USA Cricketer : Andy Mohammed

USA Cricket: Team and player reviews for The 2012 Auty Cup

openingbat — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:03:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via@dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Batting: USA’s batsmen got off to plenty of decent starts, but hardly any of those starts were converted into a meaningful score. USA had one half-century by Timil Patel in the final Twenty20 match. In comparison, Canada’s batsmen contributed five half-centuries over the four games: two by Raza-ur-Rehman, and one each by Usman Limbada, Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema.

In the two-day match, three players made it to 20 – Timothy Surujbally, Karan Ganesh and Ryan Corns – but none of them made it to 30. The pattern was repeated in the 50-over game by Surujbally, Patel, Neil McGarrell and Barrington Bartley, then again in the first Twenty20 by Surujbally and Nicholas Standford. Canada’s players were more determined to make their starts count while USA’s players wasted theirs far too often.

In the 50-over match, USA racked up a stunning number of dot balls, 216 to be exact, almost 70% of the total deliveries in the innings. In the 35 non-power play overs, USA scored just 41 singles which highlights their struggle to find gaps in the circle and turn over the strike to keep pressure from building up. More evidence came in the first Twenty20 match where USA had 61 dot balls, a shocking number for a Twenty20 match especially since USA only batted 19 overs.

USA’s biggest challenge was against Canada’s spin bowlers, particularly leg-spinner Junaid Siddiqui and the left-arm spin of Rehman. Canada’s bowling attack was good but not nearly as good as some of the ones they’ve used in World Cups over the last decade.

Bowling: Against most of Canada’s first choice batsmen, USA’s bowlers turned in an admirable showing, especially in the two-day match. To bowl out a Division One Associate team for under 200 runs in a multi-day match was impressive and they nearly did it twice but ran out of time. Naseer Jamali’s opening spell which claimed three wickets set the tone for USA’s bowlers throughout that match.

The USA bowling was a bit flat in the 50-over match although if they had another 30 to 40 runs to play with they might have had more of a spring in their step. With the exception of Cheema’s first over assault of Adrian Gordon in the first Twenty20, USA’s bowlers were collectively committed in not letting Canada’s batsmen score too freely in those games as well.

USA’s greatest success came through their spin bowlers. Danial Ahmed and Timil Patel led the way while Karan Ganesh provided good support with the ball in the limited overs matches. Barrington Bartley showed a brief glimpse of what he can do in a supporting role with the ball as did Japen Patel with his medium pace, but neither should be seen as a frontline option.

Player Reviews

William Perkins – Scored 15 off 25 balls in the two-day match, 46 off 73 in the 50-over game, and made 32 off 21 in the second T20. He looked solid at the crease, but not dominant. For someone with plenty of recent experience playing domestic cricket in the West Indies, as well as participating in the Champions League T20 with Trinidad & Tobago, more was expected. He certainly didn’t do enough to displace Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor as USA’s incumbent openers, but might be worth consideration in a 14-man squad, if eligible, for some of USA’s upcoming tournaments.

Steven Taylor – Scored 4 off 15 balls in the two-day match, retired hurt on 10 in the 50-over match after pulling a hamstring trying to complete a quick single. Taylor has always carried slightly more weight than he should. The hamstring pull may give him the nudge he needs to focus more of his attention on improving his fitness. He has gotten away with it at most stages because of his supreme natural talent, but the higher the level of competition, the greater risk he runs of his fitness being exposed.

Timothy Surujbally – Scored 24 off 55 balls in the two-day game, 28 off 54 in the 50-over match, made 27 off 10 before retiring hurt in the first T20 with a hamstring pull trying to complete a quick single; with the ball took 0 for 6 in three overs during the two-day game. His performance was a microcosm of so many batsmen during the week who teased, but probably fell short of satisfying the expectations of themselves as well as the selectors with their batting. If there’s one thing that would hold him back more than anything else from making it into a 14-man squad next year, it would be his inability to score off the ball turning away from him. Canada’s Siddiqui and Rehman put the clamps on him and Surujbally didn’t seem to have a plan for how to get off strike.

Image (right) - Timothy Surujbally

Andy Mohammed – Scored 0 off 7 balls in the two-day match, made 11 off 12 opening the batting in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 6 in one over in the two-day game. Two loose dismissals demonstrated that he still has a lot of maturing to do. Despite his talent, he doesn’t ever look determined to stay at the crease for very long. He needs to go back to the drawing board to develop his game.

Karan Ganesh – Top scored for USA in the two-day match with 29 off 70 balls, made 1 off 4 in the 50-over match and 2 not out off 3 balls in the second T20; with the ball took 0 for 14 in eight overs during the two-day match, 2 for 24 in eight overs in the 50-over match, 1 for 20 in four overs in the second T20. Ganesh should have stayed at the crease longer in the two-day game but only has himself to blame for runout that curtailed his innings. With the ball, his flat off-spin was efficient at restricting runs, particularly in the limited overs matches. He wouldn’t get into a full-strength USA squad solely on his batting or bowling alone, but makes an intriguing case as a reserve player for his combined skillset.

Timil Patel – Scored 11 off 15 balls in the two-day match, 22 off 39 in the 50-over game, 0 off 2 in the first T20 and 67 not out off 55 balls in the second T20; with the ball took match figures of 7 for 107 in 34 overs during the two-day game, 2 for 49 in 8.5 overs in the 50-over game, 1 for 24 in three overs in the first T20, 1 for 28 in four overs in the second T20. Had the best all-round performance of any USA player during the week. It’s unclear if he’ll be eligible to play in ICC tournaments next year though because he’s only been in the USA since 2010.

Japen Patel – Scored 0 off 9 balls in the two-day game, 9 off 17 in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 34 in seven overs during the two-day game, took 4 for 26 in four overs during the first T20. Inserted into a new ball role in the two-day game that he was ill-suited for, he bowled tidily enough and had a chance dropped off his bowling early, but overall lacked penetration. In the T20 he played, he kept a disciplined line and as a result took more wickets than some of his teammates who bowled quicker but with far less control. Such performances with the ball need to be the rule, not the exception, for him to have any chance of cracking USA’s XI. He still has a long way to go with the bat as well to be up to international standard.

Image (left) - Japen Patel

Adil Bhatti – Scored 7 off 35 balls in the two-day game, 7 off 13 in the first T20, 0 off 1 ball in the second T20; with the ball he took 1 for 20 in five overs during the two-day game, 0 for 24 in three overs in the first T20. Bhatti is a player with similar skill sets to Japen Patel and is probably a better player but was outperformed by Japen during the series by way of Patel’s 4 for 26 in the first T20. Bhatti’s best moment came when he pulled off a fantastic catch as a substitute fielder in the 50-over match, but that’s not going to get him selected. He’s a player who gives tremendous effort but needs to work hard on his batting in particular, much like Japen, to merit full-time selection.

Ryan Corns – Scored 20 off 39 balls in the two-day game, 5 off 7 in the first T20, 5 off 5 in the second T20; with the ball took 1 for 46 in 14 overs during the two-day game, 1 for 22 in four overs during the first T20, 1 for 21 in three overs during the second T20. His spin bowling is always improving, but his batting still hasn’t progressed to the point where it should be. He got a few opportunities to bat higher up the order in this series than he had in previous tournaments USA played in 2012, but didn’t make the most of those chances. The fact that he was selected as a stand-in captain in place of the injured Taylor for the second T20 says a lot about how highly he is now thought of by USA’s management hierarchy, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a nervous wait this winter to see if his spot is secure the next time USA picks a 14-man squad.

Danial Ahmed – Scored 1 not out off 6 balls in the two-day match; with the ball took 6 for 73 across 37.4 overs in the two-day game, took 1 for 13 in three overs in the second T20. Ahmed was the biggest revelation for USA in the matches against Canada. Although he isn’t a very big turner of the ball, he displayed immaculate control and used clever variations of pace and flight to keep batsmen off balance. USA has tried out numerous specialist left-arm spinners over the past few years – Asif Khan, Samarth Shah, Bhim George – to match up with Nepal’s arsenal of them. Ahmed may be the end of that search. He also was brilliant in the field, another area where USA could definitely benefit from his presence.

Naseer Jamali – Scored 2 off 5 balls in the two-day game; with the ball took 3 for 42 in 12 overs during the two-day game, took 0 for 9 in one over in the second T20. His opening spell in the two-day game was very impressive as he wiped out Canada’s top three with relative ease. He doesn’t have blinding pace, but is showing signs of maturing by bowling a more disciplined line and recognizing that he won’t be able to bounce people out. Not a first-choice option now, but wouldn’t be a bad option should Usman Shuja, Elmore Hutchinson or Timroy Allen get injured.

Nicholas Standford – Scored 0 off 8 balls in the 50-over match, 23 off 26 in the first T20, 18 off 22 in the second T20. He played similar to Surujbally in the way he got some good starts, but ultimately failed to convert them. Looked fluent at the crease in both T20s but at the end of the day a number three batsman needs to do more after getting set like he did regardless of the format.

Neil McGarrell – Scored 26 off 46 balls in the 50-over match, scored 3 off 5 balls in the first T20; with the ball he took 0 for 28 in 10 overs in the 50-over match, took 1 for 14 in three overs in the first T20. Even though he’s 40, McGarrell maintains a very professional approach to the game at all levels. He demonstrated he still has value with the ball and as a fielder, but if there was room for just one specialist left-arm spinner in a USA squad and the choice was between the former West Indies Test bowler and 27-year-old Daniel Ahmed, then Ahmed should get selected. It’s not because Ahmed is younger, it’s because Ahmed showed he’s better.

Barrington Bartley – Scored 23 off 24 balls in the 50-over match, scored 26 off 14 balls in the second T20; with the ball took 0 for 44 in eight overs in the 50-over match, took 3 for 14 in three overs in the second T20. While Bartley had the same issue of carrying on after getting set like many of his teammates, he was actually one of the few efficient batsmen in the squad. It was rare to see him waste a delivery and he was much more skilled at turning over the strike than Ganesh, Surujbally or Standford in particular. He’s also a better fielder than the other three. With the ball, his 0 for 44 in the 50-over game is a more accurate reflection of his bowling abilities than his 3 for 14 in the second T20. If he were to get picked, it would be for his batting.

Saami Siddiqui – Scored 6 off 20 balls in the 50-over game, scored 7 off 8 balls in the first T20; completed no dismissals as a wicketkeeper, conceded 1 bye. Siddiqui kept adequately enough behind the stumps, but as is the case in the modern era of cricket he needs to offer more with the bat as a keeper.

Hammad Shahid – Scored 1 off 10 balls in the 50-over match; with the ball took 1 for 32 in eight overs during the 50-over match, took 0 for 10 in one over in the second T20. The 50-over game was a decent start to his career at the senior level but he didn’t get much of a chance to build on it in the T20 game he played. He hasn’t progressed as quickly as it looked like he would when he was a 16-year-old, but he has a strong frame and will hopefully get better with experience.

Mital Patel – Scored 2 off 9 balls in the 50-over match, made 0 off 4 balls in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 19 in four overs in the 50-over match, took 0 for 11 in two overs during the first T20. Patel needs to be more disciplined and focused on the basics of finding a consistent line and length. His figures in the 50-over match included a maiden and on paper they look good, but part of the reason he didn’t get to bowl a second spell was because he was somewhat erratic, offering too much width too often. If he can bowl on the stumps on a regular basis, he’ll become a better prospect.

Adrian Gordon – Scored 14 not out off 10 balls in first T20; with the ball took 0 for 26 in one over in first T20, took 1 for 1 in 0.4 overs in second T20. Gordon has practically fallen off the cliff from where he was in his development after ICC WCL Division Four in August of 2010. He’s nowhere close to the bowler he was then. Despite generating good pace, his radar is all over the place. He’s still only 25 so he has time to sort himself out, but it would be good for it to happen sooner rather than later.

