USA Cricketer : Nepal cricket

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: Taylor's 97 delivers 30-run consolation win over Bermuda at 2013 WCL Division Three

openingbat — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:12:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in 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 opener Steven Taylor top scored with 97 as USA achieved a 30-run win over Bermuda in the third place playoff match at St. David’s Cricket Club in Bermuda on Sunday at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. Taylor was named Man of the Match for his knock and finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 274 runs in six games, 82 runs ahead of the next man on the list, Italy’s Peter Petricola with 192.

“If we could have done it yesterday that would have been really sweet,” USA coach Thiru Kumaran said after the match. “The thing about today’s match is if we win this it’s not really important but if you lose you go back really, really sad. So it was really important to win this game and guys played really well. They understood what they did wrong yesterday. They played a really good game today.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat making two changes to the side that lost on Saturday to Bermuda at the National Stadium. Danial Ahmed and Naseer Jamali both got their first games of the tournament in place of Rashard Marshall and the injured Neil McGarrell. Sushil Nadkarni also stayed out with a pinched nerve that has been causing numbness in his left leg. Meanwhile, two of Bermuda’s heroes from Saturday, Man of the Match Christopher Douglas and captain Stephen Outerbridge, sat out along with Lionel Cann in favor of Greg Maybury, Jason Anderson and Curt Stovell with Rodney Trott serving as the stand-in captain.

USA got off to a slow start initially with two wickets falling inside the first four overs. Akeem Dodson opened with Taylor but only lasted nine balls before he was caught for 4 flicking a full toss from the off-spin of Stovell to Tre Manders at deep square leg. Steve Massiah was caught behind for a golden duck after edging an attempted cut off Janeiro Tucker’s medium pace to make it back-to-back ducks against Bermuda for USA’s captain as the tourists slipped to 15 for 2.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor goes to sweep early in his innings of 97 vs. Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Taylor was joined by Orlando Baker and the pair produced USA’s largest partnership of the tournament, 156 runs for the third wicket. Taylor had earlier offered a chance on 5 and produced another one on 9, both driving to the catching fielder at short extra cover, but Taylor moved on in quick fashion to punish Bermuda’s bowlers early and often through the off side. He brought up his 50 in 48 balls with his seventh boundary, smashed through the covers in the 18th over which ended with USA on 89 for 2. The partnership ended with Taylor one shot away from his second century of the tournament when he pushed Stovell softly to Rodney Trott at cover in the circle to make it 171 for 3 in the 32nd.

“Steven, he got to a brilliant start in this tournament, 160 [sic 162 vs. Nepal],” Kumaran said. “He hit every ball that was there for him to hit, but the wickets didn’t play well. He continued playing the same game but he didn’t adapt to the different wickets. So today I think, after we spoke to him so many times, today I think he adapted to the wicket. He settled himself in. He paced his innings beautifully. After the innings, I spoke with him. This is how most of your innings will be. One in ten will be the kind of 160 [sic 162] he scored against Nepal. So hopefully he learns from this experience and can give us a consistent run all the time.”

Timroy Allen entered at five as USA approached the batting power play looking for a boost, particularly with Marshall not in the lineup, but he only managed 4 when he was bowled by Treadwell Gibbons after missing a swipe across the line to make it 193 for 4 in the 37th. Baker was out in the following over for 72, giving a return catch to Stovell, but not before becoming the third batsman to pass 1,000 runs in 50-over cricket for USA.

Image (left) - Orlando Baker runs between the wickets for USA. On Sunday, Baker joined Steve Massiah and Sushil Nadkarni as the only three USA players to score 1000 runs in 50-over cricket. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Stovell claimed his fourth when Barrington Bartley was bowled for 1 to make it 199 for 6 in the 40th. USA managed to score just 12 runs for the loss of three wickets during their five-over batting power play between the 35th and 40th overs.

Elmore Hutchinson and Japen Patel got things back on track for USA with a 62-run partnership for the seventh wicket to take USA to a defendable total. It included 18 runs plundered off Tucker in the 48th over, including a six by Hutchinson over long off that nearly struck a man on a moped as he was driving out of the parking lot at the ground. Patel was dismissed with four balls to go in the innings for 34, slicing an edge to Jacobi Robinson at short third man for 34. Muhammad Ghous and Hutchinson each took a boundary and a single off the final four balls to take USA to their final total of 271 for 7. Stovell finished with 4 for 38 for Bermuda’s best figures on the day.

On Saturday, Douglas toyed with USA’s bowling unit while opening the innings for Bermuda but Stovell experienced something entirely different in his place at the top of the order, trapped LBW by Jamali on the first ball of the chase. His fellow opener Gibbons made 5 before he was bowled by Hutchinson going for a slog over midwicket to make it 22 for 2 in the sixth. Manders became the first scalp for Ghous on the day, edging to Massiah at slip for 18 to make it 44 for 3 in the 12th.

Bermuda had their first solid partnership of the day forged by Anderson and David Hemp as the two experienced batsmen added 57 for the fourth wicket. Hemp looked set for a long stay but he was bowled for 45 by Allen’s off-spin when he could not keep out a full length delivery to make it 101 for 4 in the 26th. Anderson went two overs later, caught for 30 by Dodson running out from behind the stumps after a bat pad chance ballooned into the air toward square leg.

Bermuda still had plenty of fight left though as Malachi Jones and Tucker added 61 for the sixth wicket in just 8.4 overs. Each man took on USA’s spinners, belting Allen and Bartley out of the attack before taking Hutchinson for 11 runs in the 36th over at the start of the power play. It was left to Ghous to break the stand, pinning Jones for 29 with a ball that kept low to make it 171 for 6 in the 37th. Ghous also claimed Tucker for 34 to end the 39th when the batsmen was bowled while backing away from the stumps trying to clear the off side field.

Hutchinson claimed Trott for 2 to make it 182 for 8 in the 40th. Yet Bermuda still refused to give in as Robinson entered at number nine and attacked Bartley for 18 in the 42nd. After being dropped off a skied chance to mid on earlier in the over, Robinson made USA pay with back-to-back sixes slogged over the leg side. His luck ran out when he gave Ghous the charge in the following over and was stumped for 31. The match ended in the 49th when Taylor’s off spin claimed Delray Rawlins LBW for 9 as Bermuda was bowled out for 241 in 48.4 overs. Ghous fell just short of his first five-wicket haul for USA at the senior level, taking 4 for 43 in his 10 overs to lead USA in the field.

