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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

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

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC WCL Division Four Report Card Part 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: All-round Allen takes USA past Singapore, assist from Nepal sends USA to Division Three

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

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

By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

USA Cricket: Shuja and Taylor lead USA to 7-wicket win over Tanzania

openingbat — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:37:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Fast bowler Usman Shuja took 3 for 14 to spearhead the USA attack as they bowled out Tanzania for 92 before a Steven Taylor blitz ensured USA needed just nine overs to seal a win by seven wickets over Tanzania on Thursday at Kinrara Academy Oval on day three of the 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Shuja was named Man of the Match for his performance, which helped move USA to 2-1 while Tanzania remains winless in the tournament at 0-3. USA now sits at second place on net run rate after previously undefeated Denmark lost to Singapore later in the day.

While Tanzania never figured to pose a serious challenge for USA, the match was still critical for USA in the net run rate equation which is the tournament’s first tiebreaker if teams finish with identical records at the end of the round robin stage. Because of that, USA elected to field first after winning the toss in a bid to bowl Tanzania out as quickly and cheaply as possible followed by a rapid chase to boost the team’s net run rate.

“We definitely wanted to win and win by a huge margin to improve our net run rate,” Shuja said after the win. “The reason we wanted to bowl first was I think we had more control over our second innings. We wanted to finish the innings as quickly as we could and secondly we wanted to make the game as short as possible so we are more fresh for tomorrow’s game and that’s exactly how it worked out.”

Sushil Nadkarni was rested for the match with Andy Mohammed coming into the starting eleven on the day. USA went through a frustrating first six overs as both Shuja and fellow opening bowler Elmore Hutchinson repeatedly beat the outside edge with a packed slips cordon – there were as many as five catching fielders at times lined up alongside Taylor behind the stumps during the innings – waiting for a nick to come their way.

Hutchinson finally broke the opening stand by bowling Nasibu Mapunda through the gate for 5 to make it 15 for 1 in the seventh. Six balls later, Shuja made his first breakthrough of the day, bowling Seif Abdul for 11 as Tanzania’s openers were now back in the pavilion with the score 21 for 2.

In the 10th, Shuja had Abhik Patwa caught by Abhimanyu Rajp at third slip for 5 and then castled Zamayoni Jabeneke for a golden duck to put himself on a hat trick at 30 for 4. Orlando Baker nailed Issa Kikasa on the toe with a yorker in the next over and his LBW appeal was upheld to remove the Tanzania wicketkeeper for 3 and the score was 31 for 5.

Image (right) - Usman Shuja received the Man of the Match award after taking 3 for 14 in six overs as USA bowled out Tanzania for 92 before completing a victory by seven wickets at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Tanzania could have sunk even further had Timroy Allen held onto a chance at gully three balls later from the new batsman Kassim Nassoro Mussa with the score at 35 for 5 and Mussa on 4. The reprieve opened the door for Tanzania to have their best partnership of the match, 38 runs for the sixth wicket, as Mussa attempted a counterattack, striking five boundaries that included a couple of superbly timed cover drives mixed with two straight drives through mid on.

Mussa’s innings finally came to an end when he tried to cut Allen but was cramped for room and played onto his stumps, ending his innings for Tanzania’s top score at 28 and leaving the score 69 for 6. Tanzania then crumbled quickly, losing three wickets in 10 balls while the score was on 74.

The first was a solid piece of fielding from Mohammed as he pounced on a ball running in from point and fired a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to run out Abdallah for 11. Four balls later, Allen bounced out Benson Mwita Nyaikini for 4 after the batsman top edged a pull that Allen waited under for a return catch. Muhammad Ghous nabbed Riziki Kiseto in the next over without scoring, edging behind to Taylor.

Tanzania’s last pair hung around for six more overs, adding 18 for the final wicket, their second best partnership of the match. Ghous ended the resistance when he dove to his left to claim a return catch off a full toss. Khalil Rehemtulla had to go for 13 as Tanzania succumbed for 92 in 29.3 overs. Ghous finished with 2 for 14 while Allen took 2 for 20 in a pair of tidy bowling displays to support Shuja.

Taylor opened the batting with Aditya Mishra and saw every ball from the first two overs, blasting two sixes and three boundaries in that span to take USA to 37 for 0 after 12 balls. Taylor brought up the 50 partnership – with 39 of the runs provided by him – in 3.4 overs with a lofted drive over mid on. He started the fifth over with a monstrous bash over long on, but was dismissed the next ball for 46 off 22 balls after getting a fine edge through to the keeper attempting to back away from the stumps to drive Nyaikini over the off side. The score was 57 for 1 and Mishra was on 1, having faced just four deliveries while having a perfect view of Taylor’s devastating display.

