USA Cricketer : T20 cricket

USA Cricket: Taylor creates history with USA's first T20 100, hosts move to 7-0 at 2013 ICC Americas T20

openingbat — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 07:31:00 GMT

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

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard vs. Bermuda I Scorecard vs. Bahamas I Match Commentary

USA batsman Steven Taylor became the first USA player to score a Twenty20 century on Friday afternoon at Brian Piccolo Park, notching 101 off 62 balls to lead USA to victory over Bermuda by 48 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. USA’s win was their seventh in seven matches this week and clinched both the tournament title for them as well as a spot in the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier this November in the UAE.

Image (above) - Steven Taylor watches the ball sail over the rope for his sixth six to bring up USA's first T20 century. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

“We just came out with a positive approach,” Baker said. “We knew it was Bermuda and it’s our last big chance at them. We wanted to crush them. We didn’t want to just win, but win big. We went out and give it our best and we come out today with a big win again.”

In the process of reaching his ton, Taylor broke his own USA record score in T20 cricket which was 95 against Cayman Islands on the first day of this tournament. Taylor is now the leading scorer in the event with 286 runs, well ahead of Bahamas’ Marc Taylor who has 228.

“It felt good because I was very disappointed in myself not getting the first hundred,” Taylor said. “I ought to have two. I was glad to get my first hundred.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat first against Bermuda as Timothy Surujbally and Saqib Saleem sat out while Elmore Hutchinson nursed a groin strain sustained in morning warm-ups. The match began after an 11-minute rain delay before Taylor and Akeem Dodson opened for USA on a placid wicket. Play was halted briefly in the second over with USA on 21/0 for an 18-minute rain break before the match resumed.

Keeping their focus in the face of the spitting rain, Taylor and Dodson produced USA’s best first wicket partnership of the tournament, 68 runs in just 5.5 overs. Dodson finished with 23 off 15 balls before he was out caught on the cover boundary off the bowling of Janeiro Tucker. Taylor added 46 with Nicholas Standford and brought up his 50 in 34 balls during their stand. Standford scored 18 and was dismissed leg before missing a sweep against Jacobi Robinson. Barrington Bartley lasted just three balls, bowled for 4 by Malachi Jones in the 14th.

Image (right) - Taylor's innings started with rain drops falling around him as he took on Bermuda's bowling unit. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Taylor was joined by Baker and the pair generated USA’s second half-century stand of the match, 50 runs for the fourth wicket to tie a fourth-wicket record partnership for USA in T20 cricket held by Baker and Aditya Mishra against Namibia in 2012. Baker worked at giving Taylor the strike and with four overs left, Taylor was 25 away from the magic three figures.

Taylor had the strike for all but one delivery of the 17th but could only manage a three off the first ball before dots piled up in the rest of the over. His frustration was evident as he attempted an unsuccessful reverse sweep on the final ball in an effort to get unstuck. However, a full toss from Maybury three balls into the 18th disappeared over midwicket and got the wheels turning again for Taylor. After a two and a three on the next two balls, he entered the 19th over on 89.

In USA’s first match of the tournament, Taylor was caught on the boundary for 95 against Cayman Islands as he tried to bring up a century with a six. This time he was the beneficiary of some good fortune when a chance at long off on 89 was spilled by the sub fielder Sam Robinson over the boundary line for a six to take Taylor to 95. Later in the over, he went for the glory shot and this time succeeded, striking his sixth six wide of long on to bring up triple figures in just 61 balls.

Taylor was finally dismissed on his next delivery, bowled by Jones to start the 20th, but not before he took USA to an easily defendable position of 184 for 4. Tucker was the only bowler who avoided Taylor’s wrath, finishing with 1 for 19 in four overs. Every other Bermuda bowler went for at least nine runs per over.

Image (left) - Taylor punches through the off side after the sun came out. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The pitch stayed in good shape for the start of Bermuda’s chase. After a blip at the start of their innings with the loss of Lionel Cann for 10, Bermuda was ahead of the asking rate after four overs at 39 for 1. USA’s spinners worked to rein Bermuda back in. Ryan Corns got the momentum shifting back USA’s way with the first of his three wickets, David Hemp caught at deep midwicket for 2 to make it 40 for 2. Bartley foxed Dion Stovell to have the opener out stumped by Dodson for 26 to make it 52 for 3 after 6. Bermuda captain Stephen Outerbridge was caught at midwicket for 4 to give Corns his second. Corns then delivered the knockout blow, inducing a skied chance from Tucker to Japen Patel at long on and Bermuda’s top scorer was out for 27 to make it 79 for 5 in the 11th.

Abhimanyu Rajp took three wickets in five balls to accelerate the Bermuda tailspin. First to go in the sequence was Jones for 14, caught at deep midwicket by Jamali on the fourth ball of the 12th. Rajp opened the 14th over with wickets on back-to-back deliveries. Tre Manders top edged a pull to Corns at point before Rodney Trott slogged to Patel at long off on his first ball to make it 98 for 8. Rain returned in the middle of the 17th over and the umpires took the players off for the final time at the end of the frame. The match was unable to get restarted by the 6:30 p.m. cutoff time and with the par D/L score 161, USA was declared the winners by 48 runs.

