USA Cricketer : Atlantic Region cricket

Atlantic Region's leagues attempt to resolve stalemate following stalled election

openingbat — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:04:00 GMT

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On August 14, 2011, an emergency meeting was held to address the impasse in the Atlantic Region. Representatives of five of the Atlantic Region's seven leagues - Garden State Cricket League, Cricket League of NJ, ICUSA, Washington Cricket League and Millennium Cricket League - attended the meeting. Two leagues - the NJCA and WMCB - abstained.

The five leagues that were present in the meeting were united in their call for restoration of democratic governance in the Atlantic Region. The leagues resolved through a 5-0 vote that an "Interim Board comprising the league presidents or their delegates will manage the region's affairs until a new regional administration is seated."

The five leagues reiterated their demand for the immediate release of the election results. The leagues also vowed to consider other steps as may be necessary for democratic functioning of the region and democratic representation of the region's leagues at the regional and national level.

Blockage of Election Results

The Atlantic Region held its elections on July 26, 2011, but in a shocking turn of events, Sheldon Mollineau, the former Secretary who was a transitional overseer of the Atlantic Region Cricket Board, blocked the release of results in an act of non-conformance with the democratic election guideline adopted by the region. This blockage by Mr. Mollineau, at the behest of USACA President Gladstone Dainty, was in defiance of the wishes of the majority of the leagues that comprise the region.

As part of the election process, the regional administration was dissolved effective midnight on July 25th, twenty four hours preceding the election. Once the regional administration was dissolved, Sheldon Mollineau (erstwhile Secretary) and Shelton Glasgow (erstwhile Interim Chairman), as per the election guideline, became the transitional overseers with 'no decision making authority' as their role was 'to simply maintain an office until the newly elected board is seated.'

After the completion of voting, in an email communication received on July 27th, Sheldon Ellis (Esq.), who served as the Returning Officer, noted that he had 'tallied the results and compiled a spreadsheet with the results/winners.' However, Mr. Ellis wrote that the President of USACA, Mr. Gladstone Dainty, had called him and instructed him not to disseminate the results.

Terming it an 'obfuscation', Mr. Ellis wrote: "If this matter is not resolved within the next few days, I will send the ballots/results of the elections to the Secretary of the Region."

Following this incident, on July 29th, five of the region's seven leagues wrote to Mr. Ellis requesting him to release the results to the transitional secretary as per the regional election guideline so that the results can be immediately disseminated to the leagues. Upon receiving the emails from the leagues, Mr. Ellis released the results to Mr. Mollineau on August 3rd. However, the results were not disseminated to the leagues by Mr. Mollineau as required by the election guideline.

A meeting was held on August 4th in which four league representatives requested Mr. Mollineau to immediately release the results. In the meeting, Mr. Mollineau declined to release the results, referring to Mr. Dainty's ambiguous letter of July 28th. In the letter, Mr. Dainty wrote: "Within the next few days an independent accounting or law firm will be engaged with the expectation that all USACA leagues and officials will cooperate to the fullest including a stay of all elections until this process is completed." It is ironic that voting in the region had already been completed and the election results were about to be released when Mr. Dainty intervened personally.

In effect, Mr. Dainty's call of July 27th and his letter of July 28th insisted on applying an unspecified future league eligibility requirement to an already completed election. This is akin to a president of a country redrawing an electoral constituency after an election is held and the counting of the ballots is complete.

Consequently, the new Regional Administration could not be seated as envisioned by the election guideline leaving the region in the hands of the transitional overseers devoid of decision making authority.

According to the election guideline, 'within seven (7) days of being elected as officers of the Regional Administration, the Regional Administration shall vote to elect a Regional Representative to sit on the USACA Board.' As a further consequence of this stalemate, a new Regional Representative could not be elected to represent the region's interests nationally.

Curiously, Mr. Glasgow was a candidate for Regional Representative and Mr. Mollineau was a candidate for the role of Regional Chairman. It was widely expected that both Mr. Glasgow and Mr. Mollineau were going to be ousted in this election.

Voter Eligibility Process

Since 'league compliance' was the stated reason for the blockage of the results, here are the facts surrounding the voter eligibility process for the regional election.

The region followed the 'USACA Elections Guideline and Process' which was drafted by Shelton Glasgow, who was the USACA Compliance Officer at the time of the election. This process was approved by the leagues comprising the region on June 6, 2011 and again on June 28, 2011.

In accordance with this process, the leagues completed a survey and submitted the required verifiable information to the Secretary. Upon review of submissions, Mr. Glasgow affirmed on July 12th in a meeting of the region that all seven leagues were eligible to vote. This was a matter of record.

Nominations were accepted from the leagues that were deemed to be eligible to vote. A list of nominations was reviewed and circulated by Mr. Glasgow and Mr. Mollineau in draft form. On July 19, the final list of nominations and voting delegates was circulated by Mr. Mollineau in his role as Secretary.

