USA Cricketer : Zahib Tariq

2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp All-Tournament XI

openingbat — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:37:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

1. Steven Taylor, USA (vice-captain, wicketkeeper, pictured right) – The physically imposing left-hander turned in the highest score of the week with 102 off 117 balls against Canada on the final day of the event. He would be disappointed to come away with only one century after setting a goal to get four, but he still managed to lead all batsmen with 159 runs in live matches at an average of 39.75. Behind the stumps he completed six dismissals, including five stumpings. It’s also worth noting he took two wickets and had an economy rate of 2.14 in 14 overs bowling seam in two games.

2. Christian Burgess, Bermuda – Burgess only got two opportunities to bat, but wound up being the only opener besides Taylor to reach 50 in an innings as he laid a solid platform for his side on the first day against Canada which they were unable to capitalize on.

3. Nikhil Dutta, Canada (pictured left) – There were no trophies handed out at the end of the week, but if there were then Dutta would have been the Tournament MVP hands down. His only failure was on the first day against Bermuda when Delray Rawlins pulled off the catch of the tournament at point to dismiss him for 5. After that, Dutta turned in scores of 35 not out, 43 not out and 71 to finish with 154 runs, just five fewer than Taylor, but at a tournament best average of 77.00. He was also the leading wicket-taker on the week. His tidy off-spin was responsible for eight wickets at an average of 11.00 and a 3.54 economy.

4. Tre Manders, Bermuda – The wiry Manders might have caught some people off guard with his strength as he had no issues attempting to clear the ropes in his knock of 88 against the USA, which was the second highest score of the week. His 92 runs overall were third behind Dutta and Taylor at an event where the batting depth was thin.

5. Gurkaran Dhillon, Canada – His 63 not out in a two-wicket win over Bermuda on the first day was the difference between Canada finishing in first place instead of third. His 79 runs were good for fourth overall on the week and they came at an average of 39.50.

6. Sudeepta Aurka , Canada (captain) – Canada’s captain was third on his team and fifth overall in the event with 75 runs in four games. Just as importantly, he was an economical bowling option. Despite only taking one wicket, he had a 2.96 economy rate in 24 overs of off-spin.

7. Joshua Gilbert, Bermuda (pictured right) – Gilbert has already represented the Bermuda senior side and that experience paid dividends in a few situations. He came into the first match against Canada with his side in trouble at 72 for 3 in 14 overs and stuck his head down to bat through to the end with 47 not out. On the bowling side, he had a match-winning performance of 4 for 17 in nine overs against the USA. Gilbert’s 2.84 runs per over was tops for Bermuda.

8. Delray Rawlins, Bermuda – The 14-year-old is the youngest member on the All-Tournament Team. His left-arm spin provides an added dimension to the unit. He took four wickets on the week at an average of 17.25. Rawlins also pulled off the catch of the tournament on the first day to dismiss Canada’s Nikhil Dutta with a leaping salmon one-handed effort at point.

9. Zahib Tariq, USA – The New Yorker might have disappointed with the bat but certainly not with the ball. Tariq was the most economical spin bowler in Florida, conceding just 2.70 runs per over in a tournament high 30 overs while taking five wickets, tied for fourth, at an average of 16.20.

10. Kwaisi James, Bermuda – At first glance, James bowled innocuous slow medium seamers. Yet, he was one of the most difficult bowlers to score off of and finished tied for second overall with six wickets, most of any seamer. James bowled the most maidens on the week with six and had Bermuda’s best average, taking a wicket for every 13 runs he conceded. His economy rate of 3.02 was the third best of any seamer behind Steven Taylor and Vibhav Altekar of the USA.

11. Ryan Persaud, USA – Persaud was perhaps the most eye-catching bowler on display during the week. Persaud had the magic touch at the U-15 level and has managed to carry it with him as he progresses through age-level cricket. For a leg-spinner, he rarely bowled a bad ball and while many other spinners just darted deliveries in flat, Persaud never shied away from giving the ball some flight while getting prodigious turn. He finished the week tied for second with six wickets at 15.33 with a 3.41 economy rate. Aside from Steven Taylor, he is USA’s best junior cricket prospect heading into next year’s U-19 World Cup Qualifier for the Americas Region.

