USA Cricketer : Carl Wright

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier Report Card Part 3 - Outlook for WCL Division Four

openingbat — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:27:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Click here for Part 1: Team Grades and Part 2: Player Grades

What the team needs heading into ICC WCL Division Four

Preparation: The following quote is taken from the report card that was written after the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in July.

“When the team went to Dubai in 2010 for the last World Twenty20 Qualifier, they got to play two warm-up matches against the UAE before the tournament started and wound up finishing fifth after beating Scotland and losing to Ireland and Afghanistan. They’ll need something more significant in terms of preparation prior to leaving for Dubai to have any hope of finishing in the top two in next year’s qualifier. There is currently nothing scheduled for the men’s team between now and March when the Qualifier is due to be held so making plans to fill that gap in the calendar should be a high priority.”

If the USACA administration was able to arrange a four-match 50-over series in Florida for the USA U-19 team against West Indies U-19 before heading off to Ireland for last summer’s ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier, the administration should have been able to make a few phone calls to organize some unofficial Twenty20 fixtures to be played in late December or early January in Florida against some of the West Indian domestic teams such as Jamaica, Guyana or Trinidad & Tobago for the USA men. West Indies A played a series of unofficial matches against Bangladesh A in November and something similar could have been designed for USA against one of the islands during the gap in the West Indies domestic calendar ahead of the Caribbean T20 tournament in January.

The administration failed to prepare the team for this tournament and as a result the team was prepared to fail. In the seven and a half months that followed USA’s second place finish at the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in July, next to nothing was done. USA played three Twenty20s in Canada in August, but because USA was only confirmed to participate a week before the start of the Etihad Summer Cricket Festival, a B squad was sent to play in Toronto.

Of the players who participated for USA in the event against Canada, Afghanistan and Trinidad & Tobago, only two of them were picked in the 14-man squad to go to the UAE – Muhammad Ghous and Andy Mohammed – while Japen Patel joined as an injury replacement. For the other 12 players in the team that went to the UAE this month, the only matches they got to play together in a USA uniform between July and the first match against Uganda were three warm-ups in Sharjah a few days before the qualifier began.

Compare that to Namibia, who like USA is not one of the six ICC High Performance Program teams. Like USA, they played their ICC Regional Qualifier in July and finished second at the ICC Africa Division One Twenty20. However, they had a plan in place that resulted in an undefeated 7-0 record in Group B. When Scotland visited to play an Intercontinental Cup match and two 50-over games in September, Namibia arranged for them to stay an extra week into October so they could play five unofficial Twenty20s against each other. Scotland won four of the five, but the preparation and familiarity with their opposition certainly helped Namibia when they hammered Scotland at the qualifier.

Then, completely independent of any ICC tournament obligations whatsoever, Namibia hosted Kenya for eight unofficial Twenty20 matches in November. They won six matches and lost two, but most importantly got to try out various combinations and roles to see what worked best. Namibia also plays in South Africa’s provincial three-day and 50-over competitions, but they specifically sought out Twenty20 practice matches independent of that to get their players geared up for the qualifier and it paid off.

Conversely, USA’s administration sat on their hands. As a result, the coaching staff was trialing combinations and roles during the tournament rather than ahead of the tournament. It cost the team badly. Previous evidence shows that USA takes a long time to get into a good rhythm when they enter an ICC tournament which takes place in the northern hemisphere winter, outside of USA’s domestic club cricket season. They needed all the help they could get ahead of this tournament to get prepared. Instead, the administration thought that a three-day selection camp in January followed by a series of weekly conference calls before leaving on March 6 for the UAE would bring good results. USA’s 3-6 tournament record demonstrates what a folly that was.

Anyone looking to make excuses for USA’s performance at the qualifier by saying that it’s unfair to compare USA with the upper echelon Associate level teams is doing just that, making excuses. Entering the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, USA had beaten Scotland, Canada, Nepal, Italy and Hong Kong in either 50-over or 20-over matches since the start of 2010. Scotland finished fifth and Canada sixth at the qualifier. Nepal finished seventh, Italy 10th and Hong Kong 11th.

Image (right) - Aditya Mishra hits a six against Scotland in USA's seven-wicket win. If they can finish comfortably on top against Scotland, there's no reason USA can't stand toe-to-toe with any other Associate. [Courtesy: ICC/Ian Jacobs]

USA’s talent matches up well with any of those teams. Scotland played in the Intercontinental Cup final at the end of 2010. USA beat them convincingly at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2010 and they beat them convincingly at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2012. The fact is that USA’s players are talented enough and capable of competing with any team that was in the tournament, including Ireland and Afghanistan. However, that can’t be done by standing idle for seven and a half months while other countries are playing together regularly.

Selecting players for roles: One of the most amusing things to go back and read on the forums after the end of a match are comments left by fans and supporters that say something along the lines of, “Player X opens for his club/league/region team. Why is he batting at number seven for USA?” One of the only players who bats in the same role for his club/league/region as he does when he has played for the national team is Aditya Thyagarajan. Not surprisingly, Thyagarajan has had success playing in the middle order for USA because he is familiar and comfortable there due to the fact that he fills the same role for his club/region.

Every other player picked for USA opens or bats at number three for their club/league/region. Then they come to play for USA and are asked to bat at 5, 6, 7 or 8 and have no situational experience to draw upon. They are used to starting the innings and dictating the course of play. For the most part, they have no concept of how to respond when they enter at 30 for 4 or 40 for 5 when playing for the national team because they’ve never had to do it at club/league/regional level. They struggle and the team struggles as a result. More attention needs to be placed on picking players for roles. USA is guilty of this at U-19 level as well as senior level in terms of squad selection. It makes no sense picking eight opening batsmen when only two can play in that position for the national team.

Get people playing regularly on turf wickets: The vast majority of USA’s squad had limited international experience prior to this tournament. The vast majority of them also had limited experience playing on turf wickets. Two players who play on turf wickets on a weekly basis at Woodley in Los Angeles – Abhimanyu Rajp and Elmore Hutchinson – were two of USA’s most impressive players on tour despite the fact that they were making their debuts for USA. That’s no coincidence. USA’s batsmen in particular struggled and part of those struggles can be pinned on failing to adjust to turf wickets after playing virtually year round on artificial surfaces. It will continue to be this way until the administration makes infrastructure development a top priority.

Hire a full-time coach/team director: This was discussed in November, but it’s worth revisiting here. Just about every player had positive things to say about Robin Singh and his involvement with the squad. Singh was with the team during the warm-up and group phase, then flew back to India after USA’s final group match against Scotland. Everyone felt they learned something from him over the course of their time with him.

However, USACA is wasting precious funds by just throwing money at him to show up for two weeks and disappear again. USACA must bring him on board full-time and have him work with the various regions on a regular basis by developing programs geared to get everyone on the same page and he has to work with the national team inside the USA ahead of tours as well. It’s no use having him just show up at tournament time. He needs to be on site on a regular basis.

Hire a proper physio: Throwing a first aid kit bag over a USACA board member’s shoulder doesn’t count. The person USACA has been sending on every tour to be the team physio is licensed in the state of Illinois to be a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA). He is not licensed to be a Physical Therapist (PT). According to the Illinois Physical Therapy Association, there is a very big difference between the two.

Physical Therapist

“Physical therapists must graduate from an accredited educational program with a master's or doctoral degree. After completing your education, you will be required to pass a licensure examination before you can work as a PT. Coursework includes biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as specialized courses such as biomechanics, neuroanatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of disease, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures.”

Physical Therapist Assistant

“Physical Therapist Assistants graduate from a 2 year program, earning an associates degree from an accredited physical therapist assistant program. PTAs also must pass a licensure examination to work as a PTA. PTAs perform a number of physical therapy treatments and procedures as determined by the supervising physical therapist.”

There are plenty of 27 and 28-year-old newly licensed physical therapists fresh out of completing a master's or doctoral degree at university with the latest training methods in sports medicine who would give their right arm for an opportunity to work for a few weeks on tour for a USA national team in any sport. Many of them would probably do it pro bono as long as their expenses were taken care of. The selectors showed in January that they were keen to find some fresh blood to represent the team. With that spirit in mind, the same should be done for the next tour by bringing along a new fully licensed, freshly trained physical therapist.

A healthy Aditya Thyagarajan: If USA’s middle order man for all crises can return to full fitness after more than a year away from the national team, he would provide priceless stability to the batting. To give fans a reminder of what USA has been missing, here’s a look at some of Thyagarajan’s highlights in a red, white and blue uniform:

November 27, 2008: Enters match at 114 for 4, builds 119-run partnership with Rashard Marshall for the sixth wicket. Finishes second top score behind Marshall with 42 in total of 254 for 7 before eventual 86-run win over Bermuda.

