USA Cricketer : US Cricket, USA cricket

Impress the Americans, not the world

openingbat — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:55:00 GMT

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By Tom Melville

With the announced postponement of the long-in-the-works USA T20 league doubts again arise over the perennial claims of the “great market potential” for cricket in North America.

With three years having passed without a ball yet being bowled these doubts are certainly justified and, collectively, they point, with each passing month of inactivity, to the conclusion that CHALLC has squarely run into the (to date) impenetrable wall that has derailed every other effort, in every form or fashion, whether it’s Kiwk Cricket for kids or multi-million dollar cricket leagues, from its self-proclaimed objective of bringing cricket to the American public: namely, coming to terms with the brutal reality that they are not operating in a cricket playing culture.

And despite its reassuring intent to “get things right” with its operations, CHALLC, even at this preliminary stage, has given plenty of evidence it has not done this.

Investors have been promised “top class players”, “ICC support”, and “international standard turf pitches”, all to be packaged as a fully “world class event” second to none in the cricket world.

And, at least on the drawing board, all this may play well with the most discriminating cricket fans from Mumbai to Sydney, and meet the highest ICC standards and expectations. But it doesn’t promise investors the only thing they really need to know; will any of this ever “play in Peoria.”

Not for one moment should it ever be underestimated that one, and only one, thing matters for any cricket venture with pretensions of profitability in America: can a revenue stream be generated for cricket from the mainstream American public, and this means building a business plan firmly on the tastes and customs of America’s own bat & ball culture, not the standards of the wider cricket world. But, to date, CHALLC only seems to be able to dangle before investors little more than reruns of the Lauderhill matches that never resonated with the American public, and, in all probability, matches that will be played without the international caliber players or ICC approved grounds of Lauderhill.

One has to simply wonder: what does CHALLC really have to sell? Anyone buying into a T20 franchise in a cricket playing culture knows they’re guaranteed fans will be in the stands of first class cricket facilities, in front of their TVs, etc. With its home grown T20 competition CHALLC can’t guarantee its investors much more than the “good old college try” since the hoards of anticipated American cricket fans exist, right now, only in imagination (unless CHALLC views as its “core constituency”--in the words of Gary Hopkins--the North American ex-pat community, in which case it would have to scale back its revenue projections from millions to thousands of dollars).

Personally, I believe the whole IPL “business model”—a full blown, multi-team, competition concentrated over a very short time span—is the wrong one for promoting cricket to Americans. Much preferable, and certainly more time tested, would be the course followed by the NFL in Europe; single, highly-focused, carefully planned, games with their public response scrupulously evaluated and monitored before moving forward in careful, incremental, steps. The NFL didn’t take the plunge of setting up a full-blown European league until it showed it could sell out Wembley Stadium. CHALLC is basically turning all this on its head, jumping headlong into a full-fledged league before it has shown it can sell a single ticket to Americans.

Looking at it this way, CHALLC, at its present stage of operation, is hardly more than a crapshoot, with potential investors being asked to pony up millions for franchises and grounds backed solely by the unverified collateral that organizers somehow, someway, have the wherewithal to sell cricket to the American public in a big, big, way.

(Tom Melville is an American cricket player, teacher, and author of Cricket For Americans and The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America. He’s been working with Americans at cricket for over thirty years. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.)

Candidates announced for USACA elections

openingbat — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 03:27:00 GMT

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USACA announced the 'executive board nominees' for the election to be held on April 14, 2012. This latest announcement follows two recent developments that are expected to play a major role in this election.

Following a board meeting on February 26, 2012, thirty three leagues were deemed ineligible to vote in this election as a result of a ‘compliance review.’

The second development is the audacious immediate offer of $2000 'administrative grant' to each of the fifteen leagues recently certified by USACA as vote-eligible. This grant was announced just days before the list of nominees was made public.

Thanks to these recent developments, it is now widely believed that Gladstone Dainty (picture at right) is a shoo-in for another three-year term as President.

If Dainty wins, he will be in the driver’s seat for two organizations that will shape the destiny of USA cricket. DreamCricket.com just received a document this week in which Gladstone Dainty is listed as the Chairman of Cricket Holdings America LLC.

Ram Varadarajan, Kenwyn Williams and Mahammad Qureshi are all in the presidential race as expected. All had announced their candidacy some months ago. A notable surprise is that the name of Nabeel Ahmed is missing from the list of nominees. Ahmed’s campaign issued a press release as recently as March 6 in which he called himself ‘a concerned cricket fan and presidential candidate.’

Five candidates are in the fray for First Vice President including three members of the outgoing board - Ahmed Jeddy, Krish Prasad and Michael Gale. Mahammad Qureshi and Shahid Ahmed are the remaining two candidates. It is interesting to note that both Ahmed Jeddy and Michael Gale are from the Central West region.

For the Second Vice President too, there are five candidates. Ahmed Jeddy is in the reckoning for this post along with the incumbent - Rafey Syed. The remaining three candidates are North West’s Hemant Buch, Mahammad “MAQ” Qureshi and Charles Peterson.

For secretary, the candidates are John Aaron and Kenwyn Williams. John Aaron served as Secretary until he was suspended after criticising Dainty in an article that appeared on several websites. He subsequently resigned from his post. His opponent Mr. Williams recently sent out an email offering a free iPad3 to first ‘10 of the 15 league presidents that can vote.’

In September 2011, John Thickett told ESPN CricInfo: "The organization is going very much from a mom and pop to much more of a real organization. The national organization has to become more efficient and get better administrators involved in different activities and roles.” Thickett’s wish may have been granted for his own spot. Running against him is Professor Gangaram Singh, who is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at San Diego State University.

Here is the list of nominees announced by USACA:

President: Gladstone Dainty, Kenwyn Williams, Mahammad Qureshi, Rammohan Varadarajan
1st Vice President: Ahmed Jeddy, Krish Prasad, Mahammad Qureshi, Michael Gale, Shahid Ahmed
2nd Vice President: Ahmed Jeddy, Charles Peterson, Hemant Buch, Mahammad Qureshi, Rafey Syed
Executive Secretary: John Aaron, Kenwyn Williams
Treasurer: Gangaram Singh, John Thickett

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Michael Gale and Ahmed Jeddy are both from the Central West Region and not the South West Region.

USA Cricket: Timroy Allen is set to take his talents to infinity and beyond

openingbat — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:01:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Having a quality all-rounder in a cricket team can be like playing on the field with 12 men because of that one player’s dual capabilities. Some all-rounders like Shaun Pollock bowl fast and bat well. Others divide their time between batting and bowling spin like Daniel Vettori.

Pic (Right): Allen bowling off-spin versus Afghanistan at the Dubai WCQ [All Pictures - Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

Then there is that rare blend of both. Andrew Symonds has forged a successful career by being able to bowl pace and spin in addition to walloping the ball around the park. To be spoiled for choice by having a triple threat all rolled into one player is a captain’s dream and USA is fortunate enough to have that in Timroy Allen.

“To be quite honest, I’d like to say that Timroy has probably been the most talented player that we’ve seen in the last decade,” said USA captain Steve Massiah. “He’s very versatile. He brings a lot to the team and with his age, definitely I think he’s a player for the future who a lot is expected of. He’s extremely talented as a batsman and a bowler, whether it be off-spin or whether it be bowling fast.”

The 23-year-old has toyed with his mixture of pace and spin since he was a kid growing up in Jamaica. Like a high school ironman football player who starts at running back on offense and linebacker on defense, Allen’s athleticism allowed him to develop several styles of cricket skills.

“I’ve kinda been growing up always being an all-rounder,” said Allen. “From primary school I’ve been doing the same thing. I would open the bowling, bowling fast, and come back later and bowl spin so it’s kinda something I’ve been developing over the years.”