Following that, in accordance with the election guideline, Mr. Ellis was appointed as the Returning Officer for the election. In an email dated July 24, 2011, Mr. Ellis informed the leagues of the official voting leagues and official voting delegates in his cover letter accompanying the ballots. The ballots, one for each voting league, contained the list of candidates. Completed ballots were sent to the Returning Officer and the election was completed on July 26th and the announcement of results was awaited with great anticipation when Mr. Dainty interfered.

[Disclosure: Venu Palaparthi, co-founder of DreamCricket.com, was CLNJ's representative in the ARCB before it was dissolved. Mr. Palaparthi was also CLNJ's candidate for Regional Representative.]

Towards a better inter-league system - The case of Atlantic Region Inter-league!

openingbat — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:31:00 GMT

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By Venu Palaparthi

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Creating a strong Inter-league system

A strong and competent zonal cricketing system forms the backbone of the domestic cricket structure in most cricket playing countries. Cricketers aspiring to play for their country must rise through the ranks of club cricket, and pass through inter-league cricket, and from there progress to the national team.

By inference, players should choose country over region, region over league, and league over club. That is the natural order.

In USA, I know of cricketers who would rather play for their club when they could be playing for their league. This is not a case of cricketers choosing to play for an IPL team instead of their country - after all, money is not the draw in USA's club cricket.

In the absence of a clearly merit-based heirarchical selection structure, there is no compelling reason to turn out for the league when they could be playing for the club.

Another reason I frequently hear is that the inter-league is not very challenging. A successful zonal competition presupposes parity among the leagues that take part. In several regions in the US, because not all leagues can put together a 'strong' side, a player might find an inter-club match more challenging than an inter-league match.

This problem be easily resolved by creating a divisional structure so as not to dilute the competition. Even India's Ranji trophy has a super-league and a plate-league!

In summary, players are likely to embrace the zonal inter-league system if the competition forms an integral part of a heirarchical selection structure.

A successful zonal competition also has the potential to generate huge local interest. In theory, two leagues playing each other could attract the support (and eyeballs) of their entire leagues as opposed to two clubs playing each other within a league. This greater interest should be sufficient to encourage local sponsors to get involved at the inter-league.

Atlantic Region Inter-league receives sponsorship interest

The Atlantic Region, like every other USACA region, has had an inter-league tournament as part of its playing calendar for some years now. Even though a good number of the top players do play in the inter-league, a concerted effort is being made by the region to give the inter-league its rightful place in the pecking order.

First things first, the league has received a sponsorship boost.

Radiant Info, a prominent sponsor of cricket in the region has signed on as the Title Sponsor. As a result of the sponsorship initiatives, the tournament will now be called the 'Radiant Info Atlantic Region Inter-league Tournament.'

InfoDrive, CES, New Inning Foundation and DreamCricket.com have joined the list of sponsors. In addition, DreamCricket.com will lend its score repository system for the tournament.

While a trophy and a cash prize of $1000 will be presented to the winner of the inter-league, rewards and medals will also be awarded to the tournament MVP, the best bowler, the best batsman and the best fielder of the tournament. The New Inning Foundation will present a $250 gift certificate and the New Inning Emerging Player award to the region's U-19 player in the tournament.

The prizes, sponsorship interest and greater visibility are certain to enhance player participation in the inter-league. But that is only half the battle. A more important determinant of success is the emphasis that the leagues and the region place in encouraging the best senior and U-19 players to take part in the inter-league.

Atlantic Region Cricket Board Seeks Interim Youth Coordinator, Secretary and Regional Director

openingbat — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:52:00 GMT

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Sheldon Mollineau, the Secretary of the Atlantic Region Cricket Board, wrote in an email that the region is seeking nominations for the following positions - Interim Regional Director, Interim Secretary and Interim Youth Coordinator. The deadline for submitting nominations is April 17, 2011, and the board will vote on April 26, 2011. All positions are voluntary.

While Mr. Sheldon Mollineau is the incumbent Secretary and Youth Coordinator, Mr. Sheldon Ellis served as the Regional Director. The board is now seeking to fill these positions.

The ARCB recently elected Ms. Martha Randoo as its interim Women's Coordinator.

The present board, including those elected to the interim positions will serve on the board until ARCB's regional election is held later this year. USACA recently announced that the regional elections for a new term will be held between July 1, 2011, and August 20, 2011.

As per the USACA constitution, members of the regional administrations must be citizens or legal residents of the United States and must be active members of a league within his/her region.

For further details regarding eligibility or job description, please contact Mr. Mollineau at trinigemts@hotmail.com.

USA Cricket: Atlantic Region seeks coaches and selectors

openingbat — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:20:00 GMT

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About Atlantic Region Cricket Board:

The Atlantic Region is a member of the United States of America Cricket Association- the governing body for cricket in United States and an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) . The regional board is responsible for fostering the growth and development of cricket within the Atlantic Region comprising seven states stretching from New Jersey to Virginia.

With cricket's popularity growing steadily in the region and across the country, the region is seeking qualified coaches and selectors who are willing to volunteer their time to assist in developing the region's cricketers. This is a unique opportunity for those who want to get involved with the region's cricket development from the ground up.