“I’m very happy for all the guys,” USA captain Orlando Baker said. “We came here on a mission and we came through and supported each other from the day we arrived in Florida. As you can see, we’re 7-0 and we’re looking forward to the next game to go 8-0.”

Image (above) - Steven Taylor finishes a lofted straight drive to come within one shot of his century. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Earlier in the day, USA brushed aside Bahamas with a 72-run win at the Central Broward Regional Park. USA won the toss and batted first, posting 187 for 4, their highest total of the week and second highest T20 score all-time for USA. Several players got starts but no one capitalized on them as Patel and Baker were co-top scorers with 32. The pair featured in USA’s highest partnership of the innings, 65 for the third wicket to set up USA’s big total.

Bahamas made a confident start to their chase as Marc Taylor and Julio Jemison constructed the largest partnership by any of USA’s opponents this tournament, 62 runs for the first wicket in 8.3 overs. Bartley was the one to make the breakthrough for USA, getting Taylor to send Jamali a catch at long off for 30. Ryan Tappin was dismissed for a duck by Danial Ahmed six balls later and from there the Bahamas innings became unglued.

Jemison eventually finished 52 not out but the only other player besides the openers to cross double digits was Rudolph Fox at number eight with 13. Steven Taylor set the tone for his charmed day by recording a double-wicket maiden in the 20th over, his first over bowled of the tournament, as Bahamas finished on 115 for 8. Bartley was named Man of the Match after following his 25 not out with 2 for 21.

In the day’s other matches, Bermuda defeated Cayman Islands in the morning match at Brian Piccolo Park by four wickets. Suriname stumbled in the afternoon game at Central Broward Regional Park against Bahamas, who rebounded from the loss to USA by notching a six-wicket win.

Bermuda sits in second place at 4-2 after six games and can clinch the second available spot from the Americas for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier with a win over Bahamas on Saturday morning. Suriname is still mathematically alive for second place at 2-4 but needs Bermuda to lose to the Bahamas on Saturday combined with Suriname wins over Cayman Islands on Saturday and Bermuda on Sunday. In addition to that, Suriname would also need to close the net run rate gap with Bermuda. Cayman Islands sit in last place at 1-5. Should they lose both their remaining games against Suriname and USA, they will be relegated to ICC Americas Division Two.

USA has Saturday off before their final game against Cayman Islands on Sunday. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage of the match, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.

“We’re here on a mission,” Baker said. “We’re 7-0 and we still got one more to go. Definitely we’re looking to go 8-0. We’re not easing up on no one. We’re not taking any team for granted.”

Dragons defeat Lycons to take 2012 NYPD T20 cricket title

openingbat — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:55:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Brooklyn, NY (on Twitter)

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Randall Wilson and Sajib Salam combined with the bat and ball to lead the Dragons over the Lycons by eight wickets on Tuesday afternoon to win the championship match of the 2012 NYPD T20 youth cricket tournament at Gateway Park in Brooklyn, New York. Salam, who was also a part of the NY PSAL champion Long Island City High School team this spring, was named MVP of the NYPD T20 final after taking 4 for 4 in two overs of off-spin to wipe out the Lycons for 93 in 17 overs while USA U-18 player Wilson guided the chase to finish 40 not out.

Image (right) - Randall Wilson drives through the covers in his knock of 40 not out for the Dragons in the championship match of the 2012 NYPD T20 tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Lycons won the toss and elected to bat first on a sunny afternoon in New York. The final was pushed back from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. after heavy overnight and morning rains in the New York metro area. Lycons produced a first wicket partnership of 26, but from then on it was a rough showing with wickets falling in clumps as Dragons asserted control over the match.

Opener Faisal Ahmed was one of only two players to reach double figures, notching 18 before being the second player dismissed when off-spinner Hassan Hussain bowled him at the start of the seventh over to take the first of his three wickets in the match. Saed Haider’s confident batting at the number three position for Lycons guided them to 51 for 2 before wickets started tumbling at the other end. The third wicket partnership ended at 25 when Mohaminul Islam was caught off the bowling of Hussain for 3.

Haider carried on at the other end, striking four boundaries and three sixes in a top score of 41 to serve as the backbone for the Lycons innings as he struggled to get any support. He was later named the Best Batsman of the tournament at the post-match awards ceremony.

Haider put on 30 runs for the seventh wicket with Mohamed Tanim before Tanim was dismissed off a spectacular return catch by Salam to make it 89 for 7. Haider hung around for three more balls before he was well caught on the boundary at deep midwicket by Trinson Carmichael for Salam’s second of four wickets to make the score 90 for 8 at the end of 15 overs. Two overs later the innings had wrapped up for just three more runs thanks to Salam. Hussain finished with 3 for 20 while Wilson took 1 for 18 and Zafaar Yusuf took 1 for 24.