Image (right) - Adrian Gordon at ICC WCL Division Four in Italy in 2010. [Courtesy: ICC]

Outlook for 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 and ICC WCL Division Three

Much depends on the eligibility of certain players. Ahmed arrived in the USA in the spring of 2009 so his eligibility for these tournaments depends on how the ICC calculates the residency requirement for qualification, which stipulates that a player must reside in a country for a minimum of 183 days in the four years immediately preceding a tournament in order to play for that country. Only two such players can be picked in any starting XI, which may leave a captain limited if there are multiple such players in a 14-man squad. There is no limit on players who have been residents for a minimum of 183 days for seven years immediately preceding a tournament, or if they are a passport holder/citizen.

Timil Patel arrived in the USA in the summer of 2010, so may not be eligible to play for USA in ICC tournaments until 2014. Perkins last played for the West Indies in 2008, so his eligibility to play for the USA would depend on whether or not he fulfills the residency/citizenship requirements. All three players are definitely capable of slotting into a 14-man squad, but at the moment Timil Patel might be on the outside looking in due to ICC rules.

Probable USA first choice XI for ICC Americas Division One T20 in March:

1. Steven Taylor
2. Sushil Nadkarni
3. Steve Massiah
4. Aditya Thyagarajan
5. Aditya Mishra
6. Orlando Baker
7. Timroy Allen
8. Elmore Hutchinson
9. Usman Shuja
10. Danial Ahmed
11. Muhammad Ghous

As for the three reserves, much of it may depend on squad balance. Would USA opt for a pair of spinners and a batsman? A seamer and two batsmen but no pure spinner? To include or not to include a backup wicketkeeper? Several combinations could be construed. Ryan Corns and Abhimanyu Rajp stand a good chance of keeping their spots in USA’s squad for the time being, but both may be under pressure to hold on to them. If Perkins is eligible he would almost certainly take up the last spot, particularly because he can also keep wicket. Several other players are in contention to be included in a 14-man squad as well including Bartley, Bhatti, Ganesh, Surujbally, Rashard Marshall and Akeem Dodson.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author. If you have differing views or opinions, we respect those views and urge you to provide your feedback - both positive and negative - in the comments section.]

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC WCL Division Four Report Card Part 2 - Player Grades

openingbat — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:35:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

Player Grades

Sushil Nadkarni – A-: USA’s vice-captain finished as the leading scorer at the tournament with 238 runs at 47.60 and two half-centuries. His century stand with Steven Taylor to open the tournament against the host side set the tone for a solid event. He top scored for USA in three of the five games he played. His highest score, and the highest score at the event by a USA player, was his 84 in the group game against Nepal. If he had been able to bat to the end to score a century and take the team to victory, it would have been perhaps his greatest knock in a USA uniform, but he fell just short thanks to a spectacular catch by Binod Das at backward point.

Nadkarni’s fitness has waxed and waned over the last couple of years depending on the tournament. It was definitely waxing at this event where he looked much slimmer than he was at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in March. Nadkarni and Timroy Allen were the only USA players who never looked tired while at the crease. He was a spritely fielder inside the circle as well, regularly flinging his body along the turf to save runs.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni completes a cut shot against Malaysia. Nadkarni finished as USA's leading scorer for the second tour in a row. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Steven Taylor – B+: The youngest player in the squad may have taken over the mantle from Nadkarni as USA’s most intimidating batsman during this tournament. He finished second overall in the runs list behind Nadkarni with 216 at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 104.85. He scored half-centuries against Malaysia and Singapore. The only game he really failed to get going was in the final match against Nepal where he made just 11.

While he had several explosive starts, Taylor somehow managed to get out just when he appeared set to destroy the opposition. He looked tired toward the end of the tournament, particularly in the ways he got out against Nepal so fitness may be something he should focus on, particularly if he is committed to keeping wicket. He finished with six catches and a stumping, but also missed two stumping chances.

Steve Massiah – C-: The reinstalled captain struggled to get going on a day when batting looked easy for everyone else against Malaysia, then looked even more out of sorts against spin versus Denmark. He made his highest score of the tournament against Nepal with 41 coming in at number five, but the batting order was mangled for that match to accommodate him after his early troubles against spin. USA wound up paying for it by the end of the match despite an 89-run stand between him and Nadkarni that put the team on the brink of victory. He finished as USA’s fourth highest scorer on the week with 121 runs at 24.20, but generally did less with more opportunities at his disposal than other batsmen.

In the past, Massiah has typically been one of USA’s most reliable fielders, both on the ground and in the catching department. At this tournament though, he looked a step behind, grassing three catches against Nepal and missing a golden opportunity for a run out early against Denmark. He was also responsible for a slow over rate against Denmark that prevented USA from using some of their more desired options later in the innings though he did well leading the side during a hectic second innings against Singapore by going to spin within a few overs after play resumed following a rain delay.

Aditya Thyagarajan – C-: USA’s leading scorer in 2010 had a lukewarm return from injury at this tournament. He top scored in the team’s warm-up match win over Denmark with 48 coming in at number four, but then managed just 35 runs in four innings during the live matches. He didn’t seem to respond well after being shuffled around the batting order to accommodate others, batting at three different positions for his four innings.

Image (left) - Aditya Thyagarajan in action against Denmark at the Selangor Turf Club. Thyagarajan had a rough return to the national team after missing more than a year due to injury, making 35 runs in four innings. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

He played for the team against Malaysia, going to slog after entering with six overs to go and wound up getting out for 2. He failed against Denmark, then got out cheaply again in a situation that appeared tailor-made for him with 10 overs to go against Nepal. His 21 against Singapore might not look special on paper, but it was part of a vital 59-run stand, providing the anchor at one end to allow Allen to swing away at the other. Thyagarajan also gets credit for his fielding. In a team full of butterfingers, he held on to three solid catches running in from the boundary and never dropped a chance.

Aditya Mishra – C-: Mishra was one of USA’s best batsmen in March at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, but overall in this event he was inconsistent and mixed two decent innings with two failures. He provided a solid late boost against Malaysia scoring 25 off 14 balls and along with Taylor tried to score as quickly as possible against Tanzania to lift the team’s net run rate, which made a huge difference by the end of the tournament. He had two sloppy failures against Denmark and Nepal in the group stage and then threw away his wicket in the final against Nepal after getting a decent start. He’s a batsman who can be classified as a team player after being rotated into three different batting positions to suit the needs of the team, although it wasn’t always to great effect for him personally.

A greater cause for concern for him is his fielding. Along the ground he is okay and generally puts in some good efforts to slide or dive to save balls from going over the boundary. In the air though, he is poor at judging the flight of the ball coming off the bat and it leads to bad mistakes, such as when he ran in from the rope against Nepal for a chance against Paras Khadka only to see the ball go over his head before landing inside the rope and bouncing over for a boundary.

Orlando Baker – C: Someone who didn’t do a lot wrong, but didn’t set the world on fire either on this tour. Baker stabilized USA with help from Allen against Denmark after a middle order collapse, but the pair never got a proper chance to bring USA completely back into the contest once rain intervened. He failed after being thrust into the opening slot against Nepal in the group game and then was somewhat harshly dropped for it. Recalled for the final against Nepal, he showed that he still has some gas left in the tank by grinding out 39 to top score with Nadkarni in the defeat. He finished with 66 runs at an average of 33.00 on tour, USA’s fourth best average in Malaysia.

With the ball, he wasn’t used that much, but took three wickets in 15 overs, a strike rate that other players in the squad would have gladly traded for. He dropped two chances that came his way, a sharp one at square leg against Nepal and a reflex return chance against Malaysia. He also missed a chance to run out Subash Khakurel on 99 in the group game against Nepal and fluffed a stumping late in the final against Nepal after putting on the pads to relieve Taylor. The four misses by Baker summed up a forgettable tour in the fielding department for USA overall. However, the fact that Baker is willing to keep wicket if called upon in an emergency shows his unselfishness for the team.

Timroy Allen – A-: USA’s most dynamic player, Allen showed how much USA missed him last year in Hong Kong and again in the UAE in March. Came in with 15 overs to go against Malaysia and produced his best score in a USA uniform, 72 not out in 43 balls on his way to claiming the first of two Man of the Match awards in Malaysia. Allen topped the averages for USA in the event with 166 runs at 55.33. Had he come in at number seven with 11 overs to go against Nepal instead of number three in the fifth over of the chase during their group game, USA would have had a much better chance of winning that game.

Image (right) - Timroy Allen poses with his Man of the Match award after USA's win over Singapore that clinched a spot in next year's ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

In addition to topping the batting averages for USA, Allen took the most wickets with 10 at an average of 19.80, although he was slightly expensive going at more than five runs per over. Allen also had more chances put down off his bowling than anyone else. USA’s fielders dropped six chances off him and that had an effect on his numbers across the board. In the field, he’s not as energetic as he used to be. He took one catch and put down a sharp one at gully in this tournament. In general he looks more reserved when it comes to throwing his body around, mindful of how he aggravated a back injury in Italy two years ago while diving to stop a boundary in a 10-wicket win over Tanzania.

Ryan Corns – C: When given an opportunity, Corns responded quite well. His stats might not say so, but he was a valuable niche player on tour and has plenty of room to grow into a position where he can be a solid all-rounder for USA in the future. Selecting him as the lone left-arm spin option ahead of Asif Khan was a bold move as Khan is a better pure spinner, but Corns justified the move with some handy performances and the tour did a lot for his continued development.

Batting wise, Corns did about as well as could be expected when thrust into a role he is not suited for, coming in late in the innings to slog quick runs batting at number eight. He finished with 45 runs in three innings at an average of 15.00, his best contribution coming against Singapore with 24 in a tight match. Fielding wise, he needs to work on his throwing accuracy. He is very energetic fielding at point, but dropped a chance and missed two run out opportunities, including a crucial one against Nepal when Subash Khakurel was on 22, before finally converting one against Singapore.

Elmore Hutchinson – B-: Quietly was one of USA’s better bowlers on tour. Hutchinson had the best economy rate for any of USA’s pace bowlers at 3.90 in 40 overs, the second most overs bowled by USA behind Muhammad Ghous. He sometimes had trouble locating his line though, bowling a team-high 14 wide deliveries that went for 19 wide runs out of the 62 wide runs USA conceded. He finished with six wickets, tied with Ghous and Shuja for second on the team.

With the bat, he had USA’s sixth best average on tour, 17.66. Hutchinson scored 53 runs in four innings and was used as a pinch hitter against Tanzania, coming in at three to slog some runs when USA was looking to boost their net run rate. He showed good athleticism overall in the field and despite only taking one catch, never grassed any and always showed tremendous effort and hustle to save balls from going over the boundary.

Image (left) - Elmore Hutchinson bowling against Nepal at Kinrara Academy Oval. Hutchinson was one of USA's better bowlers in Malaysia and finished with the second best economy rate on the team behind Muhammad Ghous. [Courtesy: ICC/Peter Lim]

Abhimanyu Rajp – C-: Rajp was dropped after three games, which may have mystified many back home as he was USA’s second best wicket-taker at the time behind Allen, but his economy rate was frightfully high for a finger-spinner. Rajp shined at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier because it’s a format where a bowler can get away with trading off runs for wickets. A 7.55 economy rate in that event looked okay next to 10 wickets, which was good enough to tie for the team lead. However, a 5.73 economy rate standing next to five wickets in Malaysia was not good enough. Rajp has a learning curve to adjust to in 50-over cricket. He must strike a balance between being economical and attacking for wickets.

With the bat, he was bizarrely asked to bat at number three in the final against Nepal in his only appearance at the crease and didn’t score. Fielding wise, teams aren’t afraid to take him on in the circle and he missed a critical run out chance against Andreas Lambert of Denmark, but in the air he is one of USA’s sure-handed fielders. He got official credit for two catches but also took two other very crucial ones as a sub fielder in a tense battle against Singapore.

