USA Cricketer : Neil McGarrell

USA Cricket: 2013 ICC WCL Division Three Report Card Part 3 - Outlook for USA's 50-over future

openingbat — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:22:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

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

Part 3 - Outlook for USA’s 50-over future

1. Sort out the coaching situation – According to multiple team sources, Robin Singh was furious when talking to the team over the phone from India after USA lost to Bermuda on the last day of round-robin play. It’s hard to understand why he was furious though. Was it because he took a bigger paycheck from the Mumbai Indians to be in India instead of with USA during the Division Three tournament?

Singh is understood to have spoken to the team or team management after every match in Bermuda. Coaching by conference call is no way to coach. At the U-19 and men’s level, USA’s only successes under Robin Singh and his crew have been a second-place finish last September at ICC WCL Division Four and against ICC Americas competition, which is the least competitive standard USA encounters in international play.

Image (right) - Robin Singh, pictured during a match-day training session at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Florida, has USA way down the totem pole on his list of coaching priorities. Will he commit fully to USA or should USACA search elsewhere? [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

It is very hard to understand why Robin Singh is paid a princely sum for his services when the USA Cricket Association is an administrative pauper. A cash-strapped governing body certainly should be able to find a less expensive coaching option that will get them more value, specifically someone who is based in the USA and is willing to work with the players on a more consistent basis locally. Singh is paid to more or less be a chaperone on tours or as was the case in Bermuda, to consult by telephone rather than in person because he has higher priorities in India.

USACA needs to put their foot down once and for all to make Singh choose between coaching USA or sticking with his other commitments in Twenty20 franchise leagues around the world. If he wants to make more money coaching with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League or the Khulna Royal Bengals in the Bangladesh Premier League then that's a perfectly normal decision. Coaching USA should be someone's first priority though, not their third, fourth or fifth.

2. Choose a new captain – Steve Massiah took over the role from Richard Staple as USA captain at the ICC Americas Division One tournament in August 2006. There are currently 42 international teams that USA has either played against from 2006-2013, been at the same tournament as USA in that time or are currently ranked above USA in the global 50-over rankings. Of those 42 teams, only three still have the same captain in 50-over cricket: Argentina (Esteban MacDermott), Papua New Guinea (Rarua Dikana) and Tanzania (Hamisi Abdallah).

It’s worth noting that not only has every ICC Full Member changed their 50-over captain in that time, but also every one of the High Performance Program Associate teams. Having a new captain is not necessarily a reflection of a regression in skills from the incumbent. It’s about having fresh ideas and fresh styles, trying something different when the status quo has not achieved desired results.

Image (left) - Steve Massiah, pictured batting against Uganda, has been USA captain since 2006, during which USA has failed to reach the ICC World Cup Qualifier in two consecutive World Cup qualification cycles. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA has effectively stood still in the global rankings since Massiah became captain. As a result of their 10th place finish at the 2005 ICC Trophy under Staple, USA was due to participate in 2007 ICC WCL Division Three in Australia before an ICC suspension dropped them down to Division Five. USA has since clawed back into Division Three twice. They were relegated from Division Three in 2011 and are now stuck there after a third place finish in 2013 instead of advancing to the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier. Prior to Massiah becoming captain, USA had participated in every single ICC Trophy, the former name of the ICC World Cup Qualifier, from 1979 through 2005. In seven years under Massiah's captaincy, no progress has been made and USA has arguably gone backwards after failing to reach the ICC World Cup Qualifier, let alone the main event, during two World Cup qualification cycles ahead of the 2011 and 2015 ICC World Cup.

Massiah is USA’s all-time leading scorer in one-day cricket and provided solid contributions at Division Three against Italy and Oman. However, his leadership has become stale and captaincy appears to have had some drain on his batting. He has not scored a century in tournament play since 2006. He doesn’t command a place in USA’s T20 team, let alone a spot as captain, with a T20 average of 11.00 in 14 games. So it’s conceivable that Massiah might not be a participant in any ICC tournament for two years when the next Division Three tournament is anticipated to take place in 2015. The time is right to make a change.

There are a few players who are good candidates to be USA’s captain in both formats. Sushil Nadkarni has been USA's vice-captain for several years and served as captain of the T20 team in the UAE last year. Orlando Baker led USA well in March at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One T20 and has plenty of experience under his belt.

Image (right) - After leading USA to an 8-0 record in March at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, Orlando Baker would make a good choice to become USA's captain across all formats. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA could also choose to go in a different direction and adopt policies that countries such as Hong Kong and Nepal have employed by naming a much younger player as captain to give them time to ease into the role. In that scenario, Steven Taylor would be the obvious choice. Taylor served as vice-captain to Baker in March during the ICC Americas tournament. He will most likely be captaining the USA U-19 team in Canada this July and has previously captained the USA U-15 squad in 2009 so he is already gaining plenty of experience in leadership positions. It might be good for Baker or Nadkarni to be the captain for the next few years though until Taylor or another up and coming player like Ryan Corns, who captained USA during one of the two T20s against Canada during the Auty Cup tour in November, is ready to take over the mantle.

3. Commit to a core squad, one with better balance focused more on specialist batsmen and bowlers instead of an overload of allrounders and one-dimensional sloggers– USA's selection snafus were chronicled on DreamCricket.com well before the squad took part in Division Three. Taking a much closer look at the composition of USA's squad, they went to Bermuda with only three specialist batsmen: Massiah, Nadkarni and Rashard Marshall. The rest of the 14-man squad was made up of two wicketkeepers, four allrounders and five bowlers. It is almost impossible to win a tournament with such an unbalanced squad.

Taking the field with only three specialist batsmen, USA was basically forced to pick all four allrounders - Baker, Timroy Allen, Barrington Bartley and Japen Patel - in their starting eleven every game during the round-robin phase. Several members of USA’s management touted the fact that USA could bat to number 10 with Neil McGarrell and Elmore Hutchinson down the order, but that meant nothing if the players taking up those spots throughout the order are bits and pieces batsmen rather than full-fledged specialists. The truth is that having so many allrounders created the illusion that USA's batting contained more depth than there actually was. It also meant that no matter what, it would be near impossible for Danial Ahmed or Naseer Jamali to get a game in place of one of the allrounders because it would make USA's batting even thinner.

The unbalanced squad selection came back to bite USA by the end of the tournament, especially when Nadkarni was out with an injury in the final round-robin match against Bermuda. USA was not a team playing with six specialist batsmen in their usual starting eleven, let alone did they have the luxury to call upon a reserve specialist batsman. When Nadkarni couldn't play, USA sent out a starting eleven consisting of two specialist batsmen, two wicketkeepers, four allrounders and three specialist bowlers. It should surprise no one that they lost.

This was why dumping players like Aditya Thyagarajan and Aditya Mishra ahead of the tournament was a mistake. Specialist batsmen who can dig in and rotate the strike rather than relying on fours and sixes to score all of their runs would have been very handy to have against Uganda and Bermuda but they were nowhere to be found.

Although Marshall is a specialist batsman and Allen an allrounder, they have similar batting styles as does Bartley. Marshall demonstrated against Oman that he can knock the ball around for singles, but all three are heavily reliant on clearing the ropes to score the majority of their runs and they sometimes struggle to adjust if the match situation calls for a different method of scoring. At most, two players who play in that style can afford to be in the middle order and not three. Japen Patel playing at number nine and not bowling means he is not capable of holding down a spot in the team on his batting or bowling alone, let alone as an allrounder. Two of those spots in the starting eleven could have gone to specialist batsmen or one each to a batsman and a bowler like Danial Ahmed.

Overall, USA made six changes to the squad that advanced from Division Four in Malaysia. Nepal, the Division Four champions, only made one change to their squad for Division Three in Bermuda. Changing almost half the squad that gained promotion for USA into Division Three was a radical maneuver and clearly didn’t pay off. Meanwhile, Nepal stuck to their core group and wound up Division Three champions.

Image (left) - Aditya Thyagarajan is one of several veterans whose presence was sorely missed in Bermuda at 2013 ICC Division Three. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The respective squad selections by USA and Nepal from 2012 ICC WCL Division Four to 2013 ICC WCL Division Three are a microcosm of a much deeper issue. From 2008 ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey - the first tournament that USA and Nepal ever played against each other - to 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda, Nepal has used 26 players in 81 games in 50-over and T20 cricket. Meanwhile, USA has used almost three times as many, 67 players, across 90 games in 50-over and T20 cricket (see list at end of section three). The list of 67 does not include four other players - Abhijit Joshi, Glen Hall, Hemant Punoo and Josh Dascombe - who either toured with USA's senior team without appearing in a starting eleven or played for USA in unofficial/warm-up matches. USA has picked 52 players that have appeared in 50-over and/or 20-over cricket plus an additional 15 players who have appeared solely in 20-over cricket. Nearly half of those players, 30, were picked for a single tour in that timespan. This means that USA has used more players for a solitary tour experience than Nepal has used for all of its tours combined from 2008-2013.

Those numbers, 67 total players and 30 one-and-dones, are absolutely staggering figures. It can’t be blamed on lack of availability for players to get time off from work or school classes either. It simply comes down to USACA’s lack of vision and planning, with almost no continuity from tournament to tournament.

USA only had five players in their squad for Bermuda that participated in the previous Division Three tournament in Hong Kong in 2011. Clearly, experienced hands like Thyagarajan and Shuja were missed more than anyone in Bermuda, but the services of others who were part of the team in Malaysia such as Mishra, who was USA’s T20 vice-captain in 2012, and Corns were also missed. More continuity and faith in a core group could have led to better results.

Looking elsewhere, a model Associate Member like Ireland has more or less used the same core group of players over the last few years which unsurprisingly has been a recipe for success. From the 15-man squad that was picked to go to the 2011 ICC World Cup, 11 were named in the squad that will play two ODIs against Pakistan later this month. The four who weren’t – Andre Botha, Nigel Jones, Boyd Rankin and Albert van der Merwe – are absent because all four have retired from international cricket. Regardless of the fact that the majority of Ireland’s players are contracted professionals and USA’s are amateurs with either classes or jobs to attend on a daily basis, Ireland’s administration has shown faith in a core group of players and stuck with them.

From the start of the 2011 ICC World Cup, Ireland has used a total of 19 players in ODIs and T20s. Essentially, Ireland has had 11 core players from 2011-2013 and has committed itself to developing four players to replace the four who retired since the 2011 ICC World Cup. Meanwhile, USA has used 50 players in official one-day and T20 matches from 2011-2013. Ireland and Nepal's consistent selection policies have been rewarded with on-field success while USA's fluctuating fortunes are a reflection of their inconsistent, mercurial, haphazard and scatterbrained selection policies.

Players USA has used in official matches since 2008 listed in alphebetical order
Note - Players who only appeared in a single tour from 2008-2013 are listed in bold italics

George Adams, Danial Ahmed, Quasen Alfred, Timroy Allen, Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Barrington Bartley, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Robert Cresser, Lennox Cush, Kevin Darlington, Jignesh Desai, Sudesh Dhaniram, Akeem Dodson (wk), Dennis Evans, Durale Forrest, Karan Ganesh, Bhim George, Muhammad Ghous, Adrian Gordon, Hussain Haidar, Elmore Hutchinson, Moazzam Imtiaz, Naseer Jamali, Nasir Javed, Howard Johnson, Ritesh Kadu (wk), Asif Khan, Bilal Khan, Rahul Kukreti (wk), Rashard Marshall, Steve Massiah, Neil McGarrell, Ashhar Mehdi (wk), Stu Mills (wk), Aditya Mishra, Masood Mohamed, Andy Mohammed, Shahid Munir, Nauman Mustafa (wk), Sushil Nadkarni, Kumar Nandalal, Amir Nanjee, Japen Patel, Mital Patel, Timil Patel, William Perkins (wk), Steve Pitter, Abhimanyu Rajp, Gowkaran Roopnarine, Saqib Saleem, Greg Sewdial, Niraj Shah, Samarth Shah, Hammad Shahid, Usman Shuja, Saami Siddiqui (wk), Charan Singh, Nicholas Standford, Timothy Surujbally, Steven Taylor (wk), Aditya Thyagarajan, Anand Tummala, Clain Williams, Carl Wright (wk), Saurabh Verma.

4. Find at least one sponsor for the national team – USA and Oman were the only two teams in Bermuda not to have a sponsor on their jerseys. The USA jerseys themselves were flimsy, with the lettering on the jersey of at least one player falling off halfway through the tournament. Last year, USACA apparently had a brief arrangement with Reebok to have their jerseys provided but that deal has since dried up. It’s hard to believe that a USA national team in any sport has to pay for their uniforms instead of being paid by a major apparel sponsor to wear that sponsor’s logo, but that is the situation USACA continues to find itself in.

Although USACA cleverly presents several business entities as “USACA Partners” on their web site, USACA doesn’t have any genuine sponsors. An ideal business tie would be with one of the many domestic airlines in the USA. Since 2011, USACA has had two board members who are employees at a pair of major airlines, United and American. Such a sponsorship might help defray costs of flying players in and out of Florida for camps, trials and domestic tournaments.

One of former USACA CEO Don Lockerbie’s failures was in not securing any sort of sponsorships in the five to six-figure range. Lockerbie overestimated USA’s market value and kept seeking million dollar deals which never appeared. Although he played a major role in linking USACA with New Zealand Cricket and other investors to form Cricket Holdings America LLC, that partnership has so far done little to advance cricket in the USA financially or developmentally.

Image (above) - Uganda had a sponsor, Mehta Group, at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. Meanwhile, USA was without corporate support for yet another international tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

There’s no reason why USACA should not be able to find a bank sponsor, airline sponsor, hotel sponsor, automobile sponsor and/or a beverage sponsor in addition to a separate corporation or business as a title sponsor for all of its endeavors. Securing sponsorships is supposed to be Darren Beazley’s calling card. USA’s stakeholders will see over the next few years if he lives up to his billing in that regard.

Reaching the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier might have made it easier for Beazley to secure a sponsorship and finishing in the top four would have almost made it a slam dunk because USA would have then qualified for the ICC High Performance Program, which would have carried admission into the Intercontinental Cup as well as ODI status. USA would have then had a guaranteed number of fixtures each year outside of ICC tournaments. Another domino effect of that would have been an incentive to give a handful of USA’s younger players such as Taylor, Allen and Muhammad Ghous central contracts with any sponsorship funds that could have flowed in.

Instead, USA will now be without a 50-over ICC tournament until at least 2015 and if USA doesn’t finish in the top six at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in November, USA will not participate in a single 50-over or 20-over ICC tournament in 2014. It’s nearly impossible to award a USA player a central contract when they may only be playing a handful of games a year. It’s also hard to secure sponsorship when a team has only a handful of non-televised fixtures to display a sponsor’s logo on a jersey on the field, meaning the opportunities are limited for the sponsor to get exposure and a return on their investment. That makes Beazley’s job much harder, but not impossible.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was present at all of the team's matches at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. 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: 2013 ICC WCL Division Three Report Card Part 2 - Player Grades

openingbat — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:17:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

Part 2 - Player Grades

Steven Taylor – C: The 19-year-old started off the tournament in style by posting USA’s second highest score in limited overs cricket, 162 off 102 balls to lead USA to a win over Nepal. Without Taylor’s dominant performance USA might not have won that match. However, he seemed to have exhausted himself in that match. Low scores piled up in the next few games and his confidence wavered heading into the crucial showdown against Bermuda. After scoring a century against Bermuda in a T20 encounter last March in Florida, Taylor was out for 9 against them in the round-robin encounter in Bermuda.

With the pressure off the next day in the third place game, he set about rebuilding his confidence with 97. His huge score against Nepal helped place him atop the tournament run charts after the round-robin stage and his half-century against Bermuda on the final day guaranteed him the same position at the end of the tournament. Unfortunately, he lacked consistency from game to game. Still, USA should not have had to rely solely on Taylor to score runs to register a win over Uganda or Bermuda.