Coaches:

The region is presently looking for two (2) head coaches and three (3) assistant coaches. One head coach will supervise the coaching of the region's U15 and the U17 teams while the second head coach is being sought for U19, Seniors and the Women's teams.

Coaches for the U15 and U17 must have the basic knowledge of cricket and some experience working with kids in a developmental capacity. Coaches for the U19, Seniors and Women's teams must have very good knowledge of the game of cricket and worked with cricketers on an advanced level.

Those interested must send a brief profile including pertinent details such as certifications and past experience to the Secretary of the Atlantic Region Cricket Board via the following email address - trinigemts@hotmail.com. Any questions should also be addressed to the Secretary.

Selectors:

The region is seeking several selectors to constitute selection committees for the various cricket teams.

The selection committees will be responsible for selecting the region's teams in a fair, transparent and impartial manner. Selectors must at all times demonstrate professionalism and dedication to selecting the best available players.

Candidates applying to join the selection committee(s) must be available to observe and evaluate talent during league, inter-league, regional trials, as well as regional and national tournaments and file monthly reports with the chairman of selectors. The selection committee shall recommend captains and vice captains for the various teams, subject to the approval of the regional board.

Those interested must send a brief profile to the Secretary via an email addressed to trinigemts@hotmail.com - along with their certifications and past experience, if any. Interested candidates must specify the age category or team they have been most involved with in the past or would like to be involved with in the future. Any questions should also be addressed to the Secretary.

USA Cricket: Atlantic Region holds first Annual General Meeting.

openingbat — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:25:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

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[Under Section 18 of Article XX of the USACA Constitution, a Regional General Meeting must be held annually in each region to discuss matters germane to the operation of the region.]

The Atlantic Region Cricket Board held its first Annual General Meeting on Sunday at the DreamCricket Pavilion Indoor Nets in Hillsborough, N.J., to discuss the region’s state of affairs. The meeting was attended by 25 people, including representatives from Millennium Cricket League, Cricket League of New Jersey, Garden State Cricket League and Indoor Cricket USA.

Pic (Right): Shelton Glasgow, Regional Representative of Atlantic Region (middle) welcomes the attendees. Also in the picture - GSCL VP Colin Edwards (left) and Pradeep Vedala (right).

Shelton Glasgow, the regional representative on the USACA board of directors, moderated the meeting. Reports were given on the improvements and accomplishments for each league as well as the status of the region’s youth and women’s development programs. Coaching and umpiring development programs were also discussed.

While no financial report was given by the regional treasurer, who was absent due to a work related emergency, Glasgow informed everyone that like USACA - the parent organization, the region is also suffering from financial problems. As a result, the region is unable to finance these programs with the proper amount of money they need to run effectively.

The attendees were informed that a Planning Committee was recently formed under the leadership of Sheldon Mollineau. Similarly, Venu Palaparthi has been tasked with drafting a fundraising plan for the region and Colin Edwards will lead a committee that is expected to draft a regional operating guidelines document.

Colin Edwards, vice president of the GSCL, called for all leagues to develop and play a regular inter-league tournament. He feels that the region’s selection process (for the senior men's team) suffers for national tournaments because the region’s six leagues do not play in a competition against each other. An inter-league tournament would make it helpful for selectors to judge who the best players are rather than base the selection on one or two days of hurriedly convened trials.

Pic (Left): Attendees at the ARCB Regional Meeting

A large amount of the time spent during the three-hour meeting was used to discuss youth development. Venu Palaparthi, CLNJ's league representative on the ARCB and co-founder of DreamCricket Academy, announced his Academy's intention to start a youth league with a minimum of four teams in 2011.

Palaparthi called on the other senior leagues to support this endeavor by making some of their grounds available. He declared that there have been enough kids available to form such a league for some time, but the last hurdle to clear is getting a ground to use.

Due to the overall shortage of grounds, senior leagues and teams have faced difficulties with offering their own grounds for youth cricket. But the tide is turning and two clubs have consented to share their permits beginning 2011. Palaparthi also urged the attendees to emulate the efforts of USYCA - an unaffiliated organization that has done stellar work at the school level within the Atlantic Region introducing the sport to over 75 schools in Maryland alone. School outreach was important for promoting the sport and DreamCricket has donated 75 cricket kits in support of the Maryland initiative and will gladly support such efforts elsewhere in the region, he noted.

Lalta Persaud, founder of Indoor Cricket USA, also drew attention to his facility and academy. He runs an indoor cricket league during the winter which allows for players to get year-round match practice. The style of the league also rewards players for orthodox cricket batting techniques to ensure that young players are developing their games the right way. It was also noted that Muhammad Ghous, Henry Wardley and Yash Shah all spend their time training at Indoor Cricket USA and each went on to represent the country at the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Ghous also successfully graduated to the USA senior team.