Hutchinson joined Mishra as the two continued to speed toward the target with Mishra hitting a six over midwicket and Hutchinson launching one over the sight screen at the south end of the ground. Both departed three balls apart when USA needed just one more shot to reach the target. Mishra top edged a full toss and was caught at short third man by Abdallah off Mapunda for a run a ball 15 while Hutchinson was bowled for 14 off 11 after missing a massive heave to make it 89 for 3 on the first ball of the ninth. Allen and Steve Massiah knocked off the final four runs over the next five deliveries to give USA the win.

Nepal moved to 3-0 on Thursday and sits alone atop the standings after a 10-wicket win over Malaysia at Selangor Turf Club. Nepal bowled out the host side for 69 as leg-spinner Shakti Gauchan returned remarkable figures of 10 overs, eight maidens, 3 for 2. Nepal chased the runs in 12.2 overs with Anil Mandal making 41 not out.

Denmark suffered their first setback on Thursday at Bayuemas Oval after losing to Singapore by four wickets, a result that helped USA move into second place on net run rate tiebreaker with all three teams now sitting at 2-1. Denmark was bowled out for 173 in 46.3 overs after choosing to bat first. Singapore chased the runs down with 20 balls to spare as Munish Arora followed up his half-century against Malaysia with 39 not out against Denmark.

USA now faces a huge showdown with Nepal in a game that could decide first place in the group stage. The two sides have engaged in several tight contests over the last four years with each team notching two wins against the other while two other matches finished with no result. Shuja, who took a five-wicket haul against Nepal at 2008 ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey and has 14 wickets in six ICC World Cricket League matches against Nepal, is preparing for another classic encounter.

“Nepal and USA cricket teams are extremely good rivals,” Shuja said. “We have had extremely good games in the past. I expect tomorrow’s game to be a cracker as well. The division is on the line so I think it’s gonna be a phenomenal game. Nepal is playing really well right now and so are we. They rely heavily on their spin attack and their players who play spin very well. We on the other hand rely on playing fast bowling well and our fast bowling attack is pretty strong.”

“So I think it’s gonna be a very different type of cricket that’s gonna come together tomorrow but I’m very very confident that we’re gonna do well. The team is looking very good right now. Our bowling attack is looking good. Steven Taylor is batting phenomenal. So I think overall the team is coming together well and if I have to put my money on I would put it on USA.”

Live coverage of the showdown between USA and Nepal from the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur begins on DreamCricket.com at 10 a.m. Friday in Malaysia, 10 p.m. EST and 7 p.m. PST Thursday night in the USA.

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

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

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Source: USACA Press Release]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coach - Robin Singh

Assistant Coach - Thirunavukkarasu Kumaran

Bowling Coach - Nasir "Charlie" Javed

Physio - Akhtar Masood Syed

Manager - Shoaib Ahmed

Video Analyst - Sriram Somayajula

USA Cricket: Preparation? What Preparation?

openingbat — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 06:49:00 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)

After the USA U-18 team lost their first two matches in Florida last week at the 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp, getting bowled out for paltry totals of 84 and 112 in the process, a parent of one of the players approached me to ask a question. “In your journalistic opinion, what did you think of the preparation this team had ahead of playing these matches?” I responded, “Preparation? What preparation?” The parent then nodded before walking away.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with bringing a copy of the Laws of Cricket to the USA from a trip to England in the mid 18th century. That shouldn’t be the last contribution he is credited with for cricket in America. Current administrators might want to heed a quote that is attributed to him. “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

This has yet to register with the USACA brain trust though. The administration has a well-established habit of failing to do what it can to prepare USA teams adequately for international tournaments. As a result, USA has had a succession of failures at recent ICC events: 6th out of 6 teams at 2011 ICC WCL Division Three, 7th out of 10 teams at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier, 8th out of 10 teams at the 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, 12th out of 16 teams at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

The last place finish of USA’s U-18 squad at the ICC Americas event last week was another example. The tournament was organized with the goal in mind to gauge where each country is at heading into next year’s ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier for the Americas Region. USACA has not held a national U-19 tournament since August 2010 and has never held a national U-17 tournament. Most of the players who were on this squad last played in a national level tournament at the U-15 level which would could have been 12 months ago for some players and 24 months ago for others.

Players in the 15 to 19 age bracket can experience drastic physical and skill changes in a 12-24 month time span. With no junior national tournament held for 12 months, selection at the very least can turn into a crap shoot, but more often it becomes a political free-for-all as different regional administrators jockey for position to get as many of their players, who sometimes double as their sons, selected as possible. The result of zero preparation ahead of that tournament was on full display when USA lost by 115 runs in their first match and again by six wickets in the second before the team started to find its feet. It’s very clear based on the stats coming from that event that more than a few players did not merit selection in the first place.

There hasn’t been any USACA men’s national tournament in 13 months and there hasn’t been a USACA 50-over men’s tournament since November 2010. The last time USACA organized something for senior men’s players as some form of preparation was a fitness and selection camp in January prior to heading to the UAE. After USA’s last place finish in Hong Kong at 2011 WCL Division Three and again after they failed to reach the knockout stage of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, it was clear that they suffered from a lack of preparation.