Usman Shuja – C: Shuja was named Man of the Match in an easy win over Tanzania after taking 3 for 14. Overall though, he was very average. In the other four games he played against Singapore, Denmark and twice against Nepal, he took just 3 wickets for 116 runs. While he was economical against Denmark, he struggled to make the most of the new ball when conditions were in his favor in that match, taking 1 for 20 in seven overs. Entering the tournament, he had a phenomenal record against Nepal with 14 wickets in six games at an average of 11.86 and an economy rate of 3.25. In the two matches USA played against Nepal in Malaysia, Shuja finished with 1 for 75 in 12 overs.

Shuja had multiple chances dropped off his bowling in the group game against Nepal, but in general was just not as effective as he usually is. His batting has also been marginalized by the current management. This is the same player who rescued USA from 20 for 7 against Oman and took them to a remarkable two-wicket win at Division Three in Hong Kong last year by scoring 43 not out. He is good enough to bat at number eight, definitely no lower than nine but he was sent in at numbers 10 and 11 in this tournament and responded by batting down to that level, scoring 4 runs in three innings.

Muhammad Ghous – B: After going through a sophomore slump in 2011, Ghous has bounced back during his third year with the senior team to be a dependable performer. He had the best economy rate for the team on tour with 3.62 runs per over in a team high 48.3 overs. He can sometimes look lethargic when not a lot is at stake, but put Ghous in a pressure-packed situation and he is very hard to rattle. He was chiefly responsible for the shift in momentum during the second innings against Singapore. After batsman Chetan Suryawanshi flew out of the gate following the rain delay, Ghous reeled Singapore back in by applying outstanding pressure. It didn’t take long for dot balls to turn into wickets.

Like Mishra, Ghous reacts very poorly when the ball comes off the bat in the air and it can result in some angst for his fellow bowlers. When the ball travels directly to him though, he is a solid catching fielder. He put down a difficult return chance in the final against Nepal, but took two catches during the tournament. He finished tied for second with Shuja and Hutchinson by taking six wickets, but also had three chances dropped off his bowling.

Andy Mohammed – Incomplete: Mohammed played two matches, batting just once at number four against Singapore in the final group game. He entered in the 21st over in a situation that called for pushing the ball around for singles and doubles to rebuild in the middle overs after both openers had been dismissed. Instead, he kept trying to slog Singapore’s spinners for six. He succeeded once before being caught on the boundary for 10. Mohammed needs to show greater maturity and awareness of match situations to get more opportunities in the future. In the field, he converted a run out chance against Tanzania and had a brilliant diving catch against Singapore to spark USA’s fightback in the field.

Akeem Dodson – Incomplete: Dodson only played one match, scoring 3 against Singapore. He took one catch behind the stumps but also missed a straightforward stumping. Regardless of whether he was fielding inside the boundary or wearing a 12th man’s pinnie outside of it, no one brought more positive energy to the team when they were at the ground than Dodson. He’s eager to improve and his attitude demonstrates he has unwavering commitment to the team, supporting the squad wholeheartedly whether he plays no match or every match.

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

Coming up in Part 3 - Outlook for 2013 ICC WCL Division Three

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was present at all of the team's matches. If you have differing views or opinions, we respect those views and urge you to provide your feedback - both positive and negative - in the comments section.]

USA Cricket: Andy Mohammed replaces Rashard Marshall in USA squad for 2012 ICC WCL Division Four

openingbat — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 06:19:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Batsman Andy Mohammed has been added to the USA squad in place of Rashard Marshall for 2012 ICC WCL Division Four, which begins Monday, September 3 in Malaysia. According to an ICC spokesperson, USACA made a request to add Mohammed as an “injury replacement” for Marshall, which was approved.

However, according to an anonymous source, Marshall is not injured but was removed from the squad after requesting to leave the USA on the evening of August 31 due to a work assignment. USA’s squad is due to leave Los Angeles for Kuala Lumpur in the early morning hours of August 27. Meanwhile, Steven Taylor, Usman Shuja and Aditya Mishra will all be departing from the USA four days later on August 31.

Prior to the official USACA squad announcement on August 3, Shuja, Mishra and Taylor had received permission to join the squad late. Shuja and Mishra made the request due to work commitments while Taylor is currently in Barbados as the captain of the ICC Americas U-19 squad at the West Indies Cricket Board Regional U-19 Tournament. The ICC Americas U-19 squad’s last match is August 29 and they will not depart Barbados until August 30.

Yet, it appears that Marshall’s request to join the squad late for work reasons was denied because he notified the USACA board on August 16 instead of prior to the squad being chosen and submitted to the ICC for the August 3 deadline. If Marshall was replaced by USACA due to work reasons, it would be contradicting their formal request to the ICC to replace Marshall due to injury.

In an email – obtained from an anonymous source – dated August 16, and addressed from USACA selection chairman Selwyn Caesar to USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed, Caesar wrote the following:

I received a call from Rashard Marshall this morning advising he has an unscheduled work assignment on Friday August 31st and would like arrangements be made for his travel on the evening of August 31st.

I am aware the call should have been directed to you, however I request you arrange to call Rashard this afternoon (he may be sleeping today for work tonight) in order to work out the details and advise accordingly.

Mohamed then sent out an email to numerous USACA administrators which stated:

Regarding e-mail from Selwyn below.. Spoke to Rashard today. He only found out a day or so ago that he has to be at work on Aug 31 to receive his work assignments for the month.

Should I re-schedule his flight out or do I need to replace?? Please advise.

This would not be the first time USACA has attempted to pull off a questionable maneuver with regards to replacing a player for an ICC event. At 2011 ICC WCL Division Three in Hong Kong, Aditya Thyagarajan was lost for the tournament following the second match after dislocating his right knee. USACA then requested to add assistant coach/bowling coach Howard Johnson to the squad as an injury replacement.

According to sources, the ICC agreed to accept Johnson as a replacement player under the premise that Johnson would only be utilized in case three other players also became injured at which point USA would have had no choice but to use him as a substitute fielder or put him in the starting eleven. Johnson’s last appearance for USA before then came as a 40-year-old at the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland.

However, 46-year-old Johnson leapfrogged three other healthy players, including then uncapped 28-year-old fast bowler Durale Forrest, to appear in the starting eleven in USA’s next match against Papua New Guinea. Johnson took 2 for 23 in the seven-wicket loss after USA was sent in by PNG and bowled out for 44. Johnson then sat out USA’s final three matches of the tournament.

Six months later, USA named a squad for the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Florida which included Nauman Mustafa in the 14-man list. However, he was mysteriously removed from the squad just a week before the start of the tournament and replaced by Sushil Nadkarni. When asked to explain how Nadkarni was added to the squad in favor of Mustafa, Manaf Mohamed replied, “The president [Gladstone Dainty] gave me that instruction.”

USA’s first match of 2012 ICC WCL Division Four will be against Malaysia on September 3. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage from Kuala Lumpur for all of USA’s matches beginning at 10:30 a.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST the previous night in America.

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier Report Card Part II - Player Grades

openingbat — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:47:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Player Grades

Sushil Nadkarni – C: The captain was USA’s leading run getter in the tournament with 187 runs and had a high score of 59 against Oman. He was USA’s top scorer in four games (Uganda, Oman, Kenya, Bermuda). However, his string of three consecutive ducks against Italy, Namibia and Ireland crippled the team’s chances in those games. He got a good ball against Italy, but hooking to deep square leg on his second ball against Namibia was not something you’d expect out of a senior player and neither was the way he ran himself out against Ireland.

As a captain, he was hamstrung because the team didn’t have enough preparation ahead of the tournament to figure out which bowlers would be best suited for certain roles such as bowling at the death. There’s nothing wrong with trying to think outside the box but some of the batting lineups were bizarre. Having Abhimanyu Rajp coming in at number three against Ireland was something straight out of Ripley’s, but one suspects the coaching staff had more to do with that than Nadkarni.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni in action against Kenya. [Courtesy: ICC/Thusith Wijedoru]

Steven Taylor – B-: The youngest player on the team was quiet in the first three games in the tournament, but started to click against Ireland and from then on was one of USA’s best batsmen. He finished second on the team in runs with 179 at a strike rate of 117.76. He had plenty of good starts, but never reached 50. However, his top score of 40 came in USA’s win over Scotland, the biggest upset of the tournament.

He was also involved in USA’s best two partnerships of the tournament, teaming with Aditya Mishra on each occasion to score 78 for the first wicket against Scotland and 64 for the third wicket against Namibia. He used to struggle at junior level with carrying on after making a start but erased those issues at the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland with a pair of centuries. He needs to focus on doing the same thing at the senior level. He also could have probably had a better time with the bat had he not been thrust into the wicketkeeper role by the second match. Taylor played six matches behind the stumps, taking four catches and completing two stumpings during the tournament but unless he shows significant improvement with the gloves he should really be playing as a specialist batsman.

Aditya Mishra – B: The vice-captain led the team in the group stage with 155 runs and finished third overall on the team at the qualifier with 169 runs, including two half-centuries. In the field, he dropped a sharp chance offered by Davis Arinaitwe of Uganda on the first day that had a major impact on the game and sometimes took poor routes to the ball trying to cut off runs, but took three catches overall in the tournament.

In some matches, he looked imperious and brimming with confidence at the crease. In others, he looked tentative and fidgety, which unsurprisingly led to two runouts, not to mention two more he had in the warm-up games ahead of the tournament. There was no middle ground. It usually only took one over to gauge which Mishra was at the crease in a given match.

Image (left) - Aditya Mishra during his match-winning 62 against Scotland. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]

In the matches against Italy, Namibia and Scotland, the first Mishra appeared and carried the team just short of victory on two occasions. On the third, he scored 62 to lead USA to their best win of the tournament. It is worth noting though that he was the beneficiary of drops in the field in all three of those matches, but managed to make the most of the second chances. Nerves mysteriously seemed to get the better of him in the other five games. For that reason he was arguably USA’s most compelling and confounding player on tour.

Orlando Baker – C+: Given more responsibility with the bat than he had under Steve Massiah’s captaincy in July at the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20, Baker contributed a few good knocks against Italy and Namibia before playing a crucial support role to Mishra in the late stage of the chase against Scotland. His best score though was 39 against Bermuda, a disappointing stat considering the starts he got in several games. He finished with 130 runs in nine innings, one of only four USA batsmen to break past 100 at the qualifier.

With the ball, Baker took five wickets at an average of 20, which was the second best average on the team behind Ghous. His bowling was only used in four matches though. His strike rate of 15.6 was the best on the team for any bowler with a minimum of one over per team match. It could have been better had three catches not been dropped off his bowling, but he also dropped two chances and took no catches at the tourney. He has a knack for taking wickets and his bowling could have come in handy in some other games but it appeared Nadkarni wanted to keep him fresh for when it came time to bat.

Nauman Mustafa – F: For several years, Mustafa has been one of the best batsmen on the domestic scene, but he failed when it came time to transition his game to the international stage. Had there been a USACA Twenty20 National Tournament in January as originally scheduled, the North West Region had selected a squad in which they dropped Mustafa yet he was brought into the USACA selection camp that took place in Florida instead of the tournament. While it was felt there wasn’t much difference between the standard of keeping between him and incumbent Akeem Dodson, Mustafa’s batting is held in higher esteem than Dodson’s and that helped Mustafa earn selection as USA’s first-choice wicketkeeper heading into the tour.

This proved to be a major error in judgment by the selectors, especially since Dodson had won the Best Wicketkeeper Award at the 2011 ICC Americas Twenty20 Division One tournament in July. Mustafa was making his debut at 37, not exactly ripe for a wicketkeeper and it showed on the first day against Uganda. With just 123 runs to defend, every run mattered in the field but Mustafa gave away at least 10 behind the stumps through byes and other misfields.

