USA Cricketer : Kevin Darlington

USA Cricket: ICC WCL Division 3 Report Card

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

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

By Peter Della Penna

Team Grades

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

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

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

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

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

Individual Grades

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What the team needs heading into Division Four

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

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

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

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

[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: USA wins warm-up by 8 runs over Hong Kong Invitational XI

openingbat — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:23:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

A century by Steve Massiah set the platform for USA to defeat a Hong Kong Invitational XI by 8 runs on Monday at the Mission Road Cricket Ground in Hong Kong. At least five players who are in the Hong Kong squad for the ICC WCL Division Three tournament played as part of the HK Invitiational XI.

USA won the toss and batted first with Sushil Nadkarni setting the tone for USA at the top with 45 in 71 balls. After Orlando Baker fell for 11 in the sixth over with the score on 25, Massiah came in and hit four boundaries in the first twelve balls he faced. He brought up his 50 in only 43 balls before easing his way to his 100 in 102 balls with nine fours and four sixes. He then retired on 101.

Image: Steve Massiah file photo from the 2010 ICC WCL Division Five. [Courtesy Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

No one else got a start barring Aditya Thyagarajan, who scored 33 not out in 30 balls coming in at number six. USA finished 238 for 7 in their 50 overs. Fast-medium pacer Tanvir Afzal was the pick of the bowlers, claiming the wickets of Nadkarni and Durale Forrest to finish with 2 for 35 in 10 overs. Mark Chapman, a 16-year-old who is part of the Hong Kong senior team, took 1 for 27 including two maidens in 10 overs bowling left-arm orthodox spin.

Chapman and fellow teenager Nizakat Khan provided the backbone for the HK Invitational XI innings. After Usman Shuja and Forrest wiped out the top order, Chapman and Khan came in at four and five and produced a 96-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Chapman fell for 52 to Lennox Cush to make it 154 for 4 in the 33rd over.

Khan continued to anchor the innings as wickets fell around him. Kevin Darlington reentered the attack for a second spell and struck twice in the 39th over to make it 172 for 6. Darlington took his third in the 45th over to make it 218 for 7 with Khan still at the crease and 21 needed to win.

However, Cush claimed Khan LBW for 77 and had number nine Max Tucker stumped for 7 to dash the hopes of the HK Invitational XI. Baker then had tailender Adil Mehmood caught behind for a duck on the first ball of the 49th over to seal the match as USA bowled out the HK Invitational XI for 230. Darlington took 3 for 37 in 10 overs while Cush took two crucial wickets and finished with 3 for 16 in four overs.

USA now has four days of practice before taking on Hong Kong in the first match of ICC WCL Division Three on Saturday at Kowloon Cricket Club. All matches begin at 9:15 a.m. HK time, 8:15 p.m. EST minus one day (i.e. USA’s match vs. Hong Kong begins at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday in Hong Kong, 8:15 p.m. on Friday in New York). DreamCricket.com will provide live coverage during all of USA’s tournament games.

Unofficial Scorecard
50-over Warm-up Match
USA XI vs. Hong Kong Invitational XI (11 bat, 11 bowl)
USA won by 8 runs
USA won the toss and elected to bat

USA XI Innings
Batsman              Runs   Balls   4s    6s   Dismissal
SS Nadkarni        45        71        8      0 LBW Afzal
OM Baker             11        16         1      0     ct Khatri b Tucker
SJ Massiah*        101     103       9      4 retired out
LJ Cush                5    20        0       0     c Mehmood b Khan
CD Wright+          16        35    1       1     b Chapman
A Thyagarajan     34    30        4       0     not out
DA Forrest            2          4           0    0      LBW Afzal
RG Corns             5          11        0    0 b Mehmood
RA Kadu    9         10 0       0 not out
Total Extras          10 (0 no balls, 1 bye, 2 leg byes, 7 wides)
Team Total           238 for 7 in 50 overs

HK XI Bowling      Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
A Mehmood         10-0-59-1
M Tucker 6-0-35-1
T Afzal                   10-1-35-2
B Hayat 6-0-39-0
M Chapman         10-2-27-1
N Khan                  8-2-42-1

HK Invitational XI Innings
Batsman               Runs   Balls   4s   6s    Dismissal
T Dar                      9          18    1      0      b Shuja
N Ahmed               33        44        3      0    LBW Forrest
M Khatri                 3           13        0      0      ct Wright+ b Forrest
M Chapman         52         61        6      1      ct Kadu+ b Cush
N Khan                  77 97        4    4      LBW Cush
W Barkat                9           20        0      0    b Darlington
B Hayat                  0 2           0      0      b Darlington
T Afzal    25        16         1      2       c Khan b Darlington
M Tucker               7           12         1    0      st Kadu+ b Cush
A Mehmood          0           3 0      0      c Kadu+ b Baker
A Rath                    0           1           0      0    not out
Total Extras          15 (1 no ball, 0 byes, 10 leg byes, 4 wides)
Team Total           230 all out in 48.1 overs

USA XI Bowling    Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington      10-1-37-3
KU Shuja               5-0-17-1
OM Baker               6.1-1-18-1
DA Forrest             7-0-45-2
AM Khan                 6-0-43-0
MA Ghous              10-1-44-0
LJ Cush                 4-0-16-3

Note: Carl Wright and Ritesh Kadu both spent time wicketkeeping while in the field for USA.

2010 Radiant Info USA Cricket Awards: Bowler of the Year - Kevin Darlington

openingbat — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:53:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

DreamCricket.com is wrapping up the year in United States Cricket by recognizing USA’s standout performers at the international level. The 2010 Radiant Info Bowler of the Year is Kevin Darlington.

Even though he only appeared in three tournaments for USA in 2010, Darlington’s effect on the team was immense. He was a huge reason why USA was able to advance from Division Five to Division Three of the ICC World Cricket League.

At ICC WCL Division Five in Nepal, Darlington was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, an impressive feat for a fast bowler considering the tournament was played on dusty and spinning pitches. In fact, the next seven men after him on the list for most wickets were all spin bowlers. Darlington took 14 in six games at an average of 15.21.

Statistically, his best bowling return was 4 for 65 in a loss to Singapore. But his best performance overall was his menacing display in a must-win round-robin match against Nepal. Darlington took two of the first three wickets to fall to set the hosts back at 16 for 3. He kept the pressure on and helped restrict Nepal to 162 by finishing with 3 for 23 in 10 overs with four maidens as USA chased the target to win by 5 wickets.

At WCL Division Four in Italy, Darlington was just as effective, taking 10 wickets in six games at an average of 16.20. Two of his best performances came against USA’s two toughest opponents. Playing for the third time in three days, Darlington looked plenty fit while he tied down one end against Nepal, taking 1 for 17 in nine overs with two maidens. His pressure allowed Usman Shuja to attack successfully from the other end as USA won by 55 runs. In the tournament final against Italy, Darlington finished with 2 for 27 in 10 overs with two maidens to help USA win the Division Four title.

