USA Cricketer : American College Cricket

USACA's support base erodes further

openingbat — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:44:00 GMT

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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.

USA Cricket: USACA meet bereft of workable ideas

openingbat — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:42:00 GMT

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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.

Anil Kumble promotes cricket in the US

openingbat — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:26:00 GMT

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Former India captain, Anil Kumble was in the United States this past weekend attending a series of events to promote the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 to be held in Sri Lanka between 18th September and 7th October 2012.

NASDAQ closing bell

The former captain rang the NASDAQ closing bell on Friday in New York City.

Welcoming Kumble and the Federation of Indian Associations, Venu Palaparthi, Vice President of NASDAQ, said that it was a pleasure to have NASDAQ participate in Indian Independence Day with the bell ringing.

Pic (Right): Anil Kumble at the NASDAQ closing bell on August 17, 2012

Palaparthi noted that having a cricketer at NASDAQ's closing bell held an additional personal interest for him. "I have a special connection with cricket. I co-founded USA’s leading cricket portal – DreamCricket.com and spend all my free time running a youth cricket league for the Cricket League of New Jersey."

Palaparthi noted that the 32nd India Day Parade was a special treat for Indian cricket fans as Nawab Pataudi’s son, Saif Ali Khan Pataudi was the grand marshall.

Calling Kumble the most inspiring Indian cricketer, Palaparthi said, "We all know how Anil bowled with a broken and bandaged jaw in Antigua and took Brian Lara’s wicket - a day before he was to fly back to India for surgery."

"For me personally, as someone for whom cricket is a religion. It is a great honor to have a cricketing God - Anil Kumble here at Nasdaq!"

[Click here for a video recording of Nasdaq's closing bell on August 17th]

Speaking at the closing bell ceremony, Kumble said: “There is a lot of representation in NASDAQ from India and thanks to the Indian community that a cricketer is here to ring the closing bell."

ICC World Twenty20

In an ICC Media Release, Kumble said that he was thrilled to be leading the efforts to promote the sport to cricket fans in the US ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. “Twenty20 has for long been considered a product fit for an American audience," Kumble is quoted as saying.

Speaking about the free-to-air coverage of the ICC World Twenty20 via ESPN3, Kumble noted: “Cricket has also always been a huge draw among the expat Indian population in the USA. So the live coverage of ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 on ESPN3 in the US will help us get our great game to a bigger and wider audience."

32nd India Day Parade

Tens of thousands lined up along Madison Avenue at the 32nd India Day Parade in NY marking 65 years of India's independence.

Cricket was prominently featured at this year's parade with Kumble himself accompanying the ICC World T20 Trophy on the ESPN float. For the second year, TV Asia promoted American College Cricket (ACC) on their float. TV Asia is ACC's exclusive broadcasting media partner. ACC president Lloyd Jodah, LIU-Brooklyn Club President Sandeep Devarshetty and several other college cricketers were invited to ride on the ESPN float along with Kumble. The ACC website noted that Kumble was 'happily surprised' when he discovered that cricket was played in American universities.

"Indians have made cricket popular in the US and I hope America too becomes an important member of the cricketing fraternity," Anil Kumble said at the parade.

2011 American College Cricket Championship - Match Reports and Results

openingbat — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:36:00 GMT

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By Greg Uzelac & Tim Shirrifs (ACC)

The 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship was kicked off in a dazzling opening ceremony on March 15, 2011, at the Central Broward stadium. Thirty teams from American and Canadian Universites gathered for cricket's version of March Madness to compete for the Chanderpaul Trophy. American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah introduced the teams and acknowledged the role of Facebook and Shiv Chanderpaul in the rapid growth of the organization.

Also in attendance were Nino DiLoreto, CEO of ACC; Salman Ahmed,CEO of Big League USA; Trinidad and Tobago Consul General Dr Anil Ramnanan; Dan West, the Director of Broward County Parks and David Sentance, the author of "Cricket in America 1710-2001."

Here are brief reports for the matches that followed:

Montgomery College vs New Jersey Institute of Technology

When Montgomery College won the toss and chose to bat, things didn’t look so good optimistic when Ritin bowled Danish Asghav in the first over with a beautiful ball that pegged back his leg stump. However the tempo rose and runs started flowing more freely with Montgomery bringing up their 50 in the 8th over. NJIT took regular wickets until Montgomery’s All-Star, Adil Bhatti hammered the opposition reaching the first 50 of the tournament in the 19th over with a cracking six.

NJIT attempted to start off with a bang to beat their opponents’ score, but their run chase just never took off. Due particularly to Montgomery’s exceptional fielding, wickets fell at a hastening rate and eventually NJIT were bowled out for 101.

Rutgers University vs. Cleveland State

In a shortened match, Rutgers set Cleveland State a total of 50 to win for the loss of only one wicket. Cleveland State sadly couldn’t reply with enough as they were reduced to 43/8. Udit Patel was the best of the fearsome bowling attack, taking 2 for 4.

Texas A&M vs. Rutgers University

With the first match of Day 2 there was excitement to be had. Texas A&M lost the wicket of Ravishankar early on but rebuilt after that. Hamza Mohammed top scored with 44 with Rutgers’ Mital patel being the pick of their bowlers with bowling figures of 2 for 16. In their chase of Texas A&M’s total of 134, Rutgers was unfortunate enough to face the heavy artillery in their opponents' bowling line-up. The entire middle order was dismissed for naught as there were a total of five ducks in the innings. Nisarg Chokshi stuck in from the start and made 45 until he was bowled by Ockert Greyvenstein. Rutgers innings closed at 71 all out.

College of Wooster vs. George Mason University

George Mason started their 2011 campaign with a victory that showed their intentions in this tournament. With College of Wooster batting first, the GM boys got right to taking them apart with vicious bowling and sharp fielding. Wooster was bowled out for 42 with Shahrukh Mazhar taking 5 for 3: the competition’s first 5-for. George Mason replied promptly reaching the needed runs in under three overs for the loss of only one wicket.

University of Southern California vs. University of Iowa

Thanks to a tidy spell from Dushant Sharma (4/20), USC set themselves a score of 101 to win against U of I who were also playing their first match of the competition. Though some of their batsmen looked in good form, USC faced tough opposition particularly towards the end of the match. A near collapse of their batting in the 13th and 14th overs gave the Trojans a scare, but they reached victory with the final score being 103 for the loss of 7 wickets.

University of Pennsylvania vs. University of Minnesota

The historic UPenn cricket team put in a superb effort to win vs the University of Minnesota team, with Rahul Borouthu smashing 70 runs in 44 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes. Dhruv Touhniwal scored 51 off 44 balls with 5 fours and UMN made 158 for 8 off 20 overs. UMN’s Shatanu Chavan then took it upon himself to lead the chase for 159 by scoring a superb 90, which included 11 fours and 4 sixes, narrowly missing the first century of the Championship. Still, Chavan’s effort was not enough as UMN got 150 for 6 wickets in 20 overs.

