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

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

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

Player Grades

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

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

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

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC WCL Division Four Report Card Part 1 - Team Grades

openingbat — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:05:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Batting – B: USA had the tournament’s two highest run getters in Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor. The team had five half-centuries against four ducks, two of which came in the final against Nepal where promotion and relegation wasn’t at stake. None of the four centuries scored in the tournament were made by a USA batsman. USA had 14 individual scores between 20 and 49, showing that lots of people were getting starts but then failed to convert them into more substantial scores.

The team had one century stand, the very first partnership of the tournament between Nadkarni and Taylor against Malaysia, and seven half-century partnerships. USA’s first wicket partnerships in Hong Kong at Division Three last year produced an average stand of 11.33 runs. At Division Four in Malaysia, it was 53.67. In theory, having starts like that should take pressure off the rest of the batting unit.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor completes a cut shot against Denmark at the Selangor Turf Club. Taylor made a huge difference to the top of the order for USA compared to the team's opening partnership struggles at Division Three in Hong Kong last year. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

However, USA’s middle order, in its many jumbled configurations during the tournament, largely disappointed. Nadkarni made one of his two half-centuries at number four against Nepal and the other 50 that didn’t come at the top was Timroy Allen’s assault on Malaysia at number four when he was sent up the order with less than 15 overs to go to boost USA’s total. Otherwise, the middle order didn’t have anything significant to write home about.

Part of the lack of overall success from the middle order can be attributed to batsmen constantly being shuffled around without having a clearly defined role. There were also some strange decisions made, like having Allen come in to bat at number three in the fifth over of the group match vs. Nepal and Abhimanyu Rajp entering at number three in the fifth over against Nepal in the final.

Several other batsmen could have been utilized to knock the ball around for ones and twos in the early to middle overs to make 29 off 39, which is what Allen wound up with in the group game against Nepal. However, no one else on the team is better suited to come in at number seven with 10-15 overs remaining and clear the ropes when the team needs a major acceleration. Some fans may try to assign blame for that loss to some of the batsmen who came in later and couldn’t get USA across the line when the pressure started to rise in the final 11 overs, but it was a tactical blunder to have Allen unavailable to walk in at that stage. Experimenting with Rajp at three was also a mistake, or a two-word British phrase that rhymes with it.

Bowling – C+: There were 11 individual performances where a bowler took four wickets or more at this tournament, but none of them were by a USA player. Collectively the bowling unit was average. Allen tied for fourth overall on the wickets list with 10. USA took 39 out of a possible 60 wickets, the same amount Malaysia took and less than Singapore’s 49 and Nepal’s 59 in six games.

No bowler really stood out, but more importantly no one really threatened to devastate the opposition. On the whole, it never appeared that the better teams felt intimidated by USA’s pace bowling attack, which was supposed to be one of USA’s strengths heading into the tournament.

Image (left) - Timroy Allen took home two Man of the Match awards and was USA's leading bowler at the tournament with 10 wickets bowling a combination of pace and spin. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA’s lack of incisiveness was on full display over the first two days against Malaysia and Denmark. USA only managed to take eight wickets against Malaysia while allowing them to reach 219 in 50 overs. In their next two games, Malaysia reached 91 for 8 against Singapore and was steamrolled by Nepal for 69. USA won the toss and bowled first against Denmark with overcast conditions at the Selangor Turf Club and a seaming wicket weighing heavily in their favor but they made poor use of the new ball as Denmark rode out the testing conditions to eventually post 244 for 9. The only batting lineup USA managed to bowl out was Tanzania, not exactly a stellar achievement.

Not only were they not able to take wickets easily, but USA’s bowling attack struggled to keep the runs down as well. It was not often that USA’s bowlers were able to string together six dot balls in a row to build pressure individually or as a unit. USA’s attack completed 13 maidens in the tournament compared to 23 bowled against USA. The only team that had fewer maidens bowled than USA was Tanzania with 12, but Tanzania fielded for just 173 overs whereas USA’s bowlers completed 80.1 more overs in the field than Tanzania and had just one more maiden.

USA’s bowlers allowed four half-centuries and one century to be scored against them. The opposition also had six half-century stands and one century stand against USA. Some of those lengthy stands could have been curtailed had the fielders provided better support to back up the bowlers, but the bowlers didn’t make life easy on them either.

Fielding – F: On most days, USA’s fielding would make any fan want to cover their eyes. It reached its nadir against Nepal in USA’s fourth match when they dropped five catches, missed two run outs and never got a hand to perhaps as many as four other balls in the air that could have been chances. USA should consider themselves fortunate that the fielding output that day didn't wind up costing them a spot in Division Three.

By this journalist’s count, USA missed out on 23 clear cut chances during the tournament: six missed run outs, four missed stumpings and 13 missed catches. Not included in that figure are numerous other half-chances that fielders never got a hand to because they were slow to react to the ball coming off the bat. Regardless, 23 misses in the field over six games is a staggering number, especially since USA didn’t field for 50 overs in every game. They fielded for 251.3 overs in the tournament. That means that USA missed out on a clear chance every 11 overs they were in the field. Conversely, USA’s opponents offered them eight chances in 238.1 overs. That’s one chance about every 30 overs.

USA’s missed chances allowed their opponents to score an additional 307 runs. On average, batsmen added 21.93 more runs from the time they were initially given a life until the time they were dismissed, if they were dismissed at all. Four batsmen finished not out after being dropped. Conversely, USA’s batsmen produced 92 more runs off the eight extra chances they were given, adding 13.14 runs after the initial missed chance until they were dismissed.

Nadkarni said at the end of the tournament that one way to fix USA’s fielding woes was to hire specialist fielding coaches to work with the team, which is quite ironic since USA’s head coach in Malaysia, Robin Singh, used to be employed as a specialist fielding coach by the BCCI and was known as a superb fielder during his playing career.

Fitness – D: The team looked very tired batting second after having to field for 50 overs against Denmark and Nepal. The heat In Malaysia was draining on every team, but a team’s strategy can’t be based on winning the toss to avoid having to field first.

USA looked particularly woeful on the second day of back-to-back matches. The team had a 3-0 record playing after an off day and an 0-3 record playing for the second time in two days. The World Cricket League format is not new to USA, so there shouldn’t have been any surprises about what was expected in regards to the fitness requirements to make it through six matches in eight days.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni finishes a cut shot with a flourish against Malaysia at Bayuemas Oval. Nadkarni was the tournament's leading scorer and never appeared to be troubled by the hot and humid conditions in Kuala Lumpur. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Just about the only players who looked like the heat didn’t affect them were Nadkarni and Allen. Otherwise, most players struggled whether it was batting, bowling or fielding. USA’s 23 missed chances in the field can be partly attributed to the poor fitness standards. The playing field was level for all teams with regards to the heat, but it looked like USA felt the effects more than most.

Coming up in Part 2 - Player Grades

USA Cricket: All-round Allen takes USA past Singapore, assist from Nepal sends USA to Division Three

openingbat — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:23:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

A sensational final day of the group stage saw USA surge to a 37-run win by Duckworth-Lewis Method over Singapore while Nepal defeated Denmark by 25 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method on Sunday at 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The combination of results vaulted USA from fourth to second place and secured them promotion to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Bermuda from April 28-May 5.

"I think against Denmark [the rain] kind of worked against us so at least once now it worked with us," USA's Timroy Allen said after the weather affected win. Allen was named Man of the Match after scoring 45 off 31 balls and taking 2 for 29 in six overs of off-spin. "So we're really happy. I don't mind it today."

USA won the toss and batted first under bright sunny skies at the Bayuemas Oval. Eighteen miles to the east, Nepal also won the toss and batted first at Kinrara Academy Oval against Denmark, who played their must win game without key batsman Freddie Klokker after he left the tournament a match early to play for Dosti Amsterdam in the Netherlands domestic league final. USA made two changes to their lineup from the loss on Friday to Nepal, bringing in Andy Mohammed and Akeem Dodson for Orlando Baker and Aditya Mishra.

Steven Taylor and Sushil Nadkarni opened for USA, putting on an 80-run stand for the first wicket. Taylor cracked five boundaries and three sixes, bringing up a half-century in 45 balls with a massive strike down the ground that caused a replacement ball to be brought out at the end of the 14th over. Taylor fell on his next delivery though, clean bowled by Singapore captain Saad Janjua and finished with USA’s top score on the day.

Over at Kinrara, Nepal dug themselves an early hole as Subash Khakurel, who made 115 on Friday against USA, was dismissed on the second ball of the match. Gyanendra Malla and Paras Khadka also fell cheaply to put Denmark on top at 50 for 3 in the 14th over.