For the year, Darlington averaged two wickets per game in 50-over matches, finishing with 24 in 12 contests at an average of 15.63. He was the leading wicket-taker in the format for USA, beating Lennox Cush by one wicket even though Cush played in six more games than Darlington.

In recognition of his achievement, Darlington will receive a plaque as well as a $250 gift certificate sponsored by the New Inning Foundation, DreamCricket.com and Radiant Info.

About the Radiant Info USA Cricket Awards

Destroyers and Tigers get ready for Florida tournament

openingbat — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:22:00 GMT

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On December 3rd, 201, the Bedessee Destroyers will launch their campaign to reacquire the title of best 20/20 team in North America.

Pic (Right): News clip from the Radiant Info T20 in 2009. Can the Destroyers live up to their reputation in Florida?

The Destroyers, underwritten by Bedessee Sporting Goods, is among the handful of fiercely competitive and privately financed teams in USA today. The team was a semi-finalist at each edition of the Radiant Info T20, in addition to winning the title in 2009. The team came up short in the finals of the Cricket Council USA tournament last year.

Comprised of national players from throughout the Caribbean and local players from around the United States of America, the team is among the favorites to take the $25,000 grand prize on offer at the 2010 Cricket Council USA tournament. This year, teams are playing in four groups with five teams each, and a good number of teams are flying in from outside Florida including Washington Tigers, the defending champions.

In an attempt to reverse its fortunes, the New York Destroyers has secured the services of Caribbean stars Lennox Cush, Darren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Navin Stewart, Dave Mohammed and William Perkins. They will be joined by current USA all rounder Orlando Baker, ex-West Indies fast bowler Jermaine Lawson and ex-Guyana fast bowler Kevin Darlington.

For its part, Washington Tigers, captained by Dawood Ahmed has enlisted familiar names like Imran Awan, Gowkarran Roopnarine, Neil McGarrell and Usman Shuja. “We have invested a lot in this team over the years and the benefits have started to flow, not only now but for a while now,’ Ahmed said in a press release. The press release also noted that USA Captain Steve Massiah will be leading the United Chargers.

The most exciting development is the participation of Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, playing as part of the CFCA Royals. This is a huge boost for the tournament organizers. Not since Virender Sehwag played at the LA Open in 2007 has USA seen a major Indian cricketer play stateside. In the aftermath of the ICL, and with the introduction of ICC Section 32 in June 2009, senior Indian players have generally avoided playing in private tournaments.

Chubb Bedessee, owner and manager of Bedessee New York Destroyers, has taken his participation a little further this year by entering a second team - the Bedessee Florida Destroyers. "We want to give more players an opportunity to showcase their skills and expanding to a second team was a way of recognizing those players who have shown promise, commitment and to give them an opportunity to match their skills against some of the best national and international players," Chubb Bedessee told DreamCricket.com.

The Bedessee Florida Destroyers include Jamaican national players Danza Hyatt, Krishmar Santokie and Shawn Findlay. Playing alongside them will also be Sherwin Ganga and Denesh Ramdin. With local Floridians such as Shawn Beckford and Kenroy Wright, this team will also be a major contender for the title of T20 supremacy. The Destroyers have begun practice sessions under the watchful eyes of coach Mr. Linden Fraser at the DreamCricket indoor facility in Hillsborough, NJ.

Based on the level of competition experienced in the past, Coach Fraser feels that the Destroyers will be ready to fire on December 3. Highly recognized sports trainer Mr. Basil Butcher Jr. is also helping the team prepare for upcoming tournament. Mr. Butcher is helping in enhancing the player’s fitness with exercise drills and workout sessions to make sure that all players are fit and ready. The full team squads are as follow:

Bedessee New York Destroyers: Barrington Bartley, Lennox Cush, Daren Ganga, Jermaine Lawson, William Perkins, Kavishwar Bridgepaul, Dave Mohammed, Orlando Baker, Kevin Darlington, Dennis Evans, Lendl Simmons, Navin Stewart, Dwayne Smith, George Adams, Andrew Gonsalves, Linden Fraser (Coach), Kerk Higgins ( Asst Coach), Chubb Bedessee (Manager), Lester Hooper (Asst Manager), Basil Butcher Jr. (Physio/Trainer), Curtis Clarke ( Public Relations Rep).

Bedessee Florida Destroyers: Nicholas Standford, Danza Hyatt, Shawn Findlay, Akeem Dodson, Twain Walters, Sherwin Ganga, Krishmar Santokie, Denesh Ramdin, Kenroy Wright, Shawn Beckford, Glenroy Anglin, Masood Mohammed, Keneil Irving, Donald Bennett, Damian Wellington, Nigel Liu (Coach), Tomlin Manna ( Manager).

USA Cricket: 2010 Senior Nationals Preview

openingbat — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:40:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

This weekend, the USACA Senior Nationals will be played at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. The following includes a profile of each team involved in the event.

Atlantic – The firm underdogs in this event have a very good bowling lineup. Jermaine Lawson makes his debut after missing the Eastern Conference in Atlanta due to a hamstring injury. Captain Neil McGarrell and Lawson each boast West Indies Test match experience. Fellow bowlers Muhammad Ghous and Imran Awan have experience playing for USA. Muhammad Nisar also was impressive in Atlanta and these five will eat up most of the overs.

Pic (Right): The most experienced cricketer in America, Neil Mc Garrell

But the team’s batsmen need to step up if they are going to have any chance of winning this tournament. Aditya Mishra and Clain Williams have both played for USA in the last year, but outside of those two, there is not much depth. Durale Forest scored 126 runs to finish third overall in Atlanta and will need to produce a similar output if the top order falters again.

Atlantic squad: Neil McGarrell (captain), George Adams, Imran Awan, Kunal Baride, Nisarg Chokshi, Durale Forest, Muhammad Ghous, Jermaine Lawson, Aditya Mishra, Muhammad Nisar, Junaid Rasheed, Charan Singh, Sean Stanislaus, Clain Williams.

New York – The defending national champions come back with a team that is virtually twice as loaded as the team that won it all in 2009. The bowling attack is hands down the best out of any of the four teams competing. Adam Sanford, Kevin Darlington, Denison Thomas and Adrian Gordon form a potent fast bowling unit while Dwayne Smith is one of the best young leg-spinners in the country.

Pic (Left): Kevin Darlington has been the cornerstone of NY's bowling

Carl Wright, Rashard Marshall and Dennis Evans bolster the batting lineup after not participating in Atlanta.

“With Wright and Marshall coming in, it’s a big plus and also Evans who has had the opportunity to play at the national level,” said captain Steve Massiah. “Obviously, I think our chances are very good of repeating, but at the end of the day it comes down to execution.”