Image (left) - Aditya Thyagarajan in action against Canada in 2008. [Courtesy: ICC]

November 29, 2008: Enters match at 59 for 4, builds 105-run partnership with Orlando Baker for the seventh wicket. Top score of 84 not out in total of 201 for 8 in USA’s eventual 81-run win over Canada.

February 10, 2010: Enters match at 11 for 5 in fourth over, builds 99-run unbeaten partnership with Orlando Baker for the seventh wicket. Top score of 72 not out in 78-run loss to Ireland at ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

February 23, 2010: Enters match at 55 for 5 in 23rd over, builds 118-run partnership with Carl Wright for the sixth wicket. Builds 80-run unbeaten partnership with Rashard Marshall for seventh wicket. Top score of 83 not out in USA’s 66-run win over Jersey.

February 26, 2010: With USA needing 163 to win in 50 overs, enters chase at 112 for 5 in 29th over. Builds 47-run unbeaten partnership with Sushil Nadkarni for the sixth wicket. Scores 18 not out in five-wicket win over Nepal amidst crowd rioting.

May 28, 2010: Enters match at 91 for 4, builds 213-run partnership with Orlando Baker for the fifth wicket. Top score of 159 in total of 347 for 6 in USA’s eventual 119-run win over Argentina.

June 6, 2010: With USA needing 101 to win in 20 overs, enters chase at 60 for 4 in 10th over. Builds 37-run unbeaten partnership with Carl Wright for the sixth wicket. Top score of 27 not out as USA wins ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 title over Canada by five wickets with nine balls to spare.

August 20, 2010: Enters match at 17 for 5 in fifth over, builds 84-run partnership with Lennox Cush for the sixth wicket. Builds 205-run unbeaten partnership with Rashard Marshall for the seventh wicket. Scores 102 not out in total of 306 for 6 before eventual 196-run win over Argentina.

Call him the Iceman, the Insurance Policy, the Stick of Glue… call him whatever you want, Thyagarajan was USA’s middle order. USA hasn’t been the same since he went down with a dislocated right knee against Denmark in Hong Kong more than a year ago at ICC WCL Division Three. He’s progressed enough in rehab to be playing club cricket for Hollywood CC in the SCCA, but he needs to get 100% fit and back into a USA uniform for ICC WCL Division Four. USA is a different team with him in the lineup and the younger players can learn a huge amount by observing him and the way he approaches each innings.

The return of Steve Massiah: Massiah has never been a good performer in Twenty20 cricket so it’s doubtful he would have caused a change in fortunes for USA had he been with the squad in the UAE. However, he still offers value to USA in the 50-over format. Now that his legal matter has been resolved, it opens the door for him to come back and bolster USA’s middle order for WCL Division Four.

With Massiah and Thyagarajan in the lineup, USA should feel more confident about its chances of progressing from Division Four - where they'll be up against Denmark, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Tanzania - back into Division Three. The four teams in Division Three awaiting the two sides to get promoted from Division Four are Bermuda, Italy, Oman and Uganda. On paper, Division Four is going to be more difficult than Division Three. USA will need all hands on deck to progress out of Division Four and Massiah will be one of the players who has to step up.

Finding a wicketkeeper: Since 2010, USA has used Carl Wright, Orlando Baker, Ashhar Mehdi, Steven Taylor, Ritesh Kadu, Akeem Dodson and Nauman Mustafa in the specialist position. Taylor was forced into the role on this tour when it wasn’t the original plan, but he is not a long term solution and should only be used to keep wicket in emergency situations. Otherwise, Taylor should be playing as a specialist batsman.

USA’s handling of Mustafa on this tour was reminiscent of their handling of Durale Forrest in Hong Kong. The coaching staff killed Mustafa’s confidence by dropping him and handing the gloves over to Taylor rather than show faith in Mustafa after a rough first game behind the stumps against Uganda. Forrest didn’t even get the benefit of a game before his confidence was shattered. He had to watch as a 46-year-old assistant coach was added to the roster and walked right into the starting XI before he could even make his debut.

USACA has also done wonders to put a major dent in Akeem Dodson’s development. The 24-year-old won the Best Wicketkeeper Award at the ICC Americas tournament in July, but USACA sent invitations out to a half-dozen other wicketkeepers for January’s selection camp. Mustafa succeeded in knocking the incumbent out, but couldn’t cement his position once on tour and that caused a major headache for the squad during and after the tournament. It's highly likely that USA will be going back to the drawing board once again for a different wicketkeeper when WCL Division Four comes around after Mustafa's underwhelming performance in the UAE.

The bottom line is someone needs to step up to fill the role ahead of WCL Division Four. The wicketkeeper position figures to be one of at least two roster spots in the team up for grabs heading into the senior team’s next international commitment. Adil Bhatti might be able to fight off a few challengers to remain in the squad, but if Timroy Allen or Rashard Marshall show interest in recommitting themselves to the national team, they would be too difficult to pass up. Here’s a projected lineup for USA at Division Four with two roster spots left unnamed.

1. Steven Taylor
2. Aditya Mishra (vice-captain)
3. Sushil Nadkarni (captain)
4. Steve Massiah
5. Aditya Thyagarajan
6. Orlando Baker
7. Wicketkeeper - Up for grabs
8. Elmore Hutchinson
9. Usman Shuja
10. Abhimanyu Rajp
11. Muhammad Ghous

12th man: Ryan Corns
13th man: Asif Khan
14th man: Up for grabs

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

USA Cricket: Magical Mishra leads USA to 7-wicket upset of Scotland at 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

openingbat — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:32:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Dubai (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Stand-in captain Aditya Mishra scored 62 to lead a thrilling chase for USA as they knocked off Scotland by 7 wickets on Tuesday at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai. Mishra was named Man of the Match after notching USA’s highest individual score of the tournament which included five boundaries and two sixes before he was run out on the first ball of the final over with four needed to win.

“I just told myself it’s my day,” said Mishra after the win. “I never believed that I’m not gonna get the USA through so I was a little disappointed to get run out in the end but I envisioned this thing when I was sitting in the dressing room. When I left from the hotel bus, I saw myself winning this game.”

USA finishes Group B in sixth place at 2-5 with the same record as Uganda but ahead of them on net run rate. Scotland ends at 4-3 with Kenya but was seven thousandths of a point better than Kenya on net run rate to wind up in third place and in the six-team playoffs for qualification to the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

Scotland won the toss and elected to bat first on a warm and dusty day at the ICC Global Cricket Academy. USA made three changes to the lineup, with captain Sushil Nadkarni resting while Adil Bhatti and Andy Mohammed came out in favor of Mishra, Asif Khan and Nauman Mustafa, who took over the gloves from Steven Taylor.

Usman Shuja got USA off to an outstanding start in the field with a wicket maiden to open the match. On his fourth delivery to Richie Berrington, he beat the batsman for pace with a short ball as an attempted pull was skied behind the stumps where Mustafa took the catch. Berrington’s fellow opener Calum MacLeod got off to a brisk start with 16 off his first nine balls, but when he tried to slog Muhammad Ghous for a second six on his 10th delivery, he failed to middle the ball and instead found Japen Patel at deep square leg to make it 21 for 2 on the first ball of the fourth over.

Preston Mommsen came in at three and scored 21 at a run a ball including four boundaries but he succumbed to Abhimanyu Rajp, driving back a low return catch to give the off-spinner his team-leading eighth wicket to make it 55 for 2 in the eighth over.

The loss of early wickets didn’t stem the aggressive charge made by Scotland as they continued to try to bat USA out of the game. Jan Stander and stand-in captain Kyle Coetzer put on 54 runs for the fourth wicket, Scotland’s best partnership of the match. The pair took Scotland to 89 for 3 in 10 overs after scoring 17 off Rajp’s second over in the 10th. Stander hit him for six on the second ball of the over and then lofted him down the ground to long off on the fifth ball where Hutchinson was in position for a possible catch but the ball burst through his hands to go over the rope for six and take Stander to 47.

Stander was dropped again on 49 by Ghous running in from long off to take him to his half-century in 24 balls and survived a run out chance on 54 before his luck finally ran out. Ryan Corns bowled a full and wide delivery that Stander tried to slog against the spin, resulting in another top edge taken safely by Mustafa at silly point after jogging out from behind the stumps to dismiss Stander for 58 on the first ball of the 15th.

Saafyan Sharif came in and turned the over back Scotland’s way with a four and a six off the side of the academy building and Scotland finished the 15th at 122 for 4. USA did well to not let them race toward 180, only conceding 39 in the final 30 balls, aided by a steady stream of wickets.

Coetzer was done in by a slower ball from Shuja, caught by Hutchinson at long off for 19 to make it 131 for 5 at the end of the 16th. Sharif was run out five balls later for 13 after a mixup with Fraser Watts. Watts scooped a Hutchinson delivery to Mishra at cover to go for 5 with the score at 147 in the 19th. Majid Haq hit a six first ball and was out second ball edging behind to Mustafa off Shuja to make it 156 for 8 with two balls to go in the final over. Craig Wallace finished with 16 not out off 10 balls, hitting three fours including the final ball of the innings which was dropped by Patel at deep midwicket before bouncing over the rope to take Scotland to 161 for 8 in 20.