As for his wicketkeeping/fielding skills, Taylor was as likely to hold onto a chance as to put one down. He took six catches and had three stumpings with the gloves on, but DreamCricket.com’s unofficial stats show he also dropped six chances – five behind the stumps and one in the outfield. In T20s, it appears that Akeem Dodson may get more of the wicketkeeping workload to keep Taylor fresh but in the 50-over game Taylor is the preferred option to keep the batting solid. USA won’t be playing a 50-over ICC tourney for at least two years but if they want to continue using Taylor as a keeper instead of a specialist batsman in that format then he needs to work very hard to improve his glovework, not to mention his fitness, to be able to make it through tournaments better.

Orlando Baker – C: The allrounder opened the batting with Steven Taylor on three occasions, producing mixed results. He provided solid support for Taylor on the opening day with 37 as part of a 125-run first-wicket stand, USA’s highest ever partnership against Nepal. Combined with the 156-run third-wicket stand those two had against Bermuda in the third place playoff, they generated the two highest partnerships by any team in Bermuda. He also combined with Akeem Dodson for an important 82-run third wicket stand in their round-robin game.

While he was a very good partnership builder, Baker didn’t enjoy the same amount of success individually. He made 2 against Italy, then scored 20 while facing up to the unenviable task of taking on Oman opening pacer Munis Ansari, before wrapping up the group stage with 1 against Uganda and 29 against Bermuda. He finished with 89 runs at 17.80 after the group stage. In the playoff match, he made 72 and in the process became the third USA player to pass 1,000 career runs in 50-over cricket.

Image (right) - Orlando Baker bowling at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. He was USA's most economical seam bowler at the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

With the ball he was a very restrictive bowler and finished with USA’s second best economy rate, 3.46. He only took one wicket, but had two other chances grassed off his bowling. The conditions against Bermuda on the final day of round-robin play were perfect for Baker’s style of bowling, but USA captain Steve Massiah never gave him the ball, a very curious decision. USA coach Thiru Kumaran stated after the tournament that if he was the captain, he would have definitely given the ball to Baker during Bermuda’s chase. It’s a choice USA may regret for quite a while.

Steve Massiah – D: This is a combination of a C+ for batting and an F for captaincy. Massiah’s highest score was a handy half-century against Italy. After being dropped on 0 off Ansari, Massiah’s 39 against Oman was vital not just for the runs on paper but because he was able to shield the middle and lower order from Ansari’s pace. He top-scored with 24 in USA’s dreadful display against Uganda and then collapsed when the pressure was on in the final round-robin encounter against Bermuda where he was dismissed without scoring. He ended group play with 125 runs at an average of 25.00, then was out first ball in the third place playoff against Bermuda.

His tactical decisions sometimes left a lot to be desired and in some ways were eerily similar to some of the decisions made when USA flopped in Hong Kong at 2011 ICC WCL Division Three. After walking down the pitch in a pressure situation and getting stumped for nought batting at number eight against Oman, Japen Patel was sent in to open in the next game against Uganda. It was as if team management was saying, “We’re afraid this player might fail if he has to enter in a pressure situation later on down the order, so in order to avoid that we’ll send him in to open. Any runs he scores will be a bonus for the team and if he gets out cheaply opening the innings then at least we still have plenty of batsmen to recover.” Disrupting the roles and responsibilities of multiple players to accommodate one player is never a recipe for success. USA proved this by sending Lennox Cush in to open after repeated middle order failures in Hong Kong. USA’s chances for victory against Nepal at Division Four in Malaysia last year were also submarined when Timroy Allen was moved up to number three in the order to shield Massiah, who had been struggling against spin bowling. When USA needed a late surge in that match against Nepal, their best lower order power hitter was back in the pavilion instead of ready to come to the crease.

In the last round-robin match against Bermuda, several strategic errors were made. Slotting Patel in to bat at number nine and not having him bowl was a strange maneuver. Naseer Jamali or Danial Ahmed as specialist bowlers would have been much better options instead of a batsman at number nine. After conceding 20 runs in his only over, Massiah refused to give Hutchinson an opportunity to atone even though he had been USA’s second best wicket-taker coming into the match. Meanwhile, Timroy Allen, who had been struggling with the ball all tournament, was hit for 27 runs off his fourth over but was still brought back for two more spells, albeit bowling spin instead of pace. Allen finished with 1 for 63 off 10 that day.

Massiah also ignored the experienced Orlando Baker, USA’s second most economical bowler in the tournament. Baker is tied for fourth all-time in the wicket-takers list for USA in one-day cricket and has a reputation as a cagey seamer with a nagging line and length that most teams find difficult to score off. Massiah opted to bowl himself instead of Baker. Few, if any other captains, would have tossed the ball to Massiah in those circumstances but he stubbornly bowled himself. With USA needing to keep Bermuda under four an over, he finished with a spell of 1 for 41 in eight overs. Even with only 220 to defend, USA should have beaten Bermuda that day. A combination of poor fielding and poor decision-making before and during the match cost USA not just that game, but a spot in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier.

Sushil Nadkarni – B-: USA’s vice-captain stepped up with a key 73 to bolster USA in a win over Italy and was part of three half-century stands in the tournament, one against Nepal and another two against Italy. He was sent in above Massiah to try to deal with Ansari’s pace against Oman and managed just 7 before making another low score after arriving in the middle order in difficult conditions against Uganda.

Image (left) - Sushil Nadkarni knocks one into the off side against Italy. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Nadkarni took three catches, including the catch of the tournament for USA against Uganda. USA missed him badly against Bermuda when he had to sit out the final two matches of the tournament with a nerve problem in his left leg, especially since Nadkarni had scored a century against Bermuda in the trial matches in March in Florida ahead of Division Three. He finished the tournament with 114 runs at an average of 28.50, fifth on the team in Bermuda.

Rashard Marshall – B: The middle order batsman produced one of USA’s best ever performances under pressure against Oman. Entering in the 10th over with USA 37 for 3, Marshall survived a missed runout chance early in his innings and went on to make Oman pay, cracking four boundaries and six sixes on his way to finishing 72 not out and taking USA to a two-wicket win. He arrived at a stage against Bermuda where he needed to take USA to a much bigger total but he got into a mixup with Barrington Bartley which ended with Marshall going back to the pavilion for 5.

Marshall finished fourth overall in runs and average at the tournament for USA with 128 at 32.00. He took an outstanding one-handed catch against Bermuda, but also grassed three other chances which is unusual for someone of his fielding ability. It was a decent comeback tournament for Marshall after not playing for USA in over two years.

Timroy Allen - C: Like Taylor, Allen was hot with the bat early in the tournament before cooling off later on. He scored two half-centuries in USA’s first two matches, 67 not out against Nepal followed by 51 not out against Italy. Unfortunately, he only scored 24 runs in the other four matches. He played a foolish shot to get out against Uganda, slogging to deep square leg after Baker had gotten out in the same manner a short time earlier. Against Bermuda he reached 19 before being caught on the boundary which hampered USA’s efforts to post a bigger score. Like Taylor, it would be unfair to pin USA’s batting failures at the back end of the tournament on Allen when several players never produced in any game.

With the ball he was a disappointment, taking four wickets at an average of 51.75 with an economy rate of 5.17 during the group stage. He went for more than five an over against Uganda, taking 2 for 37 in seven overs when Uganda only made 175, and was smacked for 27 off one over against Bermuda before finishing with 1 for 63 in 10. A bigger burden was placed on Allen to perform with the ball in the absence of the experienced Usman Shuja but Allen did not respond very well.

Image (right) - Timroy Allen, pictured in action against Uganda, struggled to take wickets in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Barrington Bartley – D: Undoubtedly the poorest performing player on tour. There were high expectations for Bartley after his whirlwind century against Bermuda in a trial match against them in March. He assumed a key middle order role for USA in Bermuda but did not deliver once. Bartley came to the crease at the 37th, 45th, 34th, 26th, 31st and 38th over mark during USA’s six games in Division Three. He was never able to remain until the end of the innings. His longest stay at the crease lasted just 20 deliveries when he made 21 but also contributed to the runout of Marshall against Bermuda. His one redeeming moment with the bat came against Oman when he struck two sixes and a four in his short stay to take USA within seven runs of victory before Marshall and Hutchinson finished the job. The largest partnership Bartley contributed to was a 29-run sixth wicket stand in the round-robin match against Bermuda. Overall, he looked like a Twenty20 slogger who seemed unsure how to approach a 50-over innings, especially during difficult situations.

With the ball he was mediocre, taking three wickets during the group stage at an average of 39.66 and an economy rate of 4.40. He was arguably USA’s best bowler in a losing effort against Uganda, taking 1 for 25 in 10 overs. After his failures with the bat, he had one more chance to save face with the ball against Bermuda but he mixed in boundaries with dots and could not sustain pressure long enough to keep them at bay. He was okay as a fielder but did not do enough with bat or ball.

Neil McGarrell – A-: One of the few players who can hold their head up high after coming back from Bermuda, McGarrell performed at a consistently high level in what may turn out to be his only ICC tournament in a USA uniform. He was USA’s leading wicket-taker and finished the group stage tied for the tournament lead in wickets with 12 at an average of 14.58 and an economy rate of 3.55. He only bowled one truly bad over the entire tournament when he was swept for three boundaries by Laurence Sematimba of Uganda.

He could’ve been even more productive with the ball had five catches not been put down off his bowling, although one of those was a return chance he was responsible for. In the field, he took one catch but managed to shell three chances overall, including a crucial chance off Christopher Douglas at slip when the Bermuda wicketkeeper was on 64. It was the only blemish on his gritty performance that day when he scored 45 not out at number seven and then took 1 for 21 in 10 overs while bowling with a severe quadriceps strain that he suffered near the end of his innings while trying to turn a two into three for Patel.

Japen Patel – C-: USA’s selectors and management have clearly identified Patel as a player they want to develop, but they have demonstrated a bizarre method of doing it. The selectors could be heard in Florida in March talking up his bowling skills as a reason for his inclusion but Patel only bowled a total of seven overs in the tournament, taking two wickets against Oman. It was hard to classify him as a specialist batsman either. He didn’t bat at all against Nepal when USA used eight batsmen, came in twice at nine, once at eight, and opened once during USA’s five group games scratching together 46 runs at an average of 11.50. He eventually added another 34 in the third place playoff against Bermuda batting at number six.

Patel was a player without a clearly defined role. If you were from the opposition, you might be fooled into thinking he was playing for USA as a specialist fielder. Indeed he was an asset for USA in the field, taking two catches and also pulling off two runouts but also spilled two other chances. He was very sharp at attacking the ball and preventing singles from turning into twos while patrolling the boundary.

At the end of the day though, picking someone to bowl one over against Nepal and then not at all against Italy and Bermuda after being penciled in at number nine in the batting order would appear to be a mistaken selection. If Patel is to have a future with USA it would be with his batting, which has improved somewhat since he first made his USA debut in 2011 but still has miles to go to warrant a spot in a starting eleven.

Elmore Hutchinson – B-: Hutchinson had his best tour in a USA uniform and was USA’s best pace bowler on tour. He took eight wickets in the group stage and finished with 10 overall, second behind only McGarrell for USA. His best haul came against Italy, taking 3 for 44 in nine overs, but he also turned in solid figures against Uganda with 1 for 12 in five overs. Hutchinson had a nightmarish over at the start of Bermuda’s chase at the National Stadium, conceding four boundaries to Christopher Douglas as part of a 20-run frame, and was never given the ball again that day.

With the bat he finished with USA’s highest average on tour, scoring 52 runs while being dismissed only once, which says as much about his own batting abilities as it does about the impatience of those batting in front of him. He hit the winning single in a two-wicket victory over Oman and also finished 17 not out off 35 balls against Uganda, the third most runs scored and third most deliveries faced by a USA batsman that day, proving that it was possible to knock the ball around for singles for those with the patience to do so. Hutchinson also had a fairly safe pair of hands on the boundary with three catches while his only drop was a sharp caught and bowled chance. It’s a shame that his next 50-over ICC tournament might not be for another two years because he made solid strides in this event.

Muhammad Ghous – B+: This was one of the more impressive tournament performances of Ghous’ career in the men’s national team. Unfortunately it had to come in what was ultimately a third place finish. He was USA’s most economical bowler and finished with a 3.42 economy rate overall in the tournament. Along with McGarrell’s 10-over spell, the initial eight-over spell by Ghous of 0 for 21 in eight overs against Bermuda was the only thing keeping USA in that match.

Image (left) - Muhammad Ghous was USA's most economical bowler at 2013 WCL Division Three. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

He only took five wickets in the group stage but also had five drops off his bowling in the tournament and batsmen found him difficult to get away. His only subpar match was against Uganda and even then he went for under five runs per over, finishing with 1 for 37 in eight overs. His four wickets against Bermuda in the third place playoff took him to a tie with Allen and Howard Johnson for ninth all-time in the wickets column for USA in one-day cricket with 31. He turned 23 in April so even though USA failed to reach the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier, if they continue to play a 50-over ICC tournament every few years then Ghous may eventually become USA’s highest ever wicket-taker in the format.

Akeem Dodson – Incomplete: The reserve wicketkeeper on tour came into USA’s lineup for the final round-robin encounter against Bermuda and scored a half-century, USA’s high score on the day. He only came in as a result of an injury to Sushil Nadkarni, but USA might have been better served playing him earlier in the tour as a wicketkeeper to allow Taylor to play as a specialist batsman and ease his workload.

Naseer Jamali – Incomplete: Did not play in any of the five round-robin matches and took 1 for 21 in four overs against Bermuda in the third place playoff.

Danial Ahmed – Incomplete: Did not play in any of the five round-robin matches and took 0 for 38 in eight overs against Bermuda in the third place playoff.

Coming up in Part 3 – Outlook for USA’s 50-over future

[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: 2013 ICC WCL Division Three Report Card Part 1 - Team Grades

openingbat — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:18:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Part 1 - Team Grades

Batting – C+: USA had the tournament’s highest scorer after the group stage and overall in Steven Taylor. They also had eight of the 12 highest partnerships in the tournament, with two century stands and seven half-century stands overall. Unfortunately, USA’s batting lacked the overall consistency from the beginning to the end of the tournament as well as from the top to the bottom of the order.

The team scored one century and eight half-centuries, but also compiled eight ducks. The first wicket partnership of Taylor and Orlando Baker produced 125 runs on the first day, USA’s best ever partnership against Nepal, but after that the first wicket partnership averaged just 6.20 the rest of the tournament.

Image (left) - Steven Taylor acknowledges his USA teammates after reaching 100 against Nepal on the opening day of the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA’s best opening tandem in 50-over cricket is Taylor and Sushil Nadkarni. Although USA has had a long established strategy of slotting Nadkarni down the order against Nepal, there was no reason why he should not have been opening in the other matches he played. USA coach Thiru Kumaran stated after Nadkarni missed the crucial round-robin showdown against Bermuda that, “Sushil getting injured and not coming in, maybe that could have affected us a little bit. Being an important game, we didn’t have our best player, our best opener there.”

If Nadkarni is USA’s best player and best opener, it stands to reason that he should have been opening throughout the tournament but he never opened the batting once for USA and that hurt them in the end. The most surprising pair sent out to open was Japen Patel with Taylor against Uganda. Patel is a player who has shown some improvement with his batting and USA’s administration is eager for him to develop, but he has no business batting above Nadkarni under any circumstances, let alone open above him.

USA’s best partnerships of the tournament came for the third wicket where they averaged 71.83. Baker and Taylor produced USA’s best partnership from that spot in the third place game, 156 runs against Bermuda. USA also had half-century stands for the third wicket against Nepal (Taylor and Nadkarni), Italy (Massiah and Nadkarni) and against Bermuda in the last round-robin game (Baker and Dodson).