Allen first came to the U.S. in 2005. He arrived in Florida and settled in the Orlando area with his mother, who was already a U.S. citizen, as well as his younger sister Kahlia. Allen had just finished high school and began going to technical school in order to get certifications. He wasn’t eligible to go with USA’s U-19 squad to play in the World Cup in Sri Lanka the following year, but as a teenager he caught Massiah’s eye in a national tournament played in New York.

“I was very much impressed with him from the very first time I saw him,” said Massiah. “His pace and his control, I thought he was extremely pacy. For a 17-year-old, he looked like a natural fast bowler to be quite honest.”

Allen finally got his first crack with the USA senior team in 2008 at the West Indies Cricket Board Cup in Guyana and once again made a solid impression with his teammates and the opposition.

Pic (Right): Allen uses every inch of his towering frame to bowl express pace

On debut against a Barbados team that featured seven players who have played for the West Indies, Allen took 1 for 23 in eight overs claiming Ryan Hinds as his first scalp for USA.

“I’d seen him play before, but to get a really close look at him was when we toured Guyana. That’s the first time I really get a up close and personal,” said Orlando Baker, who captained USA in Massiah’s absence during that tournament. “I was really impressed on those flat tracks in Guyana the way he bowled, his length, and it was just amazing to see a young guy, bowling so fast on them kind of decks against quality first-class players, people who have played Test cricket. A lot of them give me feedback that they was impressed with him.”

Eleven days later in the 2008 ICC Americas Division One Tournament in Florida, Allen turned in his best statistical performance for USA, taking 5 for 7 in a blowout victory over Suriname. He finished with seven wickets in three games as USA won the tournament. Despite the fact that USA did not play another match for the next 14 months, Allen didn’t skip a beat and shined once again during this past February’s tour of the UAE and Nepal.

“I suppose the one that stands out the most from a youngsters’ point of view is Timroy,” said Dipak Patel, the former New Zealand international who acted as a consultant coach for USA during their February tour. When asked at the conclusion of the tour which players made an impression on him, he was reluctant to name names but couldn’t shy away from Allen. “He’s an athlete. He bowls quick. He bowls spin. He’s dynamic with the bat.” Patel, like many others, believes that Allen has really only shown glimpses of the full range of talent that he is capable of achieving.

“He’s an outstanding athlete,” said Patel. “If you put all those ingredients together, who knows… with the right type of guidance, he could go a long long way.”

Within the USA squad, that guidance has come from Baker, who has been Allen’s roommate on each tour since Allen joined the national team. Baker is not a bad person to model an all-round game after. Another player originally from Jamaica, Baker’s versatility is something Allen and others should draw on as he bats up and down the order in addition to bowling medium pace and filling in as a wicketkeeper when needed. Baker has enjoyed witnessing Allen’s batting progress over the last year.

“I watched him in Abu Dhabi at the Abu Dhabi Stadium in a game against UAE where U.S. was completely out of the game in a Twenty20,” said Baker in reference to the last warm-up game USA played before the start of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in February. “He come in and score about 60 something in no time. He was hitting some balls I’m telling you, just cricketing shots and it just goes to show you the kind of talent the player have.”

Allen finished 57 not out in 24 balls on that occasion with three boundaries and four sixes to rescue USA, taking them to a one-wicket win. Massiah also believes that Allen has taken some good strides to improve his batting and give it greater focus without letting it affect his bowling.

“I think Tim has really developed as a batsman,” said Massiah. “He’s a natural cricketer but I think now he has matured as a batsman. He understands his role, how important it is for him to keep the lower order together. I thought in Bermuda and in UAE, he batted sensibly toward the end, especially in a game against Canada, himself and [Rashard] Marshall played brilliant. They put together a very good partnership and whenever he’s gotten the opportunity to bat, you can see that now he’s making a conscious effort to bat sensibly.

Pic (Left): A big hitter, Allen has learnt to stay longer at the crease instead of going for the fences from ball one

“The key to him, my advice to him is to give himself a chance and try to bat as many overs as possible because he has the ability to hit the ball whenever he chooses to because he’s a natural striker of the ball, but now I thought that he’s matured and batting sensibly and building an innings which is most important, working the ball and putting together innings instead of going out and trying to hit the ball out of the park from the word go. I thought he matured nicely and that’s a great sign for us.”

Massiah thinks that if Allen is able to keep improving, he has the potential to notch a century for USA down the road.

“I don’t think we’ve really seen the true class of Tim as yet,” said Massiah. “I’ve spoken to him in terms of his role and how important is it for him to try to occupy the crease and for him to bat as long as possible. I think once he’s able to do that, we could see probably Tim scoring a hundred at six or seven for the U.S. in the very near future because he’s very competent and very capable of doing that. Tim has the makings to be an exceptional all-round cricketer.”

The one consistent theme among all the praise is the talk of the potential that Allen holds to be a great player. In other words, there are still things he has to work on before he actually is great. Baker believes one of the easiest areas for Allen to improve is his work ethic off the field.

“I think one of the main areas I always encourage him to do is to practice even in the offseason,” said Baker. “He’s a fast bowler. You gotta be strong and I always encourage him that you need to go to the gym because this is a man that doesn’t go to the gym. If you look at the guy, the guy is okay. He’s tall, strong, but he doesn’t work out in the gym. You could just imagine if Tim goes to the gym say four times a week, he could be a killer. I just always encourage him to do the right thing.”

For the last four years, Allen has been working as an alarm technician, fitting in his club cricket games for Lucas CC in the Central Florida Cricket League when time permits. He admits that he doesn’t invest as much time into training as he should and blames it on the time consumed each day going to his day job. It’s one reason why he feels he hasn’t been able to reach his full potential despite all the plaudits from his teammates and coaches.

“A lot of people say I’m one of the most talented player on the team,” said Allen. “Yes, I think I’m one of the most talented player on the team, but until I really get the opportunity to practice and play on a day-to-day basis, well I don’t limit my potential before then because that’s really the only thing that I think that’s holding me back. From going to work, I don’t have an opportunity to practice and only going to play on the weekends sometimes, maybe twice or once a month.”

Baker, who lives in Dallas, has been in regular contact with Allen in the buildup to the team’s departure on Monday for the ICC WCL Division Four Tournament in Italy. The veteran has been doing his best to encourage Allen to train hard heading into this tournament.

“Tim is the kind of guy who likes a push,” said Baker. “He’s not the kind of guy who backs down. He likes challenges.” If Allen can combine his natural talents with more dedication to practice, there’s no limit to what he might produce for the national team.

“He’s a wonderful spinner. He turns the ball as an off-spinner I think the biggest in America that I’ve seen, that I’ve played against. He has a faster ball that a lot of people doesn’t have and I think that faster ball comes because he’s a natural fast bowler,” said Baker. While USA has a nice stockpile of spinners to choose from, it’s hard to find someone who can bowl as fast as Allen.

“I think if on a day-to-day basis, he could be one of the fastest bowler in the USA if he really comes out and decided to bowl fast,” said Baker. “I’ve seen it recently in Bermuda on a flat pitch in the stadium which he really had Canadian guys jumping around in the Twenty20. It was surprising to not only us but to the Canadians the way he bowled on that real flat pitch. He’s a talented player. I just always encourage him to work hard because it doesn’t matter how talented you are, whether as a batsman or bowler, you have to work on your game. I always encourage him in whatever way I can.”

Baker is confident that Allen will turn up the heat on opposing batsman on the artificial wickets in Bologna. “I’m looking forward to seeing him in Italy on these kind of pitches. I know a lot of people is going to be in trouble.”

“On this tour coming up, first and foremost, hopefully we’ll get back here victorious winning that competition,” said Allen. “If I’m bowling or batting, I’ve just gotta stay focused and make sure that whatever situation we’re in, if we’re ever in a bad situation, that we get out of it and put the win in the bag for us.”

