USA Cricketer : Vibhav Altekar

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: More USA batting woes lead to six wicket loss to Canada at 2012 ICC Americas U-18

openingbat — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:23:00 GMT

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

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA’s batting struggled for the second match in a row as they posted just 112 before losing by six wickets to Canada on Wednesday in a rain-reduced 30-over match at the 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp in Lauderhill, Florida. USA’s failure to find singles inside the circle during the middle overs when Canada had five men on the boundary cost them dearly as 101 of the 180 deliveries in their innings, 56%, wound up being dot balls.

The match was delayed by five hours and 15 minutes due to rain in the area that started early Wednesday morning and didn’t let up until 2 p.m. When the field was finally ready for play to begin, USA won the toss and elected to bat first. Vice-captain Dave Parikh was left out of the XI in favor of Omari Williams after Parikh sustained a leg injury while the team was warming up on the field less than an hour before the start of the match.

For the second day in a row, Steven Taylor lasted until just the fourth over before getting out caught. One ball after hitting a six over the boundary at extra cover, Taylor drove straight to Armaan Kapoor at short cover to depart for 12 with the score on 24. Two overs later, Abrash Khan got his second wicket when Shakeel Ahmad took a wild swing and missed to be clean bowled for 8 which reduced USA to 34 for 2 in the sixth over.

USA’s biggest partnership of the day produced 32 runs between Amarnauth Persaud and Randall Wilson with Persaud being the aggressor in the stand. He finished with 28 off 40 balls before he dragged a return catch straight back to leg-spinner Trevor Manoosingh in the 16th over. Wilson needed treatment on his right wrist at one point and eventually retired hurt on 8 off 34 balls after 18 overs with the score on 68 for 3. Eight balls later, Williams was bowled for 2 trying to slog Manoosingh over midwicket to make it 71 for 4.

Despite having plenty of wickets in hand midway through the innings, USA’s batsman could not find ways to up the scoring rate. In a seven over stretch from overs 15 through 21, USA scored just 13 runs as they mostly pushed the ball back to the bowler or drove straight to one of the four fielders inside the circle. Once pressure started to mount, they couldn’t respond in an efficient manner and wickets started falling more regularly.

Krish Goel was caught on the boundary at long off to give Canada U-18 captain Sudeepta Aurka a wicket to make the score 82 for 5 in the 23rd. Zahib Tariq was dismissed without scoring for the second match in a row when he was stumped off his fourth ball to give Nikhil Dutta the first of two wickets. Roshan Varadarajan came in at number nine and lasted 10 balls before going to slog medium pacer Amanpal Gillar and skied a return catch to go for 4 to start the 27th over. Wilson returned at the fall of Varadarajan’s wicket with the score 96 for 7 and managed to add five more runs to his score before he was bowled by Gillar to make it 108 for 8 with nine balls to go in the innings.

The tournament structure states that a bonus point is up for grabs at the end of the first innings for either side. It goes to the batting side if they bat out their overs without losing 10 wickets but if they are bowled out then the fielding side claims the point. USA seemed to be unaware of this in the final over which resulted in the final two wickets going down.

Arsh Buch was runout after hesitating to go for a run with Vibhav Altekar, who had been in since the 16th over. Ryan Persaud entered with three balls to play in the innings and on the fifth ball of the over tried to slog Dutta but was caught at cover and USA was bowled out for 112 in 29.5 overs giving a bonus point to Canada in the process. Altekar finished not out on 22 off 37 balls. Manoosingh had Canada’s best figures with 2 for 17 in six overs.

Canada went about the chase in methodical fashion with Aurka being the only batsman showing any aggression in going after the target, scoring 40 of Canada’s first 61 runs. Steven Taylor wound up opening the bowling with Arsh Buch and was USA’s most threatening pace bowler of the first two days. He bowled out his six overs, taking 0 for 17. Stephan Joseph was run out off Taylor’s bowling, trying to steal a single to point where Goel made a solid diving stop and threw to Ahmad with the gloves on who whipped off the bails to dismiss Joseph for 13 with the score at 48 in the 12th. After 12 overs were completed, Taylor took over wicketkeeping duties from Ahmad for the rest of the innings.

Two deliveries after being dropped by Williams at long on, Aurka drove Ryan Persaud’s leg-spin to Ahmad at long off to make it 61 for 2 in the 18th. Ahmad then had Kapoor LBW for 3 to make it 69 for 3 in the 21st as the run rate started to inch up. However, Dutta did just enough to keep the scoring rate creeping along towards the target. He did offer a chance on 13 in the 24th over when Taylor missed a stumping off Goel, but went on to take the team across the line with 35 not out in 61 balls.

Gurkaran Dhillon was run out for 11 in the 27th as Goel and Ahmad teamed up again in the field, but the match ended in the 29th after a wide by Ahmad gave Canada the winning run with seven balls to spare. Canada moves to 2-0 with the win while USA remains winless. Ryan Persaud had USA’s best figures with 1 for 17 in five.

USA has an off day on Thursday while Canada and Bermuda square off for the second time in the U-18 event. Live coverage on DreamCricket.com, made possible in part by the New Inning Foundation, begins at 9:45 a.m. EST.

USA Cricket: USACA names 14-player squad for 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp

openingbat — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:56:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

USACA has selected the 14 players who will represent the USA against Bermuda and Canada in Florida next month at the 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp. The squad for the 50-over double round-robin event was announced on Monday night. It contains six players who have previously represented USA at the U-15 or U-19 level.

Steven Taylor will captain the squad, a strong indication that he will hold onto the role in 2013 when a USA U-19 squad will compete in the ICC Americas U-19 Division One Tournament for a chance to qualify for the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup in the UAE.

Amarnauth Persaud, a teammate of Taylor’s on the USA U-19 team last summer at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland, was named in the squad. Persaud was one of the top scorers this season in the NY Public Schools Athletic League high school cricket competition while representing Martin Van Buren High School.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor will captain the USA U-18 team next month in Florida. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The vice-captain will be Dave Parikh, who captained the USA U-15 squad to a first place finish last August at the ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament in Winnipeg, Canada. Parikh was also named Tournament MVP of that event.