USA captain Steve Massiah came in to bat at number three and added 29 for the third wicket with Nadkarni before the vice-captain was caught behind by Kshitij Shinde off the medium pace of Chetan Suryawanshi for 33. Mohammed came in at number four and scored 10 before holing out to long on, giving Dharmichand Mulewa a wicket with the score now 129 for 3. Aditya Thyagarajan entered at five and reached 4 off 16 balls in the 31st over when he strained a ligament in his right knee, the same one he dislocated in Hong Kong last year, and had to retire at 141 for 3.

By this time, Nepal had climbed back in front in their match thanks to a 91-run partnership between opener Anil Mandal and Sharad Vesawkar and from there maintained the upper hand throughout the rest of the match. Mandal went on to score 113 as Nepal eventually finished with 240 in their 50 overs, a very defendable total behind their spin bowling attack.

Akeem Dodson joined Massiah in the middle at Bayuemas, but both men fell in quick succession to put the first innings in the balance. Massiah went first, driving a return catch to 17-year-old left-arm spinner Abhiraj Singh for 30. Dodson had already offered two chances by the time he was dismissed on 3 off the bowling of Anish Param, caught behind by Suryawanshi, who had started the match as the wicketkeeper and then took over from Shinde again after finishing a brief bowling spell.

USA was 148 for 5 in the 36th over, but Thyagarajan’s return to the middle was a welcome sight after he was declared fit enough to join Allen at the crease. Thyagarajan provided the steady foil to Allen’s explosive hitting and the pair put on 59 crucial runs for the sixth wicket, of which Allen contributed 43. After losing the wicket of Dodson and scoring just one run in the first over of the batting power play in the 36th, Allen and Thyagarajan cracked 41 off the next 24 balls to boost USA closer to 200. Allen finally got out edging behind off medium pacer Amjad Mahboob and the score became 207 for 6.

Thyagarajan fell in the 44th, given LBW for 21 off Mahboob, to make it 223 for 7. Ryan Corns and Elmore Hutchinson calmly added 37 runs for the eighth wicket to take USA to 260 before three wickets fell in five balls to end USA’s innings in 49 overs for 263. Janjua was the one-man wrecking crew for Singapore in that over and finished with 4 for 40 in eight overs. Mulewa bowled a probing spell but only managed to snag 1 for 32 off 10. USA took advantage of five drops by Singapore during the innings, the costliest of which was Taylor at short midwicket on 17. Even though Singapore’s target was 264, USA had to restrict them to 257 in order to pass Singapore on net run rate.

Image (above) - USA celebrates on a damp Bayuemas Oval after gaining promotion to next year's ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Denmark’s chase at Kinrara got started well before USA took the field for the second innings at Bayuemas. The Danes suffered an early blow in the second over when their leading scorer in the tournament, Carsten Pedersen, was out for 1 in the second over falling to Nepal captain Paras Khadka.

While it was hot and sunny all through USA’s innings, dark clouds rolled in during the lunch break and only two overs were able to be completed before a flash thunderstorm unleashed heavy rains on the ground. A 2 hour and 10 minute delay followed at Bayuemas as attention turned to Kinrara where play was still going on.

Nepal’s spinners once again turned up the heat on an opponent as Denmark stuttered to 67 for 3 in the 21st over. The third wicket was vital for USA as it caused Denmark to fall well behind on Duckworth-Lewis, with the rain moving east from Bayuemas to Kinrara and set to interrupt that match at any moment. Denmark was able to reach 77 for 3 in 25 before rain finally arrived at Kinrara.

Once the rain stopped at Bayuemas, the outfield dried up quickly thanks to a superb drainage system. The few problem areas were soaked up by the ground staff and play eventually resumed with a new target set for Singapore of 186 to win in 27 overs. USA needed to hold them to 182 to prevent Singapore from finishing above them on net run rate.

Suryawanshi and Arjun Mutreja came out slugging and scored 28 runs off the first three overs by Shuja and Hutchinson after play resumed to leave USA shell-shocked. The introduction of spin was the undoing of Singapore though as Muhammad Ghous struck on his fourth ball to turn momentum back in USA’s direction. Mutreja tried to flick him over midwicket but Mohammed ran in from the rope and completed a fantastic catch on the run to get Mutreja for 21 and make it 39 for 1 in the sixth.

Like Singapore, USA had some troubles in the field as two run out chances were missed and another ball was dropped at backward point in the space of seven deliveries in a helter-skelter sequence. Allen was now bowling off-spin in tandem with Ghous and struck in the ninth over, getting Chaminda Kumarage caught at deep midwicket by Rajp, on as a sub for Thyagarajan, to make it 49 for 2 in eight. With skies still very grey, the second wicket also put USA in front on Duckworth-Lewis should rain curtail the match once 20 overs were completed.

USA continued to build more pressure in the field which led to another wicket in the next over as Param was run out for 1 by Corns, connecting underhanded with a direct hit after flying in from backward point to make it 50 for 1 in the 10th. Allen then removed the dangerous Suryawanshi five balls later for 23 and USA could start to sense victory coming closer at 52 for 4.

Christopher Janik, who made a century earlier in the tournament, could not make the most of a second life after a stumping chance was missed by Dodson with Janik on 4. Janik made it to 12 when he lofted Ghous to Taylor at long off to put USA a step closer to winning at 79 for 5 in the 16th.

Not long after, play got restarted at Kinrara as well with Denmark set a new target of 156 from 31 overs, meaning they had to make 79 off 36 balls with seven wickets in hand. On the first ball after play resumed, Andreas Lambert was bowled by Sanjam Regmi for 47 to effectively seal the match for Nepal.

At Bayuemas, Corns continued his bright tournament with the ball by getting Munish Arora caught behind by Dodson for 26 to make it 93 for 6 in the 19th. Singapore’s last roll of the dice was the now two-over batting power play in the 23rd and 24th overs as rain returned to the field. However, Hutchinson and Shuja showed no signs of having trouble gripping the ball and each man bounced back with a wicket after rough opening spells.

Hutchinson bowled a nerveless 23rd which began with the wicket of Janjua for 8 to make it 118 for 7. Shuja then capped the 24th as Shinde was caught on the point boundary by Rajp for 22. The umpires tried to give Singapore every opportunity to stay out there and finish the match on the field of play while a steady rain came down during both overs, but once the eighth wicket fell, the umpires took both teams off the field with Singapore resigned to defeat.

A half hour after restarting at Kinrara, the match ended with Denmark on 130 for 9. Nepal had clinched first place in the group stage and promotion to Division Three while the other promotion spot was now USA’s to claim. With only seven minutes remaining until the cutoff time of 6:45 p.m. and a minimum of 10 minutes needed for the umpires to inspect the field once the rain stopped, play was called off at Bayuemas. USA was declared the winner by 37 runs with Singapore way off the par score of 166 after 24 overs. The United States squad broke out into chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” in the locker room to celebrate the win and the news that they had been promoted back into Division Three after falling out in Hong Kong last year.

Ghous finished with 2 for 20 in six overs. Corns also contributed a vital 1 for 8 in two overs as USA’s wicket-taking spin trio on the day of Ghous, Corns and Allen gave up their runs at a hair over four an over between the three of them.

In the day’s other match, Malaysia beat Tanzania by five wickets. Malaysia opener Rakesh Madhavan scored 102 to chase down Tanzania’s 187 in 37.1 overs to give the host nation their first win of the tournament. Both teams will have a rematch in the fifth place game on Monday at Bayuemas Oval.

Singapore and Denmark will square off in the third place game at Selangor Turf Club on Monday. Meanwhile Nepal and USA will clash for the eighth time in four tournaments on Monday in the Division Four championship match at Kinrara Academy Oval. Both teams will then have seven months to get ready to face Bermuda, Italy, Oman and Uganda at Division Three next year.

DreamCricket.com’s live coverage of the 2012 ICC WCL Division Four championship match between USA and Nepal from Kinrara Academy Oval begins at 10 a.m. Monday, 10 p.m. EST and 7 p.m. PST on Sunday night in America.

USA Cricket: Denmark jinx lives on as USA loses by 56 runs on D/L Method

openingbat — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:26:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA paid for a lethargic display in the field after sending Denmark in to bat, allowing them to rack up 244 for 9 in 50 overs, before a batting collapse saw USA go from 40 for 0 in the fifth over to 71 for 5 in 20 overs as USA lost by 56 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method when rain stopped play in the 24th over of their chase on Tuesday at 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Kuala Lumpur. Denmark captain Michael Pedersen was named Man of the Match after top scoring with 59 off 69 balls. USA drops to 1-1 with the loss while Denmark stays unbeaten at 2-0.