Whether it’s with the ball or the bat in his hand, few players can match the talent that Allen possesses. It’s up to him to make the most of it and his captain hopes he does.

“Tim is a natural cricketer,” said Massiah. “He’s one of the few natural cricketers in the squad. Some people are naturals, some people are hard workers. I would like to say he’s a natural talent. When he bowls off-spin, his action and his control, everything is so perfect. He delivers from high. He has the makings of being one of the most successful players that’s gonna represent America.”

Cricket Canada gets invited to WICB Domestic T20. USA to stay at home.

openingbat — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:54:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

On June 10, the West Indies Cricket Board announced the introduction of a domestic Twenty20 competition. The announcement declared that the July event will include the seven regional first class teams in the Caribbean as well as one international team. The winner of the tournament will go on to participate in the Champions League Twenty20 scheduled for September in South Africa this year.

Over the weekend, Cricket Canada posted a message on their web site announcing that they will be the international team participating in the competition. Meanwhile, members of the USA national team that defeated Canada on June 6 to win the first ever ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 championship will be playing club cricket!

Full credit should go to Cricket Canada for swooping in and seizing a golden opportunity to not only give enhanced competition to their country’s cricketers, but also present them a chance to qualify for a lucrative global tournament.

Many people who were in Florida for The Pearls Cup believed that having USA play three matches against Jamaica was a great thing for the preparation of the team before the ICC Americas Division One Tournament, especially since the USA squad was going to have six new players heading to Bermuda the following week. With the unavailability of several of USA’s first choice players for the games in Bermuda, those same players were omitted from the games against Jamaica. The result was that USA was outclassed by a Jamaica team that cruised to a series sweep.

It would have been very interesting to see whether or not a full strength USA squad could have defeated a Jamaica team that will be one of the seven regional teams in this West Indies tournament. The fact that USA lost all three games might have created a stronger case for the WICB to consider Canada ahead of USA for inclusion in the event.

At the same time, Jamaica and by extension the WICB, may have taken into consideration the fact that USA didn’t field their best eleven. The approach on the field in those matches was that USA was treating the series as a set of warm-up matches before jetting off to Bermuda rather than approaching it as a truly live contest in which they were desperate to notch a win against a first class team. In the two games that USA won the toss, they elected to field first. It was a clear sign that they were not confident they could bat 50 overs or 20 overs and that it was more important to make sure the young bowlers would have an opportunity to bowl their full complement.

Make no mistake, USA was in all three matches. In particular, they were in a very good position after the first innings of each Twenty20 game against Jamaica to win both matches. USA batted last in all three games, but at no point did they look remotely interested in making a dash at the targets set. If USA didn’t have the most serious attitude towards giving their guest the most competitive games possible, why should Jamaica stump for the WICB to invite USA to the West Indies? Jamaica could afford to not have their best players participate if they wanted to win, USA could not.

Of course, there are challenges involved for USACA that do not exist for other boards in terms of organizing and selecting teams. Several players who missed out on the Bermuda tour could not go because they could not miss another week of work so soon after having taken a month off for the team’s February tour of the UAE and Nepal.

However, they surely would have been able to miss a day to play against Jamaica for a weekend of games. Obviously that would have deprived some of the players who would be going to Bermuda of getting a chance to gel in their new roles so it is a tricky balancing act figuring out what was the right course of action.

It would have been fresh in the minds of WICB administrators though that Canada fielded a full strength outfit when they played Jamaica and the West Indies in the Jamaica Cricket Festival this April. Canada also sent their U-19 squad to St. Kitts in December ahead of the ICC U-19 World Cup in New Zealand for matches against the West Indies U-19 squad.

It is crucial that USA’s players become contracted professionals as soon as possible, something which Canada has already started to do. USACA CEO Don Lockerbie stated in an open letter in January that he wants to do this. In an interview for Dreamcricket.com in February, he claimed that along with hiring a full-time national coaching staff, professionalization of USA players “should happen in 2010.” The year is almost halfway gone, and it is not clear if contracts for players will be offered anytime soon.

USA defeated Canada to be crowned the best Twenty20 team in the Americas for 2010. Canada, the second best Twenty20 team in the Americas for 2010, will be vying for a chance to go to the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa when they participate in the West Indies Twenty20 tournament in July.

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

An American cricket fan on the forthcoming England vs USA soccer match

openingbat — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:42:00 GMT

Here is a funny take on the forthcoming USA vs England soccer match by an American who writes for The Nottingham Post.

"I may be American, but in many instances I am an England fan. Instances such as cricket. Or rugby league. Or soccer (soccersoccersoccersoccer) against, say, Slovenia.

And I've definitely put in the effort. I've lived here for more than seven years, and I've really tried to make it work with you people. I've embraced what I can.

I've been on holiday to Skegness. I've started buying Wisden every year. I complain about trains more than is necessarily healthy. I like my irony dry, my beer at room temperature and my cricket played over multiple days, thanks very much.

But I'm from Florida, and England v USA on the big stage is a bridge too far. Review my status if you must, but I'm backing the Yanks to win."

ICC Americas Cricket: USA defeats Bermuda by six wickets

openingbat — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:50:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

A tight bowling performance from USA’s spin contingent set up a comfortable chase as they defeated Bermuda by six wickets on Tuesday at the National Sports Club in Hamilton, Bermuda on the fourth day of matches at the ICC Americas Division One Tournament. USA and Bermuda both stand at 3-1 in the tournament behind 4-0 Canada with one day of 50-over games remaining before the Twenty20 event begins on Friday.

Pic (Right): File photo of Man of the Match Steve Massiah [Courtesy: Daniela Zaharia/USACA]

USA captain Steve Massiah was named Man of the Match after a solid all-round display, taking 2 for 33 in 10 overs of off-spin before he steered USA toward the target of 189 by top-scoring with 67 coming in at number three.

USA won the toss and opted to field. Carl Wright and Timroy Allen came back into the lineup for USA in favor of Clain Williams and Bilal Khan. For the second day in a row, Adrian Gordon struck with only one run on the board, having Fiqre Crockwell caught behind by Ashhar Mehdi in the second over for 1. Jekon Edness was then joined by Stephen Outerbridge and the two built some momentum for Bermuda with a 76-run second wicket stand. It was Massiah who finally made the breakthrough for USA, having Outerbridge caught behind for 48 in the 21st over. Seven balls later, off-spinner Muhammad Ghous struck another blow for USA, removing Edness for 26.

Massiah set Bermuda back even further when he had captain David Hemp out stumped for 8 to end the 25th over and Bermuda’s innings had been turned upside down with the score at 91 for 4. The in-form Janeiro Tucker was joined at the crease by Irving Romaine. Tucker had scored 136 against Argentina, including 15 sixes, as well as 77 the day before against Cayman Islands. However, Lennox Cush produced the first of his four wickets, bowling Tucker for 17 to make it 113 for 5 in the 32nd over.

Romaine and Rodney Trott battled to put on 48 runs for the sixth wicket before Romaine was finally dismissed for 34 by Cush to make it 161 for 6 in the 46th. Two overs later, Cush got Trott for 15 to make it 172 for 7. A runout by sub fielder Williams sent back Joshua Gilbert for 5 before Cush took his fourth by bowling Jim West for 2 with two balls to go in the innings. Bermuda finished 188 for 9 in their 50 as Jordan DeSilva finished not out on 13 while last man Kevin Tucker was unbeaten on 1. Cush finished with a superb 4 for 30 in his 10 overs while Ghous was USA’s most economical bowler for the second match in a row, with a miserly 1 for 22 in 10.

Wright opened up the chase with Sushil Nadkarni, but Wright didn’t last long as he was dismissed for 11 in the 7th over by 20-year-old left-arm paceman DeSilva to make it 28 for 1. Massiah arrived and soon took control of the match once more for USA, constructing a 113-run partnership with Nadkarni as they eased their way towards the target. Nadkarni was finally dismissed by Trott at the start of the 34th over, but not before scoring his second-half century in as many days, finishing with 57 in 96 balls with two fours and four sixes.