Ashok Patel, founder of the USA Cricket Academy, also called on everyone to recognize his accomplishments in providing opportunities for youth both in the region and on a national level. His tours gave players a chance to develop and make it to the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Patel is currently planning a Caribbean tour for the region's junior cricketers. Tony Thandi spoke about his organization, the newly formed Amwell Valley CC, which has its ground and practice facility at the scenic Hillsborough Golf and Country Club. The club has attracted roughly 20 children who are new to the game.

Pic (Right): Attendees at the ARCB Regional General Meeting

While there were plenty of accomplishments to make note of on the youth level, it was also noted by the attendees that there is not a functional youth program in place. The only time a true regional collaboration is made for youth cricket is when a team is picked for the U-15 and U-19 national tournaments. Otherwise, youth cricket has stagnated. It is hoped that with the forum that took place on Sunday, the dialogue will motivate regional administrators to get a true regional program started rather than just a couple of projects. Glasgow observed that the region had its work cut out.

Glasgow also expressed his desire for an improvement in coaching and umpiring. A WICB Level I coaching course was organized in 2009 for the region and he expressed that he intends to organize more coaching courses in the future.

Gokul Chakravarthy, secretary of the USA Cricket Umpires Association, noted that while many players and leagues complain about the state of umpiring, an umpiring course was organized in the region in 2010 and only six people attended. Things cannot change unless more people are dedicated and willing to step up to take umpiring seriously.

The meeting ended with input from just about all of the 25 people present. People are hopeful that action will be taken by the region to put some of the suggestions that came up during the meeting in place rather than let them fade away and be forgotten.

USA Cricket: Junior & Senior Nationals set for November

openingbat — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:25:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

A USACA press release has announced that this year’s Junior and Senior Nationals will take place on back to back weekends in Florida in November. The U-19 Tournament is scheduled for November 12-14 in Fort Lauderdale while the Men’s Tournament will happen from November 19-21 in Fort Lauderdale.

The U-19 Tournament will be contested by four teams. The North West and South West each qualified by finishing in first and second place at the U-19 Western Conference Tournament in Los Angeles last August. New York and South East finished first and second at the Eastern Conference in Connecticut over the same weekend to book their places in Florida.

The tournament will be used to help identify a 14-man squad to compete in the ICC Americas U-19 World Cup Qualifier. USA will take on Canada, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas and Argentina in the Americas Qualifier. The top two teams at this event will go on to play in the ICC U-19 World Cup Global Qualifier, with a date and location yet to be announced. USA finished second at the ICC Americas U-19 World Cup Qualifier last July behind Canada before finishing fifth at the Global Qualifier to clinch the country’s second ever berth at a World Cup event.

Six teams have already qualified for the ICC U-19 World Cup Global Qualifier for the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup. They are Hong Kong and Afghanistan from Asia, Namibia and Kenya from Africa, and Scotland and Ireland from Europe. In addition to the two teams that will qualify out of the Americas, two more teams will qualify from the East Asia-Pacific Region to make up the 10 team field for the Global Qualifier. The dates and locations for the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup as well as the Global Qualifier are yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, the four teams to compete in the Men’s Tournament will be New York and Atlantic, who advanced out of the Eastern Conference played in Atlanta, along with South West and North West, who qualified from the Western Conference that took place in Los Angeles. This tournament will be one more chance for many players to make an impression on selectors before a squad is selected to travel to Hong Kong for the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 due to take place from January 22-29, 2011.

USA will take on Denmark, Italy, Oman, Papua New Guinea as well as the hosts in an attempt to advance into WCL Division 2, which will be played in April in the UAE. Division 2 currently includes the UAE, Bermuda, Namibia and Uganda.

South Gujarat CC thwarts Edison CC's improbable run to win CLNJ Division 1 title

openingbat — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 01:18:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Captain Hiten Patel scored 54 and took 1 for 13 to lead South Gujarat Cricket Club past Edison Cricket Club by 60 runs to win the Cricket League of New Jersey Division 1 title on Sunday at Mercer County Park in Hamilton, N.J. Patel was named the MVP of the finals as SGCC won their fourth Division 1 title and their second in three years.

“I think since we started playing, we’re the same guys,” said Patel. “We work hard every year.”

Image: SGCC poses for a team photo after winning the 2010 CLNJ Division 1 title at Mercer County Park in Hamilton, N.J.

SGCC posted 224 for 7 in 40 overs in a rain affected first innings. Edison got an early breakthrough when opener Priyesh Shah was dismissed for a second ball duck by Vipul Patel. Uday Patel and Hiten Patel then produced a solid stand to provide a platform for SGCC as Uday scored 40 to go along with Hiten’s 54. Fahad Sultan and Sachin Pathare then took two wickets each, including the set batsmen, to help turn the match back in Edison’s favor.

Alay Patel also claimed two scalps as Edison could have had SGCC bowled out for under 200, but number six batsman Kapil Khanna got excellent support from Arpan Patel to provide a valuable surge late in the innings. Khanna finished 39 not out in 41 balls while Patel walked off unbeaten on 27 off 22 balls.