Shuja finished with USA’s best figures in the innings with 3 for 39 and it could have been 4 for 35 if not for the drop to end the innings. Hutchinson bowled a key two-over spell at the end of the innings to finish with 1 for 10. USA’s sloppy fielding cost them at least 20 runs, but Scotland’s own woeful effort in the field more than compensated for it in the end.

With Nadkarni sitting out, Mishra moved up to open with Taylor and they produced USA’s best opening and overall stand of the tournament with 78 runs. The previous best was also between Taylor and Mishra when they put on 64 for the third wicket against Namibia. Instead of USA falling short like they did against Namibia, this time the partnership was enough to catapult USA toward victory.

Image (right) - Aditya Mishra completes a drive down the ground off Preston Mommsen in the 19th over to inch USA closer to victory. Mishra was named Man of the Match for his 62, USA's best individual score of the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]

The partnership was not without its nervy moments though. Mishra was dropped on 1 four balls into the chase when he skied an attempted pull off a short ball from Sharif toward Coetzer at midwicket. Coetzer ran back to the edge of the circle and stuck two hands out before the ball snuck through to hit the turf. Mishra would make Scotland regret it. Just as Carl Wright guided USA’s successful chase over Scotland at the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier with 62 at the top of the order, it was déjà vu for the Scots as Mishra duplicated the score from the same position on Tuesday.

With Mustafa taking over the behind the stumps for USA in the field, Taylor had plenty of energy at the crease and he used it to intimidate Scotland with a series of menacing shots. Sharif tried to bounce him in the third over but Taylor responded by muscling him over mid on for a boundary. In the fourth, Taylor flicked Matthew Parker’s medium pace over square leg for his third boundary and when Parker tried going around the wicket, Taylor blasted his next ball over cover for another four. USA was 35 for 0 after four overs. Both players showed they were just as comfortable against spin with each player carting Mommsen for a boundary in the fifth before Taylor blasted Haq for six over mid on to take the total to 53 after six. At no point did USA’s run rate dip below seven per over.

“In the first six overs we got a very good start. Steven Taylor I think played fantastically well. It was good to see him score some runs there and give us a very good start,” said Mishra. “It shows the potential the guy has… I think he has tremendous and great talent. We all believe that he is the future of US cricket.”

Taylor finally showed signs of slowing down in the eighth when he was dropped on 37 by Sharif at deep midwicket off the bowling of Haq. Scotland got Taylor in the next over when Stander made a bid for Man of the Match by getting the 18-year-old clean bowled with a fuller delivery to make it 78 for 1 in 9. Taylor ended with 40 off 30 balls, eclipsing his previous high of the tournament when he scored 23 against another ODI nation, Ireland.

Hutchinson came in at number three and didn’t skip a beat with Mishra, putting on a 40-run stand. Hutchinson survived a missing run out on 5, then a botched stumping on 10, but hung around long enough to clear the ropes in a crucial 14th over against leg-spinner Moneeb Iqbal which went for 17 runs. Whereas USA stumbled at the same stage of their chases against Italy and Namibia, they took full control at this juncture against Scotland. Hutchinson slogged the first ball for six over long on before Mishra hopped down the track on the fourth ball to lift Iqbal over long off.

Hutchinson finally fell on the first ball of the 15th, clean bowled by a quicker delivery from Mommsen to make it 118 for 2. Orlando Baker came in and gave tremendous support to Mishra right from the first ball. Baker finished 21 not out off 13 balls and did not have a single dot ball in his innings. With five singles taken off the first five balls of the 16th, Baker hit a crucial boundary down the ground off Haq to finish the over.

Mishra then started off the 17th with a top edged pull off Sharif that cleared the keeper Wallace to bring up his second half-century of the tournament in 42 balls. Three balls later, USA caught a break when Baker drove to long off but a Parker misfield turned a single into a boundary and USA’s equation stood at 22 from 20 balls for victory.

After Mishra hit Haq down the ground for his fifth boundary on the fourth ball of the 18th over, it knocked the equation to less than a run a ball for the first time in the chase as Scotland started to sweat over net run rate calculations. If USA chased the target by scoring 162 in 19.4 overs, Kenya would finish third. After taking seven runs off the 19th, USA needed four runs to win in six balls.

Mishra was run out on the first ball trying to push a single to cover, but Coetzer charged in and fired a direct hit to the non-striker’s end to deny Mishra a chance to walk off unbeaten. Baker took a single off the second ball to put Asif Khan on strike. Khan then smashed a full delivery straight back to Sharif for a crucial dot ball in the net run rate calculations. After a single on the fourth ball, Sharif pulled up with a rib injury and had to leave the field.

Berrington came on to bowl the fifth ball and even though there were only two runs needed to win, Scotland kept five men on the boundary. A two would ensure they finished third, but if a boundary was struck then Kenya would jump ahead of them on net run rate. Baker got a full toss from Berrington that he popped up over midwicket. Coetzer ran back and spilled the chance as Khan and Baker ran hard while the ball was in the air to get the second run and seal the win for USA. However, Scotland hung on to third on net run rate, finishing at +0.347 to Kenya’s +0.340.

All teams have an off day on Wednesday. USA will play Bermuda in the 11th place semifinal match on Thursday in Sharjah. Bermuda finished seventh in Group B at 1-6 with their only win coming against Papua New Guinea. The winner of that match will play the winner of the first 11th place semifinal match in Sharjah between Hong Kong, who finished sixth in Group A at 2-5, and Uganda, who finished seventh in Group B at 2-5. Live coverage of USA’s match against Bermuda from Sharjah begins at 5:45 a.m. EST on Thursday. DreamCricket.com’s tournament coverage is made possible in part by the New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

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

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

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By Peter Della Penna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

List of players by Region

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

Central East: Asif Khan, Ashhar Mehdi (wk)

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

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

North East: None

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

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

South West: Elmore Hutchinson, Abhimanyu Rajp, Hammad Shahid

Wanderers wins Garden State T20 title

openingbat — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:02:00 GMT

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After missing out on the Garden State Cricket League 40 overs crown earlier this season, Wanderers Sports made amends when they captured the 2011 Division 1 T20 title. On a day when both semis and final were played back to back, Wanderers engaged Sayreville Gladiators In their semi-final at Eastside Park in Paterson, where Wanderers lost the toss and were asked to take first strike by Gladiators skipper Sri Garimella. At 29 for 3, Wanderers found themselves struggling to stay alive, but a 45-run partnership between Jason Nelson (36) and Chris Vassel (9), gave some life to the innings. The innings was capped off by another 43-run partnership between 17-year-old Rishi Patel and Nelson, who finished on 56, to give some respectability to the Wanderers total. For Gladiators, Rushi Amin finished with 2 wickets for 30 runs.

Chasing a modest 125 for victory and a ticket to the final, Gladiators lost wickets at regular intervals due to some penetrative bowling from captain Damion Morgan, who took 2 for 15, Carl Wright with 2 for 26 and Damaine Sangster's 3 for 6. Gladiators were eventually bowled out for 94 in 18.1 overs.

In the final against arch rival Eclipse Cricket Club, who had defeated G.W.I.A. in the other semi-final, Morgan won the toss and decided to take first strike. The game was reduced to 17 overs due to the late start and former USA representative Carl Wright was quickly into his stride, blazing his way to 56. Along with Chris Vassel's 18 and Jason Nelson's 14 not out, Wanderers posted a respectable 123. Needing 124 for victory, Eclipse were immediately rocked by a double strike from skipper Morgan in his very first over when he removed Eugene Hudson and Craig Oliver without scoring. A quick cameo from Ketan Patel and a quick fire 30 from Bryan Murphy did little to help the Eclipse cause, as they finished on 103. Morgan captured 3 for 8 and Sangster 3 for 34.

Note: Both the Semi-Finals and Final were played the same day.

Semi-final 1: G.W.I.A. vs. Eclipse (Game reduced to 12 overs per side)

Eclipse 110 for 7 off 12 0vers - Craig Oliver 56, Neil McGarrell 2 for 15.
G.W.I.A. 108 for 6 from 12 overs - Joseph Hartley 38, Sean Stanislaus 28.

Semi-final 2: Wanderers Sports Club vs. Sayreville Gladiators

Wanderers Sports Club 124 for 8 from 20 overs - Jason Nelson 54, Rushi Amin 2 for 30
Gladiators 94 all out from 18.1 overs - Anand Churi 29, Damion Morgan 2 for 15 and D Sangster 3 for 6.