Boston University vs. University of Iowa

With the help of Bhupinder Singh’s whopping 79, the boys from U of I set a massive total of 166 to chase for the Bulldogs. Though the lower middle order showed a glimmer of hope, BU’s batting just didn’t take off. Sathwik Seshadri top scored with a fighting 43 not out. BU ended their innings at 114 for 9.

Texas A&M vs. Florida Atlantic University

With FAU winning the toss and sending Texas A&M in to field first, their intentions seemed to set a grand score to chase. However, once again the Texans showed their skills with the ball limiting them to 104 all out in 18.4 overs with Ankush Kothalkar doing the damage with 4 wickets. They then proceeded to show their batting as they chased it down in 19 overs for the loss of only 5 wickets. Ockert Greyvenstein top scored for Texas A&M with 44 not out.

Montgomery College vs. New York University – Polytechnic

After NYU-Poly made 107 for 6 with Vinay Tawale top scoring on 26 not out, it the was Adrian Gordon vs. Adil Bhatti showdown. Such was a sight to see as Gordon steamed in bowling as fast as ever. Bhatti resisted however and scored 21 not out. Together with Deepak Pathak’s 39 not out the Montgomery boys scored 108 to win.

Here are summary results from other matches (added March 21):

FIU vs. UMBC – FIU (142 all out off 19.5) won by 6 runs. UMBC made 136/8 off 20 overs.

BU vs. Texas Tech – Texas Tech (124/3 12.4 overs) won by 3 wickets over BU (120/9 off 20 overs)8.Ohio State U (OSU) vs SCSU (St. Cloud State University)-OSU batting first scored 114 all out. OSU won by one run.

USC vs UMN – UMN (43/10 in 14.5 overs Rishabh Nauda 5 for 3 (hat trick) ) were defeated by USC (44/3 in 6 overs) by 7 wickets.

U Iowa vs Thunderbird – Thunderbird (112/6 off 20 overs) beat U Iowa (53/10 off 15 overs).

Texas Tech vs UPenn – UPenn (105/2 18.4 overs) beat Texas Tech (104/10 in 18.5 overs) by 8 wickets.

Montgomery vs Rutgers – Montgomery (139/4 off 16.5) beat Rutgers (136/3 off 20 overs, Nalin Chopra 78*) by 6 wickets.

NCSI vs FIU – FIU batted first and scored 92 for 9. NCSU won by 8 wickets. Top score N. Talballikas 64.

CSU vs NY Poly – NY Ploy batted first scored 147 for 6. Top score Adrian Gordon 52. CSU all out for 54. NY Poly won by 43 runs.

UH vs McGill-UH batted first and scored 125 for 5. McGill all out for 82. UH won by 43 runs.

TAM vs NJIT -Tam 171 for 9. Top score Ockert 85. NJIT 116 for 9. Texas A & M won by 55.

GWU vs SCSU – GWU batted first 108 for 3. SCSU all out for 104. GWU won by 5 runs.

[Update from March 21, 2011]

After a tight exciting semi final game vs U of Pennsylvania, the George Mason University cricket team took on their rivals, 2009 national Champions Montgomery College for the Chanderpaul Trophy. Montgomery defeated Auburn in the other semi-final match.

Geroge Mason guys won the toss and batted first. As their captian Hashim Khan later said, “It’s difficult to chase runs on this pitch so we knew if we batted first and put up 150 runs, we would have a great chance of winning.” The George Mason team did not manage that total but got to 138, a score that the Montgomery batsmen fell short of in their chase reaching only 124 in their chase.

[Pics courtesy of AmericanCollegeCricket.com]

Teams named for American College Cricket Championship

openingbat — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:13:00 GMT

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Twenty nine US colleges and two Canadian colleges will compete in the 2011 edition of the Chanderpaul Trophy, American College Cricket announced on Friday.

In addition to the 31 contenders, two guest teams - Excelsior High School of Jamaica, and Presentation College of Trinidad & Tobago, will play games that will not count towards the championship. The teams will be split into four conferences with one of the tournament's top four seeds - University of Southern California, Auburn University, Rutgers University and North Carolina State University - playing in each conference.

The tournament, which began in 2009 with five teams quickly grew to twenty teams in 2010.

"Many new college clubs are joining American College Cricket. We are assisting in the formation of cricket clubs and developing teams at Universities all across the USA and Canada," Lloyd Jodah, ACC President, told CricInfo last summer. Those efforts appear to have paid off as evidenced by the number of teams in 2011.

The participating teams are - University of Iowa, UPenn, Rutgers, Texas Tech, Ohio State University, University of Central Florida, College of Wooster, York University (2010 champions), Texas A&M, University of Florida, Penn State, UMBC, University of Tampa, University of Minnesota, NJIT, St. Cloud State, North Carolina State, Montgomery College (2009 champions), Auburn, Florida International, McGill, George Mason, University of South Florida, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Boston University, GWU, NYU-Poly, Cleveland State, University of Southern California, University of Houston and Florida Atlantic.

The Championship will take place in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from March 15 to 20, at the Central Broward Cricket Stadium and side fields, and at Brian Piccolo Park. For live coverage and webcasts, please visit AmericanCollegeCricket.com.

Big League USA partners with American College Cricket, has big ambitions!

openingbat — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:07:00 GMT

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ACC and Big League USA sign strategic partnership

American College Cricket announced on August 29th that it had formed a "strategic partnership" with Big League USA which, among other things, will enable college cricketers to receive training overseas alongside international cricketers.

Speaking at Baisley Pond Park in Queens, New York, American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah said that " the strategic partnership between ACC and Big League USA offers a complete range of components which will ensure that the tremendous rate of progress that ACC has made in the past 18 months in the development of Cricket in USA and Canadian Universities continue. Every College Cricketer that is a member of ACC can now not only dream big, but have a realistic expectation of getting support and resources to accomplish those dreams."

Salman Ahmed, CEO of Big League USA said: "We at Big League USA will fully support ACC in the further development of College Cricket in the United States. We will provide an International platform for College Cricketers to perform and develop. Beginning with the American College Cricket Regional Championships this Fall, a pool of talented players will be identified from which at least five will be sent to train abroad with International players in countries such as India, Australia, England, South Africa and Barbados.

Royals 2020 and Big League USA

According to the Big League USA's website, it plans to organize a Royals 2020 festival 'very soon' in USA featuring Rajasthan Royals, Sialkot Royals, Trinidad Royals, Hampshire Royals, Victoria Royals, "and T-20 champion teams from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and New Zealand."

