December 2012 - Posts

• USA Cricket in 2012 - A year in review

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Venu Palaparthi For cricketers across America, 2012 was a year that held a lot of promise but it was also a year in which the occasional bright spots were eclipsed by an unresponsive cricket administration. USACA began the year with a successful player camp in Fort Lauderdale. Players praised the camp calling it the best run USACA camp since the one held in December 2009 ahead of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. “Unfortunately lack of planning, lack of management skills has probably cost us a lot. We have started now on a positive note,” Ahmed Jeddy, chair of the USACA cricket committee said. With that, the bouquets for USACA’s administrators ended. As the winter turned to spring, USACA made some perplexing moves that will undoubtedly haunt the organization for some time to come. “This year, voting is more than just the core responsibility of citizenship; it is an act of defiance against malicious political forces determined to reduce access to democracy,” noted The New York Times in an editorial column titled ‘The Struggle to Cast a Vote’ ahead of the USA presidential election. “Public outcry, with support from the courts, may eventually remove these threats to democracy.” Alas, the cricket community could not accomplish what a nation of 311 million could. Neither the public outcry nor the courts succeeded in protecting the democratic process from a compliance process that began for all the right reasons but ended up being used as a tool for disenfranchisement. The much awaited USACA election in April comprising only 15 leagues was about as inclusive as you might expect in a tin-pot regime masquerading as a democracy. As expected, the election delivered power into the hands of Gladstone Dainty and his friends. If anyone thought that USACA would now focus on the job of rebuilding, having freed itself of the distractions of a pesky opposition, they were proved wrong. USACA proceeded to underwhelm on nearly every front. On the membership front, expressing disappointment that only around one third of USACA’s membership was in good standing, USACA issued a media release in which it promised to help leagues become compliant. USACA ended the year with an even smaller membership and now has just four functioning regions and 12 leagues in good standing.  By DreamCricket.com's estimate, over 705 hard-ball cricket clubs or teams in the US operate outside of the USACA framework. On the administrative front, a quick look at USACA’s 100-Day Plan which was announced in May offers every MBA student a lesson on why it is important NOT to set expectations that one cannot realistically meet.  Not satisfied with falling behind on its initial 100-day plan goals,  USACA set itself additional goals on October 5, 2012, when it promised "coaching sessions and high performance clinics will be conducted by Robin Singh within 45 days" of the press release.  In the same release, USACA announced that "preparation [for ICC Division 3 tournament and ICC World Cup Qualifiers] will be complete within 45 days from the date of this press release."  Like many previous USACA promises, these too were quickly forgotten. On the tournament front, by February, it was clear that USA was not in a position to host the ICC WCL Division Four tournament.  Pic (Right) - Screengrab from USACA website.  All national fixtures scheduled for 2012 were cancelled. At the national level, USACA’s U-17 tournament was first postponed, then cancelled. All other national tournaments - USACA Women's National Tournament, the U-15 National Tournament, and the U-19 National Tournament - met with the same fate. The men’s national mutated into an East-West ‘shuffle’ comprising one 50-over match and a trial T20.  The few tournament opportunities for the players were courtesy of the ICC. There were also a few successful independent tournaments organized by the New York Public Schools Athletic League, American Cricket Federation, American College Cricket and Cricket Council USA, but hardly any from USACA. Financially, the promised CHA millions are yet to arrive and recent news reports point to a potential divide between CHA and USACA. Even more distressing, USACA exited the year with more lawsuits than ever before. On the field, inadequate tournament preparations notwithstanding, Team USA did the country proud. At the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, USA finished 12th with three wins in nine games. However, the wins were notable because they came against Bermuda, Oman and Scotland, teams that are currently ranked higher than USA on the World Cricket League ladder. The following month, the USA Women were unlucky to be edged out of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier on net run rate as rain washed out their final against Canada in the ICC Americas Division One tournament held in the Cayman Islands. In July, USA took part in the ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp with each team - Bermuda, Canada and USA - playing four matches. Canada finished at the top of the table after accumulating the most points based on the bonus point structure of the event. USA did well to win their last two matches as the boys began to understand each other’s strengths and gel as a team. September took USA to the ICC WCL Division Four event in Malaysia where USA conducted a successful campaign and regained their place in Division Three, thus keeping USA’s hopes alive for 2015 World Cup qualification. Pic (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] While the players did reasonably well, it was clear that with better preparation and planning, they could have done even better. In fact, at the end of the ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp, USA U-18 coach Mumtaz Yusuf said, “There’s a lot of work to be done. We need to have the team together for a longer period of time if you want to really succeed.” Golden words, but quickly forgotten by USACA. Nothing was done for the remainder of 2012 for USACA's junior development teams and no plans have been announced as we enter 2013. In the good news category, though the much talked about USA T20 league was pushed back to 2013, the two T20 matches featuring West Indies and New Zealand helped to improve Lauderhill’s reputation as an international cricket venue. Cricket continues to thrive at the grassroots without the input from the national board. The number of hard ball and soft ball cricket leagues in USA is estimated to have crossed 100. The US Youth Cricket Association has successfully scaled its operations and continues to introduce cricket to schools at a faster rate than ever before. More academies and indoor practice facilities have opened in 2012 than in any single year in history. At the college level, American College Cricket now has affiliated clubs in over 50 colleges and its championships are televised on TV Asia. Several leading brands associated with the sport, including ESPN, MoneyGram, and MetLife, have made initial forays into USA. Cricket in the USA now finds itself at a fork in the road. Years of intrigue and divisive politics have made the nation’s cricketers insular. Many are unconvinced about the benefits of associating with each other and it remains to be seen if recent efforts by ACF to galvanize the leagues will prove successful. Meanwhile, USACA’s recent track record has not exactly enhanced its prestige. In fact, USACA’s influence over cricket has faded to the point of irrelevance. USACA’s future relies heavily on the lifeline of ICC recognition and good news emanating from CHA. Fittingly, the best news and the most positive quote for USACA came on the last day of 2012.   “I look forward to leading USACA’s national efforts, as well as working closely with the member leagues, clubs [underlined for emphasis] and partners to ensure cricket’s vast potential in the US is realized,” the newly appointed CEO Darren Beazley is quoted as saying. USA's cricket community hopes that Mr. Beazley will work closely with all leagues. If he has followed USA cricket lately, he should know that there are hardly any member leagues left. Here's wishing everyone a better 2013. Posted Dec 31 2012, 03:38 PM with no comments Filed under: USACA, USA cricket, US Cricket, USYCA, ACF, ACC, 2012 USA cricket review

