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USA Cricketer
March 2013 - Posts
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket USACA Media Release The United States Cricket Association (USACA) today announced the National Men’s Squad to compete in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Tournament. This competition is a qualification structure for the 2015 ICC 50 Over Cricket World Cup. Currently the USA team are in Division 3 of the WCL and determined to progress to the next phase of qualification in its upcoming tournament in Bermuda from April 28th – May 5th, 2013.  The US squad has been competing in a series of 50 over practice matches against Bermuda at the Lauderhill Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and trialed 21 players from all across the US and one player from Queensland in Australia. The group performed well winning two of the three matches gaining valuable match practice. The practice series also allowed USACA National Selectors to be able to view the players in competition mode and to select the final squad of 14. The final squad to represent the USA is; Steven Taylor Sushil Nadkarni Steve Massiah Rashard Marshall Naseer Jamali Japen Patel Akeem Dodson Timroy Allen Orlando Baker Barrington Bartley Neil McGarrell Danial Ahmed Muhammad Ghous Elmore Hutchinson Team USA will be coached by Kumaran Thirunavukkarasu and will depart for Bermuda on April 25th. The US team will be led by season campaigner captained by Steve Messiah [sic] with Sushil Nadkarni vice-captain. USACA National Chairman of Selectors Mr. Selwyn Caesar said, “Due to the importance of the ICC tournament in Bermuda, the National selectors wanted to ensure that the selection process was thorough and that players from all over America were given every opportunity to impress. I am delighted that USACA supported our request and provided 21 players with the opportunity to stake their claim to represent their country. The result is that we have a very well balanced team that is capable of winning in Bermuda and advancing to the next stage. I wish them well and know that they will give a good account of themselves”. The other participating countries in the tournament are Bermuda, Oman, Italy, Nepal and Uganda. This is an extremely important tournament for US cricket as the top 2 teams from Bermuda will move up to WCL Division 2 and automatically qualify for ICC Global World Cup Qualifier to be held in New Zealand in 2014.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida for the three-match 50-over series between USA and Bermuda is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary USA allrounder Barrington Bartley scored a thrilling century that was trumped by one from Bermuda’s David Hemp as the visitors knocked off the hosts by two wickets with two balls to spare in the third and final 50-over trial match on Friday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Bartley’s 111 not out off 65 balls catapulted USA to 284 for 6 but Hemp’s cool and composed 103 off 114 steered Bermuda toward victory. It was USA’s first loss since a Twenty20 defeat at the hands of Canada in November in Florida. "When I went in there were almost 31 overs gone and for me to come out and score a century, I really feel pleased with myself and pleased with my performance," Bartley said after the match. USA won the toss and elected to bat first, making seven changes from the team that beat Bermuda on Thursday. Steven Taylor entered the lineup and captained USA on the day and was joined by Bartley, Timothy Surujbally, Abhimanyu Rajp, Japen Patel, Naseer Jamali and Adil Bhatti in the starting lineup. Making way for them were Akeem Dodson, Sushil Nadkarni, Rashard Marshall, Elmore Hutchinson, Muhammad Ghous, Neil McGarrell and Timroy Allen. The only two members of the 21-man squad not to play in any of the three 50-over matches were Danial Ahmed and Ryan Corns. Taylor and Surujbally opened for USA but their partnership only lasted 17 balls as Surujbally registered an eight-ball duck, caught driving loosely in the air to Dennico Hollis on the point boundary off the bowling of Malachi Jones to make it 5 for 1. Steve Massiah entered and with Taylor added 26 for the second wicket before Taylor struck a low full toss of the toe of the bat back to Janeiro Tucker for a return catch to be dismissed for 24, making it 31 for 2 in the 10th. Massiah was joined by Aditya Thyagarajan and the pair demonstrated conservative running in their partnership, adding just 14 runs across 6.5 overs before Massiah was given out LBW for 12 off 29 balls to 15-year-old left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins for the second time in the week. Josh Dascombe entered with the score at 45 for 3 in the 17th and was part of a 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Thyagarajan as the pair stabilized the innings by knocking ones and two around the ground off of Bermuda’s spinners. Dascombe was dropped on 22 by Lionel Cann at long off as the fielder turned a catch into a boundary. However, Dascombe was unable to make the most of his reprieve, dismissed two balls later when he played over the top of a full delivery from offspinner Jacobi Robinson and was bowled to make it 95 for 4 with one ball remaining in the 30th. Bartley entered and in a harbinger of things to come got off the mark on his fifth delivery with a six over long on. He added 38 with Thyagarajan for the fifth wicket before Thyagarajan was bowled for 47 in the third ball of the 37th by Jones but not before the USA veteran fulfilled his reputation by digging his side out of a hole. The platform laid by the grind it out partnership between Dascombe and Thyagarajan in particular allowed Bartley and Patel to play their shots freely in the latter stages of the innings. USA added 34 during the five-over batting power play from the 36th to the 40th overs to move to 164 for 5 before a startling acceleration in the final 10 overs in which USA added another 120 runs.  Patel stepped his foot on the gas pedal first, hitting two sixes and a four off medium pacer Greg Maybury in the 42nd. Bartley brought up his half-century in the 43rd over off 41 balls with his third boundary to go along with four sixes at that stage. Patel got out at the end of the 46th over, driving Tucker in the air to Samuel Robinson at long on for 40 off 26 balls, bringing an end to a 95-run stand at which point the score was 228 for 6 with Bartley on 75.
