
"I think against Denmark [the rain] kind of worked against us so at
least once now it worked with us," USA's Timroy Allen said after the
weather affected win. Allen was named Man of the Match after scoring 45
off 31 balls and taking 2 for 29 in six overs of off-spin. "So we're
really happy. I don't mind it today."
USA won the toss and batted first under bright sunny skies at the
Bayuemas Oval. Eighteen miles to the east, Nepal also won the toss and
batted first at Kinrara Academy Oval against Denmark, who played their
must win game without key batsman Freddie Klokker after he left the
tournament a match early to play for Dosti Amsterdam in the Netherlands
domestic league final. USA made two changes to their lineup from the
loss on Friday to Nepal, bringing in Andy Mohammed and Akeem Dodson for
Orlando Baker and Aditya Mishra.
Steven Taylor and Sushil Nadkarni opened for USA, putting on an
80-run stand for the first wicket. Taylor cracked five boundaries and
three sixes, bringing up a half-century in 45 balls with a massive
strike down the ground that caused a replacement ball to be brought out
at the end of the 14th over. Taylor fell on his next delivery though,
clean bowled by Singapore captain Saad Janjua and finished with USA’s
top score on the day.
Over at Kinrara, Nepal dug themselves an early hole as Subash
Khakurel, who made 115 on Friday against USA, was dismissed on the
second ball of the match. Gyanendra Malla and Paras Khadka also fell
cheaply to put Denmark on top at 50 for 3 in the 14th over.
USA captain Steve Massiah came in to bat at number three and added 29
for the third wicket with Nadkarni before the vice-captain was caught
behind by Kshitij Shinde off the medium pace of Chetan Suryawanshi for
33. Mohammed came in at number four and scored 10 before holing out to
long on, giving Dharmichand Mulewa a wicket with the score now 129 for
3. Aditya Thyagarajan entered at five and reached 4 off 16 balls in the
31st over when he strained a ligament in his right knee, the same one he
dislocated in Hong Kong last year, and had to retire at 141 for 3.
By this time, Nepal had climbed back in front in their match thanks
to a 91-run partnership between opener Anil Mandal and Sharad Vesawkar
and from there maintained the upper hand throughout the rest of the
match. Mandal went on to score 113 as Nepal eventually finished with 240
in their 50 overs, a very defendable total behind their spin bowling
attack.
Akeem Dodson joined Massiah in the middle at Bayuemas, but both men
fell in quick succession to put the first innings in the balance.
Massiah went first, driving a return catch to 17-year-old left-arm
spinner Abhiraj Singh for 30. Dodson had already offered two chances by
the time he was dismissed on 3 off the bowling of Anish Param, caught
behind by Suryawanshi, who had started the match as the wicketkeeper and
then took over from Shinde again after finishing a brief bowling spell.
USA was 148 for 5 in the 36th over, but Thyagarajan’s return to the
middle was a welcome sight after he was declared fit enough to join
Allen at the crease. Thyagarajan provided the steady foil to Allen’s
explosive hitting and the pair put on 59 crucial runs for the sixth
wicket, of which Allen contributed 43. After losing the wicket of Dodson
and scoring just one run in the first over of the batting power play in
the 36th, Allen and Thyagarajan cracked 41 off the next 24 balls to
boost USA closer to 200. Allen finally got out edging behind off medium
pacer Amjad Mahboob and the score became 207 for 6.
Thyagarajan fell in the 44th, given LBW for 21 off Mahboob, to make
it 223 for 7. Ryan Corns and Elmore Hutchinson calmly added 37 runs for
the eighth wicket to take USA to 260 before three wickets fell in five
balls to end USA’s innings in 49 overs for 263. Janjua was the one-man
wrecking crew for Singapore in that over and finished with 4 for 40 in
eight overs. Mulewa bowled a probing spell but only managed to snag 1
for 32 off 10. USA took advantage of five drops by Singapore during the
innings, the costliest of which was Taylor at short midwicket on 17.
Even though Singapore’s target was 264, USA had to restrict them to 257
in order to pass Singapore on net run rate.
Image (above) - USA celebrates on a damp Bayuemas Oval after
gaining promotion to next year's ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda.
[Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Denmark’s chase at Kinrara got started well before USA took the field
for the second innings at Bayuemas. The Danes suffered an early blow in
the second over when their leading scorer in the tournament, Carsten
Pedersen, was out for 1 in the second over falling to Nepal captain
Paras Khadka.
While it was hot and sunny all through USA’s innings, dark clouds
rolled in during the lunch break and only two overs were able to be
completed before a flash thunderstorm unleashed heavy rains on the
ground. A 2 hour and 10 minute delay followed at Bayuemas as attention
turned to Kinrara where play was still going on.
Nepal’s spinners once again turned up the heat on an opponent as
Denmark stuttered to 67 for 3 in the 21st over. The third wicket was
vital for USA as it caused Denmark to fall well behind on
Duckworth-Lewis, with the rain moving east from Bayuemas to Kinrara and
set to interrupt that match at any moment. Denmark was able to reach 77
for 3 in 25 before rain finally arrived at Kinrara.
Once the rain stopped at Bayuemas, the outfield dried up quickly
thanks to a superb drainage system. The few problem areas were soaked up
by the ground staff and play eventually resumed with a new target set
for Singapore of 186 to win in 27 overs. USA needed to hold them to 182
to prevent Singapore from finishing above them on net run rate.
Suryawanshi and Arjun Mutreja came out slugging and scored 28 runs
off the first three overs by Shuja and Hutchinson after play resumed to
leave USA shell-shocked. The introduction of spin was the undoing of
Singapore though as Muhammad Ghous struck on his fourth ball to turn
momentum back in USA’s direction. Mutreja tried to flick him over
midwicket but Mohammed ran in from the rope and completed a fantastic
catch on the run to get Mutreja for 21 and make it 39 for 1 in the
sixth.
Like Singapore, USA had some troubles in the field as two run out
chances were missed and another ball was dropped at backward point in
the space of seven deliveries in a helter-skelter sequence. Allen was
now bowling off-spin in tandem with Ghous and struck in the ninth over,
getting Chaminda Kumarage caught at deep midwicket by Rajp, on as a sub
for Thyagarajan, to make it 49 for 2 in eight. With skies still very
grey, the second wicket also put USA in front on Duckworth-Lewis should
rain curtail the match once 20 overs were completed.
USA continued to build more pressure in the field which led to
another wicket in the next over as Param was run out for 1 by Corns,
connecting underhanded with a direct hit after flying in from backward
point to make it 50 for 1 in the 10th. Allen then removed the dangerous
Suryawanshi five balls later for 23 and USA could start to sense victory
coming closer at 52 for 4.
Christopher Janik, who made a century earlier in the tournament,
could not make the most of a second life after a stumping chance was
missed by Dodson with Janik on 4. Janik made it to 12 when he lofted
Ghous to Taylor at long off to put USA a step closer to winning at 79
for 5 in the 16th.
Not long after, play got restarted at Kinrara as well with Denmark
set a new target of 156 from 31 overs, meaning they had to make 79 off
36 balls with seven wickets in hand. On the first ball after play
resumed, Andreas Lambert was bowled by Sanjam Regmi for 47 to
effectively seal the match for Nepal.
At Bayuemas, Corns continued his bright tournament with the ball by
getting Munish Arora caught behind by Dodson for 26 to make it 93 for 6
in the 19th. Singapore’s last roll of the dice was the now two-over
batting power play in the 23rd and 24th overs as rain returned to the
field. However, Hutchinson and Shuja showed no signs of having trouble
gripping the ball and each man bounced back with a wicket after rough
opening spells.