Cush joined Massiah at the crease, but USA stumbled briefly when Massiah was out to West at the end of the 41st over with the score at 167. He finished with seven fours and a six. Three balls later, Aditya Thyagarajan suffered his first failure of the tournament, out to DeSilva without scoring. Rashard Marshall came to the crease and teamed up with Cush to get USA over the line in the 47th over. Marshall ended the match with back-to-back sixes to finish 17 not out while Cush was 22 not out.

After a day off on Wednesday, USA plays 1-3 Cayman Islands on Thursday in the final 50-over match day of the event. Cayman Islands lost to Argentina by 13 runs on Wednesday while Canada chased a target of 99 in 8.5 overs, demolishing Bahamas by 10 wickets. Bermuda faces Canada on Thursday. Even if the host country wins and USA disposes of Cayman Islands to produce a three-way tie at 4-1, USA has virtually no chance to become the tournament champions as they are way behind both Canada and Bermuda on net run rate. At the other end of the table, 0-4 Bahamas must not only beat 1-3 Argentina on Thursday, but do so by a wide enough margin to pass Argentina on net run rate in order to avoid relegation back to Americas Division Two.

ICC Americas Cricket: USA shakes off Canada loss with 115-run win over Bahamas

openingbat — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:24:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

Two days after a massive defeat to Canada, USA bounced back to defeat Bahamas by 115 runs on Monday at Somerset Cricket Club in Bermuda at the ICC Americas Division One Tournament. The win kept USA in third place in the tournament at 2-1 while Bahamas remains winless at 0-3. Lennox Cush was named Man of the Match for scoring 48 runs in USA’s total of 307 for 8 before taking 2 for 38 bowling off-spin as Bahamas were bowled out for 192 in the 48th over.

For the first time in the tournament, USA won the toss, but for the third match in a row they batted first. Carl Wright, who opened the batting against Canada, was left out along with Timroy Allen in favor of Clain Williams and Muhammad Ghous. It meant that Sushil Nadkarni moved back up the order to open the innings with Orlando Baker. The two batsmen produced the highest partnership of USA’s innings with 82 runs for the first wicket at better than a run a ball.

Baker was the first wicket to fall, going for 33 to the medium pace of 51-year-old Mario Ford. Nadkarni then reached his half-century with captain Steve Massiah at the crease, but fell soon after for 53 to the spin of Narendra Ekanayake.

Wickets then fell at regular intervals for the rest of the innings as almost every USA batsman got a start without carrying on to a major score. Massiah fell for 34 to Ekanayake to make it 156 for 3 in the 28th over. Cush got some valuable time at the crease after notching back-to-back ducks, scoring 48 for USA. He put on 44 runs for the fourth wicket with Williams before Williams fell to Dwight Weakley for a run a ball 25. Cush fell soon after to the same bowler to leave USA at 227 for 5 in the 41st over.

A sharp burst from Aditya Thyagarajan helped get USA past 300. He continued his impressive form by hitting six fours and three sixes on his way to top score with 58 in only 43 balls, which makes it hard to believe he hasn’t earned a promotion up the order. Rashard Marshall teamed up with Thyagarajan for a 54-run sixth wicket stand before Marshall was dismissed by Marc Taylor for 24. Ashhar Mehdi was out for 11 to Whitcliff Atkinson before Thyagarajan was dismissed on the final ball of the innings by Jonathan Barry. Adrian Gordon finished not out on 1.

Gordon then came out and took the first wicket with only one run on the board courtesy of an extra as Atkinson was bowled for a six-ball duck at the end of the first over. Bahamas provided some resistance though in the form of Rohan Parks and Taylor, who played for the Bahamas U-19 squad against the USA U-19 team in Toronto last July at the Americas Qualifier for the ICC U-19 World Cup. The two put on 58 runs for the second wicket before Ghous took his first wicket of the tournament, having Parks caught behind by Mehdi for 39, which turned out to be the top score in the match for Bahamas.

Taylor and Barry tried to keep Bahamas in the hunt, forming a 35-run partnership before Taylor was finally dismissed by Baker for 31 to make it 94 for 3 in the 21st over. From there, wickets fell quickly as Ghous had Ford caught by Thyagarajan for 1 before Weakley was out LBW to Massiah, also for 1, making it 108 for 5 in the 27th. Barry and captain Gregory Taylor teamed up to add 30 runs before Barry was finally sent packing by Cush for 37. Massiah accounted for Ekanayake as he became the third Bahamas batsman to be out for 1, making the score 147 for 7 in the 33rd.

Bahamas did their best to survive all 50 overs as Albert Peters hung around until the 44th over before he was out for 11 to Cush. In the next over, captain Taylor was given out LBW to Bilal Khan for 33 before Gordon wrapped up the match, getting rid of Dereck Gittens for 2 to bowl out Bahamas with 14 balls to spare.

One thing USA will be looking to focus on heading into their Tuesday encounter with Bermuda will be cutting down on wides. USA gave up 27 wides and 36 extras in all on Monday with Cush the chief offender as he conceded 13 of his 38 runs on wides. Ghous was the only one of USA’s six bowlers on the day not to bowl a wide and he also returned the best bowling analysis for USA, taking 2 for 34 in 10 overs of off-spin with two maidens.

Bermuda improved to 3-0 on Monday with a 148-run win over Cayman Islands. In Monday’s other match, Canada also joined the host country at 3-0 but is slightly behind Bermuda on net run rate after beating Argentina by six wickets. Cayman Islands are fourth at 1-2 while Argentina is at the bottom of the table with three losses in as many games. Argentina also has a worse net run rate than Bahamas at the moment with the teams sharing identical records.

USA Cricket Announce ESPN to Broadcast Historic Cricket Series

openingbat — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:44:00 GMT

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

May 19, 2010

ESPN and USA Cricket Association announced today a platform to showcase exclusive, live coverage of the May 22 and 23 Twenty20 international matches between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Lauderhill, Florida.

The matches will be shown exclusively in the US on ESPN3.com, ESPN's live sports broadband network, giving fans a 24/7 online destination that delivers more than 3,500 live, global sports events annually to over 50 million homes.

These historic matches mark the first time two ICC members have ever played on United States soil. ESPN and partner companies ESPN International and ESS will broadcast the matches live in 88 countries and territories around the work, including the UK, Africa, India, Israel, the Middle East, the Asian Sub-Continent, and Oceania to an estimated audience of over 100 million.

USA Cricket CEO Donald Lockerbie stated that with the ESPN family of broadcast and media companies involved “the world will now see that the USA is open for business as a serious cricketing nation. We are very pleased to have arranged with ESPN a platform to broadcast the event live from our stadium in Florida - so those fans not able to attend will watch on ESPN3 in America and on televisions world wide.

"We are looking to show the world that the United States is ready for all the ICC full members to come to our country and play before their diaspora community and fans - a population of approximately 15 million hungry to see cricket played in the US.”

Televised for the first time ever in the United States, ESPN3.com has brought a powerful broadcast team together, led by 2009 ICC Cricket Hall of Fame inductee and former Australia captain, Ian Chappell. Over the course of his career Chappell created and sustained a reputation as one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket.

Joining Chappell in the broadcast booth is the legendary Sunil Gavaskar who held the world records for the most runs and most centuries (34 Test centuries) scored; Simon Doull, a former member of the New Zealand cricket team who played in 32 Test matches and 42 one-day internationals; and Mike Haysman - the former member of Leicestershire, Northern Transvaal and South Australia who represented the Australian XI in the South African rebel tours from 1985-1987.

Twenty20 is a form of cricket introduced in 2003 by the England and Wales Cricket Board. It involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 “overs.” An over is a set of six consecutive legal balls bowled in succession.