Image (right) - Barrington Bartley walks off the stadium pitch after scoring 111 not out off 65 balls against Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Bhatti came in at number eight and with Bartley put on an astonishing 56 runs in the final four overs. Bartley entered the 50th frame on 91 off strike, but a single off the first ball by Bhatti gave Bartley the chance to reach triple figures and he did so in style, crushing back-to-back sixes before ending the innings with his ninth sixth, this time over midwicket. Jones finished with 2 for 49 but with the exception of Rodney Trott, the rest of the Bermuda bowling unit was roughed up during Bartley’s rampage. Bermuda was undaunted by the size of the target though and unlike the previous two matches when they stumbled after making a good start, this time they made the most of a strong platform set by the top order. Jason Anderson and Tre Manders added 30 for the first wicket before Anderson was caught behind by Taylor off Jamali for 13. Hemp arrived at the crease and put on 59 for the second wicket with Manders. Abhimanyu Rajp broke up the pair inducing a false drive to Bartley at point to send Manders off for 26. Bermuda’s run rate hovered around five per over for most of their innings and the asking rate never got out of control as a result of Hemp’s efficiency at the crease. He was particularly useful picking balls off his pads through the leg side and brought up his half-century in 59 balls at the start of the 23rd over. Hemp’s 70-run partnership with Tucker ended in the 34th over when Tucker fell for 25 after he skied a slog off Jamali that was taken on the run by Dascombe coming from long on to the edge of the circle. Hemp raised his century in 113 balls with consecutive fours cut through point off Usman Shuja in the 39th over. He fell one ball later to end the frame, caught by Bhatti at cover to make it 198 for 4 in 39. With the set batsman Hemp gone and two new players at the crease, USA had a chance to take back control of the match. Shuja got Cann to offer a straightforward chance to Surujbally at deep midwicket on the second ball of the 41st over with the score on 211 for 4 and the batsman on 14. Surujbally got to the ball in plenty of time but grassed the chance and instead of having five men down, Bermuda went on to take 14 off the over in what was the turning point in the match. Rather than nipping the partnership in the bud and ending the stand at 13, Cann and Jones added 54 runs together before Cann got out for 35 in the 45th, well caught at long on by Thyagarajan off Bhatti to make it 252 for 5. Bhatti struck again in the 47th, getting Jones caught by Dascombe at midwicket for 29 to leave the door ajar for USA to rally back. Jacobi Robinson ended any hope of that happening though with two boundaries to lead off the 49th over bowled by Dascombe. Bermuda entered the final over with one run needed to win and despite a pair of hiccups with the loss of Trott and Jekon Edness, Robinson hit the winning run with an edge to third man. Bhatti finished with USA’s best figures on the day, taking 2 for 17 in two overs while Rajp was the most economical with 1 for 34 in 10. USACA is expected to announce the squad for 2013 ICC WCL Division Three next week. The final 14 are tentatively scheduled to arrive in Bermuda on April 25, three days before their first match of the tournament. USA will play Italy, Nepal, Oman, Uganda and the host side in a round-robin event with the top two teams advancing to the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida for the three-match 50-over series between USA and Bermuda is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary USA opener Sushil Nadkarni blitzed the Bermuda bowling attack, striking 12 boundaries and two sixes on his way to a century for USA to lead his side to an 8-wicket win in the second 50-over trial match of a three-match series on Thursday at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Nadkarni scored his first 50 in 38 balls before cruising to three figures and retiring out as USA chased down Bermuda’s 185 with 12.5 overs to spare. “It felt really good. I was looking forward to this tournament because we don’t have many opportunities before Bermuda and getting some international game time was something I was looking forward to,” Nadkarni said after the win. “I was working hard so that I could come here and put up a good show. Just coming into the game today when we were fielding, I kind of sensed that the new ball plays really well on this wicket and the old ball is a little more difficult to score off so I was trying to be a little positive initially in my innings and it worked out well because I think I got 50 in no time.” Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first as USA made three changes to their lineup from the first 50-over match on Tuesday. Former Queensland U-19 player Josh Dascombe dressed for his first game in a USA uniform while Nadkarni and Elmore Hutchinson entered in place of Hemant Punoo, Naseer Jamali and Timothy Surujbally. The visitors got off to an excellent start, adding 52 runs in 11 overs before Dion Stovell was pinned on the crease by Muhammad Ghous on the first ball of the 12th and given out LBW for 31. Tre Manders lasted just four balls, caught at cover by Usman Shuja later in the over for a duck to make it 52 for 2. Jason Anderson and David Hemp constructed Bermuda’s biggest partnership of the match for the third wicket, 71 runs across 17.5 overs. Bermuda was 117 for 2 after 29 and it appeared they would finish with somewhere between 230 and 260 runs on a good batting pitch. But the wicket of Hemp in the 30th, bowled by Ghous for 40, sparked another dramatic slide for Bermuda as they lost their last eight wickets for 62 runs. Janeiro Tucker was the next to fall, trapped in front by Dascombe’s left-arm spin for 5 to make it 134 for 4 in the 33rd. Dascombe struck again to remove Anderson for 66 as part of a wicket maiden over in the 37th. Bermuda’s sixth wicket fell with one ball to go in the batting power play as Neil McGarrell induced a top edged slog sweep from Rodney Trott that was claimed by Timroy Allen running in from deep midwicket for 3 to make it 153 for 6. Bermuda only managed to score 11 runs for the loss of two wickets during their five-over batting power play from the 36th through the 40th over. Malachi Jones fell for 13, caught off a full toss by Nadkarni at cover off Hutchinson to make it 177 for 7. Samuel Robinson fell for 4 in similar fashion off the bowling of Shuja in the following over to make it 184 for 8. Lionel Cann was the ninth man out for 13, bowled by a Hutchinson yorker on the first ball of the 46th. Bermuda managed to lose their last three wickets in the space of six balls when Hutchinson had Dennico Hollis caught pulling a full toss to Shuja at fine leg as Bermuda failed to bat out the final 27 balls in their innings, all out for 185 in 45.3. Hutchinson rode his good fortune to take 3 for 30 in 7.3 overs but once again it was Ghous who shined most with the ball for USA, taking 3 for 28 in 10.  Nadkarni and Akeem Dodson opened the chase for USA and after a relatively modest start, 32 for 0 in seven overs with a maiden bowled by each opening paceman – Jones and Greg Maybury – Nadkarni produced an extraordinary outburst of boundary hitting through to the end of the opening 10-over power play. It wouldn’t have happened had Trott converted a run out chance with Nadkarni on 28 on the first ball of the eighth. Beginning with the last ball of the seventh, Nadkarni struck seven fours and a six off his next 16 deliveries, bringing up his half-century in the process as USA ended the 10th over at 71 for 0.
Image (right) - Bermuda offspinner Samuel Robinson scratches his head in search of answers for how to get Sushil Nadkarni out. The USA opener raised his bat after reaching 100 and spared Bermuda's bowlers by retiring upon reaching the milestone. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] “Over the last three months I’ve been here a lot to play in the stadium. There were some domestic T20 tournaments and I got an opportunity to bat here, scored some runs. The wicket’s become really nice actually,” Nadkarni said when asked about the improvement in the quality of the pitches at the stadium over the last year. “I think it’s much more harder and the bounce is much more even so it does allow you to play some shots through the line. Also if the ball is short, you can pull it off to the boundary. I think it’s become a little better for shot making. When the ball becomes old though, it does stop on you so later on in the innings it becomes a little more difficult to score runs.” At the first drinks break after 17 overs, USA was 110 for 0 with Nadkarni on 83 and Dodson on 20. USA’s wicketkeeper finally fell in the 20th over, bowled by Trott for 27 to make it 120 for 0. Steve Massiah joined Nadkarni and the pair added another 46 runs. The partnership ended when Nadkarni brought up his 100 in 105 balls with a single to the leg side on the last ball of the 33rd over and immediately retired out. Aditya Thyagarajan joined Massiah and the pair knocked off the last 20 runs required in 4.1 overs. Massiah finished 44 not out and Thyagarajan 6 not out. Trott was the only bowler with respectable figures, finishing with 1 for 21 in 8.1 overs. USA and Bermuda play the final game of their three-match 50-over series on Friday at the Central Broward Regional Park. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST with play scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. EST.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Cooper City, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida for the three-match 50-over series between USA and Bermuda is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary Rashard Marshall’s bat paid immediate dividends in his return to the USA national team after a 26-month absence to lead USA to a 54-run win over Bermuda at Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, Florida in the first 50-over warm-up match of a three-match series between the two sides. Marshall scored 54 off 75 balls in USA’s total of 227 before Bermuda was restricted to 173 for 8. USA’s spinners worked hard to defend a below par first innings total as Muhammad Ghous took 3 for 34 in nine overs of offspin while Neil McGarrell produced a miserly spell of 2 for 18 in 10 overs. “The wicket was pretty slow, but we have a lot of spinners and we know they struggle against spin,” McGarrell said. USA won the toss and elected to bat first on an unusually chilly and windy morning with eight players – Marshall, Ghous, McGarrell, captain Steve Massiah, Aditya Thyagarajan, Timroy Allen, Hemant Punoo and Usman Shuja – making their first appearance for USA on the tour to Florida after flying in at the conclusion of the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. Two holdovers from USA’s ICC Americas tournament champion squad – Akeem Dodson and Timothy Surujbally – opened the batting and put on 83 runs for the first wicket in 14.2 overs. Dodson was eventually run out for 33 trying to steal a leg bye ahead of a throw from Malachi Jones at point. Massiah entered at three but lasted just three deliveries before he was given out on a questionable LBW decision for 2 to 15-year-old left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins. USA’s top order collapse continued three overs later when Surujbally was given out LBW off an inside edge for 43 to offspinner Samuel Robinson to make it 96 for 3 in the 19th. Marshall joined Thyagarajan and the pair stemmed Bermuda’s momentum by producing a 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The stand ended when Thyagarajan skipped down the track to Rodney Trott’s offspin and was beaten in flight to be stumped for 33 on the last ball of the 37th. USA managed to add 33 for 1 in the five-over batting power play from the 36th to the 40th overs but a short time later Marshall fell leg before to give Rawlins his second wicket as USA slipped to 197 for 5 in the 43rd. Allen tried to prop up the tail but Bermuda ran through the rest of USA’s lineup with relative ease. McGarrell entered at seven and was out for 3 driving medium pacer Greg Maybury to cover. Punoo ran himself out without scoring two balls later to make it 208 for 7 in the 46th. Allen added 16 with Shuja before Allen was well caught at long off by Rawlins off Maybury for 29. Ghous lasted just two balls before he was bowled for 1 by Maybury to end the 48th at 226 for 9. Jamali was out LBW for a duck to end the innings three balls into the 49th with Shuja not out on 6. Maybury finished with 3 for 37 after wrecking the tail but Bermuda’s spinners were the ones mainly responsible for holding down the fort after the brisk first-wicket partnership between Dodson and Surujbally. Bermuda cruised along early in their chase to reach 76 for 1 at the first drinks break taken after 17 overs. Jason Anderson was trapped LBW for 16 by Punoo’s offspin in the 9th, but for the most part Bermuda wasn’t having any issues rotating the strike on an easy-paced wicket. It took the intervention of a brilliant runout by Dodson two balls after play resumed to turn the tide in USA’s favor. Bermuda captain Stephen Outerbridge was on strike and tried to nudge a ball toward point for a quick run. Dodson scampered out from behind the stumps as the batsmen hesitated. Outerbridge came back while Manders strayed outside his crease at the non-striker’s end for a moment too long. Dodson fielded and unleashed a throw into the base of the non-striker’s stumps to leave Manders stunned for 12.  Outerbridge brought up his 50 in 59 balls to begin the 19th, but one delivery later David Hemp was dismissed making it 79 for 3, caught behind for a duck trying to cut Ghous. Outerbridge had a few brushes with danger shortly thereafter, first on 59 when Ghous spilled a straightforward chance at long leg off Allen and then again on 68 two balls into the 33rd when Jamali couldn’t come up with a chance at long on after McGarrell induced a mistimed drive.