Images (above) - Clockwise from top left Steve Massiah, Aditya Thyagarajan, Rashard Marshall and Timroy Allen. Could they be making a return to the USA squad for ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia this September? [Images of Massiah, Allen and Marshall courtesy of ICC/Daniela Zaharia, image of Thyagarajan courtesy of DreamCricket.com/Peter Della Penna]

Yet, the USACA administration has sat on their hands for the last four months and done nothing to get a squad ready to play in what will be a very difficult tournament in Malaysia at 2012 WCL Division Four this September. The hosts along with Singapore and Nepal possess spin heavy attacks which will present problems for any team, but especially a team that is grossly underprepared. If there was ever a time where a selection camp or national tournament was needed ahead of a crucial ICC promotion and relegation event, this was it.

What’s most puzzling of all is why there haven’t been any domestic USACA tournaments for over a year now. In 2011, several tournaments were postponed or canceled and the fallback excuse was that it was for “financial” reasons, meaning a lack of funds. How can USACA cry poor in one breath while using the next to huff and puff about the millions of dollars that are flowing in as a result of signing their deal with New Zealand Cricket and other investors to form Cricket Holdings America? USACA President Gladstone Dainty said in December 2010 that USACA would be receiving $2 million dollars per year as part of the deal. This doesn’t include the money that USACA gets for being an Associate member of the ICC. Where is all this money going? What’s it being used on?

USACA announced on July 5, a day after the ICC officially announced that WCL Division Four would take place from September 3-10, that USACA would “shortly be announcing a preliminary short-list squad from which the final 14 will be selected. It is anticipated that Team USA will depart on August 26 for pre-tournament training and acclimatization.”

At the time, rumors were circulating that 32 names had been slapped together from different regions for a selection camp in Florida in order to help pick a squad. In typical USACA fashion, the administration dragged its feet and nothing happened. All ICC Tournaments require that the final 14-man (or 15-man depending on the event) squads must be submitted 30 days prior to the first match, which would mean Friday, August 3 for this tournament. With no camp scheduled for this weekend or next, it’s expected that rather than have any sort of fitness and selection camp with an extended list of players ahead of August 3, USACA will instead skip straight ahead to announce a 14-man squad.

If there is no camp or camps prior to this 14-man squad leaving for Malaysia on August 26th, they won’t arrive until late on the 27th or early on the 28th. They will then have at best six days but more likely five days of practice before the first match. With no national tournament, selection camp or group training sessions held at any point in the weeks and months prior to a team being selected and leaving, five days of practice before the first live match is not good enough from the administration and it’s not fair on the players who are saddled with such a heavy responsibility of representing the national team on the field.

There is also the matter of building or rebuilding team chemistry. Rumors are circulating that there could be several much needed changes made to the squad as veteran players may be making a return to boost the strength and depth in the squad, particularly in the batting department, that was missing in the UAE in March. Steve Massiah, Aditya Thyagarajan, Timroy Allen and Rashard Marshall are all being discussed as additions to the USA team according to numerous sources. Having players of this caliber return will definitely improve USA’s chances of being promoted to Division Three in Bermuda, but it is not a foregone conclusion that they’ll finish first or second in Malaysia just by showing up.

Without having adequate preparation ahead of a tournament, the evidence from the UAE in March showed that it took USA until their fifth match before they finally started to hit their stride and notched their first win. If it takes them that long in Malaysia, they will already have secured relegation to Division Five and will have missed out on participating in an ICC World Cup Qualifier for the second consecutive time. Conversely, a top two finish will send them to Division Three in Bermuda and a top two finish at that event in 2013 will propel them to the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.

It’s up to the USACA administration to prepare the USA national teams for success, first by picking the best 14 players possible and second by giving them the tools to succeed. If USACA fails to prepare the squad adequately for WCL Division Four in Malaysia which starts in just over six weeks, then fans, followers and stakeholders of the USA men’s national team should prepare for the team to fail.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author. If you have differing views or opinions, we respect those views and urge you to provide your feedback - both positive and negative - in the comments section.]

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

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

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

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier Report Card Part 3 - Outlook for WCL Division Four

openingbat — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:27:00 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

What the team needs heading into ICC WCL Division Four

Preparation: The following quote is taken from the report card that was written after the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in July.

“When the team went to Dubai in 2010 for the last World Twenty20 Qualifier, they got to play two warm-up matches against the UAE before the tournament started and wound up finishing fifth after beating Scotland and losing to Ireland and Afghanistan. They’ll need something more significant in terms of preparation prior to leaving for Dubai to have any hope of finishing in the top two in next year’s qualifier. There is currently nothing scheduled for the men’s team between now and March when the Qualifier is due to be held so making plans to fill that gap in the calendar should be a high priority.”