In the 2013 WCL Division Three Championship match at the National Stadium in Hamilton, Nepal got revenge over Uganda in their rematch from the second day of the tournament, beating them by five wickets to claim the tournament title. Uganda won the toss and batted but could only muster 151 for 8 with Deusdedit Muhumuza’s 28 finishing as the top score. In response, Nepal tumbled to 30 for 3 but opener Pradeep Airee weathered the early storm to score 60 and put on 77 in partnership with Sharad Vesawkar for the fourth wicket. Vesawkar saw his side over the line with 50 not out as Nepal chased the target in 39.2 overs.

Oman ensured that Italy finished the tournament winless with a five-wicket win over the European side at Somerset Cricket Club in the fifth place playoff. Italy won the toss and batted first, posting 207. Captain Alessandro Bonora scored 42 while Oman speedster Munis Ansari took 4 for 72 and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker after claiming 16 scalps in six matches. Oman completed their chase in 44.5 overs with Zeeshan Siddiqui making 64 to lead the way. Italy looked like they might pull off their first win with Oman at 148 for 5 in the 36th over, but Amir Ali and Sultan Ahmed added 60 in an unbeaten sixth wicket stand as Ali finished 42 not out in 39 balls.

Nepal and Uganda will now advance to the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. USA’s next tour will take place in July when they head to Edmonton, Alberta for the 2013 Auty Cup. However, USA’s next 50-over tournament in ICC competition may not be until 2015 when the next Division Three is anticipated to take place.

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: Taylor's 162 paves way for 94-run win over Nepal at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three

openingbat — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:35:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in 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

Teenage wicketkeeper-batsman Steven Taylor’s sterling knock of 162 in 102 balls opening the innings set the tone for the rest of the match as USA’s total of 366 for 6 was more than enough to defend on the way to a 92-run win over Nepal at Somerset Cricket Club on Sunday at the 2013 ICC WCL Division Three tournament in Bermuda. Taylor was named Man of the Match and made Nepal pay dearly for sending USA in to bat after winning the toss on a pristine batting surface.

“When Steve [Massiah] came back and told us we were batting first I assumed we had won the toss,” USA vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said after the game. “But he told us that Nepal had put us in and I was a little surprised to hear that. We were looking to bat first anyways. The only reason I can think of is maybe the ground as we know is a little small and you never know what total might be enough here.”

“Because the size of the ground, it’s a 50 yard ground, you just didn’t know what total was good enough on this ground,” Nepal captain Paras Khadka said. “So looking at the size of the ground, that made us field first because 50 yard boundaries you really didn’t know what would be a good score so that’s the reason why we fielded first.”

Before play began, the USA squad met with the US Consul General to Bermuda, Robert Settje, and his wife who were attending their very first cricket match. The two teams then held a minute of silence before taking the field at the request of the USA national team for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. USA also wore black pins on their shirt sleeves in remembrance of the victims.

Orlando Baker opened the batting with Taylor and the pair established a new record stand for any wicket for USA against Nepal with a 125-run partnership across 17.2 overs. The previous best was an 89-run fourth wicket stand between Sushil Nadkarni and Steve Massiah last September at ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia. Baker did an excellent job of blunting the new ball, hitting only three scoring shots in the first 24 deliveries he faced as he and Taylor coasted to 28 after seven overs. It was in the eighth over that USA exploded for 18 runs and from then on rarely took their foot off the gas pedal. Taylor started off the frame against Sanjam Regmi with a six over extra cover followed by a three that included a pair of overthrows. Baker then struck back-to-back fours as USA’s bench came alive sensing they were gaining momentum.

Image (above) - Steven Taylor completes a square drive during his knock of 162 against Nepal at Somerset CC in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Taylor brought up his 50 in just 32 balls with his fourth six, struck straight down the ground off Sanjam Regmi, who went for 53 in his first five overs. The pair brought up USA’s 100 in the 16th over when Taylor cut Basant Regmi through point and then immediately followed the milestone with a six over cover. Baker got out eight balls after the first drinks break when he tried to flick Basant across the line and was bowled for 37.

Massiah joined Taylor and the USA captain was at the crease when Taylor brought up triple figures in the 23rd over off just 61 balls with his seventh four through the covers to go along with eight sixes at that stage. The pair added 31 for the second wicket before Massiah was run out for 11. The USA captain cut a ball to Amrit Bhattarai at point off Basant Regmi that was misfielded and Taylor attempted a run. Bhattarai recovered and threw to Basant, who initially dislodged the bails at the non-striker’s end without the ball in his hand. With both batsmen at the striker’s end, Massiah chose to sacrifice himself ahead of Basant pulling a stump out of the ground with the ball pressed against it to complete the run out.

Nadkarni and Taylor got things moving quickly again and after 30 overs, the score was 211 for 2 as USA sensed a chance to potentially break their all-time best score in limited overs cricket set against East & Central Africa at the 1990 ICC Trophy with a score of 404 for 9. Nadkarni’s USA record of 197 was also in danger of going down as Taylor brought up his 150 with his 10th boundary to end the 32nd. He was finally dismissed two balls into the 35th over by Sanjam Regmi, caught at point by Basant to make it 234 for 3.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor raises his bat after reached his century off 61 balls. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA went through an extended sputter for the next six overs as three more wickets fell to give Nepal some hope that they might restrict USA to under 300. Rashard Marshall fell for 5, caught behind off Basant to make it 243 for 4. Barrington Bartley was bowled slogging across the line for 13 to make it 270 for 5 in the 40th. Nadkarni fell three balls later at the start of the 41st, given LBW for 28 to a ball that kept low from Bhattarai to make it 273 for 6.

Nepal couldn’t sustain the pressure though as Timroy Allen and Neil McGarrell produced a 93-run unbroken seventh wicket stand to erase all doubts about whether or not Nepal would have a chance in the second innings. Allen was particularly brutal to the Nepal attack, finishing with 67 not out off 34 balls. The pair scored 19 in the 45th over and then Allen capped off the innings by taking 21 off Bhattarai in the 50th including pairs of fours and sixes.

Basant Regmi was the only bowler to come away from the innings with his reputation still intact, taking 2 for 46 in 10. Shakti Gauchan took the brunt of USA’s batting assault as the usually economical left-arm spinner went for nine per over, finishing with 1 for 81 in nine.

“We still thought that anything like 300 to 320 or 330 was chaseable,” Khadka said. “Maybe we gave 40-50 runs extra. We believed that if it was 320-330, we believed that we would have chased that down. Unfortunately, even in the end we didn’t bowl well in the last five overs so that took the game away and Taylor played exceptionally well. When a guy gets 162 in a 50-over game you can’t do many things.”

In the field, it was Elmore Hutchinson who took the new ball and put pressure immediately onto Nepal’s batsmen, beginning with a wicket maiden in the second over that claimed Anil Mandal for a duck. In the eighth over, he bounced out Khakurel for 23 as a top edged hook came down into Taylor’s hands to make it 29 for 2.