The match was played at the Selangor Turf Club, the same ground where Singapore was bowled out by Nepal for 111 after batting first on Monday. Combining that knowledge with some overnight moisture in the pitch, USA elected to take the field first after winning the toss. USA was unable to make good use of the new ball though to justify the decision as Denmark openers Carsten Pedersen and Shehzad Ahmed grinded out 31 runs in 10 overs for the first wicket.

“What we talked a lot about this morning after losing the toss was obviously making sure we got through the first 10-15 overs when the ball was gonna do a bit and I think the openers did a really good job,” Michael Pedersen said.

Carsten should have been run out on 6 on the first ball of the ninth over with the score on 23 after Ahmed pushed a delivery from Elmore Hutchinson into the covers. Steve Massiah fielded the ball as both batsmen hesitated but his throw from 15 yards out bounced over the stumps at the striker’s end. Ahmed was finally removed for 13 by Usman Shuja at the end of the 10th, chipping a checked drive to Muhammad Ghous at mid on. Carsten kept plugging away until the 14th over when he was caught behind by Steven Taylor off Timroy Allen for 13 to make it 43 for 2. Despite scoring at only three per over, the openers did a very good job of seeing off the new ball to set the stage for a surge later in the innings.

Allen claimed his second wicket in the 18th when Rizwan Mahmood was beaten for pace and top edged a bouncer to Abhimanyu Rajp at midwicket for 7 to make it 57 for 3. USA failed to capitalize on a golden run out opportunity moments later in what would turn out to be a major turning point in the game. Number three batsman Andreas Lambert flicked a full delivery from Hutchinson into the on side and called for a run but his partner fresh to the crease, Freddie Klokker, was slow to respond and both men hesitated as Rajp swooped in from square leg. They finally committed to the run as Rajp fielded adjacent to the pitch and had a clear shot at all three stumps but his underhand effort at the non-striker’s end missed, which would have claimed Lambert on 9 and reduced Denmark to 58 for 4.

Instead, Lambert and Klokker produced the best partnership of the match, 65 runs for the fourth wicket as USA’s bowlers and fielders failed to exert any pressure from there on out. Lambert was methodical at the start of his innings, but played USA’s bowlers with relatives ease once he got set. He brought up his half-century with back-to-back fours off Ghous to end the 29th over, but got out on the next delivery he faced when he was beaten in flight by Rajp two balls into the 30th over and was stumped for 51 to make it 122 for 4.

Klokker teamed up with Michael Pedersen for a 45-run stand across 8.2 overs. Both players were particularly adept at using the sweep to USA’s spin bowlers. Klokker took some time to get going, playing just one scoring shot off the bat in his first 18 deliveries, but he then cruised to 39 off 48 balls before he nonchalantly walked across his stumps to paddle Rajp fine and was bowled behind his legs to make it 167 for 5 in the 38th. Rajp capped the over by bowling Aftab Ahmed for a second-ball duck and it appeared that USA had a chance of bowling out Denmark for under 200.

But just as they showed last year in Hong Kong at ICC WCL Division Three, Denmark will not fold easily and Michael Pedersen got excellent assistance from number eight Bashir Shah to build a 60-run stand in 8.4 overs. Michael brought up his half-century in 59 balls slogging Rajp for a six over long on to start the 46th. Shah smacked another six two balls later as part of an expensive 17-run over.

Image (right) - Denmark captain Michael Pedersen was named Man of the Match after top scoring with 59 in Denmark's win over USA. [Courtesy: ICC/Peter Lim]

It took Ghous to break the partnership, removing Shah for 19 when he drove to Aditya Thyagarajan at long on. Bobby Chawla was run out by Massiah for 4 with 10 balls to go in the innings and Michael top edged to Massiah in the circle off Orlando Baker to end the 49th. Denmark added seven runs off the final over to finish on 244 for 9, making them favorites to defend.

USA’s ragged display in the field was evident in the 32 extras they conceded, including 20 wides. Rajp’s three wickets were tops for USA, but they came for a costly 60 runs. Allen finished with 2 for 33 in nine while Shuja curiously finished with three overs unused in his quota after being USA’s most economical bowler on the day, taking 1 for 20 in seven.

At the start of the chase, it looked like the target was easily achievable as Taylor and Sushil Nadkarni got off to another explosive start. Taylor took a liking to opening seamer Henrik Hansen, hitting six boundaries off him in the 11 deliveries he faced from the bowler as USA finished the fourth at 38 for 0. The partnership ended in the next over though when medium pacer Aftab Ahmed had Nadkarni caught on the point boundary slicing a square drive in the air to Lambert who took a leaping catch to dismiss Nadkarni for 9.

After dominating the opening partnership, Taylor didn’t see any deliveries in the seventh and eighth overs as Massiah couldn’t turn over the strike to him. Taylor started the ninth over on strike, defending the first ball and missing a drive on the second before edging behind another attempted drive on the third ball to give Ahmed his second scalp. Taylor left for 30 in 24 balls and USA was now at 49 for 2. With dark clouds overhead and the possibility of rain looming, the second wicket gave Denmark an edge on the Duckworth-Lewis calculation which they never relinquished.

Thyagarajan came in at number four and scored 4 before being dismissed by the left-arm spin of Shah, taken at slip to make it 54 for 3 in the 12th. Aditya Mishra made 6 before he skipped down the track and was beaten in flight by Shah to be stumped, making it 64 for 4 in the 16th. Massiah finally perished for 15 off 48 balls, trapped in front by Shah to complete a destructive three-wicket spell for the spinner.

Allen and Baker entered and added 15 runs in 3.4 overs with level-headed batting, but thunder began to roll across the ground at the start of their brief partnership and shortly thereafter the rain arrived to put a halt to play. The showers stopped after about 20 minutes and the covers were taken off the field, but just when it looked like play would resume, heavier rains came back and didn’t cease for the next hour until the match was finally called off and a win awarded to Denmark.

Nepal sits alongside Denmark at 2-0 after defeating Tanzania by eight wickets on Tuesday, bowling out the African side for 82 before chasing the runs in 19.4 overs. Singapore moved to 1-1 with a 112-run win on Duckworth-Lewis Method over Malaysia. Singapore was in trouble at 35 for 4 until Christopher Janik and Munish Arora added 138 runs for the fifth wicket, Janik scoring the first century of the tournament with 106 off 144 balls to take Singapore to 230 for 9. Malaysia was then reduced to 91 for 8 before rain intervened.

USA now sits in fourth place on net run rate behind Singapore with identical records. Nepal is above Denmark on net run rate with both teams 2-0. Tanzania is fifth on net run rate and Malaysia sixth as both teams remain winless. All teams have a day off on Wednesday before play resumes on Thursday. USA will take on Tanzania at Kinrara Academy Oval. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage continues on Thursday morning from Kuala Lumpur at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday night in the USA at 10:30 p.m. EST, 7:30 p.m. PST.

USA Cricket: Allen fireworks too explosive for Malaysia in 70-run win for USA

openingbat — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:46:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

A century stand by Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor to open the match was followed by a scintillating knock by Timroy Allen to set up a 70-run win for USA over Malaysia at Bayuemas Oval on Monday at the 2012 ICC WCL Division Four tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Allen was named Man of the Match after notching 72 not out in just 43 deliveries, a career high for Allen in a USA uniform, to take USA to an easily defendable 289 for 5.

“This is all a team sport,” Allen said. “The two openers gave us a solid start in order for me to go out there with an arsenal of shots, playing whatever shot I feel comfortable playing.”

Malaysia won the toss and elected to send USA in to bat on a hot and sticky morning at Bayuemas Oval. Usman Shuja, Akeem Dodson and Andy Mohammed were the three to sit out for USA while Taylor was asked to open the batting less than 24 hours after arriving in Kuala Lumpur and combined with Nadkarni to put on 110 runs for the first wicket.

For Nadkarni, it was a role reversal playing the anchor position in an opening partnership as Taylor took the initiative cracking five boundaries and a six straight down the ground in the first six overs to take USA to 37 for 0. Taylor brought up his 50 off 52 balls at the start of the 17th over when he guided his seventh boundary through third man to take the score to 90. He added two more boundaries before he was dismissed on a marginal LBW decision for 62 by off-spinner Suharril Fetri.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni cuts through the off side in the middle of his innings vs. Malaysia. Nadkarni top-scored for USA in the match with 73. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

“We’ve always known Steve can get going pretty quick and he started doing that pretty regularly towards the end of the Dubai tour,” Nadkarni said. “Today when he started going, I quickly changed my role and wanted to support him.”