A source in India with knowledge of the matter affirmed Rajasthan Royals' awareness of Big League USA plans for the Royals 2020 festival in Florida but declined to discuss specifics.

If the logistics can be ironed out and permissions obtained, USA might soon witness what Rajasthan Royals revealed at Lord's on February 8, 2010 when they announced the formation of a Twenty20 global cricket franchise - Royals 2020 - involving major cricket clubs from around the world.

Elaborating on the benefits of the Royals franchise, the company said that member clubs can expect a commercial window on new markets, a commercial fee for the naming rights, and participation in the annual 'Royals Festivals'. Big League USA's recent announcement regarding its support of college cricket in USA is also in line with the Royals release. "For younger players, there will clearly be opportunities to play in overseas markets and further develop their games," the Royals release stated.

The website of the Royals global partnership, Royals 2020, provides additional pointers on the Royals 2020 festival. According to a press release accessed via the website: "The Royals 2020 mission is to grow the fan base; grow the commercial platform for all; provide high class entertainment for the young and families in great grounds; provide opportunities for players to develop their talents; and to entertain fans around the world through great events."

The release notes that the Royals 2020 will be governed by the regulations of ICC and the national governing body for cricket in the countries of all member teams.

Big League USA claims the support of USA Cricket Association. "USA Cricket Association has welcomed this (the Royals festival) idea and is in full support of this magnificent cricket festival matches," the Big League website noted. "Big League USA along with USACA is in the process of working on dates for lining up exciting cricket events featuring domestic and international teams."

When asked about the nature of USACA's partnership with Big League USA, a USACA source confirmed that the organization had been contacted by Big League USA and was in 'preliminary discussions' with them.

York University are champions at American College Cricket Spring Break Championships 2010

openingbat — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:35:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

York University (Toronto) swept through the final day just as they had in group play throughout the tournament, dominating the competition to finish as undefeated tournament champions, beating University of South Florida in the first semifinal of the day before crushing York College (NY) in the final to become the winner of the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship. YU left-handed opener Jai Patel was named the finals MVP after a superb day, beginning with 53 against USF before scoring 48 against York College.

ACC SBC Semi Final: Jai Patel & Raza Rahman from York University from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

“It’s great, I can’t explain it,” said Mahjuj Jasim Sourav, captain of York University. “It’s been such a long journey, organizing the whole team and coming here and actually winning this. It’s really big. I can’t explain it actually.”

USF won the toss and elected to bat first against YU. The game was scheduled to start at 10 am inside the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park, but was delayed 14 minutes because the tournament organizers did not want the match to begin until the camera crew filming the game for a live UStream webcast had worked out some last minute technical difficulties. At the start of the first semi final match, the much hyped tournament had only 8 people in attendance inside the stadium.

USF got off to a super start behind 57 from Saisitaram Ramesh. He put on 81 runs for the first wicket with Nirav Shah, but foolishly threw his wicket away when it looked like he could have easily scored a century. Ramesh had nine fours, but chipped a full ball from medium pacer Chirag Shah straight down Raza Rahman’s throat just inside the long off boundary and Ramesh walked off the field banging his helmet.

The next highest partnership in the innings was the final unbroken 8th wicket stand of 24 runs as USF’s momentum grinded to a halt afterward. Rahman took a brilliant diving catch at point to dismiss the dangerous number three man Harsha Boddepalli for only 4 runs as Shah took his second. Boddepalli was given an award as the tournament’s Best Batsman, but did not fire against York and no one did after him.

Still, USF posted a competitive 141 for 7 in 20 overs. Patel though made clear he was going to put his stamp on the game. In the third over, captain Boddepalli was bowling his right arm medium pace and on the first four balls of the over, Patel cranked him for four. The first three balls were all short and pulled onto the leg side while the last was short and outside off, getting slapped over mid off.

“It was a batting track,” said Patel. “The ball was coming on. I just played my natural game.”

ACC SBC Final: Mahjuj Jasim Sourav from York University from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

The sequence left USF shellshocked in the field as their captain and best player had just been carved into pieces. After Saad Zafar was run out, Patel teamed up with Khushro Wadia for more damage, carting Nirav Shah’s medium pace for 15 runs in the 6th over to make it 53 for 1.

From there, York eased up on the gas pedal and cruised to the target with two balls to spare. Rahman came to the crease after Patel was bowled by spinner Dhir Shah and scored 44 not out to close out the match and put York into the final where they awaited the winner of the second semifinal between York College and UMBC.

York College won the toss and elected to bat first. YC was in a hole very early on as star opener Akeem Dodson was out for only 7 to make it 15 for 1. Dodson pulled a short ball from Faisal Maniar towards square leg and Austin Aluvathingal reached to his left to knife the ball out of the air one handed. On the very next delivery, Maniar bowled Mohit Chopra with a full and straight ball to put himself on a hat trick but wasted the opportunity by bowling a wide to Hugo D’Oliveira.

ACC SBC Semi Final: Hugo D'Oliveira from York College from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Rather than try and consolidate, former NY Region U-19 player D’Oliveira went on the counterattack and blitzed the UMBC bowlers to the tune of 51 runs with six fours and two sixes in his knock which came off 26 balls. At the other end, he wasn’t getting much support though and after Bilal Shahid fell to Maniar, Rikin Parikh came on to bowl off spin and before long was on a hat trick of his own as he bowled Abbas Khizar and Shamas Rahman back-to-back. Just like Maniar before him though, Parikh’s hat trick ball was wasted as he bowled a waist high full toss that was belted over midwicket for six by Yasin Khan.

D’Oliveira finally fell in somewhat controversial fashion as he appeared to hit a full delivery into the ground with a bottom edge for a bump ball. The ball then carried through to the keeper, who appealed for a caught behind. Both umpires consulted and after a delay D’Oliveira was given out to make it 107 for 6 in 14 overs.

Parikh struck again to remove both Yasin and Dilawar Khan as he finished with 4 for 21. York College finished 132 all out in 20 overs as Mahendra Jagroop was bowled by Gurvish Singh off the final ball of the innings.

UMBC started off the chase very methodically and never really got the burst they needed to chase down what should have been a simple target. Whereas York College ran superbly between the wickets to turn ones into twos and twos into threes, UMBC’s batsmen had a much more conservative approach.

UMBC lost their first wicket at 14 on the last ball of the third over when Eraj Raza was caught behind by Dodson off of Yasin Khan’s medium pace. Three balls later, UMBC suffered a terrible blow when number three batsman Anand Patel was run out without facing a ball. Captain Sumeet Chordiya was on strike and pushed one into the covers straight to D’Oliveira. There was no run there, but both men took off and D’Oliveira fired a sharp throw to Dodson over the stumps with Patel well short when the bails came off.

