USA Cricketer : Assiniboine Park

2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division All-Tournament Team

openingbat — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:29:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

1. Alex Dore, Bermuda – The left-hand batsman turned in a Man of the Match performance against Canada with 51 at the top of the order on the final day of the event. Dore tied for fourth overall with 108 runs and also took several sharp catches at short cover.

2. Delray Rawlins, Bermuda (pictured right) – The all-rounder may be one of the shortest players on the field, but he made his presence felt in a big way for Bermuda. Had they won the tournament, he probably would have been named MVP. Rawlins led Bermuda with 137 runs, good for third overall, including a 71 opening the chase on the first day against USA. On the bowling side he took six wickets with his left-arm spin and turned in a 2.73 economy rate, the second best in the tournament. He could have had twice as many wickets had his fielders not let him down by dropping numerous chances, almost all of them straightforward.

3. Neil Tagare, USA – The classy right-hander from the North West Region turned in the highest individual score of the event, 79 against Bermuda, and finished sixth overall with 104 runs. Of all the batsmen on display, he showed the most promise for future development with the most technically correct approach at the crease. No one timed the ball better than him in Winnipeg.

4. Vibhav Altekar, USA – After making a double-hundred in the national tournament in Hartford, 140 runs in four matches may seem light but it was good enough to lead USA in the category. Altekar got a start in every match, but his highest score only wound up being 50. At the international level, he needs to make those starts count.

5. Dave Parikh, USA (captain, pictured left) – Parikh shined most in USA’s win over Canada, an individual performance so dominant that it played a huge role in giving USA the tournament title on the net run rate tiebreaker. He scored 67 not out and took 4 for 6 in eight overs that match as USA won by 138 runs. Overall, Parikh tied for fourth overall with Dore by scoring 108 runs on the week and tied for second overall in the wickets column, leading USA with seven scalps. He also had a tournament best 2.63 economy rate.

6. Abrash Khan, Canada (pictured right) – A rare sight at this age level is seeing players make runs down the order but Khan did that in just about every game. He scored the most runs on the week with 142 with a best of 77 in a win over Bermuda. Khan also bowled solid spells coming on as a first change bowler, taking four wickets with a respectable 4.21 economy rate.

7. Gordon Makin, USA – While he played as a wicketkeeper for USA, Makin makes the All-Tournament Team based on his batting. He had limited opportunities in USA’s first two matches, but when USA was in trouble in their third match against Bermuda, Makin nearly pulled USA across the line with a sterling 65. He played unselfishly down the order and has the tools to be a very good player at U-19 level.

8. Christion Gibbons-Wade, Bermuda – A versatile player, Gibbons-Wade had an impact in several games. The big hitter scored an unbeaten half-century in a lost cause against USA in the first match of the tournament and was a devastating pinch-hitter in the rematch with 23 not out in 11 balls. He opened the bowling a few times with decent results but took 5 for 35 against USA coming on in the middle overs and finished with seven wickets overall.

9. Gayan Ferdinands, Canada (pictured left) – The off-spinner posed the most problems throughout the week for any bowler outside of Rawlins. Ferdinands took a tournament best 12 wickets, five more than any other bowler. He bowled aggressively by tossing the ball up full to invite the drive and his fielders backed him up the entire week.

10. Manula Adihetly, Canada (vice-captain) – Canada’s vice-captain takes the same spot on the All-Tournament Team. He had excellent control for a leg-spinner and constantly teased batsmen by giving the ball plenty of flight. Adihetly finished with seven wickets, second on Canada behind Ferdinands and tied for second overall in the tournament.

11. Sarbjot Singh, Canada (wicketkeeper) – The Winnipeg product led all glovemen on the week with 11 dismissals behind the stumps. He was particularly good standing up to the spinners with five catches and one stumping keeping to the slow bowlers.

12th man: Khalif Williams, Bermuda – Bermuda’s off-spinner took seven wickets on the week but just misses the cut to make the first XI. Both Ferdinands and Adihetly showed just as much wicket-taking ability as Williams, but bowled with better control and had better economy rates.

USA Cricket: Bermuda beats Canada; USA takes 1st place on tiebreaker at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:12:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Alex Dore’s 51 at the top of the Bermuda innings helped his side post a comfortable target to defend in a 20-run win over Canada on Friday in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dore was named Man of the Match for his knock which included eight boundaries. The win created a three-way tie between Bermuda, Canada and USA at 2-2. USA was named tournament champions based on a superior net run rate with Canada finishing second and Bermuda third.

Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first on a sunny and windy morning in Winnipeg. Dore and Keishun Smith put Bermuda on the path to victory by producing the best opening partnership of the tournament, 53 runs in 7.5 overs. They were aided in large part by a costly first over bowled by Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah, who conceded 15 extras and 22 runs by the time six legitimate balls were bowled. Smith finally left for 11 when he chased a wide delivery from Abrash Khan and edged behind to wicketkeeper Sarbjot Singh.

Dore built another half-century stand with Delray Rawlins for the second wicket and in the process reached his half-century off 66 balls, but he departed one ball later after trying to cut off-spinner Gayan Ferdinands and gave a simple edge to Singh. The keeper took his third catch and brought Ferdinands his second wicket when Rawlins tried to play the same shot to a quicker delivery to go for 17 and the score became 121 for 3 after 20.

Bermuda had looked set to post a score well in excess of 200, but went through a rapid decline thanks to the continued efforts of Canada’s spin attack. Leg-spinner Manula Adihetly got into the act in the next over when he bowled Bermuda U-15 captain Antonio Darrell through the gate for a duck to make it 124 for 4. Ferdinands then took his third when he had Joshua Commissiong caught at point for 16. Two balls later, Adihetly had Janhoi Bean-Wilson caught for 6 at long on as Bermuda started to crumble at 138 for 6. Ferdinands made it 139 for 7 in the next over when Detre Bell left without scoring as he tried to punch off the back foot to another quicker ball and gave Singh his fourth catch.