Steve Massiah joined Nadkarni and USA’s scoring rate slowed down as Massiah struggled to rotate the strike against Malaysia’s spinners with Nadkarni well set at the other end. Nadkarni brought up his half-century in 68 balls in the 25th over, pulling Hassan Ghulam over midwicket for his eighth boundary and then followed it up two balls later with a massive six to the same region.

Nadkarni got out hit wicket in the 36th over for 73 when he mistimed a hook shot against medium pacer Suresh Navaratnam. The ball hit him in the armpit and started rolling towards the stumps, but never actually touched. However, Nadkarni was slightly off balance in his follow through and took one hand off his bat to try to stay upright. In the process, the bat glanced the stumps to knock the bails off. That made the score 157 for 2 and set the stage for Allen to get promoted up the order and put on a destructive display to demoralize Malaysia after they looked like they were clawing back into the match.

Massiah was on 8 off 43 balls when Allen joined him at the crease and seemed to be spurred to find the gaps better when Allen arrived, scoring 25 off his final 25 deliveries. Allen crushed the third delivery he received from Navaratnam over long on for his first six, then did it again to Navaratnam off his eighth delivery to set the tone for what would come throughout the rest of his knock. Spinners were no match for Allen either as he dispatched left-arm orthodox bowler Shahrulnizam Yusof for a monstrous six in the 39th over that hit three quarters of the way up a 10-story viewing tower behind the bowler.

Massiah was dropped on 13 at mid off by Hiran Ralalage to keep the partnership alive and a few overs later Allen teed off on Yusof even further in the 43rd, crushing a four and two sixes over long on to bring up the half-century stand. Massiah hit his first and only six an over later as he finally looked ready to accelerate but then got out two balls later on the deep midwicket boundary for 33 to make it 227 for 3 after 44.

Aditya Thyagarajan got out second ball for 2 trying to clear the man at long off to give Yusof a wicket and make the score 229 for 4. Aditya Mishra arrived but Allen had crossed while the ball was in the air on the dismissal and proceeded to continue his demolition of Yusof with two more boundaries to bring up his half-century in just 30 deliveries and then capped the over with his sixth six into the sightscreen.

Image (left) - Timroy Allen raises his cap to the USA bench after reaching his half-century off just 30 deliveries against Malaysia. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

When Mishra finally got the strike he had no trouble keeping pace with Allen, using his feet repeatedly to the spinners with great success as he struck three boundaries and a six to finish with 25 in just 14 balls. He got out with seven balls to go in the innings just after the pair had raised a 50-run partnership in just 4.1 overs. Orlando Baker arrived and slogged one six over midwicket before finishing 7 not out while Allen walked off deservedly unbeaten with four fours and six sixes in his thrilling knock.

Malaysia suffered early damage in the chase as Allen and Elmore Hutchinson wrecked the top order to leave the host side at 21 for 3 in the sixth over. Allen had Rakesh Madhavan caught by Mishra at second slip for 4 while Hutchinson trapped Shafiq Sharif LBW for 1 and bowled Faiz Ahmed Noor for 5.

Malaysia captain Suhan Kumar Alagaratnam and Fetri then started a counter-attack with some excellent running between the wickets combined with elegant strokeplay by the captain. What initially looked like a cakewalk turned into a legitimate contest as Kumar flayed several short deliveries through the covers while USA struggled to build pressure and slow the pair down.

Alagaratnam hit his seventh boundary early in the 18th over off Baker to take him to 39 off just 47 balls before Baker spilled a return chance on the next delivery. However, Baker atoned two balls later when he drew a thin edge on a forward prod from Alagaratnam and Taylor took the catch to put USA back in the driver’s seat at 84 for 4.

Muhammad Ghous bowled with increasing precision after the first drinks break to strangle the scoring rate which aided USA’s cause further. A few overs later Abhimanyu Rajp was brought into the attack and he struck in his second over, getting Khizar Durrani to hole out to Thyagarajan at long on for 14 to make it 105 for 5 in the 27th.

Fetri kept battling though and with Navaratnam produced Malaysia’s second half-century stand of the match. The pair put on exactly 50 for the sixth wicket before Allen returned for a second spell during the batting power play and had Navaratnam caught by Mishra at midwicket for 28. Ryan Corns removed Hassan Ghulam for 7 to make it 166 for 7 and Fetri was finally dislodged by Rajp for 60 in the 47th to make it 198 for 8, but Malaysia managed to bat through all 50 overs and finished on 219 for 8.

Allen finished his all-round performance with 2 for 35 in six overs and was well supported with the new ball by Hutchinson who took 2 for 22. Rajp finished with a slightly expensive 2 for 51 in 10 overs. Ghous went wicketless but bowled a key spell to finish with 0 for 26 in nine overs.

In the day’s other matches, Denmark defeated Tanzania by 88 runs after posting 224 in the first innings while Nepal won by five wickets over Singapore after bowling Singapore out for 111 and chasing the runs in just 24.5 overs after a rocky start when they lost their fifth wicket for 47 runs.

USA plays Denmark on day two in Kuala Lumpur at the Selangor Turf Club. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage of the match with play set to get underway at 10:30 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday morning, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST on Monday night in the USA.

USA Cricket: Abhimanyu Rajp's journey leads him from the land of Ludhiana to the USA National Team

openingbat — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 11:01:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in (on Twitter)

It’s the second match of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier for USA and the game is five overs old when the captain decides to toss the ball to the debutant off-spinner. Under normal circumstances, it might be cause for feelings of nervousness to overwhelm a new bowler. Gripping the ball too tight could result in a half-tracker, clammy hands could cause the ball to slip out too early and result in a full toss, either ball probably winding up as a four or six for the batsman. Abhimanyu Rajp might have been a little nervous when bowling his first ball at the senior international level for USA, but he didn’t show it simply because he didn’t have the time.

“Normally you’re told, ‘You’re up next over,’ but Sushil didn’t do that,” Rajp said, referring to the moment his captain in the UAE, Sushil Nadkarni called his number. “He just tossed me the ball and said, ‘Abhi, come on.’ I was taken a bit by surprise so I didn’t have much time to think about anything.”

Moments later, Rajp landed one of his sharp spinning off-break deliveries right where he wanted it. The batsman, Italy’s Andy Northcote, played over the top of the good length ball and was struck on the pads.

“I think all of Abu Dhabi heard my appeal. As soon as I delivered that ball and hit Northcote’s pads I knew that I had him. That was really special.” It’s a moment Rajp says he’ll never forget, getting his first wicket on his very first delivery for USA. It’s just one of many special moments in the cricketing journey of Rajp.

Rajp was born in Ludhiana in Punjab, India, and like most kids took to the streets to play the game with his friends.

“When you’re growing up and you’re six years old, you don’t know who Sachin is or who Gavaskar was. You’re just playing for the fun of the sport. I had a good friend in my neighborhood and we were always just playing this game every day.”

One of Rajp’s older sisters says that as far as she can remember, she would always see him walking around with a cricket bat in his hands.

“When he used to go to the cricket camp, the willow bat used to be taller than him,” Milli Rajp said. “He was that tiny when he started.” While Rajp is known for his off-break deliveries now, he claims he began his cricketing career as a seam bowler who also kept wicket, but shifted to bowling spin in a fateful match while representing the Ludhiana Cricket Association in an U-12 tournament.

“We were playing on a pitch where the ball was turning square and our main spinner had finished all his overs,” Rajp said. “We wanted someone to spin the ball and I was keeping at the time. So I said I’ll take off my gloves and give it a try. I ended up being the second highest wicket-taker of that tournament bowling off-spin and that’s where I discovered I can spin the ball and should be a spinner and not a wicketkeeper.”

Rajp continued progressing through Ludhiana’s age group teams as a spinner. While his parents emphasized the importance of schoolwork, especially since his mother worked as an English teacher, both his mom and dad fully supported his cricket ambitions and paid for him to participate in summer cricket camps. Then in 1999, the family’s green card application was approved and in the summer of 2000 Rajp arrived in the USA as a 14-year-old.

But rather than have his cricket dreams dashed, they only seemed to grow stronger. The family settled in California’s San Fernando Valley with the cricket fields at Woodley close by in Van Nuys. Rajp joined Ventura Cricket Club the following spring and began playing with them for the next five seasons in the Southern California Cricket Association.

Image (right) - Abhimanyu Rajp bowls against Scotland at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. [Courtesy: ICC/Ian Jacobs]

Rajp went to try out for the USA U-19 team in 2003 prior to the squad traveling to the ICC Americas U-19 tournament, but was ineligible for selection because he did not meet the ICC’s four-year residency requirement. In the meantime, Rajp got connected with Ashok Patel’s US Cricket Academy and began going on tours with them to the Caribbean which provided valuable learning experiences for him over the next several years.