Final: Wanderers Sports Club vs. Eclipse (Game reduced to 17 overs per side)

Wanderers Sports Club 123 for 4 in 17 overs; Carl Wright 56, Chris Vassel 18, Ketan Patel 1 for 15.
Eclipse 103 all out in 17 overs; Bryan Murphy 30, Ketan Patel 18, Damion Morgan 3 for 8, Damaine Sangster 3 for 34.

Wanderers Sports Club Emerged as Champions of the GSCL 2011 T20 Tournament.

USA Cricket: ICC WCL Division 3 Report Card

openingbat — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:50:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

Team Grades

Batting – F: The team amassed 12 ducks and only three half-centuries in the tournament. Two bowlers, Asif Khan and Muhammad Ghous, finished second and third in the averages column behind Steve Massiah. A different order was used in each game so it appeared that no one understood what their specific roles were. Only seven partnerships crossed 50 runs. The opening stand in each game for USA produced 36, 9, 2, 3, 6 and 12 runs. The small grounds in Hong Kong were supposed to favor USA’s heavy hitters. Instead, they fell flat on their faces.

Image (Right): Usman Shuja took five wickets for USA, allowing 3.07 runs per over, the second best economy rate in the entire tournament.

Bowling – B-: It’s hard to fault the efforts produced by the bowling unit. Kevin Darlington and Usman Shuja were as reliable as ever. There was only one half-century opening stand allowed, against Denmark in their initial encounter, while there were three half-century and two century stands overall. Darlington and Orlando Baker were the main victims of poor catching. Asif Khan performed well in his first tour, but the team was a bowler short in most matches and the absence of Timroy Allen hurt the team badly.

Fielding – D: In addition to the batting, this was the major culprit in USA’s losses. USA missed out on 14 definite chances in the field. By comparison, USA’s opponents only gave them five let offs in the tournament. The only game in which USA didn’t miss a chance was against Papua New Guinea and that’s because they were only in the field for six overs. The fielding performance in the rematch with Denmark was an all-time low. The best way for USA to address this is by improving the country’s infrastructure. Better facilities will produce better ground fielding and catching habits, not to mention better overall cricketers.

Fitness – D: Some of the drops in the field were a direct result of players being slow and out of shape. Far too often, players were coming off the field for treatment. There was almost always at least one and sometimes two substitute fielders on the field at the same time. In Italy, the team never looked fitter. This tournament was well below that standard. Not surprisingly, the players who showed the most energy in the field were the ones playing for America for the first time.

Individual Grades

Carl Wright – D: The wicketkeeper scored 82 against Hong Kong and it appeared his form drought from 2010 had finally ended. It was just a mirage. After top scoring with 43 the next day against Denmark, he was a no-show for the rest of the week, scoring seven runs in his last four innings. He looked disinterested at the crease, and carried over the same attitude into the field. No one questions his talent, but his work ethic is a major concern.

Image (Right): Darlington, who took eight wickets in the tournament, broke Hemin Desai's leg stump in the match against Oman. But he will be 40 when USA plays in Division Four next.

Orlando Baker – D: The allrounder’s tour was submarined when he was moved from his spot as an opener after the second match in favor of Lennox Cush. When Baker arrived at the crease against PNG, the score was 25 for 4 and he could only watch helplessly from the non-striker’s end while the team folded. Against Oman, he entered at 16 for 5 and was the only recognized batsman to cross into double-figures. His 17 in that game wound up being his high score for the event. He took five wickets at key times while Denmark’s Michael Pedersen and Italy’s Peter Petricola were dropped off his bowling during their crucial unbeaten knocks. Forces conspired against him throughout the week to derail his chances of success, but there was no excuse for his deplorable attitude in the field on the final day against Denmark.

Steve Massiah – C-: Finished as the leading scorer for USA in the event and seventh overall, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. His pair of dismissals against PNG and Oman were a result of completely irresponsible batting. He finished with three LBW dismissals, two of which can be chalked up to poor umpiring, but his reaction to the final one was way out of line and got him a reprimand from the ICC. He was part of the leadership group that was responsible for the inclusion of Howard Johnson against PNG and his overall captaincy left a lot to be desired.

Lennox Cush – F: There’s simply no way to sugarcoat it. Cush’s tour was an epic failure. He faced 48 deliveries on the week to produce scores of 2*, 16, 0, 0, 1 and 16 at an average of 7. Part of the blame must go to Massiah and Clayton Lambert. Cush was clearly out of form and should have been mercifully dropped at some point, but instead he was repeatedly thrown to the wolves and eaten alive by the opposition. He was also memorably hammered for 28 in an over against Hong Kong. Despite taking five wickets, his main responsibility in this team was to score runs and he never delivered.

Sushil Nadkarni – D: The vice-captain’s batting took a precipitous fall from the lofty heights he reached in Italy where he was Player of the Tournament. In Bologna, he had three half-centuries, but in Hong Kong his high score was 47 against Italy. It was a sign that he should have been opening the entire time in the tournament and USA’s strategy to move him down the order to negotiate the spinners backfired, mainly because the whole lineup collapsed against PNG and Oman before spin was ever introduced. He left his good fitness behind in Italy and had multiple missed chances in the field that were particularly costly.

Rashard Marshall – C: Marshall was one of the few players from the squad who can look at himself in the mirror without hanging his head in shame. His first three dismissals were a result of good bowling rather than the poor shot selection employed by the majority of his teammates. His next one was off a delivery that should have been called a no-ball on height and he finished off the tournament with an unfortunate run out. Marshall’s fielding was extremely valuable once again as he took four catches – the most for any non-wicketkeeper – including a ridiculous one-handed effort against Hong Kong and was responsible for two run outs. USA’s squad is convinced it should have been three when Rocky hit the stumps on a chance involving Italy’s Petricola, but the leg umpire claimed his vision was blocked by Ritesh Kadu running across and so Petricola batted on to the end.

Usman Shuja – B+: The fast bowler took five wickets for USA, allowing 3.07 runs per over which was the best economy rate for USA and second best overall in the tournament. He never had a bad match with the ball and finally lived up to his immense potential with the bat to score 43 not out in the win over Oman. He played the entire tour wearing a splint for a broken pinky on his bowling hand. He proved it wasn’t an issue when he held onto a bullet on the boundary in the first game against Hong Kong. Shuja can always be counted on to give his best.

Image (Right): Asif Khan claimed six wickets and also took three catches.

Asif Khan – B+: Took six wickets in his debut tour for USA and had the team’s second best economy rate surrendering 3.34 runs per over. His fielding was superb both in the circle and on the boundary and he finished with three catches. He scored 31 not out against Oman, teaming up with Shuja to get USA over the line. He also looked capable of doing the same in the group match against Denmark, but ran out of partners in the team’s 30-run loss. The fact that he finished second on the averages list at 27.50 says just as much about his own determination at the crease as it does about the failure of the recognized batsmen.

Kevin Darlington – B+: Led the team with eight wickets and could have had even better figures had his teammates held onto the chances that came their way. Bowled the most maidens for the second tour in a row, but had his economy go up slightly on the small grounds in Hong Kong. His experience is valuable and he’s another player who turns in his best effort on a daily basis. The only worry is his long term health. Darlo spent an awful lot of time coming off the field to ice his knees and was visibly hobbling around the field during matches. He’ll be 40 when the next Division Four comes around and it would be asking a lot to have him stick around to put a toll on his body when the rewards are not guaranteed.

Muhammad Ghous – Incomplete: It’s hard to know if Ghous had a bad tour because of skills or if it was because he wasn’t given a proper chance to succeed. He was asked to bowl with a short boundary at his back against Hong Kong and after getting by unscathed for a few overs, was finally smashed around before being taken off. Against Denmark the first time around, he was given one over before being harshly taken off by Massiah and sat out the next three games. He bowled the maximum amount of overs in the rematch with Denmark, but got no help in the field. He finished with zero wickets in 16 overs at the event. This tour put a major dent in his confidence and he needs a lot of work to get it restored.

Durale Forrest – Incomplete: The way Lambert talked about how good Johnson looked in the nets, one would have thought it was actually Forrest who was the grandpa. When Forrest came on to bowl, he looked quick enough but wasn’t quite penetrative. He showed a lot of heart to come in and fight hard in the final three games after being overlooked against PNG, but the message was sent by the people in charge that they don’t respect him and probably aren’t about to groom him for future tournaments as long as they’re around, which is unfortunate.

Ritesh Kadu – Incomplete: He walked into a buzz saw against PNG on his debut, looked okay against Oman until running out Nadkarni which messed with his head and led to him playing a poor shot to get out a short time later, and was very unlucky to be run out in the manner he was against Denmark on the last day. He got opportunities though and didn’t capitalize on them. His keeping was okay, not spectacular. It’s difficult to say whether or not he’ll get another chance.

Ryan Corns – Incomplete: Was full of hustle as a substitute fielder during the first four games before finally getting his much deserved opportunity in the final match of the group stage. It probably came one or two matches too late. He showed in his 30 against Italy that he has the tools to succeed at the senior level. Now he needs the support of coaches and administrators to make sure that his talent doesn’t go to waste.