USA’s middle to lower order partnerships were strong when the pressure was off in the third place game against Bermuda and after a huge platform had been set against Nepal, but otherwise the segment of the game where Aditya Thyagarajan usually specializes in fell apart for USA in his absence. They averaged 14.17 for the fifth wicket and 6.83 for the sixth wicket in the tournament. USA put up a 93-run unbeaten stand for the seventh wicket against Nepal, but in the other four group games they averaged 12.50 for the seventh wicket. Thyagarajan’s ability to put together partnerships in the middle and lower order was sorely missed especially against Oman, Uganda and Bermuda.

Worst of all was the cardinal sin committed by not batting out all 50 overs against Uganda. It cost USA by the end of the tournament when the net run rate tiebreaker came into play. The team shot themselves in the foot multiple times in that match with foolish shots to get out and displayed an inability to rotate the strike. The game plan appeared to be for batsmen to slog their way out of trouble or get out doing it. Uganda scored 92 runs off ones and twos in that match while USA could only manage 36 runs off singles and doubles. No matter how difficult the pitch was in the second innings, that’s poor.

Overall, USA benefitted greatly from missed chances by their opponents. The tournament could have turned out much worse for USA had they not had such good fortune at the crease, although USA more than repaid it in the field against Bermuda. Opponents committed less drops than USA in the field, but USA punished their opponents more for each drop. USA's opponents conceded 14 missed chances during the group stage, but USA seized an extra 354 runs off the misses. Four times a USA batsman finished not out after being dropped. After the first time a batsman was dropped, USA averaged 44.25 extra runs. The most valuable second chance USA had during the group stage was when Oman goofed up a runout opportunity when Rashard Marshall was on 12. The bowler dislodged the bails without the ball in his hand and Marshall went on to win the match for USA by making 72 not out in a two-wicket win.

Bowling – B: USA’s bowling unit performed well for most of the tournament with their only glaring letdown coming during the Christopher Douglas ambush in the last group match against Bermuda. USA allowed just three half-centuries during the tournament, but allowed eight half-century stands during the event, including two in that crucial match against Bermuda. Neil McGarrell was tied for first atop the wickets list after the group stage with 12.

Image (right) - USA fast bowler Elmore Hutchinson on his approach to the crease. Hutchinson finished second on the team with 10 wickets in the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA’s opening bowlers were good at making early breakthroughs. The opposition averaged 13.50 for the first wicket and twice the opposition lost their first wicket without scoring. But the biggest opening stand came at the worst possible time for USA, 43 by Bermuda in their upset win on the last day of round-robin play. The opposition’s best partnerships were for the fourth wicket with an average stand of 37.00 including two-half century stands produced by Bermuda and Uganda. Each of those stands could have been curtailed had USA converted catching or runout opportunities provided to them in the field.

USA also lacked a killer instinct to wipe out the tail, something they have struggled with in the past, as Steve Massiah’s preferred method of captaincy is to let a match drag on rather than go for the kill. As a result, the ninth wicket stand for the opposition averaged 27.40. Noteworthy partnerships of 44 and 41 were produced by Nepal and Oman, something that turned out to be crucial by the end of the tournament when the net run rate tiebreaker came into play.

Fielding – F: USA missed 24 definite chances in the tournament (19 drops and five missed runouts), an average of four per game, while numerous other runout half-chances were missed in the field. Many teams have varied levels of batting and bowling skills, but the two things that every international side can do to narrow any gap against their opponent is to outwork them with fitness and fielding. USA always lags behind in both areas and it keeps their opponents in games.

USA had 19 missed chances during the group stage with the chances coming off 10 batsmen. On six occasions in the group stage, USA gave the same player multiple lives and on three of those occasions they dropped a player three times in one innings. After a batsman’s first missed chance, USA gave up an average of 24.33 extra runs to that player during the group stage, conceding a total of 219 runs overall after missed chances in their first five games. On average, USA conceded an extra 36.50 runs per game in the group stage on missed chances.

The costliest miss came against Nepal, when number seven batsman Sharad Vesawkar was dropped on 0, the first of three extra lives he was given, and made 72. USA’s fielding was horrendous against Bermuda, with six definite missed chances and many more half-chance runout opportunities lost. At 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia, Singapore began a frantic chase on the last day against USA by stealing sharp singles at will in the first nine overs. A direct hit by Ryan Corns in the 10th over put Singapore on notice that they could no longer keep challenging USA in the field the way they had been and suddenly the pressure shifted onto Singapore as USA strangled the scoring rate.

All it would have taken was a single runout in the first 15-20 overs to put off Bermuda from stealing those sharp singles at the National Stadium on the final day of round-robin play in Hamilton. USA’s fielders did not score a direct hit the entire afternoon, whether or not a batsman had his bat across the line, and on multiple occasions fielders panicked under pressure by choosing the wrong end to throw to. Many other opportunities could have been converted with an accurate throw to wicketkeeper Akeem Dodson over the stumps. Instead, throws short-hopped into his feet or were wide enough of the stumps that he had to dive just to save them from turning into extra runs on overthrows. USA finally converted a run out in the 35th over, by which time Bermuda had run away with the match. Bermuda reached the target in the 45th.

Fitness – C-: USA’s fitness was good in the early stages of the tournament, but flagged as the tournament continued and was a contributing factor in their losses to Uganda and Bermuda. Taylor was well conditioned at the start of the tournament and his 162 against Nepal was chanceless.

However, he appeared to be weighed down by wicketkeeping on top of opening the batting as the event wore on. The team’s flagging fitness had a definite impact against Bermuda with so many sloppy fumbles, misfields, misfired throws and drops. It’s not as if Bermuda’s fitness was much better with two batsmen, Douglas and Stephen Outerbridge, struggling through their innings while cramping up. Yet they managed to find a way past it while USA was hampered.

USA will have plenty of time to work on their fitness though. By finishing out of the top two in Bermuda, their next 50-over ICC tournament won’t be for another two years.

Coming up in Part 2 - Player Grades

USA Cricket: Bermuda stops USA from reaching 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier with stunning 5-wicket win

openingbat — Sun, 05 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

A stunning assault at the start of the second innings from Bermuda wicketkeeper Christopher Douglas was the catalyst for a major upset on Saturday as Bermuda beat USA in ICC tournament play for the first time since 2005, winning by five wickets with 5.2 overs to spare at the National Stadium on Saturday at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Bermuda. Douglas was named Man of the Match after blindsiding USA with 89 off 75 balls, including a half-century off 25 balls to take Bermuda to 70 for 1 after eight overs chasing USA’s 220 for 9 and Bermuda never looked back on their way to victory.

The loss for USA denied them a spot in the top two at Division Three and along with it a berth in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier as Nepal’s rapid 8-wicket chase over Italy at St. David’s Cricket Club took them level with USA and Bermuda on points and past USA on net run rate. Meanwhile the win for Bermuda meant they avoided relegation to Division Four after Oman beat Uganda by seven wickets at Somerset Cricket Club.

“The wicket was a little bit dicey when we batted,” USA coach Thiru Kumaran said after the game. “We thought it would be the same for them but I think it dried out a bit, got a little bit easier to bat. It was a good innings by their opener. I thought we had him caught behind but it was not given and also we dropped like four catches for him and those things made us lose the game.”

USA won the toss and batted first under clear skies but had to go into the match without Sushil Nadkarni, who missed the game with what was believed to be a pinched nerve that was causing numbness in his right leg. Akeem Dodson replaced him in the eleven and scored a half-century, but overall USA struggled without the presence of their vice-captain.

Steven Taylor’s rough tournament since the opening match against Nepal continued when he was dismissed in the third over by fast bowler Malachi Jones, caught at first slip by Janeiro Tucker for 9 to make it 13 for 1. Since Taylor’s 162 against Nepal on the opening day, he has scored 15 runs in four matches. USA captain Steve Massiah was the next victim claimed by Jones, gone for a 10-ball duck edging to Tucker in the slips to make it 20 for 2 in the seventh.

Dodson got off to a shaky start, dropped on 1 at slip by Jones off Tucker, and crawled to 2 off 31 balls as Tucker bowled four consecutive maidens in a disciplined opening spell while extracting sharp bounce off the pitch that troubled USA’s batsmen. Dodson was shepherded by Orlando Baker until the pair finally started ticking over the runs.

Image (right) - Akeem Dodson raises his bat after reaching 50 vs. Bermuda [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

They added 82 for the third wicket before Tucker came back for another spell and dismissed Baker for 27 as the batsman tried to sweep him and a top edge popped up for Douglas to claim. Dodson fell two balls after reaching his 50, lofting off-spinner Jacobi Robinson to Jones running to his right at long off to make it 108 for 4 in the 32nd.

USA’s plans at accelerating to a total in the 250 range were scrambled when Bartley and Marshall got into a mixup attempting a third run that resulted in Marshall being runout for 5. Marshall swept a full ball through fine leg for an easy two with Tre Manders needing to run a long way from deep square leg to cut the ball off. Bartley called late for a third run coming back to the striker’s end. Marshall did not look interested in the run but after seeing Bartley continue to charge in his direction, took off late for the opposite end. Manders relayed a throw to Hemp adjacent to the stumps at the striker’s end before Hemp fired a direct hit to the bowler’s end to find Marshall several yards short.

Bartley got out two overs into the batting power play for 21, caught behind trying to slog 15-year-old left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins to make it 140 for 6 in the 37th. Neil McGarrell and Timroy Allen added 36 across 8.3 overs for the seventh wicket before Allen got out trying to accelerate, caught at long on for 19 to make it 176 for 7 with 29 balls to go in the innings.

McGarrell was joined by Japen Patel and the pair put on 29 runs before McGarrell injured his right leg attempting a third run for Patel in the 49th over. McGarrell’s leg got stuck in the turf while turning for the run and his leg buckled, resulting in a lengthy delay on the field. When play eventually resumed, McGarrell stayed on the field and batted on one leg but the break seemed to stall USA’s momentum and cause a lapse in concentration as Patel sliced the next ball to point to go for 12. Hutchinson entered and was dismissed first ball in identical fashion to Patel off the bowling of Treadwell Gibbons to make it 206 for 9.

McGarrell was able to strike a four and a six in the last over to boost USA to their final total of 220. Jones finished with 3 for 48 for Bermuda while Tucker’s valuable spell resulted in 1 for 30. Rawlins also responded well to a pressure situation playing in his first game of the tournament and took 1 for 39 in his 10-over spell. USA’s total seemed like it would be enough to defend but their substandard fielding, which had been masked by big totals earlier in the tournament against Nepal and Italy, finally came back to haunt them at the worst possible time.

At St. David’s Cricket Club to the east of the island, Nepal had restricted Italy to 127 and with a quick chase on the horizon to improve their net run rate, it was clear USA needed a victory to finish in the top two. Yet, Bermuda sent USA a clear message that they would not be lying down to let their regional partner take a spot in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier when Douglas blasted four boundaries in the second over off Hutchinson as part of a 20-run frame.

USA jabbed back in the sixth when Allen’s pace claimed Gibbons, caught by Patel running in from mid on for 4 to make it 43 for 1. Douglas came straight back in Allen’s next over with a series of body blows that floored USA, tearing into Allen for three boundaries and a pair of sixes to finish off the over, the second of which brought up his 50. By this point Nepal was wrapping up the chase against Italy in just 14.5 overs, putting them past USA on net run rate and leaving no doubt that if USA lost it would be Nepal joining Uganda at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier.

The partnership between Douglas and Manders added 52 for Bermuda when Manders was caught by Massiah at slip off McGarrell for 13. The left-arm spinner produced a valiant all-round display and finished with 1 for 21 in his 10-over spell, but USA’s other bowlers failed to give him enough support.

Douglas tired himself out after his early onslaught and was begging to be dismissed as he offered the first of three chances off when on 64, dropped at slip by McGarrell off Ghous. His second chance was offered on 71 off McGarrell, put down by Taylor at long on after the fielder reacted slowly to the ball driven in the air toward him on the boundary. The third chance left on the table came when he was on 82 off Massiah, missed at extra cover by Marshall.

Douglas’ charmed stay finally came to an end in the 31st after a brilliant one-handed effort from Marshall at extra cover off Massiah to make it 139 for 3. With both teams under pressure, it looked like Bermuda might be starting to crack as Hemp ran himself out for 11 to end the 35th, making it 156 for 4.

However, USA’s fielding became more and more ragged as Bermuda stole single after single off them inside the 30-yard circle. Multiple run out chances were missed as USA failed to hit the stumps a single time down the stretch, whether the batsman had made his ground or not. The 41st over bowled by Massiah was the straw that broke the camel’s back for USA.

Bermuda entered the frame at 179 for 4 needing 42 in 10 overs to win. Allen missed a runout chance with Tucker on 15 by throwing to the wrong end on the first ball of the over, after which Massiah called the entire team in for a huddle for a last ditch motivational speech. It didn’t have the desired effect as Ghous dropped Tucker at point on 16 to end the over.

“You cannot drop five catches and expect to win in a tight game,” Kumaran said. “Today we dropped straightforward three or four catches and one maybe a 50/50 chance and there were so many runout opportunities we missed. I think basically you need to be on top of all departments to win a tight game. Today we were a little bit lacking in opening bowling, we didn’t get it right and then with the fielding and catching.”

Bartley conceded nine in the 42nd followed by another 14 given away by Massiah in the 43rd. Despite a brief hiccup with the dismissal of Stephen Outerbridge for 37, Bermuda cantered to victory with the winning run raised in the 45th over courtesy of a wide bowled by Taylor.

Image (above) - Nepal fans were waving the Bermuda flag and vice versa after Bermuda helped Nepal into the top two with a win over USA. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA and Bermuda will have a rematch on Sunday in the third place game at St. David’s Cricket Club while Uganda and Nepal will square off for the tournament title at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Oman and Italy, who have both been relegated to Division Four, will play in the fifth place playoff at Somerset Cricket Club. Live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation of USA’s final match against Bermuda begins at 10 a.m. in Bermuda, 9 a.m. EST on the east coast in America.

USA Cricket: Marshall fights through pain, takes USA to 2-wicket win over Oman in Bermuda

openingbat — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:50:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA middle order batsman Rashard Marshall gritted his teeth after receiving a nasty blow to the shoulder from Oman fast bowler Munis Ansari to carry USA to a tense 2-wicket win over Oman at Somerset Cricket Club on Wednesday on the third day of play at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. Marshall’s 72 not out off 83 balls garnered the Man of the Match award and took USA to 3-0 on the week while Oman falls to 1-2. The win means that another victory in USA’s next match against Uganda on Thursday will clinch a spot for USA at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.

“Rashard is a trusted lieutenant in this team,” USA vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said after the win. “He’s one of the senior batsmen in this team and this is not the first time we’ve seen him do this. He’s done this a few times before for USA but all credit to Rashard today. He really carried the team. He took on the pressure and just like a senior man, when he got in he saw us through and brought the game home. I think it’s nothing short of a great innings.”

USA won the toss and elected to field first with an unchanged eleven as overcast conditions swarmed the island. Both Italy and Nepal made the same choice after winning the toss in their games against Uganda and Bermuda respectively.

Omani openers Ajay Lalcheta and Ghazanfar Iqbal looked uncomfortable against the opening pace of Timroy Allen and Elmore Hutchinson but it took the intervention of Japen Patel’s fielding to make the first breakthrough for USA. Lalcheta tried to push Allen to Patel at mid off for a run that was never there and Patel charged in to field and strike a direct hit from point blank range, sending Lalcheta off for 5 in the third over. Iqbal lasted until the seventh when he was bowled by a full delivery from Allen for 7 to make it 25 for 2. Hutchinson continued his impressive tournament by removing Zeeshan Siddiqui for 8, caught at first slip by Nadkarni to make it 34 for 3 at the start of the eighth over.

In a sign of things to come later in the Oman innings, captain Vaibhav Wategaonkar and Jatinder Singh dug in for an attritional stand of 40 runs for the fourth wicket. Wategaonkar was dropped twice, on 11 by Steven Taylor off Orlando Baker and then again on 23 with a sharp return chance to Patel.