Nepal’s best chance at coming close to chasing down the target was a lengthy partnership between Gyanendra Malla and Khadka. However, Malla was run out for 9 to start the 13th over when Khadka failed to respond to a call for a run to short fine leg. Hutchinson fielded and threw to Baker over the non-striker’s stumps before Malla could get back as Nepal slipped to 56 for 3.

Khadka did his best to make amends by top scoring with 73 off 64 balls but the first innings hole was too big to dig his side out of. Binod Bhandari was the next man out for 4, bowled by McGarrell trying to play a Dilscoop. Pradeep Airee was dropped two balls later on zero by Taylor behind the stumps, but McGarrell was still able to claim him for 14, trapped LBW to make it 106 for 5 in the 24th.

Bartley’s five-over spell was an expensive one, claiming 47 runs, but he notched the prize wicket of Khadka, caught behind trying to cut a ball that had a little extra bounce to make it 175 for 6 in the 32nd. Muhammad Ghous was finally rewarded with his first wicket in the 37th. Ghous dismissed Basant Regmi, caught at midwicket by Massiah for 7, before he removed Vesawkar for 72 to make it 228 for 8.

A small consolation for Nepal was a 44-run ninth wicket stand between Gauchan and Sanjam Regmi which may become important later in the week should Nepal finish tied with any other team for one of the top two spots as net run rate will be the tiebreaker. The stand was finally broken when Sanjam was runout four balls into the final over for 14. Gauchan fell one ball later for 39 thanks to a diving catch by Baker off McGarrell as Nepal was bowled out for 272.

Ghous bowled a superb spell, conceding 19 runs in his final eight overs to finish with 2 for 36 in 10. Hutchinson eventually finished with 2 for 25 after his first five-over spell went for just 10 runs while McGarrell had USA’s best haul on the day with 3 for 42 in 9.5 overs.

In the day’s other matches, Oman bowled out Italy for 110 in 38.2 overs before chasing the total with 20.5 overs to spare for the loss of three wickets at St. David’s CC. Left-arm orthodox spinner Aamir Kaleem was named Man of the Match after taking 4 for 15 in his eight-over spell to wipe out Italy’s middle order. Uganda beat the host side Bermuda by 114 runs at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Opener Arthur Kyobe was named Man of the Match for Uganda after top scoring with 53 in Uganda’s total of 222 for 7. Teenage left-arm spinner Henry Ssenyondo claimed 4 for 24 to lead the Uganda bowling unit as Bermuda collapsed from 72 for 3 in 26 overs to be all out for 108 in 43.3 overs.

On Monday, USA plays Italy at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time, 9:30 a.m. on the east coast in the USA. DreamCricket.com will have live updates sponsored by New Inning Foundation beginning at 10 a.m. local time.

USA Cricket: Episode 5 - Guest Thiru Kumaran on the US Cricket Podcast

openingbat — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:54:00 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)

USA head coach Thiru Kumaran is the latest guest on the US Cricket Podcast. Kumaran, 37, played eight ODIs for India in 1999 and 2000 before a back injury curtailed his career. After making a comeback in the Indian Cricket League in 2008, Kumaran moved with his wife to the USA where they now live in Dallas, Texas.

In this episode, Kumaran tells the story of how he became known as “Kenny”, his Indian domestic and international career including making his debut under Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy as well as his short time in the ICL rebel Twenty20 competition. He then discusses his experiences in United States cricket and what obstacles face the team at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda, which begins on Sunday.

The full episode can be accessed by clicking here and can also be downloaded for free on iTunes. The following are a few selected quotes from the interview.

Peter Della Penna: One of the big news items that came out of the squad selection was that two senior members of the team, Aditya Thyagarajan and Usman Shuja, were left out of this squad and they have a tremendous amount of experience that they’ve built up over the last several years for the US national team. In their place are a couple of younger players. Do you feel it was a big risk to leave them out and miss out on that experience in place of having some younger players in the team?

Thiru Kumaran: The thing is we are heading in a certain direction, US Cricket. I am talking about the whole cricket getting more professional and we are setting some standards. So if a few standards are not met then we need to take a decision. Hopefully the players understand that and then they just get their standards to the level that has been expected. That’s as simple as that. So going forward if you set the policy and you go ahead with it, it doesn’t matter whoever it is. We have to take a decision, you have to take a decision as simple as that.

PDP: What standards would you say certain players are falling short in?

TK: A few things I am allowed to talk, a few things I cannot talk. This is what it is. You set a standard. We are trying to be more professional, we trying to be a more fitter team, we are setting ourselves a few standards which have been given to us. So once those things are not happening, then we need to take a decision and go ahead with people who are willing to do it.

PDP: What is your outlook in terms of the opponents you are going to face? As far as I can tell, the schedule that USA has in front of them, it’s almost the worst possible scenario in terms of basically the two toughest matches are going to be the first two matches that the team plays. Instead of being able to ease into the tournament against some easier opponents, you have Nepal and Italy back to back on the first two days of the tournament.

TK: I think it’s a blessing that we are playing Nepal first because we will be really fresh and we know from our experience the last time we know what we need to work on. We have definitely worked on those things and we have asked the players to work on whatever they have to work on. Nepal is one side we feel is a strong side. So playing them first, I don’t believe in easing into the tournament. I believe we are playing the strongest side first. We’ll be well prepared and we’ll be fresh, one main thing. So if we win this first game, it’s gonna set us up for the whole tournament. That’s how the whole team is looking at the fixture. So I feel definitely it’s a blessing that we are playing Nepal first.

PDP: You said if you win this game it’ll help set you up for the rest of the tournament, but if you lose the game do you feel it’ll be too difficult to overcome? Basically you’ll need to win four straight games to finish in the top two.

TK: It’s not about losing…. It’s a plus. When you win against a strong side, you are very confident. When you lose against a strong side, you lose to a strong side so you carry on with the game. So it’s definitely a plus, not a minus.

PDP: You lost twice to Nepal in Malaysia. What needs to change in order to get that result in the opposite direction for the USA?

TK: The first game, I know you were there, but we dropped some catches.

PDP: You dropped a lot of catches.

TK: Yeah, so we dropped a few catches which made them put up a strong total. Even though we were on line chasing it, we struggled in the last 10 overs. So we definitely have worked on those issues which was hindering us. Mainly they attack with spin so we asked the players to play a lot of spin. From Bermuda we have practiced until now so we asked them to play a lot of spin, get used to it. So there are a lot of things and we did a lot of fielding practice and we asked them to take a lot of catches every day. So these are the things we are trying to, whatever is our weakness we are trying to fill it up. So I think we are definitely better prepared this time.