[Views expressed in the article are those of the author, who was present at every match during the tournament. All images courtesy of Peter Della Penna.]

USA Cricket: Taylor century takes USA to 75-run win over Canada at 2012 ICC Americas U-18

openingbat — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 02:38:00 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 U-18 captain Steven Taylor became the first and only player of the week to raise triple figures when he scored 102 off 117 balls to lead his side to a 75-run win over Canada U-18 on the final day of the 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp on Saturday in Lauderhill, Florida. Taylor brought up the century with his eighth boundary and also struck two sixes during his innings just a day after scoring 81 off 35 balls in a T20 friendly match against Bermuda U-18. Despite the loss, Canada finished in first place at the event with two wins and a no result as well as enough bonus points to put them well clear of both the USA and Bermuda.

“The overall performance of our batting just goes to show… Canada and Bermuda have played together for some time and our guys didn’t,” said USA coach Mumtaz Yusuf after the win. “From day one, the main thing from a development point of view is that we improved, though there are a lot of things we need to work out but still it was a gratifying win to show that the first two days when we got outplayed, the team needed to gel first.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat first in a game with a start time moved up to 9 a.m., an hour earlier than the scheduled starting time of the previous five matches during the week, and reduced from 50 to 45 overs to accommodate for a semi-pro football league game that was scheduled to take place on Saturday evening on the same stadium field at the Central Broward Regional Park.

Karteek Kankanala opened the batting with Taylor and lasted until the end of the seventh over when he was caught at mid off for 7 by Canada U-18 captain Sudeepta Aurka off the bowling of Abrash Khan to make it 26 for 1.

Taylor and Shakeel Ahmad then produced USA’s best partnership in live matches during the week, 88 runs for the second wicket. Taylor survived a few lucky chances at deep midwicket on 21 and 37 when fielders on the west boundary lost sight of the ball staring into the sun, which was higher in the eastern sky due to an earlier start than previous matches. The partnership finally ended with the score on 114 when Ahmad failed to clear mid on and was caught for 23 to give Khan his second wicket.

Taylor and Arsh Buch combined for 38 runs to take USA past 150 before Buch was stumped for 10 off the bowling of Nikhil Dutta. Taylor had earlier reached 50 in 74 balls with a four swept to fine leg and proceeded to raise his century off 116 balls with Krish Goel at the other end when Taylor pulled a short ball over fine leg to end the 37th over.

Goel had struggled to find runs in his stay at the crease coming in at number five and eventually ran himself out for 1 off 15 balls in the 38th. Taylor then fell on the next delivery, slogging left arm spinner Farhan Malik to Bakshpreet Gill at long on to make it 168 for 5.

Dutta’s off-spin was responsible for two more wickets before the end of the innings, Amarnauth Persaud driving to cover for 16 and Vibhav Altekar slogging to long on for 25 in the final over of the innings. USA eventually ended on 218 for 7. Dutta had Canada’s best figures with 3 for 38 in nine overs while Khan had 2 for 43 in eight.

With Canada’s tournament points lead not in jeopardy, they demonstrated little desire to attempt to chase the target of 219. After five overs they were 14 for 0 and after 10 they were 23 for 1 after the fall of Shan Anantharajah to Taylor’s medium pace for 5 off 24 balls, caught mistiming a pull to square leg.

Aurka fell at the end of the 12th to give Taylor his second wicket, caught at point by Krish Goel for 15 to make it 28 for 1. Canada’s best partnership of the day was put on by Dutta and a combination of Armaan Kapoor and Gurkaran Dhillon for the third wicket. They had taken the score to 63 for 2 in the 23rd when Dutta slammed a full delivery from Ahmad right into Kapoor’s body and the batsman was forced to retire hurt. Dhillon came in and contributed three runs before the third wicket fell on 70 at the end of the 25th.

Dutta had just been dropped the previous ball on 24 when he skied Ahmad’s off-spin to Kankanala at long on, who dropped a straightforward chance. Dhillon then was late trying to cut Ahmad and feathered an edge to Taylor behind the stumps, who had taken over from Kankanala with the gloves after finishing his bowling spell.