Glen Hall continued his prolific form to be the leading run-scorer and tournament MVP in Atlanta and will be counted on again for good starts at the top of the order. In addition to the experience provided by Steve Massiah, the youth is there with Andy Mohammed and Akeem Dodson.

New York squad: Steve Massiah (captain), Kevin Darlington, Akeem Dodson, Dennis Evans, Adrian Gordon, Glen Hall, Andre Kirton, Rashard Marshall, Stuart Mills, Andy Mohammed, Adam Sanford, Dwayne Smith, Denison Thomas, Carl Wright.

North West – A new entry into the Super League this year, North West arrives hoping to make a splash and will have a perfect opportunity to do so in their first match when they play New York.

“For the North West Region to really start making a mark on the US cricket scene, the starting point for that would have to be, to qualify for the Super League is the first step, but it’s when we beat New York,” said vice-captain Saurabh Verma. “That’s when people can say the region has arrived. So I’m super excited about having the opportunity to bowl against the New York batsmen.”

Pic (Right): Saurabh Verma will be looking to make a comeback to the national side

Verma is part of a spin heavy bowling attack that includes fellow leg-spinner Saqib Saleem and left-arm spinner Samarth Shah. Joining the team for nationals along with Saleem is fellow 2010 U-19 World Cup teammate Naseer Jamali, who will help to ease the fast bowling workload off Bilal Khan.

The team has some very capable batsmen, including James Crosthwaite, who lit up Woodley in Los Angeles at the Western Conference in September to finish as the leading scorer in that tournament with 247 runs. His lowest score was 73 and if he can replicate that form in Florida it will take pressure off his teammates and throw it squarely on the opposition. Captain Nauman Mustafa scored one of the two centuries posted at Woodley and if he puts on a good showing in the stadium he may force his way into the USA squad to go to Hong Kong in January.

North West squad: Nauman Mustafa (captain), Rishi Bharadwaj, James Crosthwaite, Shantanu Divekar, Naseer Jamali, Bilal Khan, Saqib Saleem, Srinivasa Santhanam, Samarth Shah, Ashok Singh, Sunny Singh, Srikanth Sundaragopalan, Arjun Thyagarajan, Saurabh Verma.

South West: The Western Conference champs are looking to bounce back from a frustrating experience in Florida last November. They went back to the west coast winless and feeling victimized by poorly prepared pitches and logistical snafus. This year they come in as the team best suited to give New York a run for their money.

Pic (Left): Ravi Timbawala was one of the top scorers in SCCA Division 1

The team has a very well balanced bowling attack led by captain Mehul Dave, the Western Conference MVP. His medium pace keeps things tight while Elmore Hutchinson and Hammad Shahid will counted upon to make the breakthroughs at the start of the innings. The team opted to replace two other pacers from the squad that won in Los Angeles, David Pieters and Salman Ahmad, in favor of a pair of left arm spinners, Nadir Malik and Mrunal Patel. It could prove to be a wise move depending on how many matches they get to play inside the stadium on the slow turf wicket. Off-spinner Abhemanyu Rajp is also coming off a 7 for 35 performance while leg-spinner Timil Patel had the second most wickets at the Western Conference with seven in three games. South West certainly won’t be lacking options to choose from.

Wicketkeeper Ritesh Kadu is returning to the squad after being unavailable in September and is joined as a new addition by Kanishka Chaugai, the former captain of Nepal’s 2006 U-19 World Cup Plate Championship winning side.

“Ritesh and Mrunal Patel are really two talented youngsters who should be trying to impress the coach and the captain and the selection committee to make a claim for the US team,” said vice-captain Aditya Thyagarajan. USA’s Iceman, Thyagarajan is the rudder in the middle order for South West. Ravi Timbawala, Kadu, Ali Shafi and Theo Mavrokefalos finished as the top four scorers in SCCA’s Division 1 in 2010. They need to carry that form to Florida if South West wants to finish the weekend on top.

South West squad: Mehul Dave (captain), Kanishka Chaugai, Elmore Hutchinson, Ritesh Kadu, Nadir Malik, Theo Mavrokefalos, Mrunal Patel, Timil Patel, Abhemanyu Rajp, Hammad Shahid, Ali Shafi, Ricky Singh, Ravi Timbawala, Aditya Thyagarajan.

Tournament Schedule – All games are scheduled for 50 overs starting at 9 AM at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. DreamCricket.com will be providing live updates for all games taking place inside the stadium.

Friday November 19

Atlantic vs. South West

New York vs. North West

Saturday November 20

Atlantic vs. North West

New York vs. South West

Sunday November 21

Atlantic vs. New York

North West vs. South West

USA Cricket 2010 Eastern & Western Conference - Top Performers and All-Tournament XI

openingbat — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:47:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

The USACA 2010 Eastern and Western Conference Tournaments that took place in Los Angeles, Calif., and Atlanta, Ga., from September 17-19 gave an opportunity for many players around the country to present their case for inclusion in USA’s squad for ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Hong Kong. The best performers are being recognized by this writer in an All-Tournament Team.

The All-Tournament Team is a combined list of players from the Eastern and Western Conference Tournaments. The list has been compiled based on three days of cricket witnessed by the author in Atlanta as well as information obtained from multiple sources about performances that took place in Los Angeles.

Pic (Right): South West were Western Conference champions by a mile. [Courtesy: Theo Mavro]

When compiling the list, several factors were taken into consideration. First and foremost are the statistical achievements of the players involved since they are the most tangible proof of a player’s contributions to their team. As such, there will be players left off the team who may be viewed as more talented than players who made the team, but just did not perform that well over the three days.

Second, when choices between players with similar stats became close, more weight was given to performances against better opponents. For example, a player who scored runs or took wickets in a match against New York or South West, who finished in first place in their respective conference, was deemed to have turned in a more impressive performance compared to runs or wickets against the last place team in their conference.

Third, these two factors are combined with what I saw with my own eyes and from information obtained from sources in matches where I was not present. This was not just the runs or wickets they took, but how they did it. It includes match situations and technique exhibited, as well as the talent they had surrounding them which could have affected how they performed.

Finally, I tried to select a balanced team. If the five highest wicket takers in the tournament turned out to be spinners, not all five would stand a chance of making the team as there needs to be pace bowlers to support them. Likewise, if the four highest scorers in the tournament were opening batsmen, only two of them can be slotted into a role on an All-Tournament Team as an opener.

1. Nauman Mustafa (wicketkeeper), North West – The classy right-hander, Nauman (pictured right) stood head and shoulders above a competitive field of wicketkeeper-batsmen by notching 102 against the defending Western Conference champion Central East team. He finished first among all wicketkeepers and was tied for fifth overall in runs for the weekend.

2. Glen Hall, New York – Hall was the MVP of the Eastern Conference for being the catalyst to New York’s success. New York won the toss and batted first in each game with Hall providing the platform to achieve victory on all three days. He finished as the top run scorer in Atlanta.