“I played a lot on those tours and you learn a lot,” Rajp said. “A cricket player has all this knowledge about what to do and how to do it, but the main thing is when to do it, when to apply that knowledge to the best of your abilities. It was just about when to set what kind of fields, what works for what bowler and for yourself, how can you do better against this batsman, what kind of field you should set for him, basically trying to understand all aspects of the game. You have coaches there but it’s your first time getting exposure to real turf and real stadiums. We had not played in those kind of facilities in the USA. Playing in your age group, the best way you can learn is playing with other players who don’t know anything. For young players, that’s the best experience you can get. You don’t know anything and they don’t know anything so you’re all learning together and trying to understand the game as a unit and that helps a lot.”

Rajp also gives a lot of credit to former USA player Reggie Benjamin for coaching him and other youth players locally in Southern California when there wasn’t a lot of activity going on at the national level for junior cricketers.

“Having Reginald Benjamin on my side over here, who used to be one of the main youth guys when the youth movement started, he was always here and he’s the one who started coaching us with the help of Nazim Shirazi,” Rajp said.

In 2005, Rajp went to another tryout for the USA U-19 team and this time managed to be selected. However, there was a lot of doubt whether or not he would get to play any games for USA since USACA had just been suspended by the ICC and the U-19 team’s participation at the ICC Americas tournament was in doubt.

“The communication was very hazy at that time. Nobody knew whether we were gonna go or not. A week before the tour we found out it was on. We’re going. The tickets are coming. The tickets came a couple days before we had to fly and then we went to Canada.”

Despite the hectic leadup to the tournament, Rajp says the team felt okay about their chances entering the first day of the 2005 ICC Americas U-19 tournament against defending champions Canada because most of the USA players had played with each other on the US Cricket Academy tours.

“The camaraderie had started a lot earlier than the 2003 tour so by 2005 everybody had a good idea of who was capable of what,” Rajp said. “When we landed, we basically had one day of practice and it was basically for the guys people hadn’t seen before and for the coach Larry Gomes to find out who was gonna be the off-spinner, the leg-spinner, the batsmen, the slip fielder.”

USA defeated Canada in the first match by 39 runs and never looked back on an undefeated run to the tournament title, clinching a spot at the 2006 ICC U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Rajp was the standout bowler in Canada, taking a tournament best 11 wickets which included five-wicket hauls against Argentina and Bermuda.

In Sri Lanka, Rajp finished tied for the team lead in wickets with eight, which included 5 for 61 against New Zealand. Among the scalps he claimed in that match was future Test batsman Martin Guptill. USA also faced off against West Indies, Australia and South Africa in the group stage, whose squads contained numerous future senior international representatives including Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Sunil Narine, Craig Kieswetter, Richard Levi, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Wade and David Warner.

“It was a real eye-opener for myself and my ability to bowl against the likes of David Warner and guys who are now at Test level,” Rajp said. “It was a surreal experience for us. By no means could we say we were better than them or as good as them in our ability, but we can say that if the players in the USA play every day like those players play then there is no reason why we can’t beat them. But because we are weekend cricketers, we got beaten at the end.”

“We were playing the West Indies with Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, William Perkins and we have them 8 for 2 in the first two overs and a dropped catch off William Perkins and we are feeling on top of the world because we are doing some major damage and after that catch was dropped [Perkins made 133]. Every game, we were in it for a certain amount of time because every team took us lightly. They thought, ‘USA? Who the hell is USA?’ but when we got on the field and started playing and started giving them heart attacks, that’s when they started getting serious that this is a team to be reckoned with and they had to play with more responsibility and not think it’s just an easy 50 or easy 100. That’s when the game got away from us because their talent was better than ours but our determination was probably better than theirs to get them to those points in those games.”

“If you analyze all three of those group games, we had 140 in 25 overs for the loss of two wickets against West Indies. What more do you want from an Associate team chasing 300? That doesn’t happen. South Africa we had them 101 for 5. We needed two more quick wickets and we could’ve had them out for 150. Australia we scored [148] against them and we had them 53 for 4 so a couple more wickets and we might have had them, but almost doesn’t count. That goes to show that we only played weekends. If we played every day, we could have beat some of these guys.”

Rather than be demoralized about losing all but one match in that tournament, Rajp says he came out of it gaining more confidence from the experience because of those moments when USA was able to stand toe-to-toe with the heavyweights.

“The one thing I took away from that tournament was that we belonged. We can do it at that level. Every time I think about that tournament, it’s made me realize that yes I can do it. I can bowl against these guys and get them out. I can get a five-wicket haul at a World Cup stage against a Test nation. I can do good.”

Despite his personal success at the junior level in Sri Lanka, Rajp had to bide his time before breaking into the USA senior side. He stayed on the outside looking in for six years and says he kept his spirits high after receiving encouragement from several national team players.

Aditya Thyagarajan, who has been a teammate with Rajp on South West Region teams and plays against Rajp’s Cosmos CC side regularly in the SCCA Division One competition, says that Rajp has become a more complete bowler in recent years after altering his approach to batsmen at the senior level compared to what he was doing at the Under-19 level.

“Over the last two or three years he has really improved and he’s understood the value as an off-spinner to bowl the ball consistently on one spot,” Thyagarajan said. “Like any talented youngster, he was trying to take a wicket every ball and that just doesn’t work at the senior level, especially when you’re an off-spinner or finger-spinner. So I kept talking to him over the years about how you need to improve your consistency. I think over the last two years I really saw him take that advice really well and the results have been very clear.”

In 2010, Rajp was the leading wicket-taker in USACA national tournaments including 7 for 35 in one match at the USACA Western Conference tournament in September of that year at Woodley as he hovered around the national team selection radar. However, he was passed over for both of USA’s squads at ICC tournaments in 2011. Rajp tried to be philosophical about it and remained patient.

“I am the kind of person who does not keep any expectations. Any time I’m playing cricket, I’m not playing to get selected for another team. I’m playing to do well for my team on that day,” Rajp said. “I never went out and said, ‘Why are they not picking me?’ I always think that when the time is right, it will happen. I didn’t take it in a bad way when they didn’t call me or select me because in the back of my mind I was always thinking this is not my time yet.”

Rajp’s time finally arrived in March when he got selected to go to the UAE for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. He delivered from the moment Nadkarni first tossed the ball his way against Italy right through to the end of the event as he finished tied with Muhammad Ghous for the team lead in wickets as both off-spinners took 10.

Image (left) - Rajp bowls against Italy in his first tournament match in a USA senior uniform this past march. [Courtesy: ICC/Ian Jacobs]

“I think Abhimanyu’s addition to the team has been fantastic,” Nadkarni said at the end of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. “I think for a long time we had Ghous who made an impact as soon as he came into the team. Now I feel like we have another bowler who can support Ghous and who is a wicket-taking option so I think Abhimanyu is a great addition to the team.”

Although he had the experience of playing against future Test players at the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2006, Rajp says playing in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was a completely different experience.

“It was a real eye-opener. The level of competition is so much harder and higher than what we’re accustomed to playing in US club cricket culture,” Rajp said. “You have to be on the ball from ball one. There is no margin for error. You miss and they hit.”

“When you are coming in to bowl you better bet on your eye that the guy who is batting in front of you is ready to launch your first ball for six. If you are coming in to bat, you can bet that the first ball is either coming at your head straight to take your helmet off or to break your toe off. The intensity and focus that’s required is so much higher than you’re used to. You have to be completely focused.”

“I learned a lot from bowling against almost everybody. The quality of opposition that we were playing was obviously great quality. Bowling against them, every game I was learning more and more stuff about my bowling and how to bowl to such batsmen as Ed Joyce and Kevin O’Brien. I’ve never in my whole life bowled around the wicket. It was the first time in my life bowling around the wicket to Kevin O’Brien because I had taken the advice from Robin Singh and Mark Johnson telling me to try to come around the wickets to see if the batsman has a little tough time against you with those angles because I do get a lot of turn. That’s one thing I tried that worked and I never tried that. Small things like that make a huge difference at that level.”

Even though it was a Twenty20 tournament in March, the experience gained from bowling to players like O’Brien and Joyce will serve Rajp well as he gets ready to make his 50-over debut for USA at 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four next week in Malaysia. He continued his good overall form by claiming 3 for 33 in 10 overs in USA’s warm-up match against Denmark on August 30 and will look to keep it up in the live matches beginning on Monday against Malaysia.