“I think in the middle of the bowling innings, we were doing pretty well,” said Edison captain Sriram Srinivasan. “They were 34 overs, 162 for 7, and we had a 15-minute break a couple of times when the ball became really wet and it kind of caused problems for our fielders and mainly our bowlers who couldn’t get some wicket-taking balls.”

The match was evenly balanced at the innings break. Despite losing the early wicket of Alay Patel, Edison made good progress with a half-century stand by Rakesh Shah and Chirag Patel.

“We know they were a tough opponent,” said Hiten Patel. “We never thought they were an underdog.”

Medium pacer Darshan Patel finally ended the partnership when he bowled Shah with a good length ball that kept low to send the opener back for 24. SGCC then went on to produce an outstanding fielding performance to back up spin bowler Mehul Goswami, who took 4 for 30. Goswami helped himself out with a spectacular one-handed return catch diving to his right to dismiss Karthik Ramani.

Chirag Patel was the lone batsmen to provide some resistence. He finished with 32, but without much support, he was forced to hit out and was finally bowled by Arpan Patel to effectively seal the match for SGCC. Arpan then accounted for the final wicket as Pathare was caught by substitute fielder Rikesh Patel for 12 on the final ball of the 36^th over and Edison was bowled out for 164.

“This is the first year we got into Division 1 and we were expecting stiff competition, but from the beginning I was always confident of the skills of our players," said Srinivasan. "I had set a target of landing in the top eight which is qualifying for the playoffs. Our guys did really well to actually do well in the playoffs and go all the way to the finals.”

South Gujarat finished in first place after the regular season with 10 wins in 15 games while Edison wound up in fifth place with seven wins before making it through the playoffs to the championship game.

Match Scorecard

USA Cricket 2010 National Tournament Day 1: Atlantic and NY cruise to victories in Atlanta. CE and SW win in LA.

openingbat — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:10:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

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Top to bottom contributions for both Atlantic and New York saw each team to a first day win on Friday afternoon at the USACA Eastern Conference Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. Atlantic defeated South East by 6 wickets while New York bounced North East by 104 runs.

Glen Hall (seen here at Radiant Info T20) was top scorer for New York as they defeated North East.

In the match played at McNair Middle School, South East won the toss and elected to bat first against Atlantic. The first ball set the tone for the sloppy fielding that was on display throughout the match when Timothy Surujbally tickled a short delivery from Imran Awan down the leg side but was dropped by wicketkeeper Sean Stanislaus.

South East then made use of the extra chance as Surujbally and Farhat Ullah tore into Awan and George Adams. The opening batsmen raced to 49 off six overs. Ullah was the more dominant of the two, striking six boundaries on his way to 34.

Atlantic captain Neil McGarrell then brought himself on to bowl left arm spin and on his third ball, he removed Ullah with a perfect delivery that was edged to Aditya Mishra at first slip to make it 55 for 1. Surujbally fell four runs later for 12 to Durale Forest and from there Atlantic did their best to take control of the match.

Japen Patel joined Steven Taylor at the wicket and the two put on 35 runs for the third wicket before Taylor was given out LBW for 17 to Muhammad Ghous. Ricky Nayar came in and added 27 with Patel, but he was runout for 11 to make it 121 for 4. Nayar drove a ball to long on and set off for what should have been an easy two, but instead of running hard the entire way, he jogged the second. Substitute fielder Junaid Rasheed alertly fired a laser to Stanislaus over the stumps at the far end and the bails were dislodged with Nayar comfortably short.

Moazzam Imtiaz came in next but didn’t stay for long. On the second ball after the second drinks break, he charged McGarrell and was beaten badly to be stumped for 4 and South East fell to 158 for 5. Meanwhile, Patel stayed as long as he could despite offering at least three chances that were not taken as well as slicing several balls off the edge into no man’s land. He finally departed for 64 when he was stumped off the bowling of Akhil Sehgal to make it 172 for 6.

“The spinners came into their own, bowling in the right areas,” said McGarrell. “The wicket was a little slow so I figured the spinners were gonna do a great job on the wicket.”

Atlantic vs. South East Post Match Interview with McGarrell & Forest from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Anand Tummala was joined by Ken Singh with 12 overs still left to play. Tummala looked well set at 17 to make a significant contribution, but when he slapped a ball in front of point and set off for an easy run, Singh kept his feet planted in the ground. Both men wound up at the non-striker’s end while Charan Singh tossed the ball to Stanislaus for a simple runout to make it 190 for 7.

With that, South East’s recognized batsmen were all gone and the innings folded quickly. McGarrell took two more wickets to finish with 4 for 18 while Sehgal claimed a second and South East was bowled out for 199 in 44.5 overs. They could have been bowled out for around 150 had Atlantic not dropped eight chances in the field.

“Blame it mainly on some of the fellas getting to the hotel late,” said McGarrell when asked why the team performed the way they did in the field. “So lack of sleep and I don’t think we had enough time to have a practice so we could do some catches.”