If the USACA administration was able to arrange a four-match 50-over series in Florida for the USA U-19 team against West Indies U-19 before heading off to Ireland for last summer’s ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier, the administration should have been able to make a few phone calls to organize some unofficial Twenty20 fixtures to be played in late December or early January in Florida against some of the West Indian domestic teams such as Jamaica, Guyana or Trinidad & Tobago for the USA men. West Indies A played a series of unofficial matches against Bangladesh A in November and something similar could have been designed for USA against one of the islands during the gap in the West Indies domestic calendar ahead of the Caribbean T20 tournament in January.

The administration failed to prepare the team for this tournament and as a result the team was prepared to fail. In the seven and a half months that followed USA’s second place finish at the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in July, next to nothing was done. USA played three Twenty20s in Canada in August, but because USA was only confirmed to participate a week before the start of the Etihad Summer Cricket Festival, a B squad was sent to play in Toronto.

Of the players who participated for USA in the event against Canada, Afghanistan and Trinidad & Tobago, only two of them were picked in the 14-man squad to go to the UAE – Muhammad Ghous and Andy Mohammed – while Japen Patel joined as an injury replacement. For the other 12 players in the team that went to the UAE this month, the only matches they got to play together in a USA uniform between July and the first match against Uganda were three warm-ups in Sharjah a few days before the qualifier began.

Compare that to Namibia, who like USA is not one of the six ICC High Performance Program teams. Like USA, they played their ICC Regional Qualifier in July and finished second at the ICC Africa Division One Twenty20. However, they had a plan in place that resulted in an undefeated 7-0 record in Group B. When Scotland visited to play an Intercontinental Cup match and two 50-over games in September, Namibia arranged for them to stay an extra week into October so they could play five unofficial Twenty20s against each other. Scotland won four of the five, but the preparation and familiarity with their opposition certainly helped Namibia when they hammered Scotland at the qualifier.

Then, completely independent of any ICC tournament obligations whatsoever, Namibia hosted Kenya for eight unofficial Twenty20 matches in November. They won six matches and lost two, but most importantly got to try out various combinations and roles to see what worked best. Namibia also plays in South Africa’s provincial three-day and 50-over competitions, but they specifically sought out Twenty20 practice matches independent of that to get their players geared up for the qualifier and it paid off.

Conversely, USA’s administration sat on their hands. As a result, the coaching staff was trialing combinations and roles during the tournament rather than ahead of the tournament. It cost the team badly. Previous evidence shows that USA takes a long time to get into a good rhythm when they enter an ICC tournament which takes place in the northern hemisphere winter, outside of USA’s domestic club cricket season. They needed all the help they could get ahead of this tournament to get prepared. Instead, the administration thought that a three-day selection camp in January followed by a series of weekly conference calls before leaving on March 6 for the UAE would bring good results. USA’s 3-6 tournament record demonstrates what a folly that was.

Anyone looking to make excuses for USA’s performance at the qualifier by saying that it’s unfair to compare USA with the upper echelon Associate level teams is doing just that, making excuses. Entering the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, USA had beaten Scotland, Canada, Nepal, Italy and Hong Kong in either 50-over or 20-over matches since the start of 2010. Scotland finished fifth and Canada sixth at the qualifier. Nepal finished seventh, Italy 10th and Hong Kong 11th.

Image (right) - Aditya Mishra hits a six against Scotland in USA's seven-wicket win. If they can finish comfortably on top against Scotland, there's no reason USA can't stand toe-to-toe with any other Associate. [Courtesy: ICC/Ian Jacobs]

USA’s talent matches up well with any of those teams. Scotland played in the Intercontinental Cup final at the end of 2010. USA beat them convincingly at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2010 and they beat them convincingly at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2012. The fact is that USA’s players are talented enough and capable of competing with any team that was in the tournament, including Ireland and Afghanistan. However, that can’t be done by standing idle for seven and a half months while other countries are playing together regularly.

Selecting players for roles: One of the most amusing things to go back and read on the forums after the end of a match are comments left by fans and supporters that say something along the lines of, “Player X opens for his club/league/region team. Why is he batting at number seven for USA?” One of the only players who bats in the same role for his club/league/region as he does when he has played for the national team is Aditya Thyagarajan. Not surprisingly, Thyagarajan has had success playing in the middle order for USA because he is familiar and comfortable there due to the fact that he fills the same role for his club/region.

Every other player picked for USA opens or bats at number three for their club/league/region. Then they come to play for USA and are asked to bat at 5, 6, 7 or 8 and have no situational experience to draw upon. They are used to starting the innings and dictating the course of play. For the most part, they have no concept of how to respond when they enter at 30 for 4 or 40 for 5 when playing for the national team because they’ve never had to do it at club/league/regional level. They struggle and the team struggles as a result. More attention needs to be placed on picking players for roles. USA is guilty of this at U-19 level as well as senior level in terms of squad selection. It makes no sense picking eight opening batsmen when only two can play in that position for the national team.