Parikh is joined by four other North West Region players. Krish Goel was in the list of probables for the USA U-19 squad in 2011 and is a former USA U-15 teammate of Steven Taylor and Persaud. Roshan Varadarajan was Taylor’s vice-captain on the USA U-15 team in 2009 and previously captained the North West Region to an undefeated title-run at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament while Arsh Buch, another USA U-15 representative, was the Tournament MVP at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament. Vibhav Altekar, who represented the USA U-15 team in 2011, scored a double-century at the 2011 USCA U-15 National Tournament.

Three other New York Region players join Persaud on the team. Zahib Tariq emerged as a solid prospect for USA at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Championship for his all-round abilities. Just last week he scored 28 not out and took 6 for 13 in a quarterfinal win for FDR High School over Persaud’s Martin Van Buren High School in the NY PSAL Playoffs. Randall Wilson, who took 2 for 34 and scored 51 not out in a quarterfinal win for John Adams High School over Abraham Lincoln, has scored three centuries in the last two years at USACA U-15 National Tournaments.

Omar Afridi is also from the New York Region and in 2011 was named Scotland’s U-17 Player of the Year. He previously represented Scotland at the U-13 and U-15 levels but his family moved to the USA last summer. He is able to play for USA without having to wait four years by virtue of his US citizenship and because he did not represent Scotland at the U-19 level or above.

Ryan Persaud was selected from the Atlantic Region. He was the leading wicket-taker at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament. Shakeel Ahmad, the younger brother of USA U-19 player Salman Ahmad, is the lone representative from the South West Region. Ahmad scored a century this past weekend for Citrus Valley CC against Hollywood CC in Division Two of the Southern California Cricket Association and currently averages 44.40 in Division Two matches this season. Karan Patel and Omari Williams hail from the Central West and South East Regions respectively. Williams made headlines last year as a 15-year-old when he scored 128 in a match for Osswald Park against Myrtle Grove in the South Florida Cricket Alliance Premier Division.

A coach, manager and physio have yet to be named by USACA. The ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp runs from July 9-14 at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla.

USA U-18 Squad: Steven Taylor (captain, South East), Dave Parikh (vice-captain, North West), Omar Afridi (New York), Shakeel Ahmad (South West), Vibhav Altekar (North West), Arsh Buch (North West), Krish Goel (North West), Karan Patel (Central West), Amarnauth Persaud (New York), Ryan Persaud (Atlantic), Zahib Tariq (New York), Roshan Varadarajan (North West), Omari Williams (South East), Randall Wilson (New York).

USA Cricket: 2012 ICC Americas U-17 tournament rebranded "U-18 Match Play Camp"

openingbat — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:38:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

This year’s ICC Americas U-17 tournament, scheduled to take place from July 8-15 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been reclassified as the ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp between USA, Canada and Bermuda. According to an ICC Americas spokesperson, the tournament has been redesigned with the goal in mind to put the teams “in the best position to challenge for the one spot available” from the Americas that will move on to the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup.

The age of eligible players for this tournament was raised one year from U-17 to U-18 to allow for all players eligible for the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup qualification cycle to participate in this ICC Americas event. Players must be born on or after September 1, 1993 to be eligible to play for an Associate country at the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup. This means that Amarnauth Persaud and Steven Taylor, members of the USA squad at the 2011 ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland, will be eligible to play for USA in July at this ICC Americas event as well as next year's ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament. Should USA finish first in that event, they will advance to the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup in the UAE.

The two Americas representatives at last year’s ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifier – USA and Canada – both failed to qualify for the ICC U-19 World Cup which begins this August in Australia. Overall, the standard of play from the Americas has dwindled in recent years. As recently as 2004, the USA was one of the highest rated Associate teams and qualified for the Champions Trophy in England. After ICC suspensions in 2005 and 2007, they were demoted from ICC World Cricket League Division Three to Division Five and have struggled to climb back to the upper echelon of Associates.

In 2007, the region had two representatives in the ICC World Cup with Bermuda and Canada taking part in the tournament played in the West Indies. Since then, Bermuda has dropped down to ICC World Cricket League Division Three. Argentina, which was in ICC World Cricket League Division Two in 2007, has now been relegated in four consecutive WCL tournaments to plummet to Division Six. They have lost 24 straight matches in the WCL beginning with the championship match at Division Three in 2007 through the fifth place match at Division Five in 2012.

Most recently, the Americas representatives at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE – Canada (6th), USA (12th), Bermuda (13th) – had the worst average finishing position (10.33) of any of the five ICC Associate development regions. The best way to fix this is by beginning at the junior levels and so July’s tournament will have a bonus point structure that will reward teams for achieving certain milestones within a match. According to an ICC Americas spokesperson, “The points structure for the Match Play Camp is designed to force countries on focusing not only on the winning aspect but on developing the players’ attitude as to how to become better players.”

USA, Bermuda and Canada will each play each other twice in 50-over round-robin matches. Teams will receive 10 points for a win and five points for a no result. At the 15 over mark of each innings, one bonus point is available for either side. The bowling side can claim the bonus point if they have taken three wickets from their opponents. If the batting side is less than three wickets down after 15 overs, they will receive the bonus point.

Image (left) - Steven Taylor at 2011 USA U-19 trials in New York. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

For the team batting first, a bonus point can be claimed for batting out all 50 overs. If the side fielding first bowls the opposition out inside of 50 overs, they will claim the bonus point.

A bonus point is given for each partnership by a batting side that is 50 runs or more. Two bonus points are given to a batting side for each partnership that is 100 runs or more. A fielding side can claim one point for each run out resulting from a direct hit. Another bonus point is available for bowling a side out in the second innings (as opposed to winning the match by restricting the chasing team below the target without taking all 10 wickets).