Dragons took a methodical approach to the chase after suffering an early setback when Rafeek Nazeer was caught behind off the bowling of Faisal Mohammed for 4 on the second ball of the innings. Wilson joined Carmichael and the pair went on cruise control until Carmichael was runout for 24 to make the score 73 for 2. Salam joined Wilson to see Dragons to the target in 16.2 overs. Sajib hit the winning runs, a six over midwicket to end on 15 not out while Wilson finished with two fours and a six in his unbeaten 40. The performance by Dragons was so dominant the 2012 NY PSAL leading run-scorer Troy Mars didn’t have to bat.

Image (above) - The Dragons accept the 2012 NYPD T20 championship trophy from NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

At the post-match presentation, New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly presented medals to each player from the two sides before presenting the championship trophy to the winning Dragons side. He also commended both sides for the contributions they have made to the fabric of the cricket and sports community by raising awareness for the game in New York.

“The fact that you are here today for the final is a testimony to your hard work and the work of the coaches as well,” Kelly said. “You have really raised the public’s consciousness about cricket in New York. It’s not where baseball or football is but believe me there’s a lot more interest in it and you’ve played no small part in that.”

For more photos from the day, visit the NYPD Facebook page.

American Cricket Federation announces its first national tournament

openingbat — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:38:00 GMT

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[ACF Media Release]

American Cricket Federation announced its inaugural ACF National Tournament for Columbus Day weekend (October 6-8) and invited all cricket leagues across the country to participate in this event.

The tournament will be held on natural turf wickets at the Woodley Park Cricket complex in Los Angeles

Pictured right: Matches will be held on the finest natural turf grounds at Woodley park. (Copyright protected).

The tournament will be played in the exciting Twenty20 cricket format. The ACF Tournament Committee will arrange for special hotel rates for all attendees and will also assist with finding the best airfare deals for any participating leagues that request such assistance with adequate notice. Local logistics and tournament coordination are being handled by the ACF in conjunction with the Southern California Cricket Association. Leagues interested in participating should write to americancricketfederation@gmail.com by August 31, 2012. Playing rules, terms and conditions will be made available on request. A nominal fee of $300 per team will be charged to cover cost of colored clothing.

The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with the Southern California Cricket Association maintains four world class cricket grounds at the Woodley Park Cricket Complex. "Besides the Hollywood scene, the beaches and mountains, Los Angeles provides a host of events within close proximity. You can play a game of cricket during the day, attend a basketball game or a live theater show and still visit the pier at Santa Monica," Kamal Azeez, President of SCCA said.

"It is our goal to create a national event structure that we can all be proud of and we believe in the spirit of volunteering," Leighton Greenidge, Convenor of the ACF Steering Committee said. Those willing to assist with marketing, sponsorships, logistics, hospitality and other aspects of tournament organization are requested to write to americancricketfederation@gmail.com.

ACF said that it was planning to organize women's and youth cricket tournaments on natural turf during the 2012-13 season. Plans for those tournaments will be announced shortly.

USA Cricket: Bowlers lead USA to six-wicket win over Bermuda at 2012 ICC Americas U-18

openingbat — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 12:00:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter)

50-over Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I T20 Friendly Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA dismissed Bermuda for 60 in 29.1 overs, the lowest total by any team this week, before wrapping up a six-wicket win on Friday afternoon at the 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp in Lauderhill, Florida. Vibhav Altekar, Arsh Buch and Ryan Persaud took two wickets each to lay the foundation for the USA U-18 team’s first win in Florida.

“I was very happy the way they performed,” said USA U-18 coach Mumtaz Yusuf. “This is the first time all these guys have come together. They have shown improvement from the first day and to come back and beat Bermuda who we lost to on the first day is very creditable. But still I’m not very happy with the way we fielded. We fielded much better than the first two days but still I’m not happy. The catches that were dropped were not catches that you drop at this level of cricket. Those are areas where we have to work.”

Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first as Karteek Kankanala came in for USA in place of Omari Williams. USA dropped Bermuda opener Shaquille Jones twice in the first over of the match, including off the very first ball, but from then on USA produced a disciplined performance in the field while Bermuda proceeded to commit several sloppy mistakes.

Bermuda’s other opening batsman Christian Burgess chopped a short ball from Randall Wilson onto the stumps in the second over for a third-ball duck. Number three William White played across a full delivery from Buch to be given LBW for 2 to end the third before Buch struck again in the fifth when Tre Manders drove a full delivery to Zahib Tariq at cover for 4 to make it 13 for 3.