He was promptly dropped for the next game against Italy, then recalled for the Namibia match where he was selected as a specialist batsman at number three and scored 0 off 4 balls driving loosely in the air to cover, the same way he got out against Uganda for 13 off 19 balls coming in at number five. When he was a fielder not behind the stumps, he wasn’t exactly fleet of foot. He scored 6 off 15 at number six playing as a specialist batsman against Ireland, then had another two matches on the bench before wearing the gloves against Scotland. He did an adequate job, taking three catches. Two days later against Bermuda, Mustafa scored 9 not out from 3 deliveries at number seven but had a sloppy performance behind the stumps in the first few overs in the field, an easy reminder as to why Taylor had taken over the gloves for most of the tournament. Mustafa was then dropped again for the final day against Hong Kong.

Before the tour began, USACA Cricket Committee chairman Ahmed Jeddy told DreamCricket.com, “We expect a good result,” when asked what he thought of the team’s chances in the qualifier. “Winning it and qualifying for the World Cup is a good result for us.” If the mindset was to try and win now, then perhaps selecting Mustafa for the tournament was worth a gamble.

Image (right) - Nauman Mustafa, seen here against Scotland, entered the tour as USA's first choice wicketkeeper, but only wore the gloves in three of USA's nine matches at the qualifier. [Courtesy: ICC/Ian Jacobs]

However, halfway through the tournament after the team had lost its first four games in Group B, Jeddy told the Associated Press, “I really don’t care what the results of this tournament will be. I want people to look at this team in two years.” If this team was being selected with the future in mind, to groom players and get them experience to set them up for the next few years, 24-year-old Dodson should have been in the team and not been dropped in favor of Mustafa. Dodson didn’t set the world on fire with the bat playing for USA last July in Florida, but he couldn’t have done much worse than Mustafa did with the bat or gloves in the UAE.

Going back to the ICC Americas tournament in July, Mustafa was selected in the original 14-man squad before the administration intervened to remove him in favor of Nadkarni. The coaching staff in the UAE showed little faith in his wicketkeeping after the first match and he never had a clearly defined role afterward, batting in four different positions in his four innings at the tournament. Those things weren’t his fault. USA’s wicketkeeper position has been poorly handled over the last two years and the indecisiveness over who should be in the role both before and during the tour cost the team badly in the UAE.

Ryan Corns – C-: Corns scored 10 off 12 balls and took 1 for 27 in the field against Uganda before sitting out the next three matches with a groin injury. He had initially been ruled out for the rest of the tournament, but came back to play against Oman and played every match the rest of the way. However, he was clearly not 100%. He only came to the crease three more times after the first game but was a disappointment overall with the bat, scoring 27 runs at an average of 9.00.

Despite his problems with the bat, he showed great promise with the ball, taking four wickets in 13 overs at an average of 25.25 and an economy rate of 7.76. That might not sound special, but Corns was one of the bowlers who suffered through a series of drops, with three catches put down off his bowling including a key chance against Uganda that Taylor misjudged coming in from the long on boundary.

Corns took a step back with the bat in the UAE, but a step forward with the ball. Once he gets the balancing act right, he will be a very handy all-rounder for USA at the senior level just as he was at the Under-19 level.

Adil Bhatti – D: Bhatti scored 34 not out off 11 balls in the final warm-up game against Denmark and also took five wickets in three warm-up games, including 4 for 38 against Namibia. But when the live matches got underway he only bowled five overs and took just one wicket which came in his first over of the first game against Uganda. His 21 in that match was also his top score for the tournament. He added just 54 runs in seven innings after that. Five of his eight innings came at number seven but he struggled in the position, whether he was tasked with trying to give USA a late innings surge or helping rebuild when the team was in trouble.

On most days, his fielding was good, not great, as he typically patrolled either the midwicket or cover boundary. He finished with three catches, but also had three drops although one of them was a tough chance against Namibia where he did well just to get to the ball. Bhatti typically demonstrated a positive attitude in everything he did. His effort never seemed to waver and he consistently tried his best. At this level though, trying isn’t good enough. His number one priority should be to sharpen his batting.

Elmore Hutchinson – C+: Team management seemed confused how best to utilize Hutchinson throughout the tournament. He batted at four different positions (three, six, eight and nine). On the bowling side, he opened, came on at first change, but was also the fifth, sixth and seventh bowling option used depending on the match.

Image (left) - Elmore Hutchinson celebrates the dismissal of Ireland's Paul Stirling, who was the number one scorer at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. [Courtesy: ICC/Barry Chambers]

Despite all the shuffling around, he finished with six wickets, tied for third on the team with Usman Shuja. His best performance came against Ireland when he took 3 for 22, including the wickets of Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson, for the best figures of a USA bowler in any match at the qualifier. He then top scored in the second innings with 29 at number nine. He was also a crucial player in the match against Scotland, taking 1 for 10 in two overs before scoring 19 off 20 balls at number three in USA’s successful chase. Hutchinson was adequate in the field, but did have two drops. He’s still a bit unpolished, but showed signs that he could be a solid contributor in future tournaments both for his bowling and batting.

Asif Khan – D: He was supposed to be USA’s frontline spinner, but only managed to take one wicket in 17 overs during the qualifier. That sole wicket came in his very first over of the event against Uganda. His main problem on tour was trying to find consistency. He only bowled one over against Italy in which two boundaries were hit off him. Against Namibia, he was hit for four boundaries in his first over, but then came back and bowled a maiden in his second spell. Against Ireland he went for 10 runs in his first two overs, then 25 in his next two.

In his last match of the tournament, he took 0 for 24 against Scotland and had Scotland’s top scorer, Jan Stander, dropped off his bowling. After the chance was put down, Khan applauded Muhammad Ghous for putting in a sliding effort. Khan then grinned and shook his head as if to say, “Nothing’s going my way.” He still managed to finish second in economy rate for USA with 7.23 runs per over, but his inability to take wickets resulted in him being dropped for the final two games.

With the bat, Khan topped USA’s averages on tour with 42 runs at 42.00. This came primarily from his 35 not out off 29 balls at number six against Italy when he nearly took the team across the line. He top scored for USA that day, but struggled to get the ball away in the last two overs and the team eventually lost by eight runs. Curiously though, Khan was not one of the nine batsmen used the next day against Namibia at a time when USA could have definitely used him in their chase. He came in at number five against Scotland and was in the middle when the winning runs were scored. Overall, it was a disappointing tour for Khan, but hopefully he will bounce back for USA at ICC WCL Division Four.

Abhimanyu Rajp – B+: Rajp entered the tour behind Khan and Ghous in the spin bowling pecking order and sat on the bench for day one against Uganda. After a reshuffle for day two against Italy, he made his debut and took a wicket on his very first delivery, setting the tone for the rest of his time in the tournament. While he never had a big haul, Rajp was USA’s most consistent performer with the ball and finished tied for the team lead with 10 wickets at an average of 21.90.

Image (right) - Abhimanyu Rajp bowling against Scotland. Rajp tied for the team lead with 10 wickets at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. [Courtesy: ICC/Ian Jacobs]

His fielding was usually sharp. He took six catches, the most of any player on the team at the tournament including wicketkeepers. Three of them were off his own bowling. Rajp was also decent with the bat. His 59 runs were the seventh most on the team and came at an average of 11.80. He nearly pulled off a stunning win against Italy after hitting a four and six off the first two balls of the final over before USA fell short by eight runs.

The only noticeable drawback in his game was a tendency to try to buy wickets. He averaged 1.00 boundary or six conceded per over, the highest rate on the team for bowlers with a minimum of nine overs (one over per team game) at the qualifier compared to 2.31 dot balls per over, which was fifth on the team for bowlers with a minimum of nine overs. These are minor adjustments he can make but he should be an even bigger contributor for USA in 50-over cricket when ICC WCL Division Four comes around.

Usman Shuja – C+: Stood out as being USA’s fittest player on tour, Shuja has perhaps the most professional approach to the game of any player on the team and as a result is also one of the most durable players USA has had for the last several years. He was one of only four players on the team to play all nine matches at the qualifier, which is even more remarkable because he’s an opening pace bowler.

He was wicketless in the first three games, but started to hit his stride against Ireland, taking 1 for 16 in three overs. He was named Man of the Match for his spell of 4-1-9-1 against Oman, even though Nadkarni scored a half-century in the first innings. His best figures came against Scotland, with 3 for 39 in the team’s upset win although it could have been 4 for 35 if not for a drop on the last ball of the innings. Shuja also had another chance put down off his bowling on the last day against Hong Kong.

Image (left) - Usman Shuja in his delivery stride vs. Ireland. [Courtesy: ICC/Barry Chambers]

Overall he took six wickets, tied with Hutchinson for third on the team but his average of 33.16 and strike rate of 27.30 were ahead of only Bhatti and Khan. He bowled two of USA’s four maidens and his 2.78 dot balls per over was the best rate of any bowler for USA at the qualifier, but he also conceded 0.99 boundaries or sixes per over, the second highest rate behind Rajp for bowlers with a minimum of one over per team game.

Shuja should have been batting at number eight and definitely not lower than nine. After scoring 8 not out and 8 in the first two matches coming in at nine and eight, Shuja was hardly seen again on the batting side until he scored 14 at number nine on the final day against Hong Kong. He was underutilized in this regard, but the coaching staff was keen to try out different combinations. Shuja will continue to be a key player in the next few years as USA rebuilds in an attempt to climb back up the Associate ladder.

Muhammad Ghous – B+: After two subpar tournaments in 2011, Ghous bounced back in a big way in the UAE and was arguably USA’s standout bowler on tour. He tied for the team lead in wickets with 10 and had USA’s best economy rate of 6.00 runs per over. He bowled the most dot balls at the tournament for USA with 83 and had the second most dot balls per over for bowlers with a minimum of one over per team game with 2.59 behind Shuja’s 2.78. He also had the team’s lowest rate of boundaries or sixes allowed per over with 0.63, well below just about everyone else, a sign that he bowled very few loose deliveries and that teams struggled to get him away all tournament.

Ghous’ fielding was hit or miss. He was given more opportunities to field inside the circle on this tour especially after Corns was injured in the first game. When he was at point, Ghous was very active and did well to save runs by diving and throwing his body around. He was even involved in a run out while fielding at point in the Scotland game. Curiously though, he doesn’t always show the same desperation to save runs while fielding on the boundary. He looks particularly disinterested when fielding at third man or long leg on the boundary and in general is slow to react to the ball off the bat when fielding anywhere along the rope. That seems to be the only flaw in his game, but one that can be corrected with better habits developed at club level.

Japen Patel – Incomplete: Patel joined the tour as an injury replacement for Gowkaran Roopnarine and wound up playing four games. He took 3 for 29 against Oman, the worst batting side at the tournament and the only team to go winless in the group stage. He was rocked for 19 runs in his only over against Kenya and 17 runs in his only over against Hong Kong, a more accurate reflection of his bowling abilities. He bowled 36 legal deliveries in the tournament and 33% of them were hit to or over the boundary.

He also looked out of his depth on the batting side, scoring 11 runs in three innings. He had two drops in the field against one catch. If he is going to make it in the side in the future, it has to be with his batting but he needs a ton of work to improve.

Andy Mohammed – Incomplete: Was the reserve batsman on tour. Despite early injuries to Corns and Roopnarine, Mohammed wound up playing only two games at the qualifier. He scored 18 not out off 18 balls at number six against Namibia. He entered in the 15th over at a time when the team needed at least one boundary per over to stay in the chase, but Mohammed struggled badly to get underneath the ball or get in a position at the crease to try to clear the ropes and that seemed to doom his chances of selection for the rest of the qualifier.

His only other game was against Kenya, where he came in at number three and again struggled against their pace attack, scratching together 3 off 12 balls before getting out. He also had a drop in the field later in that game. Mohammed’s frustrations probably grew when Patel, who was not in the original squad, played ahead of him in the games against Oman, Scotland and Hong Kong. It meant that USA was playing three all-rounders (Baker, Bhatti, Patel), two of which were barely used for their bowling. However, based on his two performances, Mohammed is another who needs to work very hard to improve his batting.