Image (right) - Japen Patel sprints away in celebration with Timroy Allen (left) after taking two wickets in three balls. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The stand finally ended when Baker removed Singh for 13 with a short ball edged behind to Taylor. It sparked a mini-collapse as Oman lost two more wickets for no runs to slide to 74 for 6. Patel took two in three balls when he had Wategaonkar caught behind by Taylor for 25 before trapping Sultan Ahmed in front for a second-ball duck in the 22nd.

Oman lost two in a clump a few overs later when Aamir Kaleem tried slogging Neil McGarrell and produced a top edge taken by Nadkarni at slip for 12. Amir Ali then fell to McGarrell two overs later when he sent a leading edge back to the left-arm spinner for 8 to make it 95 for 8 one ball into the 28th.

“It was overcast and it was drizzling slightly through the first 20-25 overs for Oman so the wicket was kind of moist and it had some uneven bounce so I would say they had the worst of the conditions while batting,” Nadkarni said. “I think we had them on the mat at 98 for 8 [sic] and then they actually clawed their way back into the game because their last two wickets put on about 70-80 runs which set up a great match today.”

Oman refused to lie down though as number nine Hemal Mehta and number 10 batsman Sufyan Mahmood dug in and frustrated USA’s bowling attack with resolute defense. Their partnership of 41 runs spanned 14 overs before Mehta finally lost his cool and tried to slog McGarrell over long on but Patel took a straightforward catch on the rope to dismiss the batsman for 20, making it 136 for 9.

Mahmood continued to anchor one end while Ansari arrived and delivered some late blows, eventually finishing 26 not out off 22 balls with four boundaries and a six. Oman’s bench cheered vociferously with every run scored in the hopes of getting to a defendable total. The pair took Oman into the final over before Hutchinson finished off the innings by getting Mahmood caught by Steve Massiah at cover for a joint top score of 26 as USA bowled out Oman for 175 in 49.4 overs. McGarrell finished with 3 for 30 to continue his reign as the tournament’s leading wicket taker with 10 in three games.

Ansari’s opening pace blitz rocked USA at the start of their chase and erased any notions that USA could simply chalk up a simple victory on the same ground they posted 366 on Sunday against Nepal. Taylor was bowled on the second ball of the chase for a duck by a searing yorker from Ansari. Nadkarni entered above Massiah at three but only lasted until the end of the fifth over before he too was bowled by a full delivery from Ansari for 7 to make it 17 for 2.

Baker was joined by Massiah and in a crucial sequence in the match, Massiah had yet to score when he was dropped off Ansari in the 7th. On the fifth ball of the over, Massiah drove the fast man straight to Lalcheta at mid off and a straightforward chance was put down. On the very next ball, Massiah inside edged a ball off his pads and the ball rolled backwards into the stumps but the bails failed to dislodge. Lalcheta kept the pressure just as tight at the opposite end, dismissing Baker for 20 with an edge behind to the keeper Ahmed to make it 37 for 3 in the 10th.

It was at this stage that Marshall arrived and like Massiah survived an early chance when a runout opportunity was blown with the batsman on 12. Massiah fended a delivery from the left-arm spin of Kaleem into midwicket and Marshall set off for a run that wasn’t there. Mahmood fielded and threw to Kaleem over the non-striker’s stumps with Marshall still several yards short of making his ground. The bowler caught the ball adjacent to the stumps one-handed with his left hand, but broke the stumps with his right hand and belted out an appeal. Umpire Roger Dill correctly gave Marshall not out after the bowler failed to break the stumps with the hand containing the ball and subsequently failed to pull out a stump with the ball pressed against it before Marshall made his ground. It turned out to be a very costly mental error by Kaleem and Marshall made the most of his second chance.

After a brief rest, Ansari returned for a second spell. Massiah, who had earlier struck Ansari for three fours in an over, carried on in vintage fashion with a glorious back foot drive through the covers to chase Ansari out of the attack once more. A short time later, Massiah brought up the 100 for USA with a single off Kaleem in the 23rd.

Ansari’s third spell had venom similar to his first and with his third ball struck Marshall in the right shoulder with a delivery that took extra bounce off the pitch. After getting some treatment, Marshall continued but two balls later the 90-run stand finally ended when a good length delivery clipped the shoulder of Massiah’s forward defense and lobbed to Kaleem at backward point to make it 127 for 4 in the 27th. USA’s captain provided 39 valuable runs but more importantly stayed at the crease to shield the rest of USA’s order from the majority of Ansari’s spell hostile pace.

Image (left) - Rashard Marshall is in agony after being struck on the shoulder by a sharp rising delivery from Oman fast bowler Munis Ansari. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

McGarrell joined Marshall and the set batsman brought up his half-century in 48 balls with a top edged hook off Ansari over the keeper to end the 27th. The pair safely negotiated Ansari’s final over to take USA to 138 for 4 after 29 as Ansari finished with 3 for 62 in 10 but just when it appeared USA could breathe easier, McGarrell edged Kaleem to Mehta at slip for 4 to spark a middle order collapse. Allen failed with the bat for the first time in the tournament, trapped LBW by Kaleem without scoring to make it 141 for 6. Eight balls later, Mehta had Patel stumped for a duck to make it 142 for 7 and all of a sudden the last 34 runs needed for a USA win seemed very far away.

Marshall kept his composure though and along with Barrington Bartley took advantage of some loose bowling down the stretch. Bartley clubbed a pair of short balls for four and six from Kaleem in the 38th to get USA within seven runs of victory but on the very next ball he was given LBW for 16 despite a possible inside edge to make it 169 for 8.

Hutchinson arrived and with a calm temperament saw off the final two balls of Kaleem’s 10th over. Marshall started the 39th on strike to Mehta and swept back-to-back balls for two before a pair of singles leveled the scores. With Hutchinson on strike to start the 40th, Oman brought on Siddiqui to bowl for the first time in the match and a half-tracker was swatted to mid off for the winning run. USA’s bench sprinted onto the field to hug both batsmen after achieving a thrilling victory. USA also defeated Oman by two wickets at Division Three in Hong Kong two years ago when Usman Shuja and Asif Khan added an unbeaten 72-run stand for the ninth wicket to take USA to an improbable win.

In Wednesday’s other games, Nepal kept their promotion hopes dangling by a thread with an 8-wicket romp over Bermuda at St. David’s CC. Bermuda made 106 after being sent in to bat before Nepal chased the runs in 11.2 overs to not only register their first win but drastically improve their net run rate after the beating it took over the first two days of the tournament. At the National Stadium, Uganda managed to defend 114 for 9 against Italy to win by 23 runs. Italy was 52 for 2 chasing a small target but lost their last 8 wickets for 39 runs. Opener Andy Northcote top scored with 28 but his runout left Italy at 72 for 6 and hastened their collapse. Uganda captain Davis Arinaitwe took 4 for 20 to lead his side to a narrow win.

After the first three days of the tournament, USA and Uganda are both 3-0 while Oman, Nepal and Bermuda’s promotion hopes remain alive at 1-2. Italy is the only team no longer with a chance at promotion with an 0-3 record and will have to work hard to avoid relegation to Division Four with their final two matches coming against Bermuda and Nepal. In order for one of Oman, Bermuda or Nepal to gain promotion, each of the three sides needs a win today and Saturday combined with another loss on Saturday for the loser of Thursday’s USA vs. Uganda match. Nepal plays Oman Thursday in a virtual knockout match with the winning team keeping their promotion hopes alive at 2-2 while the loser will be at 1-3 and in danger of relegation heading into the last day of round-robin play.

DreamCricket.com’s tournament coverage continues on Thursday with a battle of the only two undefeated sides left in the tournament at St. David’s on the east side of the island. Live updates sponsored by New Inning Foundation begin at 10 a.m. local time, 9 a.m. on the east coast in the USA.

USA Cricket: Nadkarni's gritty 73 sets up Allen's 51* as USA beats Italy by 74 runs in Bermuda

openingbat — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:40:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA captain Steve Massiah and vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni grinded out a vital 78-run third wicket partnership that laid the platform for a late burst from Timroy Allen to give USA enough runs to defend as they defeated Italy by 74 runs on Monday at the National Stadium in Hamilton, Bermuda, at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. Allen was named Man of the Match after notching 51 not out in 26 balls.

USA won the toss and elected to bat under a bright sun but as the players took the field, a large amount of cloud cover came over the ground producing ideal bowling conditions for Italy. Opening seamers Gayashan Munasinghe and Vince Pennazza removed USA’s openers within the first five overs as Orlando Baker was trapped LBW for 2 while Taylor was caught at mid off for 6 to make it 10 for 2.

Nadkarni then joined Massiah at the crease and the experience of the pair shone through in a determined stand. Massiah was on 10 off 24 balls at one point and Nadkarni 7 off 39 as they sought to leave and defend as many deliveries as possible under trying conditions. By the time Munasinghe and Pennazza had finished each of their opening 6-over spells, USA was at 31 for 2 after 12.

“It was tough,” Nadkarni said. “When I went in there I immediately realized for the fast bowlers it was doing something on the wicket and the conditions were not that great for some stroke-making immediately. So Steve and I decided to consolidate and build a partnership and Steve got going pretty quick after that and raced to his 50 so I think that was kind of the building blocks for us in this innings.”

Massiah broke free initially with three boundaries in the space of six deliveries to get USA some momentum. The first was courtesy of a misfield at point before Massiah elected to go the aerial route over mid off. The third boundary in the sequence was a wristy flick through mid on as USA began fighting back from the early trouble. The 50 partnership was brought up on the last ball of the 18th when Massiah drove medium pacer Dilan Fernando through the covers for Massiah’s sixth boundary and the third of three boundaries in the over for USA.

After surviving a missed run out chance on 41, Massiah brought up his 50 in 69 balls with a lofted drive straight down the ground off the left-arm spin of Damian Crowley in the 25th over. However, Massiah was unfortunately out three balls later for 51 when he played onto his stumps attempting to cut Crowley.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni sets off for a run after punching one to the off side. Nadkarni top scored for USA with 73 vs. Italy. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Rashard Marshall arrived at the crease and with Nadkarni produced USA’s largest partnership of the match, 90 for the fourth wicket across 17.1 overs. Nadkarni brought up his 50 in 100 balls with a slog sweep over midwicket in the 37th over bowled by Carl Sandri and two overs later survived a point blank run out chance from five yards out when Munasinghe missed underhanding for the striker’s end stumps in his follow through. He was finally dismissed for 73 by Dilan Fernando after top edging a hook to third man to end the 42nd over with USA 178 for 4.

Allen arrived at the crease and wasted no time giving USA a late innings burst, getting off the mark on his second ball with a six over long on followed on the next delivery by a boundary swept over square leg off of Sandri. Marshall was out in the 45th to Munasinghe for 39, caught at extra cover mistiming a slower ball to make it 200 for 5. At the start of the 46th, Allen was put down on 15 after a straightforward chance at midwicket was grassed by Pennazza off Dilan Fernando.

Italy claimed Barrington Bartley for 1 just four balls later, but they would regret the missed chance off Allen as he punished them for another 36 runs in the final four overs. Munasinghe in particular felt the brunt of Allen with two sixes smashed off him in the 47th. Neil McGarrell was out on the first ball of the 48th to Dilan Fernando for 2, but Munasinghe’s figures took another beating in the 49th when Allen and Japen Patel each hit sixes off him in the frame.

Allen hit his fifth six off Dilan Fernando to begin the 50th over and a string of twos brought up his half-century with one ball remaining in the innings. Patel was run out on the final ball for 14 trying to stretch for another two for Allen and USA finished on 254 for 8, which turned out to be more than enough to defend. Dilan Fernando finished with 3 for 54 for Italy while Munasinghe finished with 2 for 52 despite bowling a testing six-over spell at the start in which he took 1 for 16.

Image (left) - Timroy Allen raises his bat after crossing 50 in the final over vs. Italy. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

For the second day in a row, Elmore Hutchinson made the early breakthroughs for USA with the new ball. The first to go for Italy was Damian Fernando, beaten for pace trying to pull the fast bowler and caught thanks to an outstanding diving catch from Muhammad Ghous running in from mid on for 11. Italy captain Alessandro Bonora came in next but didn’t last very long, caught behind by Taylor off Hutchinson for 6 to make it 38 for 2 after 8.

Peter Petricola joined opener Andy Northcote as Italy regained momentum with their two best batsmen at the crease. USA’s bowlers engineered multiple chances to dismiss them including a pair in the 18th off McGarrell when each batsmen was put down as Italy frustrated USA heading into the drinks break at 82 for 2. It took the intervention of Ghous to bring an end to their 57-run partnership when Petricola bottom edged a cut onto his stumps for 25 to make it 95 for 3 in the 23rd. Ghous struck again in his next over, darting in a fuller and flatter delivery to beat Northcote’s attempted paddle sweep and the opener walked off for 41 to make it 98 for 4.

“I think basically Ghous’ spell was the turning point for us in the game because he got the two key wickets,” Nadkarni said. “Ghous getting rid of both of them, it really opened the flood gates for us to come back into the game and win this game.”

Crowley and Sandri fought hard to keep Italy in the match with a 54-run stand, but as the run rate started to climb, Italy’s last recognized pair of batsmen started taking more risks which eventually led to their downfall. McGarrell returned for a second spell in the 38th and struck with his third ball, getting Crowley stumped for 37 after a premeditated charge down the track. Hutchinson removed Hayden Patrizi for 3, trapped in front by a perfectly placed yorker.

Dinidu Marage was the second batsman stumped for McGarrell for a third-ball duck in the 42nd over to make it 172 for 7 as Sandri rapidly began to run out of partners. Pennazza was run out five balls later without scoring when Marshall made an athletic diving stop at cover before throwing to Taylor over the stumps to finish the dismissal. Sandri was McGarrell’s third stumping victim for 41 at the start of the 46th over and the match wrapped up two balls later when Dilan Fernando drove McGarrell to Hutchinson at midwicket as Italy was bowled out for 180. McGarrell finished with USA’s best figures on the day taking 4 for 44 while Hutchinson claimed 3 for 44. Ghous’ pressure building spell resulted in 2 for 24.

In Monday’s other matches, Bermuda bounced back from a first-day defeat to beat Oman by 34 runs at St. David’s CC. Bermuda slumped to 117 for 7 but some very valuable lower order partnerships took them to 194 before they were bowled out in 44.1 overs. Treadwell Gibbons propped up Bermuda with 33 at number eight before being last man out. Oman experienced a similar slide falling to 106 for 8 before Hemal Mehta and Amir Ali added 42 for the ninth wicket to keep Omani hopes alive. Bermuda eventually dismissed them for 160 in 41.5 overs with Malachi Jones taking 3 for 29. Number eight Amir Ali finished unbeaten on 58 after taking 3 for 34 in the first innings.

Nepal’s shocking start to the tournament continued with a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Uganda, who sit at the top of the standings with USA at 2-0. On the same Somerset CC ground where they played USA, Nepal won the toss and batted first but wound up being bowled out for 116 in 44.2 overs. Roger Mukasa led Uganda’s swift chase with 49 not out as they reached the target in 27 overs.

After a day off on Tuesday, USA returns to action on Wednesday against Oman at Somerset CC. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, begins at 10 a.m. local time, 9 a.m. on the east coast in the USA.

USA Cricket: USACA announces 14-man squad for 2013 ICC WCL Division Three

openingbat — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:35:00 GMT

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

USACA Media Release

The United States Cricket Association (USACA) today announced the National Men’s Squad to compete in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Tournament. This competition is a qualification structure for the 2015 ICC 50 Over Cricket World Cup. Currently the USA team are in Division 3 of the WCL and determined to progress to the next phase of qualification in its upcoming tournament in Bermuda from April 28th – May 5th, 2013.