For the second time in the week, a controversy involving Bermuda sprung up when Micah Perozzi was given out obstructing the field on the second ball of the 28th over to make it 147 for 8. Perozzi defended a full delivery from Ferdinands toward silly point. While the ball was still bouncing, Singh came out from behind the stumps to pick it up, but as he leaned down to field Perozzi kicked the ball away from him. The ball was not bouncing toward the stumps so the action taken by Perozzi was not done in defense of his wicket. Singh then asked the umpires, “Howzat?” Both umpires entered into a discussion and asked Senathirajah if he wanted to withdraw Canada’s appeal. Singh then appealed again and with no objection coming from Senathirajah, Perozzi was given out. Perozzi began gesturing at both umpires while a member of the Bermuda management ran out onto the field to protest but the umpires stayed with the decision.

Joshua Gibbons-Wade was the ninth wicket to fall with the score on 155 when he edged Adihetly to Senathirajah at slip for 10. The last wicket pair of Khalif Williams and Joshua Liyanage added 19, the most outside of the first two partnerships, before Williams was caught slogging at deep midwicket for 14 off the bowling of left-arm spinner Kurt Ramdath and Bermuda was bowled out for 174 in 33.5 overs.

Bermuda came out to field with very aggressive body language and didn’t hold back from sledging. Tensions were on the rise after the Perozzi dismissal and on the first ball of the chase, Gibbons-Wade delivered a neck high full toss at Harsh Thakar. In the next over, the keeper Bean-Wilson gave a shoulder barge into Thakar while fielding a throw. The umpires once again drew the ire of the Bermuda management staff off the field when they approached Darrell to have a word about controlling his players increasingly poor behavior, which was evident all week long.

The opening stand ended at 31 when Ramdath was caught for 13 slogging the left-arm spin of Rawlins to Perozzi at long on. Things got even uglier after Perozzi completed the catch when he started a celebration which involved him turning to the Canada bench to start shooting an imaginary machine gun while yelling out, “Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!” The Bermuda team then went to the boundary edge to welcome the new batsman Bradley Dickson, with all 11 fielders surrounding him and chatting to him all the way to the crease which prompted one of the Canada management members to yell out, “Stay away from my batsman!”

Canada’s chase failed to regain momentum as Bermuda took wickets at regular intervals from there. Dickson was caught down the leg side for 9 trying to guide a short delivery from Rawlins past the keeper to make it 49 for 2. Four balls later, Senathirajah was out for a duck when he hit a full toss from Rawlins to Darrell at mid off. Williams came on and removed Thakar for 17 when he drove the off-spinner low to Dore at short cover to make it 57 for 4.

In a week that saw one batsman timed out and another dismissed obstructing the field, it was only fitting that Ferdinands was out hit wicket for 8 when he swung too hard at a leg side wide from Perozzi only to miss the ball and have his bat hit the stumps on the follow through to make it 72 for 5. Khan made 18 to overtake USA’s Vibhav Altekar as the tournament’s leading scorer, but fell to Perozzi when he hit a full toss to midwicket as Canada’s best partnership came to an end at 33 to make it 105 for 6 in the 26th.

Amrinder Atwal was the next to go for 1 when he tried to flick Williams through midwicket but instead sent a leading edge back to the bowler to make it 106 for 7. Miraj Patel fought valiantly with Adihetly to produce a 30-run stand for the eighth wicket as the two gave Canada a glimmer of hope at winning the match and taking the tournament title. Patel top scored for Canada with 41 and finished as their second highest scorer on the week behind Khan, but after hitting seven boundaries he was finally bowled by a slower ball from Gibbons-Wade after going through with a pull shot too early.

Canada still needed 39 runs to win with only two wickets left in hand. Darrell brought himself on and had Adihetly caught behind swishing at a good length ball for 11 to make it 152 for 9 in the 36th as Canada needed 23 to win in 26 balls. The USA team was now present at the field in advance of the tournament awards presentation and cheering for Bermuda to win, which would produce a three-way tie and give USA the tourney title on the net run rate tiebreaker. Perozzi obliged by removing Neil Ramdath for 3, caught behind for Bean-Wilson’s third catch to end the match as Canada was bowled out for 154 in 36.4 overs.

Image (above) - The tournament champion USA U-15 squad. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

At the tournament awards presentation, Canada took home three of the awards and USA one while Bermuda’s players received none of the individual honors. Sarbjot Singh was named Best Wicketkeeper after completing 11 dismissals behind the stumps, five more than the next best keeper. Abrash Khan was named Best Batsman after scoring 142 runs in four innings including a top score of 77 vs. Bermuda. Gayan Ferdinands was named Best Bowler after taking 12 wickets on the week at an average of 9.67. His best performance was 5 for 36 against USA and he also had a 3.63 economy rate.

USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh was named Tournament MVP. Parikh scored the second most runs for USA with 108, tied for fourth overall in the tournament with Bermuda’s Alex Dore, and also took seven wickets to lead USA in the category and tied with three other bowlers for second overall. Parikh also had the best economy rate of all bowlers in the tournament with 2.63 runs per over. Parikh’s performance of 67 not out and 4 for 6 in eight overs against Canada played a major part in boosting USA’s net run rate way ahead of Bermuda and Canada to ensure they won the tournament tiebreaker.