Gowkaran Roopnarine – Incomplete: Juicy was edged out in the starting XI for the opening match by Steven Taylor. When he got his first chance in the game against Italy, he promptly injured a hamstring in the third over fielding on the boundary at third man. He scored 2 off five balls coming in at number nine later in the loss before being declared out of the tournament and replaced by Patel. It was an unfortunate experience for a player who worked hard in the last year to get back into the team.

Coming up in Part III - Looking ahead to ICC WCL Division Four

Click here to read Part I - Team Grades

USA Cricket: van Schoor the difference in 17-run loss to Namibia at 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

openingbat — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:20:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Dubai (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Namibia opener Raymond van Schoor carried his bat to finish 79 not out off 55 balls with 11 boundaries to be named Man of the Match as USA lost to Namibia by 17 runs on Thursday at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai. Van Schoor, in tandem with Namibia captain Sarel Burger, crucially boosted the Namibians from 135 for 4 in 17 overs to 177 for 4 by the end of the innings, which was too much for USA to chase in the end. Namibia stays undefeated and at the top of Group B at 3-0 while USA remains winless at 0-3.

“We had the game under control until the 17th over. Namibia played really well in the last three. That probably had a big impact on the overall game situation,” said USA captain Sushil Nadkarni after the loss. “I feel like we need to develop bowling at the death and that will come with experience. Right now a lot of the bowlers, this format is a little new to them but they’re bowling extremely well. So we’re competing against some of the better teams and playing really well in the field. When you get to the death, teams are going after you and a lot of times you need experience to know what to do and not react to the pressure.”

USA made two changes from the XI against Italy, bringing Nauman Mustafa back into the lineup for the injured Gowkaran Roopnarine, who has been ruled out of the tournament along with Ryan Corns with each player suffering leg injuries. Curiously, Mustafa played in the field and Steven Taylor kept wicket for USA, even though Mustafa was selected to be on tour as the first choice gloveman. Andy Mohammed was also brought in to replace Elmore Hutchinson as USA looked to strengthen their batting against a Namibia team that had posted 192 on Wednesday against Scotland.

Namibia won the toss and elected to bat first on the smallest ground in the tournament, the ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval number two. Considering the score Namibia made against Scotland on a larger outfield in Abu Dhabi, USA’s effort in the field was commendable.

Gerrie Snyman opened the batting with van Schoor and the two put on 49 for the first wicket in just 5.1 overs. The biggest damage was doled in out in the fifth over bowled by Asif Khan who repeatedly strayed on the legs of the Namibia batsman to be swept through the on side for four boundaries.

Snyman was bowled for 29 by Abhimanyu Rajp to start the sixth when an attempted slog through midwicket failed to connect. USA got a big boost when Orlando Baker had Louis van der Westhuizen mistime a drive to Adil Bhatti at mid off and the tournament’s only centurion and overall scoring leader was gone for 4 to make it 70 for 2 in the ninth.

Craig Williams joined van Schoor and should have been out for 12 and the score 83 for 2 in the 11th when he lofted a full delivery from Baker toward Bhatti on the boundary again. Bhatti covered 25 yards running to his right and made a great effort to get two hands to it but couldn’t hang on. Williams spanked the next ball for six to rub it in and eventually made 41 in a 56-run partnership with van Schoor. He fell in the 16th over trying to cross bat a short ball from Rajp and top edged it to Khan at short third man who took a splendid one-handed catch.

USA struck again eight balls later to make it 133 for 4 with one ball to go in the 17th when Nicholaas Scholtz was bowled by Baker for 2. It looked like USA could contain Namibia for under 160, but van Schoor turned it on after reaching 50 on the first ball of the 17th. In his final 11 balls, van Schoor scored 29 runs including five boundaries. Sarel Burger scored off every ball he faced at the other end and 15 minutes later USA was staring at a daunting target of 178.

It didn’t get much better for USA when Nadkarni was out second ball hooking Snyman to deep square leg. Mustafa lasted just four balls coming in at number three before driving loosely to Burger at cover, giving Hendrick Geldenhuys his first wicket as USA stumbled out of the gate with the score 3 for 2 nine balls into the chase.

Aditya Mishra came in and along with Steven Taylor constructed USA’s best partnership of the tournament, 64 runs for the third wicket. Taylor mostly stayed in his shell though, hitting one four in his 21 of 24 balls before he was caught on the cover boundary by van der Westhuizen off the bowling of Louis Klazinga.

Baker came in and after initially struggling to time the ball started to catch up to the pace established by Mishra. The vice-captain was feasting on anything short in his innings, hooking three sixes – one each in the third, fourth and fifth overs – and finished with two fours and five sixes total. Mishra was dropped in the sixth over on 21 at mid on and proceeded to cash in for another 32 runs, finishing with his highest score in a USA uniform and USA’s highest score of the tournament, 53 in 34 balls.

USA entered the 15th over needing 61 in six overs with Baker on 29 and Mishra on 53. Christi Viljoen came on for the first time in the match and immediately struck, getting Mishra with a yorker to make it 117 for 4 and from there USA’s chase tapered off.

After scoring 35 not out off 29 balls coming in at number six against Italy on Wednesday, Khan never came in to bat for USA on Thursday. Instead, Mohammed entered in a pressure situation that required boundaries, but the young batsman struggled to time the ball and only managed one four. Baker sensed he needed to be the one to clear the ropes but couldn’t time a lofted cover drive well enough off Viljoen in the 17th and Burger backpedaled to take a tumbling catch to remove Baker for 38 as USA slipped to 132 for 5. With the equation now 46 required off 21 balls and two fresh batsmen at the crease, Namibia stayed on top and never let up.

Bhatti came in and scored 4 off 7 before he was stumped two balls into the final over. Two balls later, Rajp was run out by the wicketkeeper Steenkamp trying to scamper a run and USA finished 160 for 7 in 20. Namibia’s performance in the field was sloppy with 24 extras conceded, but it didn’t matter in the end.

USA will play Ireland on Friday at the ICC GCA #2 ground in Dubai. Ireland is 2-1 after a two-wicket win over Italy on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. The match will be webcast live on www.quipu.tv. DreamCricket will continue to provide live ball-by-ball updates during the match as well with live coverage beginning at 5:45 a.m. EST. DreamCricket.com’s tournament coverage is made possible in part by the New Inning Foundation.

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USA Cricket Association announces 14-man squad for 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

openingbat — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:58:00 GMT

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USACA Media Release

The United States of America Cricket Association announced 14 players squad for the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2012 to be held in UAE in March 2012.

The Squad:

Abhimanyu Rajp
Adil Bhatti
Aditya Mishra – Vice Captain
Asif Khan
Azurdeen Mohammed
Elmore Hutchinson
Gowkaran Roopnarine
Khawaja Shuja
Mohammad Ghous
Nauman Mustafa
Orlando Baker
Ryan Corns
Steven Taylor
Sushil Nadkarni – Captain

The following players are in reserve: Japen Patel, Naseer Jamali, Akeem Dodson and Timothy Saurajbali [sic].

Mr. Mark Johnson has been selected as coach, Mr. Asif Mujtaba as assistant coach, Mr. Naser Javed Charlie as Bowling Coach, Mr. Robin Singh as technical advisor, Mr. Akhtar Syed as physical therapist and Mr. Shoaib Ahmed as Manager.

I would like to thank Mr. Selwyn Caesar, Chief of Selection Committee and all selectors for doing a wonderful job in selecting the squad; it’s an excellent blend of experience, leadership, talent and youth, said Ahmed Jeddy, Chairman, USACA Cricket Committee.

USACA Cricket Committee

USA Cricket: Players give high praise to cricket committee for well-run selection camp

openingbat — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:42:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

USACA’s newly appointed Cricket Committee, chaired by Central West regional representative Ahmed Jeddy, has received positive reviews from players after this past weekend’s men’s selection camp in Fort Lauderdale. The 28-player camp, which was led by Jeddy, was used to select a preliminary 18-man squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE from March 13-24.

According to multiple sources at the camp who requested to remain anonymous, players were extremely satisfied with the way the weekend was organized. For each day of the three-day camp, players were brought from their hotel to the Central Broward Regional Park for an 8 a.m. start inside the cricket stadium at the Lauderhill complex.

On the first day, players went through a fitness test which focused on speed, agility and endurance and lasted approximately four hours. After a break for lunch, four of the national selectors – chairman Selwyn Caesar, Kuldeep Patel, Dawood Ahmed and Barney Jones – separated the players into two sides for a 20-over trial match. Day two included two more trial matches inside the stadium followed by a final trial match on artificial turf outside the stadium on the last day.

According to one player, it was the best run camp since December 2009 when coaches Hamish Barton and Dipak Patel arrived from New Zealand for a weekend of training ahead of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup.

“Well, first of all as a board member of USACA, I’ve never attended the previous camps, but all we used to hear through the media was that this went wrong and that went wrong,” said Jeddy. “This time around we wanted to make sure everyone was in sync. We had a program that every player received about 10 days before the camp. Every day we had a bus at the hotel. The players were taken to the ground at 8 a.m. sharp. We made sure lunch was served on time. We made sure we had ample fluids for the players.”

Speaking after the camp, many players felt that this was the first camp in which an overall fitness examination was taken seriously as a tool for selection purposes. At the camp in December 2009, Akeem Dodson and Ryan Corns were the only two players who passed a mile and a half run within the allotted time required to pass the test. Neither player was selected to go on tour with the senior team the following February.

This time around, players had to complete five laps around the stadium within a specified time in the initial phase of the test. Sources indicated that Naseer Jamali turned in the fastest time of anyone at the camp. Jamali was included in the preliminary 18-man squad for the tour to the UAE. Jeddy says that things like this are a sign that the new Cricket Committee is determined to employ a new philosophy when it comes to team selection. Everyone must earn their way into the squad and will not be handed a spot on reputation alone.

“Experience doesn’t really matter if you do not have the body and legs to support it,” said Jeddy. “When you add enthusiasm, energy, passion that this team has, we might not have experience but we are not going to be outrun by every Tom, *** and Harry. In essence I think this team has a lot. Yes, this team is short on experience, but we have players with experience to make up for some of the nervousness or inexperience that might be there with some of the younger players.”

In the past, USA’s teams at many tournaments have struggled badly with their fitness, particularly when playing a second match on back to back days, which is how most ICC tournaments for Associate level teams are scheduled. Several players at the camp believe that with a younger, fitter and hungrier squad, there will be much less of a chance of that happening and are genuinely excited about the talent that has been assembled by the selectors. Jeddy hopes that the way this team was organized will be the way forward for USA’s squads at all levels.

“Our biggest problem has been our fitness and that goes to the fact that we as USACA did not do what it should have done. We wanted to make that correction,” said Jeddy. “The previous teams did not do that. There was a lack of fitness, lack of commitment. The management was not as committed as probably this one. Those guys brought a lot of good results for us. Those guys also brought a lot of bad results for us.”

“Unfortunately lack of planning, lack of management skills has probably cost us a lot. We have started now on a positive note. We expect a good result.” When asked how he would define a good result for the USA squad at the qualifier, Jeddy responded, “Winning it and qualifying for the World Cup is a good result for us.” Players received instruction at the camp from head coach Mark Johnson, assistant coach Asif Mujtaba and Nasir “Charlie” Javed, who reportedly served as a bowling coach at the camp.

“I would personally like to thank every player who gave their weekend to be a part of this camp, all the selectors and coaches, [General Manager] Manaf [Mohamed], the Broward County Stadium and officials,” said Jeddy. “I want to thank all of these people and appreciate what they’ve done.”