The US squad has been competing in a series of 50 over practice matches against Bermuda at the Lauderhill Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and trialed 21 players from all across the US and one player from Queensland in Australia. The group performed well winning two of the three matches gaining valuable match practice. The practice series also allowed USACA National Selectors to be able to view the players in competition mode and to select the final squad of 14. The final squad to represent the USA is;

Steven Taylor

Sushil Nadkarni

Steve Massiah

Rashard Marshall

Naseer Jamali

Japen Patel

Akeem Dodson

Timroy Allen

Orlando Baker

Barrington Bartley

Neil McGarrell

Danial Ahmed

Muhammad Ghous

Elmore Hutchinson

Team USA will be coached by Kumaran Thirunavukkarasu and will depart for Bermuda on April 25th. The US team will be led by season campaigner captained by Steve Messiah [sic] with Sushil Nadkarni vice-captain.

USACA National Chairman of Selectors Mr. Selwyn Caesar said, “Due to the importance of the ICC tournament in Bermuda, the National selectors wanted to ensure that the selection process was thorough and that players from all over America were given every opportunity to impress. I am delighted that USACA supported our request and provided 21 players with the opportunity to stake their claim to represent their country. The result is that we have a very well balanced team that is capable of winning in Bermuda and advancing to the next stage. I wish them well and know that they will give a good account of themselves”.

The other participating countries in the tournament are Bermuda, Oman, Italy, Nepal and Uganda. This is an extremely important tournament for US cricket as the top 2 teams from Bermuda will move up to WCL Division 2 and automatically qualify for ICC Global World Cup Qualifier to be held in New Zealand in 2014.

USA Cricket: Marshall the difference as USA beats Bermuda by 54 runs

openingbat — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:11:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Cooper City, Florida (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida for the three-match 50-over series between USA and Bermuda is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Rashard Marshall’s bat paid immediate dividends in his return to the USA national team after a 26-month absence to lead USA to a 54-run win over Bermuda at Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, Florida in the first 50-over warm-up match of a three-match series between the two sides. Marshall scored 54 off 75 balls in USA’s total of 227 before Bermuda was restricted to 173 for 8. USA’s spinners worked hard to defend a below par first innings total as Muhammad Ghous took 3 for 34 in nine overs of offspin while Neil McGarrell produced a miserly spell of 2 for 18 in 10 overs.

“The wicket was pretty slow, but we have a lot of spinners and we know they struggle against spin,” McGarrell said.

USA won the toss and elected to bat first on an unusually chilly and windy morning with eight players – Marshall, Ghous, McGarrell, captain Steve Massiah, Aditya Thyagarajan, Timroy Allen, Hemant Punoo and Usman Shuja – making their first appearance for USA on the tour to Florida after flying in at the conclusion of the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament.

Two holdovers from USA’s ICC Americas tournament champion squad – Akeem Dodson and Timothy Surujbally – opened the batting and put on 83 runs for the first wicket in 14.2 overs. Dodson was eventually run out for 33 trying to steal a leg bye ahead of a throw from Malachi Jones at point. Massiah entered at three but lasted just three deliveries before he was given out on a questionable LBW decision for 2 to 15-year-old left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins. USA’s top order collapse continued three overs later when Surujbally was given out LBW off an inside edge for 43 to offspinner Samuel Robinson to make it 96 for 3 in the 19th.

Marshall joined Thyagarajan and the pair stemmed Bermuda’s momentum by producing a 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The stand ended when Thyagarajan skipped down the track to Rodney Trott’s offspin and was beaten in flight to be stumped for 33 on the last ball of the 37th. USA managed to add 33 for 1 in the five-over batting power play from the 36th to the 40th overs but a short time later Marshall fell leg before to give Rawlins his second wicket as USA slipped to 197 for 5 in the 43rd.

Allen tried to prop up the tail but Bermuda ran through the rest of USA’s lineup with relative ease. McGarrell entered at seven and was out for 3 driving medium pacer Greg Maybury to cover. Punoo ran himself out without scoring two balls later to make it 208 for 7 in the 46th. Allen added 16 with Shuja before Allen was well caught at long off by Rawlins off Maybury for 29.

Ghous lasted just two balls before he was bowled for 1 by Maybury to end the 48th at 226 for 9. Jamali was out LBW for a duck to end the innings three balls into the 49th with Shuja not out on 6. Maybury finished with 3 for 37 after wrecking the tail but Bermuda’s spinners were the ones mainly responsible for holding down the fort after the brisk first-wicket partnership between Dodson and Surujbally.

Bermuda cruised along early in their chase to reach 76 for 1 at the first drinks break taken after 17 overs. Jason Anderson was trapped LBW for 16 by Punoo’s offspin in the 9th, but for the most part Bermuda wasn’t having any issues rotating the strike on an easy-paced wicket. It took the intervention of a brilliant runout by Dodson two balls after play resumed to turn the tide in USA’s favor. Bermuda captain Stephen Outerbridge was on strike and tried to nudge a ball toward point for a quick run. Dodson scampered out from behind the stumps as the batsmen hesitated. Outerbridge came back while Manders strayed outside his crease at the non-striker’s end for a moment too long. Dodson fielded and unleashed a throw into the base of the non-striker’s stumps to leave Manders stunned for 12.

Outerbridge brought up his 50 in 59 balls to begin the 19th, but one delivery later David Hemp was dismissed making it 79 for 3, caught behind for a duck trying to cut Ghous. Outerbridge had a few brushes with danger shortly thereafter, first on 59 when Ghous spilled a straightforward chance at long leg off Allen and then again on 68 two balls into the 33rd when Jamali couldn’t come up with a chance at long on after McGarrell induced a mistimed drive.

Image (right) - Offspinner Muhammad Ghous took 3 for 34 vs. Bermuda at Brian Piccolo Park. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Fortune favored USA at the end of McGarrell’s third over though when Tucker was bowled by McGarrell for 26 after missing a sweep to make it 127 for 4. Outerbridge began the 35th over trying to steal a quick single off McGarrell and pulled his right hamstring in the process, causing him to retire hurt on 71. The experienced McGarrell caught Dion Stovell sleeping with a quicker ball on the first delivery after play resumed following Outerbridge’s injury to make it 129 for 5. Bermuda now needed 99 in 15.4 overs to win, but with Outerbridge unable to return Bermuda’s tail didn’t have the firepower to take them close to the target.

Ghous got his second wicket when Jones was taken by McGarrell at midwicket for 2 in the 36th. Jekon Edness was bowled by Ghous in the 40th to make it 143 for 7 and Bermuda finished their five-over batting power play having scored just 13 runs. Massiah brought himself on for four overs of offspin and dismissed Rawlins in his last frame for 13 to make it 164 for 8 in the 48th. Trott hit a pair of boundaries off Marshall in the final over to take Bermuda to their eventual total of 173 for 8.

The two teams get back in action on Thursday when they square off at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill for the second game in their three-match 50-over series. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST with the match beginning at 10 a.m.

USA Cricket: Team and player reviews for The 2012 Auty Cup

openingbat — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:03:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Batting: USA’s batsmen got off to plenty of decent starts, but hardly any of those starts were converted into a meaningful score. USA had one half-century by Timil Patel in the final Twenty20 match. In comparison, Canada’s batsmen contributed five half-centuries over the four games: two by Raza-ur-Rehman, and one each by Usman Limbada, Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema.

In the two-day match, three players made it to 20 – Timothy Surujbally, Karan Ganesh and Ryan Corns – but none of them made it to 30. The pattern was repeated in the 50-over game by Surujbally, Patel, Neil McGarrell and Barrington Bartley, then again in the first Twenty20 by Surujbally and Nicholas Standford. Canada’s players were more determined to make their starts count while USA’s players wasted theirs far too often.

In the 50-over match, USA racked up a stunning number of dot balls, 216 to be exact, almost 70% of the total deliveries in the innings. In the 35 non-power play overs, USA scored just 41 singles which highlights their struggle to find gaps in the circle and turn over the strike to keep pressure from building up. More evidence came in the first Twenty20 match where USA had 61 dot balls, a shocking number for a Twenty20 match especially since USA only batted 19 overs.

USA’s biggest challenge was against Canada’s spin bowlers, particularly leg-spinner Junaid Siddiqui and the left-arm spin of Rehman. Canada’s bowling attack was good but not nearly as good as some of the ones they’ve used in World Cups over the last decade.

Bowling: Against most of Canada’s first choice batsmen, USA’s bowlers turned in an admirable showing, especially in the two-day match. To bowl out a Division One Associate team for under 200 runs in a multi-day match was impressive and they nearly did it twice but ran out of time. Naseer Jamali’s opening spell which claimed three wickets set the tone for USA’s bowlers throughout that match.

The USA bowling was a bit flat in the 50-over match although if they had another 30 to 40 runs to play with they might have had more of a spring in their step. With the exception of Cheema’s first over assault of Adrian Gordon in the first Twenty20, USA’s bowlers were collectively committed in not letting Canada’s batsmen score too freely in those games as well.

USA’s greatest success came through their spin bowlers. Danial Ahmed and Timil Patel led the way while Karan Ganesh provided good support with the ball in the limited overs matches. Barrington Bartley showed a brief glimpse of what he can do in a supporting role with the ball as did Japen Patel with his medium pace, but neither should be seen as a frontline option.

Player Reviews

William Perkins – Scored 15 off 25 balls in the two-day match, 46 off 73 in the 50-over game, and made 32 off 21 in the second T20. He looked solid at the crease, but not dominant. For someone with plenty of recent experience playing domestic cricket in the West Indies, as well as participating in the Champions League T20 with Trinidad & Tobago, more was expected. He certainly didn’t do enough to displace Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor as USA’s incumbent openers, but might be worth consideration in a 14-man squad, if eligible, for some of USA’s upcoming tournaments.

Steven Taylor – Scored 4 off 15 balls in the two-day match, retired hurt on 10 in the 50-over match after pulling a hamstring trying to complete a quick single. Taylor has always carried slightly more weight than he should. The hamstring pull may give him the nudge he needs to focus more of his attention on improving his fitness. He has gotten away with it at most stages because of his supreme natural talent, but the higher the level of competition, the greater risk he runs of his fitness being exposed.

Timothy Surujbally – Scored 24 off 55 balls in the two-day game, 28 off 54 in the 50-over match, made 27 off 10 before retiring hurt in the first T20 with a hamstring pull trying to complete a quick single; with the ball took 0 for 6 in three overs during the two-day game. His performance was a microcosm of so many batsmen during the week who teased, but probably fell short of satisfying the expectations of themselves as well as the selectors with their batting. If there’s one thing that would hold him back more than anything else from making it into a 14-man squad next year, it would be his inability to score off the ball turning away from him. Canada’s Siddiqui and Rehman put the clamps on him and Surujbally didn’t seem to have a plan for how to get off strike.

Image (right) - Timothy Surujbally

Andy Mohammed – Scored 0 off 7 balls in the two-day match, made 11 off 12 opening the batting in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 6 in one over in the two-day game. Two loose dismissals demonstrated that he still has a lot of maturing to do. Despite his talent, he doesn’t ever look determined to stay at the crease for very long. He needs to go back to the drawing board to develop his game.

Karan Ganesh – Top scored for USA in the two-day match with 29 off 70 balls, made 1 off 4 in the 50-over match and 2 not out off 3 balls in the second T20; with the ball took 0 for 14 in eight overs during the two-day match, 2 for 24 in eight overs in the 50-over match, 1 for 20 in four overs in the second T20. Ganesh should have stayed at the crease longer in the two-day game but only has himself to blame for runout that curtailed his innings. With the ball, his flat off-spin was efficient at restricting runs, particularly in the limited overs matches. He wouldn’t get into a full-strength USA squad solely on his batting or bowling alone, but makes an intriguing case as a reserve player for his combined skillset.

Timil Patel – Scored 11 off 15 balls in the two-day match, 22 off 39 in the 50-over game, 0 off 2 in the first T20 and 67 not out off 55 balls in the second T20; with the ball took match figures of 7 for 107 in 34 overs during the two-day game, 2 for 49 in 8.5 overs in the 50-over game, 1 for 24 in three overs in the first T20, 1 for 28 in four overs in the second T20. Had the best all-round performance of any USA player during the week. It’s unclear if he’ll be eligible to play in ICC tournaments next year though because he’s only been in the USA since 2010.

Japen Patel – Scored 0 off 9 balls in the two-day game, 9 off 17 in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 34 in seven overs during the two-day game, took 4 for 26 in four overs during the first T20. Inserted into a new ball role in the two-day game that he was ill-suited for, he bowled tidily enough and had a chance dropped off his bowling early, but overall lacked penetration. In the T20 he played, he kept a disciplined line and as a result took more wickets than some of his teammates who bowled quicker but with far less control. Such performances with the ball need to be the rule, not the exception, for him to have any chance of cracking USA’s XI. He still has a long way to go with the bat as well to be up to international standard.

Image (left) - Japen Patel

Adil Bhatti – Scored 7 off 35 balls in the two-day game, 7 off 13 in the first T20, 0 off 1 ball in the second T20; with the ball he took 1 for 20 in five overs during the two-day game, 0 for 24 in three overs in the first T20. Bhatti is a player with similar skill sets to Japen Patel and is probably a better player but was outperformed by Japen during the series by way of Patel’s 4 for 26 in the first T20. Bhatti’s best moment came when he pulled off a fantastic catch as a substitute fielder in the 50-over match, but that’s not going to get him selected. He’s a player who gives tremendous effort but needs to work hard on his batting in particular, much like Japen, to merit full-time selection.

Ryan Corns – Scored 20 off 39 balls in the two-day game, 5 off 7 in the first T20, 5 off 5 in the second T20; with the ball took 1 for 46 in 14 overs during the two-day game, 1 for 22 in four overs during the first T20, 1 for 21 in three overs during the second T20. His spin bowling is always improving, but his batting still hasn’t progressed to the point where it should be. He got a few opportunities to bat higher up the order in this series than he had in previous tournaments USA played in 2012, but didn’t make the most of those chances. The fact that he was selected as a stand-in captain in place of the injured Taylor for the second T20 says a lot about how highly he is now thought of by USA’s management hierarchy, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a nervous wait this winter to see if his spot is secure the next time USA picks a 14-man squad.

Danial Ahmed – Scored 1 not out off 6 balls in the two-day match; with the ball took 6 for 73 across 37.4 overs in the two-day game, took 1 for 13 in three overs in the second T20. Ahmed was the biggest revelation for USA in the matches against Canada. Although he isn’t a very big turner of the ball, he displayed immaculate control and used clever variations of pace and flight to keep batsmen off balance. USA has tried out numerous specialist left-arm spinners over the past few years – Asif Khan, Samarth Shah, Bhim George – to match up with Nepal’s arsenal of them. Ahmed may be the end of that search. He also was brilliant in the field, another area where USA could definitely benefit from his presence.

Naseer Jamali – Scored 2 off 5 balls in the two-day game; with the ball took 3 for 42 in 12 overs during the two-day game, took 0 for 9 in one over in the second T20. His opening spell in the two-day game was very impressive as he wiped out Canada’s top three with relative ease. He doesn’t have blinding pace, but is showing signs of maturing by bowling a more disciplined line and recognizing that he won’t be able to bounce people out. Not a first-choice option now, but wouldn’t be a bad option should Usman Shuja, Elmore Hutchinson or Timroy Allen get injured.

Nicholas Standford – Scored 0 off 8 balls in the 50-over match, 23 off 26 in the first T20, 18 off 22 in the second T20. He played similar to Surujbally in the way he got some good starts, but ultimately failed to convert them. Looked fluent at the crease in both T20s but at the end of the day a number three batsman needs to do more after getting set like he did regardless of the format.

Neil McGarrell – Scored 26 off 46 balls in the 50-over match, scored 3 off 5 balls in the first T20; with the ball he took 0 for 28 in 10 overs in the 50-over match, took 1 for 14 in three overs in the first T20. Even though he’s 40, McGarrell maintains a very professional approach to the game at all levels. He demonstrated he still has value with the ball and as a fielder, but if there was room for just one specialist left-arm spinner in a USA squad and the choice was between the former West Indies Test bowler and 27-year-old Daniel Ahmed, then Ahmed should get selected. It’s not because Ahmed is younger, it’s because Ahmed showed he’s better.