Besides Taylor and Persaud, other players who may be in consideration to make the USA squad for the July event include a slew of players from the North West including Krish Goel, Arsh Buch, Roshan Varadarajan, Vibhav Altekar, Dave Parikh and Neil Tagare. Goel was invited to USA U-19 trials last year and was a member of the USA U-15 team in 2009. Varadarajan served as vice-captain to Taylor for the USA U-15 team in 2009 and captained the North West Region to the National Championship at the 2010 USACA-15 National Tournament. Buch was the leading run-scorer and tournament MVP at the USACA U-15 National Tournament in 2010.

Parikh captained the USA U-15 squad in Winnipeg last summer to a first place finish and was named Tournament MVP at the ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament. Altekar scored a double-hundred in the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament and was USA’s leading scorer with 140 runs at last summer’s ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament. Tagare had USA’s highest individual innings score at last summer’s ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament with 79 vs. Bermuda.

Image right - Dave Parikh, the MVP of the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament in Winnipeg, Canada. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Multiple cricketers from New York also stand an excellent chance of getting picked including Zahib Tariq, Randall Wilson and Troy Mars. They have the benefit of playing consistent age group cricket in New York’s Public Schools Athletic League high school cricket program throughout the spring. Tariq was one of the best all-round performers at the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament as well as a consistently solid performer for the New York Region U-19 team and FDR High School, one of two currently undefeated teams this season in the PSAL. Wilson scored two centuries in the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament as well as one in the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament and plays for John Adams HS, currently 8-1 this season in the PSAL. Depending on eligibility, Wilson’s John Adams HS teammate Troy Mars stands a solid chance as well. Mars has a high score of 177 and is currently third overall in runs for this season’s PSAL behind Persaud, who attends Martin Van Buren HS.

Several others on the USA junior level selection radar are Kwiese Edmondson of the South East Region, Shakeel Ahmad from the South West Region, Ryan Persaud from the Atlantic Region, Gordon Makin from the Central East Region and Rafeek Nazeer from the New York Region. Depending on eligibility, New York Region player Omar Afridi is also a top candidate after excelling in Scotland’s junior development program and representing the country at U-13 and U-15 levels prior to moving to the USA last year.

However, some players from the North West and New York might be squeezed out of getting a chance to even compete for a spot in the USA squad for the ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp. The USACA U-17 National Tournament was postponed from February and no announcement was ever made to reschedule the tournament. With the ICC Americas event just over six weeks away, it is highly unlikely that USACA will be able to hold a national tournament in enough time to help evaluate talent ahead of the ICC Americas tournament.

According to a source, USACA has discussed the possibility of asking each region to submit a list of four names to be invited to a national selection camp, which would hold up to 32 junior players. However, that would mean that regions which are historically weak at developing solid junior players, such as the Central West and North East, might take up spots at the expense of better players from regions which are historically strong at developing solid junior players, such as the North West and New York. Another issue is whether or not junior players from leagues who are not in good standing according to the USACA compliance audit from February will be invited to participate in any selection or evaluation process.

2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division All-Tournament Team

openingbat — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:29:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

1. Alex Dore, Bermuda – The left-hand batsman turned in a Man of the Match performance against Canada with 51 at the top of the order on the final day of the event. Dore tied for fourth overall with 108 runs and also took several sharp catches at short cover.

2. Delray Rawlins, Bermuda (pictured right) – The all-rounder may be one of the shortest players on the field, but he made his presence felt in a big way for Bermuda. Had they won the tournament, he probably would have been named MVP. Rawlins led Bermuda with 137 runs, good for third overall, including a 71 opening the chase on the first day against USA. On the bowling side he took six wickets with his left-arm spin and turned in a 2.73 economy rate, the second best in the tournament. He could have had twice as many wickets had his fielders not let him down by dropping numerous chances, almost all of them straightforward.

3. Neil Tagare, USA – The classy right-hander from the North West Region turned in the highest individual score of the event, 79 against Bermuda, and finished sixth overall with 104 runs. Of all the batsmen on display, he showed the most promise for future development with the most technically correct approach at the crease. No one timed the ball better than him in Winnipeg.

4. Vibhav Altekar, USA – After making a double-hundred in the national tournament in Hartford, 140 runs in four matches may seem light but it was good enough to lead USA in the category. Altekar got a start in every match, but his highest score only wound up being 50. At the international level, he needs to make those starts count.

5. Dave Parikh, USA (captain, pictured left) – Parikh shined most in USA’s win over Canada, an individual performance so dominant that it played a huge role in giving USA the tournament title on the net run rate tiebreaker. He scored 67 not out and took 4 for 6 in eight overs that match as USA won by 138 runs. Overall, Parikh tied for fourth overall with Dore by scoring 108 runs on the week and tied for second overall in the wickets column, leading USA with seven scalps. He also had a tournament best 2.63 economy rate.

6. Abrash Khan, Canada (pictured right) – A rare sight at this age level is seeing players make runs down the order but Khan did that in just about every game. He scored the most runs on the week with 142 with a best of 77 in a win over Bermuda. Khan also bowled solid spells coming on as a first change bowler, taking four wickets with a respectable 4.21 economy rate.

7. Gordon Makin, USA – While he played as a wicketkeeper for USA, Makin makes the All-Tournament Team based on his batting. He had limited opportunities in USA’s first two matches, but when USA was in trouble in their third match against Bermuda, Makin nearly pulled USA across the line with a sterling 65. He played unselfishly down the order and has the tools to be a very good player at U-19 level.

8. Christion Gibbons-Wade, Bermuda – A versatile player, Gibbons-Wade had an impact in several games. The big hitter scored an unbeaten half-century in a lost cause against USA in the first match of the tournament and was a devastating pinch-hitter in the rematch with 23 not out in 11 balls. He opened the bowling a few times with decent results but took 5 for 35 against USA coming on in the middle overs and finished with seven wickets overall.

9. Gayan Ferdinands, Canada (pictured left) – The off-spinner posed the most problems throughout the week for any bowler outside of Rawlins. Ferdinands took a tournament best 12 wickets, five more than any other bowler. He bowled aggressively by tossing the ball up full to invite the drive and his fielders backed him up the entire week.