3. Ryan Corns, Central West – The 20-year-old brought up the highest score of the weekend in style, scoring 119 in only 77 balls against North West. The pressure was on to perform heading into the final day and Corns (pictured left) delivered in emphatic fashion. He also took 3 for 81 in 27.5 overs of left arm orthodox-spin.

4. James Crosthwaite, North West – No bowling attack was spared from the batting brilliance of Crosthwaite, who arrived in the USA this year from Australia and plays his club cricket for Microsoft CC in Seattle. Crosthwaite scored a half-century in each game and finished as the leading run scorer on the weekend with 247 runs. He won’t be eligible to play for America for another few years, but could be a prolific performer for USA if he sticks around long enough to qualify.

5. Aditya Thyagarajan, South West – The linchpin of any middle order he plays in, Thyagarajan scored 84 runs in two innings without being dismissed on his home turf in Los Angeles. True to form, he took his team out of trouble against Central West to seal a 4-wicket win. South West was 76 for 5 chasing 167, but Thyagarajan scored 62 not out at number five to take his team across the line.

6. Durale Forest, Atlantic – A solid all-rounder, Forest was Man of the Match in his team’s victory over South East with 46 not out and nearly took Atlantic to a win over New York with 62 when he was last man out in a 17-run loss. He also took two wickets bowling tidy fast-medium pace. He tied for fifth in runs on the weekend and could have scored many more were it not for his appalling level of fitness.

7. Neil McGarrell (vice-captain), Atlantic – The cagey left arm spinner (pictured at right) showed off his vast experience during the weekend with a very economical display, taking 7 wickets at under 10 runs per wicket with an economy under three runs per over to receive the Best Bowler award in Atlanta. He also contributed 49 runs in two innings down the order.

8. Mehul Dave (captain), South West – The Tournament MVP in Los Angeles (pictured left) put the clamps on the opposition in the middle overs with his medium pace and was a big reason why South West allowed the fewest runs in Los Angeles. North West’s 170, which included 73 from Crosthwaite, was the highest total scored against South West. Dave turned in figures of 5 for 51 in 22.2 overs during the weekend.

9. Adrian Gordon, New York – Gordon edges out North East’s Srinath Rajagopalan to take one of the fast bowling slots in the starting XI. Each player had an identical average and economy rate, but Gordon was able to bowl his team to victory with a golden five-wicket haul, taking four of the last five wickets to fall in a dramatic 17-run win over Atlantic. He finished with six wickets on the weekend for the Eastern Conference champions.

10. Abhemanyu Rajp, South West – The former 2006 U-19 World Cup vice-captain for USA (pictured right) turned in a record setting performance against Central East, taking 7 for 35 with his off-spinners. He finished with the most wickets on the weekend, claiming nine scalps for the Western Conference champions. Despite his talent, it’ll be difficult for him to break into the USA squad at the moment with a glut of off-spinners currently in the team.

11. Kevin Darlington, New York – The ever reliable Darlington looked nearly untouchable in the two games he played. He imposed himself on South East with 5 for 14, ending their chase before it had a chance to get started. His average of 5.83 runs per wicket is by far the best of any bowler in the top 10 for wicket takers on the weekend, as is his 2.33 economy rate. He is the total package for a limited overs pace bowler.

12^th Man: Srinath Rajagopalan, North East – One of the few bright spots on the only winless team at either tournament, Rajagopalan nearly took his team to victory with 4 for 21 against Atlantic. He finished with eight wickets on the weekend, the most for any pace bowler, but also gave up the most runs of anyone in the top 10 for wicket takers and was tied for the worst economy rate.

13^th Man: Asif Mehmood Khan, Central East – When batsmen from the other three teams in the Western Conference were surveyed for the most impressive and difficult bowler they faced, without hesitation the answer every time was Mehmood. In a 3-run win over Central West, he bowled 10 overs, including 4 maidens, on his way to taking 3 for 12 as Central West defended 172. In that game, he claimed the key wicket of Corns and then the high run scorer Rahul Kukreti to spark Central West’s collapse. In all, he took five wickets in three games at an economy of 2.90 runs per over.

14^th Man: Hussain Haidar, South East – This mystery spinner has a leg-spinner’s action but bowls off-spin. Batsmen have an extremely difficult time reading him and it results in plenty of wickets. He took seven in three games to tie for third on the weekend. However, his fitness needs to be addressed before he can seriously be considered for higher honors.

Eastern Conference U-19 Player for the Future: Zain Ali Syed, South East – The MVP of last month’s U-19 Eastern Conference Tournament in Connecticut, Syed only played one match in Atlanta, but made a huge impression by top scoring for his team with 34 runs against tournament champion New York. He showed no fear in the face of the best pace attack in the tournament and comfortably stroked the ball around the ground right from his first delivery. After the match, USA captain Steve Massiah spent several minutes talking to him to give him some more tips.

Western Conference U-19 Player for the Future: Abbas Jafri, Central West – Jafri turned in the highest score at the U-19 Western Conference in Los Angeles last month with 139 against South West. He had a shaky start in the senior tournament this past weekend with a duck against Central East, but against the tournament champion South West squad, he scored 40 and earned high praise from several members of the opposition.

Top 5 Players in Contention for Selection to USA Senior Team

1. Ryan Corns – The future is now. Corns didn’t bang down the selection door this weekend, he took a flamethrower to it when he torched North West’s bowling attack on Sunday.

2. Asif Mehmood Khan – For the second year in a row, he has had a very solid showing in the Western Conference and has emerged as a top candidate to fill a left arm spinner’s role that the team is desperately seeking.

3. Nauman Mustafa – USA could use an experienced keeper-batsman as insurance in case Carl Wright’s dip in form continues.

4. Neil McGarrell – The former Guyana captain with Test match experience playing for the West Indies has age counting against him, but could be considered as a left arm spinner if Mehmood is not up to scratch.

5. Glen Hall – He toured with USA in February, but only made it onto the field as a substitute fielder. However, his solid form could see him getting another opportunity.