While Rajp has experienced a tremendous amount of success on the field throughout his cricket career, he says none of it would have been possible without the support of his family. From the time he represented Ludhiana to his exploits for the USA at the junior and senior levels, they have been his biggest fans.

“Whatever I’ve achieved so far has been the blessing of my mom and my family,” Rajp said. “They’ve really supported me and helped me in a way that a family can. My dad, my mom, my sisters have been really influential in my whole life.”

Away from cricket, Rajp graduated from California State University, Northridge in 2010 with a degree in finance and began working for biotech company Amgen that same year at the company’s headquarters in Thousand Oaks. He also has a singing alter ego, recording under the name Musafir Ludhianvi as part of Suvah Entertainment whose other members include Brainstorm and Apartment E. The songs are sung in Punjabi and Hindi.

“Musafir Ludhianvi means a lone traveler from the land of Ludhiana,” Rajp says. “It’s a fun thing. I write my own songs and I sing. I’m not a good singer, I’m ok and the producers help me out a lot. We spend one day a week, we have a dedicated day that we go into the studio and have our sessions, whether it’s studio recording or writing lyrics or working on tracks or perfecting a track. All of us work. All of us have other commitments plus music doesn’t pay. It’s something that we are passionate for. Other than cricket, there’s another passion I have which is singing.”

Rajp became a US citizen in 2007 and while his music is a way for him to maintain a strong connection to his Indian roots, he is proud to be able to represent the USA on the cricket field. He’s still just 26 and if he continues the strong start he had for the senior team earlier this year, he could be representing USA on the cricket field for many years to come.

“Obviously this country has given me a lot so I owe a lot to this country, from cricket to making me as a person who I am today,” Rajp said. “You don’t get some of these opportunities back in your motherland, although I do love my motherland, but there’s pros and cons to everything. I still love India but there’s a lot that I owe to the USA and I’m very grateful that I’ve landed here and gotten through so many different feats in my life in the United States. Being able to represent the United States is also a privilege and an honor and a gesture for me to give something back to this country also by doing good for this sport in this country for this country. It’s my country and that’s what I want to do.”

USA Cricket: USA beats Denmark by 4 wickets in Malaysia warm-up fixture

openingbat — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:37:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in (on Twitter)

USA exercised some mental demons on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur when they defeated Denmark by four wickets in a warm-up fixture at Royal Selangor Club ahead of 2012 ICC WCL Division Four, which starts Monday in Malaysia. In January 2011, USA lost twice to Denmark at ICC WCL Division Three in Hong Kong, failing to chase targets of 194 and 241, but on Thursday they were set 173 to win and managed to get across the line with 15 overs to spare.

USA won the toss at Royal Selangor Club and sent Denmark in to bat. The three players in USA’s squad who didn’t participate in the warm-up are the three players still yet to arrive in Malaysia: Aditya Mishra, Usman Shuja and Steven Taylor. However, USA’s victory without them will give the squad a big confidence boost knowing that they won without three players who will almost certainly be in USA’s first choice starting XI come Monday, September 3 in USA’s first match of the tournament against Malaysia.

Denmark’s highest score off the bat came from opener Shehzad Ahmed, who made 25 off 62 balls, as no one was able to go on to make a significant score after getting a start. The biggest partnership of the innings for Denmark was 47 runs for the second wicket between Ahmed and Anders Lambert, who made 22. It was broken by Muhammad Ghous, who had Ahmed caught behind by Akeem Dodson, one of three dismissals completed by the wicketkeeper.

The second high score in the innings for Denmark came from extras with 24, including eight byes. USA’s bowling attack turned in a solid combined performance. Playing in his first match in a USA uniform since July 2011, Timroy Allen opened the bowling and took 2 for 37 in 10 overs with three maidens. Left-arm seamer Elmore Hutchinson finished with 0 for 18 off six and Orlando Baker took 1 for 26 in seven.

In the spin department, Ghous claimed 1 for 25 in 10 overs while fellow off-spinner Abhimanyu Rajp finished with USA’s best figures on the day, taking 3 for 33 off 10 including the wickets of Lambert and Denmark captain Michael Pedersen. USA captain Steve Massiah took 2 for 15 in six overs while Ryan Corns bowled one over, taking 0 for 7. Denmark was 74 for 1 at one stage but lost wickets at fairly regular intervals from there on out, eventually getting bowled out on the final ball of the innings for 172.

Dodson and Sushil Nadkarni opened the batting for USA. The side stumbled at the start of the chase when Dodson was dismissed for a second-ball duck followed six balls later by the departure of Massiah for 5 to put USA in an early hole at 11 for 2 in the third over.

Aditya Thyagarajan joined Nadkarni and the two veterans steadied the ship for USA by adding 74 for the third wicket. Nadkarni scored at the quicker pace, eventually finishing with 41 off 36 balls, including five fours and three sixes before he was dismissed by Hamid Shah in the 15th over.

Image (right) - Aditya Thyagarajan file photo. [Courtesy: Bryan Vandenburgh/ICC]

Corns came in and scored 12 off 29 at number five before he was bowled by Henrik Hansen to make it 110 for 4 at the start of the 23rd. Thyagarajan, playing in his first match for USA since getting injured against Denmark in Hong Kong last year, fell just short of a half-century when he was caught behind off Hansen for 48 off 78 balls, including seven fours and a six, to make it 133 for 5.

Baker fell LBW for 11 in the 32nd to leave the score at 151 for 6 and give Denmark a sniff at victory but Andy Mohammed and Allen erased any doubts with a 27 run-stand off just 19 balls to seal the match for USA. Mohammed struck four boundaries in his 18 not out off 20 balls while Allen clubbed two sixes, including one maximum that brought up the winning runs, in his short stay to finish 14 not out off 10 balls as USA sealed the win with 90 balls remaining.

DreamCricket.com will have live coverage for all of USA’s matches at ICC WCL Division Four beginning with the team’s first match on Monday against Malaysia from Bayuemas Oval. Each match is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST the previous day in America.

USA Cricket: USA faces host side Malaysia on September 3 to start 2012 ICC WCL Division Four

openingbat — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:20:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

For the second World Cricket League event in a row, USA has been assigned to play the host nation in the first match of the tournament as they face off against Malaysia at Bayuemas Oval on September 3 to kick off 2012 ICC WCL Division Four according to an ICC press release. The déjà vu continues on the tournament’s second day when USA takes on Denmark, a match that will be held at Selangor Turf Club.

At 2011 ICC WCL Division Three, USA took on hosts Hong Kong and defeated them easily by seven wickets only to stumble badly on day two of tournament play against Denmark. USA dropped Denmark captain Michael Pedersen three times on his way to 78 not out in a total of 193 for 6. USA was at 84 for 2 chasing in the 16th over when a spectacular collapse resulted in the team being bowled out for 163 in 39.5 overs. Aditya Thyagarajan suffered a severely dislocated right knee in the match and hasn’t played for USA since then while rehabbing the injury but Thyagarajan was selected to return to the senior squad for next month’s tour to Malaysia.

After a day off on September 5, USA returns to action at Kinrara Oval, site of the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup Final, when they matchup with Tanzania on September 6. A day later, they return to the same venue to face off against Nepal, a team that has become one of USA’s biggest rivals outside of the Americas over the last several years. In their most recent matchup, USA beat Nepal in a crucial showdown at 2010 ICC WCL Division Four in Italy by 55 runs with Sushil Nadkarni scoring a vital 64 not out in USA’s total of 203 for 8 before phenomenal spells by Usman Shuja (3 for 17) and Muhammad Ghous (3 for 31) sealed the win for USA.

After another rest day on September 8, USA returns to Bayuemas Oval for the final match in group play when they face Singapore. USA lost to Singapore by 99 runs the last time the two teams met, which was in 2010 at ICC WCL Division Five in Nepal. Left-arm spinner Jackie Manoj-Kumar tormented USA on the day, wiping out the middle order to finish with 4 for 23 as USA was bowled out for 146, but USA won’t have to worry about him in Malaysia as Manoj-Kumar is not in Singapore’s 14-man squad for the event.

After the round-robin stage finishes on September 9, the teams will be placed into a first place, third place and fifth place playoff on September 10. The first place playoff will take place at Kinrara Oval, the third place playoff at Selangor Turf Club and the fifth place playoff at Bayuemas Oval. The top two teams in the tournament will be promoted to 2013 ICC WCL Division Three, which takes place April 28-May 5 in Bermuda. The two promoted teams will join Bermuda, Italy, Oman and Uganda in Division Three. The bottom two finishers at 2012 ICC WCL Division Four will be relegated to ICC WCL Division Five.