USA Cricket: Five by Ferdinands helps Canada upend USA by 25 runs at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:16:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Canada U-15 off-spinner Gayan Ferdinands derailed USA’s chase with a five-wicket haul to lead his side to a 25-run win on Thursday in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ferdinands was named Man of the Match after wrecking USA’s middle order with 5 for 36 in eight overs including two maidens. The win takes Canada to 2-1 while USA finishes the tournament at 2-2.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first on a perfect morning with a gentle breeze blowing down the ground from the south instead of across the pitch from the east as had been the case on Wednesday. As a result, both teams bowled with much better control on the day. Harsh Thakar was the first player to go, caught behind after edging a half-hearted drive to Gordon Makin off the bowling of Dave Parikh for 2 to make it 5 for 1 in the third over.

Image (right) - Gayan Ferdinands accepts the Man of the Match award from ICC Americas Regional Development Manager Martin Vieira. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Unlike on Monday when Canada wilted for 63 all out against USA, the host’s batting lineup showed tremendous patience and focus as Kurt Ramdath and Bradley Dickson eased their way to a 70-run second wicket partnership. The pair were never really threatened by USA’s bowlers while Ramdath showed good sense in going for big shots with the wind at his back, hitting six fours and a massive six straight down the ground. He was finally caught for 43 pulling a half-tracker from leg-spinner Mihir Athavale to Rohit Mogalayapalli at deep midwicket.

Dickson ran himself out for 25 two runs later when he drove a full delivery from Anirudha Srinivas to Karanjit Singh at point and took off when there was no run to be had. Ferdinands departed for 12 in similar fashion after building a promising 36-run stand with Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah. Ferdinands drove Singh to point where Sagar Patel was fielding. Senathirajah took off while Ferdinands stayed put. Patel threw to the wrong end where Makin collected and faked a throw to the bowler as Senathirajah was making his way back. The fake was enough to lure Ferdinands out of his crease and Makin whipped off the bails to make it 113 for 4 in the 29th over. Senathirajah was then bowled by Vibhav Altekar for 33 to make it 129 for 5 in the 32nd.

Abrash Khan was joined at the crease by Miraj Patel and just as they did two days before against Bermuda, the pair took Canada to a winning position with a solid partnership. Patel finally left for 17 when he drove into the wind against Parikh and was caught at cover by Mogalyapalli to make it 164 for 6 after 37 overs. Manula Adihetly was run out without facing a ball on the first ball of the 38th after Khan tried to stretch a single into two as Singh fired a direct hit at the non-striker’s end running in from the long off boundary. Khan continued on until the last over when he spooned a simple catch to Athavale at cover off the bowling of Singh to make it 180 for 8. Sarbjot Singh was caught for a duck two balls later and a single was taken off the last ball by Amrinder Atwal as Canada finished 181 for 9 in 40 overs. A day after giving up 42 extras in the field, USA only conceded 13 against Canada.

USA’s chase got off to an excellent start as Singh and Jason Gobin produced the highest first wicket partnership of the tournament with 49 runs. Each player looked comfortable against the pace bowling of Canada, but problems started to develop once spin was introduced. Singh eventually fell for 21 when he edged an attempted back foot drive to first slip off Ramdath’s left-arm spin. Neil Tagare fell four balls later for a duck to end the 14th over when he mistimed a pull off a short delivery from Ramdath and gave a simple catch to Cooper Hart at square leg to make it 49 for 2.

Gobin’s strike rate slowed considerably once leg-spinner Adihetly began to bowl in tandem with Ramdath. Gobin had a string of 11 straight dot balls between the 16th and 19th overs and before long, frustration got the best of him as he tried to come down the track to drive Adihetly but never got to the pitch of the ball and was stumped for 28 in the 21st over to make it 63 for 3.

USA had been scoring at three runs per over, but with Altekar and Parikh now at the crease USA scored at better than six per over for the next 10 overs. The pair added 66 for the fourth wicket and seemed to have USA on course for victory until Ferdinands came on for a third spell from the southern end. Ferdinands had given up 28 runs in three overs bowled from the northern end as he struggled to flight the ball into the wind.

Image (left) - Vibhav Altekar drives through the on side during his innings of 48 to top score for USA. Altekar finished as USA's leading scorer in the tournament with 140 runs in four innings. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Now bowling from the southern end, USA continued to target him, disregarding the fact that he was now bowling with the wind at his back and the batsmen would be hitting into a stiff breeze. The ploy worked brilliantly as he struck with his second ball in the 31st over when Altekar tried to clear Hart at mid on by driving into the wind and a simple catch was taken inside the circle to get rid of the batsman for 48. Parikh crossed with the ball in the air and on the very next ball he edged a drive to Senathirajah at slip to leave for 17 as USA’s collapse began to take shape at 129 for 5.

Two overs later, Makin tried to pull a short ball into the wind and was caught at midwicket in the circle for 1 to make it 130 for 6. In the 34th, Mogalayapalli was run out for 5 when Sagar Patel hit a delivery from Adihetly into the covers and took off before changing his mind, only to leave Mogalayapalli stranded halfway down the pitch. Thakar fielded and threw to Adihetly over the stumps with Mogalayapalli three yards short to make it 136 for 7.

Patel repeated Altekar’s mistake in the 37th when he slogged a full delivery from Ferdinands into the wind to give Hart another easy catch at mid on for 10 as USA slumped to 145 for 8. Ferdinands completed his five-wicket haul when Athavale went for another slog into the wind as Hart took his fourth catch of the day to make it 155 for 9 in the 39th. Ferdinands’ remarkable five-over spell ended with 5 wickets for 8 runs and effectively sealed the match for Canada.

Khan took the only wicket by a pace bowler for Canada in the final over to end the match when he had Rutvij Bhise caught down the leg side by the keeper Singh and USA was bowled out for 156 with two balls remaining. Canada conceded their fewest amount of extras this tournament with 15 during the innings.