• USA Cricket Association hires Darren Beazley as new CEO

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket USACA Media Release Florida (December 31, 2012) – The United States of America Cricket Association, Inc. (“USACA”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Darren Beazley as its new Chief Executive Officer. This appointment concludes an extensive international search by a sub-committee comprising Gladstone Dainty, Ahmed Jeddy, Sunil Kumar of USACA, Tim Anderson of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Ali Khan of Management Alternatives. During the recruitment process Mr. Beazley demonstrated strong sport development experience with a close working knowledge of industry best practices, extensive organizational and professional skills critical to the development of a professionally managed USACA, and a keen understanding of strategic planning and resource management. Mr. Beazley brings two decades of high-level experience in various sports – including cricket –and international commerce to USACA. Further details are included in a bio of Mr. Beazley below. Image (right) - Darren Beazley, USACA's new CEO.  Commenting on the appointment Gladstone Dainty, President of USACA, stated: “This appointment marks a key moment for the growth and development of cricket in the United States as USACA looks to take better advantage of the sport’s widening global appeal for men, women and youth. “The appointment of a competent and motivated chief executive to lead our operations was a vital component of an action plan agreed by the USACA Board during 2012, and after completing a rigorous recruitment process, I’m delighted that someone with Darren’s skills and experience has agreed to join us. “The Board can now focus on developing policy and relationships with partners who share our vision for the success of cricket in the USA.” Mr. Beazley noted: “Cricket has always been a major part of my life and I am therefore thrilled to have the opportunity to assist its growth and improvement in one of the most important emerging markets in the world today. “I look forward to leading USACA’s national efforts, as well as working closely with the member leagues, clubs and partners to ensure cricket’s vast potential in the US is realized. “There is a rich, diverse and long history of cricket in the US. One of my first key projects will be to talk to a wide selection of league presidents, stakeholders and partners about that history and the future. My hope is that this will help encourage the levels of collaboration and compliance critical for the development of the game at all levels and in all forms in the US.” Tim Anderson, the ICC’s Global Development Manager, added: “It is critical that cricket continues its growth path globally and helping ICC Associate and Affiliate Members put in place more professional management structures is an important corner stone in that progression. “Having been appointed through a highly competitive recruitment process, Darren will now have a key role – together with the USACA Board – in developing such a structure for cricket in the USA.” Mr. Beazley will commence as the CEO of USACA in February 2013 and will be based in Florida. Posted Dec 31 2012, 11:13 AM with no comments Filed under: Nabeel Ahmed, Don Lockerbie, USA Cricket Assocation, Gladstone Dainty, Tim Anderson, Darren Beazley