Aditya Thyagarajan – Incomplete: He only had one innings, which everyone will remember for a long time because it brought about the end of his tour through injury. The bowler, Denmark’s Bobby Chawla, tried to send down a googly which turned into a loopy, low full toss. Thyagarajan managed to not only york himself, but dislocate his right knee as well. His true value to the team was underscored by the last place finish that followed after he went down.

Howard Johnson – Incomplete: In Italy, where Johnson served on his first tour as an assistant coach, a fast bowler – Timroy Allen – went down injured but the team opted to leave him in the squad to use as a substitute fielder even though he couldn’t throw the ball or lift his arm above his head. In Hong Kong, a batsman – Thyagarajan – went down injured and Johnson went from assistant coach to replacement player, starting ahead of fellow fast bowler Forrest. Johnson took two wickets and was USA’s quickest bowler in his only appearance, which came at the expense of three players who poured their heart and soul into making the squad on merit. Apparently, the team leadership is prepared to sell their souls to the devil if it gives USA a chance to win. Protocol needs to be put in place to make sure such an incident never happens again.

What the team needs heading into Division Four

An attitude adjustment: USA has a bad reputation for being ungracious in defeat. After the first loss to Denmark, post-match presentation officials asked for both teams to pose for a group photo, but USA’s players and coaches walked away despite repeated requests to come back for pictures, which did not sit well with the ICC nor the Denmark squad. After the loss to Papua New Guinea, everyone walked out to shake hands, but six of the 14 players (Wright, Baker, Cush, Nadkarni, Marshall, Johnson) didn’t bother to come back out of the locker room for the post-match presentation.

Where's the pride? This is a group of players that mainly functioned as 14 individuals instead of one team. While the new players demonstrated a lot of hunger, too many veterans played recklessly and without any fear of being dropped. On paper, USA has tens of thousands of players to choose from, but if this was the best 14 that USA had to offer, they’re really just a bunch of big fish in a small pond. The overall demeanor in the field on the last day against Denmark was an absolute disgrace. They did not play as if they were representing more than 150 years of cricket history by pulling on the red, white and blue uniform.

While there shouldn’t be a knee jerk reaction to drop everyone and start from scratch, there is definitely an argument to cut loose more than a few players and bring in some new ones who have the desire and desperation to fight hard for every run, whether it’s in the first match of the tournament or a fifth place playoff. Instead of playing every game like it was their last, they played each match like it was just another game… and finished last.

Pictures Courtesy - Darlington (ICC/CricketEurope), Asif Khan and Usman Shuja (Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com)

USA Cricket: Massiah & Wright upstage hosts as USA wins by 7 wickets

openingbat — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:35:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Hong Kong

[ Scorecard ] [ Live Updates ]

A solid effort in the field was backed up by a dominant batting effort as USA defeated Hong Kong by 7 wickets at Kowloon Cricket Club on Saturday at ICC WCL Division Three in Hong Kong.

Pic (Right): Steve Massiah hits a six over long on to bring up his half-century [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA captain Steve Massiah was named Man of the Match after taking advantage of the short boundaries to finish 97 not out with eight fours and six sixes.

USA won the toss and elected to field first on an overcast and chilly morning in Hong Kong. Right from the start, Kevin Darlington and Usman Shuja applied terrific pressure. It only took until the third over for a breakthrough to come when Courtney Kruger departed for 1 with the score also on 1 after he swished at a good length ball to feather an edge through to Carl Wright.

Hussain Butt came in at first drop but left a short time later when he cut a rare loose delivery from Darlington to backward point where Rashard Marshall knifed it out of the air one-handed to his right to send Butt on his way for 5, making it 33 for 2. Mark Chapman came in next and after a slow start, got his eye in to play a pair of crisp strokes for boundaries.

However, he was needlessly run out by his partner Roy Lamsam. On the last ball of the 17th over with the score on 59, Chapman defended a ball from Orlando Baker toward Marshall at point and Lamsam took off from the non-striker’s end. There was no run, but instead of staying in his crease, Chapman panicked and decided to run only after Marshall had fielded and thrown the ball to Baker in front of the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Baker dove to break the stumps with Chapman still several yards short and the 16-year-old had to go for 10.

Pic (Right): Carl Wright hits his third six to bring up his half-century [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Four balls later, Irfan Ahmed attempted a loose drive to be clean bowled by Shuja and Hong Kong was in a deep hole at 59 for 4. Nizakat Khan and Lamsam constructed a sensational 99-run stand for the fifth wicket that only became undone by another piece of dreadful running between the wickets. Khan drilled a full ball from Baker straight to Massiah at cover and immediately set off for a run while Lamsam rightly stayed put. As Massiah gently tossed the ball to Wright at the striker’s end, Lamsam decided to sacrifice himself and was halfway down the pitch when the bails were dislodged. The opener threw away a chance at a century and was gone for 83 in the 39th over.

For the second time in the innings, a runout brought a second wicket when Waqas Barkat was caught behind off Baker two balls later to make it 158 for 6. Khan was joined by the captain Najeeb Amar and the two added quick runs until Khan was runout for 67 in similar fashion to Lamsam. Amar was on strike and cut a short ball from Lennox Cush straight to Muhammad Ghous at point. There was no single there, but Amar took off as soon as he made contact. Ghous fielded and calmly tossed the ball to Wright as Khan decided to leave his crease late and let the captain continue his innings.

Pic (Right): Massiah accepting Man of the Match Award [Courtesy ICC/CricketEurope]

It was not a bad decision in the end as Amar blasted his way to 63 in 37 balls by the end of the innings. Cush claimed two quick wickets including one on the second ball of the 50th over, but then was assaulted by Amar on the final four balls of the innings to the tune of a four and three sixes. There were 28 runs in the over as Hong Kong finished 256 for 9.

“The guys did quite well,” said USA Team Manager Imran Khan. “It’s a small ground. The wicket’s quite flat. Shuja bowled his overs quite well at the start, contained them well. Darlo bowled from the shorter end and didn’t concede too many. It gave us a pretty reasonable start. We had them seven down quickly so we were pretty happy with that start. To restrict them to 250 was I think a good effort by the guys.”

Based on the size of the ground, 300 looked to be a par score, but with Hong Kong holding a home field advantage, the match was evenly balanced at the innings break. While cloud cover was there throughout Hong Kong’s innings, Baker and Wright opened USA’s chase in much brighter conditions.

The two batsmen went through a testing opening spell from Irfan Ahmed and the pressure he applied resulted in a runout for the first wicket. Baker tried to flick a good length ball wide of mid on and took off for a risky single. Wright stayed put at the bowler’s end while the fielder Amar collected and tossed the ball to Barkat behind the stumps to dismiss Baker for 13 making the score 37 for 1.

Massiah came to the wicket and offered steady support to Wright, who took command of the chase with an assured knock. Wright was particularly harsh to Amar, blasting him for multiple sixes into the netting guarding the KCC clubhouse. Wright brought up his 50 in 81 balls and he looked set for a century until he tamely gave a return catch to Nizakat Khan to fall for 82. The legspinner bowled an half-tracker that Wright tried to smack off the back foot but Khan dove to his left to pull off a brilliant catch to end the partnership at 109. It was a sorely needed contribution by Wright, his first half-century for USA since he scored 76 in a Man of the Match performance against Jersey on February 23, 2010 at ICC WCL Division Five in Nepal.

“I’ve given all my trust in the selectors and they have given me opportunities so I tried my best to come out today and just be positive and try to occupy the crease a little bit,” said Wright. “[Coach Clayton] Lambert and all the guys that rallied around me and gave me confidence, I’d like to say well done to them.”

At 146 for 2 in the 32nd over, USA was comfortably on track for an easy win. While Massiah played the anchor role when Wright was at the crease, he turned on the jets once he was joined by Sushil Nadkarni. Massiah scored 26 runs in his first 61 balls with one four and two sixes. In his last 60 balls, he scored 71 runs with seven fours and four more sixes. Nadkarni scored his 38 runs at better than a run a ball until he was clean bowled just 12 runs short of the target by left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed. Nadkarni was going for a fourth six with a wild heave that missed everything.

Massiah still had a chance at his century, but a few more wides bowled by the Hong Kong attack dimmed the possibility of accomplishing the feat. Hong Kong bowled 23 wides in all, including 14 extra runs down leg side in one over by medium pacer Asif Khan. Cush wound up hitting the winning single over mid on as USA reached the target with 10 balls to spare.

USA will face Denmark on Sunday at Mission Road. Denmark lost by 7 wickets to Italy at Hong Kong CC while Papua New Guinea defeated Oman by 39 runs at Mission Road in Saturday’s other games. Oman captain Hemal Mehta finished unbeaten on 123 for the tournament’s first century and did well to rebuild the innings for his team after PNG bowler Hitolo Areni took a hat-trick in the seventh over of the chase. Live coverage of the match between USA and Denmark will begin at 7:45 p.m. EST Saturday night on DreamCricket.