Canada takes on Bermuda in the final match of the tournament on Friday. A win will make them the undisputed tournament champions while USA would finish second and Bermuda third. A win by Bermuda would create a three-way tie at 2-2 with net run rate deciding the winner in which case USA would most likely finish in first place. USA’s run rate is currently +0.650, Canada’s at -0.109 and Bermuda’s at -0.759. If Canada loses, they cannot finish in first place. In order for Bermuda to finish in first place ahead of USA, they must bat first and score a minimum of 242 runs while also bowling out Canada for 46 runs or less, a highly improbable scenario. Friday’s match between Bermuda and Canada is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start at Assiniboine Park.

USA Cricket: Makin's 65 not enough as USA falls to Bermuda by 24 runs at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:11:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Medium pacer Christion Gibbons-Wade dashed USA’s hopes of chasing the biggest total of the tournament with 5 for 35 as Bermuda defeated USA by 24 runs on Wednesday in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gibbons-Wade was named Man of the Match for his crucial spell in the field along with an efficient innings of 23 not out in 11 balls. USA suffered their first loss to go to 2-1 while Bermuda registered their first win to go to 1-2, now tied for second with Canada.

Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first on a warm and very windy day. Rutvij Bhise made the first breakthrough for USA when Keishun Smith was hit on the toe by a yorker and given LBW for 1 to make it 8 for 1 in the third over. All-rounder Delray Rawlins joined Joshua Commissiong at the crease and the two built an attritional 74-run partnership for the second wicket. Commissiong went through stretches of 12 and 14 deliveries without scoring while Rawlins was even more defensive, enduring a period of 20 straight dot balls early in his innings as extras were the only way to keep the scoreboard ticking for Bermuda. After 16 overs, the score was 36 for 1.

However, the scoring rate began to surge dramatically beginning in the 17th over when Rawlins attacked Vibhav Altekar with a boundary and a six hooked behind square as part of an 18-run over. Another 12 were taken off the following over bowled by leg-spinner Mihir Athavale as the Bermuda batsmen gained confidence. Both men looked set for a long stay at the crease until Commissiong ran himself out for 17 when he smacked a delivery from left-arm spinner Brandon Dat straight to Athavale at cover and set off for a run. Rawlins rightly stayed put and the throw from Athavale to Gordon Makin over the stumps was there in plenty of time to make it 82 for 2 in the 20th.

Rawlins departed six balls later for 39 when he slogged leg-spinner Vivek Narayan to deep midwicket where Altekar held on to a simple catch. Bermuda U-15 captain Antonio Darrell was out for a duck in the 21st over to make it 84 for 4 when he played across a flighted delivery from Dat and was hit on the back leg to be given LBW.

Just when it appeared that USA was back in control, Alex Dore and Janhoi Bean-Wilson produced another solid partnership for Bermuda, 59 runs for the fifth wicket. The two batsmen cruised along with ones and twos before targeting Narayan and Dat for 10 runs each in the 28th and 29th over to hit them out of the USA attack. Dore was unlucky to be given LBW for 24 to make it 143 for 5 on the first ball of the 35th when he appeared to be hit on the thigh while playing back to a good length ball from Athavale. Bean-Wilson was run out five balls later for 30 when he tried to steal a run off a misfield but Rohit Mogalayapalli recovered in time to fire a throw to Makin over the stumps as Bermuda fell to 147 for 6 after 35.

It appeared that USA was on the verge of bowling Bermuda out, but Detre Bell and Gibbons-Wade unleashed a stunning counterattack in the next four overs. The pair added 64 runs from the 36th to the 39th as they punished the USA attack for continuously bowling a leg-stump line. Momentum swung dramatically when Bell pulled Mogalayapalli for four straight boundaries behind square on the first four balls of the 36th over.

Bhise only conceded 10 runs off his first five overs, but gave up 20 after coming back on for a second spell in the 38th. The over ended in controversy when Bell was awarded a boundary while USA’s fielders claimed he had been bowled. Due to the high winds throughout the innings, the bails kept on falling off the stumps and after a certain point in time the umpires elected to play on without the bails. Bell walked across his stumps to flick a good length ball from Bhise and the delivery appeared to shave leg stump before traveling to the fine leg boundary. After a discussion between the two on-field umpires, the original signal of four was upheld.

Bhise got his revenge on the first ball of the 40th when Bell pulled a full toss to Mogalayapalli at deep midwicket for 37. Two byes were stolen during the over but no more runs came off the bat as Bermuda finished on 213 for 7 in 40 overs. Extras top scored in the innings with 42 including 30 wides as USA’s bowlers never fully adjusted to the gusty conditions.

Compared to Bermuda’s start, USA batted positively to stay in line with the asking rate throughout the chase. Unlike Bermuda though, they failed to build enough quality partnerships to keep the fielding side under pressure. Karanjit Singh was bowled by Joshua Liyanage for 6 to make it 22 for 1 in the seventh when the batsman failed to connect with an expansive drive to a good length ball.

Controversy returned to the match in the 12th over when fellow opener Jason Gobin was given out for 22 to make it 56 for 2. Gibbons-Wade was in his first over when he bowled a short and wide ball that Gobin attempted to cut. There was a definite edge and the keeper Bean-Wilson claimed a catch diving forward but the ball did not appear to carry. Initially the umpire gave the decision as not out on the basis that there was no edge, but the Bermuda U-15 captain Darrell approached the umpire for a few words which resulted in the leg umpire being consulted for his opinion. After a brief deliberation, Gobin was given out leaving the USA bench fuming.

Things went from bad to worse for USA when number three batsman Neil Tagare was out for 13, edging behind an attempted drive off Gibbons-Wade to make it 65 for 3. USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh was out LBW for 5 when he missed a knee high full toss from Gibbons-Wade to make it 76 for 4.