• USACA's support base erodes further

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Venu Palaparthi  In an affidavit in opposition to the order to show cause in the petition filed by Kenwyn Williams asking that USACA be dissolved, Gladstone Dainty claimed that the board's decision to suspend Kenwyn Williams was approved by nine leagues in good standing, constituting two-thirds majority of the twelve USACA leagues eligible to vote. For the first time since the controversial election, USACA acknowledged that its membership was down to twelve good-standing leagues, down from the fifteen leagues that voted in April 2012.   But that is not the whole story.  Attached to the affidavit were nine ballots from leagues indicating approval of the board's November 1 decision.  At least two league presidents have since disputed the authority of the signatories. Michael Dupigny signed the ballot on behalf of Washington Metro Cricket Board (WMCB) claiming to be the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors for that league.    When reached for comment regarding his league's support of the USACA board decision, WMCB President, Avinash Varma, denied knowledge of the ballot.  Responding via email, Varma wrote that "Mike Dupigny does not hold any office with the WMCB league since March 24, 2012."   Varma noted that WMCB's BOD was dissolved by the membership at a special session held in March.  New Jersey Cricket Association's newly elected president, Govind Itwaru told DreamCricket.com that he had not seen the ballot and could not comment on its contents.  However, Itwaru said that Sheldon Mollineau, who had signed on behalf of the league, had resigned as the president of NJCA on November 16, 2012 and could not claim to represent the league following his resignation.   The undated ballot had an electronic signature of Sheldon Mollineau whose title appears as President of NJCA.   Interestingly, even though the ballots had to be faxed or emailed no later than 9PM ET on December 9, 2012, at least three of the ballots had a facsimile date following that date. If USACA had twelve leagues in good standing, then eight leagues would have constituted a two-thirds majority.  It is apparent that USACA had trouble meeting that basic requirement by December 9th. Posted Dec 21 2012, 03:44 PM with no comments Filed under: USACA, USA cricket, US Cricket, American College Cricket, USA Cricket Assocation, USYCA, ACF