Siddharth Shekar was out without scoring when he dragged a drive off Zahib Tariq onto his stumps in the next over. Dutta and Arjun Parikh added 32 runs before Parikh was runout for 5 to end the 32nd. Kapoor returned to the crease to start the 33rd but was out before the end of the over, caught at deep midwicket by Amarnauth Persaud off Ahmad for 10 to make it 107 for 6. Khan was then stumped for 2 after he was beaten in flight coming down the track to Ahmad.

Dutta added 30 for the eighth wicket with Malik before he was finally dismissed for Canada’s best individual score on the week, 71 off 99 balls. It was Tariq who claimed him, caught by Randall Wilson at deep midwicket. Malik was out three balls later for 10 and the match wrapped up another four balls after that when Prushoth Wijayaraj was stumped by Taylor off Goel to end Canada’s innings in 41.2 overs for 143. Tariq had USA’s best return of 3 for 30 in nine overs while Ahmad finished with 3 for 43 in nine. Taylor had a tight spell at the start of the innings, taking 2 for 13 in eight overs with three maidens which helped stifle Canada and put them behind the 8-ball throughout the second innings.

All three teams now leave the tournament with areas to analyze and improve upon before next year’s ICC Americas U-19 Division One Tournament where the winner will claim a spot in the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup. Yusuf has eyed a few things he wants to see happen for the players, with help from the USACA administration, ahead of the 2013 ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament.

“There’s a lot of work to be done. We need to have the team together for a longer period of team if you want to really succeed,” Yusuf said. “The pace bowling, we can’t have a wicketkeeper standing up [to the stumps] from the first over to the 50th over. That gives a bad signal to the other team the pace that we have. We have to do a lot of work on our fielding, especially their techniques. The catches that we dropped, their arms are locked and that’s the reason why those catches popped off. Those are not catches that should have been dropped.”

USA Cricket: Batting collapses to be all out for 84, Bermuda wins by 115 runs at 2012 ICC Americas U-18

openingbat — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:40:00 GMT

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

Scorecard Powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Ball-by-Ball Commentary

USA plummeted from 39 for 0 in the fourth over to be all out for 84 by the 22nd as Bermuda completed a remarkable turnaround in the field to win by 115 runs on Tuesday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida on day two of the 2012 ICC Americas U-18 Match Play Camp. Tre Manders top scored with 88 for Bermuda in the first innings after being dropped on 9.

“I think apart from the pressure situation, basically most of these guys have not played on turf,” said USA coach Mumtaz Yusuf after the loss. “But I cannot hold that as an excuse, just because you didn’t play on turf wickets, for that collapse. Also, they have to realized that every time you can’t depend on one player. You can’t depend on Steven Taylor every time to get a 100 to bail you out.”

Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first, posting 199 for 9 in their 50 overs. Bermuda made two changes from their lineup on Monday, leaving out Christian Burgess, who scored 50 against Canada, as well as Kamel Easton.

USA made an early breakthrough with the wicket of William White, caught at point by Krish Goel off the bowling of Randall Wilson in the second over to make it 8 for 1. Bermuda recovered to put on a 57-run partnership, one that could have been nipped in the bud at the start of the eighth over had Zahib Tariq held on to a lunging chance at short cover off Manders. The score was 30 for 1 at the time and Manders was still one run away from reaching double-figures. USA would pay dearly for the missed chance.

Tariq would finally break the partnership by having Shaquille Jones stumped for 25 when he shuffled down the track for a swipe at Tariq’s off-spin and missed badly. Tariq made it two in two when Onias Bascome drove his first delivery straight to Goel at point and the score was 65 for 3 in the 18th.

Alex Dore then teamed with Manders for a century stand as Bermuda took command of the match in addition to claiming two bonus points for the partnership. Dore was dropped on 21 with the score at 133 in the 34th when he tried to scoop leg-spinner Ryan Persaud over mid off. Roshan Varadarajan was fielding there in the circle when the ball was delivered but ran back 15 yards while the ball was in the air and appeared to have covered enough ground to make the catch. He reached out over his shoulder and got two hands to the ball but couldn’t claim it as the batsmen ran two.

The stand ended in the 42nd when Manders tried slogging Goel’s off-spin over Arsh Buch at long on but didn’t get enough elevation, hitting the ball flat and hard straight to Buch five yards in from the boundary to make it 166 for 4. Dore was run out in the next over for 39 after a mixup with new man Joshua Gilbert to make it 173 for 5.