Image (right) - Offspinner Muhammad Ghous took 3 for 34 vs. Bermuda at Brian Piccolo Park. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Fortune favored USA at the end of McGarrell’s third over though when Tucker was bowled by McGarrell for 26 after missing a sweep to make it 127 for 4. Outerbridge began the 35th over trying to steal a quick single off McGarrell and pulled his right hamstring in the process, causing him to retire hurt on 71. The experienced McGarrell caught Dion Stovell sleeping with a quicker ball on the first delivery after play resumed following Outerbridge’s injury to make it 129 for 5. Bermuda now needed 99 in 15.4 overs to win, but with Outerbridge unable to return Bermuda’s tail didn’t have the firepower to take them close to the target. Ghous got his second wicket when Jones was taken by McGarrell at midwicket for 2 in the 36th. Jekon Edness was bowled by Ghous in the 40th to make it 143 for 7 and Bermuda finished their five-over batting power play having scored just 13 runs. Massiah brought himself on for four overs of offspin and dismissed Rawlins in his last frame for 13 to make it 164 for 8 in the 48th. Trott hit a pair of boundaries off Marshall in the final over to take Bermuda to their eventual total of 173 for 8. The two teams get back in action on Thursday when they square off at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill for the second game in their three-match 50-over series. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST with the match beginning at 10 a.m.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary Records continued to tumble on Sunday as Steven Taylor’s 127 not out spearheaded a 77-run win over Cayman Islands to wrap up an undefeated week for USA at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. USA finished 8-0 with the win while Cayman Islands dropped to 1-7 with the loss and as a result they have been relegated to ICC Americas Division Two. 
Image (above) - USA finishes number one at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] “We really worked hard since we arrived in Florida and the effort that we come here and put out to go 8-0, it’s a big achievement for USACA,” said USA captain Orlando Baker. Taylor’s second century in as many matches reset his own USA T20 record and took him to 413 runs overall on the week to put him atop the run charts for the tournament. “It was a dream come true and I’m happy for my accomplishment,” Taylor said. “I had one goal, my main goal was to become the highest run getter…. It’s a big boost for me because we qualified to the UAE and I’d like to do good in the UAE.” USA won the toss and elected to bat first with no changes made to the side that beat Bermuda on Friday as Elmore Hutchinson and Saqib Saleem nursed injuries while Timothy Surujbally sat out. Taylor and Akeem Dodson opened and set a USA record for the country’s largest partnership in T20 cricket. The pair added 155 in 15.1 overs, breaking the mark for highest first-wicket partnership previously held by Taylor and Aditya Mishra with 78 vs. Scotland at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai and the highest partnership overall which was held by Aditya Thyagarajan and Baker with 99 not out in a seventh-wicket stand vs. Ireland at the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Unlike his innings in the first match against Cayman Islands when he scored 95, Taylor’s time at the crease on Sunday was a charmed one with two straightforward chances being put down. The first came when he was on 21 in the fifth over with the score 41 for 0. Taylor top edged a sweep against offspinner Kevin Bazil that went straight to Alessandro Morris at fine leg. Morris misjudged it initially and then reached up over his head while backpedalling before spilling the chance. Taylor treated Cayman Islands medium pacer Troy Taylor with particular disdain, torching him for a six and three boundaries in the 10th over as he brought up his 50 off just 30 balls in the process. On the first ball of the 11th over, Dodson scooped Ramon Sealy over fine leg for a boundary to break Baker and Thyagarajan’s partnership record. The partnership finally ended when Dodson missed a slog to midwicket against Kervin Ebanks and was bowled for 46. Baker came out to the middle and for the second match in a row was present when Taylor brought up three digits. Bermuda had another chance to deny him of three figures though just five balls after Dodson got out when Taylor sliced a full toss straight to point but the fielder grassed the chance at chest height. Instead, Taylor reached his century three balls into the 17th over with a single to the leg side. He scored his second 50 in just 21 balls. Cayman Islands still had three more overs to feel Taylor’s wrath though. The teenager added another three fours and a six in the final two overs before he carried his bat off the field with 14 fours and six sixes at the end of his 62-ball knock. The total of 198 for 1 was a record score for USA in T20 cricket, eclipsing the 193 for 5 USA made against Bermuda in Sharjah at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. 
Image (above) - Man of the Match Steven Taylor after breaking his own USA record T20 score with 127 not out vs. Cayman Islands. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna] “There’s so many things that happened. There’s so many records that has break in this tournament, with the batters and partnerships.” Baker said. “But from a personal point of view, I’m very happy to lead this team, a young team. I get the respect from each and every player, from the managers right down to the guys. When I came here to Florida, I said I’m here on a mission as a captain and a senior player and the mission is complete.” Cayman Islands never had a chance to chase the total despite a 60-run opening stand between Sealy and Zachary McLaughlin. Sealy was dismissed for 27 by Danial Ahmed in the 10th over and from there wickets fell regularly. McLaughlin was the first of three wickets taken by Ryan Corns, caught by Taylor at long on for a top score of 35. Corns had Ronald Ebanks stumped for 12 before Abhimanyu Rajp got into the act, removing Conroy Wright for 8 through the assistance of a brilliant catch on the boundary by Naseer Jamali to make it 100 for 4 in the 17th. Corns capped off career best figures of 3 for 12 with the wicket of Kervin Ebanks, caught at deep midwicket by Japen Patel for 12 to make it 106 for 5 in the 18th. The last wicket to fall for Cayman Islands was that of Troy Taylor, stumped by Dodson for 1 in the 19th over, before Cayman Islands finished on 121 for 6. In the day’s other match, Suriname stunned Bermuda by five wickets to take their record to 4-4 while Bermuda finished the tournament at 5-3 but still finished in second place to join USA as the two teams advancing from this tournament to the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE this November. Tre Manders and David Hemp both made 51 in Bermuda’s total of 144 for 4, but Suriname chased it down with two balls to spare aided by some shoddy fielding from Bermuda. Sauid Drepaul led Suriname with 42. USA has an off day on Monday before a three-match 50-over series against Bermuda begins at Brian Piccolo Park beginning at 10 a.m. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation for all three matches.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Cooper City, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard vs. Bermuda I Scorecard vs. Bahamas I Match Commentary USA batsman Steven Taylor became the first USA player to score a Twenty20 century on Friday afternoon at Brian Piccolo Park, notching 101 off 62 balls to lead USA to victory over Bermuda by 48 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. USA’s win was their seventh in seven matches this week and clinched both the tournament title for them as well as a spot in the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier this November in the UAE. 