USA Cricket: No rhyme or reason behind decision to drop Thyagarajan and Shuja

openingbat — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:21:00 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)

Farce, sham, disgrace. They are the first three words that spring to mind but if one opens up a thesaurus there are plenty of others that could be found to encapsulate this situation. There is no sugarcoating how abominable the process has been regarding the evaluation and selection of the 14-man USA squad announced on Sunday by USACA that will compete later this month at the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Bermuda. A slice of Swiss cheese has fewer holes in it than this selection process.

The problem is not the team or the players. The problem is the process. There are good players in this 14-man squad. However, do not fall under any illusions that USACA is sending its best 14 to represent the country in Bermuda. This is not USA’s best 14 and falling short of that represents a failure by the selectors and the administration that oversees them.

There is no possible way that this could be USACA’s best 14-man squad with Aditya Thyagarajan and Usman Shuja missing from the list. They are two titans, pillars in the modern era of the US national team. Thyagarajan is USA’s third highest scorer of all-time in limited overs cricket with 897 runs in live competition at an average of 39.00. Among USA’s top ten scorers, only Steve Massiah (40.44) and Sushil Nadkarni (55.77) have a higher average and more runs overall than Thyagarajan. Shuja is USA’s second highest wicket-taker in the format, with 45 wickets at an average of 15.40. The next best average for any bowler in the top 10 wicket-takers list for USA is Kevin Darlington, who took 32 at an average of 17.19. How could anyone conceivably leave them out of the team going to Bermuda?

The stage was set for this folly in February when the USACA administration, specifically the five-man USACA selection panel headed by Selwyn Caesar, began soliciting availability for the core group of national team players for the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament followed by a three-match 50-over series against Bermuda which would be used for preparation ahead of ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. Because the two tours were scrunched so close together, it presented an issue whereby many players could not get enough vacation time from work to be able to play in both tournaments. Some of USA’s key players could get one week off to go to Florida, but not two, ahead of the time off they would also require for the tour to Bermuda.

If the first-choice players had their way, they would have much preferred playing in the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, not the three-match 50-over series against Bermuda, ahead of the tour to Bermuda for the simple reason that the ICC Americas tournament and ICC WCL Division Three are part of the pathway for ICC World Twenty20 and World Cup qualification and had much more at stake whereas the three 50-over matches against Bermuda were classed as unofficial practice matches by USACA and counted for nothing. However, players were all made aware that in order to be considered for ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda, they must participate in the three-match 50-over practice series so that they could be evaluated for selection going into the tour to Bermuda.

USACA announced a 14-man squad for the Twenty20 tournament and originally announced a 17-man squad for the 50-over series to follow. In an email on February 26, a USACA spokesperson stated that the 17-man 50-over squad was not formally announced in a press release because the three-match 50-over series against Bermuda was a “practice series” and because “we want the flexibility to bring in players from the Twenty20 tournament who may impress.”

Image (right) - Aditya Thyagarajan running between the wickets in the first 50-over practice match against Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Just one player, Akeem Dodson, stayed on for week two after originally being scheduled to fly home at the conclusion of the Twenty20 tournament while three other players – Orlando Baker, Nicholas Standford and Saqib Saleem – flew home after the Twenty20s as planned. Adil Bhatti, who replaced the injured Karan Ganesh midway through the tournament, also stayed on for the second week. Observers may have been puzzled to discover though that Neil McGarrell, Hemant Punoo and Josh Dascombe appeared in Florida for the 50-over series when they did not impress anyone in the Twenty20 tournament… because they didn’t play in it. It resulted in USA having 21 players competing for 14 spots while only 11 could play at any given time during the 50-over matches.

Now competition is a good thing and certainly the more the merrier within reason. Flying in a 19-year-old US citizen from Queensland after a novel recruiting process initiated by new USACA CEO Darren Beazley was not a bad idea. Yet for an organization that could not afford to hold any proper tournaments in 2012, the remotest hint of a return to the ways of profligate spending last seen when more than $60,000 went to fund a USA women’s team camp to Barbados in 2011 certainly raised a few eyebrows among USA fans following online. More to the point, if a cash-strapped organization is going to pay to fly someone halfway around the world to be evaluated, they better get the most out of that plane ticket.

For some bizarre reason, Dascombe did not suit up for USA in the first 50-over match. Instead, he bowled in a net session, something he could have done for free back in Australia. In the second match, he bowled but didn’t bat while in the third game he bowled and batted. So USACA paid for Dascombe to fly halfway around the world to watch him bat once and bowl a total of 13 overs, not to mention the fact that he was trying out for a tournament he was not even eligible to participate in according to ICC eligibility criteria because he hasn’t fulfilled any developmental benchmarks on US soil.

As for the 20 players present who were eligible, the message was apparently sent out that everyone had to compete for their spot. For a team that was recently promoted from ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia, does it make any sense to tear up the team sheet and start from scratch with just three matches to evaluate everyone on? A reasonable assumption is that eight to 10 players who participated in the tour to Malaysia were clearly going to make up the core group of the squad heading to Bermuda. After finishing as the Division Four tournament’s leading scorer, what did Sushil Nadkarni have to prove by going out to bat in Florida?

Nadkarni sat out the first 50-over match, then opened USA’s chase in the second game. He raced to his 50 off 38 balls in the ninth over with the score 58 for 0. Several people who were at the ground assumed he would retire at that point, especially since USA only needed to chase 186 to win and certainly other players warranted a closer examination for selection. Instead, Nadkarni was instructed to bat on. The situation only managed to get more ridiculous when he started to cramp up at the end of the 23rd over and needed some treatment on the field for his legs. By this point he was on 89 and USA needed 53 to win. Why risk losing your best batsman to a muscle tear or other injury in a practice match?

However, Nadkarni was allowed to continue and he duly raised his century at the end of the 32nd over with the score on 166. At this point, USA needed 20 runs to win and they might as well have let him continue batting until the end. What did any of the remaining batsmen have to gain by going in with 20 runs left to win? In another head-scratcher, Thyagarajan was sent in and scored 6 not out. Seeing as he wasn’t selected for the tour, that 6 not out clearly did not help his cause.

The only possible thing Thyagarajan or anyone else could have achieved by going out to bat in that situation was hurting one’s own chances of selection by getting out. If anyone should have gone in there, it should have been Dascombe for two reasons. He wasn’t going to hurt his chances of selection for Bermuda since he wasn’t even eligible, but more importantly no one in the USA setup had ever seen him bat before and this would have provided the selectors a brief glimpse to see what he could do.

Instead, Thyagarajan went in. The message was clear that the selectors were looking for reasons to cut him loose, hoping he would have gotten out. Nadkarni could sense it because when he was asked if this USA team could be declared favorites for Division Three with the way they were playing, he stated that USA had many players who have experience playing in Bermuda but hedged his answer by saying, “We’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out.”