USA’s squad is scheduled to depart the USA for Malaysia on August 26 and arrive on August 28 for six days of training and acclimatization before the first match against Malaysia on September 3. It is currently unknown if USA will have any warm-up matches in Malaysia prior to the first match.

DreamCricket.com will provide live coverage of all of USA’s matches at 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia. Each match is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST the previous day in America.

USA Cricket: 14-man squad officially announced for 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia

openingbat — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 21:05:00 GMT

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[Source: USACA Press Release]

USACA has announced a 14-man squad to participate in the 2012 ICC Pepsi World Cricket League Division 4 Tournament to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from September 3 to 10, 2012. Along with USA, the other participating associate countries are Denmark, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Tanzania.

The tournament will be round robin with each team playing each other once followed by playoffs and finals to determine rankings from 1-6. The top 2 finishers will be promoted to WCL Division 3 scheduled to be held in Bermuda from April 28 to May 5, 2013.

Looking for consistency and continuity, the selectors opted to retain a core of players that participated in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE in March and recalled five experienced players including Steve Massiah who has returned as captain.

The team is a good blend of experience and youth. However, undoubtedly, USA will be depending heavily on its younger players who have all come through the various regional youth programs and ICC U19 World Cup participation over the past six years.

USA is expected to arrive in Malaysia on August 28 for practice, training and acclimatization prior to the start of the tournament on September 3.

USA squad: Steve Massiah (captain, New York), Sushil Nadkarni (vice-captain, Central East), Timroy Allen (South East), Orlando Baker (Central East), Ryan Corns (Central East), Akeem Dodson (New York), Muhammad Ghous (Atlantic), Elmore Hutchinson (South West), Rashard Marshall (New York), Aditya Mishra (North West), Abhimanyu Rajp (South West), Usman Shuja (Central West), Steven Taylor (South East), Aditya Thyagarajan (South West).

Coach - Robin Singh

Assistant Coach - Thirunavukkarasu Kumaran

Bowling Coach - Nasir "Charlie" Javed

Physio - Akhtar Masood Syed

Manager - Shoaib Ahmed

Video Analyst - Sriram Somayajula

USA Cricket: Malaysia to host ICC WCL Division 4 from September 3-10

openingbat — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:14:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

After finishing last to be relegated out of ICC World Cricket League Division Three last year in Hong Kong, USA’s first chance to climb back up the WCL ladder will be September 3-10 after the ICC announced the dates today for WCL Division Four in Malaysia. USA will be joined by Denmark, Nepal, Tanzania, Singapore and the hosts. Sources have indicated that USACA will organize a player selection camp later this month be held in Florida to help choose a 14-man squad for Division Four.

The matches will be played in Kuala Lumpur at three facilities: Kinrara Oval, Selangor Turf Club and Royal Selangor Club. These grounds were used for the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2008. Malaysia also hosted ICC WCL Division Six in September 2011. Guernsey finished in first place in that event while Malaysia finished as runner-up to get promoted. Malaysia also wound up second to Singapore at Division Five earlier this year in Singapore to clinch a spot in Division Four.

USA does have some prior history playing in Malaysia. In 1997, USA went there for the ICC Trophy, the forerunner to the ICC World Cup Qualifier. Bangladesh won the event while they were still an Associate team, defeating Kenya in the final. It wound up being a springboard for them to gain Test status.

USA’s squad at the 1997 ICC Trophy was captained by former West Indies player Faoud Bacchus, who was 43 at the time. They finished third in Group A behind Kenya and Ireland. USA entered the final Group A match against Kenya needing to win to force a three-way tie at the top of Group A, but instead produced their lowest score ever in 50-over matches when they were shot out for 32 in a 211-run loss. Had USA beaten Ireland earlier in Group A, they would have advanced to the final eight stage but Ireland’s tail took them to victory by two wickets after USA had them at 159 for 7 needing 213 to win.

In the Plate Competition, USA rounded out the event with a five-wicket loss to Fiji in the 11th place game. Waisake Tukana took 5 for 31 in the field for Fiji as USA was bowled out for 193 batting first before Tukana finished 34 not out at number six to take his side over the line. USA fans might also find it interesting to note that current Cricket Holdings America board member and executive director of Insite Organisation Neil Maxwell had figures of 7-1-24-1 for Fiji and scored 33 batting at number four in Fiji’s chase.

USA Cricket: ICC WCL Division 4 to be played in Malaysia, Division 3 in Bermuda

openingbat — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

The next ICC World Cricket League Division Four tournament, which was originally scheduled to be played this month in Florida, will now be played in Malaysia. The announcement was made on Thursday at the conclusion of the ICC Development Committee Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from May 15-16.

Malaysia will become the second country to host a World Cricket League event for a second time. Singapore was the first, hosting WCL Division Six in 2009 and WCL Division Five this past February. Malaysia last hosted a WCL event in 2011 when Division Six was held in September of last year. Malaysia finished as the runner-up to Guernsey in Division Six, then finished as the runner-up to Singapore in this year’s Division Five to gain promotion to Division Four where both teams will go up against Denmark, Nepal, Tanzania and the USA.

Malaysia has very good facilities for an Associate nation. The country hosted the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2008, which was won by India. In 2006, an ODI tri-series was played at Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur between Australia, India and the West Indies. Australia won the series, which was played just a few weeks prior to that year’s Champions Trophy in India.

ICC WCL Division Four may take place later this year, but there is also a possibility that the tournament could be held early in 2013. Exact dates for the tournament are anticipated to be finalized shortly. Based on annual weather forecasts and the monsoon seasons in Malaysia, it is unlikely that the tournament would be held in October or November.

July and August are months with relatively low rainfall, but holding the tournament then could put each participating country in a crunch in terms of planning and preparation. Also, the ICC U-19 World Cup is scheduled to run from August 11-26 and it is doubtful that the two events would be scheduled to clash with each other. In September, the ICC already has two events on the schedule. ICC WCL Division Eight is due to take place in Samoa while the ICC World Twenty20 begins on September 18 and runs through October 7 in Sri Lanka.

The top two finishers in Division Four will advance to Division Three, which the ICC Development Committee announced will be held next year in Bermuda. Along with Bermuda, the two teams promoted from Division Four will be matched up against Italy, Oman and Uganda. On paper, the teams in Division Four are much more competitive than those in Division Three. If USA can make it out of Division Four, a tournament which they won in Italy in 2010, a top two finish at Division Three would put them in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier which is scheduled to be held in New Zealand.

The last time USA traveled to Bermuda for ICC Americas tournament play in 2010, they finished runner-up to Canada in the 50-over portion of the event before winning the inaugural ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament title. The tournament sites for the upcoming World Cricket League events are expected to be ratified by the ICC Chief Executives Committee at the ICC Annual Meeting in June.

USA Cricket: Nadkarni & Baker continue scintillating form in warm-up win over Denmark

openingbat — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:40:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Dubai (on Twitter)

USA captain Sushil Nadkarni struck his second half-century in as many games to lead USA to their first win on tour in the UAE as they defeated Denmark by 32 runs on Sunday in Sharjah. Nadkarni was runout for 72 off 49 balls including seven fours and four sixes in USA’s 20-over total of 160 for 7.

“I think we really wanted to win one game, that third game, before going into the tournament,” said Nadkarni on Monday at the team’s practice session ahead of their first official match of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier against Uganda on Tuesday. “It was very very important for us because we really wanted to win a game as a team. We had a couple of meetings. I called a personal meeting with players only and we talked amongst each other about what we should be doing on the ground and how we should increase our intensity and play as a team. I think it worked really well because even the coaches were surprised at how bubbly the team was the next day and how ready we were for that third game and the results showed as well.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat first in a 12-a-side, 11 bat and 11 bowl contest. The lineup was a good indication of who USA will be using as their first choice players to start the tournament. Abhimanyu Rajp and Andy Mohammed were the two players who sat out.

Nadkarni and Steven Taylor opened the batting, but Taylor only lasted two balls before getting out without scoring, the second time that’s happened in three matches on tour. Aditya Mishra entered at three and struck one boundary in his 8 off 9 balls before he was run out, his second runout in the UAE.

Orlando Baker joined Nadkarni and the two Central West veterans produced an 87-run stand for the third wicket. USA was 60 for 2 after 10 overs, but the pair led a tremendous acceleration for USA in the final 60 balls as USA scored 100 runs in the final 10 overs, but at one point 160 looked in serious doubt.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni file photo. [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

With the score at 120 for 2, USA nearly went into a free fall as four wickets fell for one run. Nadkarni was runout, Baker was trapped LBW to Denmark captain Michael Pedersen for 33 in 39 balls, Nauman Mustafa was caught off the bowling of Pedersen without scoring and Gowkaran Roopnarine also exited without troubling the scorers to make it 121 for 6.