Image (above) - Steven Taylor watches the ball sail over the rope for his sixth six to bring up USA's first T20 century. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] “We just came out with a positive approach,” Baker said. “We knew it was Bermuda and it’s our last big chance at them. We wanted to crush them. We didn’t want to just win, but win big. We went out and give it our best and we come out today with a big win again.” In the process of reaching his ton, Taylor broke his own USA record score in T20 cricket which was 95 against Cayman Islands on the first day of this tournament. Taylor is now the leading scorer in the event with 286 runs, well ahead of Bahamas’ Marc Taylor who has 228. “It felt good because I was very disappointed in myself not getting the first hundred,” Taylor said. “I ought to have two. I was glad to get my first hundred.” USA won the toss and elected to bat first against Bermuda as Timothy Surujbally and Saqib Saleem sat out while Elmore Hutchinson nursed a groin strain sustained in morning warm-ups. The match began after an 11-minute rain delay before Taylor and Akeem Dodson opened for USA on a placid wicket. Play was halted briefly in the second over with USA on 21/0 for an 18-minute rain break before the match resumed.  Keeping their focus in the face of the spitting rain, Taylor and Dodson produced USA’s best first wicket partnership of the tournament, 68 runs in just 5.5 overs. Dodson finished with 23 off 15 balls before he was out caught on the cover boundary off the bowling of Janeiro Tucker. Taylor added 46 with Nicholas Standford and brought up his 50 in 34 balls during their stand. Standford scored 18 and was dismissed leg before missing a sweep against Jacobi Robinson. Barrington Bartley lasted just three balls, bowled for 4 by Malachi Jones in the 14th.
Image (right) - Taylor's innings started with rain drops falling around him as he took on Bermuda's bowling unit. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Taylor was joined by Baker and the pair generated USA’s second half-century stand of the match, 50 runs for the fourth wicket to tie a fourth-wicket record partnership for USA in T20 cricket held by Baker and Aditya Mishra against Namibia in 2012. Baker worked at giving Taylor the strike and with four overs left, Taylor was 25 away from the magic three figures. Taylor had the strike for all but one delivery of the 17th but could only manage a three off the first ball before dots piled up in the rest of the over. His frustration was evident as he attempted an unsuccessful reverse sweep on the final ball in an effort to get unstuck. However, a full toss from Maybury three balls into the 18th disappeared over midwicket and got the wheels turning again for Taylor. After a two and a three on the next two balls, he entered the 19th over on 89. In USA’s first match of the tournament, Taylor was caught on the boundary for 95 against Cayman Islands as he tried to bring up a century with a six. This time he was the beneficiary of some good fortune when a chance at long off on 89 was spilled by the sub fielder Sam Robinson over the boundary line for a six to take Taylor to 95. Later in the over, he went for the glory shot and this time succeeded, striking his sixth six wide of long on to bring up triple figures in just 61 balls.  Taylor was finally dismissed on his next delivery, bowled by Jones to start the 20th, but not before he took USA to an easily defendable position of 184 for 4. Tucker was the only bowler who avoided Taylor’s wrath, finishing with 1 for 19 in four overs. Every other Bermuda bowler went for at least nine runs per over.
Image (left) - Taylor punches through the off side after the sun came out. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] The pitch stayed in good shape for the start of Bermuda’s chase. After a blip at the start of their innings with the loss of Lionel Cann for 10, Bermuda was ahead of the asking rate after four overs at 39 for 1. USA’s spinners worked to rein Bermuda back in. Ryan Corns got the momentum shifting back USA’s way with the first of his three wickets, David Hemp caught at deep midwicket for 2 to make it 40 for 2. Bartley foxed Dion Stovell to have the opener out stumped by Dodson for 26 to make it 52 for 3 after 6. Bermuda captain Stephen Outerbridge was caught at midwicket for 4 to give Corns his second. Corns then delivered the knockout blow, inducing a skied chance from Tucker to Japen Patel at long on and Bermuda’s top scorer was out for 27 to make it 79 for 5 in the 11th. Abhimanyu Rajp took three wickets in five balls to accelerate the Bermuda tailspin. First to go in the sequence was Jones for 14, caught at deep midwicket by Jamali on the fourth ball of the 12th. Rajp opened the 14th over with wickets on back-to-back deliveries. Tre Manders top edged a pull to Corns at point before Rodney Trott slogged to Patel at long off on his first ball to make it 98 for 8. Rain returned in the middle of the 17th over and the umpires took the players off for the final time at the end of the frame. The match was unable to get restarted by the 6:30 p.m. cutoff time and with the par D/L score 161, USA was declared the winners by 48 runs. “I’m very happy for all the guys,” USA captain Orlando Baker said. “We came here on a mission and we came through and supported each other from the day we arrived in Florida. As you can see, we’re 7-0 and we’re looking forward to the next game to go 8-0.” 
Image (above) - Steven Taylor finishes a lofted straight drive to come within one shot of his century. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Earlier in the day, USA brushed aside Bahamas with a 72-run win at the Central Broward Regional Park. USA won the toss and batted first, posting 187 for 4, their highest total of the week and second highest T20 score all-time for USA. Several players got starts but no one capitalized on them as Patel and Baker were co-top scorers with 32. The pair featured in USA’s highest partnership of the innings, 65 for the third wicket to set up USA’s big total. Bahamas made a confident start to their chase as Marc Taylor and Julio Jemison constructed the largest partnership by any of USA’s opponents this tournament, 62 runs for the first wicket in 8.3 overs. Bartley was the one to make the breakthrough for USA, getting Taylor to send Jamali a catch at long off for 30. Ryan Tappin was dismissed for a duck by Danial Ahmed six balls later and from there the Bahamas innings became unglued. Jemison eventually finished 52 not out but the only other player besides the openers to cross double digits was Rudolph Fox at number eight with 13. Steven Taylor set the tone for his charmed day by recording a double-wicket maiden in the 20th over, his first over bowled of the tournament, as Bahamas finished on 115 for 8. Bartley was named Man of the Match after following his 25 not out with 2 for 21. In the day’s other matches, Bermuda defeated Cayman Islands in the morning match at Brian Piccolo Park by four wickets. Suriname stumbled in the afternoon game at Central Broward Regional Park against Bahamas, who rebounded from the loss to USA by notching a six-wicket win. Bermuda sits in second place at 4-2 after six games and can clinch the second available spot from the Americas for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier with a win over Bahamas on Saturday morning. Suriname is still mathematically alive for second place at 2-4 but needs Bermuda to lose to the Bahamas on Saturday combined with Suriname wins over Cayman Islands on Saturday and Bermuda on Sunday. In addition to that, Suriname would also need to close the net run rate gap with Bermuda. Cayman Islands sit in last place at 1-5. Should they lose both their remaining games against Suriname and USA, they will be relegated to ICC Americas Division Two. USA has Saturday off before their final game against Cayman Islands on Sunday. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage of the match, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. “We’re here on a mission,” Baker said. “We’re 7-0 and we still got one more to go. Definitely we’re looking to go 8-0. We’re not easing up on no one. We’re not taking any team for granted.”