Most Wickets

1. A. Rajp, South West, RA off-spin – 9 for 96 in 27 overs with 4 maidens

2. S. Rajagopalan, North East, RA medium – 8 for 131 in 26.2 overs with 1 maiden

T3. N. McGarrell, Atlantic, LA orthodox-spin – 7 for 60 in 22.5 overs with 2 maidens

T3. H. Haidar, South East, RA off-spin – 7 for 90 in 28 overs with 3 maidens

T3. T. Patel, South West, RA leg-spin – 7 for 119 in 29 overs with 2 maidens

T6. K. Darlington, New York, RA fast-medium – 6 for 35 in 15 overs with 3 maidens

T6. D. Thomas, New York, RA fast-medium – 6 for 76 in 24 overs with 5 maidens

T6. N. Javed, South East, RA leg-spin – 6 for 94 in 28 overs with 1 maiden

T6. A. Gordon, New York, RA fast – 6 for 107 in 21.3 overs with no maidens

T6. S. Verma, North West, RA leg-spin – 6 for 122 in 30 overs with 3 maidens

Five-Wicket Hauls

A. Rajp, South West – 7 for 35 vs. Central East

K. Darlington, New York – 5 for 14 vs. South East

A. Gordon, New York – 5 for 43 vs. Atlantic

Most Runs

1. J. Crosthwaite, North West – 247 runs in three innings, 82.33 AVG, three 50s

2. G. Hall, New York – 171 runs in three innings, 57.00 AVG, two 50s

3. R. Corns, Central West – 152 runs in three innings, 50.67 AVG, one 100

4. F. Ullah, South East – 127 runs in three innings, 42.33 AVG, one 50

T5. N. Mustafa, North West – 126 runs in three innings, 42.00 AVG, one 100

T5. D. Forest, Atlantic – 126 runs in three innings, 63.00 AVG, one 50

7. J. Desai, Central West – 104 in three innings, 52.00 AVG, one 50

8. R. Singh, South West – 92 runs in two innings, 92.00 AVG, one 50

T9. A. Mehdi, Central East – 89 runs in three innings, 29.67 AVG, zero 50s

T9. A. Mishra, Atlantic – 89 runs in three innings, 29.67 AVG, zero 50s

Centuries

R. Corns, Central West – 119 vs. North West

N. Mustafa, North West – 102 vs. Central East

Half-centuries

J. Crosthwaite, North West – 87 vs. Central East; 87 vs. Central West; 73 vs. South West

F. Ullah, South East – 80 vs. North East

R. Singh, South West – 79 not out vs. Central East

S. Malik, Central East – 71 not out vs. Central West

G. Hall, New York – 68 vs. Atlantic; 54 vs. South East

R. Bhardwaj, North West – 66 vs. Central West

J. Patel, South East – 64 vs. Atlantic

Aditya Thyagarajan, South West – 62 not out vs. Central West

D. Forest, Atlantic – 62 vs. New York

J. Desai, Central West – 60 vs. South West

Arjun Thyagarajan, North West – 58 not out vs. Central East

R. Kukreti, Central West – 54 vs. Central East

J. Singh, North East – 54 vs. Atlantic

S. Rajagopalan, North East – 52 not out vs. South East

[Views expressed in the article are those of the author. These are not the official views of views of USACA or its selectors. If you have differing views or your own Tournament XI, you can comment here or send us your comments via email to content@dreamcricket.com]

USA Cricket 2010 National Tournament Day 3: NY & South West go undefeated to win titles; Atlantic & North West also advance

openingbat — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:26:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Atlanta (with additional reporting by Sandra Ibarra in Los Angeles); File photos courtesy ICC

Glen Hall set a solid platform for the third day in a row before Kevin Darlington (Picture at right) decimated South East’s lineup to give New York a 69-run win on Sunday at McNair Middle School at the USACA Eastern Conference Tournament in College Park, Ga. Darlington was named Man of the Match after taking 5 for 14 on the way to an undefeated performance for New York, who won the tournament title for the second consecutive year.

“I thought it was a very fulfilling victory,” said New York captain Steve Massiah. “We played some very positive cricket in both departments, in the batting and bowling, and overall I thought the success of the youngsters was good to see.”

New York won the toss for the third day in a row and elected to bat first in a match that was reduced to 40 overs due to flight arrangements for the teams. Akeem Dodson fell softly for 3 to make it 14 for 1 when he guided a short and wide ball from medium pacer Ken Singh straight to Anand Tummala at gully. Massiah then joined Hall and the two put on a very solid 54-run stand for the second wicket. Massiah in particular looked set for a century until he threw his wicket away for 36, lofting a full delivery from Tummala to Zain Ali Syed at mid off.

Andy Mohammed came in and quickly moved along to 17, but spin bowler Hussain Haidar entered the attack and caused problems straight away. Mohammed never seemed able to pick him and before long he gave Haidar the charge in desperation but was beaten badly in flight to be out stumped, making the score 109 for 3 in the 20^th. Haider struck again when he fooled Barrington Bartley, who played all around a full ball to be bowled for 4 and the score became 123 for 4.

NY vs. South East Post Match Interview with Steve Massiah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Nasir “Charlie” Javed struck three times to put New York in a big hole at 143 for 7 after 31. His first victim was Hall, who top edged an attempted sweep that came down into the hands of Singh at slip for 54. Cameron Mirza then tamely chipped a return catch to go for 8 before Nicholas Standford was out LBW for a second-ball duck.

Andre Kirton was very unlucky to be runout without facing a ball to reduce New York to 146 for 8. Denison Thomas stroked a delivery from Timothy Surujbally down the ground for what should have been two runs. As Kirton returned to the non-striker’s end for the second, the throw came in from Moazzam Imtiaz and Surujbally clearly knocked off the bails before he had received the ball. Despite protests from both batsmen, Kirton was given out. To make the scene even more bizarre, New York was then assessed five penalty runs for cursing at the umpires, but that ruling was overturned during the innings break after it was determined that the umpires did not follow protocol by giving New York an official warning before awarding penalty runs to South East.

Adrian Gordon was bowled for 12 on the second ball of the 39^th over by Imtiaz. Three balls later, Thomas was runout for 31 going for a quick single and New York was all out for 185 in 38.5 overs.

Even though the target was not the biggest of the weekend, New York’s experienced bowling attack made them heavy favorites to defend it and they followed through in a big way. From ball one, Darlington bowled like a man possessed and in his second over he had Surujbally out for 3, beaten for pace going for a hook, sending a top edge to square leg where Mirza took the catch to make it 7 for 1.

Thomas took the second wicket, outsmarting Farhat Ullah with a slower ball that Ullah fell over trying to sweep and was bowled for 13 to make it 17 for 2. Darlington then removed Tummala without scoring, as a flat footed swish was edged to Dodson behind the stumps. Anthony Sahadeo didn’t fare a whole lot better, producing a similar shot to give Thomas a catch at second slip to be out for 1 and South East was trembling at 19 for 4.

Thomas struck again as he took his second with another slower ball. Ricky Nayar was out for 7 after he hit a full toss straight to Standford at mid on to make it 27 for 5. One run later, Darlington accounted for Japen Patel as the batsmen slapped a short and wide ball to Kirton at point, who dove forward to take a superb catch and Patel walked off for 2.

Syed and Imtiaz brought some respectability to the scorecard for South East by putting on 43 runs for the seventh wicket. The 19-year-old Syed looked very impressive stroking the ball around the ground, playing the pace bowlers in particular with tremendous confidence. His performance made the decision to leave him out of the lineup for South East’s previous two games look terribly mystifying, especially since he was the MVP of the U-19 Eastern Conference Tournament in Connecticut last month.