Persaud then claimed his first two wickets on back-to-back balls in the 45th over. Gilbert was the first of the pair, lofting a full ball to Tariq at long off for 6 before Kwaisi James overbalanced on a wild swing and was stumped for 1. USA’s poor fielding reared its head again two overs later though to deny Ryan Persaud another scalp when Amarnauth Persaud missed a straightforward catch at long off. Delray Rawlins was on 2 and drove in the air to Amarnauth but the ball was parried over the rope for a boundary to compound the error. The three Bermuda batsmen who were dropped wound up scoring a combined 109 runs after they had been given a second life.

Ryan Persaud took his third when he foxed Christian Gibbons with a quicker ball for 6 in the 49th to make it 191 for 8 before Rawlins was run out for 16 with four balls to go in the innings to make it 196 for 9. Because Bermuda was able to bat out the final four deliveries without losing their 10th wicket, they achieved another bonus point, their fifth overall in the innings. Ryan Persaud finished with USA’s best figures in the innings by taking 3 for 45 in nine overs while Tariq was USA’s most economical, taking 2 for 30 in 10.

Just 21 balls into USA’s chase it appeared that the innings would be over in no time, but not in the manner that it finally turned out. Steven Taylor opened the batting with Shakeel Ahmad and Taylor proceeded to go on a rampage, giving especially harsh treatment to Gibbons in a second over which went for 23 runs. Midway through the fourth over, USA had 39 runs on the board when Taylor got a full toss on his knees and casually flicked it straight to Dore at square leg to depart for 25.

Ahmad played a scratchy knock before departing for 6 to make it 52 for 2 in the eighth when he tried to pull a full toss from Gibbons through mid on only for the ball to pop straight up to cover. Number three Amarnauth Persaud was the next to go for 17 to make it 67 for 3 in the 12th when he walked too far across his stumps to pull the seam bowling of James and was bowled behind his legs.

USA then added another seven runs before proceeding to lose their last seven wickets for just 10 runs as the middle and lower order collapsed in stunning fashion at the hands of Gilbert’s off-spin. Randall Wilson started the rapid coming and going back to the pavilion when he was out leg before for 6 playing across to a full delivery.

Gilbert and James then began building pressure in tandem as they didn’t allow a run off the bat from the 15th to the 19th overs. On the last ball of the 16th Vibhav Altekar pushed a ball behind point and tried to scamper a run but Goel failed to respond. Goel wound up being the player run out as he drifted out of his crease with both players at the same end.

Gilbert then struck twice in the 17th as Altekar tried to hit out in an attempt to relieve the pressure with 10 fielders in the circle but failed to clear Bascome at mid on. Tariq was out three balls later when he top edged a full toss to square leg to make it 77 for 7.

Dave Parikh was bowled through the gate in the 21st to give Gilbert his fourth before James wrapped up the match in the next over, trapping Buch and Ryan Persaud in front of the stumps for a pair of leg before decisions in the span of three deliveries to wipe out USA for 84 in 21.5 overs. Bermuda had reduced Canada to 77 for 6 on Monday but couldn’t close out a win while defending 198. On Tuesday they had USA at 77 for 6 and this time around were able to seal victory in relatively easy fashion. Gilbert finished with 4 for 17 in nine with three maidens while James took 3 for 10 in 5.5.

“I think this team could have performed much better,” said Yusuf. “They need to play for their pride. You cannot play the cricket that they played today plus I wanted some intensity. I saw there was no intensity when they were fielding.”

USA’s next match is Wednesday against Canada at the Central Broward Regional Park. DreamCricket.com’s live coverage, made possible in part by the New Inning Foundation, will begin at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Scorecard Powered by the New Inning Foundation I Match Ball-by-Ball Commentary

Wilson named MVP as Queens beats Bronx/Manhattan to win 2012 NYC Mayor's Cup HS Cricket All-Star Game

openingbat — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 23:11:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Brooklyn, N.Y. (on Twitter)

USA U-18 squad member posted the highest score of the day, 57 off 33 balls, for Queens 1 as they trounced Bronx/Manhattan by 113 runs to win the 2012 NYC Mayor’s Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game on Saturday at Gateway Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. Wilson was named the MVP on the day after scoring 24 in a narrow 9-run win over Queens 2 in the first 15-over semifinal. Bronx/Manhattan reached the final after a 7-wicket upset of Brooklyn, chasing 106 to win with a ball to spare in the second semi-final despite 56 from USA U-18 squad member Zahib Tariq who captained the Brooklyn side.