Although still an embryonic sport in the USA, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, only behind football (soccer). With approximately 15-million cricket fans living in the USA the goal of the strategic partnership between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket is to generate awareness and establish a fan base and appetite for the sport.

The Central Broward Regional Park Cricket Stadium was built in 2007 and holds up to 20,000.

[From USACA and other sources]

USA to begin defense of ICC Americas Division One title against Argentina

openingbat — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:17:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

The schedule for the ICC Americas Division One Tournament in Bermuda was released on Tuesday with the news that USA will begin its defense of their 2008 championship with a 50-over match against Argentina on May 28. This year’s event introduces a new format with a Twenty20 tournament following the 50-over round-robin competition.

“I thought that’s a great initiative because taking into consideration we played the World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Dubai without any Twenty20 experience, it’s a great initiative,” said USA captain Steve Massiah. “It’s great because the Associate countries, especially countries like us, we don’t play as much cricket as we’d like or that will help us in our progress.”

The 50-over tournament will take place from May 28-June 3. USA will go up against Canada on May 29 before their first rest day on May 30. USA will take on Bahamas, the 2010 ICC Americas Division Two champion, on May 31 before facing off with 2006 champion and host nation Bermuda on June 1.

USA will then get another rest day on June 2 before four days of intense cricket to finish off the tournament, something which will test the fitness of the squad. On June 3, USA finishes off 50-over round-robin play with a match against Cayman Islands.

“I’m very optimistic and I’m very hopeful,” said Massiah about USA’s chances of repeating their 2008 victory. “We hope to defend our crown. The addition of some new players, hopefully they can grab their opportunity with both hands because some of our key players are missing.”

USA will be heading to Bermuda with six uncapped players. Massiah hopes that the matches against Jamaica this weekend will present an opportunity for the newer players to gel and get used to playing with the seasoned veterans.

“I basically do have a good idea of [Jamaica’s] players and they’re one of the top teams in the Caribbean so it does pose a great challenge for us and hopefully we can use this as preparation for our trip to Bermuda. It’s a totally new squad and hopefully we can bond quickly and become a good unit,” said Massiah. “It’s important to develop some chemistry and make guys understand the roles they’re playing. It’s important for them to understand their responsibilities. It’s important for them to understand what it takes mentally at this level.”

One more addition to the USA squad that will take on Jamaica before heading off to Florida is Steven Taylor. According to a USACA official, the 16-year-old who was the youngest player at the 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup in New Zealand will be available for both Twenty20 fixtures. Fellow Florida resident Timroy Allen said by phone Tuesday night that he would also be available against Jamaica for Saturday and Sunday only and not Friday’s 50-over contest due to work commitments.

As for the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 competition, which begins on June 4, the six teams have been split into two groups of three. USA is paired in Group A with Argentina and Canada while Group B includes Bermuda, Bahamas and Cayman Islands.

USA’s first Twenty20 match will be against Argentina on June 4 with a matchup against Canada the following day. The last day of the event on June 6 will see the semifinals and finals staged as well as a 5th/6th place playoff for the bottom team in each group. The teams that make the semifinals are guaranteed to play two games on the final day barring inclement weather because there is a third place game scheduled in addition to the championship match.

ICC Americas Division One Schedule (Courtesy of ICC Web Site)

50-Over Tournament
May 28
Bermuda vs. Bahamas
Argentina vs. USA
Canada vs. Cayman Islands
May 29
Canada vs. USA
Bermuda vs. Argentina
Cayman Islands vs. Bahamas
May 30 – Rest Day
May 31
Bermuda vs. Cayman Islands
Canada vs. Argentina
Bahamas vs. USA
June 1
Bermuda vs. USA
Bahamas vs. Canada
Argentina vs. Cayman Islands
June 2 – Rest Day
June 3
Bermuda vs. Canada
USA vs. Cayman Islands
Argentina vs. Bahamas

Twenty20 Tournament
June 4
Group A – USA vs. Argentina
Group B – Cayman Islands vs. Bahamas
June 5
Group B – Bermuda vs. Cayman Islands
Group A – Canada vs. USA
Group B – Bermuda vs. Bahamas
Group A – Canada vs. Argentina
June 6
5th vs. 6th Playoff (Group A 3rd place vs. Group B 3rd place)
1st Semifinal (Group A 1st place vs. Group B 2nd place)
2nd Semifinal (Group B 1st place vs. Group A 2nd place)
3rd vs. 4th Playoff (Loser of Semifinal 1 vs. Loser of Semifinal 2)
Final (Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2)

2010 Pearls Cricket Cup: New Zealand's Black Caps take in batting practice with Florida Marlins in USA

openingbat — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:29:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

Nearly 80 years after Don Bradman had a meeting with Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium, the cricket and baseball universes collided once more at Sun Life Stadium in Miami as the New Zealand Black Caps paid a visit to the home turf of the Florida Marlins to have some fun and learn a little about each other’s sports.

Pic (Right): Tim Southee with Cody Ross [Courtesy: Robert Vigon]

“I’ve never been to this stadium or seen these guys play so it’s going to be exciting,” said New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris when interviewed on camera by a Palm Beach Post reporter during batting practice. “There’s a few, maybe two or three of our guys that enjoy baseball so they know who’s who, but it’s not really big [in New Zealand]. None of us have ever swung a bat before. It’s just not played in New Zealand.”

It’s the second game inside of a week that Black Caps players have attended after being knocked out of the World Twenty20 in the West Indies. Several players were present at Thursday night’s game between the Marlins and the New York Mets, which the Marlins won 2-1.

Monday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was more special though as Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori and all-rounder Jacob Oram got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. On this occasion, the Marlins wound up losing 5-1.

However, it appears that the Marlins enjoyed their time before the game getting a little bit of cultural enrichment from their Kiwi guests. Reigning National League batting champion and two-time NL All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez padded up in some Black Caps kit to take a few slogs while pitcher Josh Johnson’s interest was piqued after finding out that cricket bowlers are allowed to aim at batsmen on purpose.

“I didn't know much about cricket before these guys came to visit, but I've got a good lesson now,” said Johnson in an article posted on the Miami Herald web site. “They're pretty cool.” The teams hung out and traded tips for about an hour and also exchanged autographed jerseys with each other.

This is not the first time the Black Caps have dealt with a professional baseball player on a first-hand basis. Former Black Caps fielding coach Travis Wilson was the first player from New Zealand to play in the minor leagues according to Baseball-Reference.com. Wilson was in the Atlanta Braves farm system from 1997-2003, getting as high as Triple-A Richmond. He then played for the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate in Chattanooga for the 2004 season before heading back to New Zealand.

Pic(Left): Jacob Oram had Josh Johnson on his fantasy baseball team. Josh does not play fantasy cricket! [Courtesy: Robert Vigon]

New Zealand will be taking on Sri Lanka in the Pearls Cup this weekend at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. A pair of Twenty20 Internationals are scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday as part of a doubleheader on each day.

The other matchups will be a set of Twenty20 games between USA and Jamaica. USA will also be taking on Jamaica in a 50-over encounter on Friday.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1800-745-3000.

Pearls Cup Reshaped - No match on Thursday. Event begins on Friday instead.

openingbat — Sat, 15 May 2010 03:25:00 GMT

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

USA Cricket - NZ Cricket Media Release

Comments

Friday, May 14 - Next week's historic series of international cricket matches scheduled for Florida has been re-shaped to include two double headers, featuring the New Zealand BLACKCAPS vs. Sri Lanka and the USA vs. Jamaica.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka were originally scheduled to play three international Twenty20 matches to launch the hosting of full international cricket in the USA. However, the International Cricket Council has ruled that the lights available at the Broward County Regional Park are not quite up to the standard required for the broadcast and hosting of full international cricket.