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary Japen Patel’s responsible innings helped clinch USA’s fifth win in five games on Thursday as they defeated Suriname by 6 wickets on day four of the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Suriname fell to 2-3 with the loss while USA strengthened their position at the top of the standings. Patel was named Man of the Match for his 27 not out at number six as USA chased Suriname’s 110 for 6 with seven balls to spare. “I saw that the wicket was staying low,” Patel said. “I told myself that if me and [Nicholas] Standford can bat on through 20 overs, we can pull through. We just have to play a lot of straight shots and nothing across the line because people before us got out the same way. Our game plan was simple. Look for singles, doubles and when we get a bad ball capitalize on it.” Suriname won the toss and elected to bat first. USA fielded an unchanged eleven from their win on Wednesday over Bermuda as Naseer Jamali and Saqib Saleem remained on the bench while Karan Ganesh was sidelined with a right knee injury. It was confirmed on Thursday by USA team manager Shoaib Ahmed that Ganesh will not take any further part in the tournament due to the injury. Adil Bhatti is scheduled to arrive on Thursday night in Florida as a replacement player ahead of USA’s pair of matches on Friday against Bahamas and Bermuda. Romell Douglass and Arun Gokoel opened the batting for Suriname. The pair labored for runs, putting on 40 in 9.1 overs before Abhimanyu Rajp struck as Gokoel was caught at long off by Steven Taylor for 16. Douglass was removed by Ryan Corns eight balls later for 23, caught at long on by Barrington Bartley. Sauid Drepaul and Shazaam Ramjohn took their side to 67 before Ramjohn was caught at deep backward square leg by Elmore Hutchinson off Bartley for 7. Drepaul was dropped twice, first on 9 and again on 22 before he was run out by a spectacular piece of fielding from wicketkeeper Akeem Dodson. Danial Ahmed bowled a delivery that Drepaul tried to nudge into the off side for a quick single, but Dodson bolted out from behind the stumps, ripped off one of his wicketkeeping gloves and fired a direct hit into the stumps at the non-striker’s end to leave Drepaul stunned as Suriname lost their best batsman for 28. It was the first of three runouts completed in the field by USA. Vishram Shaw was the second for 3 at the end of the 18th when he decided to take on Bartley’s arm from the boundary for a second run. The throw from long off to Hutchinson over the non-striker’s stumps was on target to leave Suriname at 94 for 5. Suriname captain Mohindra Boodram was out on the final ball of the innings, running on anything from the non-striker’s end only to see Hutchinson field one-handed in his follow-through before flicking off the bails. Rajp and Corns both finished with 1 for 23 while Ahmed bowled a miserly spell to finish with 0 for 15 in four overs. Taylor and Timothy Surujbally opened USA’s chase with Taylor doing all the scoring in their 22-run opening stand. Surujbally lasted nine balls before holing out to mid off for a duck in the fourth over to Arun Gokoel’s offspin. Taylor made 23 before he was run out for the second time in three matches. The teenager got into a mixup with Dodson and couldn’t make his ground in time at the non-striker’s end ahead of Boodram’s throw from midwicket to Drepaul over the stumps.  Dodson and USA captain Orlando Baker took the score to 49 before the wicketkeeper was bowled for 15 playing across the line to a ball that kept slightly low. Baker made 19 before he fell victim to some variable bounce in the pitch, spooning a return catch to Shaw to make it 69 for 4 in the 12th.
Image (right) - Nicholas Standford drives down the ground on his way to 23 not out. Standford is third on the team in runs at the tournament with 93 at a team best average of 46.50. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Standford was joined at the crease by Patel and unlike the previous day against Bermuda, this time Standford was able to stay until the end as the pair played it safe with ones and twos to take USA closer to victory. There was only one four and one six, both hit by Patel, during their unbeaten 42-run partnership which culminated in a single by Patel over midwicket for the winning run five balls into the 19th over. Gokoel finished with Suriname’s best figures taking 1 for 19 in three overs. In the day’s other game, Bahamas shocked Cayman Islands by 9 wickets. Cayman Islands struggled to make 122 for 9 in their 20 overs before Marc Taylor slammed 89 not out off 61 balls as Bahamas reached the target in 16.1 overs. Both teams now stand at 1-4 and the fight to avoid relegation to Division Two could come down to net run rate by the end of the tournament. USA returns to the Central Broward Regional Park on Friday morning to take on Bahamas at 10 a.m. EST. In the afternoon, USA head over to Brian Piccolo Park to play Bermuda at 3 p.m. EST. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation, will begin at 9:30 a.m. EST.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary USA fought back after a solid start by Bermuda to restrict the visitors to 133 for 8 before chasing down the runs with 11 balls to spare as USA won a mistake-riddled game by 3 wickets on Wednesday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. Malachi Jones of Bermuda was named Man of the Match for his spell of 3 for 22 as well as a catch and a runout in the field. USA remains undefeated at 4-0 after the win while Bermuda drops to 3-1 after the loss. Bermuda, who defeated Cayman Islands by 46 runs earlier in the day after batting first and making 169 for 3 at the CBRP, won the toss against USA and elected to take first strike again. USA made two changes from their lineup against Bahamas as Danial Ahmed and Timothy Surujbally returned in place of Naseer Jamali and Saqib Saleem. Karan Ganesh remained out of the lineup with an injured right knee. Bermuda produced 24 runs in the first 20 balls before captain Stephen Outerbridge was beaten in flight by a quicker ball and stumped off the bowling of Ahmed for 6. The visitors advanced to 53 when opener Curt Stovell was dismissed on the final ball of the eighth over for 35, bowled by USA captain Orlando Baker after swinging across the line one too many times. .jpg)
Image (above) - USA captain Orlando Baker celebrates with a fist pump after removing Bermuda opener Curt Stovell for 35. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Despite the departure of both openers, Bermuda remained in a solid position after 11 overs with the score on 76 for 2. Luck appeared to be on Bermuda’s side after heavy hitting Janeiro Tucker was dropped on back-to-back balls in the 12th over bowled by Abhimanyu Rajp. However, the scales tipped back in USA’s favor when Ryan Corns struck on back-to-back balls in the 13th. David Hemp fell on the second ball of the frame for 26, caught on the boundary at long on by Japen Patel to make it 81 for 3. Bermuda made a critical error when Hemp and Tucker failed to cross while the ball was in the air so instead of Tucker facing the following delivery, the new batsman Lionel Cann had to start on strike. Cann swung over the top of a full toss from Corns and overbalanced after missing to allow Akeem Dodson the opportunity to complete his second stumping of the innings. "I thought they got off to a flyer," USA batsman Nicholas Standford said. "We did well in the middle overs from 10 to 15 to bring back the score and I thought we did a good job." The rest of the innings moved along in fits and starts, but without much momentum for Bermuda. Rodney Trott made 6 before he fell in the 17th, bowled by Ahmed to make it 103 for 5. Jones was dismissed for the same score in the 18th over courtesy of a juggling effort on the cover boundary by Barrington Bartley to give Elmore Hutchinson