Bronx/Manhattan won the toss for the 20-over final and sent Queens 1 in to bat. Ahsan Riaz, a senior from Hillcrest HS who was later named Best Batsman for the day, got Queens off to a tremendous start and helped lay the platform for victory by striking 49 off 32 balls including five fours and a six. When he departed, the score was 82 for 1 in the 11th over.

Troy Mars joined his John Adams HS teammate Wilson at the crease and the pair blitzed the Bronx/Manhattan attack to put on 61 for the third wicket in just 4.3 overs. Mars, the leading scorer in the PSAL for 2012, cracked 35 in 19 balls including two fours and three monstrous sixes to put the game well out of reach for Bronx/Manhattan to chase. He finally fell to Taher Miah, the Dewitt Clinton junior who topped all PSAL bowlers with 31 wickets in the regular season.

Wilson continued on until the 19th over. He brought up his 50 off 27 balls with back to back boundaries through midwicket and mid off. He finished with six boundaries and two sixes on the day and will be taking his good form to Florida next month when the USA U-18 team takes on Bermuda and Canada in a series of round-robin matches.

Image (right) - Randall Wilson pulls for 6 during his knock of 57 in the 2012 NYC Mayor's Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

A flurry of wickets fell in the final 10 balls as Queens finished on 178 for 7 in 20 overs. Miah had the best figures for Bronx/Manhattan with 3 for 14 in four overs.

Wilson and freshman phenom Keifer Phil from HS of Construction opened the bowling for Queens and their pace was too hot to handle for the Bronx/Manhattan batsmen. Zahid Hasan of Herbert Lehman top edged a delivery the skied to cover where Brandon Boodhoo of Richmond Hill HS took a superb catch on the run.

The fall of the first wicket brought Bronx/Manhattan captain Asfaque Chowdhury to the crease. The DeWitt Clinton junior had taken his team to victory in the semi-final with 46, but was run out without facing a delivery after getting into a terrible mixup with Zeeshan Arip and with that Queens ran away with the match.

After Syed Islam was bowled by Phil, John Adams leg-spinner Zafaar Yusuf ripped through the middle and lower order to take 6 for 13 in 3.4 overs and easily walked away with the Best Bowler award on the day. The match was over in 15.4 overs after Yusuf took the final wicket to bowl out Bronx/Manhattan for just 65. Phil, who had taken figures of 2 for 1 in two overs during the first semi-final, finished the final with figures of 2 for 13 in four overs and marked himself as an exciting prospect for the future with his raw pace.

2012 NYC Mayor's Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game takes place Saturday in Brooklyn

openingbat — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:44:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

New York City’s best high school cricketers have been chosen to take part in the 2012 NYC Mayor’s Cup High School Cricket All-Star Game on Saturday at Gateway Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. The group of 57 players from PSAL high school teams across Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Queens includes three USA U-18 selections: Amarnauth Persaud of Martin Van Buren HS, Zahib Tariq of FDR HS and Randall Wilson of John Adams HS, who was named MVP of last year’s Mayor’s Cup All-Star Game.

Tariq will captain the Brooklyn team against Asfaque Chowdhury’s Bronx/Manhattan team. Persaud and Troy Mars of John Adams, PSAL’s leading scorer in 2012, will captain each of the two Queens squads.

Three matches will take place as part of the Mayor’s Cup festivities beginning at 10 a.m. The first two matches will be 15 over affairs as Queens #1 will take on Queens #2 in the morning contest while a combined Bronx/Manhattan team will take on Brooklyn at 1 p.m. The winners will advance to the 20 over championship match at 4 p.m.

The two semifinals were reduced by five overs each this year after last year’s matches ran long, forcing much of the second innings of the showpiece championship match in the evening to be played in bad light. The game was eventually halted in the 18th over of the Queens chase. Brooklyn eventually defeated Queens to claim the championship.