• USA Cricket: USACA meet bereft of workable ideas

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Venu Palaparthi The USACA Annual General Meeting was generally bereft of ideas, a participant who was at the meeting told DreamCricket.com on condition of anonymity. There were roughly 16 attendees at the AGM including a handful of league presidents, he added. Interim CEO Nabeel Ahmed, 1st Vice President Michael Gale and South East Regional Representative Owen Grey were absent at the AGM. USACA Treasurer John Thickett attended by phone.   The number of attendees and the tone of the meeting were both a far cry from the 2010 edition, which saw greater participation amidst an optimistic outlook for USA cricket.  As has become the norm at recent USACA meetings, hotel security was instructed to block the entry of certain people. Leighton Greenidge, President of the Southern Connecticut Cricket Association and until recently the chairman of the erstwhile USACA North East Region, was denied access.  Just for comparison, my league's AGM is attended by over 100 eager participants. Other US-based national level cricket organizations including United States Youth Cricket Association and American Cricket Federation (ACF) have held meetings during 2012 that were generally more inclusive, featured a constructive agenda and encouraged divergent views. In stark contrast to the USACA AGM, the ACF meeting was open to the public and participants were asked to join in-person, via WebEx or through a conference bridge. The most important topic on everyone's mind at the AGM was the status of the T20 league. According to the DreamCricket.com source, USACA President Gladstone Dainty was hopeful that the league would be launched and left the participants with the impression that more details would be shared in a month or so. If you thought that cleared the air on this very important topic, please hold your breath. ESPNcricinfo reported yesterday that stakeholders were informed by Dainty that the board's partnership with the primary investor was nearing an end, a claim that the investor aparently denied.  Updates were provided at the AGM by the President, the Treasurer and from three of the four functioning regions. To the utter dismay of those in attendance, Dainty handed out a document dated September 9, 2008, titled "A Vision for USACA" and told those assembled that the document remained as valid in 2012 as it did in 2008. Before you jump to conclusions that this reflects the President's far-sighted vision, you must spare a thought to the other possibility - USACA's inability to deliver.   In 2008, Dainty wrote of the need for USACA to adhere to a few tenets (1) a short term business plan (2) a long term business plan (2) player development and (4) marketing and promotions. Under Dainty's leadership, these 'tenets' remain largely unfulfilled. If you are in the mood to cut some slack, let us move the dial back some more. Cricinfo's Deb Das presciently wrote in 2004, "It is not clear that the USACA even knows how to proceed on a national basis with such goals. There are no professional marketers or sports managers at the board or executive level in the USACA, and no indication that there will be any in the near future."   At the very minimum, Dainty should have revised the 2008 document and set new expectations. The 2008 document still talks about a team participating in ICC sponsored ODI matches by 2013. And how about the goal that talks of a national championship with marketing, TV and other media coverage? What has USACA delivered on this vision? Why is it that American College Cricket was able to achieve some of the same objectives in a much shorter period but not USACA? The Atlantic Region's report should give everyone an indication of what the regions were able to accomplish during 2012, a year in which no national tournaments were held. The slide deck makes it clear that the region has chosen to duplicate efforts instead of strengthening existing programs. As an example, the region describes an initiative to introduce cricket to Maryland's public schools beginning with Prince George's County. Well, that's a novel idea... except that the US Youth Cricket Association (USYCA) has already made considerable headway with schools in Prince George's County and, for good measure, the following other Maryland counties as well - Baltimore, Wicomico, Howard, Carroll, Queen Anne’s and Kent.  The Atlantic Region's proposal was devoid of concrete timelines. The words "TBD," "Funding Needed," or "submitted proposal" appear on most slides. Thankfully for USYCA, its efforts have been recognized by folks outside of the regional administration. As far back as 2010, USYCA's Prince George's County program was featured in an article in the Bowie Patch (read here - Part 1, 2). USACA would be glad to know that USYCA received $63,000 in donations in its very first year including $22,000 from Appleseed Foundation.  The Treasurer's Report by Thickett confirmed what we have read in the news recently. USACA had a 2011 net deficit of $1.9 million and a receivable of $1.5 million.   The 100-day Plan itself did not come up for discussion, according to the DreamCricket.com source. However, some of the themes were touched upon. On the topic of the CEO, the participants were told that USACA had shortlisted four candidates and that a CEO would be announced once the interview process was completed. In a press release titled 'Status Report - USACA 100 Day Plan' dated October 5, 2012, USACA noted that they had shortlisted five candidates and expected to select a final candidate by October 19, 2012. In summary, there has been little progress. Likewise, no plans were put forth by compliance and governance committees. At the 2009 AGM, the USA Cricket Umpires Association (USACUA) was tasked with creating a representative and inclusive umpires federation that was in step with aspirations of umpires across the country. USACUA provided an update at Saturday's AGM outlining progress and Dainty acknowledged that the organization needed to be supported. This perhaps was one of the few bright spots during the AGM. Posted Dec 21 2012, 03:42 PM with no comments Filed under: USACA, USA cricket, US Cricket, American College Cricket, USA Cricket Assocation, USYCA, ACF