10. Manula Adihetly, Canada (vice-captain) – Canada’s vice-captain takes the same spot on the All-Tournament Team. He had excellent control for a leg-spinner and constantly teased batsmen by giving the ball plenty of flight. Adihetly finished with seven wickets, second on Canada behind Ferdinands and tied for second overall in the tournament.

11. Sarbjot Singh, Canada (wicketkeeper) – The Winnipeg product led all glovemen on the week with 11 dismissals behind the stumps. He was particularly good standing up to the spinners with five catches and one stumping keeping to the slow bowlers.

12th man: Khalif Williams, Bermuda – Bermuda’s off-spinner took seven wickets on the week but just misses the cut to make the first XI. Both Ferdinands and Adihetly showed just as much wicket-taking ability as Williams, but bowled with better control and had better economy rates.

USA Cricket: Bermuda beats Canada; USA takes 1st place on tiebreaker at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:12:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Alex Dore’s 51 at the top of the Bermuda innings helped his side post a comfortable target to defend in a 20-run win over Canada on Friday in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dore was named Man of the Match for his knock which included eight boundaries. The win created a three-way tie between Bermuda, Canada and USA at 2-2. USA was named tournament champions based on a superior net run rate with Canada finishing second and Bermuda third.

Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first on a sunny and windy morning in Winnipeg. Dore and Keishun Smith put Bermuda on the path to victory by producing the best opening partnership of the tournament, 53 runs in 7.5 overs. They were aided in large part by a costly first over bowled by Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah, who conceded 15 extras and 22 runs by the time six legitimate balls were bowled. Smith finally left for 11 when he chased a wide delivery from Abrash Khan and edged behind to wicketkeeper Sarbjot Singh.

Dore built another half-century stand with Delray Rawlins for the second wicket and in the process reached his half-century off 66 balls, but he departed one ball later after trying to cut off-spinner Gayan Ferdinands and gave a simple edge to Singh. The keeper took his third catch and brought Ferdinands his second wicket when Rawlins tried to play the same shot to a quicker delivery to go for 17 and the score became 121 for 3 after 20.

Bermuda had looked set to post a score well in excess of 200, but went through a rapid decline thanks to the continued efforts of Canada’s spin attack. Leg-spinner Manula Adihetly got into the act in the next over when he bowled Bermuda U-15 captain Antonio Darrell through the gate for a duck to make it 124 for 4. Ferdinands then took his third when he had Joshua Commissiong caught at point for 16. Two balls later, Adihetly had Janhoi Bean-Wilson caught for 6 at long on as Bermuda started to crumble at 138 for 6. Ferdinands made it 139 for 7 in the next over when Detre Bell left without scoring as he tried to punch off the back foot to another quicker ball and gave Singh his fourth catch.

For the second time in the week, a controversy involving Bermuda sprung up when Micah Perozzi was given out obstructing the field on the second ball of the 28th over to make it 147 for 8. Perozzi defended a full delivery from Ferdinands toward silly point. While the ball was still bouncing, Singh came out from behind the stumps to pick it up, but as he leaned down to field Perozzi kicked the ball away from him. The ball was not bouncing toward the stumps so the action taken by Perozzi was not done in defense of his wicket. Singh then asked the umpires, “Howzat?” Both umpires entered into a discussion and asked Senathirajah if he wanted to withdraw Canada’s appeal. Singh then appealed again and with no objection coming from Senathirajah, Perozzi was given out. Perozzi began gesturing at both umpires while a member of the Bermuda management ran out onto the field to protest but the umpires stayed with the decision.

Joshua Gibbons-Wade was the ninth wicket to fall with the score on 155 when he edged Adihetly to Senathirajah at slip for 10. The last wicket pair of Khalif Williams and Joshua Liyanage added 19, the most outside of the first two partnerships, before Williams was caught slogging at deep midwicket for 14 off the bowling of left-arm spinner Kurt Ramdath and Bermuda was bowled out for 174 in 33.5 overs.

Bermuda came out to field with very aggressive body language and didn’t hold back from sledging. Tensions were on the rise after the Perozzi dismissal and on the first ball of the chase, Gibbons-Wade delivered a neck high full toss at Harsh Thakar. In the next over, the keeper Bean-Wilson gave a shoulder barge into Thakar while fielding a throw. The umpires once again drew the ire of the Bermuda management staff off the field when they approached Darrell to have a word about controlling his players increasingly poor behavior, which was evident all week long.

The opening stand ended at 31 when Ramdath was caught for 13 slogging the left-arm spin of Rawlins to Perozzi at long on. Things got even uglier after Perozzi completed the catch when he started a celebration which involved him turning to the Canada bench to start shooting an imaginary machine gun while yelling out, “Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!” The Bermuda team then went to the boundary edge to welcome the new batsman Bradley Dickson, with all 11 fielders surrounding him and chatting to him all the way to the crease which prompted one of the Canada management members to yell out, “Stay away from my batsman!”

Canada’s chase failed to regain momentum as Bermuda took wickets at regular intervals from there. Dickson was caught down the leg side for 9 trying to guide a short delivery from Rawlins past the keeper to make it 49 for 2. Four balls later, Senathirajah was out for a duck when he hit a full toss from Rawlins to Darrell at mid off. Williams came on and removed Thakar for 17 when he drove the off-spinner low to Dore at short cover to make it 57 for 4.

In a week that saw one batsman timed out and another dismissed obstructing the field, it was only fitting that Ferdinands was out hit wicket for 8 when he swung too hard at a leg side wide from Perozzi only to miss the ball and have his bat hit the stumps on the follow through to make it 72 for 5. Khan made 18 to overtake USA’s Vibhav Altekar as the tournament’s leading scorer, but fell to Perozzi when he hit a full toss to midwicket as Canada’s best partnership came to an end at 33 to make it 105 for 6 in the 26th.