"Ideally the inaugural game in the Pearls Cup series would have been a night game on Thursday, May 20th. The lights at the stadium are fine for most levels of cricket, but they need to be of a higher standard for the playing and broadcast of international cricket" said New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan.

“And added to this, there is a high probability of rain and thunderstorms in the region on Thursday which added weight to our decision. Because of these factors, we have decided, along with our partner USA Cricket, to focus all of the attention on the weekend with the two double headers as well a full One Day International between USA and Jamaica on Friday the 21st.”

"The BLACKCAPS are tremendously excited about the opportunity of launching international cricket in the United States and it promises to be an amazing weekend of cricket. The BLACKCAPS have had fantastically close games against the Sri Lankan team in recent times and the Pearls Cup series promises to be a great spectacle.

It is also great to see that Jamaica have sent a full-strength squad, including a number of players who have played for the West Indies. Their games against the top USA team should also add a lot to the event" Vaughan said.

Anyone who had purchased a ticket for Thursday's game should contact Ticketmaster for a reallocation to the weekend or a refund.

Community spirit continues to shine at the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival

openingbat — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:00 GMT

By Peter Della Penna

In terms of American cricket history, Philadelphia was one of the great strongholds of the game in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Now, the city is rekindling its spirit for the game in the 21st century. The 18th annual Philadelphia International Cricket Festival is a big reason why.

The event is a mixture of tight-knit friends and small communities but with a big-time feel because of the glorious facilities on offer, not to mention a lengthy list of special guests over the years. It has helped establish a tradition of excellence that makes this a cricket tournament that is equal parts competitive and social, the latter of which is not always easy to find in the scrappy nature of most amateur leagues in the USA.

Toronto CC celebrate their win at the Philadelphia Cricket Festival

“We have a pretty good ground back in Toronto with good turf wickets, where international cricket can basically be played in Canada, but to come here, the clubhouses are amazing,” said Hassan Choghtai, captain of Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, who won the tournament final over Sarasota International CC by four wickets. “We got a huge response, a huge welcome in the hotel and knowing new people, you chat around with a lot of new guys. To come and meet the special guest, Michael Kasprowicz this year, it’s amazing. It’s an amazing feeling and that’s what keeps on motivating us.”

Past special guests have made a habit of getting out onto the pitch to mix in with the amateur clubs, giving players the thrill of a lifetime. Kasprowicz was no exception. The 38-year-old fast bowler, who played 38 Tests for Australia, played in two matches at the festival.

“Philadelphia had a great time with Kasper,” said Howard Chinn, member of Germantown CC and a co-organizer of the event. “Most of the current or just past current players have played in games. [Mark] Boucher played quite a few games. Jonty Rhodes played two years ago. He played and he enjoyed it. We all loved playing with him. Hey listen, what’s it like being on the field with a guy who’s one of the best fielders ever in the game?”

This year’s event was a 14-team, four day event of 20-over matches played from April 29-May 2 at four different grounds in the Philadelphia area, including the Great Lawn at Merion Cricket Club and St. Martin’s Field at Philadelphia Cricket Club, by all accounts two of the most beautiful club facilities in America.

Hassan Choghtai holds the trophy

Teams come from as far as Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Montreal, and the UK to have fun on the pitch with clubs from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The final was played at the PCC, whose long and stately pavilion backdrop makes it feel as though the players are competing at a Test match venue.

“We have unbelievable venues where we hold the festival,” said Missy Heely, co-organizer and secretary of the PICF. “People remember every ball of every over and every catch and you have these magnificent venues where we play and they get to see old friends and they get to be a little bit more competitive.”

Heely, American born and raised, first learned about cricket after getting involved with the event 14 years ago because her husband was friends with a fellow organizer, Craig Joss. However, Heely says that it didn’t take long to pick up the game and credits the social rewards that come from it as a big reason why she keeps with it.

“It’s the people. I have friends around the world now because of a little tiny cricket festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have friends in South Africa and California and they’re all brought together on the cricket pitch.”

The organizers also recognize the need to give back to the game to help make it grow at the grassroots level. The Lads of New Jersey, a youth focused roster comprising kids from DreamCricket Academy and Indoor Cricket USA, was one of the 14 teams in the event. Lads of NJ also played an exhibition match against Germantown Academy, a squad from the suburban Philadelphia high school, on the last day immediately before the final. Perhaps most significantly, a silent auction was held with autographed jerseys and other memorabilia up for bidding to raise money for Philadelphia Junior Cricket.

Post Match Interview with Choghtai and Zia from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

“What we try and do is every year whatever we can give to youth cricket we give to them,” said Chinn. “It’s usually around $2000-$3000.” One of the items on offer at the auction this year was a Chennai Super Kings jersey signed by six players including captain MS Dhoni that went for a winning bid of $2700.

Even though the festival has a strong expat flavor, American accents can be heard all around the festival grounds in Philadelphia. Contrary to popular belief, Heely believes that it’s not hard for Americans to learn if they take an analytical approach to the game.

“I’ve fallen in love. I’ve learned to keep score,” said Heely. “We’re a statistics driven society. I can do ERAs in baseball. It’s the same thing as strikes and balls. You’ve got wides and dot balls and everything and you’re calculating the run rate. In a game like today, it came down to the last ball of the last over and if you’re paying attention, you’re calculating the run rate. You’re hoping for a two. You’re hoping for a catch. It’s just as exciting as any other sport and you have these beautiful places in which to play it.”

Philadelphia Cricket Festival Awards Presentation from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.

More than anything, the humility and good hospitality of the organizers make the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival a truly worthwhile event that has teams eager to return year after year.

“We’ve been fairly lucky over 18 years that I would say we’ve had fun at every one of them,” said Chinn. “Every one’s worked out, whether we’ve had rain or whatever circumstance, it’s worked out pretty well.”

For a blog covering the matches, please visit http://pcccricket2010.blogspot.com/

Final in progress between Sarasota and Toronto CC

The scoreboard tells it all

Jubiliant Toronto CC

The Festival Trophy and the Hamish Miller Shield

The hallowed grounds of the PCC!

Dialog on youth cricket calls for greater coordination

openingbat — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:54:00 GMT

Ram Varadarajan wrote in an email dated March 30, 2010: “It has been my belief that USA cricket can benefit from a national dialog with inclusive participation and active and open communication.” That belief was shared by roughly 60 participants who dialled into the first call on Monday, April 26, 2010. The topic was - "A national youth program: Coordination among youth academies and youth programs across the country." The callers included leaders of nearly all cricket academies and coordinators of youth cricket programs.

In his introductory remarks, Mr. Varadarajan said that, "Youth cricket (in USA) is mainly led by individuals and is a grassroots effort. There is no real coordination at the national level." He said that while academies and other league initiatives were doing a great job, there is a need to "knit these (efforts) together into a national plan." "USACA has a big role to play," he added.

Pic (Right): Ram Varadarajan began the first in a series of monthly calls for sharing ideas that benefit USA Cricket

Calling it an open forum, Mr. Varadarajan said, "we are just starting a dialog, out of this may emerge a plan." He urged the participants to look forward instead of backward: "no abuse, no screaming, be civil and constructive, let us make this a progressive call." He also asked that participants adhere to strict time limits adding that there will be more calls, including at least one more call on youth cricket.

The response to the national dialog was positive. In an email to DreamCricket.com, one participant wrote: "I was worried that either very few would call in, or that many would call in, [and] each with a different perspective and different solutions, so that there would be little agreed upon and little to take away. What I heard instead was much general agreement, and many of the same experiences."

Another caller told DreamCricket.com he hoped that the call would result in a national federation of youth initiatives and a league for youth cricket that plays year round in various divisions, instead of meeting once a year for a regional or national tournament. "Cricket does not have to look very far for inspiration. Soccer has two national youth organizations both of which are affiliated to the US Soccer Federation. Those youth associations have their own bylaws, national rules and regulations, and policies."