Hutchinson bowled a nerveless 23rd which began with the wicket of
Janjua for 8 to make it 118 for 7. Shuja then capped the 24th as Shinde
was caught on the point boundary by Rajp for 22. The umpires tried to
give Singapore every opportunity to stay out there and finish the match
on the field of play while a steady rain came down during both overs,
but once the eighth wicket fell, the umpires took both teams off the
field with Singapore resigned to defeat.
A half hour after restarting at Kinrara, the match ended with Denmark
on 130 for 9. Nepal had clinched first place in the group stage and
promotion to Division Three while the other promotion spot was now USA’s
to claim. With only seven minutes remaining until the cutoff time of
6:45 p.m. and a minimum of 10 minutes needed for the umpires to inspect
the field once the rain stopped, play was called off at Bayuemas. USA
was declared the winner by 37 runs with Singapore way off the par score
of 166 after 24 overs. The United States squad broke out into chants of
“U-S-A! U-S-A!” in the locker room to celebrate the win and the news
that they had been promoted back into Division Three after falling out
in Hong Kong last year.
Ghous finished with 2 for 20 in six overs. Corns also contributed a
vital 1 for 8 in two overs as USA’s wicket-taking spin trio on the day
of Ghous, Corns and Allen gave up their runs at a hair over four an over
between the three of them.
In the day’s other match, Malaysia beat Tanzania by five wickets.
Malaysia opener Rakesh Madhavan scored 102 to chase down Tanzania’s 187
in 37.1 overs to give the host nation their first win of the tournament.
Both teams will have a rematch in the fifth place game on Monday at
Bayuemas Oval.
Singapore and Denmark will square off in the third place game at
Selangor Turf Club on Monday. Meanwhile Nepal and USA will clash for the
eighth time in four tournaments on Monday in the Division Four
championship match at Kinrara Academy Oval. Both teams will then have
seven months to get ready to face Bermuda, Italy, Oman and Uganda at
Division Three next year.
DreamCricket.com’s live coverage of the 2012 ICC WCL Division Four
championship match between USA and Nepal from Kinrara Academy Oval
begins at 10 a.m. Monday, 10 p.m. EST and 7 p.m. PST on Sunday night in
America.
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter) Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary
Wicketkeeper Subash Khakurel took advantage of several fielding
miscues by USA to notch 115, the highest score of the tournament thus
far, to set the stage for a dramatic 32-run win for Nepal over USA on
Friday at Kinrara Academy Oval on day four of the 2012 ICC WCL Division
Four tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 19-year-old Khakurel was
named Man of the Match for his performance, narrowly beating out
teammate Basant Regmi who took 5 for 35 to prevent USA from chasing down
Nepal’s first innings 258 for 8. Nepal remains undefeated at 4-0 with
the win while USA drops to 2-2 after the loss.
Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first on a perfect batting
track. USA made two changes to their starting XI from the day before
against Tanzania, bringing back Sushil Nadkarni and Ryan Corns in favor
of Andy Mohammed and Abhimanyu Rajp.
Khakurel and Anil Mandal opened the batting for Nepal. In the sixth
over, USA committed their first dropped chance of the innings, one of
seven clear cut missed chances in the innings as well as four others
that fielders misjudged or reacted poorly to off the bat and as a result
never got a hand to. Mandal was on 9 when he edged Usman Shuja low to
Nadkarni at slip, but the USA vice-captain spilled the chance with the
score at 15 for 0.
“I really don’t know what went wrong,” Nadkarni said. “We were well
prepared for this game. We knew this was a must win game. Basically we
had talked a lot in the team meetings about this game so to come out and
miss so many chances in the field, this was by far our weakest
performance in the field over the last three games so I really don’t
have an explanation for what happened out there.”
Two overs later, Khakurel was on 6 when he chipped Shuja gently in
the air to the right of Muhammad Ghous at mid on, but Ghous reacted late
and despite a dive never got a hand to the ball. Mandal was on 11 in
the 10th with the score 23 for 0 when he pulled a bouncer from Timroy
Allen straight to Orlando Baker at square leg, who lunged to his left
and spilled a fairly straightforward chance.
Mandal retired hurt on 12 after the 11th over with the score 30 for 0
but Gyanendra Malla came to the crease and added 81 more runs with
Khakurel before Nepal would finally lose their first wicket. With Malla
fresh at the crease, both batsmen showed hesitation running between the
wickets. Khakurel was on 22 in the 13th over with the score on 39 when
Malla prodded a delivery to point that Khakurel tried to take a run off
of while Malla stayed put. Corns charged in from point and fielded with
Khakurel stranded down the pitch, but the throw to the non-striker’s end
was wild and sailed by five yards over the stumps.
 USA’s
bowlers continued to do a decent job of keeping the scoring rate down
despite not taking wickets as Nepal hovered around four runs per over
through the halfway stage of the innings. Khakurel brought up his
half-century off 85 balls to start the 29th over, but on the last ball
of the over, Malla was dismissed for 46 by Corns, well caught at long
off by Aditya Thyagarajan diving forward to make it 111 for 1.
Image (right) - Subash Khakurel drives through the leg side during his 115. [Courtesy: ICC/Peter Lim]
Nepal captain Paras Khadka came in and with wickets in hand, made
efficient use of the batting power play from the start of the 36th over,
adding 46 runs with Khakurel over the next five frames to boost Nepal
from 138 to 184. Both players were most effective combating the pace of
Allen, scoring 14 runs off the 37th and 10 more off the medium pacer in
the 39th.
The 37th could have ended with a wicket for Allen when Khadka, on 25,
pulled a full toss flat in the air to the deep midwicket rope, but
Aditya Mishra misjudged the ball in the air and ran in only for the ball
to clear him and land two yards inside the rope before bouncing over
for a boundary. On the very next ball to start the 38th, Khakurel was
offered another life on 71 with the score on 160 when he drove Elmore
Hutchinson to Steve Massiah’s left at cover. The USA captain reached
across his body and spilled the chance, the first of three drops by him
on the day.
Khadka was run out for 41 off 34 balls in the 40th over as Khakurel
struck a full delivery from Elmore Hutchinson straight to Nadkarni at
midwicket and Khadka took off when there was no run on offer. Nadkarni
connected with a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to make it 180 for
2.
Mandal then returned to resume his innings, adding eight more to his
total before pulling a full toss from Allen to Hutchinson at deep
midwicket to depart for 20 and make it 207 for 3 after 44. Corns
finished up his spell in the next over, conceding just four runs and
finished with 1 for 44 in 10, by far USA’s best bowler not only
statistically but by the amount of times he troubled the batsmen on the
day. Nepal was 211 for 3 after 45 and it looked like USA might possibly
keep Nepal under 250, which was crucial to their chances of winning on a
day when they had to spend 210 minutes in 90 degree heat before coming
out to bat.
However, it was not meant to be as USA’s fielding horrors reared
their ugly head several more times in the last five overs. Pradeep Airee
skied a chance off Allen three balls into the 46th that Massiah
couldn’t claim running back from cover. Airee ran two and then hit a
boundary off the next ball before being bowled by Allen for 14 to end a
13-run over at 224 for 4.
Khakurel started the 47th over on 99 and Baker had a chance to run
him out on the second ball do deny him a century. Khakurel pushed a full
ball from Hutchinson to point and took off while his new partner Basant
Regmi wasn’t interested. Baker fielded at point and from 10 yards out
missed the stumps. Khakurel brought up his century with a single off the
next delivery, taking 135 balls to reach the milestone.