Amrinder Atwal was the next to go for 1 when he tried to flick Williams through midwicket but instead sent a leading edge back to the bowler to make it 106 for 7. Miraj Patel fought valiantly with Adihetly to produce a 30-run stand for the eighth wicket as the two gave Canada a glimmer of hope at winning the match and taking the tournament title. Patel top scored for Canada with 41 and finished as their second highest scorer on the week behind Khan, but after hitting seven boundaries he was finally bowled by a slower ball from Gibbons-Wade after going through with a pull shot too early.

Canada still needed 39 runs to win with only two wickets left in hand. Darrell brought himself on and had Adihetly caught behind swishing at a good length ball for 11 to make it 152 for 9 in the 36th as Canada needed 23 to win in 26 balls. The USA team was now present at the field in advance of the tournament awards presentation and cheering for Bermuda to win, which would produce a three-way tie and give USA the tourney title on the net run rate tiebreaker. Perozzi obliged by removing Neil Ramdath for 3, caught behind for Bean-Wilson’s third catch to end the match as Canada was bowled out for 154 in 36.4 overs.

Image (above) - The tournament champion USA U-15 squad. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

At the tournament awards presentation, Canada took home three of the awards and USA one while Bermuda’s players received none of the individual honors. Sarbjot Singh was named Best Wicketkeeper after completing 11 dismissals behind the stumps, five more than the next best keeper. Abrash Khan was named Best Batsman after scoring 142 runs in four innings including a top score of 77 vs. Bermuda. Gayan Ferdinands was named Best Bowler after taking 12 wickets on the week at an average of 9.67. His best performance was 5 for 36 against USA and he also had a 3.63 economy rate.

USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh was named Tournament MVP. Parikh scored the second most runs for USA with 108, tied for fourth overall in the tournament with Bermuda’s Alex Dore, and also took seven wickets to lead USA in the category and tied with three other bowlers for second overall. Parikh also had the best economy rate of all bowlers in the tournament with 2.63 runs per over. Parikh’s performance of 67 not out and 4 for 6 in eight overs against Canada played a major part in boosting USA’s net run rate way ahead of Bermuda and Canada to ensure they won the tournament tiebreaker.

USA Cricket: Five by Ferdinands helps Canada upend USA by 25 runs at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:16:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Canada U-15 off-spinner Gayan Ferdinands derailed USA’s chase with a five-wicket haul to lead his side to a 25-run win on Thursday in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ferdinands was named Man of the Match after wrecking USA’s middle order with 5 for 36 in eight overs including two maidens. The win takes Canada to 2-1 while USA finishes the tournament at 2-2.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first on a perfect morning with a gentle breeze blowing down the ground from the south instead of across the pitch from the east as had been the case on Wednesday. As a result, both teams bowled with much better control on the day. Harsh Thakar was the first player to go, caught behind after edging a half-hearted drive to Gordon Makin off the bowling of Dave Parikh for 2 to make it 5 for 1 in the third over.

Image (right) - Gayan Ferdinands accepts the Man of the Match award from ICC Americas Regional Development Manager Martin Vieira. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Unlike on Monday when Canada wilted for 63 all out against USA, the host’s batting lineup showed tremendous patience and focus as Kurt Ramdath and Bradley Dickson eased their way to a 70-run second wicket partnership. The pair were never really threatened by USA’s bowlers while Ramdath showed good sense in going for big shots with the wind at his back, hitting six fours and a massive six straight down the ground. He was finally caught for 43 pulling a half-tracker from leg-spinner Mihir Athavale to Rohit Mogalayapalli at deep midwicket.

Dickson ran himself out for 25 two runs later when he drove a full delivery from Anirudha Srinivas to Karanjit Singh at point and took off when there was no run to be had. Ferdinands departed for 12 in similar fashion after building a promising 36-run stand with Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah. Ferdinands drove Singh to point where Sagar Patel was fielding. Senathirajah took off while Ferdinands stayed put. Patel threw to the wrong end where Makin collected and faked a throw to the bowler as Senathirajah was making his way back. The fake was enough to lure Ferdinands out of his crease and Makin whipped off the bails to make it 113 for 4 in the 29th over. Senathirajah was then bowled by Vibhav Altekar for 33 to make it 129 for 5 in the 32nd.

Abrash Khan was joined at the crease by Miraj Patel and just as they did two days before against Bermuda, the pair took Canada to a winning position with a solid partnership. Patel finally left for 17 when he drove into the wind against Parikh and was caught at cover by Mogalyapalli to make it 164 for 6 after 37 overs. Manula Adihetly was run out without facing a ball on the first ball of the 38th after Khan tried to stretch a single into two as Singh fired a direct hit at the non-striker’s end running in from the long off boundary. Khan continued on until the last over when he spooned a simple catch to Athavale at cover off the bowling of Singh to make it 180 for 8. Sarbjot Singh was caught for a duck two balls later and a single was taken off the last ball by Amrinder Atwal as Canada finished 181 for 9 in 40 overs. A day after giving up 42 extras in the field, USA only conceded 13 against Canada.

USA’s chase got off to an excellent start as Singh and Jason Gobin produced the highest first wicket partnership of the tournament with 49 runs. Each player looked comfortable against the pace bowling of Canada, but problems started to develop once spin was introduced. Singh eventually fell for 21 when he edged an attempted back foot drive to first slip off Ramdath’s left-arm spin. Neil Tagare fell four balls later for a duck to end the 14th over when he mistimed a pull off a short delivery from Ramdath and gave a simple catch to Cooper Hart at square leg to make it 49 for 2.

Gobin’s strike rate slowed considerably once leg-spinner Adihetly began to bowl in tandem with Ramdath. Gobin had a string of 11 straight dot balls between the 16th and 19th overs and before long, frustration got the best of him as he tried to come down the track to drive Adihetly but never got to the pitch of the ball and was stumped for 28 in the 21st over to make it 63 for 3.

USA had been scoring at three runs per over, but with Altekar and Parikh now at the crease USA scored at better than six per over for the next 10 overs. The pair added 66 for the fourth wicket and seemed to have USA on course for victory until Ferdinands came on for a third spell from the southern end. Ferdinands had given up 28 runs in three overs bowled from the northern end as he struggled to flight the ball into the wind.