Chordiya made amends by scoring 60 and formed a big 86-run partnership for the third wicket with Ananth Ranga, but halfway through each player’s innings, they seemed exhausted and could no longer run hard at all between the wickets. Chordiya scored his runs in 64 balls and Ranga scored 32 in 33 as Chordiya admitted afterwards that their fitness standards were nowhere near what they needed to be able to last the whole five days of the tournament.

ACC SBC Semi Final: Sumeet Chordiya from UMBC from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

“We were going well, but we both ran out of the gas,” said Chordiya. “One of us should have accelerated and it didn’t happen. After getting set, Ranga, he couldn’t run much and by the time he got out towards the end, I was not able to run. We lacked fitness to finish up the game and that’s the reason. We couldn’t convert the twos into threes, especially with this big ground we should have done that.”

Dodson took off the wicketkeeping pads and gloves at the start of the 15th over with D’Oliveira taking over behind the stumps and on the first ball of the 17th over, Dodson bowled Ranga to break the partnership as Ranga played a very tired cross batted heave and missed everything. Seven runs later on the second ball of the 19th over, Dodson removed Chordiya and the match was slipping faster and faster away.

Heading into the last over, UMBC needed 19 to win. The over started with Yasin Khan bowling two wides and giving up a four to put some spirit back into UMBC’s camp as they now needed 13 in 5 balls, but it was false hope as clever changes of pace kept Gurnish Singh and Beenish Bhatia from connecting well. Dodson iced the match by running out Singh on the final ball as York College won by 7 runs putting them in the final against York University.

York College’s achievement was even more noteworthy in a tournament dominated by international students as they were the only American college or university team whose entire 12-man squad was made up of US citizens or permanent residents, proving that good cricket talent can be cultivated in the United States.

In the final, York University won the toss and batted first, giving Patel a chance to pick up where he left off against USF. Patel teamed up with Wadia opening the match to put on 76 runs for the first wicket. Patel was on 48 when he went for a big drive to a full ball outside off stump from D’Oliveira. The ball took the edge and Dodson behind the stumps made a phenomenal one handed diving catch to his left to snag it, breaking the stand.

Wadia was then joined by Rahman and both men continued to romp, taking advantage of some horrendous fielding by York College. The Queens, NY squad let themselves down badly in the catching department, grassing no less than six chances in the field. Rahman benefitted most after being dropped on 12 to finish with 35 before being caught on the long on boundary by Dodson trying to smash a six off Dilawar Khan.

York University finished with 163 for 6 in 20 overs as captain Mohammad Suleman of York College took three wickets in the final over and should have had a fourth had there not been a drop on the midwicket boundary by Khizar. Wadia was the man dropped, but was run out on the relay throw for 54 to top score for York University.

The chase was always going to be difficult and much of it depended on how long Dodson could stay at the crease. But after reaching 19, he drove a full ball from YU captain Sourav slightly uppishly towards Hassan Choghtai at cover, who pulled off another brilliant catch diving to his left to snag it before it hit the ground.

The top order collapsed afterwards and at one point, Sourav was on a hat trick after claiming D’Oliveira and Khizar, but the hat trick ball to Shamas Rahman was left alone just outside off stump. The damage was done though and York College was effectively finished at 35 for 4 in the 5th over.

After Sourav’s burst, he put three slips and a gully in place for the next few overs while the pacemen were on to keep up the pressure. Choghtai then took two wickets with his medium pace along with two from legspinner Faiyaz Chowdhury and one from paceman Mohammad Zubair Zia.

The score was 90 for 9 after 19 overs when the tower floodlights were turned off at the stadium. According to a source at the ground, the organizers paid to use the floodlights for two hours and the organizers requested that the lights be turned on at 6:30 pm. A two hour timer was set and at 8:30 pm on the button, the lights turned off with the players about to start the final over. After a few minutes of confusion to figure out whether or not the lights could be turned back on to complete the final over, the players walked off the field and York University was declared the champion.

Post Tournament Interview with ACC President Lloyd Jodah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah held the Post Tournament Ceremony inside the pavilion and announced Ramesh from South Florida as the Best Bowler of the group stage of the tournament while his teammate Boddepalli was named the Best Batsman. Dodson was named the MVP of the group stage. YU’s Patel took home a Best Batsman award for the final day in addition to his MVP award Sourav was named the Best Bowler of the final day.

ACC SBC Tournament Trophy Presentation from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

American College Cricket Championship Day 4 Roundup: USF and York University, UMBC and York College to play semi-finals

openingbat — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:38:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

Twelve matches finished off pool play on day four of the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. When the dust cleared, South Florida, York University (Toronto), York College (NY) and University of Maryland-Baltimore County emerged as the four semifinalists who will battle for the tournament title inside the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park.

On the satellite artificial wicket fields outside the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park on Saturday, York College got things started with a thrilling one-run victory over Boston University to clinch the first semifinal spot, topping the table in the Northeast Conference. York posted 137 for 6 in a solid all-round team effort before they held BU to 136 for 9 in 20 overs. BU needed three off the final ball for victory but could only manage a single.

UPenn knocked Rutgers out of contention for the semis, beating the Scarlet Knights by four wickets. Rutgers won the toss and batted first posting 154 in their 20 overs. UPenn chased it down with an over to spare.

St. Cloud State won by 10 wickets in a romp over Ohio State. Ohio State was bowled out for 107 in 19 overs and the total was never going to be enough against the opening combination of Saminda Siriwardena and Pavan Kumar Chakravarthy. Siriwardena played second fiddle today as the lefty Chakravarthy hit five fours in his first five scoring shots on his way to 59 not out.

In the second two Northeast Conference matches of the day, UPenn posted 152 for 8 against BU and then bowled out the Terriers for 132. Rutgers ended a disappointing tournament on a good note with a victory over NYU-Poly by 52 runs. Winning the toss and batting first, Rutgers posted 160 for 4 after former USA U-15 player Anvit Patel opened the innings with 37 which was followed by 57 from Nalin Chopra. NYU-Poly was bowled out for 108.

ACC SBC Day 4: Sadiq Naseer from Montgomery College from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

At Brian Piccolo Park, York University continued their domination of the Northwest Conference by becoming the only team in the tournament to sweep their pool. In their first game Saturday against College of Wooster, York posted a phenomenal 208 for 7 in only 16 overs as Saad Zafar scored 65 while Raza Rehman pitched in with 49. Wooster struggled to compete against the stronger clubs in their pool all week and Saturday was no different as they were bowled out for 66.