Get people playing regularly on turf wickets: The vast majority of USA’s squad had limited international experience prior to this tournament. The vast majority of them also had limited experience playing on turf wickets. Two players who play on turf wickets on a weekly basis at Woodley in Los Angeles – Abhimanyu Rajp and Elmore Hutchinson – were two of USA’s most impressive players on tour despite the fact that they were making their debuts for USA. That’s no coincidence. USA’s batsmen in particular struggled and part of those struggles can be pinned on failing to adjust to turf wickets after playing virtually year round on artificial surfaces. It will continue to be this way until the administration makes infrastructure development a top priority.

Hire a full-time coach/team director: This was discussed in November, but it’s worth revisiting here. Just about every player had positive things to say about Robin Singh and his involvement with the squad. Singh was with the team during the warm-up and group phase, then flew back to India after USA’s final group match against Scotland. Everyone felt they learned something from him over the course of their time with him.

However, USACA is wasting precious funds by just throwing money at him to show up for two weeks and disappear again. USACA must bring him on board full-time and have him work with the various regions on a regular basis by developing programs geared to get everyone on the same page and he has to work with the national team inside the USA ahead of tours as well. It’s no use having him just show up at tournament time. He needs to be on site on a regular basis.

Hire a proper physio: Throwing a first aid kit bag over a USACA board member’s shoulder doesn’t count. The person USACA has been sending on every tour to be the team physio is licensed in the state of Illinois to be a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA). He is not licensed to be a Physical Therapist (PT). According to the Illinois Physical Therapy Association, there is a very big difference between the two.

Physical Therapist

“Physical therapists must graduate from an accredited educational program with a master's or doctoral degree. After completing your education, you will be required to pass a licensure examination before you can work as a PT. Coursework includes biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as specialized courses such as biomechanics, neuroanatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of disease, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures.”

Physical Therapist Assistant

“Physical Therapist Assistants graduate from a 2 year program, earning an associates degree from an accredited physical therapist assistant program. PTAs also must pass a licensure examination to work as a PTA. PTAs perform a number of physical therapy treatments and procedures as determined by the supervising physical therapist.”

There are plenty of 27 and 28-year-old newly licensed physical therapists fresh out of completing a master's or doctoral degree at university with the latest training methods in sports medicine who would give their right arm for an opportunity to work for a few weeks on tour for a USA national team in any sport. Many of them would probably do it pro bono as long as their expenses were taken care of. The selectors showed in January that they were keen to find some fresh blood to represent the team. With that spirit in mind, the same should be done for the next tour by bringing along a new fully licensed, freshly trained physical therapist.

A healthy Aditya Thyagarajan: If USA’s middle order man for all crises can return to full fitness after more than a year away from the national team, he would provide priceless stability to the batting. To give fans a reminder of what USA has been missing, here’s a look at some of Thyagarajan’s highlights in a red, white and blue uniform:

November 27, 2008: Enters match at 114 for 4, builds 119-run partnership with Rashard Marshall for the sixth wicket. Finishes second top score behind Marshall with 42 in total of 254 for 7 before eventual 86-run win over Bermuda.

Image (left) - Aditya Thyagarajan in action against Canada in 2008. [Courtesy: ICC]

November 29, 2008: Enters match at 59 for 4, builds 105-run partnership with Orlando Baker for the seventh wicket. Top score of 84 not out in total of 201 for 8 in USA’s eventual 81-run win over Canada.

February 10, 2010: Enters match at 11 for 5 in fourth over, builds 99-run unbeaten partnership with Orlando Baker for the seventh wicket. Top score of 72 not out in 78-run loss to Ireland at ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

February 23, 2010: Enters match at 55 for 5 in 23rd over, builds 118-run partnership with Carl Wright for the sixth wicket. Builds 80-run unbeaten partnership with Rashard Marshall for seventh wicket. Top score of 83 not out in USA’s 66-run win over Jersey.

February 26, 2010: With USA needing 163 to win in 50 overs, enters chase at 112 for 5 in 29th over. Builds 47-run unbeaten partnership with Sushil Nadkarni for the sixth wicket. Scores 18 not out in five-wicket win over Nepal amidst crowd rioting.

May 28, 2010: Enters match at 91 for 4, builds 213-run partnership with Orlando Baker for the fifth wicket. Top score of 159 in total of 347 for 6 in USA’s eventual 119-run win over Argentina.

June 6, 2010: With USA needing 101 to win in 20 overs, enters chase at 60 for 4 in 10th over. Builds 37-run unbeaten partnership with Carl Wright for the sixth wicket. Top score of 27 not out as USA wins ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 title over Canada by five wickets with nine balls to spare.

August 20, 2010: Enters match at 17 for 5 in fifth over, builds 84-run partnership with Lennox Cush for the sixth wicket. Builds 205-run unbeaten partnership with Rashard Marshall for the seventh wicket. Scores 102 not out in total of 306 for 6 before eventual 196-run win over Argentina.