Image (left) - Vibhav Altekar drives through the on side during his innings of 48 to top score for USA. Altekar finished as USA's leading scorer in the tournament with 140 runs in four innings. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Now bowling from the southern end, USA continued to target him, disregarding the fact that he was now bowling with the wind at his back and the batsmen would be hitting into a stiff breeze. The ploy worked brilliantly as he struck with his second ball in the 31st over when Altekar tried to clear Hart at mid on by driving into the wind and a simple catch was taken inside the circle to get rid of the batsman for 48. Parikh crossed with the ball in the air and on the very next ball he edged a drive to Senathirajah at slip to leave for 17 as USA’s collapse began to take shape at 129 for 5.

Two overs later, Makin tried to pull a short ball into the wind and was caught at midwicket in the circle for 1 to make it 130 for 6. In the 34th, Mogalayapalli was run out for 5 when Sagar Patel hit a delivery from Adihetly into the covers and took off before changing his mind, only to leave Mogalayapalli stranded halfway down the pitch. Thakar fielded and threw to Adihetly over the stumps with Mogalayapalli three yards short to make it 136 for 7.

Patel repeated Altekar’s mistake in the 37th when he slogged a full delivery from Ferdinands into the wind to give Hart another easy catch at mid on for 10 as USA slumped to 145 for 8. Ferdinands completed his five-wicket haul when Athavale went for another slog into the wind as Hart took his fourth catch of the day to make it 155 for 9 in the 39th. Ferdinands’ remarkable five-over spell ended with 5 wickets for 8 runs and effectively sealed the match for Canada.

Khan took the only wicket by a pace bowler for Canada in the final over to end the match when he had Rutvij Bhise caught down the leg side by the keeper Singh and USA was bowled out for 156 with two balls remaining. Canada conceded their fewest amount of extras this tournament with 15 during the innings.

Canada takes on Bermuda in the final match of the tournament on Friday. A win will make them the undisputed tournament champions while USA would finish second and Bermuda third. A win by Bermuda would create a three-way tie at 2-2 with net run rate deciding the winner in which case USA would most likely finish in first place. USA’s run rate is currently +0.650, Canada’s at -0.109 and Bermuda’s at -0.759. If Canada loses, they cannot finish in first place. In order for Bermuda to finish in first place ahead of USA, they must bat first and score a minimum of 242 runs while also bowling out Canada for 46 runs or less, a highly improbable scenario. Friday’s match between Bermuda and Canada is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start at Assiniboine Park.

USA Cricket: Captain Parikh inspires 138-run demolition of Canada at 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division

openingbat — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:58:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh’s brilliant all-round performance was more than enough for his side to defeat Canada U-15 by 138 runs on Monday afternoon in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Parikh was the easy choice for Man of the Match after top scoring in USA’s innings with 67 not out before wrecking Canada’s lineup in the field with figures of 4 for 6 in eight overs including four maidens. USA moves to 2-0 with the win while Canada joins Bermuda at 0-1.

Canada won the toss and sent USA in to bat first on another bright and sunny day in Winnipeg as Karanjit Singh and Jason Gobin opened once again for USA. Canada was able to get rid of Gobin early to make it 22 for 1 in the fifth over when medium pacer Amrinder Atwal bowled him for 11 after Gobin played across the line and missed a full delivery. USA’s batting hero from day one, Neil Tagare, came in next but scored just 12 before he top edged an attempted flick through the on side off Atwal and was caught at midwicket to make it 43 for 2 in the 11th. Singh went next for 15 when he tried driving leg-spinner Manula Atihetly through the covers but instead sliced a simple catch to point to make it 68 for 3.

Parikh then came to the crease where he joined Vibhav Altekar to forge a chanceless 74-run partnership in the span of 12 overs. Both batsmen calmly negotiated the spin tandem of Atihetly and Gayan Ferdinands, waiting patiently for the loose deliveries to dispatch to the boundary. Altekar raised his half-century in 57 balls with 10 boundaries, but was out one delivery later when he cut left-arm spinner Kurt Ramdath to point to make it 142 for 4 in the 31st.

Parikh carried on with Rohit Mogalayapalli to build another half-century partnership as USA cruised toward 200. USA took their batting power play to start the 37th over and managed to add 34 runs in the final four overs as Parikh brought up his 50 in 60 balls with nine fours. Canada’s fielding had been sharp for most of the innings, but Parikh was dropped off back-to-back deliveries on 63 and 65 at mid off and mid on in the last two overs. Mogalayapalli was finally caught driving medium pacer Abrash Khan to cover for 18 with two balls to go in the innings to make it 198 for 5. Parikh and Gordon Makin added three off the final two deliveries as USA finished 201 for 5 in 40 overs. Atwal had Canada’s best figures with 2 for 33 in eight overs.

Image (above) - USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh acknowledges his teammates after reaching his half-century against Canada. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Parikh and Rutvij Bhise opened the bowling for USA and had the host side under immediate pressure. Ramdath and Harsh Thakar could only muster 13 runs for the first wicket before Ramdath fell for 9 when he spooned a catch to Mogalayapalli at cover off Parikh’s left-arm seam bowling. The opening stand wound up being Canada’s best partnership of the innings.

Bhise and Parikh then ripped apart Canada’s lineup as four more wickets fell with the score on 23. Thakar chased a wide delivery from Bhise and edged to Makin behind the stumps for 9. Seven balls later, Ferdinands was out for 5 driving Parikh to Srinivas at mid off, who slid forward to complete a superb catch. Canada U-15 captain Prushoth Senathirajah fell without scoring off the next ball when he tried to smash Parikh over Srinivas, but the fielder backpedaled from mid off to take another athletic catch to end the ninth over with Parikh set to bowl a hat-trick ball at the beginning of the 11th.