[ Scorecard ] [ Live Updates ]

Intrasquad match provides preparation for New York Region junior and senior players

openingbat — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:56:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

The New York Region’s preparation for next month’s USACA National Tournaments got into full swing on Sunday with an intrasquad match at Idlewild Park in Queens, New York. It was part of a fundraising doubleheader as the New York U-15 team took on an U-15 side from Indoor Cricket USA (NJ) in a T20 match earlier in the day before U-19 and senior team members played in the afternoon.

“I always like to see them play on a regulation ground because a lot of the games we practice are on smaller grounds so it’s good to get them to feel the size of the regulation ground,” said Patrick Sutherland, the New York Region U-19 team manager. “They can get acclimatized to what would be happening in the championship.”

The friendly format of the match allowed U-19 players to play both alongside and against senior players from the region that are likely to represent the region in Florida as each side looks to win a national championship.

“I thought it was a great idea because it would have been pretty much lopsided if the senior team were to take on the U-19s, but in all I didn’t think today was about winning or losing,” said Steve Massiah, captain of the New York Region senior team. “It was just about giving everyone an opportunity because the next couple of weeks pretty much we wouldn’t have an opportunity to do much before we go off to Florida because of the weather. I thought it was important that we played collectively.”

The U-19 captain, Andy Mohammed, led a squad of mixed players against one captained by Massiah. Mohammed won the toss and elected to bat first on a chilly and windy day at one of the top cricket grounds on the east coast.

Dennis Evans and Cameron Mirza opened the batting for the Mohammed XI, but Mirza didn’t last long, run out without scoring when he pushed to mid off and chanced the arm of Adrian Gordon, who fired a direct hit with Mirza a yard short to make it 11 for 1. Mohammed arrived at the crease and built a steady partnership with Evans, adding 40 for the second wicket before Mohammed shouldered arms to the first ball he faced from left arm spinner Barrington Bartley to be clean bowled for 9.

Trevis Ross came on and continued to make inroads for the Massiah XI, getting Trevor Singh for 1 and Regis Burton for a duck as both men played across and were struck in front to make it 53 for 4. Bartley claimed Evans for 32, caught on the long off boundary by Gordon to make it 55 for 5 before Ross had Keon Lake stumped for 14 to make it 70 for 6. Glen Hall was clean bowled for 13 trying to pull a good length ball from Gordon to make it 100 for 7.

The score was 123 for 7 after 20 overs, but in an effort to make the chase more competitive for the Massiah XI, the first innings was extended to 25 overs. Teenagers Amarnauth Persaud and Rocky Kowchai provided some lower order resistance for the Mohammed XI as each player added 27 runs. They combined for their side’s biggest partnership of the innings, 45 runs for the eighth wicket, before Kowchai was bowled off an inside edge at the start of the 24^th over to make it 145 for 8.

Cameron Mirza reappeared for a second batting stint coming in at number 10 and could have been run out again after a dreadful mixup on his first delivery, but the magnanimous Massiah fielding at cover recognized the need for everyone to get adequate practice and he graciously opted to hold onto the ball after collecting it with Mirza stranded. Persaud was bowled in the final over by left arm spinner Trinson Carmichael before last man Casper Davis Jr. was run out for 1 on the last ball of the innings as the Mohammed XI finished with 154.

“Overall, the youngsters the way they applied themselves and the way they approached their innings was good to see but I just think they need to work a little bit more on the fundamentals,” said Massiah. “They need to apply the basics a little more, whether it’s in the field or running between the wickets and to tighten up their technique because certainly as you go on to the next level, your technique will be tested.”

The Massiah XI started their innings in fading light, a product of a delayed start to their match while waiting for the U-15 game to end as well as the extension of the Mohammed XI’s first innings. Carl Wright and Akeem Dodson opened the chase, but Wright departed on the third ball of the innings for 2, going for a big hit off Davis only to sky a chance to Mirza coming in from the cover boundary.

Massiah came in and teamed up with Dodson for a breezy 37-run partnership. Massiah then tried to get creative and walked down the track to Kowchai but drove a fullish ball straight to Singh at mid off to go for 21. Bartley joined Dodson, but their partnership only produced 14 before Dodson sliced a good length ball from Persaud high to Evans at third man, who settled under the ball to take the catch and Dodson was gone for 21 to make it 53 for 3 after 8 overs.

Teenage left arm spinner Saumil Gandhi then struck twice to halt the Massiah XI’s progress even further. First, he dismissed new man Ileo Freeman, who played inside the line of a good length delivery and was clean bowled for 2. Next, he got rid of Bartley for 7 when the batsman played onto his stumps going for a drive to a full and wide delivery to make it 60 for 5 in the 11^th over. Gordon joined Kavishwar Bridgepaul at the crease and after 11 overs the score was 64 for 5.

At this point, the light had been deteriorating at a steady rate, but play continued until the first ball of the 12^th over. Persaud was bowling to Bridgepaul when the batsman flat batted a good length ball back to the bowler at head height. Persaud was late reacting and the ball struck him in the throat. He fell to the ground while Bridgepaul, Gordon, wicketkeeper Mohammed and the rest of the fielders sprinted in to check if Persaud was okay. The match was then called off by the umpires.

Image: Former USA U-15 player and current New York Region U-19 player Amarnauth Persaud. [Courtesy: Ricky Kissoon]

“I thought the benefit of everyone involved was to get a run out pretty much,” said Massiah. “We haven’t played collectively since the last tournament we would have played in Atlanta. So it was good that a couple of the guys came out today. We were able to get some meaningful practice but it’s pretty sad that it ended in the way which it did.”

After several minutes, Persaud was able to get on his feet. According to players who were on the field, Persaud was breathing okay. He was eventually escorted into an ambulance. New York U-19 coach Ricky Kissoon said that Persaud was being taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure. It was the U-19 team’s second casualty of the day after Prashanth Nair sustained a hand injury in the first innings trying to catch a ball off the bat of Evans. Nair was fielding on the boundary in the third over and jumped high to try to prevent a six, hurting himself in the process. He was unable to take any further part in the game.

New York Region Exhibition T20 Match

Massiah XI vs. Mohammed XI

No result – match suspended after 11.1 overs in second innings were completed

Mohammed XI won the toss and elected to bat

Mohammed XI Innings

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

D Evans 32 23 3 1 ct Gordon b Bartley

C Mirza 0 6 0 0 runout (Gordon)

A Mohammed*+ 9 11 1 0 b Bartley

T Singh 1 4 0 0 LBW Ross

R Burton 0 3 0 0 LBW Ross

K Lake 14 6 0 2 st Dodson b Ross

G Hall 13 29 0 0 b Gordon

A Persaud 27 40 1 0 b Carmichael

R Kowchai 27 26 1 1 b Powell

C Mirza 6 5 0 0 not out

C Davis Jr. 1 2 0 0 runout (Tariq/Dodson+)

Extras 24 (5 no balls, 1 bye, 6 leg byes, 12 wides)

Team Total 154 all out in 25 overs

Did not bat: K Darlington, S Gandhi.

Fall of Wicket: 11/1 (Mirza), 51/2 (Mohammed), 53/3 (Singh), 53/4 (Burton), 55/5 (Evans), 70/6 (Lake), 100/7 (Hall), 145/8 (Kowchai), 153/9 (Persaud), 154/10 (Davis Jr.).

Massiah XI Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

A Gordon 2-0-17-1

K Bridgepaul 2-0-15-0

R James 2-0-20-0

B Bartley 3-0-23-2

T Ross 3-0-7-3

T Carmichael 4-0-14-1

M Powell 3-0-15-1

Z Tariq 2-0-8-0

S Massiah 2-0-16-0

C Wright 2-0-12-0

Massiah XI Innings

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

C Wright 2 3 0 0 ct Mirza b Davis Jr.

A Dodson+ 18 18 2 0 ct Evans b Persaud

S Massiah* 21 17 2 1 ct Singh b Kowchai

B Bartley 7 15 0 0 b Gandhi

I Freeman 2 3 0 0 b Gandhi

K Bridgepaul 6 9 0 0 not out

A Gordon 1 2 0 0 not out

Total Extras 7 (0 no balls, 0 byes, 5 leg byes, 2 wides)

Team Total 64 for 5 in 11.1 overs

Did not bat: Z Tariq, T Ross, T Carmichael, M Powell, R James, P Nair.

Fall of wicket: 2/1 (Wright), 39/2 (Massiah), 53/3 (Dodson), 55/4 (Freeman), 60/5 (Bartley).