In York’s second game against Minnesota, the Golden Gophers posted 127 for 8 in 20 overs before York chased it down for the loss of five wickets to book their spot in the semis. Khushro Wadia continued his glorious form in the tournament with 75 not out for York and he will be a strong contender for tournament MVP if York University goes on to the final.

In the two matches on the turf wicket at Brian Piccolo Park, University of Miami (Fla.) put in a spirited fight against University of the West Indies, but the Caribbean squad came out on top by four wickets in the end. Miami clawed their way to 83 for 7 in 20. In reply, UWI lost a wicket in the first over, but managed to keep moving along despite the fall of wickets until they passed the target in 9.3 overs.

In the last match at Brian Piccolo Park’s turf wicket, UMBC kept George Washington winless for the tournament. GWU posted 108 runs batting first but made UMBC work hard for the runs as they crossed the line with only two wickets to spare in the final over.

In the matches played in the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park, Montgomery bested Auburn by six wickets. Auburn was bowled out for 113 as Montgomery passed the target with ease.

In a match to decide who would advance to the semis from the Southern Conference, University of South Florida stunned Thunderbird School of Global Management to win by 41 runs. USF only managed to post 124 for 6 in 20 overs, but Saisitaram Ramesh continued an excellent tournament with the ball taking 4 for 8 to spark a Thunderbird collapse as they were all out for 83 in 17.2 overs.

USF finished 2-1 in the group, including a crucial washout from their scheduled match on Wednesday against University of the West Indies and therefore split points from that game. UWI went undefeated in the tournament but was not eligible for the semifinals. Thunderbird and USC both finished 2-2. Had USF played UWI and presumably lost, USC would have gone through to the semis.

In the final match of the day, one last spot was up for grabs in the Mid-Atlantic Conference. Montgomery and George Mason both squared off with 2-1 records while UMBC was finished at 3-1 and all three teams had a chance to go through to the semis. George Mason grinded their way to 140 for 7 in 20 overs as the Patriots squad was aided by an abysmal performance in the field by Montgomery.

“We probably gave them about 20-30 runs just by dropping catches,” said Sadiq Naseer, Montgomery College vice captain. “We should really not have dropped as many catches, but everyone has a bad day and that’s what we had.”

George Mason them came out fighting hard in the field and turned in a brilliant all-round fielding performance to heap pressure on the defending tournament champions. Things got heated after the ninth wicket fell when players and supporters in the traveling party with Montgomery stormed the field as the sledging got out of hand in the middle.

In the last few overs, Montgomery’s strategy changed from going for the win to blocking out deliveries to survive the final overs. The target was getting further out of reach and qualification for the semis seemed slim. However, by not being bowled out, Montgomery would deny George Mason the bonus point they needed to overtake UMBC on the conference table. After a tense final over, the final ball was kept out by Montgomery College. UMBC’s squad, which had made their way into the stadium from Brian Piccolo Park, erupted in celebration knowing they had qualified for final day on Sunday.

ACC SBC Day 4: Hashim Khan from George Mason from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

“That was not spirit of the game,” said Hashim Khan, George Mason captain. “If you know that you weren’t making it by the 17th over, all your tailenders are coming in, I think we should be having a good shot at the championship because we were a very tough team in this championship. We should be in the finals but again we lost to Auburn in a pool game which is not exactly what we wanted. But we’re still happy that we came and represented George Mason University.”

The first semifinal will take place between York University and South Florida at 10 am from Central Broward Regional Park. The second semifinal will follow at 1 pm between York College and UMBC. The championship match is scheduled for 5 pm, but according to American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah, may be moved up to 4:30 based on night time rain in the forecast for Fort Lauderdale. Dreamcricket.com will provide live ball-by-ball coverage of the championship match.

[The day's matches will also be broadcast beginning 9AM on Sunday via a live webstream available at www.americancollegecricket.com]

American College Cricket Spring Break Championship Day 3 Roundup: USF's Harsha scores century!

openingbat — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:32:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

In the first match of day three at the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship, York College defeated NYU-Poly by 88 runs on the multi-purpose satellite fields outside the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park. Akeem Dodson hit his second consecutive half-century of the tournament, scoring 68 opening the innings for York after being sent in to bat by NYU-Poly captain Adrian Gordon.

Dodson was dropped on 5 off a skied pull to cover and made NYU-Poly pay dearly by slaughtering the meek bowling attack for 12 fours. Gordon finished with 3 for 28 and eventually got the wicket of Dodson, caught behind trying to hook a bouncer, but the damage had been done and York finished with 173 for 6 in 19 overs. In response, NYU-Poly never got going and was bowled out for 85 in 14.2 overs.

ACC SBC Day 3: Akeem Dodson of York College from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Thunderbird School of Management had their game delayed by 25 minutes against University of West Indies because UWI did not have transportation to get to the ground on time. TSGM won the toss and batted, but was overwhelmed by UWI’s bowling attack and only managed 94 for 8 in 17 overs. UWI then cruised past the target for the loss of only two wickets in 9.3 overs.

George Mason defeated George Washington by 49 runs. Ishaan Prakash took 4 for 25 with medium pace for GWU, but the rest of the attack leaked runs to let the Patriots get to 145 in 19.4 overs. George Washington was then bowled out for 96 in 16.3 overs with Anoop Nair putting on a tidy display of off spin to claim 3 for 16.

UPenn lost to NYU-Poly by 5 wickets as Gordon and Jagminder Singh Bains took four wickets apiece to blast out UPenn for 81. Gordon then completed a fine all-round effort with 31 not out to take his team past the target in 13.1 overs.

In the last game on the artificial wickets at CBRP, York took on Rutgers in an attempt to stay undefeated in the tournament, but fell to the Scarlet Knights by 24 runs. Rutgers won the toss and batted first, posting 119 before rolling over York for 95.

As for the matches inside the stadium, Rutgers had the honor of playing the first match of the tournament on the turf wicket at Central Broward Regional Park along with Boston University. BU overcame their frustrations from day two to post a convincing 41-run win. Harsh Mainkar propelled the Terriers to 142 for 6 in 20 overs by opening the innings with 52. Rutgers got off to a fairly strong start, but crumbled quickly to be all out for 101 in 18.1 overs.

In the second match on the turf wicket, St. Cloud State hammered College of Wooster by nine wickets. Sai Kishore Beeram took four wickets bowling off spin as St. Cloud held the opposition to 92 for 6 in 20 overs. Saminda Siriwardena then asserted himself at the top for St. Cloud by stroking 14 fours in his 68 not out to see his side past the target in 12.3 overs.