Call him the Iceman, the Insurance Policy, the Stick of Glue… call him whatever you want, Thyagarajan was USA’s middle order. USA hasn’t been the same since he went down with a dislocated right knee against Denmark in Hong Kong more than a year ago at ICC WCL Division Three. He’s progressed enough in rehab to be playing club cricket for Hollywood CC in the SCCA, but he needs to get 100% fit and back into a USA uniform for ICC WCL Division Four. USA is a different team with him in the lineup and the younger players can learn a huge amount by observing him and the way he approaches each innings.

The return of Steve Massiah: Massiah has never been a good performer in Twenty20 cricket so it’s doubtful he would have caused a change in fortunes for USA had he been with the squad in the UAE. However, he still offers value to USA in the 50-over format. Now that his legal matter has been resolved, it opens the door for him to come back and bolster USA’s middle order for WCL Division Four.

With Massiah and Thyagarajan in the lineup, USA should feel more confident about its chances of progressing from Division Four - where they'll be up against Denmark, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Tanzania - back into Division Three. The four teams in Division Three awaiting the two sides to get promoted from Division Four are Bermuda, Italy, Oman and Uganda. On paper, Division Four is going to be more difficult than Division Three. USA will need all hands on deck to progress out of Division Four and Massiah will be one of the players who has to step up.

Finding a wicketkeeper: Since 2010, USA has used Carl Wright, Orlando Baker, Ashhar Mehdi, Steven Taylor, Ritesh Kadu, Akeem Dodson and Nauman Mustafa in the specialist position. Taylor was forced into the role on this tour when it wasn’t the original plan, but he is not a long term solution and should only be used to keep wicket in emergency situations. Otherwise, Taylor should be playing as a specialist batsman.

USA’s handling of Mustafa on this tour was reminiscent of their handling of Durale Forrest in Hong Kong. The coaching staff killed Mustafa’s confidence by dropping him and handing the gloves over to Taylor rather than show faith in Mustafa after a rough first game behind the stumps against Uganda. Forrest didn’t even get the benefit of a game before his confidence was shattered. He had to watch as a 46-year-old assistant coach was added to the roster and walked right into the starting XI before he could even make his debut.

USACA has also done wonders to put a major dent in Akeem Dodson’s development. The 24-year-old won the Best Wicketkeeper Award at the ICC Americas tournament in July, but USACA sent invitations out to a half-dozen other wicketkeepers for January’s selection camp. Mustafa succeeded in knocking the incumbent out, but couldn’t cement his position once on tour and that caused a major headache for the squad during and after the tournament. It's highly likely that USA will be going back to the drawing board once again for a different wicketkeeper when WCL Division Four comes around after Mustafa's underwhelming performance in the UAE.

The bottom line is someone needs to step up to fill the role ahead of WCL Division Four. The wicketkeeper position figures to be one of at least two roster spots in the team up for grabs heading into the senior team’s next international commitment. Adil Bhatti might be able to fight off a few challengers to remain in the squad, but if Timroy Allen or Rashard Marshall show interest in recommitting themselves to the national team, they would be too difficult to pass up. Here’s a projected lineup for USA at Division Four with two roster spots left unnamed.

1. Steven Taylor
2. Aditya Mishra (vice-captain)
3. Sushil Nadkarni (captain)
4. Steve Massiah
5. Aditya Thyagarajan
6. Orlando Baker
7. Wicketkeeper - Up for grabs
8. Elmore Hutchinson
9. Usman Shuja
10. Abhimanyu Rajp
11. Muhammad Ghous

12th man: Ryan Corns
13th man: Asif Khan
14th man: Up for grabs

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

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

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By Peter Della Penna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wayward performance in the field costs USA in loss to Singapore

gchakravarthy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:05:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Narender Reddy Bongarum top-scored with 51 at number three for Singapore and took 2 for 23 to help lead his team to a 99-run victory over USA at Pul Chowk Engineering College on day four of the ICC World Cricket League Division Five Tournament in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bongarum was named Man of the Match for his efforts to pull level with USA at second place on the tournament table. Both teams are now 3-1 with USA marginally ahead on net run rate behind Nepal, who is undefeated at 4-0. USA will play Nepal on Friday in a high stakes match at Tribhuvan University and desperately need to win if they want to give themselves the best chance of advancing to Division Four in Italy this August.

USA had a golden chance to clinch a spot in Division Four by beating Singapore, but the Division Six champion from Asia proved they have what it takes to move up one more level by putting in a virtually mistake-free performance against USA. Singapore won the toss and elected to bat first on one of the better batting tracks seen in this tournament. Another string of dropped chances as well as a tournament-high 23 wides and 34 extras by USA’s bowling unit opened the door for Singapore to post 245 in their 50 overs.

Photo (Left): Narender Reddy Bongarum receives his Man of the Match award in Singapore's victory over USA; Courtesy Daniela Zaharia/USACA.

“The bowlers seemed to stray at the wrong time,” said USA head coach Clayton Lambert. “Unfortunately then we go for wides, going for five wides. We ended up giving too many extras.”