Bermuda’s most fruitful partnership only managed to add 16 runs for the fourth wicket before Jones was sucked into pulling Altekar’s second ball to Shakeel Ahmad at deep square leg for 13 in the 10th over. Alex Dore only lasted two balls before spooning Altekar to Goel at point while Joshua Gilbert was slow responding to a call for a run from Delray Rawlins which resulted in a direct hit by Tariq to send Gilbert off for 5 and after 14 overs Bermuda was 37 for 6.

Persaud got into the act in the 17th over when Kwaisi James dragged his foot out of the crease while coming forward to defend and was stumped by Steven Taylor without scoring. Zico Burgess was then run out in embarrassing circumstances to end the 20th over after Rawlins swept a ball from Tariq to deep square leg. The batsmen appeared to have completed one run but Burgess was drifting out of the crease at the striker’s end while thinking about coming back for a second. The throw from Ahmad came in to Taylor, who flicked the ball onto the stumps and Burgess was given out as the umpires did not even credit the first run being completed meaning Burgess apparently never grounded his bat over the line despite the ball going to a fielder on the boundary.

Persaud had Rawlins caught by Goel at point to end the 21st with the score 52 for 9 to get his second wicket. Demieko James and Christian Gibbons then held out until the 30th over before Goel came on and snagged a return catch off the only ball he bowled to get James for 1 to wrap up the Bermuda innings for 60.

USA still managed to make the chase look slightly complicated, losing four wickets before eventually crossing the target in the 19th over. Ahmad opened with Kankanala and both batsmen were gone by the seventh over. Ahmad sliced a short ball from Gibbons to Zico Burgess at third man for 6 before Kankanala top edged a sweep against Rawlins and was caught at fine leg by Dore for 9 to make it 32 for 2.

Taylor was runout in unlucky fashion for 20 after coming in at number three when Goel drove a full delivery from Kwaisi James straight down the pitch that the bowler managed to get fingertips to as the ball whizzed by on the way to hitting the stumps with Taylor backing up out of his crease at the non-striker’s end. Amarnauth Persaud was the fourth wicket to fall with nine runs still needed to win when he flicked loosely to White at short midwicket to give Rawlins his second scalp. Goel finished the match a short time later though with a six over the midwicket rope to finish 19 not out.

Because the match finished as early as it did, both teams agreed to play a T20 friendly after taking a break for lunch to give an opportunity for the players to gain as much experience as possible. Bermuda won the toss and elected to field this time, but the results weren’t much different as USA completed an 86-run win.

Taylor finally made the most of a start, abusing the Bermuda attack to score 81 off 35 balls. He brought up his half-century off just 17 deliveries with his seventh boundary, which was swept behind square. At that stage he only failed to score off of one delivery. He finished with 11 fours and three sixes before being caught on the long off boundary. At the time he was dismissed, the score was 96 for 1 at the end of the ninth over and his opening partner Buch was on 10.

Buch batted through all 20 overs to finish 34 not out off 46 balls. Other contributions were made by Kankanala with 18, Goel with 16 and Ahmad with 27 not out off 10 balls as USA finished on 189 for 3, which was way out of reach for Bermuda. Altekar took 3 for 12 in three overs in the second innings as Bermuda was restricted to 103 for 6. Dore made 24 off 34 balls to top score for Bermuda at number three before retiring out after 16 overs.

USA U-18 takes on Canada U-18 takes on Canada U-18 in the final match of the tournament Saturday at the Central Broward Regional Park. The match is scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. start. Live coverage on DreamCricket.com, made possible in part by the New Inning Foundation, begins at 9:15 a.m.

USA Cricket: Five USA players named to ICC Americas Regional U-19 Development Team

openingbat — Tue, 22 May 2012 23:12:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Correction: This article has been updated at 5:55 p.m. EST on May 24, 2012, to reflect that the ICC Americas U-19 Development team will be participating in the 50-over segment of the WICB U-19 Regional Tournament. It was earlier reported that they would be participating in a Twenty20 segment of the WICB U-19 Regional Tournament. DreamCricket.com apologizes for the error.

Five USA players have been named to an ICC Americas U-19 Development team which will take part in the West Indies Cricket Board Regional U-19 tournament this August in Barbados. USA’s five players were the second most from any one country for the 16-player squad with Canada taking six spots according to a team list obtained from ICC Americas Regional Development Manager Martin Vieira. Cameron Mirza, Mital Patel, Gurpreet Sandhu, Hammad Shahid and Steven Taylor are the players who have been selected from the USA to participate.

Image (right) USA U-19 batsman Cameron Mirza celebrates after reaching his century against Argentina in February 2011. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The squad has been formed to participate in the 50-over segment of the WICB Regional U-19 tournament, which runs from August 19-29, but not the three-day cricket segment. The ICC Americas U-19 Development Team 16-player squad will spend a week in Barbados ahead of the tournament for a training camp run by head coach Andy Pick and assistant coach Wendell Coppin. At the conclusion of the camp, the squad will be trimmed to 14 before playing its first match.