Mohammed XI Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

C Davis Jr. 4-0-23-1

R Kowchai 3-0-22-1

A Persaud 2.1-0-8-1

S Gandhi 2-0-6-2

USA Cricket - WCL Division 4 Report Card

openingbat — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:47:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Team Grades

Bowling – A-: The bowling attack functioned well not just as individuals but as a unit. The fast bowlers were outstanding together at the start of a match. The highest first wicket partnership for any opponent was 23 by Cayman Islands, a tribute to the job done by the opening combination of Usman Shuja and Kevin Darlington. There were only three 50+ partnerships by the opposition and one 100+ partnership allowed and that came as a result of a series of drops in the loss to Italy.

Batting – B+: The only three players who scored centuries in the tournament belonged to USA. The team also racked up seven ducks and only one of those happened to a tail ender. Alarmingly, they lost a wicket on the second ball of an innings on three occasions. However, no one could match USA’s batting depth, which saw USA to safety on several occasions. Most notably against Argentina, the numbers seven and eight reached triple figures.

Fielding – C+: There was not a single catch dropped in the slips during the tournament, although one chance was missed when Lennox Cush bizarrely dove backwards with the ball landing in front of him. The outfield catching was hot and cold with several very good catches while at other times there were some very simple chances missed. Some were because of drops while other chances never went to hand because fielders reacted slowly or were not alert. The ground fielding could also use some improvement.

Fitness – B+: When it came down to playing five games in five days in 85 to 90 degree heat, USA’s players held up remarkably well. Kudos to the players for taking on the individual responsibility to come ready to play. Most impressive was the fitness of Shuja and Darlington, who shared the new ball five days in a row and never showed any signs of being worn out.

Individual Grades

Sushil Nadkarni – A-: The heartbeat of the batting order, he set the tone for USA’s success or struggles. His first two half-centuries were accomplished with brute force, while his third against Nepal involved a tremendous amount of skill and patience to guide the team to a winning total. Getting out for a duck to Italy in their first matchup portended the gloom that followed and against Argentina his nought was the first phase of a dramatic top order collapse. As for his fielding, one would never know he is 12 months removed from a torn Achilles tendon. For a man built like a tank, he was extremely nimble in the field and took four catches with only one drop.

Orlando Baker – B: He started off the tournament with a half-century against Tanzania, but never crossed 50 again and could have done much better than he did in the batting department. With his bowling, he had an uncanny knack to come on and be a partnership breaker, hurrying the batsmen with his nippy medium pace. Four times he took a wicket in the first over of a spell. He was very reliable in the field and took three catches.

Steve Massiah – B: Scored one half-century against Cayman Islands, but like Baker, did not reach the level he should have with the bat, especially considering that Massiah was the leading run-scorer at Division 5 in Nepal against much better competition. He demonstrated some very good captaincy though and almost always managed to push the right buttons with his bowling changes. He also leads by example with his fielding. He has perhaps the surest hands on the team and held every chance that came his way.

Lennox Cush – B+: He had a somewhat quiet start to the tournament, but stamped his authority on it at the end with a half-century to initiate a revival against Argentina and a thumping century against Italy in the final to be named Man of the Match. With the ball, he was decent in taking five wickets, but was relied upon less than in other recent tournaments due to the success of Ghous. His fielding was solid in the slips and decent elsewhere.

Carl Wright – C+: Only scored 47 runs in four innings at 15.66, well below his standards. He looked set for a big score against Italy until he was unfortunately run out by Aditya Thyagarajan. Wright kept very well behind the stumps to have seven catches and three stumpings and just missed one or two other sharp chances. He gets docked credit for drawing a reprimand from the match referee for his misconduct in the match against Argentina.

Aditya Thyagarajan – B+: Saved USA’s bacon in the match against Argentina with his second century for USA. His half-century in the first game against Italy was tarnished due to the role he played in running out Wright which sealed his team’s fate in that game. He took two catches, one of them an outstanding diving effort against Cayman Islands, but had multiple drops and needs to get a little sharper with his ground fielding.

Rashard Marshall – B+: Rocky scored a long overdue maiden century for USA, picking the perfect time to do it against Argentina. He could have scored many more runs, but got himself out in his two other times at the crease with a pair of soft dismissals. He is right up there with Massiah in the fielding and catching department. He took four catches and teamed up with Wright for a runout.

Usman Shuja – A: USA’s standout bowler and their leading wicket-taker. He was the catalyst for USA’s dominance in the field, bowling with great ferocity and intimidation. Just as he did in a do or die showdown vs. Nepal on their home turf, he turned in a clutch display in the same situation in Bologna against Nepal to setup victory. His batting technique is good enough to be a number seven or even a six, but once he gets his eye in, he gets overexcited and plays one too many shots to lose his wicket. Concentration at the crease is just about the only thing he needs to adjust to get better.

Muhammad Ghous – A-: The 20-year-old has taken to playing with the national team at the senior level like a duck to water. It’s hard to find fault with anything Ghous did in the tournament. He got hit for a few late against Cayman Islands, but in the big games, he showed himself to be a big game player. With a spot in Division 3 at stake against Nepal, he was given the ball at the midway point of Nepal’s chase in a pressure situation and showed nerves of steel, eventually finishing 3 for 31 to help seal the match.

Adrian Gordon – A: Only played four games, but finished tied for second on the team with 10 wickets and had the best average at 11.80 runs per wicket and stepped up in a big way when Timroy Allen went down with an injury. He sometimes took an over to get his line right and get settled, but once everything with him was in tune, he was marvelous. He was unlucky not to take any wickets during an outstanding spell against Nepal, but reaped just rewards to claim seven wickets in the team’s final two games.

Kevin Darlington – A-: Darlington took 10 wickets in six games and was solid at building pressure, turning in a team high seven maidens. Had an off game against Cayman Islands but after that was solid. The 38-year-old is one of the fittest players on the team as well and tied with Ghous to bowl the most overs on tour with 50.

Nasir “Charlie” Javed – D: Javed looked good against Cayman Islands to take 3 for 29, but then followed that up with a disastrous performance against Italy. He was standing at mid off when Italy’s Peter Petricola drove a chance in his direction while on 3, but Javed’s reaction time was so poor that he never even got a hand to what should have been a catch. Petricola went on to score 85 to be Man of the Match in a win for the hosts. Javed was picked as a specialist bowler, but only bowled three ineffective overs in that match before he was taken off and then got out for a duck to cap off his day. To underscore how bad that error was on Petricola’s chance, Allen was used as a substitute fielder ahead of Javed in USA’s final three matches. Allen fielded for Sushil Nadkarni for the duration of USA’s innings in the field against Nepal, despite the fact that he could not raise his right arm above his head, let alone throw anything in, due to a torn muscle in his upper back sustained while fielding against Tanzania. Javed’s mistake against Italy was so costly and his fielding deemed to be so sub standard that a person who could not use his arm to throw a ball in was preferred as a substitute fielder ahead of him.

Timroy Allen – Incomplete: Allen only bowled six overs in the tournament because of an injury he picked up in the field against Tanzania. However, he showed tremendous heart by coming on as a sub fielder against Nepal to take two catches only a day after his arm was in a sling. He also took another catch as a sub fielder against Argentina.

Steven Taylor – Incomplete: Taylor played one game and got out for a six-ball duck against Argentina. Behind the stumps, he was sloppy in conceding eight byes and had numerous other fumbled takes. Physically, he is capable of holding his own, but on the mental side of the game, he has yet to demonstrate the level of focus and concentration required to play at the senior level.

What the team needs heading into Division 3 – A left-arm spinner: Or at least that’s what Massiah said when posed with this question after the team qualified to play in Hong Kong. “It would be great for us to have the addition of a left-arm spinner in our attack which gives us a little more variety. Over the course of this tournament and the previous tournaments and in world cricket, we see how effective a left-arm spinner can be. So obviously that’s an area in which we’ll have our eyes wide open and the search is on for a good quality left-arm spinner.” This is also another way of saying that the team needs a good spin bowler who can turn the ball away from right-handers, which spells doom for Javed’s spot on the team. Massiah shot down Barrington Bartley and Samarth Shah when asked if they would be suitable to step into the squad.

Ryan Corns is probably still chomping at the bit to get into the senior team after being named Player of the Tournament at the ICC U-19 World Cup Global Qualifier last year and his left-arm spin troubled the senior players during the Twenty20 trial matches played at USACA Nationals last November. It would be a positive step to include him in a 14-man squad for Division 3.

Defiant stand by Wright & Thyagarajan turns the tide for USA in win over Jersey

gchakravarthy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:45:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

With USA in deep trouble batting first at 55 for 5, Carl Wright and Aditya Thyagarajan guided their team to safety in a match-winning partnership as USA beat Jersey by 66 runs on day three of the ICC WCL Division Five Tournament at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. Wright was named Man of the Match for his gutsy 76 while Thyagarajan top-scored with 83 for USA as the two combined to put on 118 runs for the sixth wicket.