The call featured five speeches followed by a discussion. Speaking first, Jamie Harrison, President of Maryland Youth Cricket Association, told the participants: "You do great work on behalf of cricket in the United States, and I want to say how much I admire your hard work, innovation and dedication. Many of you have labored in obscurity for years, seeking only to do right for those you coached."

Speaking about the Maryland Youth Cricket Association and the national United States Youth Cricket Association, which is in formative stages, Mr. Harrison said, "Our mission is to introduce elementary-school age children to cricket by donating cricket sets and instruction to schools, summer camps and youth groups." According to Mr. Harrison, the US Youth Cricket Association would produce a huge feeder system for upper-level schools, academies and cricket camps.

A former teacher and coach at Cardinal Gibbons, Mr. Harrison said, "Instructors are always on the lookout for new games to break the monotony of class, and schools love it when things are donated for free. Also, cricket is the perfect game for gym classes and once they are made aware of the benefits that cricket holds for themselves and their students, many educators will welcome the game with open arms. As a matter of fact, even now we have schools contacting us to ask that we start them on cricket."

Following Mr. Harrison's speech, Rajesh Suthar of NCCA (Bay Area) spoke about that league's efforts in promoting cricket. He said that there were 60 kids in the league's program between the ages of 6 and 19. But he said that there were not enough teams within the league - which made match-play a challenge. He hoped that the youth programs in his region could put their differences behind and collaborate to provide kids with a regional minor league.

Venu Palaparthi said that the two year old DreamCricket Academy conducts summer camps and specialized coaching in New Jersey. Mr. Palaparthi indicated that the summer camps in 2008 and 2009 were well attended and gradually about 30 of the kids have become year-round cricketers playing at the Academy's indoor facility and when opportunities arose, on a ground. Not having a dedicated ground in the entire state of New Jersey for youth cricket was the biggest obstacle, one that the Academy is looking to overcome during 2010 with support from the cricket community. The Academy has conducted camps across the entire spectrum of junior cricket - from five-year olds at the Kiddie Academy to students with special needs - such as a camp conducted for the NJ School for the Deaf. And it plans to conduct camps in more cities in the future.

Ajay Athavale of California Cricket Academy (Bay Area), the most successful cricket academy in the country by any metric, said that his Academy's goal was to spread cricket. He spoke about the Academy's successful efforts in conducting national level age-group tournaments. This year, the Academy was launching the U-17 age category in the tournament which is planned for June 24-27. Speaking of his Academy's tour program, he said not only had CCA invited outstation teams, most recently a team from CAUSA in Atlanta, it traveled outside its region including overseas tours. He then spoke of the CCA tours to England and India which had given the CCA and some non-CCA boys invaluable turf-wicket experience. He said that the Academy is open to coaching all kids in the areas of skills training and playing in a variety of conditions.

Florida Cricket Academy's Wayne Ramnarine said that several well known junior cricketers such as Steven Taylor and Ricky Nayyar had attended his Academy. He said that Ramnaresh Sarwan recently visited the Academy and coached the boys. The Academy, which has nets at the Ansin Park and plays matches at Brian Piccolo, has access to some of the best facilities in the country for youth cricket. He said that his Academy's biggest wish was to see greater funding from corporate sponsors and USACA. Calling for a national youth coordinator and national agenda, he said that his region's youth coordinator had not visited his youth program.

Shyam Mayasandra spoke on behalf of Michigan Cricket Academy in Detroit, Mr. Mayasandra said that his academy was begun by himself, Vasant Krishnaswamy and Mike Makin in 2004. The academy has had year round activities including winter activities in an indoor arena. He said although 100 kids were on the roster, they did not have the necessary strength to have a youth league. To address that, they organized tournaments at U-15 and U-19 levels which were well represented. He spoke of Detroit's beautiful grounds and also proximity to Toronto's more advanced youth cricket scene as advantages. Mr. Mayasandra hoped for greater cooperation between the regions and called for an end to the island mentality. He hoped that Detroit would one day has something like the Brijesh Patel Academy, which he said had 40 nets in a single ground. He also hoped that USACA would organize a week-long camp at the national level for talented junior cricketers to supplement the national level tournaments.

In the discussion phase of the call, the callers unanimously agreed on the need for a national database for youth cricket, the backbone for which DreamCricket offered to provide. Mr. Varadarajan said that submitting data should be voluntary so that there are no privacy concerns. There was also general agreement on the need for greater coordination, which was the main theme of the call.

Former New York Youth coordinator Clifford Hinds spoke about the need for uniform curriculums among the programs in the country and urged USACA to have a voting member on USACA board who watches out for youth at all times. New Jersey parent Rahul Sharma said that recreational programs were the way to cultivate interest in cricket. He said that township and municipal administrators should be approched for inclusion of cricket in their recreational programs.

Mike Thomas spoke of youth cricket in Philadelphia area and much later, in response to a question by Shahid Ahmed, he also touched on cricket at Haverford and surrounding colleges. In his view, most people in his area espoused the idea of cricket and he saw no reason why cricket could not grow rapidly. Krishna from Chicago wanted to know more about fundraising experiences of other callers. Venu Palaparthi responded with his experience saying it boiled down to marketing and packaging. Mr. Palaparthi noted that having a non-profit status offers a huge advantage for raising funds due to the inherent tax benefits to the donors.

Speaking about his experience with raising money for the national tournaments in California, Mr. Varadarajan said that youth cricket tugs at the heart strings of community and saw no reason why community oriented businesses could not be persuaded to donate money.

Jay Shah of Dallas spoke about the need for product cricket! By that he meant that if the sport was marketed better, more people would play the sport. This was in response to an emailed question by Richard asking regarding a path to a professional career. Mr. Palaparthi spoke briefly about ManasSahu, the president of the Massachusetts State Cricket League, who had initiated a 'One Club, One School' program wherein each club in the league would be encouraged to adopt a school. In response, one caller suggested that leagues should be handed USACA funds based on their involvement with youth cricket.

Mike Makin of MCA said that roughly 4 million kids played soccer and not everyone really aspired to play professional soccer. And those that did dreamt of playing for Real Madrid. His point was that there were enough good reasons to play cricket that not having a professional career path was not a limitation.

Mr. Varadarajan ended the call with a quick note of thanks and promised another call on youth cricket in May.

Speaking to DreamCricket.com, Jamie Harrison said, "In the next call, I would like us to develop further the concept of a nationalized youth cricket organization. Even if we don't get to create the organization, I believe that if we have broad agreement on what it should look like and how it should function, our suggestions will be incorporated into whatever plan eventually emerges. Being able to put forth a specific plan will also make it easier to approach USACA, as opposed to voicing multiple, varied ideas that may be in opposition to each other. It also lets USACA know that they will have eager partners awaiting them when they are ready to move forward in the area of a nationalized youth cricket agenda."

Lockerbie lays out his plans for next two years.

openingbat — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:47:00 GMT

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Click here for “USACA holds AGM, promises merit based incentives - Part 1”

Click here for "USACA holds AGM, promises merit based incentives - Part 2"

Click here for "Future seems bright - Dainty to USACA AGM" (Part 3 of our coverage)

Lockerbie lays out his plans for next two years

Dainty drops hints about North American Cricket League post-AGM (Part 4 of our AGM coverage and after)

Comments

Taking to the podium in the time earmarked for “Other Business” at the USA Cricket AGM, Mr. Lockerbie said, “I have been in the job for ust over a year,” and added “I am here to give you the State of the Union.” Mr. Lockerbie called his first year a year for “transition, vision and planning,” adding that his second year would be the year of growth and by third year the growth would gain serious momentum and cricket would become a force in USA. He finished his speech saying, “I have had 1 year under my belt, the honeymoon is over.”