Regmi received two lives in the 48th, the first when he was
controversially reprieved off a no ball called on height. Shuja bowled a
full toss well outside off that seemed to dip below waist height as
Regmi slashed it in the air to Thyagarajan on the third man rope where a
simple catch was taken. The umpire signaled a no ball though and it
appeared to rattle USA further. Khakurel took the following two pitched
up deliveries and smacked them for four and six over long off. When
Regmi got on strike again later in the over, he skied a pull to
midwicket where Massiah settled under a simple chance before spilling
it. Nepal wound up with 15 from the over to stand at 245 for 4 in 48
with 250 now a certainty.
Khakurel finally ran out of lives in the 49th when he edged
Hutchinson behind to Steven Taylor to depart for 115 off 142, striking
10 boundaries and two sixes along the way. Sharad Vesawkar was run out
first ball on the next delivery as Hutchinson fielded adjacent to the
pitch and fired to the non-striker’s stumps behind him to make it 248
for 6 with eight balls to go in the innings.
USA took two more wickets in the final over, Shuja bowling Binod Das
for 7 off the third ball and then getting a hand to a drive from Shakti
Gauchan down the pitch with the ball continuing on to the non-striker’s
stumps to run out Regmi for 6 but Nepal ended on 258 for 8.
Despite the fact that the wicket was still perfectly good for
batting, Nepal entered the second innings as favorites to defend with
their tidy spin bowling attack and crisp fielding. As has been the case
before in USA’s contests against Nepal, Sushil Nadkarni was shifted down
the order to negate Nepal’s spinners. As a result, Orlando Baker opened
the batting with Steven Taylor.
USA started out the chase in confident fashion as Taylor struck the
first two deliveries from left arm seamer Amrit Bhattarai for
boundaries. Taylor saw all but three deliveries from the first four
overs to take himself to 17 and the team score to 19 but Bhattarai was
taken off immediately after one over and off-spinner Sanjam Regmi
provided the breakthrough in the fifth when Taylor tried to sweep him
but couldn’t keep the ball on the ground and sent a catch straight to
Vesawkar at backward square leg to make it 19 for 1.
USA then committed a major tactical blunder, sending Allen in to bat
at number three. Massiah’s troubles against spin on tour meant there was
a strong probability he would be shifted down the order against Nepal,
but rather than have Mishra or Corns enter at number three, two players
who are geared to knocking the ball around for ones and twos against
spinners while building an innings, USA sent their best late innings
basher in at number three early in the innings and asked him to knock
the ball around for singles, rotate the strike and build the innings.
While Allen did so effectively, it meant that if he couldn’t carry on
through the 40th over, USA had no one left in reserve to provide a surge
of boundaries in the final 10 overs if they got behind on the required
run rate.
Baker was having trouble scoring against Nepal’s spinners and on the
last ball of the 10th over, tried to use his feet against Basant Regmi
and was beaten in flight and stumped for 8 off 27 balls to make it 35
for 2. Nadkarni entered and built a solid partnership with Allen to
provide some stability to the innings. Nadkarni took some time to get
settled, scoring just 6 off his first 18 deliveries, but started to heat
up in the 16th, cracking the off-spinner Sanjam Regmi twice through the
covers for a pair of boundaries.
Nadkarni then brought up the half-century partnership with a six over
deep midwicket off left-arm spinner Gauchan to start the 23rd and
followed it four balls later by skipping down the track and slamming a
massive six over long on as USA ended the 23rd at 94 for 2. The
partnership finally ended when Basant Regmi trapped Allen on the crease
playing across to dismiss him for 29, giving Nepal the advantage once
again at 96 for 3.
Massiah entered at number five and after a cautious start, played his
best knock of the tour. A six off Khadka in the 29th spurred him on and
soon after, both he and Nadkarni were rotating the strike with relative
ease. Nadkarni brought up his 50 in 74 balls in the 31st over and USA
entered the batting power play to start the 36th at 147 for 3 having
just brought up the half-century partnership in the previous over. USA
needed to make it through the next five overs without losing wickets to
swing the momentum fully in their direction.
They started off looking like they would make it happen as Massiah
smacked a six over midwicket off Sanjam Regmi to end the 36th for a
13-run over to make it 160 for 3. After five runs off Basant in the
37th, Massiah and Nadkarni feasted on Khadka for 17 runs in the 38th,
taking the required run rate below seven per over as USA edged in front
at 182 for 3 in 38.
With only three runs off the first five balls in the 39th, Massiah
tried for a heave over midwicket and was bowled for 41 by Basant to make
it 185 for 4. The wicket sparked a collapse for USA which saw shrewd
captaincy backed up by more spectacular fielding from Nepal.
Mishra, USA’s best player of spin, arrived to start the 39th and
Khadka immediately brought Bhattarai back on for Nepal’s first over of
pace since the 13th over. It worked to brilliant effect as Mishra was
trapped LBW third ball without scoring to make it 185 for 5 in the 40th.
USA scored 35 runs for no wickets in the first three overs of the
batting power play, but Nepal took two wickets for six runs in the final
two overs of the batting power play to once again take command of the
match.
Two balls later, the match was firmly in Nepal’s grasp when Nadkarni
was caught by Das at backward point off Sanjam Regmi for 84. Nadkarni
got a short ball that he tried to cut in the air through the off side
and it looked like the ball would clear the ring, but Das sprung to his
left and knifed the ball out of the air with his left hand before
crashing to the turf and holding on to make it 188 for 6. USA had lost
both set batsmen and three wickets overall in the span of nine balls for
just three runs.
Thyagarajan and Corns came together and had a shaky partnership, with
both men nearly running each other out on several occasions while
Thyagarajan looked rusty, missing out on several full tosses. By the
start of the 45th, the required run rate had crept up to nine per over
and two balls later Thyagarajan tried to clear long off but Malla took a
simple catch on the rope to remove him for 8 to give Gauchan his first
wicket and make it 210 for 7.
Corns was caught at deep midwicket by Malla for 12 off Basant in the
next over and two balls later Basant completed his five-wicket haul,
bowling Shuja without scoring to reduce USA to 213 for 9 with 46 needed
off 24 balls and only Hutchinson and Ghous in the way of victory for
Nepal. The match ended two balls into the 49th when Ghous was bowled by
Gauchan for 2, USA all out for 226.
Nepal’s vibrant and youthful fielding – the oldest player on the team
is Sanjam Regmi at 29 – was the clear difference on the day, with the
Asian unit holding onto all their catches while Malla and Khadka were
effective at making countless diving stops in the circle to prevent
singles during the middle overs.
In Friday’s other matches, Denmark had a difficult time beating
Malaysia, winning by three wickets with 11 balls to spare after being
set a target of 253. It caused their net run rate to take a major hit.
Singapore beat Tanzania by eight wickets, bowling out the African side
for 94 before chasing the runs in 11.2 overs. The losses for Tanzania
and Malaysia meant both teams have now been relegated to Division Five.
After four days of competition, Nepal sits in first place at 4-0
while Singapore and Denmark are at 3-1 with Singapore in second on net
run rate. USA is now fourth at 2-2, but has a better net run rate than
Denmark and is only 0.078 behind Singapore on net run rate.
While the loss for USA was damaging to their chances of promotion,
they are still very much alive but do not control their own destiny. No
team has yet qualified for Division Three with several scenarios
possible for the final group standings after Sunday. Nepal plays Denmark
and USA squares off against Singapore on the final day of group play.