ACC SBC Day 3: Saminda Siriwardena from SCSU from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

In the final match of the day at the stadium, USC took on University of the West Indies and once again the Caribbean side was just too much. USC won the toss and batted first as Mishal Patel scored a chanceless 56 not out opening the innings for the Trojans. However, Patel was left without any support as a series of rash shots led to a rapid downfall. USC finished 98 for 9 in 20 overs before UWI reached 99 for 2 in 14.3 overs with classy left-handed batsman Greg Scott scoring 41 not out.

ACC SBC Day 3: Mishal Patel and Tarun Tyagi of USC from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

In the matches at Brian Piccolo Park on the artificial wickets, Montgomery College started the day with their first loss in group play, not including the defeat to University of West Indies on Thursday, as they fell badly to University of Maryland-Baltimore County by six wickets. The defending champions were bowled out for 132 before UMBC put in a balanced batting display with Rikin Parikh finishing 38 not out to go along with 36 from Anand Patel.

The first century of the tournament was raised by South Florida captain Sri Harsha Boddepalli as he blazed 133 coming in at number three for his squad. USF eventually put up 206 for 3 in 20 overs against Miami (Fla.). The Hurricanes were overwhelmed and collapsed to be all out for 69 as Saisitaram Ramesh claimed 5 for 5 bowling off spin.

UMBC defeated Auburn by six wickets. Auburn batted first and posted 137 for 8 in 20 overs, but Baltimore’s own Eraj Raza notched a second innings 50 to give UMBC a crucial victory.

In the matches played on the natural turf at Brian Piccolo, Ohio State had mixed fortunes. In their first game against York University (Toronto), the Buckeyes were routed by seven wickets. Batting first, OSU was all out for 98 before Khushro Wadia once again led the way for York with 38 in victory. Ohio State bounced back though against Minnesota in the afternoon, trouncing the Golden Gophers by 72 runs. OSU posted 140 for 4 before bowling out Minnesota for 68.

Twelve more games will take place on Saturday between Brian Piccolo Park and Central Broward Regional Park before the semi finals and finals are scheduled to be contested on the stadium turf wicket at Central Broward Regional Park on Sunday.

American College Cricket Spring Break Championship Day Two Roundup: USC, UMBC, Auburn and MCC impress

openingbat — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:33:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

USC bounced back after an opening day loss to notch two wins on day two of the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the first of six matches played on the artificial wickets outside the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park on Thursday, USC dominated South Florida to complete a 41-run win after South Florida produced a horrid display in the field. Rishabh Nanda top scored for USC with 36 in their total of 157 for 6 in 20 overs. Nanda survived two dropped chances as well as two missed stumpings in his innings to capitalize for USC, who earned a bonus point for reaching 150 in their innings. Right arm medium pacer Jeet Poonater then took four wickets to keep South Florida pinned down.

University of Maryland-Baltimore County fell to George Mason by five runs in an 18-over match. UMBC won the toss and elected to bowl first to George Mason, holding them to a reachable total of 133 for 5. Aside from Gurnish Singh’s 38, UMBC couldn’t get anyone to fire and fell just short.

Pic (Right): Bilal Javed of George Mason shows off his team's impressive kit. George Mason's players raised funds and found sponsors by themselves to cover the cost of their kit and some tournament expenses. Their team is still not officially recognized as a club sport at GMU and therefore receives no university funding. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna]

In George Mason’s second match of the day, they lost to Auburn by 38 runs in another solid performance by the Tigers. Auburn captain Naveen Thiagarajan top scored for the second day in a row, scoring 34 as part of a 57-run opening stand in Auburn’s total of 139 for 8 in 20 overs.

“We couldn’t have asked for more,” said Thiagarajan about his team’s two wins in two matches. “It’s been tremendous, except that we could have held on to more number of catches. We’re doing well and we’re happy about it. Sameer Shah bowled excellently and credit goes to all the boys who have played excellently throughout this tournament so far.”

Shah ripped through the Patriots batting card with his left arm pace to finish with 4 for 25, helping to bowl GMU out for 101 in 17.4 overs.

“When I was practicing back home in Auburn, the ball was going pretty fast and I was feeling confident about my bowling,” said Shah. “Conditions here are favoring me and I’m bowling pretty fast and I hope to increase the pace next match.”

Defending tournament champion Montgomery College looked impressive in a nine-wicket win over George Washington. Four Montgomery bowlers shared two wickets each to hold GWU to 108 for 8 in 20 overs. Ishaan Prakash was the lone bright spot for the Colonials with 54, half his team’s total. Ankit Sehgal then registered a crisp half-century to chase down the target in 10.5 overs. Sehgal creamed nine boundaries before ending the match with a six over midwicket to finish 50 not out.

“Last year, I didn’t even score above 35,” said Sehgal. “Last year, I just gave my wicket in all the matches. I got a good start, but was not able to finish it well. So this time I really prepared for it. It was a good start for me and I’m happy.”

ACC SBC Day 2 - Renaldo Arthur from UWI from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Montgomery played their second match of the day against University of the West Indies, whose team hails from Barbados, and didn’t back down against the most talented team in the competition, scoring 187 for 3 after being sent in to bat. Montgomery captain Adil Bhatti scored 60 not out with four fours and three sixes while Sehgal chipped in with 49.

“We gave them a good target and I thought it would be good enough to get us a win, but unfortunately not,” said Bhatti. The longer Sehgal and Bhatti stayed at the wicket, more and more bouncers were sent down by UWI’s bowlers in the spirit of the old West Indies pace attacks.

“That was fun at the end,” said Bhatti. “At the end, I pulled the one for a six so I liked it. It was fun playing with them, a good experience.”

UWI then chased down the runs in 17.1 overs. Renaldo Arthur blasted Montgomery’s tired bowlers for 68 not out with four fours and two sixes while former West Indies U-19 player Barrington Yearwood iced the game, hooking a boundary to fine leg to finish 60 not out having hit three fours and five sixes in his innings.

Pic (Right): Bilal Javed of George Mason shows off his team's impressive kit. George Mason's players raised funds and found sponsors by themselves to cover the cost of their kit and some tournament expenses. Their team is still not officially recognized as a club sport at GMU and therefore receives no university funding. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna]

In a somewhat controversial affair, Boston University lost by four wickets with two balls to spare against NYU-Poly. All three matches played on Central Broward Regional Park field two were done without an official scorer as the designated scorer for the field failed to show up. As a result, the teams scored the match themselves and a dispute resulted with BU in the field as they did not agree with how NYU-Poly was scoring their chase of 124. There were no disputes in the two games that George Mason played on the field against UMBC and Auburn, but that was not the case between BU and NYU-Poly.

“The first thing is you should not ask us to score when our team is batting. That’s not fair in a tournament because there is a bias already in there,” said BU player Bhupi Nagpure. “Second thing is, when you are asked, you should have a third neutral party who should be keeping score.”