The players who have been invited to participate from Canada are Manny Aulakh, Nitish Kumar, Akash Shah, Darren Ramsammy, Nikhil Dutta and Rayankhan Pathan. Cayman Islands will send Sacha de Alwis and Darren Cato. Bermuda’s Josh Gilbert and Kamau Leverock, who were both part of the Bermuda senior team that participated in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai, will be traveling to Barbados. Rudolph Fox of the Bahamas has also been included in the squad.

Mirza was the MVP of the ICC Americas U-19 Tournament in February 2011 when USA went undefeated to win the tournament. He led USA with 193 runs in four innings at an average of 193 and finished second overall in runs. His best score was 118 not out against Argentina. He currently attends Loughborough University in England which is an MCC University.

Mital Patel led USA with 16 wickets at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier and tied for seventh overall. His best performance was a return of 6 for 35 against Afghanistan, which included a hat-trick. That spell earned him the DreamCricket.com New Inning Foundation USA Cricket Award for Individual Performance of the Year. The medium pacer currently attends university in India and also trains with Baroda’s age group teams.

Image (left) - Mital Patel holds the match ball after taking 6 for 35, including a hat-trick, against Afghanistan at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Gurpreet Sandhu tied for the tournament lead at the 2011 ICC Americas tournament with 12 wickets in four innings. The leg-spinner’s best performance was a spell of 5 for 7 against Bermuda, which at the time were the joint-best ever figures recorded for a USA U-19 player until Patel’s performance against Afghanistan.

Hammad Shahid was the most economical pace bowler for the USA U-19 team in 2011. Across two tournaments, he bowled 72.2 overs with an economy rate of 2.89 runs per over. He also took 18 wickets at an average of 11.61. He has been touted as one of USA’s best pace bowling prospects for the last four years and has been invited to multiple selection trials for the USA senior team.

Steven Taylor was USA’s leading run scorer at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier and tied for second overall with 455 runs in nine innings including two centuries. Taylor was the recipient of DreamCricket.com’s New Inning Foundation USA Cricket Awards in 2011 for Batsman of the Year, Junior Cricketer of the Year and Cricketer of the Year.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor raises his bat after completing a century against Papua New Guinea at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

In March, Taylor finished second on the USA senior team at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE with 179 runs in nine innings including a best of 40 in USA’s upset win over Scotland.

WICB announces ticket prices for pair of T20I matches against New Zealand in Florida

openingbat — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:35:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

The West Indies Cricket Board has announced ticket prices for the two Twenty20 International matches to be played against New Zealand on June 30 and July 1 in Florida. Reserved chairback seats at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill will cost $30 while general admission tickets to sit or stand on the grass embankment will cost $20.

The prices are in similar range to the cost of tickets for the pair of Twenty20 matches two years ago at the same venue between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The prices at that event, The Pearls Cup, were $35 for reserved and $22 for general admission for the first match which took place on a Saturday while Sunday ticket prices were $27 for reserved and $17 for general admission. A total combined attendance figure of 8,600 across two days wound up being the turnout.

Image (right) - The Central Broward Regional Park stadium in Lauderhill, Florida, is the venue which will host two Twenty20 Internationals between New Zealand and the West Indies on June 30 and July 1.

The WICB release stated that tickets will go on sale two weeks prior to the first match at each venue for the New Zealand tour. In addition to the two Twenty20s in Florida, New Zealand and the West Indies are scheduled to play five ODIs beginning on July 5 – two in Jamaica and three in St. Kitts – followed by two Test matches. The first Test will be in Antigua from July 25-29 before returning to Jamaica for the second from August 2-6.

Global search begins for CHALLC CEO & T20 League Commissioner

openingbat — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:52:00 GMT

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New Zealand Cricket Media Release on behalf of Cricket Holdings America LLC

Cricket Holdings America LLC, a joint venture between New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), has started a global search for a Chief Executive Officer and T20 League Commissioner.

The appointed person would be responsible for the delivery of a business plan which, with the support of the Board, will include the negotiation of key commercial rights such as broadcast rights and the sale of T20 franchises.

New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan said the new position will help establish professional cricket in the USA and stressed it will take the skills of an experienced operator to maximise the potential of this “asset rich” company.

“The creation of the position is an exciting step forward for the organisation and provides a unique opportunity for an experienced and highly motivated professional.

“We are determined to identify the best possible candidate from around the world who can quickly get the organisational framework established and then deliver on our financial and strategic priorities.”

When outlining his vision for the organisation, Vaughan spoke with excitement about the prospect of a new Twenty20 League across the USA.

"One of the big ticket items for the new CEO/Commissioner will be to create the foundations for a national Twenty20 League and implement a franchising model for the competition.

“It is an exciting time for Cricket Holdings America and the appointment of the inaugural CEO should progress our overall objective of developing cricket in the United States.”

CHALLC Board Member and former first-class player, Neil Maxwell added: “Based out of the US and reporting to a corporate Board, the position will be linked to an attractive compensation package with significant incentives to attract prominent executives from key
sporting and business roles.”