Gordon Makin was given a promotion to number six and made the most of it by constructing a 59-run stand with Vibhav Altekar. Makin took very little time to get his eye in and peppered the leg side boundary with a series of pulls and hooks while nudging into the off side to rotate the strike with Altekar. At the start of the 26th over, USA needed 90 to win at a run a ball and it seemed victory was achievable until Altekar was struck on the pads playing back to a good length ball from Liyanage and given LBW for 26 to make it 135 for 5.

Image (above) - Gordon Makin swipes through midwicket on his way to 65 for USA. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Mogalayapalli arrived for a scratchy stay at the crease, doing his best to give Makin support. Makin brought up his 50 in 46 balls with seven boundaries as USA entered the final 10 overs needing 54 to win. But on the first ball of the 31st bowled by Rawlins, Makin drove a ball straight to cover and Mogalayapalli took off in a panic when there was no run to be had. Dore fielded and calmly threw to Rawlins to dismiss Mogalayapalli for 5 and it didn’t take long for USA’s chase to spiral out of control from there.

With no more recognized batsmen left to come, Makin began to swing for the fences on virtually every ball. He was dropped at point on 59 in the 32nd over and then got a second life on 62 off the last ball of the 33rd when Rawlins was let down by his fielders for the second day in a row after a simple chance was spilled at deep midwicket. After an initial spell of seven overs, Gibbons-Wade returned to bowl his final six balls in the 35th and the move worked to tremendous effect. Brandon Dat was claimed for 2 when he top edged a bouncer to the keeper to make it 179 for 7. Two balls later, Makin went for a slog to midwicket and was bowled for 65 as USA fell to 180 for 8. Gibbons-Wade’s fifth wicket sealed USA’s fate with only the tail remaining despite just 34 runs in 32 balls needed to win.

Bhise was bowled by a Darrell yorker for 2 to end the 36th and two balls later, Narayan was run out without facing a ball after responding slowly to Athavale’s call for a run. USA was bowled out for 189 in 36.2 overs. Extras were second top score behind Makin with 37.

Despite the loss, USA can still clinch the tournament title with a win over Canada on Thursday at Assiniboine Park. A loss would put them at 2-2 and move Canada to 2-1. USA would then need Canada to lose to Bermuda in the final round-robin match on Friday at which point all three teams would be deadlocked at 2-2 with net run rate deciding the winner. Entering Thursday’s match, USA has a +1.075 net run rate, Canada is at -0.475 while Bermuda is in the worst position of the three at -0.759. Thursday’s match is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start.

2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division: Canada bounces back with 100-run victory to keep Bermuda winless

openingbat — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:36:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Abrash Khan led a middle order revival for Canada to push his side out of peril on the way to a 100-run win over Bermuda on Tuesday afternoon in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Khan was named Man of the Match after scoring 77 off 69 balls with 12 fours before taking 1 for 17 in the field. Canada moves to 1-1 with the win while Bermuda drops to 0-2 in the tournament.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first on a hot morning with temperatures climbing into the mid 90s by noon time. Harsh Thakar and Kurt Ramdath opened the batting for Canada and turned in a 22-run partnership, nine more runs than any partnership produced on Monday against USA. Ramdath was the first to go when he played across to a good length ball off the bowling of medium pacer Antonio Darrell and was given LBW for 4.

Darrell struck again when he had Gayan Ferdinands out for 5 to make it 33 for 2 in the eighth over after the batsman prodded a knee high full toss softly to short cover. Thakar’s time at the crease ended in the 12th over for 12 when he tried to hit a full toss to midwicket but instead sent a leading edge to short cover to give Alex Dore his second catch and Joshua Liyanage his first wicket. Bradley Dickinson was next to go for 6 when he failed to keep a yorker out from Micah Perozzi and the score became 62 for 4 in the 15th over.

Khan then joined Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah at the crease to build a 40-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Khan should have been run out early in his innings when Senathirajah punched a ball into the covers and failed to take off for a certain run. Both men wound up at the striker’s end, but the fielder was not alert to the situation and fired the ball wildly toward the keeper, who was unable to field the ball which allowed Khan to get back safely to the non-striker’s end.

Senathirajah got a good start but could not convert it into a big score as he pulled a waist height full toss from off-spinner Khalif Williams to deep midwicket where Christion Gibbons-Wade ran in to complete a diving catch and the Canada U-15 captain had to go for 24. Manula Adihetly didn’t last long, driving a full delivery from Williams to Perozzi at mid off for 2 to make it 114 for 6 in the 25th over.

Miraj Patel came in at number eight and got off to a very nervy start, dropped on 0 at point off the bowling of left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins with the score on 118. Bermuda continued to be haunted by their fielding when Patel was dropped again on 1 with the score at 129 in the 30th over. The batsman tried to slog a flighted delivery by Rawlins over mid on, but the fielder stationed there spilled a simple chance and Patel was allowed to stay and build a crucial stand with Khan. Rawlins’ luckless spell ended in the 32nd when Khan hit him for his seventh boundary to bring up his half-century in 51 balls.

Image (above) - Abrash Khan watches the ball sail away after pulling Khalif Williams for one of his 12 boundaries against Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

As the partnership between Khan and Patel grew, Bermuda’s body language and attitude in the field got progressively worse. Consequently, a flurry of extras were conceded including seven wides from Darrell in the 35th over and three no balls by Cejay Outerbridge in the 38th. Khan finally fell to Outerbridge in that same over to end the partnership with Patel at 74 as he drove a full length ball high in the air to mid off to make it 188 for 7.