USA will need to beat Singapore by only a small margin and have Nepal
beat Denmark in order for USA to finish second and be promoted to
Division Three.
“We’ll do our best to regroup and make plans and come out fighting,”
Nadkarni said. “These games are very tough on any given day. Any team
can beat anybody. We will try our best. We’ll try to study the Singapore
team through our video analyst and come out and play hard.”
If Denmark beats Nepal, then USA cannot qualify for Division Three.
If Denmark beats Nepal and USA beats Singapore, then Denmark and Nepal
will finish in the top two and move to Division Three. If Nepal beats
Denmark and Singapore beats USA, then Nepal and Singapore will be
promoted. If Denmark beats Nepal by a wide margin and Singapore beats
USA by a wide margin, both Singapore and Denmark could potentially pass
Nepal on net run rate, leaving Nepal in third after winning their first
four matches.
DreamCricket.com will have live coverage of an action filled final
day in Kuala Lumpur when USA takes on Singapore from Bayuemas Oval on
Sunday morning. Live coverage begins at 10 a.m. Sunday in Kuala Lumpur,
10 p.m. EST and 7 p.m. PST on Saturday night in the USA. Update: Below are some scenarios for USA in their match against Singapore on Sunday in order for them to pass Singapore on net run rate.
USA bats first and scores 200: USA must restrict Singapore to 190 or lower.
USA bats first and scores 225: USA must restrict Singapore to 217 or lower.
USA bats first and scores 250: USA must restrict Singapore to 243 or lower.
Singapore bats first and makes 200: USA must reach the target in 48.0 overs.
Singapore bats first and makes 225: USA must reach the target in 48.3 overs.
Singapore bats first and makes 250: USA must reach the target in 48.5 overs.
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[Source: NCCA T-20 Media Release]
Supernovas defeated Fooglies to win the Matrix NCCA-T20 2012. The tournament was held in Santa Clara, California and was attended by a large number of spectators, including Mayor Jamie Matthews, sponsors and players from the six teams. Also present was coach Owen Graham who is presently undergoing chemotherapy.
Fooglies defeated Spinners in the first semi-finals and Naseer Islam's rapidfire 95 paved the way for Supernovas to defeat Titans in a keenly contested second semi-finals.
In the final, Fooglies scored 135 and Supernovas chased it down comfortably. Supernovas was led by the young USA U-19 player Pranay Suri and Fooglies was lead by Arjun Thyagarajan.
Mayor Matthews appreciated the efforts of NCCA's leadership and added that he was extremely delighted to see the professional manner in which the tournament was conducted. The Mayor was accompanied by Dr. Mohammed Nadeem who is running for the City Council in Santa Clara.
Sunny Sethi, owner of Matrix Insurance Agency, the tournament's title sponsor, said that Matrix had made the right choice to continue its partnership with NCCA. Sethi thanked all those who were at the ground and also those who watched the game live over web stream through TVU networks.
Sunil Kumar, president of NCCA thanked Mayor Matthews for joining the event and appealed to all stakeholders to help NCCA find a dedicated facility for NCCA to practice and play its games. “We have been around for over 120 years and I feel it is the right time for us to reach out to the larger community and create awareness and interest among the sport loving youth, women and men who are willing to practice and play the sport," Kumar said. Sunil also thanked Sujesh Pulikkal, Secretary of NCCA-T20 and the coach of NCCA's senior men’s team, and all the team owners and the league's board and executives for their support.
The following prizes were presented in the award ceremony that followed the final:
Best Batsman: Vatandeep
Best Bowler Award: Kuldeep Singh
Most Valuable Player Award: Naseer Islam
The event photographs can be viewed by clicking the following url: http://alturl.com/fvxsi
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)
Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary
Fast bowler Usman Shuja took 3 for 14 to spearhead the USA attack as
they bowled out Tanzania for 92 before a Steven Taylor blitz ensured USA
needed just nine overs to seal a win by seven wickets over Tanzania on
Thursday at Kinrara Academy Oval on day three of the 2012 ICC World
Cricket League Division Four tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Shuja
was named Man of the Match for his performance, which helped move USA
to 2-1 while Tanzania remains winless in the tournament at 0-3. USA now
sits at second place on net run rate after previously undefeated Denmark
lost to Singapore later in the day.
While Tanzania never figured to pose a serious challenge for USA, the
match was still critical for USA in the net run rate equation which is
the tournament’s first tiebreaker if teams finish with identical records
at the end of the round robin stage. Because of that, USA elected to
field first after winning the toss in a bid to bowl Tanzania out as
quickly and cheaply as possible followed by a rapid chase to boost the
team’s net run rate.
“We definitely wanted to win and win by a huge margin to improve our
net run rate,” Shuja said after the win. “The reason we wanted to bowl
first was I think we had more control over our second innings. We wanted
to finish the innings as quickly as we could and secondly we wanted to
make the game as short as possible so we are more fresh for tomorrow’s
game and that’s exactly how it worked out.”
Sushil Nadkarni was rested for the match with Andy Mohammed coming into
the starting eleven on the day. USA went through a frustrating first six
overs as both Shuja and fellow opening bowler Elmore Hutchinson
repeatedly beat the outside edge with a packed slips cordon – there were
as many as five catching fielders at times lined up alongside Taylor
behind the stumps during the innings – waiting for a nick to come their
way.
Hutchinson finally broke the opening stand by bowling Nasibu Mapunda
through the gate for 5 to make it 15 for 1 in the seventh. Six balls
later, Shuja made his first breakthrough of the day, bowling Seif Abdul
for 11 as Tanzania’s openers were now back in the pavilion with the
score 21 for 2.
 In
the 10th, Shuja had Abhik Patwa caught by Abhimanyu Rajp at third slip
for 5 and then castled Zamayoni Jabeneke for a golden duck to put
himself on a hat trick at 30 for 4. Orlando Baker nailed Issa Kikasa on
the toe with a yorker in the next over and his LBW appeal was upheld to
remove the Tanzania wicketkeeper for 3 and the score was 31 for 5.
Image (right) - Usman Shuja received the Man of the Match award
after taking 3 for 14 in six overs as USA bowled out Tanzania for 92
before completing a victory by seven wickets at the Kinrara Academy Oval
in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Tanzania could have sunk even further had Timroy Allen held onto a
chance at gully three balls later from the new batsman Kassim Nassoro
Mussa with the score at 35 for 5 and Mussa on 4. The reprieve opened the
door for Tanzania to have their best partnership of the match, 38 runs
for the sixth wicket, as Mussa attempted a counterattack, striking five
boundaries that included a couple of superbly timed cover drives mixed
with two straight drives through mid on.
Mussa’s innings finally came to an end when he tried to cut Allen but
was cramped for room and played onto his stumps, ending his innings for
Tanzania’s top score at 28 and leaving the score 69 for 6. Tanzania
then crumbled quickly, losing three wickets in 10 balls while the score
was on 74.
The first was a solid piece of fielding from Mohammed as he pounced
on a ball running in from point and fired a direct hit at the
non-striker’s end to run out Abdallah for 11. Four balls later, Allen
bounced out Benson Mwita Nyaikini for 4 after the batsman top edged a
pull that Allen waited under for a return catch. Muhammad Ghous nabbed
Riziki Kiseto in the next over without scoring, edging behind to Taylor.
Tanzania’s last pair hung around for six more overs, adding 18 for
the final wicket, their second best partnership of the match. Ghous
ended the resistance when he dove to his left to claim a return catch
off a full toss. Khalil Rehemtulla had to go for 13 as Tanzania
succumbed for 92 in 29.3 overs. Ghous finished with 2 for 14 while Allen
took 2 for 20 in a pair of tidy bowling displays to support Shuja.