Before that could take place though, Bhise made it three wickets in three balls on the first delivery of the 10th when Adihetly fended off a bouncer to Brandon Dat at square leg for a golden duck. Parikh took his fourth in the 13th over when Sarbjot Singh became the third batsman to leave without scoring, driving loosely to feather a thick edge to Makin making the score 33 for 6.

Miraj Patel was run out for a duck when Bhise fired a direct hit to the keeper’s end after chasing a ball down from his position at first slip to make it 40 for 7. Atwal was also run out for 6 when Khan cut a delivery from Altekar to point and set off for a run that was never there. Parikh fielded and fired to Makin over the stumps with Atwal well short to make it 50 for 8. Khan was ninth man out for Canada’s top score of 17 when he sliced the medium pace of Anirudha Srinivas to Bhise at point to make it 55 for 9. Srinivas also claimed the last wicket when number 11 Rohan Devrai became the fifth Canadian batsman to fall for a duck, top edging an attempted pull to Singh at midwicket as Canada was bowled out for 63 in 23 overs. Extras were second top score with 11. USA’s impressive bowling performance was evident in the fact that they did not bowl a wide until the 12th over at which point Canada was already five down.

USA has Tuesday off as Canada takes on Bermuda with both teams looking to register their first win on the week. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time from Assiniboine Park.

USA Cricket: 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division begins on Sunday in Winnipeg

openingbat — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:10:00 GMT

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

By Peter Della Penna

USA’s U-15 squad will attempt to bring some much needed positive on-field results for the country beginning on Sunday as they take on Bermuda in the first match of the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. USA finished second at the 2009 event held in Brooklyn, N.Y. Defending champions and host side Canada begin the event with a day off before squaring off against USA on Monday.

USA’s squad is captained by Dave Parikh, a veteran of the North West Region U-15 team for several years. Parikh captained this year’s North West U-15 squad to the region’s fourth straight national championship and is one of six players from that squad who will be playing for USA in Canada.

He’ll be joined by Vibhav Altekar, who scored a double-hundred in Connecticut and was named Tournament MVP at the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament, along with pace bowler Rutjiv Bhise, who was the hero in the final against New York, Mihir Athavale, Neil Tagare, and Anirudha Srinivas.

Two players from North East will be on the team, the first junior players representing America from the region since Andy Mohammed was selected to play for the USA U-19 squad after playing for the North East U-19 team in the 2009 USACA U-19 National Tournament. Karanjit Singh and Jason Gobin formed a successful opening combination in Connecticut with Singh scoring one century and Gobin notching a pair of half-centuries in July to earn spots in USA’s U-15 squad for this tournament.

Similarly from the Central East, their opening tandem of Rohit Mogalayapalli and Gordon Makin strengthen the batting depth. Both players impressed in the 2010 USACA U-15 National Tournament in New Jersey and followed it up this year with more solid displays as Mogalayapalli registered a century while Makin had two 50s and will most likely be slotted into the wicketkeeper role for USA’s U-15 team.

Three players made it from the national runner-up New York team. Randall Wilson, who was the top run getter in Connecticut with two centuries and a 50 will most likely play a pivotal role in the middle order for USA and could open the bowling as well. Brandon Dat and Ryan Persaud were also selected from New York while Vivek Narayan made it from the Atlantic Region.

The team is being coached by former West Indies international Milton Pydanna, who had an 18-year first class career for Guyana and now lives in New York. North West regional representative Ajay Athavale is the Team Manager while Akhtar Masood Syed is the Team Physio.

DreamCricket.com will attempt to provide live coverage for every match at the tournament dependent upon internet availability.

Tournament Schedule
August 21 – USA vs. Bermuda
August 22 – USA vs. Canada
August 23 – Canada vs. Bermuda
August 24 – USA vs. Bermuda
August 25 – USA vs. Canada
August 26 – Canada vs. Bermuda

USA squad: Dave Parikh (captain, North West), Vibhav Altekar (North West), Mihir Athavale (North West), Rutvij Bhise (North West), Brandon Dat (New York), Jason Gobin (North East), Gordon Makin (Central East), Rohit Mogalayapalli (Central East), Vivek Narayan (Atlantic), Ryan Persaud (New York), Karanjit Singh (North East), Anirudha Srinivas (North West), Neil Tagare (North West), Randall Wilson (New York).

Head Coach – Milton Pydanna
Manager – Ajay Athavale
Physio – Akhtar Masood Syed

USA Cricket: North West stuns New York to win 2011 USACA U-15 National Championship

openingbat — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:44:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna

North West bowler Rutvij Bhise’s 5 for 12 fueled a dramatic turnaround for his side as they defeated New York by five runs in the final of the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament on Monday afternoon at Keney Park in Hartford, Connecticut. New York was 181 for 1 in 25 overs, needing 39 to win with 10 overs remaining before Bhise’s medium pace sparked an incredible collapse that resulted in New York being bowled out for 214 in the 35th over to give North West their fourth consecutive U-15 national title.

“I was always confident. I just told my boys to keep attacking and that the match is not over until the last ball,” said North West U-15 coach Raj Badadare. “Once we got one wicket, we just attacked. No one on the boundary, short cover, short midwicket. Fielding wise they got charged up. We took three stunners, all diving catches. We were lucky enough to get Wilson. Had he continued then it would have been a different story. This was an absolute thriller.”

Randall Wilson opened the chase for New York and constructed a 167-run partnership for the second wicket with Rafeek Nazeer. The two were on their way to ending North West’s streak of consecutive titles at three until Bhise came on in the 27th over, the 10th bowler of the day used by North West. Bhise ended the big partnership by getting rid of Nazeer for 59. In the 29th over, he removed Wilson for 110 as momentum started swinging back North West’s way. In the 31st over, New York continued their tailspin by losing three more wickets, two more for Bhise and the first of three run outs.

Bhise completed his five wicket haul in the 33rd over but at the start of the 34th over, New York still had a reasonable chance to win with three wickets in hand and eight runs needed to win in 12 balls. However, Vibhav Altekar conceded zero runs and two more wickets fell, one to the bowler and another via a run out, as New York’s hopes of winning were hanging on by a thread with Bhise due to bowl the final over. Two balls later, Altekar effected the third run out of the innings to clinch North West’s fourth straight U-15 National Championship.

