USA Cricketer : Gordon Makin

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC Americas U-17 tournament rebranded "U-18 Match Play Camp"

openingbat — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:38:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

This year’s ICC Americas U-17 tournament, scheduled to take place from July 8-15 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been reclassified as the ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp between USA, Canada and Bermuda. According to an ICC Americas spokesperson, the tournament has been redesigned with the goal in mind to put the teams “in the best position to challenge for the one spot available” from the Americas that will move on to the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup.

The age of eligible players for this tournament was raised one year from U-17 to U-18 to allow for all players eligible for the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup qualification cycle to participate in this ICC Americas event. Players must be born on or after September 1, 1993 to be eligible to play for an Associate country at the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup. This means that Amarnauth Persaud and Steven Taylor, members of the USA squad at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland, will be eligible to play for USA in July at this ICC Americas event as well as next year's ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament. Should USA finish first in that event, they will advance to the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup in the UAE.

The two Americas representatives at last year’s ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier – USA and Canada – both failed to qualify for the ICC U-19 World Cup which begins this August in Australia. Overall, the standard of play from the Americas has dwindled in recent years. As recently as 2004, the USA was one of the highest rated Associate teams and qualified for the Champions Trophy in England. After ICC suspensions in 2005 and 2007, they were demoted from ICC World Cricket League Division Three to Division Five and have struggled to climb back to the upper echelon of Associates.

In 2007, the region had two representatives in the ICC World Cup with Bermuda and Canada taking part in the tournament played in the West Indies. Since then, Bermuda has dropped down to ICC World Cricket League Division Three. Argentina, which was in ICC World Cricket League Division Two in 2007, has now been relegated in four consecutive WCL tournaments to plummet to Division Six. They have lost 24 straight matches in the WCL beginning with the championship match at Division Three in 2007 through the fifth place match at Division Five in 2012.

Most recently, the Americas representatives at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE – Canada (6th), USA (12th), Bermuda (13th) – had the worst average finishing position (10.33) of any of the five ICC Associate development regions. The best way to fix this is by beginning at the junior levels and so July’s tournament will have a bonus point structure that will reward teams for achieving certain milestones within a match. According to an ICC Americas spokesperson, “The points structure for the Match Play Camp is designed to force countries on focusing not only on the winning aspect but on developing the players’ attitude as to how to become better players.”

USA, Bermuda and Canada will each play each other twice in 50-over round-robin matches. Teams will receive 10 points for a win and five points for a no result. At the 15 over mark of each innings, one bonus point is available for either side. The bowling side can claim the bonus point if they have taken three wickets from their opponents. If the batting side is less than three wickets down after 15 overs, they will receive the bonus point.

Image (left) - Steven Taylor at 2011 USA U-19 trials in New York. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

For the team batting first, a bonus point can be claimed for batting out all 50 overs. If the side fielding first bowls the opposition out inside of 50 overs, they will claim the bonus point.

A bonus point is given for each partnership by a batting side that is 50 runs or more. Two bonus points are given to a batting side for each partnership that is 100 runs or more. A fielding side can claim one point for each run out resulting from a direct hit. Another bonus point is available for bowling a side out in the second innings (as opposed to winning the match by restricting the chasing team below the target without taking all 10 wickets).

Besides Taylor and Persaud, other players who may be in consideration to make the USA squad for the July event include a slew of players from the North West including Krish Goel, Arsh Buch, Roshan Varadarajan, Vibhav Altekar, Dave Parikh and Neil Tagare. Goel was invited to USA U-19 trials last year and was a member of the USA U-15 team in 2009. Varadarajan served as vice-captain to Taylor for the USA U-15 team in 2009 and captained the North West Region to the National Championship at the 2010 USACA-15 National Tournament. Buch was the leading run-scorer and tournament MVP at the USACA U-15 National Tournament in 2010.

Parikh captained the USA U-15 squad in Winnipeg last summer to a first place finish and was named Tournament MVP at the ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament. Altekar scored a double-hundred in the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament and was USA’s leading scorer with 140 runs at last summer’s ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament. Tagare had USA’s highest individual innings score at last summer’s ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament with 79 vs. Bermuda.

Image right - Dave Parikh, the MVP of the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament in Winnipeg, Canada. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Multiple cricketers from New York also stand an excellent chance of getting picked including Zahib Tariq, Randall Wilson and Troy Mars. They have the benefit of playing consistent age group cricket in New York’s Public Schools Athletic League high school cricket program throughout the spring. Tariq was one of the best all-round performers at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament as well as a consistently solid performer for the New York Region U-19 team and FDR High School, one of two currently undefeated teams this season in the PSAL. Wilson scored two centuries in the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament as well as one in the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament and plays for John Adams HS, currently 8-1 this season in the PSAL. Depending on eligibility, Wilson’s John Adams HS teammate Troy Mars stands a solid chance as well. Mars has a high score of 177 and is currently third overall in runs for this season’s PSAL behind Persaud, who attends Martin Van Buren HS.