Adil Bhatti spared USA’s blushes with a stunning counterattack, coming in at number six and finishing 34 not out in just 11 balls, with three boundaries and a six. Off the non-boundary shots, Bhatti scored 16 off 7 balls, exactly the kind of efficiency USA needs from a middle-order player. Combined with his four wickets in the warm-up game against Namibia, Bhatti has virtually sealed a spot in the starting XI for Tuesday’s match against Uganda.

Ryan Corns was the last wicket to fall with the score on 147, notching 2 off 4 balls before he was bowled by Sair Anjum, one of three wickets on the day for the medium pacer. Pedersen finished with figures of 2 for 10 including one maiden in four overs of off-spin.

Denmark got off to a slow start in their chase and never threatened to haul down the target. Off-spinner Muhammad Ghous opened the bowling with Usman Shuja but it was Corns coming in at first change who was responsible for the first wicket, getting Shehzad Ahmed out for 6 off 12 balls. Freddie Klokker fell to Elmore Hutchinson for 22 off 23 balls to make it 39 for 2.

Pedersen and Rizwan Mahmood constructed a 53-run third wicket stand but Bhatti came on to dismiss Mahmood for 24 off 20 balls. James Moniz was runout without facing a ball to make it 97 for 4 and Kamran Mahmood was bowled by Usman Shuja for 11 off 16 to make it 123 for 5. Pedersen capped a solid all-round display by finishing 58 not out off 44 balls, with six fours and one six. Denmark finished their innings at 128 for 5.

On the bowling sheet for USA, Shuja took 1 for 28 in four overs while Ghous bowled one of his typical tidy spells to finish 0 for 21 in four overs. Corns took 1 for 20 in four overs while Asif Khan finished with 0 for 24 off three overs. Hutchinson had his best statistical performance on the week with 1 for 17 in four overs while Bhatti took 1 for 13 in one over.

With Rajp and Mohammed sitting out today, it was a good indication they’ll also be doing so to start the tournament. While Ryan Corns hasn’t scored many runs, he’s been bowling plenty of overs and it’s clear that team management likes his all-round attributes and athleticism in the field. It appears Ghous will be given a chance to remain in the lead off-spinner’s role, but should he slip up Rajp will be ready to step in after two solid performances in USA’s warm-up fixtures. At the moment, Steven Taylor may be the odd man out at the top of the order, having turned in scores of 0, 12 and 0 in three tour matches.

As the team wrapped up its final practice today ahead of the tournament, Nadkarni said the addition of Robin Singh to the management team as a technical consultant has been a big help for how the team is preparing for the qualifier.

“He brings a whole lot of experience at the international level and he’s really working hard with the boys,” said Nadkarni. “I think the results became apparent in the third game against Denmark when we figured out some of our bowling and batting combinations and also looked at the fielding strategies so it’s starting to come together but we still have some areas to work on.”

“I think going into the tournament we still need to hit higher fielding standards. We’re still making some mistakes in the field with misfields. I think from a batting standpoint, we’d like our guys to convert more of the dot balls into at least singles or doubles.”

Nadkarni says that he anticipates some of the newer players will be a little nervous ahead of USA’s first match, but hopes it won’t affect the team too much.

“A lot of the guys are new to this level of cricket and new to the US team in general,” said Nadkarni. So going into tomorrow I’m sure there’ll be some nervous energy but we’ve done our best in the warm-up games to pump the guys up, get the youngsters as much exposure as we could get them in the three games so they get a feel for playing against good opposition and trying to cope with the high intensity of Twenty20 cricket.

DreamCricket.com will have live coverage for all of USA’s matches at the 2012 World Twenty20 Qualifier, beginning at 1:45 a.m. EST on Tuesday when USA takes on Uganda from Sharjah. DreamCricket.com’s tournament coverage is made possible in part by the New Inning Foundation.

USA Cricket: USA will not host 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four

openingbat — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:42:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

In a major blow to USA’s viability as a suitable host for top flight cricket, the ICC confirmed on Thursday that the country is no longer being considered to host this year’s ICC World Cricket League Division Four tournament. The event is scheduled to include Denmark, Nepal, Tanzania, USA and the top two sides from 2012 ICC WCL Division Five, which begins Saturday in Singapore. The sides gunning for promotion from that event are Argentina, Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Malaysia and the host nation.

According to an email from an ICC spokesperson, “The United States was one of the venues being evaluated for hosting the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 but, as with any ICC event, it was dependent on the potential hosting nations being able to meet a series of ICC criteria. Following discussions with USACA it was decided that the United States currently cannot meet those criteria and therefore will not be considered as a host for the event.”

When asked what criteria USACA failed to meet, the ICC spokesperson responded that a host country “is required to give a number of cricketing, operational and administrative assurances” but the spokesperson would not comment on which aspects USACA could not follow through. It is believed that USACA’s current administrative and governance issues, specifically the failure to hold constitutionally mandated elections in 2011, may have played a role in the ICC looking elsewhere for a host site for Division Four. According to the 2012 USACA calendar of events released on December 9, USA and Nepal were being considered by the ICC to host the event.

During a meeting with ICC President Sharad Pawar in New York last summer, former USACA Secretary John Aaron had campaigned for USA to host 2012 ICC WCL Division Four. This past autumn, USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed sounded confident that USA would be selected to host the event and he expected the ICC to make a decision by November to confirm USA as the host, but no confirmation was ever made public by either USACA or the ICC.

The fact that USA has been passed over to host the tournament, after seemingly being in the driver’s seat for the opportunity, speaks volumes of how poor USACA’s current relationship is with the ICC. The relationship certainly did not improve this past autumn when USACA failed to meet several administrative deadlines laid out by the ICC in conjunction with the 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh. It resulted in a sternly worded letter from ICC Americas Regional Development Manager Martin Vieira to admonish USACA for failing to properly communicate with the ICC and for its handling of a standoff between the USACA board and women’s players over proposed tour stipends.

One of the major components to hosting a higher level WCL event is having at least three turf facilities within close proximity to each other. There are three turf facilities in the Fort Lauderdale area – Central Broward Regional Park, Brian Piccolo Park and Boca Raton CC – as well as three separate turf pitches at Woodley Park in Los Angeles so the USA would not have failed from that standpoint. There is also adequate infrastructure off the field in order to host teams, such as hotels within close proximity to the grounds, as well as suitable internet network capabilities at the grounds to meet media requirements. As recently as July, USA hosted the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Florida while USA also hosted the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament last February.

If Nepal now has the inside track to host the event, it will be much more difficult for USA to gain promotion back to Division Three. In the current WCL cycle which began in 2009, eight out of 10 host countries have finished first or second in tournament play. The only two who didn’t were the Netherlands at Division One in 2010, a tournament in which there was no promotion or relegation at stake, and Botswana at Division Seven in 2011.

While USA gained promotion from the Division Five tournament staged in Nepal in 2010, finishing in the top two again in Kathmandu won’t be easy. In addition to a young and energetic Nepal side, USA will also have to contend with a Denmark team that took two out of two matches against USA at Division Three in Hong Kong last year. Depending on the results of Division Five next week, there is a strong chance USA may have to go up against a very solid Singapore team as well. Singapore beat USA convincingly by 99 runs in Nepal two years ago and would have advanced to Division Four in Italy with USA were it not for the unfortunate crowd trouble on the final day of group play in Kathmandu.

Nepal’s crowds, while enthusiastic, have a track record of volatile behavior. Crowd violence marred USA’s win against the hosts in Kathmandu at Division Five in February of 2010 and there was a report of more crowd trouble at the same venue for last December’s ACC Twenty20 Cup match between the UAE and Nepal. Despite this, they may get a chance to host a World Cricket League tournament for the second time in just over two years. Tanzania hosted WCL Division Four in 2008 while other potential participants for the next Division Four – Guernsey, Argentina, Singapore, Malaysia – have also hosted WCL tournaments in the past. Meanwhile, the USA has yet to host one.

Former USACA CEO Don Lockerbie stated during an interview while traveling with the USA team in Nepal in February of 2010 that he hoped USA would get a chance to host a major ICC event in the near future, such as the Champions Trophy in 2013 – which was eventually awarded to England and Wales – in order to build a bigger profile for the USA on the global cricket stage. However, if USA is being passed over to host a World Cricket League tournament, thoughts of hosting a Champions Trophy or World Cup are a pipe dream and it must also cast doubt on plans between New Zealand Cricket and USACA to start up an IPL-style Twenty20 league this summer.