Taylor opened the batting with Aditya Mishra and saw every ball from
the first two overs, blasting two sixes and three boundaries in that
span to take USA to 37 for 0 after 12 balls. Taylor brought up the 50
partnership – with 39 of the runs provided by him – in 3.4 overs with a
lofted drive over mid on. He started the fifth over with a monstrous
bash over long on, but was dismissed the next ball for 46 off 22 balls
after getting a fine edge through to the keeper attempting to back away
from the stumps to drive Nyaikini over the off side. The score was 57
for 1 and Mishra was on 1, having faced just four deliveries while
having a perfect view of Taylor’s devastating display.
Hutchinson joined Mishra as the two continued to speed toward the
target with Mishra hitting a six over midwicket and Hutchinson launching
one over the sight screen at the south end of the ground. Both departed
three balls apart when USA needed just one more shot to reach the
target. Mishra top edged a full toss and was caught at short third man
by Abdallah off Mapunda for a run a ball 15 while Hutchinson was bowled
for 14 off 11 after missing a massive heave to make it 89 for 3 on the
first ball of the ninth. Allen and Steve Massiah knocked off the final
four runs over the next five deliveries to give USA the win.
Nepal moved to 3-0 on Thursday and sits alone atop the standings
after a 10-wicket win over Malaysia at Selangor Turf Club. Nepal bowled
out the host side for 69 as leg-spinner Shakti Gauchan returned
remarkable figures of 10 overs, eight maidens, 3 for 2. Nepal chased the
runs in 12.2 overs with Anil Mandal making 41 not out.
Denmark suffered their first setback on Thursday at Bayuemas Oval
after losing to Singapore by four wickets, a result that helped USA move
into second place on net run rate tiebreaker with all three teams now
sitting at 2-1. Denmark was bowled out for 173 in 46.3 overs after
choosing to bat first. Singapore chased the runs down with 20 balls to
spare as Munish Arora followed up his half-century against Malaysia with
39 not out against Denmark.
USA now faces a huge showdown with Nepal in a game that could decide
first place in the group stage. The two sides have engaged in several
tight contests over the last four years with each team notching two wins
against the other while two other matches finished with no result.
Shuja, who took a five-wicket haul against Nepal at 2008 ICC WCL
Division Five in Jersey and has 14 wickets in six ICC World Cricket
League matches against Nepal, is preparing for another classic
encounter.
“Nepal and USA cricket teams are extremely good rivals,” Shuja said.
“We have had extremely good games in the past. I expect tomorrow’s game
to be a cracker as well. The division is on the line so I think it’s
gonna be a phenomenal game. Nepal is playing really well right now and
so are we. They rely heavily on their spin attack and their players who
play spin very well. We on the other hand rely on playing fast bowling
well and our fast bowling attack is pretty strong.”
“So I think it’s gonna be a very different type of cricket that’s
gonna come together tomorrow but I’m very very confident that we’re
gonna do well. The team is looking very good right now. Our bowling
attack is looking good. Steven Taylor is batting phenomenal. So I think
overall the team is coming together well and if I have to put my money
on I would put it on USA.”
Live coverage of the showdown between USA and Nepal from the Kinrara
Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur begins on DreamCricket.com at 10 a.m.
Friday in Malaysia, 10 p.m. EST and 7 p.m. PST Thursday night in the
USA.
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By Sam Sooppersaud
The Everest ACS cricket organization added yet another piece of hardware to their trophy cabinet when they crushed the Atlantis Cricket Organization in the 2012 Eastern American Cricket Association Power 40 Division "A" Final on Sunday, September 2. The match was played at the Baisely Park Cricket Field, Foch Boulevard and Long Street, Jamaica, New York.
 After Everest ACS batted and posted a mammoth score in their inning the Atlantis batsmen were literally caged as the bowlers exercised total domination. Nobody was able to suggest a plausible reason for the failure of the Atlantis batting machine which included several centurions as well as a double-centurion.
Pic (Right): Everest ACS skipper Karan Ganesh led from the front with a blistering 88 which included 7 fours and 6 sixes. He then followed up with a bowling tally of 2 for 17. [Picture appears courtesy of Shiek Mohamed of NewYorkCricket.com]
On paper the Atlantis club fielded a better side than their rival, double centurion Nicholas Standford, the hard-hitting Henderson Blades, Alex Amsterdam, who once played for the Guyana National (Rest) Eleven; the destructive Kavishwar Bridgepaul; the wily left arm spinner, skipper Prasant Nair; the menacing pacer, Dwayne Hurley, just to name a few of the Atlantis stars.
Everest ACS combined older and younger players. Senior players like the former USA captain, Zamin Amin, Terry Hastoo, Saeed Amin, Trevor Walke, playing alongside youngsters like Greg Sewdial, a USA Under-19 player, Skipper Karan Ganesh, Shafeek Shaw. Player for player Altantis appeared to have the edge, but a cricket game is won on the field and not on potential. In this game, Atlantis did not perform.
Speaking after the game, Atlantis CC executive John Aaaron, when asked to sum up the game, said: " Everest ACS deserved to win. They batted and bowled well. We just didn't perform".
An unusually large crowd was on hand to witness the clash of the two most notable and well-organized clubs in the EACA. Both clubs have been around for decades and have won their share of championships during those years. Among the fans were EACA's long reigning president, Rudy Persaud, the workhorse of the EACA, Kris Persaud, the Regional Representative to USACA; NY Regional Director, Lester Hooper, who is an executive with the Atlantis club.
Milton Pydanna, a former West Indies ODI batsman/wicketkeeper took in the game while having a spirited conversation with several fans sitting within his proximity. Of course, the unofficial cook of the Everest ACS, 'Blair' Amin, the father of Zamin and Saeed Amin, as usual, was there giving loud vocal support to the members of his favorite team. John Aaron, the distinguished former Executive Secretary of USACA, was there. Players from numerous clubs in the EACA turned out in large numbers along with their club supporters. All came out to watch the "Clash of the Titans".
Everest ACS took first knock. Steve Nowrangilall and Shafeek Shaw opened the account for their team. By the end of the fifth over both were back in the showers, courtesy of medium pacer, Nicholas Sandford. With the score reading 29 for 2, Sewdial and Tamesh Balwant solidified the innings with a third wicket partnership that was worth 99 runs.
Balwant played the supporting role relegating the main role to the destructively hard-hitiing Sewdial. How destructive he was! Judge for yourselves. In his first 35 runs Sewdial hit 6 fours and a 6 while facing only 15 balls. Balwant (34) was then caught attempting a needless slog to long on with the score reading 128 for 3.
Skipper Karan Ganesh walked out to the crease. He had some anxious moments initially. In fact he should have been out before he had scored in the double figures. A misjudged skier dropped harmlessly to the turf. Gregory Sewdial and Karan Ganesh appeared to turn up their assault on the hapless bowlers a few notches. Greg was hitting fours while his skipper preferred to hit the ball over the fence for sixes.
With the fall of Sewdial's wicket the score read 168 for 4. Sewdial's contribution was a crushing 91 runs, hitting 15 fours and a lone six. Karan Ganesh continued to plunder the bowling attack; his favorite shot, hitting the ball over the fence. Zamin Amin "added salt to the wound" by hitting 22 runs in 19 balls. Ganesh finally was caught attempting yet another big hit. His 88 runs included seven fours and six sixes. The Everest ACS innings closed at 281 for 8.