Several others on the USA junior level selection radar are Kwiese Edmondson of the South East Region, Shakeel Ahmad from the South West Region, Ryan Persaud from the Atlantic Region, Gordon Makin from the Central East Region and Rafeek Nazeer from the New York Region. Depending on eligibility, New York Region player Omar Afridi is also a top candidate after excelling in Scotland’s junior development program and representing the country at U-13 and U-15 levels prior to moving to the USA last year.

However, some players from the North West and New York might be squeezed out of getting a chance to even compete for a spot in the USA squad for the ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp. The USACA U-17 National Tournament was postponed from February and no announcement was ever made to reschedule the tournament. With the ICC Americas event just over six weeks away, it is highly unlikely that USACA will be able to hold a national tournament in enough time to help evaluate talent ahead of the ICC Americas tournament.

According to a source, USACA has discussed the possibility of asking each region to submit a list of four names to be invited to a national selection camp, which would hold up to 32 junior players. However, that would mean that regions which are historically weak at developing solid junior players, such as the Central West and North East, might take up spots at the expense of better players from regions which are historically strong at developing solid junior players, such as the North West and New York. Another issue is whether or not junior players from leagues who are not in good standing according to the USACA compliance audit from February will be invited to participate in any selection or evaluation process.

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

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

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By Peter Della Penna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Peter Della Penna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

USA Cricket: North West stuns New York to win 2011 USACA U-15 National Championship

openingbat — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:44:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

North West bowler Rutvij Bhise’s 5 for 12 fueled a dramatic turnaround for his side as they defeated New York by five runs in the final of the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament on Monday afternoon at Keney Park in Hartford, Connecticut. New York was 181 for 1 in 25 overs, needing 39 to win with 10 overs remaining before Bhise’s medium pace sparked an incredible collapse that resulted in New York being bowled out for 214 in the 35th over to give North West their fourth consecutive U-15 national title.

“I was always confident. I just told my boys to keep attacking and that the match is not over until the last ball,” said North West U-15 coach Raj Badadare. “Once we got one wicket, we just attacked. No one on the boundary, short cover, short midwicket. Fielding wise they got charged up. We took three stunners, all diving catches. We were lucky enough to get Wilson. Had he continued then it would have been a different story. This was an absolute thriller.”

Randall Wilson opened the chase for New York and constructed a 167-run partnership for the second wicket with Rafeek Nazeer. The two were on their way to ending North West’s streak of consecutive titles at three until Bhise came on in the 27th over, the 10th bowler of the day used by North West. Bhise ended the big partnership by getting rid of Nazeer for 59. In the 29th over, he removed Wilson for 110 as momentum started swinging back North West’s way. In the 31st over, New York continued their tailspin by losing three more wickets, two more for Bhise and the first of three run outs.

Bhise completed his five wicket haul in the 33rd over but at the start of the 34th over, New York still had a reasonable chance to win with three wickets in hand and eight runs needed to win in 12 balls. However, Vibhav Altekar conceded zero runs and two more wickets fell, one to the bowler and another via a run out, as New York’s hopes of winning were hanging on by a thread with Bhise due to bowl the final over. Two balls later, Altekar effected the third run out of the innings to clinch North West’s fourth straight U-15 National Championship.

“Last year, New York had a much more balanced side. This year they depended on the two batsmen. Wilson played magnificently, there is no other way to say it, but the other batsmen gave it up,” said Badadare. “Once wickets started falling it was a hard to believe kind of thing. New York, I think they became overly defensive because it’s pretty clear when you have eight wickets in hand you should attack. They came out defending every ball just trying to take singles when the whole field was up.”

North West’s win was set up in the first innings by a pair of half-centuries from openers Neil Tagare and captain Dave Parikh. A year after striking 74 not out in the 2010 final against New York in New Jersey, Parikh scored 61 in Connecticut as part of a 162-run opening stand. Tagare finished with 88 before he was run out. North West eventually finished on 219 for 8 in their 35 overs which wound up being just enough in the end. Badadare says that his team’s commitment to training was what helped them win in the end.

“We started conditioning two or three months back,” said Badadare. “We had programs for most of the players. They were assigned to clubs in the leagues. Amit Buch was there for the last three months so I had made a special request to have one day in a week for a coaching session for these guys. [Former USA manager] Imran Khan helped us with some sessions.”

“It wasn’t just batting and bowling skills but teambuilding because most of the players were new. This team had nine or ten new players from last year’s team. The confidence level was low at the start but the last practice session before we flew to Connecticut we were full of confidence. This team was more balanced than last year’s team. We had no superstar, but everyone could chip in when it was needed.”