“There is a level of excitement around the US market and this role provides an individual the opportunity to create a once-in-a-lifetime legacy of growing cricket in this receptive and hugely important market.”

Representatives of the CHALLC Board will oversee the search with a full job description available in the careers section of the NZC website.
http://www.blackcaps.co.nz/content/nzc/careers.aspx

The appointment is expected to be made by the end of the year.

USA Cricket: Tariq spanks USA bowling attack in 72-run win for Canada

openingbat — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:37:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Canada wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq scored 61 not out in 27 balls as the host side posted a resounding 72-run win over USA on Thursday afternoon at Maple Leaf CC in King City, Ontario. Tariq was named Man of the Match for his bruising knock which included three boundaries and six sixes.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first as USA took wickets at regular intervals in the early going. Medium pacer Anand Tummala struck twice on debut, getting opening batsman Ruvindu Gunasekera out for 9 and Canada captain Jimmy Hansra out for 1. Sandwiched between those two dismissals was the run out of Tyson Gordon for nought and Canada was 21 for 3 in the fourth over.

Hiral Patel was joined by the big hitting Rizwan Cheema, who clubbed two sixes off Hussain Haidar’s only over. Cheema’s fiery stay was short lived though as left-arm spinner Samarth Shah had him caught for 20 to make it 60 for 4. Shah also dislodged Patel from the crease for 39 and after 12 overs, Canada was 76 for 5.

However, the tail didn’t make an appearance on the day because Tariq and Usman Limbada, two members of Canada’s 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup squad, weathered the storm before launching a vicious assault on Muhammad Ghous, Jignesh Desai and Japen Patel in the final three overs of the innings. Tariq and Limbada managed just 22 runs in the first five overs of their partnership, but hit 13 in the 18th bowled by Ghous and another 15 in the 19th bowled by Desai to bring up the 50 partnership. Not satisfied to stop there, they blitzed Patel for 32 runs in the 20th to boost Canada’s total to 158 for 5. Tariq started the 18th over on 17, but in his final 12 deliveries he more than tripled his score to finish on 61 not out.

Despite getting rocked in the final over, Patel’s figures were not the worst on the day for USA. That distinction belonged to Muhammad Ghous as the youngster continues to drift in the wrong direction. Ghous returned no wickets for 39 runs in four overs.

USA’s chase never got any momentum as Akeem Dodson continuously flailed and missed at Canada’s opening pacers. Japen Patel opened with him but only lasted five balls before getting out for 3 to Khurram Chohan. Quasen Alfred was the next to go, caught by Limbada off Harvir Baidwan for 1. Dodson’s long stay at the crease produced only 22 runs before Cheema got rid of him to make the score 32 for 3 in nine overs. Stuart Mills was out for a duck on debut for USA two overs later as Cheema took his second.

Parth Desai chipped in with two wickets in the middle overs as Tummala gave him a return catch for a second-ball duck before he pinned George Adams LBW two overs later for 2 to make it 45 for 6 in 14. Jignesh Desai arrived in the fourth over at number four for USA and knocked the ball around to top score in the innings with 34 off 48 deliveries, but never threatened to bring USA back into the match. He was finally dismissed in the 19th over by Chohan to make it 73 for 3. Andy Mohammed came in at number eight and scored 21 not out in 15 balls with three boundaries to push USA up to 86 for 7 in their 20 overs.

USA plays Trinidad & Tobago at 3 p.m. EST on Friday in the second day of the Etihad Summer Cricket Festival. T & T lost to Afghanistan by 35 runs in the early match on Thursday. All matches during the tournament are being webcast for free at www.sorkkam.com/live.

North West Region to organize regional T20 over Memorial Day weekend

openingbat — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:48:00 GMT

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North West Region is set to organize first T20 inter-league tournament during Memorial day weekend (May 27-29, 2011). The tournament will feature top players from the Bay Area's Northern California Cricket Association, California Cricket League and Bay Area Cricket Alliance; Seattle's North West Cricket League and Sacramento Cricket Association.

Announcing the first T20 inter-league tournament, Hemant Buch, Chairman of the NW Region said: "Within two days of the formation of the region, our board met and decided to organize this tournament to assist with regional team selection."

"Three weeks to organize the tournament [is] a challenge, but the committee got all the ducks lined up through hard work and cooperation from all the leagues. The committee is hoping that all participants and cricket lovers will enjoy this 3-day tournament”, Hasu Patel, member of the region's cricket committee told DreamCricket.com.

Joining Hasu Patel are several experienced volunteers from the region -Alok Agarwal, Ozair Nana and Ravi Shankar. The Seattle team will travel to the Bay Area at a huge expense to participate in the event despite the short notice.

Reebok Cricket and G1G insurance are the official sponsors of this event. Extending his support to the tournament, Zain Jeewanjee of G1G insurance said: "I am very pleased with North West Region's leadership and I am always there to help them succeed."