Patel fell six balls later when he chopped a short ball from Gibbons-Wade onto his stumps for 24 to make it 197 for 8. Number 10 Shafin Ahmed was foxed by a slower ball from Liyanage to go for a duck but Amrinder Atwal and Sarbjot Singh pushed Canada past 200 in the final over to finish on 207 for 9 in 40 overs. Extras finished as second high score with 46 including 35 wides.

Canada got off to a great start in the field and took wickets at regular intervals as Bermuda never threatened to chase the target. Two days after scoring 71 against USA, Rawlins couldn’t handle a short ball from Senathirajah and edged behind to the keeper Singh for 9 to make it 18 for 1. Keishun Smith came in next but only lasted four deliveries before he was gone for 2, edging a full delivery from Senathirajah to give Singh his second catch. Opening batsman Commissiong departed for 10 to make it 51 for 3 in the 10th when he was late driving at a full delivery from Khan as Singh took another catch behind the stumps.

Bermuda U-15 captain Darrell came and went quickly, gone for 6 when he mistimed a pull off Atwal to midwicket where Thakar pulled off a leaping catch to make it 58 for 4. Janhoi Bean-Wilson joined Dore at the crease and the two put on 20 runs as it looked like a promising partnership was being built, but the introduction of spin began to cause problems. Leg-spinner Adihetly continuously flighted the ball to invite the drive until Bean-Wilson acquiesced with a simple return catch for 8 to make it 78 for 5 in the 21st.

Dore’s stay finally came to an end for 25 when he came forward to defend an off-spin delivery from Ferdinands but wound up edging to Dickinson at first slip, who dove forward to pull off a fantastic catch inches from the ground to make it 84 for 6. Ferdinands struck twice more, getting Gibbons-Wade to slice a catch to point for 2 and Outerbridge to top edge an attempted sweep to Singh for 7 to make it 96 for 8.

Perozzi played all around a full toss from Adihetly and was given LBW for 1 to make it 101 for 9. Ramdath then took the final wicket in his only over of left-arm spin when Liyanage tried to cut a short ball and gave a thin edge that was snapped up by Singh for his fifth dismissal in the match as Bermuda finished all out for 107 in 28 overs. Ferdinands bowled a tidy spell to finish with Canada’s best figures in the field, 3 for 24 off eight overs with one maiden.

After the first round of matches, Khan is the leading scorer in the tournament with 94 runs while Williams and Dave Parikh of USA are each tied with five wickets to lead all bowlers. Canada has the day off on Wednesday while USA gets back into action when they take on Bermuda for the second time at Assiniboine Park. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

USA Cricket: Captain Parikh inspires 138-run demolition of Canada at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:58:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh’s brilliant all-round performance was more than enough for his side to defeat Canada U-15 by 138 runs on Monday afternoon in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Parikh was the easy choice for Man of the Match after top scoring in USA’s innings with 67 not out before wrecking Canada’s lineup in the field with figures of 4 for 6 in eight overs including four maidens. USA moves to 2-0 with the win while Canada joins Bermuda at 0-1.

Canada won the toss and sent USA in to bat first on another bright and sunny day in Winnipeg as Karanjit Singh and Jason Gobin opened once again for USA. Canada was able to get rid of Gobin early to make it 22 for 1 in the fifth over when medium pacer Amrinder Atwal bowled him for 11 after Gobin played across the line and missed a full delivery. USA’s batting hero from day one, Neil Tagare, came in next but scored just 12 before he top edged an attempted flick through the on side off Atwal and was caught at midwicket to make it 43 for 2 in the 11th. Singh went next for 15 when he tried driving leg-spinner Manula Atihetly through the covers but instead sliced a simple catch to point to make it 68 for 3.

Parikh then came to the crease where he joined Vibhav Altekar to forge a chanceless 74-run partnership in the span of 12 overs. Both batsmen calmly negotiated the spin tandem of Atihetly and Gayan Ferdinands, waiting patiently for the loose deliveries to dispatch to the boundary. Altekar raised his half-century in 57 balls with 10 boundaries, but was out one delivery later when he cut left-arm spinner Kurt Ramdath to point to make it 142 for 4 in the 31st.

Parikh carried on with Rohit Mogalayapalli to build another half-century partnership as USA cruised toward 200. USA took their batting power play to start the 37th over and managed to add 34 runs in the final four overs as Parikh brought up his 50 in 60 balls with nine fours. Canada’s fielding had been sharp for most of the innings, but Parikh was dropped off back-to-back deliveries on 63 and 65 at mid off and mid on in the last two overs. Mogalayapalli was finally caught driving medium pacer Abrash Khan to cover for 18 with two balls to go in the innings to make it 198 for 5. Parikh and Gordon Makin added three off the final two deliveries as USA finished 201 for 5 in 40 overs. Atwal had Canada’s best figures with 2 for 33 in eight overs.

Image (above) - USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh acknowledges his teammates after reaching his half-century against Canada. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Parikh and Rutvij Bhise opened the bowling for USA and had the host side under immediate pressure. Ramdath and Harsh Thakar could only muster 13 runs for the first wicket before Ramdath fell for 9 when he spooned a catch to Mogalayapalli at cover off Parikh’s left-arm seam bowling. The opening stand wound up being Canada’s best partnership of the innings.

Bhise and Parikh then ripped apart Canada’s lineup as four more wickets fell with the score on 23. Thakar chased a wide delivery from Bhise and edged to Makin behind the stumps for 9. Seven balls later, Ferdinands was out for 5 driving Parikh to Srinivas at mid off, who slid forward to complete a superb catch. Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah fell without scoring off the next ball when he tried to smash Parikh over Srinivas, but the fielder backpedaled from mid off to take another athletic catch to end the ninth over with Parikh set to bowl a hat-trick ball at the beginning of the 11th.