Chetan Suryanwanshi and Buddhika Mendis got Singapore off to a crisp start with a 64-run opening stand as the two batsmen played with superb confidence against the pace bowling of Kevin Darlington, Timroy Allen and Orlando Baker. Sudesh Dhaniram was then brought on to slow things down with his off-spin and built pressure until it resulted in a run out. On the last ball of his fourth over, Dhaniram bowled his 16th straight dot ball as Mendis tried to get off strike guiding a ball to third man in the circle, but confusion resulted with his partner and he was stranded as Steve Massiah calmly threw to Carl Wright behind the stumps and the bails were dislodged to send Mendis back for 27. Suryawanshi then pulled a short ball from Lennox Cush to Massiah at midwicket and USA had two wickets in four balls as Suryawanshi walked back for 34 to make it 64 for 2 in the 16th over.

However, Singapore regrouped with the biggest partnership of the match put on by Bongarum and Anish Param to build a platform for a late innings charge. The two combined to add 83 runs for the third wicket. USA had their chances though as Bongarum was put down twice, first on 25 as Dhaniram put down a diving chance at deep midwicket with the score at 99 for 2 in the 26th over off the bowling of Saurabh Verma and then again on 40 off a sharp caught and bowled chance when Allen returned to bowl off-spin with the score at 125 for 2 in the 33rd. He was finally given out backing away to slog Darlington in the batting power play and edged a ball that got lodged in Wright’s pads as he was standing up to the stumps.

Another two wickets fell in the power play to give USA some energy as Param was out for 24, stumped after Cush bowled a wide down leg side with Param coming down the pitch to make it 153 for 4. Saad Khan Janjua then fell for 3, clean bowled by Darlington to make it 164 for 5 in 39 overs.

The power play ended in the 40th over with the score at 166 and it seemed as though USA was in the clear. But Pramodh Raja was undeterred by the wickets that had just fallen and came in at number six to bash Darlington, Dhaniram and Cush around the ground for an electric 45 in 29 balls with five fours and two sixes. He put on 57 runs with Manish Arora, the third half-century partnership of the innings, to suddenly give Singapore the upper hand.

Darlington then came back in the 46th over and dismissed Raja to make it 221 for 6. Three more wickets fell in the space of 16 runs as Darlington claimed two more and Dhaniram one, but Singapore managed to bat all 50 overs to finish 245 for 9. In addition to the drops and some poor ground fielding by USA, the bowlers conceded 23 wides against Singapore when they had given up a combined 24 over the first three matches.

“Yesterday’s game certainly put a lot of strain on us and maybe the guys were a bit too relaxed after we had to fight so hard yesterday,” said Lambert. “They came out today and all around we played really really bad cricket.”

USA’s chase was always going to be hard and they stumbled out of the gate when Sushil Nadkarni continued his poor return from injury to be caught behind on the first ball of the second innings off the fast pace of Janjua. Baker was LBW to Janjua for 6 in the 5th over as USA were preparing for another top order collapse at 16 for 2.

Jackie Manoj-Kumar came on and the left arm orthodox spinner was unlucky not to be named Man of the Match as he bowled a devastating spell beginning in the 9th over. On his first ball, Cush came out of his crease and was beaten in flight to be stumped for 14. Sudesh Dhaniram then failed again and has yet to cross double-digits in an official match in either Dubai or Nepal. He went to defend a ball well outside off stump and gave a simple catch behind the stumps to Suryawanshi for Manoj-Kumar’s second wicket, out for 5 to make it 49 for 4 in 15 overs.

Aditya Thyagarajan then came out and did his best to rebuild with the captain, but after the two put on 40 runs together, Thyagarajan could not keep a sweep to ground and middled one straight to Riaz Hussien on the square leg boundary to give off-spinner Param a wicket, out for 22 as USA sunk to 89 for 5.

Wickets then fell at regular intervals as Singapore kept the spinners coming. All but the four overs bowled by opening paceman Janjua were spin. Dharmichand Mulewa induced a mistake from Carl Wright, who lofted one to Bongarum on the long on boundary for 10. Massiah brought up his 50 in 97 balls, but then was out on his next ball to Manoj-Kumar, bowled around his legs trying to sweep and USA’s hopes were dashed as the score became 127 for 7 in 33 overs.

Bongarum then returned for a second spell of off-spin bowling after he opened the match with Janjua. He finished off the match, taking the wickets of Rashard Marshall and Verma with Manoj-Kumar nabbing Allen in between, and USA was all out for 146 in 37.5 overs.