The list of curious decisions only grew on Friday at the start of the third match. Nadkarni was left out again as was Rashard Marshall. In essence, it meant that two players who could not get enough time off work to play in the Twenty20 tournament the previous week were flown to Florida and forced to take an entire week off work to make themselves eligible for selection to Bermuda and subsequently played or batted in just one match. It’s disrespectful to Nadkarni and Marshall, two senior players who are definitely in USA’s best 14, to make them burn up five days of vacation time from work just to play or bat once in an unofficial game. Nadkarni was named vice-captain once again in the Division Three squad announcement on Sunday, underscoring his value. So therefore was it even necessary to bring him to Florida in the first place for the 50-over practice matches? The answer is no.

The second thing that should have jumped out to anyone who saw the USA team sheet for Friday’s 50-over match was that both Danial Ahmed and Ryan Corns were left out for the third match in a row. Going back to the point about USACA not holding any tournaments in 2012, stakeholders are led to believe that USACA is pinching pennies yet a week’s worth of stipends and hotel room costs were covered for two players who never took the field for the 50-over practice games. It’s understood though that Corns sustained a minor back injury after being hit by a ball during a net session that occurred on Tuesday for players who weren’t taking part in the first 50-over match and that’s what prevented him from playing in the following two games.

One would assume that neither Corns nor Ahmed would have any shot at being included in the squad for Bermuda if they were not evaluated by USACA selectors Selwyn Caesar and Barney Jones in a 50-over match, especially since the pair of selectors were only present for the 50-over matches and not for the Twenty20 tournament.

Meanwhile, it was the third match in a row for Massiah, Shuja and Thyagarajan. The indication was that all three players still needed to justify their spots in the team. Massiah went out and scored 12, dismissed by a 15-year-old spinner for the second time in three matches to wrap up his week with 58 runs at an average of 29.

Thyagarajan did what he does best: build partnerships to stabilize after a flurry of wickets or an early collapse. In the first 50-over match, USA went from 83 for 0 to 96 for 3 in the space of 4.2 overs. Thyagarajan followed it by building a 71-run stand with Marshall before getting out for 33. On Friday, the dismissal of Massiah put USA back at 45 for 3.

Batting with a rookie, Thyagarajan calmly guided USA out of early trouble by constructing a 50-run stand with Dascombe. Thyagarajan and Dascombe set the platform that allowed Barrington Bartley to go off on a boundary spree later in the innings. Thyagarajan eventually got out for 47 to give him 86 runs on the week at an average of 43. While neither Massiah nor Thyagarajan should be judged solely on last week’s matches, if that was the criteria then Massiah did not merit a spot as a batsman on the team ahead of Thyagarajan, let alone as captain. Apparently the context of Thyagarajan’s runs by way of the partnerships he built was also lost on the selectors.

Past members of USACA selection panels have been seen sleeping at national tournaments and other times on the verge of passing out while nursing a bottle of alcohol in a brown paper bag under a tree outside the boundary. So those at home might have been forgiven for wondering if two of the current selectors present in Florida were actually even watching the matches. The answer would be sometimes, but not all the time. After posting 284 for 6 in the first innings on Friday, Barney Jones was surprised to learn that USA had lost because he left during the second innings to go take someone to the airport. This would be the same innings during which Shuja was supposed to be judged in the field as to whether or not he deserved to keep his spot in the team. USA's players are essentially volunteers, not professionals, yet so much is expected of the players in terms of preparation and performance to meet high standards demanded on the field by the coaching staff and selectors. Unfortunately, the bar has been set pretty low for what is expected of USA's volunteer selectors regarding the approach they take to carrying out the task assigned to them.

Even when they were present at the grounds, the selectors generally could be observed to only be half paying attention to the matches in front of them. It was only when USACA CEO Darren Beazley was present sitting in the same space with them that both men sat up straight with eyes fixed straight ahead.

The 14-man squad for ICC WCL Division Three was released on Sunday by USACA and in the announcement on the USACA web site, Selwyn Caesar was quoted, “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 give 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.” DreamCricket.com attempted to contact Caesar to ask a few questions about how the squad was picked but a voicemail message left for him went unreturned. Several aspects of this squad raise serious doubts as to the process in which players were evaluated prior to being selected.

Twenty20 captain Baker was not among the 21 players evaluated during the three-match 50-over series but miraculously found his way into the 14-man squad to Bermuda. Make no mistake that Baker should be in the squad to Bermuda because he is among USA’s best 14 players, but according to the process that was laid out, how was it possible for him to be selected? Why was he given a pass and not forced to take part in the 50-over trial matches like everyone else yet still handed a spot in the team?

Ahmed and Corns also played the same amount of 50-over matches that Baker did last week: zero. Yet Ahmed was named in the 14-man squad while Corns was given a proverbial kick in the nuts by being left out after being USA’s leading wicket-taker in the Twenty20 tournament as well as one of only three players on the team to notch a half-century during USA’s first week in Florida.

Image (left) - Ryan Corns, bowling here in the second Twenty20 match against Bermuda, was USA's leading wicket-taker in the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament but found himself out of the team for the tour to Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USACA has touted its newly signed partnership with the CricHQ statistical registry and is actively encouraging all USACA leagues to take advantage of it. One of CricHQ’s mechanisms for measuring a player’s worth is their MVP points system. According to the CricHQ MVP points system for the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, Corns was fourth in MVP points behind Tournament MVP Janeiro Tucker of Bermuda, fellow USA teammate Steven Taylor and Sauid Drepaul of Suriname. Other USA players in the top 20 were Bartley at eight, Dodson at 9, Ahmed at 11 and Baker at 18. All six of USA’s players who were ranked in the top 20 for the Twenty20 tournament belonged in USA’s best 14 to go on tour to Bermuda. Corns was ranked ahead of four of them yet he has inexplicably been left out. Why has USACA signed up to use CricHQ’s software and data mechanisms if the selectors show no interest in utilizing the valuable analysis it provides?

The pivotal moment in the loss to Bermuda on Friday occurred when Timothy Surujbally grassed a straightforward chance at deep midwicket off the bowling of Shuja, a chance that selector Jones was not present to see. As a result, Lionel Cann went on to hit two sixes in the subsequent overs to propel Bermuda toward their eventual win. Considering that USA missed no less than 19 catching or run out chances during the Twenty20 tournament, this journalist commented to CEO Beazley, “I wonder how much of an emphasis the selectors are going to put on fielding in regards to squad selection.” The CEO responded that the selectors had a lengthy conversation the previous night on that very topic and that fielding was a definite point of emphasis.