“The real issue here is that the entire integrity, everything about this tournament and what it’s supposed to be about is just completely broken because you’ve got two teams keeping track of their own score and you can’t take anything seriously,” said BU player Vidit Munshi. “It’s like a pickup hoops game pretty much.”

NYU-Poly captain and Atlantic Region senior player Adrian Gordon felt his team scored fairly, but said that he was not really comfortable even starting the match without a neutral scorer.

“I hope we have a good scorer next time,” said Gordon. “I hope that he doesn’t depend on us to score so I hope we have an official scorer.”

As for the matches at Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, St. Cloud State defeated Minnesota but fell later in the day to York University from Toronto and Ohio State beat College of Wooster in the three matches played on artificial turf wickets. Khushro Wadia of York University recorded the highest individual score of the tournament so far with 78 out of York’s first innings total of 188 before Ahmad Malik took six wickets for York to roll over SCSU’s order. Saminda Siriwardena, a 2009 USA U-19 Second-Team All-American from the Central East Region, scored 60 not out for St. Cloud State in their win over Minnesota.

In the first match played on the natural turf wickets at Brian Piccolo, York College (NY) defeated University of Pennsylvania. York got a boost from their trump card, 22-year-old former USA senior squad and USA U-19 player Akeem Dodson, who notched 62 runs on a surface few players in the tournament have had a chance to play on. In the second match, USC defeated Miami (Fla.) to give the Trojans their second win on the day. USC’s experience paid off as the Trojans compete in Division Two of the Southern California Cricket Association competition. As a result, the squad gets a load of experience playing on the turf wickets of the Woodley Cricket Complex in Van Nuys, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles.

ACC SBC Day 2 - Renaldo Arthur from UWI from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Thirteen matches are scheduled for Friday between Brian Piccolo Park and Central Broward Regional Park, including three matches on the ICC approved stadium turf wicket. As conditions permit, the final match of the day, USC vs. University of the West Indies, will be covered with live ball-by-ball coverage on Dreamcricket.com beginning at 4 pm EST on Friday from inside the stadium.

ACC Spring Break Championship Day 1: Thunderbird and Auburn win T20 games on run rate

openingbat — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:51:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

Thunderbird School of Global Management (T-birds) secured a win over USC on Wednesday in the first match of the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship on the artificial wickets outside the stadium at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. Auburn also notched a victory in a rain-interrupted match over George Washington.

“Right now, I think people are pumped up,” said T-birds captain Sudeep Misra after his team’s victory. “We’re gonna win every single match we’re gonna play.”

USC won the toss and elected to bat first in overcast and wet conditions getting off to a very strong start but the T-birds fought back with wickets in the middle overs to restrict the Trojan batting lineup. USC was still hopeful of posting around 140 but due to the nature of the tournament rules, which do not follow ICC guidelines, they were not able to make a final push as their innings was called after 18 overs and they finished on 115 for 8.

“They had a fantastic start so we were thinking of wrapping them up within 125 or something and we were partly successful,” said Misra. “We got them for 115 runs. But at the same time, when they started they were getting some boundaries because there was some sloppy fielding I would say from outside and the ball was swinging a lot. It was different than our conditions back in Arizona. It’s way too dry. It doesn’t swing at all and right here it was overcast and the ball will swing so it was difficult for the bowlers to control it.”

According to the tournament rules, each innings can not take longer than 80 minutes, regardless of injury stoppages or stalling by the team in the field. As a result, USC’s plan to hit out in the final few overs was negated and they finished on 115 for 8 in 18.

“The last momentum, the last push we usually give towards the end of the innings, we couldn’t give that because our batsmen weren’t aware,” said Tarun Sandhu, USC vice-captain. The target was changed to 116 off 17 overs after a decision was made that T-birds should be penalized with 1 over overall and 1 over deduction of Poweplay.

USC got off to a fantastic start in the field as Sandhu’s pace claimed two wickets in the first over, including one on the first ball of the innings, to put T-birds in a big hole. However, number four batsman Nimish Jalan dug in at the crease and dug his team out of trouble with a very solid 49 to top score for T-birds.

“I just wanted to stay in the crease and ensure that I see through the first six overs and see the new ball and that was the plan,” said Jalan.

T-birds were 99 for 6 in 15 overs, needing 17 to win, when the match was called after 80 minutes of time had elapsed for the second innings. According to the tournament rules, the winner in this situation is decided on net run rate, not Duckworth/Lewis Method, and T-birds were declared the winner based on a better run rate.

In the words of Sandhu: “In the entire history that we’ve been playing, we’ve never faced this kind of situation. We always play our 20 overs and that’s how we plan it out. If you look at it, our main bowlers, they still had on over up their sleeve because we were waiting to use them right at the death. But saying that, I would still give all credit [to T-birds]. I think they batted well. Whatever the conditions I think their batsmen, a couple of those guys got stuck in and they played really well.”

In the second match of the day, Auburn blitzed the George Washington bowlers and capitalized on some poor fielding to run up 141 for 1 in 15 overs before time was called on their innings. In reply, GWU was 35 for 3 in 7.1 overs when the umpires took the players off the field as the showers at the ground became stronger and fielding became dangerous. Under the tournament rules, the match becomes official if at least six overs are completed so Auburn was declared the winner, way ahead on net run rate. Auburn captain Naveen Thiagarajan opened the innings and top-scored with 49 not out.

The other three games on Wednesday, College of Wooster vs. Minnesota, University of West Indies vs. South Florida, and University of Miami vs. Thunderbird, were washed out.

Eleven matches are scheduled for Thursday to be split between Central Broward Regional Park’s artificial wicket fields and the artificial and natural turf wickets at Brian Piccolo Park in nearby Cooper City. York College and University of Pennsylvania are scheduled to play the morning match on the natural turf wicket at Brian Piccolo Park while USC will face University of Miami (Fla.) in the afternoon contest.

2010 American College Cricket Championship dates set

openingbat — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:53:00 GMT

2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship will take place on March 17-21, 2010 at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida.

The 2009 Champions, Montgomery College (MD), will return to defend the prestigious Shiv Chanderpaul Championship Trophy. Runner up University of South Florida as well as UM, BU and Carnegie Melon Univeristy will also return.

"We've had many College Clubs expressing interest in coming to South Florida during Spring Break to play. Due to the make up of the Tournament, we'll only be able to accomodate sixteen (16) Clubs" stated Lloyd Jodah, President of ACC.

Lessons learned from San Diego Cricket Club

openingbat — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:53:00 GMT

By Dr. Gangaram Singh

The author is a professor at San Diego State University and President of SDCC. Dr. Singh subscribes to cricket legend Bishan Singh Bedi's creed that "cricket builds character."