Just when both men started to give hope to South East, Imtiaz grew impatient and in an attempt to up the run rate against the left arm spin of Kirton, he tried to sweep a full ball and missed to be struck in front and was given out LBW for 15. Syed finally departed for a top score of 34 when he launched Kirton straight to substitute fielder Stuart Mills coming in from long off to make it 93 for 8.

Adrian Gordon bowled Singh for 22 before Darlington returned late for a second spell and on the last ball of the 33^rd over, he got Haidar to edge a delivery to Bartley in the slips for 5 to end the match as South East was bowled out for 116.

In the game between Atlantic and North East at Creel Park, Atlantic hung on to win by 4 runs. With the win, Atlantic finished in second place at 2-1 to qualify for the national championship due to be held in November. Jay Singh scored a half-century in defeat for North East, who finished the tournament winless.

At the post-tournament awards ceremony, Hall was named the Best Batsmen of the Tournament for leading the run tally with 171 runs in three innings with two 50s during the weekend. Neil McGarrell of Atlantic was named the Best Bowler after tying for the tournament lead with seven wickets, including a best performance of 4 for 18 in 7.5 overs against South East. Hall was also named Tournament MVP.

In Los Angeles, several outstanding individual milestones were reached in the final two matches of the USACA Western Conference Tournament. South West finished the tournament undefeated after a 7-wicket win over Central East.

The bowling star of the day was Abhemanyu Rajp, who took 7 for 35 to lead the way in bowling out Central East for 150 in 40 overs before South West chased down the target with more than 20 overs to spare. Rajp’s figures are believed to be a USACA National Tournament record.

“I bowled and bowled and bowled,” said Rajp. “I gave two runs, three runs average every game. I was causing trouble, but I wasn’t getting any wickets and finally all the wickets came through.”

In the other game at Woodley, Central West defeated North West by 3 wickets to get their first win of the tournament, but it was North West who finished in second place and qualified for the national championship with a superior net run rate. North West posted 266 for 5 in 50 overs as James Crosthwaite contributed his third half-century in as many games, scoring 87 to lead North West.

In reply, Central West put in a valiant effort to surpass North West on net run rate, but the task was out of reach in the end. Central West needed to pass the target inside of 33 overs to succeed in overtaking North West and Ryan Corns (Picture at right) led the charge by turning in the highest score of the weekend, smoking 119 in 77 balls coming in at number three.

“I was just seeing the ball really good and coming out the middle of the bat,” said Corns. “The runs just kept flowing and flowing and flowing and then we lost one or two wickets. Orlando Baker came in and I said to him from now it’s pretty much a Twenty20 game, we have to go for it.”

When he departed, the score was 178 for 4 in the 29^th over with way too much work left to do in the run rate equation. However, he made a strong impression on all those who were present, including USA national team coach Clayton Lambert.

At the post-tournament awards ceremony, Rajp was named the tournament’s Best Bowler for nine wickets in three games. Crosthwaite was named Best Batsman after a phenomenal 245 runs in three innings with three 50s. South West captain Mehul Dave was named Tournament MVP for his economical bowling performances. Dave bowled 22 overs and took 4 for 49 in three games.

Match Scorecard

New York vs. South East

New York won by 69 runs

New York won the toss and elected to bat

Man of the Match: Kevin Darlington

New York Batting

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

G Hall 54 91 2 1 ct Singh b Javed

A Dodson+ 3 5 0 0 ct Tummala b Singh

S Massiah* 36 34 6 0 ct Syed b Tummala

A Mohammed 17 18 2 0 st Sahadeo+ b Haidar

B Bartley 4 14 0 0 b Haidar

C Mirza 8 17 0 0 ct & b Javed

D Thomas 31 28 1 1 runout (Imtiaz)

N Standford 0 2 0 0 LBW Javed

A Kirton 0 0 0 0 runout (Imtiaz/Surujbally)

A Gordon 12 24 0 0 b Imtiaz

K Darlington 1 2 0 0 not out

Total Extras 19 (0 no balls, 1 bye, 0 leg byes, 18 wides)

Team Total 185 all out in 38.5 overs

Fall of Wicket: 14/1 (Dodson), 68/2 (Massiah), 109/3 (Mohammed), 123/4 (Bartley) 134/5 (Hall), 143/6 (Mirza), 143/7 (Standford), 146/8 (Kirton), 183/9 (Gordon), 185/10 (Thomas).

South East Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

K Singh 7-1-41-1

A Tummala 8-0-41-1

M Imtiaz 4.5-0-26-1

H Haidar 8-0-27-2

N Javed 8-0-33-3

T Surujbally 3-0-16-0

South East Batting

Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal

T Surujbally 3 12 0 0 ct Mirza b Darlington

F Ullah 13 14 1 1 b Thomas

A Sahadeo+ 1 15 0 0 ct Thomas b Darlington

A Tummala 0 8 0 0 ct Dodson+ Darlington

V Nayar 7 8 0 1 ct Standford b Thomas

J Patel 2 7 0 0 ct Kirton b Darlington

Z Syed 34 46 3 0 ct sub (Mills) b Kirton

M Imtiaz 15 27 2 0 LBW Kirton

K Singh 22 34 2 0 b Gordon

N Javed 4 16 0 0 not out

H Haidar 5 16 0 0 ct Bartley b Darlington

Total Extras 10 (5 no balls, 0 byes, 0 leg byes, 5 wides)

Team Total 116 all out in 33 overs

Fall of Wicket: 7/1 (Surujbally), 17/2 (Ullah), 18/3 (Tummala), 19/4 (Sahadeo), 27/5 (Nayar), 28/6 (Patel), 71/7 (Imtiaz), 93/8 (Syed), 110/9 (Singh), 116/10 (Haidar).

New York Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets

K Darlington 7-1-14-5

D Thomas 8-2-32-2

A Gordon 8-0-41-1

A Kirton 8-0-26-2

S Massiah 2-0-3-0

USA Cricket - WCL Division 4 Report Card

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

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

By Peter Della Penna

Team Grades

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

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

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

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

Individual Grades

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WCL Division 5 Cricket: All round brilliance from Cush sees USA past Bahrain

openingbat — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:12:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

Lennox Cush followed up a sterling innings of 91 with two wickets in a handy spell of off-spin bowling to be named Man of the Match as USA held off a gutsy effort from Bahrain to win by 19 runs at the Birendra Sainik Maha Vidyalaya Ground at the Army School in Bhaktapur, just outside of Kathmandu, Nepal on Day Two of the ICC World Cricket League Division Five Tournament. Cush’s 91 is the highest score of the tournament thus far.

Pic (Right): Lennox Cush wasn't afraid to use his feet to the spinners, lofting one out of the ground here on his way to 91. [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

“Today the bowler’s bowled very well early on,” said Cush. “You had to get in. I went in at a time where we were struggling a bit. They were on top of us. The ball was gripping and spinning on the wicket but I decided to counterattack.”