As if taking their cues from the Atlantic fielding performance, South East did them two better by grassing 10 chances. No one benefitted more than opening batsman Siddharth Mehta. He offered his first chance on 4 with the score at 11 when he slashed a delivery from Tummala and was put down in the gully by Imtiaz. It was the first of five lives he was given during his innings, but he made the most of them. He put on 84 runs for the first wicket with Mishra before Mishra was stumped by Taylor off the bowling of Nasir “Charlie” Javed for 45.

Singh came in next but left a short time later for 4 as Javed bowled a half-tracker that was pulled straight to Surujbally at mid on to make it 92 for 2 in 24 overs. Stanislaus fell for 1 to produce a mini slide for Atlantic as spinner Hussain Haidar claimed him LBW to make it 93 for 3. Mehta finally fell for 45, caught on the square leg boundary by Imtiaz off another half-tracker to gift Javed his third wicket.

Forest and Ghous then teamed up to methodically guide their team across the line with an 81-run unbeaten fifth wicket partnership. Ghous made the most of a second chance when he was dropped by Taylor on 2 off the bowling of Haidar. He went on to score 45 not out while Forest top-scored with 46 not out to be named Man of the Match. Ghous hit the winning single with nine balls to spare.

“My mindset was go out there, occupy the crease, play a single-double role, rotate the strike and dispatch the bad ball,” said Forest.

In the match played at Creel Park, New York won the toss and batted first against North East. New York finished 267 all out in 47.2 overs as no one crossed 50. Glen Hall’s 49 opening the innings was the high score for New York while his opening partner Akeem Dodson contributed 44. Denison Thomas chipped in with 43 at number seven to give New York a late boost.

Several players got starts for North East, but no one could go on to make a big score. Sharaz Baksh’s 32 was the top score for North East. Teenager Jonathan Bonner scored 27 and Fazal Alam notched 17, but all three were dismissed by Dwayne Smith, who finished with 3 for 32 to help bowl North East out for 163 in 42 overs.

On Saturday, New York will take on Atlantic at Creel Park in a battle of unbeatens. South East and North East will clash at McNair Middle School as both teams hope to get their first win of the tournament. At last year’s tournament in Washington, D.C., New York embarrassed Atlantic on the final day, bowling them out for 82 in 27.3 overs before winning by 9 wickets. Forest was a member of that Atlantic squad and is hoping his team will put up a better fight on Saturday against the defending national champs.

“That’s in the back of my mind, last year, but we’re gonna try to forget about that,” said Forest. “It’s a new year. We’re gonna go out there and just from ball one apply pressure.”

Meanwhile, at the Western Conference in Los Angeles, South West defeated North West convincingly on the Wong Field at Woodley. Batting first, North West were in reasonably good shape at the start accumulating 70 runs for the loss of two wickets before unraveling and losing all their batsmen for 171 with 5 overs to spare. In the chase, Tarun Bhoomireddy and Ravi Timbawala gave South West a solid start and the opening partnership lasted into the 19th over yielding 90 runs. Tarun, Ravi, Dionisius Mavrokefalos, Aditya Thyagarajan and Ali Shafi - all contributed as they took the home side to their winning total of 174 for 3.

At the Marder Field, Central East batted first against Central West and got off to a sputtering start losing Fahad Babar's wicket off the third ball of the innings. Even as skipper Shahid Malik stood like a rock, his mates lost wickets at regular intervals and the side was bowled out for 172 in 48.3 overs. In the chase, Central West looked solid in the beginning with opening batsmen Ryan Corns and Rahul Kukreti helping their team reach 55 without loss in the 10th over at a brisk pace. What followed was high drama as CE bowlers piled on the pressure and the CW batsmen began to fall like nine pins. In the end, they reached 169 and lost by a whisker.

To read about the Western Conference matches, please click here.

Match Scorecard

Atlantic vs. South East

Atlantic won by 6 wickets

South East won the toss and elected to bat

Man of the Match: Durale Forest

South East Batting

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

T Surujbally 12 19 2 0 ct Stanislaus+ b Forest

F Ullah 34 31 6 0 ct Mishra b McGarrell

S Taylor+ 17 30 2 0 LBW Ghous

J Patel 64 91 3 2 st Stanislaus+ b Sehgal

V Nayar 11 30 0 0 runout (sub (Rasheed)/Stanislaus+)

M Imtiaz 4 16 0 0 st Stanislaus+ b McGarrell

A Tummala 17 24 1 0 runout (Singh/Stanislaus+)

K Singh 9 12 0 0 b McGarrell

D Nathaniel 7 7 0 1 LBW Sehgal

H Haidar 0 7 0 0 ct Stanislaus b McGarrell

N Javed* 0 3 0 0 not out

Total Extras 24 (0 no balls, 3 byes, 9 leg byes, 12 wides)

Team Total 199 all out in 44.5 overs

Fall of Wicket: 55/1 (Ullah), 59/2 (Surujbally), 94/3 (Taylor), 121/4 (Nayar), 158/5 (Imtiaz), 172/6 (Patel), 190/7 (Tummala), 192/8 (Singh), 198/9 (Nathaniel), 199/10 (Haidar).