Often universities initiate scientific, economic, or philosophical innovation. But sometimes our fine institutions can also be at the root of cricketing innovation.

San Diego Cricket Club was initiated just over 12 years ago on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. For sure, it wasn't for science, economics, or philosophy. It was initiated by a bunch of expatriates, looking for some fun. It is this reality that is at the base of most recreational leagues (some would argue almost all) around the country. But what sometimes starts as recreation can grow, and if that growth is not managed properly, then it can result in disenchantment, severe criticism, and lawsuits. Negative vibes, for sure, can suck the fun out of cricket (or anything for a matter of fact)!

Dr. Singh is working within the community,
to introduce the game to San Diego youth.

San Diego Cricket Club is one of the many clubs in the United States which has experienced rapid growth. From its modest beginnings on the campus of UCSD, it is now a vibrant organization with a very complicated strategy, organizational structure, processes, people, and rewards. Above all, it is administered by a group of volunteers, who have built a community around cricket.

Highlights of SDCC include:

Grounds: It was displaced from UCSD (not enough faculty/students) two years ago. An immediate need was to secure grounds. Senior members of the Club engaged local politicians and volunteered their services on the local recreational council to cooperate with baseball, soccer, and football to promote cricket. The City of San Diego has now awarded two grounds for cricket.

Three Teams in SCCA: With this base, SDCC was able to provide the opportunity for 3 teams to compete in Southern California Cricket Association. Based on its seniority, SDCC was offered playing status at the premier facilities at Woodley. SDCC turned down the opportunity simply because it felt that it was important to "spread" cricket.

Growth in popularity of cricket in San Diego: With a large influx of "technology workers," the demand for cricket in San Diego grew significantly. Hungry cricketers roamed around the City on weekends in search of an empty space to play tape ball (later leather ball) on any acceptable surface.

SDCC responded to this demand by sponsoring a "winter league." Cricket in San Diego is now organized around 6-9 teams competing in the winter (and for the first time this year in the summer) in the 20/20 format. SDCC still maintains three teams in SCCA. With close to 150 active cricketers, SDCC is now well positioned to take cricket outside the "expatriate community."

Junior cricket: SDCC collaborated with the YMCA to introduce cricket to a wider/younger cohort. It first conducted a 2-hour cricket clinic. With 32 kids and a few Kanga sets, a whole new generation was introduced to the game. SDCC now runs regular 6-week session, with 16-20 kids per session.

Naturally, the parents of these kids have become interested in cricket. An Over 35 (SD Vintage) team is in the planning phase. The objective of this idea is to motivate parent/child interaction and fitness. It is fun too!

Community outreach: Each year, for the last five years, SDCC was invited by the San Diego Padres (Major League Baseball) to demonstrate cricket at PETCO Park just before a major league game. This year we have kids to demonstrate cricket.

We believe that our success was derived from a vision to promote the game and a set of dedicated volunteers. It was a love for the game and the vision to see it prosper which provided the energy for the volunteers.

A disaggregation of the responsibilities and a centralization of coordination provided the structure to accomplish the strategy. A fair and transparent process on and off the field provided the culture of "giving back to the game."

Rewards (recognition) for those who contribute to the game was at the root of motivation. Together, a clear strategy, structure, processes, people, and rewards resulted in the desired behavior, which fostered a culture of giving back and a code of high performance.

Minnesota State University conducts MidWest's largest college cricket tournament

openingbat — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:44:00 GMT

Close on the heels of the American College Cricket tournament that saw teams from the Eastern US compete in a Twenty20 tournament in Lauderhill, Minnesota held its tournament which attracted several college teams from the MidWest including the hosts Minnesota State University as well as visiting teams including St. Cloud University, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, Dakota State (Madison, SD), and University of Minnesota.

“It is a great opportunity for the domestic students and community members to learn about a sport that is loved by millions in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa and Central America,” says club member and co-organizer Irfan Bangash.

The tournament was dedicated to College of Business Dean Scott Johnson, a strong supporter of the three-year-old tournament and of the campus Cricket Club. During the tournament the club will present Johnson with a cricket bat signed by captains of the participating teams. “Scott has really helped us. If we ask him for $500, $600, he’s OK with that,” Bangash said of the monetary support received from the College of Business fund for student activities

The tournament was sponsored by Campus Recreation, Student Allocation Committee, the Colleges of Business and Science, Engineering & Technology, International Student Association, David Cowan and Mike Levine.

Brian Ojanpa of the Mankato Free Press, in a detailed article on the tournament, noted that fourteen teams from five states took part in matches held behind Gage Center and in Myers Field House.

MSU, a member of Minnesota Cricket Association was represented by four teams in the tournament.

Bangash told Mankato Free Press that he and other players are looking forward to a cricket field with a clay surface in the middle being installed at MSU. “It’s been asked for and approved, so hopefully we’ll have it next year.”

Indoor matches are held in cavernous fieldhouses such as Myers because its hard surface lends itself to the bowlers’ bounced pitches.

For larger pictures and complete article at the Free Press, Mankato, click here.

If you know who won the tournament or want to share your experiences with college cricket, please leave your comments below.

Cardinal Gibbons School forms first school cricket team in Maryland

openingbat — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:28:00 GMT

Cardinal Gibbons, a private Catholic school in Baltimore, Maryland takes great pride in its heritage and is regarded as one of Baltimore's strongest centers of learning.

Originally named St. Mary's Industrial School for Orphans, its alumni includes the baseball great Babe Ruth. In fact, the legendary Babe Ruth once organized a fund-raising drive that netted well over $100,000 for the school, a massive amount of money at the time. Babe Ruth's old home houses the school's fine arts building.

A part of cricketing folklore is the meeting between Babe Ruth and Don Bradman at the Yankees stadium when the Aussies toured USA in 1932. "Us little fellows could hit them harder than the big ones," the baseball great famously said. And that was the school's only brush with cricket. Until recently, that is.

Students from Cardinal Gibbons have been working hard to grow local interest in cricket.

On February 28th, their efforts received a huge boost when they were visited by Gladstone Dainty, the president of the U.S.A. Cricket Association. Gladstone Dainty told players, their efforts will play a major role in moving cricket into the mainstream of American sports.

The Cardinal Gibbons cricket team was visited by Gladstone Dainty, President of USACA

"It underlines the significance of what we're doing," Gibbons coach Jamie Harrison said. "If cricket is ever to go from being a niche sport to being a mainstream sport, it has to crack into the American-born market."

Gibbons soon might get company with both Loyola and John Carroll in the process of beginning teams. Washington DC is also readying plans for a local youth cricket league. So the prospects look bright in the region.

Courtesy: Rich Sherr, Baltimore Sun
Picture Courtesy: Jamie Harrison