By dropping Thyagarajan and Shuja, USA has lost their two most reliable catching fielders on the boundary. One only had to see the difficult catch that Thyagarajan took on Friday coming in from the long on boundary compared to the alarmingly simple drop by Surujbally at deep midwicket to realize the former’s value in that department. USA’s fielding was woeful in Malaysia, racking up 23 missed chances in six games. Shuja had four chances missed off his bowling in the round-robin loss to Nepal. However, Thyagarajan was one of the few players turned away at the door from entering The All Thumbs Club because he safely pouched the three chances that came his way on tour.

Corns is no slouch in the field either and took a spectacular catch to get rid of Tucker in the first win over Bermuda during the Twenty20 tournament. If USA’s bowlers weren’t already in the habit of crossing their fingers when the ball is in the air, it’s safe to say they’ll be doing it now with three of USA’s best catching fielders absent on tour.

The biggest error of all though is that the selectors have ignored the long established pedigree of Thyagarajan and Shuja with bat and ball respectively. The first consideration when picking this squad should have been form against the opponents USA would be facing. Shuja’s record against Nepal, Italy and Oman in 50-over cricket is sterling. In eight matches against Nepal, Shuja has 15 wickets in 63 overs at an average of 16.07 and an economy rate of 3.83. Against Italy, he has four wickets in three games at an average of 18.75 and an economy rate of 3.13. Shuja has claimed two Man of the Match awards against Oman. He returned figures of 2 for 22 in nine overs paired with a career high 43 not out in a two-wicket win at Division Three in Hong Kong while he suffocated their batsmen at the last ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier with a four-over spell of 1 for 9 in his other encounter against them.

The second consideration when picking this squad should have been form in the conditions USA will encounter on tour. At the 2010 ICC Americas Division One 50-over tournament in Bermuda three years ago, Thyagarajan was USA’s leading scorer with 250 runs including a career high 159 in a match against Argentina.

The third consideration should have been recent form. Thyagarajan did okay, not great in Florida. He looked shaky in Malaysia, especially in regards to his fitness as he looked to protect his right knee in his first tournament back after missing almost two years with the knee dislocation he suffered at Division Three in Hong Kong. But anyone who saw him in Malaysia and compared that performance to what was on display in Florida would know that Thyagarajan was in much better condition last week. In November, he scored 109 not out at the USACA 50-over national championship. The only other player to cross 50 from either team was Orlando Baker and Thyagarajan didn’t fail in any of last week’s matches either.

Thyagarajan may never have a six-pack stomach, but his weight is not an issue. In Shuja’s case, being too thin was a problem. He lost 10 pounds from his playing weight while dealing with pneumonia from over the winter and had yet to put it back on. He didn’t look to be bowling at full pace in the three 50-over games last week and was sapped for energy, but it was nothing that couldn’t have been put right over the course of the next four weeks. Shuja has always been USA’s fittest player on tour.

Image (right) - Usman Shuja, in action at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, is USA's second highest wicket-taker in 50-over cricket. [Courtesy: ICC/Barry Chambers]

If two players with the resumes of Thyagarajan and Shuja are being pushed out of the team, it better be by players who have left no doubt by scoring a century or taking five wickets. Barrington Bartley earned his spot in USA’s 14-man squad ahead of Thyagarajan, but the same can’t be said for some of the other batsmen who squeezed ahead of Thyagarajan and the same goes for Shuja’s place as well.

Above all else, the selectors should have asked themselves what every opponent USA is playing against would be pondering ahead of the tournament: would I feel more comfortable facing a USA team with Thyagarajan and Shuja in it or one without them? Bermuda, Italy, Nepal, Oman and Uganda are all high-fiving each other with the knowledge that they won’t have to face up to either player in Bermuda.

Shuja’s aggression leading the fast bowling unit will be missed greatly, but Thyagarajan’s absence will sting exponentially more. Former USA coach Clayton Lambert referred to Thyagarajan as “USA’s Insurance Policy” after the number of times he rescued his teammates following disastrous top order collapses. Against Ireland at the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, USA was 11 for 5 after the first 20 balls chasing Ireland's first innings 202 and well on their way to total humiliation. USA still lost the game, but Thyagarajan scored 72 not out and along with Baker preserved a small slice of dignity for their team by establishing a world record partnership for the seventh wicket of 99*, a world record in Twenty20 cricket that still stands today.

USA was four down after 11 balls against Argentina at ICC WCL Division Four in 2010 and in the fifth over it became 17 for 5 when Thyagarajan entered. He stayed at the crease for the final 45.3 overs in sweltering 85 degree heat with 90% humidity at the Ovale di Rastignano outside Bologna, Italy. Three hours of batting in sticky Mediterranean conditions with a wine vineyard in the backdrop meant his USA jersey had been sweat soaked into a darker shade of blue. When Rashard Marshall walked off with him after both made unbeaten centuries, half the team swarmed Marshall while the other half booked it to be first in line at the lunch buffet. Thyagarajan walked across the boundary to no applause, no pats on the back. Everyone took for granted another cool knock from “The Ice Man”.

As good as some other players around the country are, USA only has four genuine match-winners: Steven Taylor, Sushil Nadkarni, Timroy Allen and Aditya Thyagarajan. What sets Thyagarajan apart from the others though is that he provided the backbone for the team in times of crisis. USACA has now created a spectacular one by leaving out the best person suited to save the team in such a scenario. One can only hope it doesn’t come to that during USA’s six matches in Bermuda.

Not having Thyagarajan and Shuja in the squad doesn’t make this a bad USA team. USA still has some very solid players. However, heading into USA’s most important qualification tournament since the 2004 ICC Six Nations Challenge without Thyagarajan and Shuja in the squad robs USA of putting their best possible 14-man squad on the plane to Bermuda. That makes it an atrocious selection process.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was present at all of the team's matches last month in Florida. 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: 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: Men's team opens with two matches on first day of 2013 ICC Americas Division One T20

openingbat — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:31:00 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)

USA begins next week’s 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament with two matches on the opening day in a packed schedule in which the five competing teams will each play eight matches inside of seven days spanning from March 18-24 at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill and Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, Florida. Four of the five teams in the tournament – Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and USA – will have one off day inside of the seven days of matches. The only team that does not have a scheduled day off is Suriname but they only have one match day where they have two matches to play on the same day whereas the other four teams are scheduled to have two days inside the seven-day schedule in which they’ll have to play a morning and an afternoon match on the same day.

DreamCricket.com will have live text commentary coverage for all of USA’s matches from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, beginning on March 18 when the hosts kick off the tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park against Cayman Islands at 10 a.m. before taking on Suriname at the same venue at 3 p.m. USA returns to the same facility on March 19 at 3 p.m. to play Bahamas, which gained promotion from ICC Americas Division Two in February. USA completes the first phase of the double round-robin event by going up against Bermuda at 3 p.m. on March 20 at the Central Broward Regional Park.