a wicket. Tucker finished with a top score of 36, including 28 runs after the first chance he offered, before he was removed with seven balls to go in the innings thanks to an outstanding catch by Corns running in from the long on boundary to give Ahmed his third scalp. Jekon Edness was run out coming back for a second run on the final ball of the innings as Bermuda finished on 133 for 8. Ahmed bowled with the new ball before coming back in the death overs and finished with 3 for 26 to lead the USA bowling attack. "I think I did okay," Ahmed said. "My performance was not at the level I thought it should be at. I bowled a few bad balls and I got hit but I kept bowling within the stumps and I think that helped me to get a few wickets." USA got off to a rapid start in their chase thanks to 21 off 13 balls from Surujbally. He collected two boundaries off the first over bowled by Jones, then two more against Trott opening from the opposite end. Unfortunately his innings came to a quick end after he walked across his stumps and was struck dead in front playing across the line to give Jones his first wicket. Jones made it 27 for 2 when he castled Akeem Dodson on the next delivery to end the third over. Meanwhile Steven Taylor was being denied the strike by Bermuda and as a result USA’s scoring rate was kept in check. In the first five overs, Taylor only faced seven legal deliveries and the frustration of not getting enough strike finally got the best of him when he was dismissed for 14 off just 14 balls at the start of the eighth over, caught on the long off boundary off Trott’s offspin. Baker perished three balls later for 12, runout after responding to Standford’s call for a sharp run. Standford managed to make amends though in partnership with Corns. With dark clouds hovering overhead and the possibility of Duckworth-Lewis becoming a factor if rain intervened, the pair kept their cool to establish a new fifth-wicket record stand for USA in T20 cricket, adding 46 runs across 7.2 overs. The previous best fifth-wicket partnership for USA in T20 cricket was a 39-run partnership between Quasen Alfred and Charan Singh against Afghanistan in Toronto in 2011. "When Ryan came to the crease we were on even keel with the D/L par score," Standford said. "So we just wanted to keep ahead of that as the rain was about to come down." Just when it appeared the pair had settled for good and would take USA over the line, Corns fell on the final ball of the 15th over for 19 when he holed out to Jones at long on off the bowling of seamer Greg Maybury to make it 98 for 5. With USA needing 36 off the remaining 30 balls for victory, Standford kept the pressure on Bermuda’s bowlers with a four and a six off consecutive deliveries from spin bowler Samuel Robinson to end the 16th. He ultimately fell three balls into the 17th for USA’s top score of 36, bowled by a Jones yorker to make it 118 for 6. Patel produced a very efficient innings at number seven, first in tandem with Standford and then with Bartley to get USA closer to a win. Patel scored off his first 10 deliveries and finished with 18 in 12 balls before he gave Robinson a return catch on the last ball of the 18th with USA one shot away from winning. The host side scored the winning runs on the very next ball when Bartley struck a delivery that was misfielded by Maybury on the boundary at long on to give USA a match-winning four. Suriname swept a pair of matches at Brian Piccolo Park on Wednesday, defeating Bahamas by 20 runs in a low scoring match before following it up with a narrow win over Cayman Islands by 7 runs on Duckworth-Lewis. Suriname made 121 for 9 and restricted Bahamas to 101 for 8 in the morning match to secure their first win of the tournament. In the afternoon, Suriname batted first again and made 120 for 8. Cayman Islands advanced to 96 for 4 after 17 overs when bad weather curtailed play with Cayman Islands marginally behind the D/L par score. The results mean that after the first round of double-round robin play, USA sits in first place at 4-0, Bermuda in second at 3-1, Suriname in third at 2-2, Cayman Islands in fourth at 1-3 and Bahamas in last place at 0-4. USA returns to the Central Broward Regional Park on Thursday afternoon when they take on Suriname at 3 p.m. EST DreamCricket.com’s live tournament coverage, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, will get underway at 2:30 p.m. EST.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary A tidy bowling effort by USA was backed up by a career best effort with the bat from Ryan Corns as the host side defeated Bahamas by 8 wickets on Tuesday in the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. USA reached the target of 114 with 33 balls to spare and the Red, White and Blue now stands at 3-0 in the tournament with the win while Bahamas remains winless at 0-3. Corns opened USA’s chase and finished unbeaten on 61, his highest score for USA at the senior level. He also helped establish a USA record partnership for the third wicket in T20 cricket by adding an unbeaten 80-run stand with USA captain Orlando Baker. “Just before we went on the field to bowl, the coach informed me that I would be opening the batting so I was very excited about the opportunity and I wanted to make full use of it,” Corns said. “I had nerves, but they were more good nerves than bad nerves and I just kept telling myself that this is your opportunity, make use of it and thankfully I did.” USA made three changes to the starting lineup from their previous match against Bahamas, leaving out Karan Ganesh, Timothy Surujbally and Danial Ahmed in favor of Abhimanyu Rajp, Naseer Jamali and Saqib Saleem. Bahamas won the toss and elected to bat first. While the decision was a positive one in the face of a much stronger opponent, Bahamas displayed a conservative approach throughout their innings. Bahamas inched along to 39 for 3 in 10 overs as Jamali and Barrington Bartley did the early damage with the ball for USA. Jamali cleaned up Marc Taylor four balls into the match for 1 while Bartley claimed Julio Jemison for 15 before striking Whitcliff Atkinson on the toe to remove him leg before without scoring. Ryan Tappin made a patient 26 off 39 balls at number three before he lost his cool and slogged Rajp to Corns at midwicket to make it 59 for 4 in the 14th. Bahamas lost their fifth wicket three runs later when captain Gregory Taylor swept against the legspin of Saleem and was caught at deep midwicket by Japen Patel for 2. Bahamas’ most productive partnership of the match was a sixth-wicket stand of 36 runs between Jonathan Barry and 18-year-old Turan Brown. Barry was eventually bowled by Baker for 29. Brown’s innings was short and sweet, clubbing three sixes including two in the final over off Elmore Hutchinson to finish with 31 in 16 balls before he was run out on the last ball of the innings as Bahamas finished on 113 for 7 in 20. Bartley had USA’s best figures with 2 for 9 in three overs. Corns joined Steven Taylor for the start of USA’s chase and the pair added a breezy 24 before Taylor was unlucky to be run out for 12. Corns drove a full delivery from left -arm seamer Alfred Peters back down the pitch and the bowler deflected the ball onto the stumps in his follow through with Taylor two yards out of his crease. Akeem Dodson lasted five balls for his 9 before he was caught at midwicket top edging a pull against medium pacer Dereck Gittens to make it 34 for 2 after four overs. Baker joined Corns and the pair methodically moved the scoring rate along before Corns targeted left-arm spinner Narendra Ekanayake in the 12th over. Corns started the over by stroking a six over long off, then followed it up by paddling a four to fine leg. After taking a single on the third ball, Corns got back on strike for the final ball of the over and brought his 50 up in 35 balls with his second six straight down the ground. 