Logitech Inc., the leading manufacturer of audio, video and computer peripherals has donated Revue, Google TV box and other audio equipment as awards for the tournament.

Test O Pack, a packaging design and testing company in San Jose also signed on as sponsor.

Schedule

Sunil Joshi to appear at 19th annual Philadelphia International Cricket Festival

openingbat — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:10:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Former Indian Test player Sunil Joshi will be the featured guest at the 2011 Philadelphia International Cricket Festival, which began on Thursday April 28 and goes until Sunday May 1. Now in its 19th year, this edition of the festival features 14 teams from around the USA including New York, New Jersey, Florida and Colorado as well as teams from Canada and the UK.

The Philadelphia International Cricket Festival has made a habit of welcoming a cricket celebrity each year to be a part of the weekend’s activities. In 2010, Michael Kasprowicz was part of the event while Sir Richard Hadlee, Mark Nicholas, Sir Garfield Sobers, Gary Kirsten, Mark Boucher, Jonty Rhodes, Richie Richardson, Derek Underwood and Fred Trueman have all been guests of the festival in past years and Joshi continues the tradition.

Joshi played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs for India between 1996 and 2001. He has 615 first-class wickets in addition to four first-class centuries playing for Karnataka.

Image (right) - Toronto CC celebrates after winning the 2010 Philadelphia International Cricket Festival. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]

The 40-year-old Joshi is scheduled to appear at a banquet for the festival teams on Saturday night at Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, Pa. He is also scheduled to present the championship trophy at the conclusion of Sunday’s final at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Starting time for the final on Sunday is set for 1:30 p.m.

The 14 competing teams are split into two groups of seven. Each team will play six round-robin Twenty20 matches in their group before the two group winners square off in the final on Sunday. Toronto CC, the two-time defending champions, will be aiming to hold onto their crown against several long time participants at the festival including Mad Dogs, Staten Island, Sarasota and the British Officers.

For more information, visit www.cricketfestival.com.

T&T emerges victorious in 2011 Lauderhill International Night Cricket Final

openingbat — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:38:00 GMT

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By Ricardo Inniss

The curtain came down on the 2011 MAQ T20 Lauderhill Night Cricket Competition, coordinated jointly by the SFCA and FSCL, before the usual large noisy crowd at the Lauderhill Sports Park, on Saturday evening April 9, as Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) defeated Jamaica in a tight match. T&T walked away with the MAQ T20 Trophy and a $2,000 check. T&T’s skipper Timothy Surujbally and Jamaica’s Glen Anglin were the stars of the night. The 26 year-old exuberant stroke-player Surujbally, was named MVP of the competition.

Pic (Right): Front L to R: Anthwan Singh, Joey Pierre, Timmthy Surujbally (Capt.), Gaston Walker, Ravi Samlal, Asad Alrashid and Shane Ford. Back L to R: Leon Garrick, Tariq Hosien, Stefan Babulal, Tazmool Hosien, David Ramsingh and Joel Pamphille.

The competition, now in its tenth year, was previously won seven (7) times by Jamaica, who also shared it once with Guyana.

Sent in to bat after losing the toss, T&T rattled up a very respectable as well as defendable 194 for 6 off the allotted 20 overs. Leading the way, skipper Surujbally, in a punishing mood, blasted 5 fours and 7 sixes in a scintillating hot-like-fire 29 ball 66. Not to be left out, Leon Garrick lashed 3 fours and 4 sixes off 41 balls, Joey Pierre smashed 3 fours off the 20 balls he received while scoring 21, and Baliram Nayaik stroked 3 fours in a cameo 12 ball knock. Bowling honors for Jamaica, went to Herlando Johnson who scalped 3 for 33 from 4 overs, Ken Wright with 1 for 11 off 2 and Eian Thomas, 1 for 37 off 4. There were 22 extras.

In a bold reply, Jamaica was dismissed for 181 after 18.3 overs, to give T&T victory by 13 runs, and their first ever lien on the MAQ T20 Night Cricket Trophy.

Hard-hitting Glen Anglin, batting at number 6, in a whirlwind knock of 81 slammed 6 peppery fours and 7 huge sixes off 41 balls to keep the match wide open, until he was ninth out with the score on 180. Young Steven Taylor looked threatening while at the wicket, but fell for a 14 ball 22 that included 2 fours and a six. Keyonie Gayle banged a quick-fire 20 off only 9 balls including 2 fours and a six, and Mark Johnson smashed 3 fours in a 12 ball 17.

Bowling for the victorious calypso boys, Joel Pamphille bagged 3 for 40 from 3.3 overs, Ravi Samlal captured 2 for 22 off 3, Gaston Walker 1 for 37 in 4 and Tazmool Hosien, 1 for 51 from 4. There were 2 run outs and 24 extras. The umpires were, Danny Khan and Mohammed Ally. Paul Mowatt was the official scorer. Congrats are in order for T&T.