At one stage of the Everest ACS innings it appeared that the Atlentis players were experiencing some frustration judging from their body language. The batsmen were toying with their bowlers while their fielders were grassing possible catches and mishandling grounders. Bowling for Atlantis Alex Amsterdam bagged 5 wickets for 58 runs in his 8 overs. Nick Standford ( 2 for 53) and Prasant Nair ( 1 for 51) accounted for the other wickets to have fallen.
Having to score 282 runs for victory in 40 overs (a run rate of over 7 runs per over) is indeed a daunting task considering the slow outfield. But Atlantis started on a positive note. The first ball Henderson Blades faced from medium pacer Trevor Walke was dispatched over the longon boudary for a massive six. The ball had to be retrieved from nearly a block away from the boundary fence.
Then in the third over Mason was caught playing a tentative stroke. He appeared to have changed his mind mid way through the shot and offered a diving catch to Greg Sewdial on the long-on boundary.
Wickets continued to fall at regular interval at one end while Nick Stanford offered a beligerent resistant. He clubbed three massive sixes and one four during his time in the crease scoring 33 runs. Henderson Blades made 23 runs while while number eight batsman, Sukhdeo hit 22. The Atlantis innings closed at 128 in 24.2 overs as they were outplayed by Everest ACS who for the second straight year took home the Eastern American Cricket Association championship.
The bowling honors for Everest ACS were shared by Zamin Amin (4 for 20 in 4.2 overs), Saeed Amin (2 for 49 in 8 overs), Trevor Walke (2 for 42 in 8 overs). Skipper Karan Ganesh (2 for 17 in 4 overs) while scoring 88 runs surely deserved the Man of the Match award.
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter) Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary
USA paid for a lethargic display in the field after sending Denmark
in to bat, allowing them to rack up 244 for 9 in 50 overs, before a
batting collapse saw USA go from 40 for 0 in the fifth over to 71 for 5
in 20 overs as USA lost by 56 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method when rain
stopped play in the 24th over of their chase on Tuesday at 2012 ICC
World Cricket League Division Four in Kuala Lumpur. Denmark captain
Michael Pedersen was named Man of the Match after top scoring with 59
off 69 balls. USA drops to 1-1 with the loss while Denmark stays
unbeaten at 2-0.
The match was played at the Selangor Turf Club, the same ground where
Singapore was bowled out by Nepal for 111 after batting first on
Monday. Combining that knowledge with some overnight moisture in the
pitch, USA elected to take the field first after winning the toss. USA
was unable to make good use of the new ball though to justify the
decision as Denmark openers Carsten Pedersen and Shehzad Ahmed grinded
out 31 runs in 10 overs for the first wicket.
“What we talked a lot about this morning after losing the toss was
obviously making sure we got through the first 10-15 overs when the ball
was gonna do a bit and I think the openers did a really good job,”
Michael Pedersen said.
Carsten should have been run out on 6 on the first ball of the ninth
over with the score on 23 after Ahmed pushed a delivery from Elmore
Hutchinson into the covers. Steve Massiah fielded the ball as both
batsmen hesitated but his throw from 15 yards out bounced over the
stumps at the striker’s end. Ahmed was finally removed for 13 by Usman
Shuja at the end of the 10th, chipping a checked drive to Muhammad Ghous
at mid on. Carsten kept plugging away until the 14th over when he was
caught behind by Steven Taylor off Timroy Allen for 13 to make it 43 for
2. Despite scoring at only three per over, the openers did a very good
job of seeing off the new ball to set the stage for a surge later in the
innings.
Allen claimed his second wicket in the 18th when Rizwan Mahmood was
beaten for pace and top edged a bouncer to Abhimanyu Rajp at midwicket
for 7 to make it 57 for 3. USA failed to capitalize on a golden run out
opportunity moments later in what would turn out to be a major turning
point in the game. Number three batsman Andreas Lambert flicked a full
delivery from Hutchinson into the on side and called for a run but his
partner fresh to the crease, Freddie Klokker, was slow to respond and
both men hesitated as Rajp swooped in from square leg. They finally
committed to the run as Rajp fielded adjacent to the pitch and had a
clear shot at all three stumps but his underhand effort at the
non-striker’s end missed, which would have claimed Lambert on 9 and
reduced Denmark to 58 for 4.
Instead, Lambert and Klokker produced the best partnership of the
match, 65 runs for the fourth wicket as USA’s bowlers and fielders
failed to exert any pressure from there on out. Lambert was methodical
at the start of his innings, but played USA’s bowlers with relatives
ease once he got set. He brought up his half-century with back-to-back
fours off Ghous to end the 29th over, but got out on the next delivery
he faced when he was beaten in flight by Rajp two balls into the 30th
over and was stumped for 51 to make it 122 for 4.
Klokker teamed up with Michael Pedersen for a 45-run stand across 8.2
overs. Both players were particularly adept at using the sweep to USA’s
spin bowlers. Klokker took some time to get going, playing just one
scoring shot off the bat in his first 18 deliveries, but he then cruised
to 39 off 48 balls before he nonchalantly walked across his stumps to
paddle Rajp fine and was bowled behind his legs to make it 167 for 5 in
the 38th. Rajp capped the over by bowling Aftab Ahmed for a second-ball
duck and it appeared that USA had a chance of bowling out Denmark for
under 200.
 But
just as they showed last year in Hong Kong at ICC WCL Division Three,
Denmark will not fold easily and Michael Pedersen got excellent
assistance from number eight Bashir Shah to build a 60-run stand in 8.4
overs. Michael brought up his half-century in 59 balls slogging Rajp for
a six over long on to start the 46th. Shah smacked another six two
balls later as part of an expensive 17-run over.
Image (right) - Denmark captain Michael Pedersen was named Man of
the Match after top scoring with 59 in Denmark's win over USA.
[Courtesy: ICC/Peter Lim]
It took Ghous to break the partnership, removing Shah for 19 when he
drove to Aditya Thyagarajan at long on. Bobby Chawla was run out by
Massiah for 4 with 10 balls to go in the innings and Michael top edged
to Massiah in the circle off Orlando Baker to end the 49th. Denmark
added seven runs off the final over to finish on 244 for 9, making them
favorites to defend.
USA’s ragged display in the field was evident in the 32 extras they
conceded, including 20 wides. Rajp’s three wickets were tops for USA,
but they came for a costly 60 runs. Allen finished with 2 for 33 in nine
while Shuja curiously finished with three overs unused in his quota
after being USA’s most economical bowler on the day, taking 1 for 20 in
seven.
At the start of the chase, it looked like the target was easily
achievable as Taylor and Sushil Nadkarni got off to another explosive
start. Taylor took a liking to opening seamer Henrik Hansen, hitting six
boundaries off him in the 11 deliveries he faced from the bowler as USA
finished the fourth at 38 for 0. The partnership ended in the next over
though when medium pacer Aftab Ahmed had Nadkarni caught on the point
boundary slicing a square drive in the air to Lambert who took a leaping
catch to dismiss Nadkarni for 9.
After dominating the opening partnership, Taylor didn’t see any
deliveries in the seventh and eighth overs as Massiah couldn’t turn over
the strike to him. Taylor started the ninth over on strike, defending
the first ball and missing a drive on the second before edging behind
another attempted drive on the third ball to give Ahmed his second
scalp. Taylor left for 30 in 24 balls and USA was now at 49 for 2. With
dark clouds overhead and the possibility of rain looming, the second
wicket gave Denmark an edge on the Duckworth-Lewis calculation which
they never relinquished.