USA begins round two with a 10 a.m. fixture against Suriname at the Central Broward Regional Park on March 21. The most grueling day of the tourney for USA arrives on March 22 when USA plays Bahamas at 10 a.m. at the Central Broward Regional Park, then has to drive to Brian Piccolo Park to face Bermuda at 3 p.m. It will be USA’s seventh game in five days.

Although Bermuda has a 10 a.m. match against Cayman Islands at Brian Piccolo Park on March 22 ahead of their afternoon showdown with USA, Bermuda has the advantage of having their scheduled off day for the tournament the day before on March 21. As a result, Bermuda may be fresher than USA in the final matchup between the two highest ranked sides in the event.

March 23 is a scheduled off day for USA before they return to the stadium on March 24 for their final scheduled fixture against Cayman Islands. March 25 is currently scheduled as a rain/reserve day to make up any fixtures affected by weather. If there are no weather interruptions during the tournament, Cayman Islands will play Suriname in a 50-over match at the Central Broward Regional Park on March 25 before Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Suriname depart Florida on March 26.

On March 26, USA and Bermuda will begin their three-match 50-over series at Brian Piccolo Park. March 27 is listed as a rain/reserve date in case of any weather interruptions. On March 28, USA and Bermuda continue their 50-over series at the Central Broward Regional Park before returning for the third and final game at the same venue on March 29. All three matches are scheduled for a 10 a.m. start. Both teams will then depart Florida on March 30.

USA and Bermuda are using the 50-over contests against each other as match practice ahead of 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, which will take place in Bermuda from April 28-May 5. Bermuda, Italy, Nepal, Oman, Uganda and USA will duke it out for two spots available at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. In addition to the two spots available for promotion into that event, an increase in ICC funding grants is also at stake.

USA also has the opportunity to parlay a spot at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier into securing top 6 Associate and Affiliate ODI status and a place in the next edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, the premier multi-day cricket tournament for Associate and Affiliate teams. USA participated in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 2004 but was barred from participating in the 2005 edition while under ICC suspension and has not participated since.

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC WCL Division Four Report Card Part 3 -Outlook for 2013 ICC WCL Division Three

openingbat — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:56:00 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

Click here for Part 2 - Player Grades

Outlook for 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three

Find a committed coach for USA

Next year’s ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda is scheduled for April 28-May 5, right smack in the middle of the IPL. This means that Robin Singh will not be available, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Despite being paid a fee rumored to be five figures per tournament to chaperone USA’s players, the results have been mostly unconvincing for Singh in his efforts at women’s, junior and senior level for USA. Most alarmingly, USA’s fielding has been dreadful at all three levels when he has been in charge despite a reputation staked as a player on fielding excellence.

Outside of a handful of days spent with the USA U-19 team in Florida in February and July 2011, Singh has not spent any time on U.S. soil doing any sort of coaching with USA’s teams. For Division Four, he flew into Malaysia the night before the first match and somehow thought all he had to do was snap his fingers to make magic happen. If Singh doesn’t fly into the Mumbai Indians camp on the night before their first match in the IPL to begin coaching them, why should it be acceptable for him to do the same for the USA and expect the team to respond positively?

Image (right) - Robin Singh most likely will not be around to coach USA at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three due to IPL commitments, not that it will adversely affect USA on the field. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Former USA coach Clayton Lambert may not have been the best tactician, but he knew the strengths, weaknesses and capabilities of all the players he went on tour with because he spent considerable time around the USA at tournaments and training/selection camps to get familiar with the players he’d be working with on tour in order to strategize the best possible batting lineups and bowling combinations. Singh has not devoted any time in the USA to get familiar with USA’s senior players and it is clear that it has negatively impacted the team based on the disjointed results USA has had under his stewardship.

Speaking on behalf of the team, vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said that USA approached the final match against Nepal by picking what was felt to be the lineup that gave USA the best chance at winning that day rather than giving younger players an opportunity to gain experience against Nepal’s bowling attack in a match where promotion and relegation wasn’t at stake. If USA was honestly going all out for a win that day, there is no reasonable explanation for why Abhimanyu Rajp batted at number three other than to say that the man in charge of setting the batting order, Singh, didn’t have a solid grasp on the strengths and weaknesses of the players who were a part of USA’s squad on tour.

Shifting Timroy Allen up, down and around the batting order cost the team badly in the first game against Nepal. Shifting Aditya Thyagarajan, Aditya Mishra and Orlando Baker all over the place also worked to unsettle and undermine their considerable talents. Players must have defined roles throughout the tournament so they can tailor their games to maximize their output for the team.

USA needs to find a coach, whether currently in the USA or abroad, who is willing to work with the players locally in the USA in camps ahead of Division Three in order to form better plans and figure out the best combinations before the first game begins on April 28, not in the middle of the tournament as was the case at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE and at times during 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia. Asif Mujtaba and Kumaran Thiru, who served separately as assistant coaches for USA in the UAE and Malaysia respectively during USA's two overseas tours this year, are both based in Texas and appear to be qualified coaching candidates with international cricket experience who would be useful if given an opportunity to assume the head coach role for USA.

Better individual accountability for fitness

USA’s players may struggle from tournament to tournament with team chemistry because the players do not play with each other year-round, but there is no excuse for players to show up unfit because they haven’t been playing with other national team players year-round. Fitness is an individual responsibility. Players in California are not responsible for running sprints on behalf of players in Texas or New York and vice versa.

Other teams at the Associate level face the same struggles that USA’s players do as amateurs in terms of getting enough time away from work to dedicate to their games. However, USA’s Associate level opponents are almost always head and shoulders above USA when it comes to their fitness levels despite being fellow amateurs. The fact that this tournament was played during the USA season means that not only were the majority of USA’s players unfit when they showed up for national team duty, it’s highly probable that they are unfit for club cricket duty on a weekly basis as well.

Instead of being the number one priority for USA’s players, it appears that for many of them fitness is something that is addressed if they get around to it. USA may have gotten away with substandard in Division Four, but that will not be the case in Division Three. Anyone who doubts this only needs to check the DreamCricket.com Report Card for 2010 ICC WCL Division Three. USA’s overall fitness contributed heavily to their downfall in the round-robin match against Denmark in Hong Kong and consequently led to them getting relegated.

Image (right) - Sushil Nadkarni's fitness on tour in Malaysia was top notch, but the rest of his teammates need to pick up the slack or else finishing in the top two for Division Three in Bermuda may be difficult. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA went 3-0 on the first day of back-to-back matches in Malaysia and 0-3 on the second day. A similar effort in Bermuda will definitely put USA behind Nepal and most likely put USA behind Italy as well to finish in third place and short of the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. Quite simply, if USA puts in a similar effort in Bermuda to the one they produced in Malaysia, both individually and as a team, they will finish out of the top two and the consequences will be severe.