“Last year, New York had a much more balanced side. This year they depended on the two batsmen. Wilson played magnificently, there is no other way to say it, but the other batsmen gave it up,” said Badadare. “Once wickets started falling it was a hard to believe kind of thing. New York, I think they became overly defensive because it’s pretty clear when you have eight wickets in hand you should attack. They came out defending every ball just trying to take singles when the whole field was up.”

North West’s win was set up in the first innings by a pair of half-centuries from openers Neil Tagare and captain Dave Parikh. A year after striking 74 not out in the 2010 final against New York in New Jersey, Parikh scored 61 in Connecticut as part of a 162-run opening stand. Tagare finished with 88 before he was run out. North West eventually finished on 219 for 8 in their 35 overs which wound up being just enough in the end. Badadare says that his team’s commitment to training was what helped them win in the end.

“We started conditioning two or three months back,” said Badadare. “We had programs for most of the players. They were assigned to clubs in the leagues. Amit Buch was there for the last three months so I had made a special request to have one day in a week for a coaching session for these guys. [Former USA manager] Imran Khan helped us with some sessions.”

“It wasn’t just batting and bowling skills but teambuilding because most of the players were new. This team had nine or ten new players from last year’s team. The confidence level was low at the start but the last practice session before we flew to Connecticut we were full of confidence. This team was more balanced than last year’s team. We had no superstar, but everyone could chip in when it was needed.”

In the third place game, Atlantic defeated North East by seven wickets. North East was bowled out for 68 in 23 overs before Atlantic chased the runs in 17.2 overs. South East defeated Central East by six wickets to claim fifth place. Central East was bowled out for 47 in 22.5 overs with 23 of those runs coming in extras. South East crossed the target in 16 overs. South West got their first win of the tournament in the 7th place game, leaving Directors’ XI winless. Directors’ XI scored 68 before South West knocked off the runs in 11 overs for the loss of one wicket.

At the post-tournament awards ceremony, New York’s Wilson was named Best Batsman on the weekend after scoring 278 runs in four innings including two centuries and one half-century. North East’s Akhil Girnikar was named Best Bowler after finishing with eight wickets in four games. North West’s Vibhav Altekar was named Tournament MVP. Altekar made headlines on day two by scoring a double-century against South West.

Top Tournament Performances

Centuries
R. Mogalayapalli, Central East – 117 vs. Directors’ XI
V. Altekar, North West – 202 vs. South West
K. Singh, North East – 101 vs. Directors’ XI
R. Wilson, New York – 105 vs. Directors’ XI, 110 vs. North West

Half-centuries
G. Makin, Central East – 63 vs. Directors’ XI, 56 not out vs. North East
N. Tagare, North West – 59 vs. South West, 88 vs. New York
J. Gobin, North East – 57 not out vs. Directors’ XI, 71 vs. Central East
R. Wilson, New York – 56 not out vs. Central East
R. Nazeer, New York – 61 not out vs. Directors’ XI, 59 vs. North West
D. Parikh, North West – 61 vs. New York

Five-wicket hauls
R. Persaud, New York – 5 for 12 vs. Central East
R. Bhise, North West – 5 for 12 vs. New York

USA Cricket: North West's Altekar strikes 202, North East's Singh 101 to highlight Day 2 at 2011 USACA U-15 Nationals

openingbat — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:50:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Hartford, Connecticut

North West middle order batsman Vibhav Altekar scored a double-century on Saturday afternoon as he helped guide North West to a 249-run win over South West at Riverside Park in the 2011 USACA U-15 National Tournament. Altekar came in at number four and scored 202, including 18 fours and 11 sixes, before retiring.

North West won the toss and batted first and suffered an immediate setback as Dave Parikh was bowled for a duck by Gagandeep Sandhu on the second ball of the match. Sandhu took another soon after to make it 2 for 27 before Altekar joined Neil Tagare to put on 133 runs for the 3rd wicket. Tagare finished with 59 in 55 balls, but Altekar stayed on until he had crossed 200 in the 36th over before walking off the field. His monster score was achieved in just 105 balls. North West was eventually bowled out in the 40th over for 308. In reply, Mihir Athavale took 4 for 13 in 6.1 overs as South West was bowled out for 59 in 25.1 overs.

At Windsor Park, Atlantic defeated South East by 117 runs. Dinesh Deokie and Haq Khan put on a 60-run unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership to boost the Atlantic total to 197 for 3 in 40 overs. Deokie finished 48 not out and Khan 37 not out. Extras top scored in the innings with 65, including 53 wides. Atlantic then bowled out South East for 80 in 29 overs. Pranav Kanukollu took 3 for 13 in five overs.

At Keney Park, North East opener Karan Singh scored 101 in a 192-run win over Directors’ XI. Singh cracked six boundaries and four sixes in his knock. He received solid support from Jason Gobin with 57 and Ryan Aravind with 35 as North East racked up 249 for 5. Directors’ XI was then bowled out for 57. Akhil Ghirnikar took 4 for 6 in seven overs to lead the way in the field for North East.

Image (right) - North East batsman Karan Singh looks on after his sixth boundary beat mid off to bring up his century, [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket]

In the other match at Keney Park, Central East got off to a solid start against New York behind the opening batting combination of Gordon Makin and Rohit Mogalayapalli, but in the end New York had too much depth as they completed a 10-wicket win over Central East. Makin made 24 and Mogalayapalli 37, but Central East went from a position of 100 for 1 to be all out for 120 in 34.4 overs. Ryan Persaud took 5 for 12 to wreck Central East. Randall Wilson scored 56 not out and Surendra Singh 29 not out as New York passed the target in 25 overs.

At the end of the second day, New York and North West are both 2-0. Atlantic, Central East, South East and North East are 1-1. South West and Directors’ XI are both still winless at 0-2.