While Sushil Nadkarni was named captain at the conclusion of the camp, several players were given opportunities throughout the trial matches to serve as a captain or vice-captain for the split-squad games. According to sources, those players included Usman Shuja, Orlando Baker, Aditya Mishra, Gowkaran Roopnarine and Corns. The fact that Corns was given a chance to be in a leadership position is a sign of how serious the new selectors are in providing younger players a chance to be major contributors.

In terms of the 18 that have been selected into the preliminary squad, there are many young faces like Jamali who made an impact on their fellow players and selectors over the course of the weekend. Sources at the camp were unanimous in their praise of Andy Mohammed and Elmore Hutchinson. The 21-year-old Mohammed consistently produced impressive batting displays during the trial matches to earn a spot in the 18 and in all likelihood will make the cut for the final 14 as well.

Image (right) - Andy Mohammed at the 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

Hutchinson also seems a shoe-in for the final 14. The tall left-arm seamer, who plays his cricket at Woodley Park and around the Los Angeles area in the SCCA, was equally impressive. According to one source, Hutchinson and Shuja were in a class by themselves in the fast bowling department at the camp.

As for the spinners, Asif Khan received excellent reviews for his efforts on the weekend. The 32-year-old left-arm spinner won plaudits not just for his bowling, but also for his batting and fielding. Off-spinners Muhammad Ghous and Abhimanyu Rajp could present an interesting decision for the selectors. Ghous solidified his reputation as an economical off-spinner. Rajp is more expensive but also a bigger wicket-taking threat.

One player whose stock appeared to rise significantly during the weekend was Adil Bhatti. While he doesn’t possess intimidating pace with the ball, Bhatti is clever in the way he mixes deliveries to keep batsmen off balance. In last year’s USACA Twenty20 Nationals, Bhatti had several solid performances with the bat coming in at number three behind Mishra and Roopnarine for the champion Atlantic Region team. The 27-year-old is considered an all-round option by the selectors and appears to be battling with Japen Patel for a place in the final 14. However, several sources said that the two players impressed everyone so much with their batting, bowling, fielding and fitness on the weekend that there is a chance both may squeeze into the squad.

Sources at the camp were also very impressed with Timothy Surujbally. The 27-year-old has been a part of the South East Region squad on multiple occasions but has struggled to turn in big scores at national tournaments. However, many observers came away with a strong opinion of Surujbally after last weekend and feel he can contribute with the bat if given the opportunity.

Corns and Steven Taylor are another pair of youngsters who showed encouraging signs over the three days. As usual, Taylor caught everyone’s attention for his powerful striking ability. While Corns has always been rated very highly for his batting, his mental strength was a highlight of the camp. Sources indicated that Corns endured a rough outing in the first trial match on the Friday, but came back to light up the scoreboard during the pair of trial games on the Saturday.

The final 14-man roster must be submitted to the ICC by the second weekend in February and Jeddy hopes that USACA will be able to organize one more camp for the players before decisions have to be made. The squad is tentatively scheduled to depart for Dubai on March 6 and will have a week to acclimatize to conditions.

USA Cricket: Five changes made to selection camp list, U-17 & Women's Tourneys in doubt

openingbat — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:41:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

USACA’s list of players invited to a men’s selection camp from January 19-22 in Fort Lauderdale has changed shape again over the weekend with two new players added to the list while three others have been removed. As it stands now, 28 players will be participating in a camp to select a squad of 14 players to go to the UAE for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier from March 13-24.

The updated list on the USACA web site includes Andy Mohammed and Charan Singh, who both represented USA in August in a series of Twenty20 matches at the Etihad Summer Cricket Festival in Toronto. The three names trimmed from the list were Salman Ahmad, Ravi Timbawala and Carl Wright.

“Ravi and Salman wouldn’t be able to go to Dubai because of college classes,” said USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed when contacted by phone on Sunday morning. “They wouldn’t be able to get the time off in March to come.”

As for Wright, Mohamed said that USACA wasn’t able to get into contact with him despite announcing that he had been invited to the camp. As a result, USACA is not arranging for him to come to the camp. “We haven’t been able to communicate with him,” said Mohamed. “We don’t know where he is.”

In other news, a decision regarding the hosting sites for the USACA U-17 Tournament and USACA Women’s Tournament was expected to be taken during a meeting of the USACA Cricket Committee on Monday, January 9. However, Mohamed said that he was still awaiting confirmation regarding both the dates and sites of each tournament. He would not confirm whether either tournament would be held as originally scheduled.

On December 9, USACA published its events calendar for 2012, but already the USACA Twenty20 Nationals which were slated for next weekend have been postponed. The probability of the U-17 and Women’s Tournaments happening on their originally scheduled dates is increasingly doubtful. The USACA U-17 Tournament is currently scheduled for February 17-20 while the Women’s Tournament is scheduled for March 9-11.

List of players (as of January 15) receiving invites to USACA selection camp January 19-22 in Florida

Quasen Alfred (New York), Imran Awan (Atlantic), Orlando Baker (Central West), Adil Bhatti (Atlantic), Ryan Corns (Central West), Akeem Dodson (New York), Bhim George (South East), Muhammad Ghous (Atlantic), Adrian Gordon (New York), Elmore Hutchinson (South West), Naseer Jamali (North West), Asif Khan (Central East), Ashhar Mehdi (Central East), Aditya Mishra (North West), Andy Mohammed (New York), Nauman Mustafa (North West), Sushil Nadkarni (Central West), Japen Patel (South East), Mital Patel (Atlantic), Abhimanyu Rajp (South West), Gowkaran Roopnarine (Atlantic), Saqib Saleem (North West), Samarth Shah (North West), Hammad Shahid (South West), Usman Shuja (Central West), Charan Singh (Atlantic), Timothy Surujbally (South East) Steven Taylor (South East)

List of players by Region

Atlantic: Imran Awan, Adil Bhatti, Muhammad Ghous, Mital Patel, Gowkaran Roopnarine (wk), Charan Singh

Central East: Asif Khan, Ashhar Mehdi (wk)

Central West: Orlando Baker, Ryan Corns, Sushil Nadkarni, Usman Shuja

New York: Quasen Alfred, Akeem Dodson (wk), Adrian Gordon, Andy Mohammed

North East: None

North West: Naseer Jamali, Aditya Mishra, Nauman Mustafa (wk), Saqib Saleem, Samarth Shah

South East: Bhim George, Japen Patel, Timothy Surujbally, Steven Taylor (wk)

South West: Elmore Hutchinson, Abhimanyu Rajp, Hammad Shahid

USA Cricket: Canada retains K.A. Auty Cup with 34-run victory over USA

openingbat — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:02:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

First innings scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation
Second innings scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Canada captain Jimmy Hansra’s all-round efforts were the difference for Canada on Tuesday as his side defeated USA by 34 runs to retain the K.A. Auty Cup at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club in Toronto to end the 2011 Etihad Summer Cricket Festival. Hansra scored 100 in 89 balls before taking 3 for 39 to help bowl USA out for 270 as they failed to chase a stiff target of 305.

Having entered the day with a 73-run first innings deficit, USA made solid inroads by getting Canada opener Khushroo Wadia out for 1, caught behind off the bowling of George Adams, before fellow medium pacer Anand Tummala dismissed Usman Limbada for 8 and Nitish Kumar for 0 to leave Canada at 39 for 3.

USA was unable to sustain the pressure though as Hiral Patel forged his second half-century of the match, scoring 80 and building an 87-run partnership with Hansra to regain control for Canada. Patel was removed by Muhammad Ghous, who took the wicket of Rizwan Cheema a short time later for 21 to make it 161 for 5. Hansra went on to build another half-century stand, this time with Rustam Bhatti as the two put on 70 for the sixth wicket. Hansra brought up his century in 88 balls with seven fours and six sixes before being dismissed by Adams one ball later after which Canada declared at 231 for 6 in 40 overs with a lead of 304.

USA made an aggressive start to the chase with opening batsmen Quasen Alfred and Andy Mohammed scoring 38 off 28 balls and 33 off 27 respectively. Amir Nanjee could only add 3 before being dismissed by Patel’s off-spin as USA went from a position of 68 for 0 to 84 for 3.

Hansra dented USA’s hopes further when he dismissed Bhim George and Akeem Dodson off back-to-back deliveries to make it 131 for 5 and Charan Singh also fell for a duck to Junaid Siddiqui to make it 131 for 6. Tummala fought back with Jignesh Desai to put on 81 runs for the seventh wicket, but Tummala finally fell for 63 to Siddiqui and Hussain Haider fell one run later to Hansra to make it 213 for 8.

Desai added 48 runs with Ghous for the ninth wicket but there was too much work left to do in the end. Desai eventually got out for 62 and Ghous was last man out nine runs later for 39 as USA finished all out for 270 in the 40th over. In addition to the three wickets taken by Hansra’s off-spin, leg-spinner Siddiqui took 3 for 71 and left-arm spinner Parth Desai 3 for 72 to thwart USA’s batsmen.

USA Cricket: Tariq spanks USA bowling attack in 72-run win for Canada

openingbat — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:37:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Canada wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq scored 61 not out in 27 balls as the host side posted a resounding 72-run win over USA on Thursday afternoon at Maple Leaf CC in King City, Ontario. Tariq was named Man of the Match for his bruising knock which included three boundaries and six sixes.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first as USA took wickets at regular intervals in the early going. Medium pacer Anand Tummala struck twice on debut, getting opening batsman Ruvindu Gunasekera out for 9 and Canada captain Jimmy Hansra out for 1. Sandwiched between those two dismissals was the run out of Tyson Gordon for nought and Canada was 21 for 3 in the fourth over.

Hiral Patel was joined by the big hitting Rizwan Cheema, who clubbed two sixes off Hussain Haidar’s only over. Cheema’s fiery stay was short lived though as left-arm spinner Samarth Shah had him caught for 20 to make it 60 for 4. Shah also dislodged Patel from the crease for 39 and after 12 overs, Canada was 76 for 5.

However, the tail didn’t make an appearance on the day because Tariq and Usman Limbada, two members of Canada’s 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup squad, weathered the storm before launching a vicious assault on Muhammad Ghous, Jignesh Desai and Japen Patel in the final three overs of the innings. Tariq and Limbada managed just 22 runs in the first five overs of their partnership, but hit 13 in the 18th bowled by Ghous and another 15 in the 19th bowled by Desai to bring up the 50 partnership. Not satisfied to stop there, they blitzed Patel for 32 runs in the 20th to boost Canada’s total to 158 for 5. Tariq started the 18th over on 17, but in his final 12 deliveries he more than tripled his score to finish on 61 not out.

Despite getting rocked in the final over, Patel’s figures were not the worst on the day for USA. That distinction belonged to Muhammad Ghous as the youngster continues to drift in the wrong direction. Ghous returned no wickets for 39 runs in four overs.

USA’s chase never got any momentum as Akeem Dodson continuously flailed and missed at Canada’s opening pacers. Japen Patel opened with him but only lasted five balls before getting out for 3 to Khurram Chohan. Quasen Alfred was the next to go, caught by Limbada off Harvir Baidwan for 1. Dodson’s long stay at the crease produced only 22 runs before Cheema got rid of him to make the score 32 for 3 in nine overs. Stuart Mills was out for a duck on debut for USA two overs later as Cheema took his second.

Parth Desai chipped in with two wickets in the middle overs as Tummala gave him a return catch for a second-ball duck before he pinned George Adams LBW two overs later for 2 to make it 45 for 6 in 14. Jignesh Desai arrived in the fourth over at number four for USA and knocked the ball around to top score in the innings with 34 off 48 deliveries, but never threatened to bring USA back into the match. He was finally dismissed in the 19th over by Chohan to make it 73 for 3. Andy Mohammed came in at number eight and scored 21 not out in 15 balls with three boundaries to push USA up to 86 for 7 in their 20 overs.

USA plays Trinidad & Tobago at 3 p.m. EST on Friday in the second day of the Etihad Summer Cricket Festival. T & T lost to Afghanistan by 35 runs in the early match on Thursday. All matches during the tournament are being webcast for free at www.sorkkam.com/live.