Carl Wright and Orlando Baker got USA off to a good start with a half-century partnership as they played the medium pace of Yaser Sadeq and Hamal Abbasi with ease. However, things started to turn around for Bahrain with the introduction of left-arm orthodox spinner Qadar Sayeed. Wright tried to hit against the spin and skied a top edge to point to be out for 22 at the start of the 14th over to make it 64 for 1. Sayeed struck in his next over only four runs later, getting one to grip the pitch as Baker chipped a return catch to the bowler to walk off for 34.

Cush then came in and combined with Steve Massiah to wrestle back momentum for USA. While Massiah nudged and nurdled for ones and twos trying to rebuild the innings for his team, Cush set the tone for his own innings on the sixth ball he faced, coming down the track to smash Sayeed over long off and into a Pepsi sign past the boundary for a big six. In the next over against the off-spin of Adil Hanif, Cush cleared the ropes again over long off to put the Bahrain attack on the back foot. Massiah was happy to give Cush the strike when possible and the captain didn’t hit his first boundary until he was 41 balls into his innings when he smoked one through the covers. The two put on 140 runs together before Cush was finally bowled by off-spinner Zafar Zaheer, around early trying to pull a good length ball, and the score became 208 for 3 in the 43rd over.

Wickets then fell fairly rapidly to end the innings as Zaheer accounted for Rashard Marshall for 16 to make it 240 for 4. Aditya Thyagarajan fell four runs later for a duck as Zaheer got his third and then Massiah finally was dismissed for a grind it out 67 to make it 251 for 6 in the 48th over. A small burst from Timroy Allen brought USA up to 273 for 6 at the end of their 50 overs.

Bahrain, who had been rolled over for 98 on Saturday by Singapore, came out fighting hard against USA. Shahzad Ahmed and Imran Sajjad showed no signs of trouble against the opening pace combo of Kevin Darlington and Allen, taking the score to 55 before Imran Awan came on to dismiss Ahmed LBW for 16 playing across to a full length delivery.

Pic (Right): Cush's bowling was also instrumental in USA's win as he took 2 for 44 in 10 overs. [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

Abdul Majeed came out at number three and the score accelerated even faster as both he and Sajjad repeatedly cross batted anything marginally short to the ropes. Sajjad looked very dangerous the longer he stayed out there as he refused to slow down his pace, but it proved to be his downfall in the end as he swung across the line one too many times. Cush came on to bowl off-spin in the 17th over and on the last ball of his fourth over, sent down a good length ball that Sajjad couldn’t resist. He went for a big heave but was around far too early and the stumps were knocked back as Sajjad departed for 75 to make it 131 for 2 in 23 overs.

Bahrain had an excellent run rate and was well on course to chase down the runs, but after Sajjad fell, they couldn’t construct a decent partnership to build up some steam to get them to the target. The next blow for USA was struck by Baker, who got Ashraf Yaqoob LBW for 6 to one that kept low to make it 145 for 3. Baker then took care of the set batsman Majeed for 47 on the first ball of the 34th over. Majeed had been dropped on back-to-back deliveries off of Baker in the 32nd over, but the mistakes didn’t cost USA much. Massiah erased those memories with a superb effort running from cover to take a skied chance at mid off making the score 162 for 4.

Bahrain looked like they were still in with a chance when Hanif, who came in at number five, was at the crease. He put on 42 runs with Azeem ul Haq before ul Haq was out LBW for 9 trying to sweep the off-spin of Sudesh Dhaniram, who bowled a very stingy 10-over spell to stem the flow of runs for Bahrain. Hanif was the next man out for 46 to make it 227 for 6 in the 45th over, top edging a pull off a short delivery from Darlington to give a simple catch to Wright behind the stumps. From there, Bahrain’s hopes vanished and it was only a matter of time before the match was wrapped up. Cush took another wicket while Allen came back on to bowl off-spin after opening the innings bowling pace alongside Darlington. Allen took two wickets in three balls in the 48th over before Darlington sealed the match bowling Abbasi with a yorker in the 49th as Bahrain was bowled out for 254.

USA now moves to 2-0 in the tournament to top the table along with Nepal, who followed up a victory over Jersey on Saturday with a thumping nine-wicket win over Fiji on Sunday. Jersey beat Singapore on Sunday to make both teams 1-1 while Bahrain and Fiji are at 0-2. Everyone has an off day on Monday while the action resumes on Tuesday with USA taking on Jersey at Tribhuvan University. The match is scheduled for a 9 a.m. start, 10:15 p.m. EST Monday night in the USA with live coverage on Dreamcricket.com.

Official Scorecard
ICC WCL Division Five
Bahrain vs. USA
USA won by 19 runs
USA won the toss and elected to bat
Man of the Match: Lennox Cush

USA Batting
Batsman 		Runs	Balls	4s	6s	Dismissal
CD Wright+ 		22	34	3	0	ct Yaqoob b Sayeed
OM Baker		34	56	5	0	c & b Sayeed
SJ Massiah*		67	92	3	2	ct Sayeed b Dar
LJ Cush		        91	90	11	2	b Zaheer
RA Marshall		16	10	1	1	st Ahmed+ b Zaheer
A Thyagarajan		0	3	0	0	ct Abbasi b Zaheer
S Dhaniram		3	8	0	0	not out
TP Allen		12	9	0	1	not out
Total Extras		28 (2 no balls, 4 byes, 6 leg byes, 16 wides)
Team Total 		273 for 6 in 50 overs

Did not bat: S Verma, I Awan, KG Darlington

Fall of Wicket: 64/1 (Wright), 68/2 (Baker), 208/3 (Cush), 
240/4 (Marshall), 244/5 (Thyagarajan), 251/6 (Massiah). 

Bahrain Bowling	Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
Y Sadeq		        5-0-31-0
H Abbasi		6-1-37-0
Q Sayeed		8-0-36-2
A Hanif		        5-0-18-0
T Dar			10-1-59-1
Z Zaheer		10-1-48-3
I Sajjad		6-0-34-0

Bahrain Batting
Batsman		Runs	Balls	4s	6s	Dismissal
S Ahmed+ 		16	26	2	0	LBW Awan
I Sajjad		75	77	8	2	b Cush
A Majeed		47	60	5	0	ct Massiah b Baker
A Yaqoob 		6	17	1	0	LBW Baker
A Hanif 		46	56	4	0	ct Wright+ b Darlington
A ul Haq		9	16	0	0	LBW Dhaniram
T Dar			10	17	0	0	b Cush
Q Sayeed		4	8	0	0	ct Massiah b Allen
Y Sadeq*		12	7	0	1	b Allen
Z Zaheer		2	3	0	0	not out
H Abbasi		8	5	0	1	b Darlington
Total Extras		19 (0 no balls, 4 byes, 7 leg byes, 8 wides)
Team Total		254 all out in 48.4 overs

Fall of Wicket: 55/1 (Ahmed), 131/2 (Sajjad), 145/3 (Yaqoob), 162/4 (Majeed), 
204/5 (ul Haq), 227/6 (Hanif), 230/7 (Dar), 244/8 (Sadeq), 245/9 (Sayeed), 
254/10 (Abbasi). 