Image (above) - Ryan Corns hits left-arm spinner Narendra Ekanayake down the ground for his fourth boundary to move to 28 while USA captain Orlando Baker takes evasive action at the non-striker's end. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] “We don’t get to bat that often, but the times that we have batted together we’ve always had some sort of a good partnership,” Corns said of his partnership with Baker. “We understand each other very well. I understand his game and vice versa he understands my game. So when that happens you’re bound to get a good partnership.” Corns and Baker each hit boundaries in a 12-run 14th to take USA within a boundary of victory. After three singles off the first three balls of the 15th, the winning run came courtesy of a chest height no ball to Corns. Gittens finished with 1 for 30 as the only wicket taker on the day for Bahamas. USA’s opponent on Wednesday will be Bermuda, who survived a nervy match with Suriname before prevailing by 6 wickets. Suriname advanced to 80 for 2 in the 12th over and looked set for a minimum of 150 before the Bermuda bowling unit reined them in. Shazaam Ramjohn finished with 42 off 25 at number three but the innings lost momentum with his dismissal three balls into the 12th and Suriname eventually finished on 138 for 8. Bermuda looked shaky at 91 for 4 when Lionel Cann was pinned with a yorker on the first ball of the 14th over, but Janeiro Tucker eased Bermuda’s nerves with three sixes in the 18th over before hitting another in the 19th to finish the match with nine balls remaining. Tucker walked off unbeaten on 65 in 30 balls with four boundaries and six sixes. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, of the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 continues on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. EST as USA looks to maintain their undefeated record against Bermuda. First ball is scheduled to be bowled at 3 p.m. EST.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter) DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation. Scorecard vs. Cayman Islands I Commentary vs. Cayman Islands I Scorecard vs. Suriname I Commentary vs. Suriname
USA’s 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Steven Taylor set a record for the highest score in Twenty20 cricket for a USA player with 95 in 59 balls to propel USA to a 100-run win over Cayman Islands on Monday at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. USA made a clean sweep for the day in the afternoon with a 79-run win over Suriname. “It felt good because it was a long time playing local cricket and I wanted to play some competitive cricket so it felt good,” Taylor said. “[The wicket] played good. Nothing was keeping low. There was no odd bounce or nothing like that.” In the morning match against Cayman Islands, USA won the toss and elected to bat first. After an initial setback with the dismissal of Timothy Surujbally for 6, Nicholas Standford joined Taylor at the wicket and the pair blasted the Cayman Islands batting unit to produce a 91-run stand for the second wicket. Taylor brought up his 50 off just 37 balls and celebrated by crunching the next delivery for his first six of the match. Standford went on to score 34 in 30 balls before he was caught at midwicket off the bowling of Kevin Bazil to make it 119 for 2 in 14 overs. USA captain Orlando Baker came to the crease and gave excellent support to Taylor as the teenager pursued triple digits. A single in the 15th over gave Taylor the new record for a T20 score by a USA player as he passed Aditya Thyagarajan’s 72 not out against Ireland in 2010. .jpg) Taylor entered the 90s in the 18th over after clubbing his third six straight down the ground followed by a pair of twos to advance to 93. A two on the third ball of the 19th took him within one shot of reaching a century. On the next ball, he skipped down the track to try to hit a six but his attempt at glory fell short when he mistimed a drive in the air to Ronald Ebanks at long on to give Kervin Ebanks his second wicket while also denying Taylor a century that was well within his grasp.
Image (right) - Steven Taylor attemps to reach his century with this shot but only found the fielder at long on. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Baker was run out on the final ball of the innings for 36 and USA ended on 185 for 4, their second highest total in Twenty20 cricket. The USA record is 193 for 5 against Bermuda in Sharjah last year at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Kervin Ebanks was the only opposition bowler to come away with his reputation intact, taking 2 for 25 in four overs. “Playing at the stadium, the total always you want to get is over 130,” Taylor said. “Once you get over 130, it’s going to be a hard chase.” USA put pressure on Cayman Islands early with four wickets in the first eight overs. Elmore Hutchinson had Zachary McLaughlin caught behind for 10 in the third over before Japen Patel claimed two in two overs, Ramon Sealy and Omar Willis each for 6, to make it 24 for 3. Left-arm spinner Danial Ahmed struck with his third ball, bowling Abali Hoilett for 6 and from then on Cayman Islands set about batting out their overs, showing no interest in chasing the target. Karan Ganesh and Steven Taylor combined to run out Ronald Ebanks off the bowling of Ahmed, who bowled a stifling spell of 1 for 6 in four overs. Cayman Islands put on a 30-run unbeaten stand over the final 6.2 overs to finish on 85 for 5. Patel had the best figures for USA with 2 for 7 in two overs. Conroy Wright finished 36 not out to top score for Cayman Islands. In the afternoon game in the stadium, USA again won the toss and decided to bat first vs. Suriname. The host side made one change, subbing out Naseer Jamali so that Akeem Dodson could enter the starting eleven and keep wicket in place of Taylor. Taylor and Surujbally opened the batting again and engineered USA’s third half-century stand of the match, 67 for the first wicket before Taylor was caught on the long on boundary for 28 off the bowling of Sauid Drepaul. Surujbally carried on to make 44 before he was dismissed after a juggling catch by Romell Douglass at long on to make it 88 for 2. Arun Gokoel took his second wicket when he dismissed Karan Ganesh for 27 to make it 152 for 3 in the 19th over. Ryan Corns was then run out on the next delivery trying to come back for a second run on the first ball he faced. However, Dodson was on his way to 50 at that point. With Baker there for support, Dodson brought up his first half-century for USA at the senior level on the penultimate ball of the innings and then wrapped up USA’s 20 overs by cracking his fourth boundary straight down the ground. USA finished on 171 for 4 with Dodson 54 not out. Gokoel finished with 2 for 38 for Suriname. 
Image (above) - Cayman Islands batsman Ronald Ebanks can't make his ground in time to beat the throw from Karan Ganesh to Steven Taylor. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] Once again, the USA bowling unit was too good for their opponents as Suriname stumbled their way to 26 for 5 inside the power play overs. Ahmed bowled with the new ball and was on a hat trick after dismissing both openers, Vishram Shaw and Shazaam Ramjohn, in the second over. Troy Dudnath was caught behind by Dodson off Hutchinson for 5 in the third before Suriname lost two in two balls again in the sixth over. Suriname captain Mohindra Boodram was run out for 1 after a mixup with Andre Percival. On the next delivery, Percival slogged Corns to Taylor at long on for 10. It could have been even worse for Suriname had Barrington Bartley held on to a simple return chance off Drepaul in the eighth over when the batsman was on 3 and the score 32 for 5. Suriname took advantage of the lapse to put on 50 for the sixth wicket before Drepaul was bowled by Surujbally’s offspin for a top score in the innings of 31. The last Suriname wicket to fall was in the final over when a batsman was run out off Ahmed’s bowling for the second time in the day. This time it was Gokoel who couldn’t take off fast enough from the non-striker’s end after Douglass nudged a delivery toward point. Standford charged in and underhanded to Dodson who whipped off the bails to get rid of Gokoel for 17 as Suriname fell to 88 for 7. They eventually finished on 92 for 7. Ahmed wrapped up a superb day with the ball by claiming 2 for 12 in four overs. In the day’s other matches at Brian Piccolo Park, Bahamas suffered two defeats at the hands of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Bermuda posted 192 for 4 in the morning match before dismissing Bahamas for 65. In the second game, Bahamas were bowled out for 97 before Cayman Islands reached 45 for 2 when rain intervened after eight overs. The match was called with Cayman Islands ahead on Duckworth-Lewis. USA returns to action at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18 against Bahamas. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage made possible by New Inning Foundation will begin at 2:30 p.m. EST from the Central Broward Regional Park.
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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) Veteran allrounder Orlando Baker says he’s ready for the opportunity to captain a young USA side at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, which begins next Monday in Lauderhill, Florida at the Central Broward Regional Park. USA kicks off the tournament against Suriname at 10 a.m. on March 18 and Baker says he’s ready to take on more responsibility, not just as a captain but by bringing his talents to the fore with bat and ball as well.  “It’s a good feeling. It’s always a pleasure when you’re captaining your country so it’s an honor,” Baker told DreamCricket.com. “I’m looking forward to leading from the front. I’ve been around for a while now and I know a lot rests on my shoulders. I’m looking forward to take this opportunity to really showcase my talent and show what I can do. It’s always a challenge but I’m just going to go ahead and put my right foot forward and keep working hard.”