Atlantic Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

I Awan 3-0-18-0

G Adams 3-0-26-0

D Forest 6-0-23-1

N McGarrell 7.5-1-18-4

M Nisar 10-0-40-0

M Ghous 8-0-28-1

A Sehgal 7-0-34-2

Atlantic Batting

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

S Mehta 45 83 5 0 ct Imtiaz b Javed

A Mishra 45 63 4 0 st Taylor+ b Javed

C Singh 4 11 0 0 ct Surujbally b Javed

S Stanislaus 1 9 0 0 LBW Haidar

M Ghous 45 62 2 0 not out

D Forest 46 64 4 0 not out

Total Extras 14 (0 no balls, 2 byes, 1 leg bye, 11 wides)

Team Total 200 for 4 in 48.3 overs

Did not bat: N McGarrell*, M Nisar, G Adams, A Sehgal, I Awan.

Fall of Wicket: 84/1 (Mishra), 92/2 (Singh), 93/3 (Stanislaus), 119/4 (Mehta).

South East Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

K Singh 6-0-30-0

A Tummala 8-0-32-0

H Haidar 10-1-32-1

N Javed 10-1-33-3

T Surujbally 8-0-37-0

V Nayar 5-0-26-0

M Imtiaz 1.3-0-7-0

DreamCricket Academy's Ian Pont appointed bowling coach by Bangladesh Cricket

openingbat — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:48:00 GMT

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

Bangladesh has appointed Ian Pont as national team bowling coach after South African Lance Klusener rejected the post, a spokesman said Wednesday. This announcement comes a month after Bangladesh named another Englishman, Julien Fountain, as their fielding coach as the Tigers seek to boost their performance ahead of the 2011 ICC World Cup being co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February.

Pont, 49, who heads the MCI Academy has conducted coaching camps in USA as international coach for DreamCricket Academy over the last three years.

Picture (right): Ian Pont at the DreamCricket Academy fast bowling camp in Hillsborough, NJ.

"Pont has accepted our offer and is due to land in Dhaka tomorrow (Thursday)," Bangladesh's cricket board spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP.

"Initially his contract will run up to the end of the World Cup. Then we will consider an extension," he said. With the appointment of Pont, Bangladesh has completed a reshuffle of their coaching staff, now headed by Australian Jamie Siddons.

In additions to his summer and winter camps for DreamCricket Academy in Hillsborough, NJ and in the Bay Area, Pont conducts an annual camp in La Manga, Spain and travels out to Potchefstroom, South Africa for the International Pro Camp he helped create with North West Cricket. The Potchefstroom camp features world-class coaches like Corrie Van Zyl, Gary Kirsten, Graeme Pollock and Jimmy Cook.

Prior to 2009, Ian has worked as ECB National Skill Sets Coach, Essex CCC for 3 years as Bowling Coach, and was Assistant Head Coach to The Netherlands, helping take the Dutch to the 2007 ICC World Cup in the West Indies. Ian Pont has built his reputation working with first class and international players such as Darren Gough, Dale Steyn, Andre Adams, Andy Flower, Kabir Ali, Alex Tudor, Andre Nel, Andy Bichel, Maurice Chambers, Alexei Kerveeze and Graham Napier.

Ian's coaching methods offer a progressive and proven path to success. Pont is also author of a 2006 coaching manual, "The Fast Bowler's Bible" and this year, he published his second book, "Coaching Youth Cricket."

Ian has the second longest recorded throw of all time – a mammoth 138 yards (126.18m) or 414 feet – set in Cape Town. He is among the few cricketers who has had professional baseball trials as a pitcher with 6 Major League Teams in 1987. Clocking speeds around 100 mph, he attracted interest from the Philadelphia Phillies. At Major League Spring Training he started as lead pitcher in a professional game for the Phillies making Ian the only modern professional cricketer to play in a professional baseball match.

Sunil Gavaskar visits DreamCricket Academy in New Jersey

openingbat — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:32:00 GMT

April 4, 2009

Hillsborough, NJ

DreamCricket Academy had a surprise in store for its Under-15 cricketers on Saturday, April 4, 2009. Just as the boys were padding up at DreamCricket's indoor cricket arena on a windy day in New Jersey - they were joined by the legendary cricketer - Sunil Gavaskar.

Whilst on a visit to Wharton India Economic Forum, when DreamCricket.com requested the Little Master to visit the DreamCricket Academy, Mr. Gavaskar immediately agreed despite his hectic schedule.

Sunil Gavaskar with young cricketers at DreamCricket Academy

Mr. Gavaskar connected with the kids instantaneously. Noticing the hands go up reluctantly when he asked who the DreamCricket Academy's opening batsmen were, he joked "I don't blame you. You have to be crazy to be openers!" The kids were not old enough to have seen the Little Master in action during his playing days, but they were awestruck when they were told that the man in front of them was test cricket's best opening batsman ever.