Barrington Bartley – Scored 23 off 24 balls in the 50-over match, scored 26 off 14 balls in the second T20; with the ball took 0 for 44 in eight overs in the 50-over match, took 3 for 14 in three overs in the second T20. While Bartley had the same issue of carrying on after getting set like many of his teammates, he was actually one of the few efficient batsmen in the squad. It was rare to see him waste a delivery and he was much more skilled at turning over the strike than Ganesh, Surujbally or Standford in particular. He’s also a better fielder than the other three. With the ball, his 0 for 44 in the 50-over game is a more accurate reflection of his bowling abilities than his 3 for 14 in the second T20. If he were to get picked, it would be for his batting.

Saami Siddiqui – Scored 6 off 20 balls in the 50-over game, scored 7 off 8 balls in the first T20; completed no dismissals as a wicketkeeper, conceded 1 bye. Siddiqui kept adequately enough behind the stumps, but as is the case in the modern era of cricket he needs to offer more with the bat as a keeper.

Hammad Shahid – Scored 1 off 10 balls in the 50-over match; with the ball took 1 for 32 in eight overs during the 50-over match, took 0 for 10 in one over in the second T20. The 50-over game was a decent start to his career at the senior level but he didn’t get much of a chance to build on it in the T20 game he played. He hasn’t progressed as quickly as it looked like he would when he was a 16-year-old, but he has a strong frame and will hopefully get better with experience.

Mital Patel – Scored 2 off 9 balls in the 50-over match, made 0 off 4 balls in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 19 in four overs in the 50-over match, took 0 for 11 in two overs during the first T20. Patel needs to be more disciplined and focused on the basics of finding a consistent line and length. His figures in the 50-over match included a maiden and on paper they look good, but part of the reason he didn’t get to bowl a second spell was because he was somewhat erratic, offering too much width too often. If he can bowl on the stumps on a regular basis, he’ll become a better prospect.

Adrian Gordon – Scored 14 not out off 10 balls in first T20; with the ball took 0 for 26 in one over in first T20, took 1 for 1 in 0.4 overs in second T20. Gordon has practically fallen off the cliff from where he was in his development after ICC WCL Division Four in August of 2010. He’s nowhere close to the bowler he was then. Despite generating good pace, his radar is all over the place. He’s still only 25 so he has time to sort himself out, but it would be good for it to happen sooner rather than later.

Image (right) - Adrian Gordon at ICC WCL Division Four in Italy in 2010. [Courtesy: ICC]

Outlook for 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 and ICC WCL Division Three

Much depends on the eligibility of certain players. Ahmed arrived in the USA in the spring of 2009 so his eligibility for these tournaments depends on how the ICC calculates the residency requirement for qualification, which stipulates that a player must reside in a country for a minimum of 183 days in the four years immediately preceding a tournament in order to play for that country. Only two such players can be picked in any starting XI, which may leave a captain limited if there are multiple such players in a 14-man squad. There is no limit on players who have been residents for a minimum of 183 days for seven years immediately preceding a tournament, or if they are a passport holder/citizen.

Timil Patel arrived in the USA in the summer of 2010, so may not be eligible to play for USA in ICC tournaments until 2014. Perkins last played for the West Indies in 2008, so his eligibility to play for the USA would depend on whether or not he fulfills the residency/citizenship requirements. All three players are definitely capable of slotting into a 14-man squad, but at the moment Timil Patel might be on the outside looking in due to ICC rules.

Probable USA first choice XI for ICC Americas Division One T20 in March:

1. Steven Taylor
2. Sushil Nadkarni
3. Steve Massiah
4. Aditya Thyagarajan
5. Aditya Mishra
6. Orlando Baker
7. Timroy Allen
8. Elmore Hutchinson
9. Usman Shuja
10. Danial Ahmed
11. Muhammad Ghous

As for the three reserves, much of it may depend on squad balance. Would USA opt for a pair of spinners and a batsman? A seamer and two batsmen but no pure spinner? To include or not to include a backup wicketkeeper? Several combinations could be construed. Ryan Corns and Abhimanyu Rajp stand a good chance of keeping their spots in USA’s squad for the time being, but both may be under pressure to hold on to them. If Perkins is eligible he would almost certainly take up the last spot, particularly because he can also keep wicket. Several other players are in contention to be included in a 14-man squad as well including Bartley, Bhatti, Ganesh, Surujbally, Rashard Marshall and Akeem Dodson.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author. 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: Canada beats USA by 36 runs in first T20; USA gets revenge in second T20 with 46-run win

openingbat — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 06:14:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Match One Scorecard I Match Two Scorecard

Openers Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema each produced a half-century to push Canada to a 36-run win over USA in the early game before Timil Patel’s 67 not out at the top of the order propelled USA to a 46-run win over Canada in the second of two Twenty20 matches played on Saturday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Canada’s 148 for 9 in the morning match was more than enough to defend against a struggling USA batting unit, but USA finally clicked in game two to post an easily defendable 162 for 5.

The day’s play was delayed by 90 minutes due to a wet outfield from overnight rain. When the field was finally deemed fit for action, USA won the toss in game one and sent Canada in to bat. USA made five changes from the team that lost to Canada by four wickets in the 50-over match on Friday. Andy Mohammed, Ryan Corns, Adil Bhatti, Japen Patel and Adrian Gordon came in for Barrington Bartley, Karan Ganesh, the injured William Perkins, Hammad Shahid and the injured Steven Taylor. Canada made just one change bringing in Manny Aulakh for Henry Osinde.

Gordon opened the bowling for USA and wound up being rocked by Cheema. After a single by Hiral Patel on the first ball of the match, Cheema slammed three fours and connected with two big sixes straight back over Gordon’s head as part of a 26-run opening over for Canada. Cheema scored 24 runs in his first five deliveries faced and took another 21 balls to score his next 26 runs to bring up a half-century. Cheema got slightly carried away after reaching his 50 and tried to reverse sweep Timil Patel a few overs later but wound up bowled in between his legs for 54 to make it 86 for 1 in the 11th.

While Cheema and Hiral Patel capitalized on any width offered by USA’s bowlers, Japen Patel bowled a tight stump to stump line and was rewarded with his best bowling return in a USA uniform, 4 for 26 off four overs. He started off by claiming number three batsman Ruvindu Gunasekera for 3 thanks to a good catch by Mohammed running back from midwicket in the circle to make it 103 for 2 in the 14th. Raza-ur-Rehman fell for 7 to give Japen Patel his second after the batsman failed to clear Neil McGarrell with a lofted drive to long off. Damodar Daesrath entered and missed a flick to midwicket off his first delivery and was promptly judged LBW to put Patel on a hat trick to end the 17th.

USA took three wickets in three balls as a team when Corns opened the 18th by taking the wicket of Hiral Patel for 54 after he had been dropped on 8 in the third over. Patel drove a delivery to Timothy Surujbally on the cover boundary to make it 126 for 5 as momentum shifted completely toward USA.

Usman Limbada was the next to go for 1 three balls into the 19th, slogging across the line to be bowled by Japen Patel for his fourth wicket. Hamza Tariq was caught slashing a thick edge to Gordon at short third man off the bowling of left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell for 3 to make it 139 for 7 with four balls remaining in the innings. Junaid Siddiqui was run out for 1 trying to complete a tight second for Jimmy Hansra with one ball to go in the innings. Jeremy Gordon was run out without facing a ball after he tried to take a second run on the final ball of Canada’s innings and Canada finished 148 for 9 off their 20 with Hansra not out on 17. McGarrell was USA’s most economical bowler, finishing with 1 for 14 in three overs.

For the second day in a row, USA had their opening partnership disrupted by an injury to a batsman attempting to complete a sharp single. On Friday it was Taylor who walked off injured and in the first T20 on Saturday, his club teammate Surujbally succumbed to a pulled hamstring. Surujbally got off to a rollicking start opening the chase with Mohammed. Seemingly inspired by what Cheema did in the first innings against Adrian Gordon, Surujbally rocked Canadian opening pace bowler Jeremy Gordon for 23 runs in the first over, including four boundaries and a six with four of the shots finishing up at the ropes between midwicket and fine leg.

However, Surujbally pulled up lame on the first ball of the third over bowled by Cheema and after staying out for two more deliveries could no longer continue, retiring hurt on 27 off just 10 balls with the score on 31 in 2.3 overs. Mohammed fell on the first ball of the fifth trying to hit a six over midwicket and instead sent a leading edge in the air to Daesrath in the covers for 11. Timil Patel lasted just two balls before he was caught on the long on boundary to give Junaid Siddiqui a wicket to make it 45 for 2. Two overs later Corns fell for 5, caught driving in the air to the cover sweeper off the left-arm spin of Rehman to make it 53 for 3 in 7.2 overs.

A day after getting out for a duck, Nicholas Standford got his eye in and appeared to be on his way to a sizable score, but he was dismissed for 23 playing back to a good length ball from Aulakh and was pinned LBW to make it 72 for 4 in the 11th as USA’s run rate began to plummet with the procession of wickets. Bhatti was stumped for 7 after he was beaten in flight by a quicker delivery from Daesrath. McGarrell slogged against the turn of Rehman and was caught at mid on for 3. Japen Patel skied an attempted slog off Daesrath that wound up in the hands of Rehman at mid off for 9 as USA fell to 95 for 7 in 16.

After being punished by Surujbally to start the innings, Jeremy Gordon was finally brought back in the 19th over and responded with a double-wicket maiden to end the match. He dismissed Saami Siddiqui for 7, caught at point by Rehman, before Mital Patel was bowled off an inside edge for a duck. With Surujbally unable to resume his innings, USA finished all out for 112. Rehman had Canada’s best figures, finishing with 2 for 21 in four.

In match number two, USA won the toss again but this time chose to bat first. While Timil Patel captained the team in match number one, Ryan Corns was tasked with leading the side for match number two and wound up shepherding USA to their only victory of the week. USA made six changes from the team that lost the first match of the day. Perkins, Bartley, Ganesh, Shahid, Danial Ahmed and Naseer Jamali entered the XI in place of McGarrell, Mohammed, Japen Patel, Mital Patel, Saami Siddiqui and the injured Surujbally. Canada made one change, swapping Aulakh out for Osinde.

Timil Patel opened the batting with Perkins and the two manufactured a 61-run stand for the first wicket in just 5.4 overs to put USA in a dominant position which they never relinquished. Perkins met his downfall when he made an ambitious attempt to clear Cheema at long off, one of the two fielders outside the circle in the power play overs, and was caught for 32 off the bowling of the leg-spinner Siddiqui. Standford got a start for the second match in a row, but fell in disappointing fashion when he spooned a full toss from Daesrath to Hansra at midwicket in the circle for 18 to make it 93 for 2 in the 12th.

Bartley entered at four and just as he did in the 50-over match on Friday, rarely wasted a delivery. He struck two sixes in his 26 off 14 balls, but just as importantly continued to turn over the strike at every opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking. He was given LBW after being hit on the back leg to a full length delivery from the pace of Jeremy Gordon to make it 135 for 3 in 16. Corns entered at five and lasted until midway through the 19th before he played across to Cheema and was given LBW for 5 to make it 150 for 3. Bhatti entered and was caught on the midwicket boundary first ball to put Cheema on a hat trick.

While wickets were falling at the other end, Timil Patel played the anchor role for USA in the innings, knocking the ball around for singles and taking advantage of loose deliveries when possible to strike seven fours and a six. He brought up his 50 off 40 balls and by the time the innings was done, he finished with 67 not out off 55 balls, the second highest score by a USA batsman in T20 cricket behind Aditya Thyagarajan’s 72 not out against Ireland in Abu Dhabi at the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

Canada made a good start to the chase, taking 32 runs off the first 4.5 overs with Gunasekera and Hiral Patel at the crease. But Canada’s chances of winning were essentially wiped away when the openers were dismissed on consecutive deliveries. Gunasekera was the first to go, hit on the back leg by a skiddy off-spinner from Ganesh to depart for 17. Patel went on the first ball of the sixth over for 10 when he skied a return catch to left-arm spinner Ahmed after an attempted slog to midwicket against the turn went awry. It was part of a wicket maiden by Ahmed who recovered superbly to give up only one run in his last two overs after giving up 12 runs in the opening over of the chase.

Tariq was the next to go for 12 after he slapped a wide delivery from Corns to Ahmed, who made a leaping catch in the covers. Hansra was the next to go for 19, runout after bolting for a single from the non-striker’s end while Daesrath rightly stayed put after hitting a delivery from Corns straight to Ganesh at midwicket. Daesrath departed three balls later for 15 at the start of the 13th as Ahmed made the catch of the week with a brilliant effort running from short cover to the edge of the circle to complete an over the shoulder catch, giving Timil Patel his only wicket of the match and Canada was at 79 for 5 to start the 14th.

Limbada was run out by Ganesh on the very next ball for a diamond duck when he hesitated coming back for a second run. Rehman was on strike and edged a delivery from Patel past the keeper Perkins. Ganesh ran from short fine leg across to short third man to field and it was his hustle that created the confusion. He threw the ball to Perkins with Limbada and Rehman halfway down the pitch, unsure whether to go for the second or return to their respective creases. Both wound up doing neither and Limbada paid for it in the end.

Cheema was dismissed by Bartley for 1 to make it 86 for 7 and two overs later Bartley got his second when he bowled Siddiqui for 3. Bartley claimed wicket number three in the 19th, bowling Osinde for 2 after he missed a slog backing away from the stumps. Adrian Gordon took the final wicket for USA, trapping Jeremy Gordon for 1 to end the match with Canada all out for 116 in 19.4 overs. Bartley had USA’s best figures in the innings with 3 for 14 in three overs. Rehman finished not out on 28 off 23 balls.

According to a press release prior to the Auty Cup, USA’s next scheduled action will be in March at the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. Exact dates and location for the event are yet to be finalized. Meanwhile Canada’s next scheduled action will either be the same ICC Americas tournament or the next round of the Intercontinental Cup in Kenya. However, Kenya’s most recent match in the Intercontinental Cup was moved to Namibia after security concerns denied Kenya the opportunity to host the match and the same fate could occur for their fixture against Canada.

USA Cricket: More spin troubles for USA as Rehman takes 5 for 27 in 4-wicket win for Canada

openingbat — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 02:20:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation

An excellent start was wasted by USA after being sent in to bat as Raza-ur-Rehman wrecked the hosts lineup with an incisive spell of left-arm spin to take 5 for 27, propelling Canada to a victory by four wickets in a 50-over match on Friday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. USA appeared set to post a minimum of 250 after a platform laid by William Perkins and Timothy Surujbally, but the home side went from 94 for 0 to 194 all out before Canada chased the target with 19 balls to spare.

USA made six changes from the lineup that played the two-day Auty Cup match on Wednesday and Thursday. Danial Ahmed, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Naseer Jamali, Andy Mohammed and Japen Patel made way for Barrington Bartley, Neil McGarrell, Mital Patel, Hammad Shahid, Saami Siddiqui and Nicholas Standford. Canada made a pair of changes as Manny Aulakh and Srimantha Wijeyratne sat out in favor of Henry Osinde and Jeremy Gordon.

Perkins and USA captain Steven Taylor opened the batting for USA and took the home side to 34 without loss when Taylor pulled up lame after completing a sharp single midway through the seventh over and had to retire hurt on 14. Surujbally came in and picked up where Taylor left off as he and Perkins cruised along against Canada’s opening pace combo of Osinde and Gordon.

However, the introduction of leg-spinner Junaid Siddiqui halted USA’s momentum, with Surujbally in particular struggling to turn over the strike. As Surujbally struggled for runs at the other end, Perkins took it upon himself to be the aggressor and paid for it with his wicket when he drove uppishly at a full and wide delivery from Rehman and sent a catch to Jimmy Hansra in the covers. Perkins walked off for 46 at 94 for 1 in the 23rd and before long it was clear that USA’s middle order couldn’t handle the pressure that began to be exerted by Siddiqui and Rehman.