USA Bowling		Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington	        7.4-0-51-2
TP Allen		6-0-30-2
I Awan			3-0-23-1
S Dhaniram		10-1-34-1
S Verma		        2-0-17-0
LJ Cush		        10-1-44-2
OM Baker		10-0-44-2

Notes: Orlando Baker served as USA’s wicketkeeper for the first 
7 overs. Carl Wright then put on the pads to wicketkeep beginning 
with the 8th over until the end of the match.

Steve Massiah led assault produces 285-run victory for USA over Fiji

openingbat — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:21:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

Man of the Match Steve Massiah scored a brisk 74 with nine fours and a six to lead a USA rout over Fiji by 285 runs at the Pul Chowk Engineering College Ground in Kathmandu, Nepal on Day One of the ICC World Cricket League Division Five Tournament.

Pic (Right): USA captain Steve Massiah pulls hard on his way to 74 in a Man of the Match performance.[Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

“It was a very pleasing knock,” said Massiah, who backed up an encouraging knock in USA’s warm-up match earlier in the week to top score for USA against Fiji. “I thought the warm up match did serve a purpose. My goal in the warm-up match was to spend as much time as possible in the middle because I needed that.”

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Fiji won the toss and elected to field and made their first breakthrough right at the start of the match as Carl Wright was run out in the first over for 1 with only two runs on the board for USA. Massiah calmly came to the wicket and after combining with Orlando Baker to see the shine off the new ball, Massiah became the aggressor in the partnership, punishing anything loose from the Fiji bowling attack.

Massiah was on 23 with the score on 58 for 1 at the start of the 12th over when he fully unleashed himself on medium pacer Jikoi Vanualevu Kida. Massiah bashed the first ball of the over for a boundary before the second was a dot ball. The third was belted straight down the ground for another four and a no ball was called to bring up a free hit. Massiah then picked up a length ball and heaved it over long on for a six before hitting another loose delivery next ball for a boundary. He mercifully allowed a dot next ball before taking a single to keep strike, producing 20 runs in the over to deflate Fiji in the field.

Massiah brought up his 50 with his eighth boundary as Baker did a great job giving him as much of the strike as possible. The two added 129 together before Massiah was run out on the third ball of the 24th over from leg spinner Viliame Yabaki to make it 131 for 2. For the second ball in a row, Massiah laced a bullet along the turf to mid off, who had come in at the start of the over, but after deciding against a single the first time, Massiah decided to take on the fielder, captain Josefa Rika. Massiah appeared to be well in, but the throw was a direct hit and a devasted and disbelieving Massiah had to walk off knowing he had missed a century.

“I thought it was a very very close decision,” said Massiah. “I thought personally that I had made it but at the end, the umpire gave me out and that’s what matters.”

Lennox Cush came to the crease and followed up a half-century in the warm-up game with another brisk contribution. After Baker was out for 46 to make it 150 for 3, Cush combined with Aditya Thyagarajan to produce an 84-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Pic (Left): Rashard Marshall goes for another big one as part of his blistering 61.[Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

Cush once again made merry on short pitched bowling, heaving three sixes over the leg side in addition to four boundaries to bring up a half-century. But Thyagarajan and Cush fell in the space of nine runs, first Thyagarajan bowled off an inside edge for 39 going for a drive before Cush went packing trying to clear the off side boundary for another six to be out for 50 making it 243 for 5 in the 41st over as Josefa Dabea Balelcicia claimed both men.

It only provided an opportunity for Rashard Marshall and Timroy Allen to put the Fiji bowlers to the sword. USA took the batting power play at the start of the 43rd over with the score on 247 for 5 and in the next five overs, Marshall and Allen combined for 78 runs. After taking 17 off of Balelcicia in the 44th over, the two clobbered 23 in the 46th off the same bowler. Marshall started things off with a four and an elegant six clipped over fine leg before a leg bye was taken. Allen then defended a ball before pulverizing the next two balls over the leg side rope for back to back sixes.

Balelcicia got a small measure of revenge in the 48th over when he got Marshall to send one to long on to be out for 61 in only 28 balls, ending the sixth wicket partnership at 87 runs. The batsmen crossed in the air and Allen was given out LBW next ball for 32 in 17 deliveries to make the score 330 for 7. Saurabh Verma came in and clipped the hat trick ball through square leg for another USA boundary. He was run out for 6 when turned back by Clain Williams after taking off for a second run, but Williams and Imran Awan chipped in for a few runs at the end to get USA to 353 for 8 in their 50 overs.

“I thought it was a very very good team performance,” said Massiah. “Our goal was to get at least four to five half-century partnerships and I thought today we were very successful at doing that.”

USA came out after the innings break eager to bring the match to a quick end and it didn’t take long for the first wicket to fall as Kevin Darlington applied solid pressure on the openers until he trapped Joji Bulabalavu in front for 9 to make it 13 for 1 in the third over.

Pic (Right): Kevin Darlington's tight opening spell set the tone for USA in the field as he finished with 3 for 9. [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

Darlington struck again on the final ball of his next over with an absolute gem, getting Fiji’s other opener Sekove Ravoka to edge one behind the stumps to Baker for 6 making it 22 for 2. Allen got in the act with the first ball of the eighth over as Tavo Sorovakatini played across and missed to be dead in front for 2 to make it 25 for 3. Darlington claimed his third scalp in the form of Kida who edged a ball off the shoulder of the bat to Marshall jogging in from point to make it 30 for 4 in the 9th.

After Cush and Baker teamed up for an outstanding stumping of Iniasi Cakacaka for 7, Awan ran through the lower order to take three wickets, despite struggling with his line especially to the left-handers Rika and Balelcicia. Awan took 3 for 16 in 8 overs as he bowled Rika, Gregory Browne and Yabaki, but 9 of those 16 runs came off wides.

Verma came on and bowled two tidy overs, the second of which brought about his first wicket for USA in 50-over match play as he accounted for Taniela Waqaituinayau LBW for 1 before Baker came on for the 29th over and got Tukana Tavo out LBW for 2 to end the match as Fiji was bowled out for 68 in 28.2 overs. Extras were the top score with 21 while Balelcicia was the only player to cross double-digits, finishing 13 not out coming in at number six.

“The key thing is for us to be very disciplined whether we bat or bowl and to execute our game plan,” said Massiah. “I thought the bowlers did that brilliantly so it can only give us confidence moving forward. All in all, I thought we executed very well today.”

Post Match Interview vs. Fiji with Massiah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

USA will take on Bahrain at the Army School Ground on Sunday in Kathmandu before having a rest day on Monday. The match is scheduled to start at 10:15 pm EST on Saturday night in America with live coverage on Dreamcricket.com as conditions permit.