USA Cricket: Depleted 14-man squad named for Canada tour

openingbat — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:53:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

The USA Cricket Association has announced the 14 players who will be leaving on Wednesday for Toronto to play in three Twenty20 matches beginning on August 11 against Afghanistan, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago as well as a two-day match against Canada. Notable omissions from the squad are Steve Massiah, Sushil Nadkarni, Orlando Baker, Usman Shuja, Aditya Mishra and Gowkaran Roopnarine. It’s believed that the majority of these players were not available because they were unable to get time off work due to the fact USA’s involvement in the series was confirmed only seven days before the first match.

Anand Tummala, Amir Nanjee, Charan Singh, George Adams, Stuart Mills and Hussain Haidar will all be making their debuts for USA. Jignesh Desai, who last played for USA at the 2006 ICC Americas Division One in Canada, has been recalled at the age of 37 and named captain of the squad while Andy Mohammed gets his second opportunity at the senior level after debuting against Jamaica last year.

From the team that finished second at the ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament last month in Florida, Bhim George has been kept in the squad and named vice-captain while Muhammad Ghous, Japen Patel, Quasen Alfred, Samarth Shah, Akeem Dodson have also retained their spots.

No players were selected from either the South West or the Central East Region as Ravi Timbawala and Abhimanyu Rajp continue to be ignored. Nauman Mustafa, who was controversially removed from the T20 squad for Florida, was called but could not get out of work on short notice.

USA Squad: Jignesh Desai (captain, Central West), Bhim George (vice-captain, South East), George Adams (New York), Quasen Alfred (New York), Akeem Dodson (New York), Muhammad Ghous (Atlantic), Hussain Haidar (South East), Stuart Mills (Atlantic), Andy Mohammed (New York), Amir Nanjee (Central West), Japen Patel (South East), Samarth Shah (North West), Charan Singh (Atlantic), Anand Tummala (South East).

Head Coach: Howard Johnson
Manager: Arun Vittala
Physio: Akhtar Masood Syed

Radiant Info T20 Cricket 2010: Bedessee NY Destroyers gear up for another victorious campaign!

openingbat — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:49:00 GMT

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Radiant Info T20 Cricket 2010: Bedessee NY Destroyers gear up for another victorious campaign!

Bedessee NY Destroyers, the 2009 Radiant Info T20 champions, are strongly favored to make the finals this year as well. Their seeding is not just because of their strong line-up! This outfit is a reminder that regardless of individual talent, cricket is really a team sport.

Last year, the team ratcheted up the intensity with each match. Their support structure was top-notch ensuring that the team worked like a well-oiled machine. Their manager even delivered home-cooked food at the hotel after the matches last year. If those are not reasons enough, here are more reasons why this team is the one to beat.

Firstly, Barrington Bartley (pictured right) is a captain's captain - someone that truly leads from the front. Last year, he topped the tournament Impact Index with 6.1 impact rating. The Impact Index is a DreamCricket.com innovation that provides context to the cricketing performance - the state of the match and the series, the strength of the opposition and pitch conditions.

Secondly, there is just one word to describe the Destroyers fielding - magical! And in that context, there is a person who must be named - Akeem Dodson. Take a bow!

And thirdly, there's the team:

Barrington Bartley (29) - Barrington has pedigree. As a youngster, the middle-order batsman played alongside Chris Gayle as part of the Jamaica U19 squad, and beginning 2005, he has been in and out of the USA senior team. In 2009, he was one of eight NY cricketers who were on the list of probables for 2010. A part-time left slow orthodox bowler, Barrington took an incredible 3 wickets for 6 runs in 3 overs in last year's Radiant Info T20, which sealed the fate of his opponents.

Rashard "Rocky" Marshall (27) - Explosive is the one word that describes this USA batsman best. Jamaican born Rocky first raised eyebrows in 2006 when he scored an undefeated 90 to bring the United States very close to defeating West Indies XI captained by Brian Lara. The team eventually fell short by 6 runs. His 90 runs came off just 56 balls and included seven fours and two sixes. One Wavell Hinds' over went for 16 runs!

Since that eventful match, Rocky (picture at right) has continued to torment bowlers in the various ICC Trophies.

Fijians still have nightmares of his innings of 61 from 28 balls that included 8 fours and 4 sixes! This month, Rocky celebrated a personal milestone - a maiden century in an ICC championship - that too in a crucial match against Argentina. His 122 came of 84 deliveries and featured 11 fours and 6 sixes and sent Argentina packing to Division V.

Akeem Dodson (22) - Akeem Dodson is one of a rare species - he is US-born. Akeem is also one of the few members of the 2006 ICC U-19 World Cup team that made a transition to the senior team when he was chosen to play as part of the USA team in the WICB Cup in November of 2008. Akeem scored 31 not out against Trinidad and Tobago and featured in three important partnerships in that match. Of course, it was a brief cameo. Mysteriously, he was left out of the probables list for 2010 but in domestic competition, Akeem has continued to shine as a batsman and as a fielder. In last year's Radiant Info T20, Akeem played a key role in NY's progress to semis hitting 45 from 56 balls. He was also the tournament's best fielder and wicketkeeper.

Azurdeen "Andy" Mohammed (19) - To the casual observer, Trindiad born Andy Mohammed gives off the appearance that life is easy. In Peter Della Penna's words, "For Mohammed, overcoming hardship is old hat." An injury at the Pearls Cup cost him his spot on the team that went to the ICC Americas tournament and forced him to take a short break from cricket.

But by June 15, in only his second competitive game since returning from the injury, Mohammed notched an unbeaten 109 in the NYPD Cricket Twenty20 Cup.

Andy was selected for the USA U-19 squad last year after two half-centuries and 157 runs in three innings for North East at the domestic U-19 tournament. In his first match for USA U-19, Andy scored 60 opening the match before taking 3 for 15 bowling left-arm orthodox spin. At the Global Qualifier, he grinded out 90 runs from the top of the order in his team’s loss to Afghanistan. And in New Zealand, at the U-19 World Cup came his most impressive performance scoring 70 runs in a defeat to Australia, but giving USA some respectability after it was reduced to 28 for 7!

Andrew "Kristoff" Gonsalves (32) - Former West Indies B and Guyana opening batsman Andrew Gonsalves is no stranger to fans of New York cricket. Playing for Global Challengers, he was the best batsman at last year's Radiant Info T20 with 174 runs in his 4 innings including a highest of 87 in the semi-finals with 5 fours and 3 sixes. This year, he is part of the NY Destroyers and hopes to repeat the magic.

The other players on the New York Destroyers include USA cricketer Kevin Darlington and U-19 cricketer Kavishwar Bridgepaul. The full team will be announced along with all the rosters next week.

[Bio of Andy Mohammed courtesy of Peter Della Penna. Pictures courtesy of USACA/ICC/NewYorkCricket.com]

Dandy Andy Mohammed continues to shine in the face of adversity

openingbat — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:10:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

On May 23, four days before the USA squad was set to depart for their tour of Bermuda for the ICC Americas Division One Tournament, the youngest member of the designated touring party had his trip ended before it even started. While fielding at long on, 19-year-old Andy Mohammed took a full length dive trying to pull off a spectacular catch and save a boundary in the final Twenty20 match of The Pearls Cup against Jamaica. He accomplished neither and in the process split the webbing between his middle and ring fingers. It wasn’t long before the tears came streaming down his face, not from the pain, but from the realization that the necessary five stitches to close the wound would cause him to miss going to Bermuda to play with USA.

On June 15, in only his second competitive game since returning from the injury, Mohammed notched an unbeaten 109 for his SuperStars team against Royal Stars in the NYPD Cricket Twenty20 Cup. For Mohammed, overcoming hardship is old hat.

Picture (Right): Azurdeen Mohammed [Courtesy: Azurdeen Mohammed]

To the casual observer, Mohammed gives off the appearance that life is easy. It’s hard to catch the young man doing anything other than smiling and cracking jokes at every opportunity. This is even more remarkable when you discover the path he has taken to make it into the USA national team.

“My heart goes out to my sister whenever we talk about their situation,” said Ajaz Asgarally, Mohammed’s uncle, as he reflected on how his nephew had managed to make it to New Zealand with the USA U-19 World Cup squad in January. Almost nineteen years before, Fazie Khan took her five-month old baby boy Azurdeen, Andy’s birth name, along with her other son Fazurdeen and daughter Sadia away from Trinidad to Guyana. Her husband Saieed had gotten mixed up in drugs and alcohol and she made the decision that this was not the environment to be raising her children.

“He was in the wrong crowd of people so he went in the wrong direction,” said Khan about Saieed, whom Andy has never met. “The situation was very bad. In our family, back home in Guyana, we never grew up in that kind of environment around alcohol. I wanted to get away from that because of the kids. I wanted them to grow up in a decent family.” Instead of being surrounded by vices as his father had, Andy has been consumed with cricket for as long as his mother can remember.

“When Andy was growing up, since he could walk, he was always holding a bat in his hand,” said Khan. “All of his cousins and uncles are cricketers so he always followed behind them going to the cricket ground.” His Aunt Seema took notice of the boy’s love of cricket and started calling him Andy Caddick, who had recently debuted for England at this point in time. The name stuck.

With Saieed out of the picture, Asgarally became one of the primary masculine figures in the life of Andy. The fact that Asgarally had played cricket at the U-19 level for Guyana certainly gave Mohammed someone to look up to early on. It seemed that Mohammed could follow in his footsteps too, but when he was 12, the family moved to Orlando, Florida, and he wasn’t too sure he would be able to play cricket in America.

“It was a change. I was little. I didn’t know what was going on,” said Mohammed about the transition to life in a new country. “When it comes to cricket, I didn’t know if I was going to play cricket anymore. I thought that part of my life was done.” This initial skepticism was fleeting though. A short time later, he found himself on the same field as one of his heroes who lived right in his new neighborhood.

“One week I got a call saying that [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul is playing a game and they want me to play with him. So I actually got a chance to bat with him,” said Mohammed. The starry-eyed kid got to bat with the West Indies superstar. While the chances are good that Chanderpaul doesn’t remember the encounter, it’s clearly a seminal moment in the cricketing odyssey of Mohammed as it clued him in to the idea that he could sustain his passion for the game while growing up in America.

Pic (Right): Andy Mohammed hooks on his way to a heroic 70 against Australia at the ICC U-19 World Cup [Picture Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia]

“He scored a hundred that game, but he got out early,” said Mohammed. “I couldn’t remember what I scored. I was just enjoying all of that. I was just like, let me take in this moment. He got out earlier but the crowd wanted him to bat so he batted again. Ever since then, I realized that cricket is in the United States and when I moved to New York, that’s when my Uncle Ajaz, he took me up and he put me to play Under-15 in New York. He took me to trials and I made the team in ’04 and I captained the team to Chicago. That’s when I made my first hundred when I was 13. I made my first century over there. We won five games and the championship.”

The performance in Chicago is when Asgarally says that Mohammed first demonstrated that he could be a very promising player. The next year, New York’s U-15 squad went to Southern California and defended their national title. Then in 2007 and 2008, Mohammed kept up his winning contributions with the New York Region as he helped the U-19 squad to back-to-back national championships.

“He was talented, like most of the kids that come from the Caribbean,” said Lester Hooper, the New York Region U-19 Team Manager, about his first impressions of Mohammed. “He knew a lot about the game, very enthusiastic, had a great appetite, always wanted to play, the ideal person that you would try to mold to be a senior player for the US.”

Hooper isn’t kidding when he says Mohammed always wants to play. According to his mom, the first thing she sees when she comes home from a long day is Mohammed walking around ready to practice his shots.

“Every day I get home from work, he has his bat in his hands,” said Khan. “He has his bat in his hands and he asks, ‘Mom, can you toss me that chicken bone?’ and he just imagine a ball in front of him with that chicken bone. He is so into cricket.”