Standford lasted eight balls before driving Siddiqui in the air to Rehman at point to register a duck on debut. Karan Ganesh failed to get his feet moving and was struck in front of the stumps by Rehman to be out leg before for 1. Surujbally finally perished for 28 in 54 balls when he played around a full toss from his main tormentor Siddiqui as USA spiraled downward to 100 for 4 in the 25th over.

McGarrell and Timil Patel briefly restored sanity to USA’s innings with a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket. It ended when Canada captain Rizwan Cheema dismissed Patel for 22, the only wicket taken by pace on the day for Canada. Bartley and McGarrell added 35 more for the sixth wicket before McGarrell was bowled by Rehman for 26 to make it 179 for 6 in the 43rd.

Two overs later, Bartley was bowled for 23 to give Rehman his fourth as USA slipped to 186 for 7. Shahid was caught at long on trying to slog Rehman over the ropes but fell for 1 to give Rehman his five-wicket haul. The innings wrapped up three balls into the 50th when Saami Siddiqui and Mital Patel got into a mixup that left Siddiqui run out for 6. With Steven Taylor unable to resume his innings, USA was all out for 194. Rehman’s 5 for 27 included four maidens in his 10 overs while Junaid Siddiqui’s spell was just as debilitating to USA as he finished with 2 for 29 in 10 with two maidens.

Canada had a brief hiccup at the start of their chase when Cheema was caught for 1 thanks to a brilliant tumbling catch by substitute fielder Adil Bhatti running to his right at mid off to give Shahid his maiden wicket at the senior level for USA. Hiral Patel and Ruvindu Gunasekera took the score to 70 in the 16th over before Patel was dismissed. Shahid had dropped him in the previous over off the bowling of McGarrell, but Patel failed to make the most of the reprieve, only lasting three more balls before Ganesh took a spectacular return catch diving to his right in front of Gunasekera at the non-striker’s end to remove Patel for 23.

Rehman’s stellar form with the bat from the two-day match failed to carry over into Friday after he was pinned lbw first-ball to put Ganesh on a hat-trick. Gunasekera fell for a run a ball 40 to Timil Patel thanks to a diving catch running in from long on by sub fielder Adrian Gordon to make it 82 for 4 in the 19th.

Just when it seemed like the tide was turning USA’s way, Usman Limbada thwarted any ambitions of victory by the hosts with an assured innings. Rather than get wrapped up in pressure by spin bowling as USA’s batsmen had, Limbada calmly eased the ball around in tandem with Damodar Daesrath as the two produced a 92-run stand for the fifth wicket. While former West Indies Test spinner McGarrell presented the biggest challenge, neither batsman succumbed to McGarrell during his miserly spell of 0 for 28 in 10 overs.

The stand finally came to an end when Daesrath was run out by Ganesh for 39 with Canada 21 runs away from victory with more than eight overs remaining. Limbada fell in the next over for 64 to Timil Patel as he failed to clear Standford at backward point with an attempted cut to make it 183 for 6.

Canada crawled through the next several overs and entered the 47th still needing eight runs to win. Hamza Tariq then hit the first ball for six and then Hansra hit the fifth ball of the over for another maximum over midwicket to seal the match, spoiling Timil Patel’s figures in the process as he finished with 2 for 49 in 8.5 overs. Ganesh took 2 for 24 in eight overs with his off-spin while medium pacer Shahid finished with 1 for 32 in eight overs with a maiden opening the bowling.

Canada’s tour of the USA concludes on Saturday when the two sides are scheduled to play a pair of Twenty20 matches at the Central Broward Regional Park. A live video stream provided by Cricket Canada in partnership with CBC Sports will be available from 9 a.m. The stream can be viewed at www.cbcsports.ca.

Global CC stings Freedom on last ball six to win inaugural NATS T20

openingbat — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:43:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

Comments

Global CC tail-ender Carlton Crandon smashed a six off the final delivery of the match from Freedom CC’s Dennis Evans to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as Global won the inaugural North American Telugu Society T20 tournament by one wicket under the lights at Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Pic (Right): Global CC team poses with the silver at the post-match ceremony. Carlton Crandon (first from left - seated) hit a sensational last ball six to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The team took home the $3000 winner's purse.

The match seemed all but finished after Global’s big-hitting top order failed to fire. Glen Hall, Oneil Powell and Andrew Gonsalves were all gone by the fifth over. Sean Stanislaus boosted his side with 24 runs at number four, but he was one of three wickets that fell in the 12th over bowled by Evans as Global fell to 84 for 8 in pursuit of 175 to win.

However, Global captain Neil McGarrell and Crandon put on a 71-run stand for the ninth wicket to breathe life back into the chase before McGarrell fell for 32 top-edging a pull with nine balls to go. Rushi Amin joined Crandon at the crease and they took five runs off the next three balls to enter the final over with 15 needed to win. Freedom opted to use the off-spin of Evans, whose first three overs gave up 20 runs.

After a three by Amin put Crandon on strike, the number 10 hit a two to midwicket and then inside edged a three to fine leg to cut the margin down to seven in three balls. A single by Amin put Crandon back on strike and then another two was hit to midwicket so that heading into the last ball, a boundary was needed to win. Crandon then took a full pitched delivery and blasted it over the bowler’s head, clearing the boundary with ease to spark wild celebrations in front of a crowd of about 300 people. The Global players hoisted Crandon into the air and carried him off the field. He finished 47 not out with three fours and two sixes to steal the Man of the Match award away from Freedom’s Carl Wright (pictured right).

Freedom had won the toss and elected to bat first with Wright putting on a scintillating display of clean hitting. He finished with five fours and five sixes in his knock of 79. Wright could have easily scored a century were it not for a severely sprained ankle he suffered late in his innings. After using a runner for a few overs he was caught off the bowling of Kumar Nandlal in the 17th over.

Pic (right): NJ's best field - Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus.

Freedom entered the last over of their innings with five wickets in hand and the score at 170. McGarrell, fresh off his four wickets in four balls at the USACA Twenty20 Nationals, bowled the 20th over and only conceded four runs while taking one wicket and dispatched another batsman with a run out. The stingy final frame in the field proved vital in the end.

The winners will be recognized on Saturday at the NATS American Telugu Sambaralu at the Raritan Convention and Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey. Former Indian Test legend Kapil Dev is also scheduled to be in attendance.

Pictures below:

Vasu Tupakula of NATS T20 presents the trophy to Global Cricket Club. Global also won the DreamCricket.com organized Radiant Info T20 in September of 2010.

Neil McGarrell led from the front, as has become the norm.

USA Cricket 2011 Twenty20 Nationals - Top Performers & All-Tournament XI

openingbat — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:19:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

Comments

The USACA 2011 Twenty20 Nationals that took place in New Jersey from June 18-19 was the final opportunity for players from the eight regional teams to present their case for inclusion in USA’s squad for the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 championship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from July 18-23. The best performers are being recognized by this writer in an All-Tournament Team.

The All-Tournament Team has been determined by the author based on two days of cricket witnessed for entire matches played at Pine Grove Manor Elementary School in Somerset, N.J., on June 18 and Weequahic Park in Newark, N.J., on June 19. Information obtained from sources present for the pair of matches played at Woodbrook Elementary School in Edison, N.J., on June 18 was also used.

When compiling the list, several factors were taken into consideration. First, I took into account 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 two days.

Second, when choices between players with similar stats became close, more weight was given to performances achieved against better opponents. For example, a player who scored runs or took wickets in a match against Atlantic, who won the tournament, was deemed to have turned in a more impressive performance compared to runs or wickets against South East, who finished last.

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. Extra emphasis was given to Man of the Match performances as well as performances under pressure in the death overs.

Finally, I tried to select the best performers regardless of their position in the batting order or bowling specialty. The nature of Twenty20 cricket opens the door for unorthodox strategies, with players shuffling up or down the order depending on the situation of a match so this team will not necessarily follow a traditional squad of specialist openers, middle order batsmen, and a balance of pace and spin bowling.

1. Aditya Mishra, Atlantic – The former Karnataka player enters each USACA tournament with big expectations, but hasn’t always lived up to them. Not this time. Mishra made a huge statement against New York with the second highest score of the event, notching 87 in 49 balls with eight fours and six sixes. He had the second most runs in the tourney with 104 at an average of 34.67 and a strike rate of 144.

2. Gowkaran Roopnarine, Atlantic – Juicy (left in the photo) squeezed more runs out of his bat than anyone else on the weekend, finishing with 193 at an average of 96.50 and a strike rate of 169 on his way to becoming the Tournament MVP. He turned in the highest and third highest innings – 96 vs. North East and 81 not out vs. Central West – and teamed with Adil Bhatti for the two highest partnerships of the event – 97 for the second wicket vs. North East and 92 for the second wicket vs. Central West.

3. Adil Bhatti, Atlantic – While Mishra and Roopnarine stole the headlines at the top of the order for Atlantic, Bhatti was given a big responsibility at number three and delivered for his team. He finished tied for fifth in runs on the weekend, scoring 59 runs at an average of 29.50 with a strike rate of 100. Bhatti played unselfishly for the team in turning over the strike to Roopnarine at every opportunity, but the silky smooth straight drives he hit for six against Central West showed that he could have done more if the occasion called for him to do so. He also took 3 wickets for 62 runs in seven overs of medium pace, including the big scalp of the next man on the list during the tournament title game.

4. Sushil Nadkarni (vice-captain), Central West – Nadkarni captained his team to a runner-up finish in the tournament and was his team’s leading scorer with 65 runs at an average of 21.67 and a strike rate of 180. While he didn’t convert his starts into big scores – innings of 17, 24 and 24 – his devastating presence was evident in the fact that he hit eight sixes on the weekend, second only to Roopnarine’s 14 maximums.

5. Timmy Thomas, North East – Thomas led North East with 59 runs at an average of 29.50 and a strike rate of 178. He nearly put his team past the eventual tournament champions with 30 against Atlantic before turning in a Man of the Match effort against South East by scoring 29 and taking three wickets with his off-spin.

6. Syed Fareed Ahmad, North West – Ahmad made waves in the NCCA 4th of July tournament auction, fetching the highest bid for any player, and he justified that hoopla with his Man of the Match performance against South West. Ahmad clubbed 40 not out in 20 balls before taking 2 for 24 with his off-spin to seal a six-run win. Ahmad had similar batting and bowling stats to teammate Sunny Singh, but edged him out for a spot in the All-Tournament Team based on his impact in a team win.

7. Akeem Dodson (wicketkeeper), New York – The winner of the tournament’s Best Young Player (Under-25) award, Dodson was the third highest scorer in the event and leading scorer for New York with 73 at the same average and a strike rate of 137. He fell one short of a deserved half-century against Atlantic and also had a hand in four dismissals plus a run out from behind the stumps.

8. Usman Shuja, Central West – While his teammate Shail Bhatt was the leading wicket-taker, Shuja (pictured left, courtesy ICC) was in a class by himself among bowlers on the weekend. He turned in a spell of 3 for 1 in three overs against South West, producing two of the three maidens bowled by any player on the weekend. Overall, he finished with 6 wickets for 33 runs in 9 overs, taking his wickets at a phenomenal average of 5.50 and his 3.67 economy rate was far and away the best for any bowler in the event.

9. Neil McGarrell (captain), Atlantic – With a spot in the championship match on the line, McGarrell held his nerve after giving up back-to-back sixes by taking four wickets in four balls to bowl his team to victory over New York, snatching a Man of the Match award away from Aditya Mishra in the process. Overall, the left-arm spinner finished tied for third in the event with 5 for 49 in nine overs, taking his wickets at an average of 9.80 and building pressure with a 5.44 economy.

10. Shail Bhatt, Central West – The off-spinner took the most wickets in the event with eight, including the only five-wicket haul of the weekend with 6 for 24 against South West to claim a Man of the Match award in a losing cause. Bhatt (pictured right) wasn’t afraid to toss the ball up, which meant he was slightly expensive, finishing with a 10.63 economy rate. However, his strike rate was 6.00 so if the captain tossed him the ball, there was a fairly good chance he was going to make a breakthrough.

11. Samarth Shah, North West – The tall and lanky left-arm spinner from Seattle bowled a crucial spell late against South West. With 13 needed to win off the last over, he gave up six runs and claimed his fourth wicket to secure a win for his team. He finished with five wickets overall, tying McGarrell for third on the leaderboard and had an identical average and economy of 7.80.

12th Man: Saminda Siriwardena, Central East – The 21-year-old opener was the most aesthetically pleasing batsman on the weekend. He scored 57 runs at an average of 28.50 and a strike rate of 118. Siriwardena’s 42 in a win over North West earned him Man of the Match honors and his team benefitted from half-century partnerships for the first wicket both times he went out to bat. There’s a logjam of talented openers who were on display in this tournament, but if he keeps at it he may get his chance in the national team in another year or two.

13th Man: Asif Khan, Central East – The left-arm spinner showed off his guile to have three men stumped in a mouthwatering spell against North West. Khan was one of seven bowlers tied for fifth with four wickets, but he bested the other six players on style points. Khan’s wickets were taken at an average of 11 with a solid economy rate of 7.33 runs per over.

14th Man: Naseer Islam, Atlantic – Islam bowled a crucial spell of cutters late against New York, taking 2 for 14, before McGarrell stole the show in the final over. Islam was one of the seven tied for fifth with four wickets, taking them at an average of 18.50. In nine overs, he had a respectable economy rate of 8.22 and could be counted upon for some lusty late hitting on the batting side.

Top 5 Players in Contention for Selection to USA Senior Team

1. Gowkaran Roopnarine – He’s been selected for USA multiple times in the past, including the 2005 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland, the 2006 ICC Americas Division One in Canada, ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey in 2008 and the 2008 WICB Cup, all with mixed results. Based on this weekend’s form, it would be criminally negligent not to give the 29-year-old another chance.
2. Aditya Mishra – A player of his pedigree is hard to ignore and he will have gained a tremendous amount of confidence from Sunday’s knock against New York. In his pair of appearances last year in a USA uniform against Jamaica, he looked tense and got out cheaply. If Mishra can be as relaxed against Canada as he was against New York, he will be a major asset to the national team next month in Florida.
3. Akeem Dodson – While Roopnarine played as a specialist batsman this weekend, both he and Dodson are capable wicketkeepers. The top three in this list also demonstrated that Lennox Cush, Carl Wright and Rashard Marshall, none of whom participated in this tournament, are expendable. After a couple of frustrating performances in recent USACA tournaments, Dodson showed newfound maturity in his batting and at 23, can grow into a role as the national team keeper.
4. Neil McGarrell – Just like last time, this depends on eligibility. Despite being 38, he plays with the energy and determination of someone half his age. An asset for his tactical acumen, his bowling, his fielding and the example he sets for others with his overall professionalism, if he’s available and qualifies on residency then he should be selected.
5. Timroy Allen – No one’s stock soared more from not playing this weekend than Allen. The all-rounder was available to play after fully recovering from a back injury sustained in Italy last August, but was not selected for the South East Region team allegedly due to regional politics. They missed him badly and finished last. Allen took the most wickets for USA in Twenty20 matches in 2010 with 12 in nine games. Outside of Shuja, the fast bowling performances were lamentable across the board this weekend so getting Allen back into a USA uniform is a high priority.