Pic (Right): Don Lockerbie presents at the USACA AGM on April 17, 2010

It is what Mr. Lockerbie said in his brief speech combined with what the USACA President shared with Orin Davidson of NewYorkCricket.com that give us the strongest clues about where USA Cricket is headed.

Mr. Lockerbie touched on a variety of topics including the possibility of cricket grounds/stadiums in Nassau county, New York and Indianapolis.   He said, just as an example, that the Champions Trophy required just 2 full-fledged stadiums and 4 pitches, something that was within USA Cricket’s grasp if it worked hard towards that goal.

In the near term, Mr. Lockerbie listed ICC Americas in Bermuda and the ICC Division IV in Italy as the tournaments that were critical for Team USA as they once again embarked on the quest for greater recognition.   Mr. Lockerbie said that the team had done well in 2009 with very little preparation and that the cricket community has taken note of the fact that USA defeated UAE in practice and Scotland in a tournament fixture.

Crediting grassroots volunteers for sustaining cricket through years of hard work, he said that USACA was gaining in strength.

Mr. Lockerbie said that his goal was for USACA to attain an annual budget of $3 to $5 million next year and an even larger amount the year after.
Without elaborating on where the money was going to come from, Mr.Lockerbie said that the worldwide tender attracted 106 expressions of interest and 42 serious proposals from 16 countries. Of those, he said that nine proposals were short-listed and 2 ‘programs’ were currently being considered.

Although Mr. Lockerbie did not detail the programs, some aspects of these proposals were divulged by USACA President Mr. Dainty in an article that appeared on April 19th on NewYorkCricket.com. In addition to a potential arrangement with New Zealand Cricket, Mr. Dainty spoke of a deal with the NACL group that was focused on Twenty20 games.

A quick Google search for ‘NACL’ and ‘Twenty20’ leads one to the website of the North American Cricket League Twenty20 - NACLT20.com.

The website provides some early insights on the company’s plans. According to the NACL website: “The intention of the Company is to work in close association with USA Cricket Association (“USACA”) and under the guidelines and regulations of the International Cricket Council (“ICC”) to organize, host, promote and develop Twenty20 format cricket, develop cricket and cricketing infrastructure in the United States.”

The website further states: “NACL’s ultimate objective is to spread the game at the grass roots in the United States, have a school level and University level development program, take the game to the American fan base and in the near future provide opportunities for local home grown talent to earn lucrative League contracts and conceptualize and build a development program in sync with The International Cricket Council’s mandate on globalization of the sport.”

Eight teams that will supposedly play in the Twenty20 league are also listed - New York Warriors, Los Angeles Panthers, New Jersey Tornados, Chicago Eagles, Houston Riggers, Florida Alligators, Seattle Indians, and Washington Tigers.   The website does not provide information on the timeline or on the backers of this league.

Pic (Right): The logo of North American Cricket League. The league could stage T20 games, USACA President Dainty told a website.

The website, which features a photo of Ryan Corns, promises “team composition rules [which] are geared towards a 60% - 40% domestic/international contingent to ensure the participation of and the development of American talent.”

The website further states that “NACL will adhere to all ICC and USACA rules and regulations [..and will] work in cooperation with USACA to develop, organize and manage major cricket events as part of USACA’s “Destination USA” strategy.”

A USACA source declined to comment on NACL for this article as discussions were still in progress. Not much was said about any of this at the AGM either, but something big is clearly on the anvil if the NACL website is to be believed.

Postscript: Also, in other business at the AGM, a discussion was initiated by GLCC President Sankar Renganathan about the need for quality umpires. “Quality equipment, quality grounds, quality players and quality umpires - all are important for a quality match,” Mr. Renganathan told the gathering.

Mr. Renganathan said that in a country where roughly 25,000 play on a weekend, USA cricket needs at least 1000 qualified umpires. He urged USACA to consider an accreditation process for umpiring and creation of an elite umpire panel for international events. Upon Mr. Renganathan’s urging, USACA President passed a motion calling for USACA to hear the views of all regional umpiring associations on the certification process for umpiring and on creation of an elite panel of umpires.

New Zealand - Sri Lanka T20 Series an investment for the future of USA Cricket

openingbat — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 01:53:00 GMT

Speaking on a range of topics over the weekend in connection with the New Zealand vs Sri Lanka series in Florida, both USA Cricket CEO Don Lockerbie and NZC CEO Justin Vaughan concurred that the series should be viewed as a worthwhile investment for the future.

"The series will run at a loss. The US is a market that needs to grow to love and appreciate cricket before you can start really trying to run profitable events," Mr. Vaughan told The New Zealand Herald. "In the long term it could be a really good deal for us," he added. Speaking to a different newspaper, The Dominion Post, Mr. Vaughan said: "It is not like rugby [All Blacks playing Bledisloe Cup matches in Asia] where you get an immediate financial return, that is not the case. It is part of a longer term relationship."

In an email to DreamCricket.com, Don Lockerbie wrote: “This match series is the launch of a long term commercial partnership between USA Cricket and New Zealand Cricket and so we are not measuring the success of the event in the revenues raised so much as we are the exposure for the sport n the USA.”

“We have a long term business model in the works - and I can assure you that the new venture will be profitable and raise significant revenues to develop cricket in the USA and fund the initiatives our board has been busy developing for the long term growth of cricket in the USA,” Mr. Lockerbie noted.

Speaking about how this would evolve, Mr. Vaughan said: "We'd like to think the Black Caps would play there (in USA) annually. Ideally we'll go there to or from tours to the West Indies or on the way to England. They will always be short series. Possibly we'll play Pakistan there."

Mr. Lockerbie said that the organization was working on quite a few sponsor opportunities - besides announcing the Indian development firm PEARLS as the title sponsor for the series.

Pic (Right): As readers who watched today's IPL final may have observed, PEARLS is a major sponsor in Indian cricket. The PEARLS logo appears on the right sleeve of the Mumbai Indians team shirt.

“We hope to announce more sponsors in short order - meanwhile we are happy to hear from any companies interested in a commercial partnership,” Mr. Lockerbie wrote. Adding, “we are close to securing the worldwide broadcast rights for the event and will make this announcment when all becomes official”

Speaking about the logistics of managing such a large scale event, Mr. Lockerbie said that The Pearls Cup will be managed in a collaborative manner with New Zealand Cricket providing their experienced operations staff to work closely with USACA Cricket Operations Director Sheikh Manaf Mohamed.

He hoped that USA Cricket could host the two teams to world class standards. “A full event calendar will be developed and finalized shortly. My goal is to read in the press that the players have had a remarkable experience in the USA and want to come back to help us develop the sport. The goal for USA Cricket is to have our "Destination USA" program launch our development initiatives - intended to resource our regions with funding and programs to teach the sport and recruit American players to build our base for future national teams.”

“We have a team developing of sports marketing and management people from the area and also have quite a bit of interest from the ICC - who are sending umpires and officials directly from the World T20 to officiate.”

Answering a question on whether USA will also play in an exhibition match in the tournament, Mr. Lockerbie wrote that the NZC vs SL matches will be played on May 20th, 22nd and 23rd. According to Mr. Lockerbie, USACA was working to finalize separate matches between USA and Jamaica on the May 21st as part of the event. Similarly, there would potentially be a double header on 22nd to compliment a T20 match featuring New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Mr. Lockerbie noted that “these USA matches will come a week before Team USA travels to Bermuda to compete as the defending champions in the ICC Americas Championships.”

“We won this tournament in 2008,” he reminded.

Commenting on USA's readiness to compete against test-playing countries, Mr. Vaughan told The Dominion Post that USA still has some ways to go. “I'm sure in three to five years they would like to see themselves in a tri-series or something."

Responding to a separate question on whether the teams playing in The Pearls Cup would be full-strength sides, Mr. Lockerbie noted: “The two full members will come directly from the World T20 in the West Indies.”