Sometimes though, there have been distractions that have gotten in the way and almost managed to cost him some golden opportunities. After such a long run of dominance with the New York Region, the Queens Village resident found himself without a roster spot when it came time for the 2009 National U-19 Tournament, after which a squad was going to be picked from the event to represent USA at the first round of U-19 World Cup Qualifying matches in Toronto.

“We decided to exclude him from the trials,” said Hooper. “The New York youth program has specific criteria in order to be selected for the team. Up until the time we had the trials, he did not meet any of those requirements. It was unfortunate because he’s a talented player, but we have to go by the rules. The rules are the rules and we don’t bend them for anyone.” The major part of those requirements mentioned by Hooper apparently was a series of winter practices that took place at indoor facilities on the weekends.

“It was every Saturday,” said Hooper. “Given the fact that the USACA tournament was held early in the summer, we were basically practicing in the indoor facility during the winter. It was not just practice bowling and batting. It was basically assessing each player mentally, trying to assess them off the field as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t show up. For whatever reasons, he never communicated that to us until after he found out that he was excluded from the trials. It was very unfortunate because he was surely missed.”

Mohammed and Asgarally both claim that Andy was working at a law office part-time to help support his single mother. Khan works as a housekeeper and looks after an autistic child to make ends meet for Andy, Fazurdeen and Sadia, as well as Sadia’s toddler daughter Zaarah, whom Sadia is raising alone after divorcing her husband. Other sources claim that Mohammed’s problems with New York Region management date back a year earlier to the 2008 National U-19 Tournament in Florida when among other things, he was allegedly caught in the hotel bar as a 17-year-old.

Asgarally called up Mahadeo Ajodhi, the Manager for the North East Region U-19 squad, who allowed Mohammed to come to their region’s tryouts and practices in Connecticut. Mohammed is very grateful to his uncle, who drove him there from New York on three consecutive weekends to fit in with the team’s plans. North East Region U-19 Coach Tony Boyke says that Mohammed made a quick adjustment to his new squad in that tournament.

“He listened to my directions and he did outstanding for me at those games. I didn’t have a problem with him,” said Boyke. “He brought to my team, at that time, an opening batsman who could guide the team. When you have opening batsmen, that’s what you need, leadership, and he showed leadership at the top, and batted well, fielded well and wicketkeep well for me. He was an all-round outstanding player for me at that tournament.”

Mohammed was selected for the USA U-19 squad after two half-centuries and 157 runs in three innings for North East. It was only a sign of things to come. In his first major contribution for USA’s U-19 team, he turned in a Man of the Match performance in a crucial encounter against Bermuda at the ICC U-19 World Cup Americas Qualifier last July. The left-hand batsman scored 60 opening the match before taking 3 for 15 bowling left-arm orthodox spin to push USA to victory by 61 runs.

In the Global Qualifier two months later, Mohammed notched USA’s highest score in the tournament as he grinded out 90 runs from the top of the order in his team’s loss to Afghanistan. Mohammed spent time fluctuating between the middle order and playing as an opening batsman throughout the USA U-19 squad’s path to New Zealand and it was from the number six slot that he had perhaps his most impressive performance scoring 70 runs in a defeat to Australia. Mohammed’s innings brought some respectability back to his team after they had been reduced to 28 for 7 by Alister McDermott and Josh Hazlewood, who made his ODI debut for Australia’s senior side on June 22 against England.

“I think I became more experienced being that I faced better bowlers than we have here in the United States,” Mohammed said of his U-19 World Cup journey. “You just have good bowlers coming at you spell after spell, especially when you’re playing teams like South Africa, Australia and Ireland. I learned how to put away the good balls. That’s what I’m working on actually. When you play at that level, you have to learn to put away balls that in the United States you normally don’t score off of. When you’re playing at that level, you need to score off the good balls.”

Mohammed was a shooting guard on the varsity basketball team for two years at Forest Hills HS in Queens and counts ten-pin bowling as one of his favorite hobbies. But they just can’t compete with the feeling he gets every time he steps out onto a cricket field. The fact that his mom works so hard to support his passion only makes him more driven to succeed.

“I think when it comes to cricket, she always pushes me. My mom, she’s like my best friend,” said Mohammed, who currently works overnight shifts as a security guard while juggling the pursuit of a college education along with his cricket career.

“I work Monday to Friday, but I never take a weekend job because of Andy,” said Khan. “I always want to be there to support him. I work from morning until night Monday to Friday but not on Saturday when Andy has his games.”

Mohammed hopes that his most recent century in the NYPD Twenty20 Cup shows the USA senior team selectors that he’s healthy again and that despite missing an opportunity to go to Bermuda, he wants a chance to prove he belongs. Even though he’s still a teenager, he feels he has a lot to offer USA at the senior level.

“I think I can add youth,” said Mohammed. “I feel like I add a better intensity in the field being that I’m very active in the field and hopefully bring a lot to the table when it comes to the batting.”

If Mohammed gets selected to be a part of USA’s team to go to Italy for World Cricket League Division Four in August, it would be one more instance of his will to triumph over adversity and make things happen.

Clain Williams selected as injury replacement for Andy Mohammed

openingbat — Fri, 28 May 2010 02:01:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Atlantic Region batsman Clain Williams has been selected to replace the injured Andy Mohammed for the ICC Americas Division One Tournament which begins on Friday in Bermuda. The team will fly out late on Thursday with their first match scheduled to begin the next morning at 11 a.m. Bermuda time vs. Argentina.

“It’s just another opportunity,” said Williams on Thursday. “It’s not good the way it happened at the cost of someone else, but here I am.”

Mohammed split the webbing between his middle and ring fingers on his right hand on Sunday in USA’s Twenty20 match against Jamaica while diving forward trying to make a spectacular catch coming in from the boundary. He required five stitches and had his hand bandaged up by doctors. According to Mohammed, he was instructed by doctors not to remove the bandages for 10 days. The left-handed Mohammed said he felt he would be fine to bat, but that fielding would be difficult and so he reluctantly informed the selectors that he would not be fit for this tournament.

Williams is hoping for some more playing time after getting only one start out of six matches at World Cricket League Division Five in February. He played in a victory in the first match in Nepal against Fiji, scoring 9 not out coming in at number seven. He was also routinely used as a substitute fielder. He may see more action towards the end of this tour when more players are likely to get opportunities in an attempt to keep the team fresh. USA could potentially have five matches in four days at the end of the tour, beginning with a 50-over match against Cayman Islands and ending with a series of Twenty20 matches.

“I hope I get more [opportunities] and then that’s the only way I can take it from there so we’ll see how it goes,” said Williams.

Six new players selected to USA team for ICC Americas tournament in Bermuda

openingbat — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:49:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

Several surprises are in a 14-man squad selected for USA as they attempt to become repeat champions of the ICC Americas Division One Tournament at the end of the month in Bermuda. Six new players will be in the squad, including two players from USA’s 2010 U-19 World Cup squad in New Zealand. The squad will be coached by Clayton Lambert and managed by Imran Khan with Akhtar Masood “Chik” Syed going along as the team physio.

Pic (Right): Andy Mohammed hooks on his way to a heroic 70 in the match against Australia [Picture Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia]

Andy Mohammed, Muhammad Ghous, Ashhar Mehdi, Bilal Khan, Adrian Gordon and Moazzam Imtiaz are the fresh faces who will be representing USA from May 29-June 7 in Bermuda to play a series of 50-over matches followed by a two-day Twenty20 tournament against Canada, Argentina, Cayman Islands, Bahamas and the host team. Several of the matches will be telecast live on Fresh TV (www.Fresh.bm).

The group of 14 will also be playing two matches against Jamaica in Florida on May 21 and 22 prior to departing for Bermuda. Glen Hall, Clain Williams, Saurabh Verma, Usman Shuja, Kevin Darlington, Sudesh Dhaniram and Imran Awan are the members from February’s touring squad that will not be traveling to Bermuda.

Ghous and Mohammed will be the youngest players in the new look squad. Ghous turned 20 on the first day of the trials that took place in New York on April 24-25 while Mohammed is still a teenager at 19. Ghous had an impressive 3.77 economy rate bowling off-spin in New Zealand while Mohammed produced USA’s highest individual batting performances at the U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto as well as the main event, scoring 90 against Afghanistan in September and 70 against Australia in January. The addition of Mohammed also gives the team another sorely needed left-handed batsman as Sushil Nadkarni was the only one in USA’s touring squad to the UAE and Nepal.

Ghous will be relied upon to fill the role of containing off-spinner formerly occupied by 43-year-old Dhaniram, who is still recovering after a broken finger sustained while diving for a catch vs. Singapore at the World Cricket League Division Five. The leg-spinner Verma suffered a back injury playing against the MCC in California in March and more recently broke a finger playing in a North West Cricket League match so was unavailable for selection. Mohammed comes in for Hall, who has a nagging leg injury, and Williams.

Ashhar Mehdi has been included as a wicketkeeper. The 34-year old from the Central East Region had the highest score at USACA Nationals in November with 80 in a losing cause versus New York in the championship match. He will provide relief behind the stumps for Carl Wright, who battled with a hand injury in Nepal, and for Orlando Baker who will be able to focus more on bowling and batting after having to keep wicket in Nepal due to Wright’s injury.

Bilal Khan makes the cut along with Adrian Gordon in a new look fast bowling attack. The 28-year-old Khan was never far from selectors thoughts after impressing with 9 wickets in three matches bowling right-arm fast-medium for the North West Region at the Western Conference Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn., last year. Gordon, a 22-year-old international student at NYU-Poly, took three wickets against the South East Region in the Eastern Conference Tournament in Washington, D.C., last July and is currently one of the fastest bowlers in the country. Darlington is unavailable due to work and Shuja because of graduation from Kellogg.

Awan’s non-selection is believed to be a result of his poor performances in February. Of the nine bowlers USA used in Nepal, Awan had the most wides bowled (15) in his 13 overs. His fielding was erratic and he dropped numerous chances which frustrated his teammates.

The most curious selection is that of Moazzam Imtiaz, especially ahead of players such as Ravi Timbawala and Akeem Dodson. The non-selection of Timbawala and Dodson, members of USA’s 2006 U-19 World Cup squad, means that there are still no American-born players in the squad.

Pic (Left): Muhammad Asad Ghous [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia]

Imtiaz only played one of three matches for South East at the Eastern Conference Tournament in 2009 and was not in the November 40-man list of probables for selection to represent USA on the tour of the UAE and Nepal. He played for the South East versus the MCC in March, coming in at number 10 in the Twenty20 match to score 1 run and did not bowl.

In the 50-over game, he was the seventh bowler used, bowling three overs of medium pace for 14 runs without taking a wicket and scored 11 not out coming in at number eight. Imtiaz is currently ranked 31st in the top run scorers column for the Florida Southeast Cricket League (FSCL) with 171 runs and a high score of 51 to go along with 5 wickets in eight matches.

Imtiaz plays for Coconut Creek Vikings in his league, a team that is captained by FSCL president Rizwan Mohammed and vice-captained by former USA player and South East Region USACA Board member Nasir “Charlie” Javed.

USA squad: Steve Massiah (captain, NY), Ashhar Mehdi (wk, Central East), Carl Wright (wk, NY), Timroy Allen (South East), Orlando Baker (Central West), Lennox Cush (NY), Muhammad Ghous (Atlantic), Adrian Gordon (Atlantic), Moazzam Imtiaz (South East), Bilal Khan (North West), Rashard Marshall (New York), Andy Mohammed (North East), Sushil Nadkarni (Central West), Aditya Thyagarajan (South West).

Manager: Imran Khan

Coach: Clayton Lambert

Physio: Akhtar “Chik” Masood Syed

National Team Selectors: Abrar Ahmad (Western Region), Mohammad Sunny Khan (Central East Region), Sew Shivnarine (New York Region).