Before that could take place though, Bhise made it three wickets in three balls on the first delivery of the 10th when Adihetly fended off a bouncer to Brandon Dat at square leg for a golden duck. Parikh took his fourth in the 13th over when Sarbjot Singh became the third batsman to leave without scoring, driving loosely to feather a thick edge to Makin making the score 33 for 6.

Miraj Patel was run out for a duck when Bhise fired a direct hit to the keeper’s end after chasing a ball down from his position at first slip to make it 40 for 7. Atwal was also run out for 6 when Khan cut a delivery from Altekar to point and set off for a run that was never there. Parikh fielded and fired to Makin over the stumps with Atwal well short to make it 50 for 8. Khan was ninth man out for Canada’s top score of 17 when he sliced the medium pace of Anirudha Srinivas to Bhise at point to make it 55 for 9. Srinivas also claimed the last wicket when number 11 Rohan Devrai became the fifth Canadian batsman to fall for a duck, top edging an attempted pull to Singh at midwicket as Canada was bowled out for 63 in 23 overs. Extras were second top score with 11. USA’s impressive bowling performance was evident in the fact that they did not bowl a wide until the 12th over at which point Canada was already five down.

USA has Tuesday off as Canada takes on Bermuda with both teams looking to register their first win on the week. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time from Assiniboine Park.

USA Cricket: Tagare's 79 puts USA past Bermuda by 15 runs at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:44:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

USA U-15 batsman Neil Tagare scored a run a ball 79 which turned out to be just enough in the end to defeat Bermuda U-15 by 15 runs on Sunday in the first match of the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Delray Rawlins was named Man of the Match in a losing cause after top scoring in Bermuda’s chase of 210 with 71 runs as well as taking 3 for 23 in the field bowling left-arm orthodox spin.

USA won the toss and elected to bat first as the North East Region combo of Karanjit Singh and Jason Gobin walked out for USA on a gorgeous day with temperatures in the mid 70s. The partnership could have been nipped in the bud off the second ball of the innings when Singh was dropped by the wicketkeeper Keishun Smith off a straightforward chance. It was the first of seven dropped chances by Bermuda on the day as USA capitalized in a big way off the number of mistakes made in the field.

Singh and Gobin wound up putting on 41 runs for the first wicket before Gobin was run out for 8 in the 11th over. Gobin clipped a ball through the on side and tried to come back for a second run that was never there as the relay throw from Cejay Outerbridge to Smith had Gobin three yards short. Singh departed three balls later for 24 to make it 46 for 2 when he edged an attempted drive off medium pacer Joshua Liyanage to Rawlins at first slip.

Vibhav Altekar then joined Tagare at the crease and the two gave a rapid boost to USA’s innings with a 34-run third wicket partnership in just 4.4 overs. Altekar went for 16 when he chipped a leg stump half-volley straight to Christion Gibbons-Wade at midwicket off the bowling of Liyanage to make it 80 for 3 in the 16th. Rohit Mogalayapalli was the next to go for 11, clean bowled by off-spinner Khalif Williams after missing an attempted cut shot to a good length ball and the match was evenly balanced at 108 for 4.

USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh came to the crease and constructed a pivotal 69-run stand with Tagare that put USA firmly back in control of the match. Tagare dominated the partnership while Parikh gave him good support. Tagare brought up his 50 in 51 balls in the 31st over with his sixth four. A short time later he was dropped on 57 when he hit a full toss through the hands of the fielder at midwicket. Parikh had no such luck though when he mistimed a pull off a half-tracker from Williams and the Bermuda U-15 captain Antonio Darrell made a one-handed catch over his head to dismiss his opposite number for 19 to make it 177 for 5 in the 35th over.

Tagare had one more life on 66 off the very next delivery when he drove Williams in the air to long off but the fielder misjudged the ball and ran in from the boundary instead of staying put. He reached up at the last moment but the ball went off his hands before bouncing over the boundary. Tagare’s long stay finally came to an end on the first ball of the 37th when he played over the top of a full delivery by Williams and was hit on the toe to be given LBW and the score turned to 198 for 6.

USA’s last recognized batsman, Gordon Makin, was out for 7 as he slogged Rawlins to long on to make it 206 for 7 in the 38th. Brandon Dat crossed while the ball was in the air and was clean bowled for 1 off the next ball to put Rawlins on a hat trick. Rutvij Bhise was then given out timed out in bizarre fashion before he could even face the hat trick ball from Rawlins.

Unlike two years ago in Brooklyn when this tournament was played in white clothing with a red ball, this year’s event is being played in colored clothing with a white ball. USA’s team did not come with any colored batting pads and had to borrow a few sets of pads from Canada for today’s match. Even with Canada’s assistance, USA only had four sets of colored pads to share among the entire squad. With the back-to-back dismissals, Bhise was slightly delayed getting to the crease, but the USA management still felt he was ready to face his first delivery within three minutes of the previous dismissal. However, Bermuda’s fielders appealed for timed out as Bhise was literally marking his guard and the appeal was reluctantly upheld by the umpires.

Ryan Persaud then arrived as the last man in and negotiated the hat trick ball, but USA’s innings wrapped up on the first ball of the 40th when Mihir Athavale sent a return catch to Rawlins and USA was all out for 209. Extras wound up being second high score in the innings with 43 including 30 wides.

Bermuda’s chase never got going as USA’s medium pacers heaped plenty of pressure on the opposition. Smith and Rawlins opened for Bermuda but Smith only stayed for six balls before he was run out for 4. Rawlins clipped a full ball on his legs straight to Dat at square leg and Smith called for a suicide run. Dat threw to Makin behind the stumps as Smith’s dive was well short and the score became 9 for 1 in two overs.