After the match T & T captain Timothy Surujbally told DreamCricket.com: "We played as a team throughout the competition with everyone sticking to the game plan. I thought our out-cricket was excellent. Our batsmen and bowlers performed at the right time, and all the players played a major role at one time or the other. I’m very pleased and happy to have led T &T to their first ever MAQ T20 Night Cricket championship.”

2010 Radiant Info USA Cricket Awards: Twenty20 Player of the Year - Lennox Cush

openingbat — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:08:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

DreamCricket.com is wrapping up the year in United States Cricket by recognizing USA’s standout performers at the international level. The 2010 Radiant Info Twenty20 Player of the Year is Lennox Cush.

Pic (Right): Lennox Cush in Italy [File Photo]

Cush has experienced a resurgence in the last few years through his performances in the Twenty20 format of the game. Both Guyana and USA have been beneficiaries of Cush’s all-round skills.

For the USA national team, Cush was the leading scorer in 2010 with 155 runs in nine matches at an average of 17.22. His best performance with the bat came in the semi-finals of the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 championship against host team Bermuda. Cush scored 65 opening USA’s chase after they were set 138 to win. The next best score for USA was 25 not out by Rashard Marshall as America prevailed by 2 wickets.

Hours later in the final against Canada, Cush turned in his best bowling performance of the year. Opening the bowling with Timroy Allen, the pair decimated Canada’s top order to put USA on the path to victory. Cush finished with 2 for 10 in four overs as USA bowled Canada out for 100 before winning by 5 wickets to claim the inaugural Twenty20 title for the Americas Region.

For the year, Cush was the second highest wicket taker for USA with 9 at 25.11, proving his effectiveness as an opening bowler with his off-spin. He finished behind only Allen who had 12, while both men tied for the team’s best economy rate for bowlers who bowled at least one over per team game (minimum of nine overs for 2010). Each player only managed to concede 6.65 runs per over.

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

About the Radiant Info USA Cricket Awards

USA Batting Stats for T20 matches

USA Bowling Stats for T20 matches

San Francisco Blasters win first ever TANA Cup 20/20

openingbat — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:26:00 GMT

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San Francisco Bay Area, July 5, 2010

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In the finals of the USA Independence TANA Cup 20-20 organized by Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) and Telugu Association of North America (TANA), San Francisco Blasters continued their undefeated run defeating DreamCricket Fooglies by 5 wickets and taking home the championship and $3000 in prize money.

The finals started at the North Gate Park with the star studded DreamCricket Fooglies taking to the bat and looking for a mammoth score.

Pic (Right): San Francisco Blasters celebrate their win [Courtesy: Ganesh Sanap]

In fact, that was within the realm of possibility as long as USA senior team player and opening batsman Aditya Thyagarajan (43) was at the crease together with Scotland’s James Crosswaite (36). In the end, the newly reunited DreamCricket Fooglies managed to put up a par score of 153 for 7.

Blasters captain Sunny Khan led the bowling ranks with his 2 for 17 in a remarkable 4 over spell.   Krishna Prasad took two crucial wickets - those of North West Region’s Vijay Beniwal, who threatened to blow the Blasters away with two huge sixes and of NC Aiyappa of the Royal Challengers Bangalore who too was looking to accelerate.

In reply, the San Francisco Blasters showed the kind of aggression that was needed to counter the raw pace of Scorpio Speedster award winner and Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler NC Aiyappa! After losing the first wicket early on and the score reading 2 for 1, Arshdeep Jammu (89 from 48 balls) and Majid Muhammed (22 from 31 balls) let their intent known - the former setting the field ablaze with 13 boundaries.

By the time Majid’s wicket fell with the score reading 108, the damage was done and barring a small chance of a self-inflicted implosion, the pendulum had already tilted in favor of Blasters.   Two wickets fell with the score on 147 but that did not really affect the home team’s chase which they accomplished for the loss of 5 wickets with a few balls to spare.

Arshdeep Jammu was the Man of the Match as well as the MVP of the Tournament and Krishna Prasad took the most wickets - 15 in all.

Calling the event a landmark, The Times of India wrote a glowing report about the TANA Cup. The paper quoted Ganesh Sanap, President of NCCA as saying: "Even though US is mainly a non-cricketing nation, the expat Indian and Commonwealth community is strong and eager to play cricket. We had a Ranji trophy player NC Aiyappa and current USA players like Aditya Thyagarajan, Sushil Nadkarni and Bilal Khan playing, but all of it was non-profit.”

And what’s the secret for Blasters’ surprise win over the supremely talented DreamCricket Fooglies? Ayan Banerjee, the manager of SF Blasters who is a project manager in Cisco had the answer.   He told The Times of India: "We took the tournament seriously because we knew we had tough competition. We were passionate, aggressive and we trained hard.”

[Match statistics and report are based on incomplete scorecards. Please send your corrections/feedback to content@dreamcricket.com]