• USA Cricket: USACA will do well to introspect on its record at its AGM

  Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook.   Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Venu Palaparthi  USACA announced that it would hold its Annual General Meeting at the JFK Hilton in Jamaica, New York, on December 15, 2012. Included on the agenda are reports from the board and USACA's four remaining regions.   USACA did not respond to an email asking whether the AGM was open to public. However, in an article that appeared on ESPNCricinfo last week, USACA Treasurer John Thickett said: "All USACA members are welcome to attend the AGM. On voting matters, all members in good standing are eligible to vote." The last AGM held in Dallas (TX) in April 2010, was not only open to public, it was well attended and well organized (pictured right). The Dallas AGM served as a state of the union and USACA set some important goals for itself at that AGM. To give credit where it is due, USACA achieved two of those goals with the help of New Zealand Cricket and others.  “I am hopeful that real soon we will reward them [Lauderhill stadium] with cricket at the highest level," USACA President Gladstone Dainty said in his address in 2010. USACA kept that promise with the Pearls Cup series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. In 2012, West Indies played two T20s against New Zealand at Lauderhill. Also at the 2010 AGM, John Thickett and then CEO Don Lockerbie spoke of the progress of the commercial deal, which was imminent. The agreement was eventually signed in December 2010 and has given USACA access to much needed funds. In the aforementioned ESPNcricinfo article, Dainty is quoted as saying: "We get advances against the rights for the professional league, but we should have been getting revenue from them of about $500k per quarter; we've been getting about half of that." "In booking that revenue the independent auditors are saying: 'You are owed a massive amount of money by an entity which does not have that money right now… we won't recognise that revenue right now but we are convinced you will get it'," Dainty said. Although these two accomplishments are definitely historic, they might just be the sum total of the list of USACA's accomplishments since the last AGM that was open to the public. On the other hand, the list of unkept promises continues to grow and USACA will do well to introspect.   Here is a refresher on some of the themes from the 2010 AGM that USACA won't be so proud of: In his 2010 report, Dainty observed that USACA was communicating better, was becoming more purposeful and was moving rapidly in a positive direction and said that this was possible because he was "empowering more stakeholders.” Some two and half years later, nothing could be further from the truth. From a cricketer's perspective, USACA continues to drift listlessly. A majority of the stakeholders have actually been silenced, not empowered as Dainty asserted in 2010.  USACA's communications continue to be sporadic and unreliable.  More recently, its social media efforts have provided comic relief to cricket writers around the world. Pic (Right): A screenshot of USACA's website from July 12th advertises an imaginary "U-15 national tournament" starting July 13th at a location to be determined.  No such tournament was held.  Despite Dainty's recent proclamation that "In terms of the noise you are hearing this has not affected a single player," the fact is that the lack of progress has affected cricket. Try explaining to a 15-year who has not had a chance to play in a national U-15 tournament in 2012 that he has not really lost any time or opportunity. Try persuading an U-19 cricketer that he has had a chance to display his skills before next year's ICC Americas U-19 tournament, even if no actual tournaments were held in all of 2012. Another area that was discussed at the Dallas AGM was sources of funding. Former CEO Lockerbie emphasized that a healthy level of internal funding was a factor whenever external funding bodies were approached. What happened since 2010 was that USACA has continued to rely heavily on two baskets for its eggs - grants from the ICC and advances from CHA. For his part, Thickett listed two initiatives - development of individual membership options and a way for members to use credit cards to pay fees. Two years later, these initiatives remain on the drawing board. Dainty said in 2010 that supplemental resources from USACA would be available for all noteworthy regional initiatives such as a project to build a turf wicket. This idea was pushed further in town hall meetings called by Thickett. One league president called it as he saw it.  Following the town hall, then NCCA President Ganesh Sanap told ESPNcricinfo: "It's election-time talk. USACA has never given any money to anyone so why would it give it now?" Well, he was both right and wrong. Aside from the offer for administrative grants of $2,000 per league to the 15 'compliant' leagues that voted in the 2012 election, which coincidentally were announced ahead of the election, there is no evidence of USACA actually providing supplemental funding to leagues or regions for wide-ranging infrastructure projects that were strategic in nature. These are just a few of the promises made in 2010 that were broken.  There are many more that were made in the months that followed that remain unfulfilled. Whether USACA uses the December 15 meeting to check off a box on its to-do list or the board actually reflects on plans and progress, only time will tell. Whatever happens, you will read about it on DreamCricket.com. Posted Dec 02 2012, 08:10 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: ICC Americas, John Thickett, USA cricket, US Cricket, USA Cricket Assocation, ICC, Gladstone Dainty, USACA AGM, ICC Americas Cricket