Joshua Commissiong’s painstaking time in the middle produced only 1 run off 17 balls before he was caught driving Bhise to Athavale, who held on to a very sharp chance at short extra cover to make it 25 for 2 in the eighth. Three overs later, Alex Dore was out for 8 to make it 39 for 3 in the 11th as he tried to flick a delivery from Altekar through the leg side but wound up top edging the ball to Bhise who waited for it to come into his hands at first slip.

Darrell and Rawlins then built up a 51-run partnership across 13 overs for Bermuda, their best of the innings. Both men struggled to score off the bat as extras continued to keep Bermuda in the match. Darrell was finally dismissed for 14 in 42 balls when he sliced a drive off the leg-spin of Athavale straight to Singh at point for a simple catch to make it 90 for 4 in the 24th.

Jonhoi Bean-Wilson was run out four balls later without scoring when he tried to steal another run off a leg side wide that deflected off Makin’s gloves toward square leg. Rawlins never budged and both batsmen wound up at the same end as Makin ran over to field the ball before tossing it to Persaud over the non-striker’s stumps to make it 95 for 5.

Rawlins took a long time to get going – he was on 13 off 53 balls after 19 overs of the chase – but became much more aggressive with the introduction of spin into the attack. He was particularly harsh to Persaud and Dat as he scored his next 37 runs in only 21 balls to reach 50 in 74 deliveries with five boundaries and a six. He put on 45 runs for the sixth wicket with Gibbons-Wade but eventually fell trying to up the tempo even more, failing to clear Gobin at mid off and the score became 140 for 6 in the 33rd.

Outerbridge was removed seven balls later for 1 to make it 143 for 7 in the 34th when he top edged a slog sweep off Athavale to Bhise at square leg. Gibbons-Wade tried to farm the strike as much as possible for the rest of the innings but with six overs to go, Bermuda needed 66 to win and there was just too much work left to do. Detre Bell was out for 3 in the 38th to make it 168 for 8 as he top edged a half-tracker from Athavale to Singh at cover.

Gibbons-Wade fought to the end and finished 52 not out off 52 balls with five fours and a six, but the drops in the first innings proved too costly in the end as Bermuda finished on 194 for 8, 15 runs short of USA’s total. USA conceded 37 extras in the field including 33 wides. USA’s victory was more impressive for the fact that they did it without New York all-rounder Randall Wilson. According to sources, Wilson is a US permanent resident and was unable to obtain a visa for Canada so he will not be taking part in the tournament. Sagar Patel from the South East Region has been flown in as a replacement for Wilson.

USA will take on Canada on Monday in day two of the tournament at Assiniboine Park. All matches are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time start, 11:30 a.m. EST.

USA Cricket: 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division begins on Sunday in Winnipeg

openingbat — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:10:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

USA’s U-15 squad will attempt to bring some much needed positive on-field results for the country beginning on Sunday as they take on Bermuda in the first match of the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. USA finished second at the 2009 event held in Brooklyn, N.Y. Defending champions and host side Canada begin the event with a day off before squaring off against USA on Monday.

USA’s squad is captained by Dave Parikh, a veteran of the North West Region U-15 team for several years. Parikh captained this year’s North West U-15 squad to the region’s fourth straight national championship and is one of six players from that squad who will be playing for USA in Canada.

He’ll be joined by Vibhav Altekar, who scored a double-hundred in Connecticut and was named Tournament MVP at the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament, along with pace bowler Rutjiv Bhise, who was the hero in the final against New York, Mihir Athavale, Neil Tagare, and Anirudha Srinivas.

Two players from North East will be on the team, the first junior players representing America from the region since Andy Mohammed was selected to play for the USA U-19 squad after playing for the North East U-19 team in the 2009 USACA U-19 National Tournament. Karanjit Singh and Jason Gobin formed a successful opening combination in Connecticut with Singh scoring one century and Gobin notching a pair of half-centuries in July to earn spots in USA’s U-15 squad for this tournament.

Similarly from the Central East, their opening tandem of Rohit Mogalayapalli and Gordon Makin strengthen the batting depth. Both players impressed in the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament in New Jersey and followed it up this year with more solid displays as Mogalayapalli registered a century while Makin had two 50s and will most likely be slotted into the wicketkeeper role for USA’s U-15 team.

Three players made it from the national runner-up New York team. Randall Wilson, who was the top run getter in Connecticut with two centuries and a 50 will most likely play a pivotal role in the middle order for USA and could open the bowling as well. Brandon Dat and Ryan Persaud were also selected from New York while Vivek Narayan made it from the Atlantic Region.

The team is being coached by former West Indies international Milton Pydanna, who had an 18-year first class career for Guyana and now lives in New York. North West regional representative Ajay Athavale is the Team Manager while Akhtar Masood Syed is the Team Physio.

DreamCricket.com will attempt to provide live coverage for every match at the tournament dependent upon internet availability.

Tournament Schedule
August 21 – USA vs. Bermuda
August 22 – USA vs. Canada
August 23 – Canada vs. Bermuda
August 24 – USA vs. Bermuda
August 25 – USA vs. Canada
August 26 – Canada vs. Bermuda

USA squad: Dave Parikh (captain, North West), Vibhav Altekar (North West), Mihir Athavale (North West), Rutvij Bhise (North West), Brandon Dat (New York), Jason Gobin (North East), Gordon Makin (Central East), Rohit Mogalayapalli (Central East), Vivek Narayan (Atlantic), Ryan Persaud (New York), Karanjit Singh (North East), Anirudha Srinivas (North West), Neil Tagare (North West), Randall Wilson (New York).

Head Coach – Milton Pydanna
Manager – Ajay Athavale
Physio – Akhtar Masood Syed