In a short and inspiring speech, Mr. Gavaskar reinforced the importance of sport. "Remember that, above all, this is a sport. You have to enjoy sports. Participating in sports is the biggest high that you can have. I mean, as you get older, as your body gets a little tired, you will feel like I wish I could do this, I wish I could play, but age doesn't allow you, so while you are young, you have the energy, you have the abilities, you must enjoy yourselves."

Mr. Gavaskar told the kids that cricket was a metaphor for life. "The game of cricket is one which tells you what teamwork is all about. It's a reflection of the society that you are in. Sometimes, the better batsman looks after the lesser batsman, the better bowler looks after the lesser bowler."

"The better batsman will not be able to score a century if the lesser batsman doesn't stay at the other end with him. Similarly the better bowler won't get wickets unless the lesser bowler is able to keep some pressure, unless he has the cooperation from the fielders who are taking catches and stopping the runs."

"There are times when the good batsman is struggling, and the lesser batsman comes in and he faces most of the bowling till the good batsman starts to get his form back, starts to get his feet moving, so it is all a matter of cooperation and teamwork. And that's what life is all about."

"Cricket is just a reflection of how to go about life where you try and help everybody, so that it becomes a very peaceful society where everybody helps each other," Mr. Gavaskar added.

U-15 cricketers bowled to the Little Master in the nets

About the game's ups and downs, he told the kids not to worry. "Some days you really feel good playing sports, everything falls into place, if you are a batsman, you are hitting the ball, you are getting hundreds, if you are a bowler, you are getting wickets doing everything. On an another day, nothing, not a thing can work. Still you have to go out there with the knowledge that you are putting everything into it. Effort has got to be there 100%. When you put your head on the pillow at night, it should be with the knowledge that you gave it 100%. And then success and failure is in the hands of God."

"Always wear a helmet," was Mr. Gavaskar's advice to everyone present. These words acquired even more weight because they came from a batsman who never wore a helmet, even as he played the most vicious fastest bowlers cricket has ever produced. He repeated the advice as he sat down to watch the kids play in the nets.

When asked whether American born cricketers had a chance to play cricket at the highest level, Mr. Gavaskar said: "I think that with effort comes better performance. When you perform, you get noticed. And higher honors await you. Throughout the process, enjoy the sport and get the thrill of participation." Mr. Gavaskar was quite impressed with what he had seen and offered some helpful suggestions to popularize the sport.

Kranthi Bayya, CEO of DreamCricket.com welcomed Sunil Gavaskar to the indoor facility

In her welcome address, DreamCricket.com CEO Ms. Kranthi Bayya said, "It is an amazing honor to have a living legend at the DreamCricket Academy." Noting that it was Mr. Gavaskar's opening partner, Mr. Chetan Chauhan, who opened DreamCricket's indoor facility in the winter of 2007, Ms Bayya said, "it is a dream come true for us at DreamCricket to have India's best opening pair visit the facility."

Talking about his many accomplishments as a player, commentator and writer, Ms. Bayya quoted Tony Lewis' tribute to Mr. Gavaskar from the 1989 Wisden: "You would not wish to be Mr Gavaskar's opponent in any field."

Mr. Gavaskar's quick wit was on display throughout his brief visit. When a parent noted that Sunil Gavaskar held the records for both the most runs and most centuries during his playing days. Mr. Gavaskar shot back, "that was in the last century." And as a woman was struggling to open the plastic wrapper off a DVD that she had brought for his autograph, he said "give that to me, I am the opener!"

Gavaskar signed autographs for all present

Following the speech, Mr. Gavaskar spent an hour in the nets with the kids as they got a chance to bowl to the legend. He then watched some of the kids practice their batting. "The kids are on the right track. I don't see any baseball influence here. I think the coach is doing a wonderful job by focusing on cricketing technique," he said complimenting Coach Earl Daley.

Mr. Gavaskar posed for pictures with those present and signed autographs. Before his departure, he toured DreamCricket.com's facility, which includes a cricket store, indoor nets and houses its collection of memorabilia in addition to the DreamCricket Academy.

More pictures

Sunil Gavaskar visits DreamCricket.com.

Sunil Gavaskar gave an inspiring speech to the kids

U-15 cricketers bowled to the Little Master in the nets

Sunil Gavaskar poses with the DreamCricket family

Sunil Gavaskar tours the store

Parents of the U15 boys take a picture with the Little Master

USA Collegiate Cricket: Montgomery College in Rockville is wicket good!

openingbat — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:19:00 GMT

The Gazette, a Maryland newspaper, wrote:

"Montgomery College-Rockville campus boasts the top-ranked cricket team in the United States. On March 23, its first-ever squad beat the University of South Florida to capture the inaugural American College Cricket Championship, held in Lauderhill, Fla. They did so in complete obscurity. Montgomery College does not recognize cricket as a varsity sport, or even a club team.

So how did they get so good?"

Click here for full article.

Charles E. Shoemaker/The Gazette: Gaithersburg resident Mohammed Khamran demonstrates the technique that helped Montgomery College-Rockville win the inaugural American College Cricket Championship tournament in March.