Most Wickets
1.S. Bhatt, Central West, RA off-spin – 8 for 85 in 8 overs
2. U. Shuja, Central West, RA fast-medium – 6 for 33 in 9 overs with 2 maidens
T3. S. Shah, North West, LA orthodox spin – 5 for 39 in 5 overs
T3. N. McGarrell, Atlantic, LA orthodox spin – 5 for 49 in 9 overs
T5. B. George, South East, LA orthodox spin – 4 for 14 in 3 overs
T5. J. Rasheed, Atlantic, RA off-spin – 4 for 31 in 5 overs
T5. B. Murphy, New York, RA leg-spin – 4 for 35 in 6 overs
T5. S. Singh, North West, RA off-spin – 4 for 40 in 5 overs
T5. A. Khan, Central East, LA orthodox spin – 4 for 44 in 6 overs
T5. A. Syed, Central East, RA off-spin – 4 for 44 in 6 overs
T5. N. Islam, Atlantic, RA medium – 4 for 74 in 9 overs

Five-Wicket Hauls
S. Bhatt, Central West – 6 for 24 vs. South West

Most Runs
1.G. Roopnarine, Atlantic – 193 runs, 96.50 AVG, S/R 169, two 50s
2. A. Mishra, Atlantic – 104 runs, 34.67 AVG, S/R 144, one 50
3. A. Dodson, New York – 73 runs, 73.00 AVG, S/R 137
4. S. Nadkarni, Central West – 65 runs, 21.67 AVG, S/R 180
T5. A Bhatti, Atlantic – 59 runs, 29.50 AVG, S/R 100
T5. T. Thomas, North East – 59 runs, 29.50 AVG, S/R 163
7. S. Siriwardena, Central East – 57 runs, 28.50 AVG, S/R 118
8. Q. Alfred, New York – 50 runs, 25.00 AVG, S/R 166
9. S. Singh, North West – 48 runs, 24.00 AVG, S/R 114
10. R Kukreti, Central West – 46 runs, 15.33 AVG, S/R 127

Half-centuries
G. Roopnarine, Atlantic – 96 vs. North East; 81 not out vs. Central West
A. Mishra, Atlantic – 87 vs. New York

Complete Match Scorecards [USA score repository made possible by a grant from the New Inning Foundation.]

Central West vs. South West
Central East vs. North West
North West vs. South West
Atlantic vs. North East
New York vs. South East
North East vs. South East
Central East vs. Central West
Atlantic vs. New York
Atlantic vs. Central West

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author. These are not the official views of USACA or its selectors.]

USA Cricket: 2011 Twenty20 Nationals Preview Part 1

openingbat — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:16:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

The first ever USACA Twenty20 Nationals takes place this weekend in Newark, New Jersey. The following is a brief look at half of the teams scheduled to compete in the tournament.

Atlantic – Atlantic had a strong showing in the USACA Senior Nationals event last year, falling short of the 50-over title after they lost on the second day to North West, a match that was cut short due to bad light.

The host region will once again be captained by former West Indies Test player Neil McGarrell (pictured right). Aditya Mishra, who played two Twenty20s for USA against Jamaica in Florida last year, is the vice-captain. Four other players on the roster have represented USA at the senior level – Naseer Islam, Muhammad Ghous, Gowkaran Roopnarine and Imran Awan – while former West Indies speedster Jermaine Lawson will ply his trade with the region for the second straight year.

The most notable addition to this year’s team is Stuart Mills, a former first-class cricketer from New Zealand who played for the New York Region last year. Mills was one of three wicketkeepers in the New York squad, but will now have a chance to stake his claim as first choice gloveman for his new team.

Atlantic squad – Neil McGarrell (captain), Aditya Mishra (vice captain), Imran Awan, Adil Bhatti, Muhammad Ghous, Naseer Islam, Jermaine Lawson, Siddharth Mehta, Stuart Mills, Junaid Rasheed, Gowkaran Roopnarine, Damaine Sangster, Charan Singh, Sean Stanislaus.

Central East – The region that finished as national runner-up in 2009 crashed back down to earth at the USACA Western Conference in 2010 as Usman Shuja and Amit Kumar were no longer part of the squad. However, they still possess a fair amount of talent to be competitive and will look to bounce back in this year’s Twenty20 tournament.

Former USA wicketkeeper Ashhar Mehdi will captain the squad while Akhil Pathan (pictured left) serves as vice-captain. Medium-pacer Pathan performed very well in 2009 with a pair of five-wicket hauls and had a strong showing at USACA trials in November that year but was passed over by selectors. A solid weekend in New Jersey could make him a darkhorse to make the short list of candidates for USA’s squad at the ICC Americas T20 next month in Florida.

Mehdi and Pathan are joined by left-arm orthodox spinner Asif Khan, who was one of the few bright spots on USA’s tour to Hong Kong in January. Young talents Fahad Babar and Saminda Siriwardena will be responsible for getting Central East off to a good start at the top of the batting order.

Central East squad – Ashhar Mehdi (captain), Akhil Pathan (vice-captain), Adnan Ali, Fahad Babar, Praveen Bangara, Asif Mehmood Khan, Hansraj Meena, Darshan Patel, Syed Fawad Raza, Venugopal Reddy, Manpreet Singh, Kamran Syed, Saminda Siriwardena, Syed Airaj Wahan.

North West – The reigning national champions in 50-over cricket will be looking to sustain that form in Twenty20 cricket for 2011. However, they’ll have to do it without leading scorer James Crosthwaite, who is rumored to have returned to live in Australia after less than a year on the US domestic scene. Also missing from the squad is the twin leg-spin duo of Saurabh Verma and Saqib Saleem, who represented USA at the senior and junior levels respectively in 2010.

The team is captained once again by wicketkeeper Nauman Mustafa (pictured right) who turns 37 in August but despite his age is still looking to force his way into the USA squad and has been one of the most consistent performers in domestic tournaments over the last few years. Vijay Beniwal from Microsoft Cricket Club in Seattle is the team’s vice-captain.

Batsman Rishi Bhardwaj and all-rounder Shantanu Divekar joined Mustafa and Crosthwaite on DreamCricket.com’s All-Tournament Team at the 2010 Senior Nationals and they will be back to provide a solid foundation for success. Other key players include Arjun Thyagarajan, Samarth Shah, Srinivasa Santhanam and Syed Fareed Ahmad, who fetched the highest bid for any player at the recently concluded IPL-style auction for the NCCA 4th of July Twenty20 tournament.

North West squad – Nauman Mustafa (captain), Vijay Beniwal (vice-captain), Syed Fareed Ahmad, Rishi Bhardwaj, Shantanu Divekar, Naseer Jamali, Santosh Leslani, Nilesh Rane, Srinivasa Santhanam, Samarth Shah, Ashok Singh, Sunny Singh, Srikanth Sundaragopalan, Arjun Thyagarajan.

South West – The region has been hit hard by injuries and by finances relating to this tournament, but is still turning out to give it their best shot. National players Aditya Thyagarajan and Ritesh Kadu are missing due to injury. According to a source, three other players will not be coming to New Jersey despite being selected because the cost of flying from Los Angeles to Newark on short notice was prohibitive. Instead of a 14-man squad, South West will only be sending 12 and it is also believed they will be traveling without a coach or manager due to budget reasons.

However, the 12 are a very promising bunch and could still contend for the title. They will be captained by Mehul Dave, quietly one of the top performers in domestic cricket in the last few years. Ravi Timbawala will keep wicket in place of Kadu.

Former first-class Ranji Trophy players Amit Sood and leg-spinner Timil Patel are back for the second year in a row. Fast bowlers Elmore Hutchinson and Hammad Shahid form a potent pace attack. They’re joined by the leading wicket-taker in USACA tournaments for 2010, off-spinner Abhimanyu Rajp (pictured left).

South West squad – Mehul Dave (captain), Nitesh Anandan, Elmore Hutchinson, Timil Patel, David Pieters, Abhimanyu Rajp, Hammad Shahid, Ricky Singh, Amit Sood, Marcus Stewart, Ravi Timbawala, Peshan Wedanarachchi

USA Cricket: Player eligibility status needs to be more transparent

openingbat — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:12:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

In the last few months, the selection process for USA’s senior and U-19 teams has been put under the microscope for a litany of reasons. Much discussion was made on the comment section of this web site regarding the fact that none of the players from the North West Region senior team were invited to the 18-man selection camp for the tour to Hong Kong for ICC World Cricket League Division Three.

Atlantic Region captain Neil McGarrell was invited to the camp and was included in the 14-man roster submitted by USACA to the ICC. However, he was ruled ineligible for the Hong Kong tournament based on the fact that he did not meet residency requirements. Specifically, he did not fulfill 183 days of residency for four consecutive years prior to the date of the tournament.

Image right: Neil McGarrell was selected in USA's squad for ICC WCL Division Three, but later found to be ineligible. [File photo]

Last week, more consternation was made over the realization that both age and residency status restrictions were causing players to be removed from consideration for the USA U-19 selection camp that will take place later this month. According to Krish Prasad, chairman of USACA’s Cricket Committee, at least six to eight players were taken off a list of potential selections because they were found to be ineligible.

The problem isn’t so much that players who selectors may have wanted to pick for either the senior or U-19 teams were found to be ineligible. It’s that the selectors and/or USACA only came to the realization just days before they were trying to finalize a list of players to bring to Florida or send to the ICC. To be fair, the problem is not limited to USACA.

Cricket South Africa got itself into a bind last January when Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir was named in a 15-man squad for the fourth Test against England. However, he was withdrawn a day later when it was discovered Tahir was ineligible to play for South Africa based on residency requirements. He was forced to wait out all of 2010 before he was recently named in South Africa’s 14-man squad for the upcoming five-match ODI series against India.

While Tahir was ineligible to represent South Africa, he was free to play domestic cricket in South Africa. The same is true for players from other countries who must wait out their time before qualifying. Irishman Eoin Morgan played county cricket for Middlesex while he waited to qualify to play for England. South African Kevin Pietersen had to go through residency qualification playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire before playing cricket for England.

Likewise in USACA tournaments, if players are not eligible to play for USA that does not mean they should be prevented from playing for a regional team. It is helpful to selectors if they have a historical record of four years or more of a player participating in USACA domestic tournaments to know what they are capable of producing for the day when said player becomes eligible. In fact, one of the ICC’s other requirements for Associate players once they’ve reached four years of residency in order to be eligible is that they must have played 50% of games in national competition in any three of the preceding five years. However, there are several adjustments that USACA needs to make in order to promote and encourage players who are eligible right now.

ICC guidelines state that for Associate teams, a minimum of nine players in a playing XI must be classified as “nationals” – born in the country, citizens of the country, or permanent residents who have lived in the country for a minimum of 183 days in the seven years preceding a tournament. A maximum of two players are allowed to play under “deemed national” classification – a resident in the country for a minimum of 183 days in the four years preceding a tournament. In women's cricket, the rule for deemed nationals is residency for a minimum of 183 days in the previous two years and not four.

Right now, guidelines on USACA’s web site state that regional teams can consist of a minimum of five nationals, a maximum of four deemed nationals, and a maximum of two “open” status players – basically anyone who has been in the USA for at least one day but does not meet deemed national or national classification and is therefore ineligible to play for USA. Under this setup, the possibility exists for non-citizens to outnumber citizens in a starting XI for a regional team playing in a USACA tournament. Under the same premise, it means that in a regional team’s starting XI, as few as seven players could be eligible to play for USA at any given time – five nationals, two out of the four deemed nationals under ICC rules and none of the open status players.

Generally, rules are much more stringent in other countries starting from the lower levels on up. For example, according to the Playing Conditions for Sydney Grade Cricket in Australia, clubs are allowed a maximum of one overseas player in the 1st Grade starting XI and a maximum of three overseas players registered with the club at any given time for participation in any other XIs a club may have. This guarantees that citizens are encouraged to develop and get as many opportunities as possible while allowing for an overseas player to get local experience. At the same time, the overseas player can share his foreign knowledge with the local members.

The key word in that last paragraph is registered. When information about a player’s date of birth, residency and eligibility status is taken in at club level, it can then be relayed to the regional and national administration. At the moment, it is doubtful that most clubs or leagues in the USA care to register and process this kind of information, only for the blame to be placed on USACA later on. The only thing that most leagues take into account is that no new player can play his first match for a team past a certain cutoff date or that a minimum number of matches must be played by a player to be eligible for the league playoffs. They do not care to process information in regards to who is eligible for regional or national consideration.

I have personally experienced playing in matches in this country where fake names were used for players at the ground, and seen names of players appearing on web site scorecards who were never actually at the match, presumably done in an attempt to make sure certain players qualify to play in the league playoffs. This kind of sloppiness is unacceptable but it is often encouraged by people who are just looking to play for selfish reasons and have no vision of a proper future for cricket in this country. As a result, it leads to a guessing game later on when teams are picked to play for the region and the country: who is and who isn’t eligible?

It seems absurd that for a domestic tournament, a regional team could have non-citizens outnumber citizens in the starting lineup. In order to encourage more players to develop locally, more eligible players need to be given opportunities to play and that means more citizens too. The current 5-4-2 configuration for nationals, deemed nationals and open status players should be halved on the non-citizen front.

The resulting 8-2-1 configuration would achieve three things. First, an 8-2-1 configuration would be more closely aligned to the ICC’s 9-2-0 configuration for Associate teams. Second, it would allow for more citizens and thus more eligible players to play instead of being shut out. Third, by still allowing one open status or overseas player to be involved, a player who may potentially become eligible to play for USA down the line can get his feet wet by adjusting to domestic tournaments and give selectors something to mark down for future reference. An elite level overseas player would also help to raise the standard of play of his teammates.

Another part of this is making the eligibility status more transparent to stakeholders. Perhaps the one player from the 2010 North West Region senior team who should have been a slam dunk selection for the USA senior team based on merit was James Crosthwaite. He was the leading run-scorer in USACA tournaments this year. However, what many fans may not have been aware of is that the Australian-born Crosthwaite was an open status player who has been living in the USA for less than a year. He won’t be eligible to play for USA until 2013 at the earliest, and that’s if he keeps living here.

Should Crosthwaite have been allowed to participate in USACA tournaments this year? Absolutely. He helped North West win the national championship. His teammates, especially the younger players, probably picked up a few tips from him on how to better approach batting. However, if the North West roster was overpopulated with players like him who are currently ineligible to play for USA, that would do more harm than good as too many players would be held back from developing.

As for the confusion about the age restrictions regarding the U-19 players, this has happened as a result of a quirk in the ICC’s scheduling of events. Players who participated from regional teams in U-19 Eastern and Western Conference tournaments this year like Andy Mohammed and Zulkifl Nana were eligible to play for tournaments in 2010, but not in 2011.

The 2009 ICC Americas U-19 Division One was played in July in Canada with the USACA U-19 National Tournament played two months prior in May as a selection tool. This year’s ICC Americas U-19 was pushed back five months from the 2009 edition. As a result, U-19 players who were eligible as recently as December when the Junior Nationals were scheduled wouldn’t be eligible to play in ICC events for 2011 or 2012.

Things will get even more confusing when the qualification cycle for the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup begins. The ICC has declared that all regional qualifiers must be played by December 31, 2012. In that case, a scenario could happen where players who are eligible to play in a domestic USACA U-19 tournament in 2012 would not be allowed to play in the 2012 ICC Americas U-19 qualifier due to the rule stating that only players eligible to play in the 2014 U-19 World Cup (or any future U-19 World Cup) are eligible to participate in any corresponding qualifying tournaments. It’s up to USACA whether or not they want to allow 19-year-olds to play in their domestic U-19 events for 2012, even though they’ll be 21 in 2014 and thus ineligible to be picked for USA’s U-19 team for ICC events in the 2012-2014 cycle. A 19-year old would be eligible to play in the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup, but not the 2012 ICC Americas U-19 event later that same calendar year.

All of these things mentioned here need to be made transparent. The greatest transparency though needs to be made in terms of evaluating residency status. It is a serious consideration for USACA because of the unique structure of cricket in this country.

In USA’s 14-man squad for Hong Kong, there are zero American-born players. In USA’s 15-man squad at the 2010 U-19 World Cup, seven players, or less than 50%, were American-born. In the USA women’s team that won the Americas championship in Canada last July, there was one American-born player out of the squad of 14.

As long as expatriates and first-generation immigrants are relied upon to sustain cricket at all levels instead of a proper grassroots development system, more transparency will be needed in terms of eligibility in order to avoid last minute chaos and confusion regarding selection. The focus should be on evaluating who is good rather than wasting time trying to figure out who is eligible.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author.]