Image (right) - In 2010, Orlando Baker combined with Aditya Thyagarajan to produce the highest partnership for USA in Twenty20 matches, an unbroken 99-run stand for the seventh wicket against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA] Baker previously captained USA in 2008 at the West Indies Cricket Board Cup 50-over tournament in Guyana. USA failed to win a game in that event, but the tournament provided opportunities for non-first choice players to get exposure such as Timroy Allen who made his USA debut against Barbados and took 1 for 26 in eight overs. Baker says he wants the players to enjoy themselves on the field and not feel pressure but at the same time they’ll need to adjust quickly to the demands of an ICC qualifying tournament that features eight games in seven days for USA. “As you know, Twenty20 cricket is not a game that you have too much time,” Baker said. “I think new guys who are coming in, they have to learn pretty fast. There’s a few senior players – myself, Elmore [Hutchinson], [Barrington] Bartley comes back into the team – and then you have Ryan Corns there, Japen Patel, guys who have been around. I think myself and those guys have to really carry the bulk of the work in this tournament. A lot is gonna depend on me as a senior player and the captain but maybe one or two guys will rise to the occasion.” With several first choice players missing out on this tournament in order to have enough time off work for 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three next month in Bermuda, USA’s Twenty20 squad includes a few fresh faces competing in an ICC tourney for the first time and one in which their endurance and conditioning will be severely tested. The top two teams out of Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Suriname and USA will advance to the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE. Only six out of this 14-man squad were part of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier squad that played a grueling nine matches in 11 days in the UAE. The fast bowling department looks particularly thin for USA without Allen and Usman Shuja. With only 14 caps, Hutchinson is the senior fast bowler in the squad and as a result, fellow left-arm seamer Naseer Jamali is expected to get plenty of opportunities after debuting in The Auty Cup last November. However, there are no specialist pacemen besides them in a spin heavy bowling unit. (2).jpg) On the batting side, Steven Taylor is the only man in the squad who has been a significant contributor with the bat over the past year and the absence of Sushil Nadkarni, USA’s leading scorer from 2012, creates a big hole to fill. Rather than be worried about the overall inexperience, Baker says this is a chance for younger players to push for a regular spot and increase the level of competition within the national team.
Image (left) - Steven Taylor will be looking for a good foil at the top of the order in the absence of Sushil Nadkarni. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com] “There’s a lot of guys there,” Baker said. “You can’t really say someone will fill Sushil’s role. It’s just that somebody has to open with Steven. There’s a lot of guys, Timmy [Surujbally] who has come in as an opener. You have Ryan [Corns] who has batted up the order for the US before. You have young [Nicholas] Standford, even myself. When we get to Florida with Robin [Singh] the coach and the management staff, I think we’ll get to that point when we get there.” “I’m not worried about the depth,” Baker said. “I think guys have been waiting for the opportunity. I’m looking forward to guys standing up and try and grab the opportunity, try and push the players in the squad for Bermuda. That’s the challenge these guys have ahead. They have to come here and perform. They’ve been given a chance. A lot of people have been calling for younger guys in the US team. You look at this team and it’s a really young team. This is their chance and they have the opportunity to showcase themselves and push their claims.” The format of the ICC Americas tournament was a single round-robin event in 2011, but that has been revised in the region as a result of Canada not participating in this year’s tournament due to automatic qualification for the World Twenty20 Qualifier after a top-six finish in the same event last year. Instead of a six-team ICC Americas event with everyone playing each other once across six days, this year will see five teams all playing each other twice for a total of eight matches per team crammed into seven days. Although it will be taxing, Baker says there is a silver lining with more players getting more chances to show their stuff on the field and have as much time as possible out in the middle. “It’s gonna be really tough. There’s going to be a lot of cricket. I think the players themselves have gotta take care of themselves,” Baker said. “If you look back at the [2012] tournament in Dubai, it was really tough. We’ve been getting a program. Robin sent out a program over the last couple of months for guys to be working on physically so I’m expecting everyone to be ready come March 17. I welcome the opportunity. It’s a challenge but I welcome the opportunity to play more games. At least you get to see more players. Players get more opportunities so I welcome the challenge. It’ll be tough but as I said if each individual player is following the training program, the physical program, they should be ready come March 17.” “I’m not feeling pressure. I’ve played a lot of cricket over the years for the US and outside of the US before I became a member of the team. I’m just looking forward to the challenge. I like challenges. It’s something that I always look up to. I think when I have challenges, that’s when I get the best out of me. I’m looking forward to it. I’m not worried about pressure or worried about senior guys who aren’t there because at the end of the day we all have to perform.” DreamCricket.com will have live coverage for all of USA’s matches at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament beginning with the opening contest on Monday, March 18 against Suriname. Coverage begins at 9:30 a.m. EST with the first ball scheduled to be sent down at 10 a.m.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter) USA begins next week’s 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament with two matches on the opening day in a packed schedule in which the five competing teams will each play eight matches inside of seven days spanning from March 18-24 at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill and Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, Florida. Four of the five teams in the tournament – Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and USA – will have one off day inside of the seven days of matches. The only team that does not have a scheduled day off is Suriname but they only have one match day where they have two matches to play on the same day whereas the other four teams are scheduled to have two days inside the seven-day schedule in which they’ll have to play a morning and an afternoon match on the same day. DreamCricket.com will have live text commentary coverage for all of USA’s matches from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, beginning on March 18 when the hosts kick off the tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park against Cayman Islands at 10 a.m. before taking on Suriname at the same venue at 3 p.m. USA returns to the same facility on March 19 at 3 p.m. to play Bahamas, which gained promotion from ICC Americas Division Two in February. USA completes the first phase of the double round-robin event by going up against Bermuda at 3 p.m. on March 20 at the Central Broward Regional Park. .jpg) USA begins round two with a 10 a.m. fixture against Suriname at the Central Broward Regional Park on March 21. The most grueling day of the tourney for USA arrives on March 22 when USA plays Bahamas at 10 a.m. at the Central Broward Regional Park, then has to drive to Brian Piccolo Park to face Bermuda at 3 p.m. It will be USA’s seventh game in five days.
Although Bermuda has a 10 a.m. match against Cayman Islands at Brian Piccolo Park on March 22 ahead of their afternoon showdown with USA, Bermuda has the advantage of having their scheduled off day for the tournament the day before on March 21. As a result, Bermuda may be fresher than USA in the final matchup between the two highest ranked sides in the event. March 23 is a scheduled off day for USA before they return to the stadium on March 24 for their final scheduled fixture against Cayman Islands. March 25 is currently scheduled as a rain/reserve day to make up any fixtures affected by weather. If there are no weather interruptions during the tournament, Cayman Islands will play Suriname in a 50-over match at the Central Broward Regional Park on March 25 before Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Suriname depart Florida on March 26. On March 26, USA and Bermuda will begin their three-match 50-over series at Brian Piccolo Park. March 27 is listed as a rain/reserve date in case of any weather interruptions. On March 28, USA and Bermuda continue their 50-over series at the Central Broward Regional Park before returning for the third and final game at the same venue on March 29. All three matches are scheduled for a 10 a.m. start. Both teams will then depart Florida on March 30. USA and Bermuda are using the 50-over contests against each other as match practice ahead of 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, which will take place in Bermuda from April 28-May 5. Bermuda, Italy, Nepal, Oman, Uganda and USA will duke it out for two spots available at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. In addition to the two spots available for promotion into that event, an increase in ICC funding grants is also at stake. USA also has the opportunity to parlay a spot at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier into securing top 6 Associate and Affiliate ODI status and a place in the next edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, the premier multi-day cricket tournament for Associate and Affiliate teams. USA participated in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 2004 but was barred from participating in the 2005 edition while under ICC suspension and has not participated since. 
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