An eye to the future

Attempting to qualify for the 2015 ICC World Cup may be the last hurrah for many of USA’s players. Finishing in the top two in Bermuda and then the top two again at the ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand would be a massive achievement and result in clinching a spot at the 2015 ICC World Cup. However, even finishing in the top six at the qualifier would be huge because it would mean that USA would be able to participate in the next cycle of the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

Being in the Intercontinental Cup would not only provide increased funding from the ICC, but would present tremendously valuable opportunities for some of USA’s younger players to gain experience and develop their skills in multi-day cricket on turf wickets against other top-tier Associates without the pressure of promotion and relegation being at stake. Having a bigger and more consistent schedule of matches for USA’s players to participate in might also open the door for several players to be given central contracts for the first time, a major step toward professionalizing the game in the USA.

Conversely, if USA does not achieve these things and with participation virtually non-existent for Associates in a 10-team 2019 ICC World Cup, it is conceivable that many of USA’s senior players would step aside if they failed to reach the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier and/or the 2015 ICC World Cup in order to allow a younger nucleus to form and focus on qualification for the next several ICC World Twenty20 events which are due to have 16 teams in 2014 and 2016.

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

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

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

Player Grades

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

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

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

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

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coming up in Part 2 - Player Grades

USA Cricket: Basant Regmi shreds through USA lineup once again as Nepal wins Division Four title

openingbat — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:26:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Left-arm spinner Basant Regmi took five wickets for the second consecutive match against USA to catapult Nepal to an eight-wicket win in the 2012 ICC WCL Division Four championship match on Monday at Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Just three days after Regmi took 5 for 35 in a 32-run win over USA, he claimed 5 for 20 to help bowl out USA for 145 before Nepal chased the runs for the loss of two wickets in 28 overs. Not only was Regmi named Man of the Match, but he also walked away with the award for Player of the Tournament after taking a tournament-best 21 wickets in six matches at an average of 6.66 and an economy rate of 2.80.

“Mentally we thought we had some momentum going into the game from our win against Singapore yesterday but the end result was something different,” USA vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said after the match. “I think it’s a combination of tiredness as well as the ability to play good spin bowling. I think the Nepal guys are good spinners and the guys in our team, some of them are more used to playing fast bowling than spin.”

USA won the toss and batted first on a day that was overcast to start with but turned clear and sunny as the match wore on. Nepal fielded an unchanged lineup from the win over USA in the group stage while USA made three changes to their starting eleven from Sunday’s win over Singapore. Aditya Thyagarajan was out injured while Andy Mohammed and Akeem Dodson were subbed out in favor of Aditya Mishra, Orlando Baker and Abhimanyu Rajp.

USA’s best partnership of the day went for just 39 runs as they looked tired and overmatched against Nepal’s fresh and energetic fielding unit. Steven Taylor opened the batting with Mishra but just as he did on Friday, Taylor fell in the fifth over to Sanjam Regmi, this time playing onto his stumps for 11 to make it 16 for 1.

Despite the fact that he was the only player in the USA squad who had yet to face a single delivery in a match on tour, off-spinner Rajp was bizarrely sent in to bat at number three. He lasted just six deliveries before edging medium pacer Binod Das behind to wicketkeeper Subash Khakurel for a duck to make it 17 for 2.

Nadkarni arrived and has he has done all tour long provided some stability to proceedings and built up a steady partnership with Mishra. They added 39 runs for the third wicket but just when it appeared they were steering USA out of trouble, Mishra skipped down the track and lofted Basant to Pradeep Airee at long off to go for 28. Steve Massiah came in and departed without scoring when he spooned a catch to Amrit Bhattarai at mid off to give Paras Khadka a wicket at 57 for 4 in 19 overs.

Baker entered and the veteran knuckled down with Nadkarni to grind out runs against the Nepal spin attack which was making excellent use of a turning track. They added 26 together before Nadkarni got out in uncharacteristic fashion, pulling left arm spinner Shakti Gauchan to Bhattarai at deep square leg for 39 to make it 83 for 5 in the 28th over. Nadkarni finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 238 runs in five matches at an average of 47.60.

Timroy Allen joined Baker and the two built a methodical partnership to take USA to 98 for 5 when the batting power play was taken to start the 36th. Allen cracked the fourth ball of the over for a boundary, USA’s first since the 24th over, but on the very next delivery he was hit on the back leg in front of the stumps and given LBW for 10 to make it 104 for 6.

Ryan Corns entered at eight and fought hard with Baker to extend the USA innings through all 50 overs. He added 33 runs for the seventh wicket with Baker before driving Basant to Gyanendra Malla at cover to leave for 9 and make it 137 for 7. Two balls later, Baker tried to flick a short ball through the leg side and sent a leading edge back to Basant for 39 to put USA at 138 for 8 in 45 overs.

Basant removed Elmore Hutchinson for 2 with his second successful LBW appeal of the day in the 47th to make it 141 for 9 and then wrapped up the innings on the first ball of the 49th by winning a third LBW decision to claim Usman Shuja for 2 with USA all out for 145. Nepal’s innings in the field was especially impressive because they conceded just one extra, a leg bye.

Nepal had a brief hiccup at the start of the chase, losing Anil Mandal for 3 when he drove Hutchinson to Massiah at cover to make it 9 for 1 in the third. Khakurel was then joined by Malla and they added 93 runs for the second wicket as Nepal cruised toward the target. Malla played a free spirited and enterprising knock, successfully connecting on numerous reverse sweeps over the off side, including one that went for six, before crashing USA’s spinners down the ground for two more sixes. He brought up his 50 in 53 balls and eventually finished with 66 before finally perishing to the reverse sweep as Muhammad Ghous knocked back leg stump to make it 102 for 2 in the 20th.

Khadka entered and took just 8.2 more overs to finish the job with Khakurel. Khadka hit the winning runs through cover to finish 25 not out and cap an undefeated run to the tournament title. They’re the first team to go 6-0 at a World Cricket League tournament since the UAE did it at Division Two in 2011.

Image (above) - Some of the more than 100 Nepal fans in attendance celebrate with the players after Nepal received the World Cricket League championship silver. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Both USA and Nepal now progress to 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda from April 28-May 5. Denmark and Singapore stay in Division Four, which won’t be played again until 2014. Malaysia and Tanzania drop down to Division Five which is also due to be held in 2014 where they join Guernsey and Cayman Islands.

In the other playoff matches on Monday, Singapore beat Denmark in the third place game by five wickets after bowling them out for 83 at Selangor Turf Club. In the fifth place match, Malaysia beat Tanzania for the second day in a row, winning by five wickets after chasing down Tanzania’s 187.

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

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

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

By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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