Thyagarajan came in at number four and scored 4 before being
dismissed by the left-arm spin of Shah, taken at slip to make it 54 for 3
in the 12th. Aditya Mishra made 6 before he skipped down the track and
was beaten in flight by Shah to be stumped, making it 64 for 4 in the
16th. Massiah finally perished for 15 off 48 balls, trapped in front by
Shah to complete a destructive three-wicket spell for the spinner.
Allen and Baker entered and added 15 runs in 3.4 overs with
level-headed batting, but thunder began to roll across the ground at the
start of their brief partnership and shortly thereafter the rain
arrived to put a halt to play. The showers stopped after about 20
minutes and the covers were taken off the field, but just when it looked
like play would resume, heavier rains came back and didn’t cease for
the next hour until the match was finally called off and a win awarded
to Denmark.
Nepal sits alongside Denmark at 2-0 after defeating Tanzania by eight
wickets on Tuesday, bowling out the African side for 82 before chasing
the runs in 19.4 overs. Singapore moved to 1-1 with a 112-run win on
Duckworth-Lewis Method over Malaysia. Singapore was in trouble at 35 for
4 until Christopher Janik and Munish Arora added 138 runs for the fifth
wicket, Janik scoring the first century of the tournament with 106 off
144 balls to take Singapore to 230 for 9. Malaysia was then reduced to
91 for 8 before rain intervened.
USA now sits in fourth place on net run rate behind Singapore with
identical records. Nepal is above Denmark on net run rate with both
teams 2-0. Tanzania is fifth on net run rate and Malaysia sixth as both
teams remain winless. All teams have a day off on Wednesday before play
resumes on Thursday. USA will take on Tanzania at Kinrara Academy Oval.
DreamCricket.com’s live coverage continues on Thursday morning from
Kuala Lumpur at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday night in the USA at 10:30 p.m.
EST, 7:30 p.m. PST.
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter) Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary
A century stand by Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor to open the
match was followed by a scintillating knock by Timroy Allen to set up a
70-run win for USA over Malaysia at Bayuemas Oval on Monday at the 2012
ICC WCL Division Four tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Allen was
named Man of the Match after notching 72 not out in just 43 deliveries, a
career high for Allen in a USA uniform, to take USA to an easily
defendable 289 for 5.
“This is all a team sport,” Allen said. “The two openers gave us a
solid start in order for me to go out there with an arsenal of shots,
playing whatever shot I feel comfortable playing.”
Malaysia won the toss and elected to send USA in to bat on a hot and
sticky morning at Bayuemas Oval. Usman Shuja, Akeem Dodson and Andy
Mohammed were the three to sit out for USA while Taylor was asked to
open the batting less than 24 hours after arriving in Kuala Lumpur and
combined with Nadkarni to put on 110 runs for the first wicket.
 For
Nadkarni, it was a role reversal playing the anchor position in an
opening partnership as Taylor took the initiative cracking five
boundaries and a six straight down the ground in the first six overs to
take USA to 37 for 0. Taylor brought up his 50 off 52 balls at the start
of the 17th over when he guided his seventh boundary through third man
to take the score to 90. He added two more boundaries before he was
dismissed on a marginal LBW decision for 62 by off-spinner Suharril
Fetri.
Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni cuts through the off side in the
middle of his innings vs. Malaysia. Nadkarni top-scored for USA in the
match with 73. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
“We’ve always known Steve can get going pretty quick and he started
doing that pretty regularly towards the end of the Dubai tour,” Nadkarni
said. “Today when he started going, I quickly changed my role and
wanted to support him.”
Steve Massiah joined Nadkarni and USA’s scoring rate slowed down as
Massiah struggled to rotate the strike against Malaysia’s spinners with
Nadkarni well set at the other end. Nadkarni brought up his half-century
in 68 balls in the 25th over, pulling Hassan Ghulam over midwicket for
his eighth boundary and then followed it up two balls later with a
massive six to the same region.
Nadkarni got out hit wicket in the 36th over for 73 when he mistimed a
hook shot against medium pacer Suresh Navaratnam. The ball hit him in
the armpit and started rolling towards the stumps, but never actually
touched. However, Nadkarni was slightly off balance in his follow
through and took one hand off his bat to try to stay upright. In the
process, the bat glanced the stumps to knock the bails off. That made
the score 157 for 2 and set the stage for Allen to get promoted up the
order and put on a destructive display to demoralize Malaysia after they
looked like they were clawing back into the match.
Massiah was on 8 off 43 balls when Allen joined him at the crease and
seemed to be spurred to find the gaps better when Allen arrived,
scoring 25 off his final 25 deliveries. Allen crushed the third delivery
he received from Navaratnam over long on for his first six, then did it
again to Navaratnam off his eighth delivery to set the tone for what
would come throughout the rest of his knock. Spinners were no match for
Allen either as he dispatched left-arm orthodox bowler Shahrulnizam
Yusof for a monstrous six in the 39th over that hit three quarters of
the way up a 10-story viewing tower behind the bowler.
Massiah was dropped on 13 at mid off by Hiran Ralalage to keep the
partnership alive and a few overs later Allen teed off on Yusof even
further in the 43rd, crushing a four and two sixes over long on to bring
up the half-century stand. Massiah hit his first and only six an over
later as he finally looked ready to accelerate but then got out two
balls later on the deep midwicket boundary for 33 to make it 227 for 3
after 44.
 Aditya
Thyagarajan got out second ball for 2 trying to clear the man at long
off to give Yusof a wicket and make the score 229 for 4. Aditya Mishra
arrived but Allen had crossed while the ball was in the air on the
dismissal and proceeded to continue his demolition of Yusof with two
more boundaries to bring up his half-century in just 30 deliveries and
then capped the over with his sixth six into the sightscreen.
Image (left) - Timroy Allen raises his cap to the USA bench after
reaching his half-century off just 30 deliveries against Malaysia.
[Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
When Mishra finally got the strike he had no trouble keeping pace
with Allen, using his feet repeatedly to the spinners with great success
as he struck three boundaries and a six to finish with 25 in just 14
balls. He got out with seven balls to go in the innings just after the
pair had raised a 50-run partnership in just 4.1 overs. Orlando Baker
arrived and slogged one six over midwicket before finishing 7 not out
while Allen walked off deservedly unbeaten with four fours and six sixes
in his thrilling knock.
Malaysia suffered early damage in the chase as Allen and Elmore
Hutchinson wrecked the top order to leave the host side at 21 for 3 in
the sixth over. Allen had Rakesh Madhavan caught by Mishra at second
slip for 4 while Hutchinson trapped Shafiq Sharif LBW for 1 and bowled
Faiz Ahmed Noor for 5.
Malaysia captain Suhan Kumar Alagaratnam and Fetri then started a
counter-attack with some excellent running between the wickets combined
with elegant strokeplay by the captain. What initially looked like a
cakewalk turned into a legitimate contest as Kumar flayed several short
deliveries through the covers while USA struggled to build pressure and
slow the pair down.
Alagaratnam hit his seventh boundary early in the 18th over off Baker
to take him to 39 off just 47 balls before Baker spilled a return
chance on the next delivery. However, Baker atoned two balls later when
he drew a thin edge on a forward prod from Alagaratnam and Taylor took
the catch to put USA back in the driver’s seat at 84 for 4.
Muhammad Ghous bowled with increasing precision after the first
drinks break to strangle the scoring rate which aided USA’s cause
further. A few overs later Abhimanyu Rajp was brought into the attack
and he struck in his second over, getting Khizar Durrani to hole out to
Thyagarajan at long on for 14 to make it 105 for 5 in the 27th.