In the third place game, Atlantic defeated North East by seven wickets. North East was bowled out for 68 in 23 overs before Atlantic chased the runs in 17.2 overs. South East defeated Central East by six wickets to claim fifth place. Central East was bowled out for 47 in 22.5 overs with 23 of those runs coming in extras. South East crossed the target in 16 overs. South West got their first win of the tournament in the 7th place game, leaving Directors’ XI winless. Directors’ XI scored 68 before South West knocked off the runs in 11 overs for the loss of one wicket.

At the post-tournament awards ceremony, New York’s Wilson was named Best Batsman on the weekend after scoring 278 runs in four innings including two centuries and one half-century. North East’s Akhil Girnikar was named Best Bowler after finishing with eight wickets in four games. North West’s Vibhav Altekar was named Tournament MVP. Altekar made headlines on day two by scoring a double-century against South West.

Top Tournament Performances

Centuries
R. Mogalayapalli, Central East – 117 vs. Directors’ XI
V. Altekar, North West – 202 vs. South West
K. Singh, North East – 101 vs. Directors’ XI
R. Wilson, New York – 105 vs. Directors’ XI, 110 vs. North West

Half-centuries
G. Makin, Central East – 63 vs. Directors’ XI, 56 not out vs. North East
N. Tagare, North West – 59 vs. South West, 88 vs. New York
J. Gobin, North East – 57 not out vs. Directors’ XI, 71 vs. Central East
R. Wilson, New York – 56 not out vs. Central East
R. Nazeer, New York – 61 not out vs. Directors’ XI, 59 vs. North West
D. Parikh, North West – 61 vs. New York

Five-wicket hauls
R. Persaud, New York – 5 for 12 vs. Central East
R. Bhise, North West – 5 for 12 vs. New York

USA Cricket: Central East's Mogalayapalli scores 117* on first day of 2011 U-15 National Tournament

openingbat — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:22:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Hartford, Connecticut

Central East opening batsman Rohit Mogalayapalli batted through the entire innings to score 117 not out in a 195-run win over the Directors’ XI at Windsor Park on the first day of the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament. Mogalayapalli, who finished fifth overall in runs at last year’s event in New Jersey with 148, hit four boundaries to lead his team to a total of 274 for 5 before restricting the Directors’ XI to a total of 79 for 9 in their 40 overs.

Central East won the toss and batted first as Mogalayapalli and Gordon Makin produced a 182-run partnership for the first wicket. Makin contributed 63 before he was bowled by Yash Thaker. No one else crossed double digits off the bat as the Directors’s XI bowling unit contributed 82 extras to the total including 72 wides.

In reply, Richard Ramrattan was the only player to reach double figures for the Directors’ XI, finishing 16 not out. Leg-spinner Nauman Khan took 3 for 7 in 8 overs for Central East.

A complete team effort by South East helped them scrape by South West to win by 11 runs at Keney Park. South East won the toss and batted first, posting 142 in 37.2 overs. Extras top scored with 39 including 38 wides. South West got a major contribution from opening batsman Shekhar Gupta who scored 42 in 60 balls with five fours and a six, but Heran Patel was the only other player to offer any support, scoring 15 not out. He eventually ran out of partners and despite a mounting total of 51 extras, South West was eventually bowled out for 131 in 39 overs.

Also at Keney Park, North West defeated Atlantic by 8 wickets. Atlantic batted first and was bowled out for 76 in 33.4 overs. Rutvij Bhise took 3 for 9 in five overs to lead North West in the field. They chased down the target in 18.1 overs with Vibhav Altekar scoring 30 not out and Dave Parikh 21 not out.

At Riverside Park, New York defeated North East by 4 wickets. North East won the toss and batted first as opener Jason Gobin top scored with 29 runs. Number three batsman Ryan Aravind scored 27 but extras wound up besting them both with 45 added to the total for a first innings score of 135 for 9 in 40 overs. New York’s chase was also aided by a mounting number of extras, 49 of them, as they reached the target in 34.5 overs.

The teams for this tournament are paired off in two groups with Group A consisting of North West, South West, Atlantic and South East while Group B has New York, North East, Central East and Directors’ XI. The groups were intended to be aligned based on tournament standings from last year’s tournament, with the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th place teams placed in Group A and the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th place teams in Group B.

According to the actual results from the final day of last year’s tournament in New Jersey, North West defeated New York in the final, Central East defeated Atlantic in the third place game, South West defeated South East in the 5th place game and Directors XI defeated North East in the 7th place game. North East did not win a single game in last year’s tournament. However, USACA General Manager Manaf Mohamed configured this year’s tournament schedule based on a matrix which lists the final standings from the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament as North West 1, New York 2, Atlantic 3, North East 4, South West 5, Central East 6 and South East 7 with the Central West slotted into the 8th place spot for not participating in the tournament.