Nepal beat Fiji on Wednesday to remain undefeated and Bahrain topped Jersey to eliminate them from contention for the top two spots. Nepal is 4-0 with a +1.919 net run rate. USA is placed second with a 3-1 record and +1.355 net run rate. Singapore is third at 3-1 and a +1.114 net run rate. If USA beats Nepal and Singapore beats Jersey on Friday, there will be a three-way tie at 4-1 atop the table and net run rate will decide the two teams to move on to Division Four. Nepal is the only team that controls their own destiny and will clinch a spot in Division Four with a win over USA. If USA wins and Singapore loses, USA and Nepal will advance. If Singapore wins and USA loses, USA will finish third with the other two teams advancing. If USA and Singapore both lose, second place will be decided on net run rate. Live coverage of the tense final day will begin at 10 p.m. EST Thursday night on Dreamcricket.com as USA looks to knock off the host team at Tribhuvan University.

USA vs. Jersey, Post Match Interview with Coach Lambert from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

Official Scorecard
ICC WCL Division Five
Singapore vs. USA
Singapore won by 99 runs
Singapore won the toss and elected to bat
Man of the Match: Narender Reddy Bongarum
Singapore Batting
Batsman               Runs    Balls    4s    6s    Dismissal
C Suryawanshi+    34    38    4    0    ct Massiah b Cush
B Mendis              27    55    2    0    runout (Massiah/Wright+)
NR Bongarum        51    72    4    2    ct Wright+ b Darlington
A Param               24    59    2    0    st Wright+ b Cush
SK Janjua               3    5    0    0    b Darlington
PVSS Raja           45    29    5    2    ct Dhaniram b Darlington
M Arora*               12    20    1    0    ct Wright+ b Dhaniram
RA Hussien            2    6    0    0    b Darlington
D Mulewa               2    3    0    0    not out
M Shoib                 5    5    0    0    LBW Dhaniram
J Manoj-Kumar       6    8    0    0    not out
Total Extras          34 (0 no balls, 1 bye, 10 leg byes, 23 wides)
Team Total           245 for 9 in 50 overs

Fall of wicket: 64/1 (Mendis), 64/2 (Suryawanshi), 147/3 (Bongarum), 153/4 (Param), 164/5 (Janjua), 221/6 (Raja), 230/7 (Arora), 230/8 (Hussien), 237/9 (Shoib).

USA Bowling     Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington    10-0-65-4
TP Allen             7-1-35-0
OM Baker          6-1-28-0
S Dhaniram       10-3-30-2
LJ Cush             9-0-52-2
S Verma            8-0-24-0

USA Batting
Batsman           Runs    Balls    4s    6s    Dismissal
SS Nadkarni      0    1    0    0    ct Suryawanshi+ b Janjua
OM Baker         6    10    1    0    LBW Janjua
SJ Massiah*     50    98    3    0    b Manoj-Kumar
LJ Cush           14    12    3    0    st Suryawanshi+ b Manoj-Kumar
S Dhaniram       5    17    0    0    ct Suryawanshi+ b Manoj-Kumar
A Thyagarajan 22    26    2    1    ct Hussien b Param
CD Wright        10    23    0    0    ct Bongarum b Mulewa
RA Marshall     13    12    1    1    b Bongarum
TP Allen            2    7    0    0    st Suryawanshi+ b Manoj-Kumar
S Verma          14    17    3    0    LBW Bongarum
KG Darlington    0    4    0    0    not out
Total Extras     10 (0 no balls, 0 byes, 0 leg byes, 10 wides)
Team Total      146 all out in 37.5 overs

Fall of wicket: 0/1 (Nadkarni), 16/2 (Baker), 36/3 (Cush), 49/4 (Dhaniram), 89/5 (Thyagarajan), 113/6 (Wright), 127/7 (Massiah), 129/8 (Marshall), 145/9 (Allen), 146/10 (Verma).

Singapore Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
SK Janjua              4-0-25-2
NR Bongarum        9.5-1-24-2
J Manoj-Kumar       8-0-23-4
D Mulewa              4-0-22-1
PVSS Raja            3-0-17-0
A Param               6-0-25-1
RA Hussien          3-1-10-0

"Bring on the USA" declares Jersey Evening Post

openingbat — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:35:00 GMT

Without losing an opportunity to rub it in that the Jersey team had defeated USA in the last encounter in 2008, Andy Bradshaw of Jersey Evening Post has challenged Jersey to a repeat.

"It’s a key match in the group and Jersey can not afford a second defeat if they are to achieve their goal of winning promotion to Division IV by finishing as one of the top two nations in the six-team tournament," he wrote. Jersey lost its first match against Nepal.

Jersey Cricket Board director Chris Minty said: ‘We have a rest day today but there will be no rest for us because we will continue to work hard in the nets."

Jersey was in Chandigarh in India ahead of the tournament getting some serious practice whereas USA was over in Dubai playing in the ICC WC T20 Qualifier.

USA must leave no stone unturned to win all the matches and finish at the top of the points table.

Here is the schedule for USA after a day's rest. Nadkarni is expected to rejoin his team after a quick trip back home to take care of business.

Feb 23	USA v Jersey
Feb 24	Singapore v USA
Feb 26	Nepal v USA
Feb 27	Final

Full article here.