Pic to the left: Carl Wright punches off the back foot as he got USA out of trouble to be Man of the Match. Courtesy Daniela Zaharia/USACA

“It wasn’t a matter of pressure, but it was just a matter of the situation and what you have to do in that situation,” said Wright. “I think with good support from Aditya, Dhani and the rest of the guys, we actually stuck it out and tried to see how much runs we could get in the situation and it paid off.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat first on a hazy and cool morning and were under pressure immediately. Sushil Nadkarni opened in his first match of the tournament alongside Orlando Baker, but Nadkarni didn’t last long as he chopped a good length ball from Matthew Hague onto his stumps to be out for 1 with USA’s score on 2. Steve Massiah came in, but also fell for 1 just nine balls later, edging a ball from Jersey captain Ryan Driver to Hague at first slip to make it 3 for 2. Lennox Cush, who had been red hot with the bat coming into this match, failed for the first time in the tournament as he edged one from Driver through to the keeper Bobby Minty and USA were struggling badly at 11 for 3 in the 7^th over.

Driver could do no wrong when he snaffled a brilliant return catch off Baker, sending USA’s other opener back for 20 to make it 30 for 4 in the 13^th over. It could have been even worse for USA as Wright was dropped on the sixth ball of his innings off a sharp caught and bowled chance to Hague when he had yet to score. But things did slide further when Sudesh Dhaniram was out for 9, middling one from medium pacer Jonathan Gough straight to Hague at square leg and USA were 55 for 5 after the first ball of the 23^rd over. Visions of USA’s previous meltdown against Jersey in 2008’s Division Five tournament semifinal started to appear when Driver took 3 for 32 and Hague claimed five scalps to take Jersey past USA into Division Four.

But in stepped Thyagarajan with USA in a hairy situation, a scenario he has encountered on more than a few occasions. Once again he answered the call, teaming up with Wright to change USA’s fortunes. Wright took a long time to get going while trying to see off the opening spells of Driver and Hague as wickets were falling opposite him. With Thyagarajan as his partner though, Wright seemed much more at ease turning over the strike. While Wright played straight down the ground and off his legs to score the bulk of his runs, Thyagarajan deftly and repeatedly found the gap between point and third man to frustrate Jersey’s bowlers.

“That’s just my strength,” said Thyagarajan. “Whenever we are down, I always play to my strength.”

The two batsmen progressed steadily to take the score to 136 for 5 when the second drinks break was taken after 39 overs. Wright had just brought up his 50 off 102 balls in the middle of the 39th over and when play resumed, he showed he was hungry for more. They decided to take the batting power play at the start of the 41^st over and Wright feasted immediately on Peter Gough’s off-spin, smashing him for back-to-back fours as part of a 13-run over. Wright started the 43rd over against left arm spinner Ben Stevens by lofting him over mid off on consecutive deliveries for another set of boundaries. However, Stevens got his man next ball, spearing one in fuller to get Wright LBW for 76, ending the century partnership to make the score 173 for 5.

USA turned this setback from a negative into a positive with immediate effect as Rashard Marshall came to the crease. Thyagarajan kept on chugging at the other end, bringing up his 50 with a single off his 60^th ball faced in the very next over. Marshall scored singles routinely to keep the scoreboard ticking as well as give Thyagarajan opportunities to score some boundaries. But after scoring nine singles in his first 12 balls, Marshall was ready to unleash his fury on the Gough twins and Andy Dewhurst. The 27-year-old creamed five sixes in the next seven balls he faced to electrify the crowd of about 600 gathered at the ground. His outburst was primarily responsible for USA scoring 52 runs in their last three overs as the innings ended with an unbroken 80-run partnership in 7.3 overs. Thyagarajan finished 83 not out with seven fours and a six while Marshall’s 42 not out came at two runs per ball.

“Marshall and me have always played together when the team has been down and we always have a partnership,” said Thyagarajan. “There has never been one situation where one of us hasn’t scored. We always go and score. What I do with him is just try to get him back on strike and whenever I get a loose ball, I go behind it. I try to get him back on strike as much as I can because he just strikes the ball so well, as we have seen in this entire tournament.”

Pic to the right: Aditya Thyagarajan goes for another cut. He top scored with 83 for USA vs. Jersey. Courtesy Daniela Zaharia/USACA.

Jersey, who had the match firmly in their grasp in the first half of the innings, saw it slip away in agonizing fashion. USA’s bowlers came out and never let Jersey’s batsmen get away as the biggest partnership in reply was 42 runs. Kevin Darlington made the first breakthrough, having Hague caught behind by Wright for 6 to make it 15 for 1 in 7 overs. After a couple of nervous drops in the field, USA tightened the screws as Massiah employed the off-spin of Dhaniram paired with Baker’s medium pace. Lennox Cush then came on after the runs dried up and struck on his third ball, trapping Dean Morrison LBW for 36 on an attempted sweep to make it 67 for 2 in the 23^rd over. Cush struck again in his next over as he fired in a flatter delivery to beat Peter Gough in flight coming down the pitch and Wright completed the stumping to have Gough out for 24 with Jersey falling further behind at 76 for 3.

Driver tried to lift his team up as he came out to join Sam De La Haye, but Darlington came on for a second spell and after being hit for six by De La Haye, bowled him next ball for 36 to make it 118 for 4. Saurabh Verma then came on to bowl the new batsman Stevens for 2 to make it 128 for 5. Driver tried to rebuild once more with Dewhurst as they put on 41 runs, but Cush came back for another double-strike as Driver tried to clear the ropes but was caught for 29 at long off by Thyagarajan. Three balls later, Cush had Minty out stumped for a golden duck and at 172 for 7 in the 46^th over, Jersey saw their dreams of going back to Division Four vanishing into Nepal’s thin mountain air. Verma took two more wickets but Jersey’s last two men stayed until the end to prevent USA from bowling them out, finishing at 187 for 9 in their 50 overs.

USA is now 3-0 in the tournament along with Nepal, who beat Bahrain on Monday by 8 wickets. Singapore stayed in third place at 2-1 with a tight two-wicket win over Fiji. USA will play Singapore on Tuesday morning at the Pul Chowk Engineering College in Kathmandu. Live coverage of USA’s matches continues on Dreamcricket with play scheduled to start at 10:15 pm EST on Monday night in America.

Video interview with Wright and Thyagarajan

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Official Scorecard

ICC WCL Division Five

Jersey vs. USA

USA won by 66 runs

USA won the toss and elected to bat

Man of the Match: Carl Wright

USA Batting

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

SS Nadkarni 1 7 0 0 bowled Hague

OM Baker 20 31 1 0 ct & b Driver

SJ Massiah* 1 6 0 0 ct Hague b Driver

LJ Cush 5 15 1 0 ct Minty+ b Driver

CD Wright+ 76 120 7 1 LBW Stevens

S Dhaniram 9 19 1 0 ct Hague b J Gough

A Thyagarajan 83 82 7 1 not out

RA Marshall 42 21 0 5 not out

Total Extras 16 (1 no ball, 1 bye, 3 leg byes, 11 wides)

Team Total 253 for 6 in 50 overs

Did not bat: TP Allen, S Verma, KG Darlington.

Fall of wicket: 2/1 (Nadkarni), 3/2 (Massiah), 11/3 (Cush), 30/4 (Baker), 55/5 (Dhaniram), 173/6 (Wright).

Jersey Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

R Driver 10-1-25-3

M Hague 10-1-23-1

J Gough 9-0-58-1

B Stevens 10-1-48-1

P Gough 8-0-60-0

A Dewhurst 2-0-28-0

S Dewhurst 1-0-7-0

Jersey Batting

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

D Morrison 36 82 2 0 LBW Cush

M Hague 6 20 1 0 ct Wright+ b Darlington

P Gough 24 41 2 0 st Wright+ b Cush

S De La Haye 36 32 2 3 b Darlington

R Driver+ 29 52 2 0 ct Thyagarajan b Cush

B Stevens 2 18 0 0 b Verma

A Dewhurst 34 32 5 0 b Verma

R Minty+ 0 1 0 0 st Baker+ b Cush

J Gough 5 11 0 0 b Verma

I Crocker 1 9 0 0 not out

S Dewhurst 0 3 0 0 not out

Total Extras 14 (1 no ball, 7 byes, 2 leg byes, 4 wides)

Team Total 187 for 9 in 50 overs

Fall of wicket: 15/1 (Hague), 67/2 (P Gough), 76/3 (Morrison), 118/4 (De La Haye), 128/5 (Stevens), 169/6 (Driver), 172/7 (Minty), 183/8 (A Dewhurst), 186/9 (J Gough).

USA Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

KG Darlington 10-1-40-2

TP Allen 5-0-17-0

S Dhaniram 10-2-30-0

OM Baker 10-1-34-0

LJ Cush 10-1-37-4

S Verma 4-0-19-3

SJ Massiah 1-0-1-0

Notes: Carl Wright was USA’s wicketkeeper for the first 43 overs in the field. Orlando Baker then padded up to keep wicket for the final 7 overs of the match.