Fetri kept battling though and with Navaratnam produced Malaysia’s
second half-century stand of the match. The pair put on exactly 50 for
the sixth wicket before Allen returned for a second spell during the
batting power play and had Navaratnam caught by Mishra at midwicket for
28. Ryan Corns removed Hassan Ghulam for 7 to make it 166 for 7 and
Fetri was finally dislodged by Rajp for 60 in the 47th to make it 198
for 8, but Malaysia managed to bat through all 50 overs and finished on
219 for 8.
Allen finished his all-round performance with 2 for 35 in six overs
and was well supported with the new ball by Hutchinson who took 2 for
22. Rajp finished with a slightly expensive 2 for 51 in 10 overs. Ghous
went wicketless but bowled a key spell to finish with 0 for 26 in nine
overs.
In the day’s other matches, Denmark defeated Tanzania by 88 runs
after posting 224 in the first innings while Nepal won by five wickets
over Singapore after bowling Singapore out for 111 and chasing the runs
in just 24.5 overs after a rocky start when they lost their fifth wicket
for 47 runs.
USA plays Denmark on day two in Kuala Lumpur at the Selangor Turf
Club. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage of the match with play
set to get underway at 10:30 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday morning,
10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST on Monday night in the USA.
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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)
Nineteen months after the heartache of a last place finish and
relegation in Hong Kong, USA will attempt to reestablish a positive
presence in 50-over cricket on Monday at 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in
Kuala Lumpur, the next phase of qualifying for the 2015 ICC World Cup in
Australia and New Zealand. USA needs a top two finish to advance back
into ICC WCL Division Three, which will take place next year in Bermuda
from April 28-May 5.
USA captain Steve Massiah makes his return to the squad after missing
the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier when his travel was restricted
after a November arrest in connection with an alleged $50 million
mortgage fraud scheme. Speaking publicly for the first time since
November, Massiah said at the captains’ press conference on the eve of
the tournament that he doesn’t feel he let the team down at all for
having to miss the tour to the UAE.
 “I
don’t think I’ve let the team down,” Massiah said. “Due to certain
personal circumstances I wasn’t able to make it. I’m here to do my best
for the United States of America, do whatever it takes for us to achieve
qualification.”
Image (right) - Steve Massiah at the opening press conference for
2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Two other players returning to the squad on this tour are Timroy
Allen and Aditya Thyagarajan. Both players are making comebacks after
injuries.
“It’s a pleasure to be back and first and foremost I must say I
really do appreciate the selectors giving me this opportunity, helping
the USA get back where we’re supposed to be. It felt really good to be
back with my teammates,” Allen said. He also doesn’t want to go home
regretting a missed opportunity and wants to get the event started with a
win against Malaysia in the opening match at Bayuemas Oval.
“It’s a long flight here and I really don’t want to go back home
without holding something so I’m really ready for this tournament. I
have no doubt in my team that we’ll come out on top in this game because
these guys are basically hungry for a win and we want to give all our
spectators back home something to start off with and we don’t want to
fall in a hole right off the top.”
Allen took 2 for 37 in 10 overs in the team’s warm-up match win over
Denmark on Thursday. Massiah says Allen’s value to USA is immense
because of the many ways in which he can be used.
“He performs a dual role for me in the sense that he opens the
bowling and also I have the option of using him as a spinner if the
wicket is conducive to it and he’s a tremendous lower order batsman,”
Massiah said. “In my humble opinion he’s probably the most talented
cricketer in America.”
Meanwhile, Thyagarajan top scored with 48 coming in at number four in
the warm-up match against Denmark, his first match in a USA uniform
since injuring his right knee at 2011 ICC WCL Division Three in Hong
Kong, and says he’s looking forward to the opportunity to make his mark
once more for USA.
“It’ll be a personal challenge playing six games in eight days first
tournament after injury but I’m looking forward to it and positive that
I’ll be able to get through it and hopefully do well for the team,”
Thyagarajan said. Allen says he’s extremely happy to make a return to
the squad alongside Thyagarajan.
“Aditya has always been a fighter for us,” Allen said. “It’s not like
we’re gonna go out and depend on one batsman, but that’s one person you
can really depend on. If he gets out, it’s not because of a crazy shot.
He probably got a good ball. He’s patient and focused and I just love
when he’s in the team.”
One player who looked noticeably slimmer during the team’s training
session on Sunday was Sushil Nadkarni, who says he’s lost 10 to 15
pounds through a refined training regimen since the team returned in
March from the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.
“After the Dubai tour and working with Robin a little bit in that
tournament, I kind of realized some of the things I needed to work on
when I was putting my time in the gym,” Nadkarni said. “It wasn’t that I
wasn’t putting time in the gym before, but I just realized after
talking to him and others where I should be focusing or what are the
different things I should be doing. So I’ve been focusing on a lot of
sprinting, a lot of running. I’ve been doing some weight training as
well so I’m trying to do activities that would help me optimize or
maximize my performance on the cricket field.”
 As
far as the team composition for the first match against Malaysia, the
tour management may have a difficult decision on their hands with key
players Usman Shuja, Aditya Mishra and Steven Taylor all arriving in
Malaysia on Sunday afternoon less than 24 hours before the start of the
tournament. All three looked exhausted at the tournament’s opening
ceremony just a few hours removed from more than 20 hours of flights
from the USA. Massiah says their status will be assessed in the morning
before a game-time decision is made.
Image (left) - USA's Akeem Dodson, Andy Mohammed, Abhimanyu Rajp,
bowling coach Charlie Javed and Ryan Corns at the the tournament
opening ceremony. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
“It’s the first game and we’d like to start on a winning note so
probably we’ll go with our best combination for tomorrow because it’s
important that we start well so this way we’re not behind the eight
ball,” Massiah said. “We’ll make a game time decision tomorrow as to how
they feel. But obviously it’ll take them at least two days for them to
recover. Hopefully they can be fine. We trust their judgment and we’ll
do whatever it takes to help the team so we just have to see how they
feel.”
USA has gone through a similar situation in the recent past with poor
results. At 2010 ICC WCL Division Five in Nepal, Nadkarni missed the
first two matches while attending to some work obligations back in
Texas, then flew in and was slotted back into the lineup straightaway
against Jersey and Singapore for the third and fourth matches of the
tournament. He made 1 off 7 balls and a golden duck respectively so
Nadkarni is very aware of the challenge that lies ahead for Shuja,
Mishra and Taylor.
“Talking about myself, it was tough,” Nadkarni said. “It was about a
25-hour flight and then a change in timings and everything. It was a
little bit tough to get into the ground and play an international game
the next day. Overall it does take its toll on your body and you might
find yourself a little sluggish in the field because your body is trying
to catch up to the time differences, etc.”
Thyagarajan knows this will be a tough event, but if they can grind
out a top two finish, the path ahead will be easier in the spring at
2013 WCL Division Three where Bermuda, Italy, Oman and Uganda await the
two teams that get promoted at the end of this tournament in Malaysia.
“I think this will be an extremely tough tournament,” Thyagarajan
said. “This reminds me of the Division Five tournament in Nepal. Like I
said then, if we get through Five, we’ll surely get through Four. I say
the same thing here. If we get through Four, we’ll surely get through
Three. Everybody needs to play really well.”
DreamCricket.com will have live coverage for all of USA’s matches at
2012 ICC WCL Division Four beginning with the team’s first match on
Monday against Malaysia from Bayuemas Oval. Each match is scheduled to
begin at 10:30 a.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST the
previous day in America.
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