Image (left) - Randall Wilson, USA U-18 selection and NY PSAL All-Star from John Adams HS. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Three schools have four selections each in the All-Star squads: DeWitt Clinton, Herbert Lehman and 2012 PSAL champion Long Island City. Martin Van Buren, John Adams, Richmond Hill, Hillcrest, FDR, Bronx HS of Science and Stuyvesant all have three representatives from their schools. Midwood, Franklin K. Lane, Abraham Lincoln, Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica, Queens HS of Teaching, Newcomers, William Bryant and Aviation have two representatives each. Lafayette Educational Complex, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn International, John Bowne, HS for Construction and Thomas Edison each had one selection. Wingate Educational, which went 0-12 on the season, was the only high school which failed to have a player selected.

Click here for complete All-Star squads.

NY PSAL Cricket: John Adams upsets undefeated defending champs FDR to advance to final vs. LIC

openingbat — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:23:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna in Brooklyn, N.Y. (on Twitter)

John Adams High School (14-1, #3 seed) knocked off previously unbeaten FDR High School (14-1, #2 seed) to advance to the 2012 New York Public Schools Athletic League championship match against Long Island City High School with a stunning 50-run win on Friday at Gateway Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. John Adams was bowled out for 113 in 19 overs, but a remarkable batting collapse by FDR saw them wiped out for 63 in 19.3 overs, their lowest total of the season.

It was FDR’s first loss since losing to eventual champions William C. Bryant in the quarterfinals of the 2010 PSAL Playoffs. FDR went undefeated in 2011 to win the PSAL title. Meanwhile, John Adams advances back to the PSAL final for the third time and is seeking their first title after losing both the 2008 and 2009 finals to Newcomers High School. In Friday’s other semifinal Long Island City (16-0, #1 seed) beat Hillcrest by 8 runs (12-3, #4 seed), defending a first innings total of 143, and returns to the final after losing to FDR last year in a super over after scores were tied at the end of 20 overs.

FDR won the toss and elected to field on a sunny Friday afternoon in Jamaica Bay. Gurprit Singh and Harmanveer Singh opened the batting for John Adams and put on 43 for the first wicket. Gurprit hit three boundaries and a six before he slogged USA U-18 all-rounder Zahib Tariq into the wind and was caught at mid on for 26. Harmanveer departed two overs later, bowled by Antu Das for 14 to make it 53 for 2 after 7.

USA U-18 selection Randall Wilson joined Zafaar Yusuf at the crease and while Wilson is the more heralded player it was the diminutive junior Yusuf who stole the show. Yusuf top scored with 28 off 24 balls, feasting on a pair of leg side deliveries and launching them over the square leg boundary for six. He was bowled in strange circumstances at the end of the 12th over, ducking and turning his back to a loopy full toss from spinner Hamza Rana only to hear the ball hit the stumps.

With the score at 87 for 3, John Adams appeared well set to launch for a massive score with captain Troy Mars, 739 runs in the regular season and another 121 in the playoffs, joining Wilson at the crease. However, the partnership lasted only four balls when the pair got into a terrible mixup that left Wilson stranded halfway down the pitch. Mithun Mishu fielded at mid on and tossed to Tariq over the bowler’s stumps to run out Wilson for 15.

Image (right) - John Adams HS captain Troy Mars hits a six over long on during his team's semifinal win over 2011 champion FDR HS. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The score was taken to 103 in the 16th when Daniel Singh was caught at mid on by Khawar Abbas off the bowling of Abrar Zafar for 2. Two balls later, Mars was attempting his second six when he skied Zafar to Abbas again, who took an outstanding catch on the run at mid off to dismiss the dangerous Mars for 14. After a run out in the 17th, Mohaiminul Islam wiped out the tail with three wickets in the 19th over and John Adams was all out for 113. Islam finished with 3 for 19 in four, FDR’s best figures on the day.

It should have been a simple target for FDR to chase, but John Adams bowled and fielded with precision and intensity to put FDR under pressure from the start. Wilson took a wicket in the first over as Islam, a senior with an average of 86 during the regular season, skied a chance to midwicket that was well caught running in from the boundary by Gurprit Singh to make it 2 for 1.

After five overs the score was 13 for 1 as John Adams kept things tight but a costly over bowled by Yusuf looked like it might finally give FDR the momentum back and propel them towards the target. Zafar hit sixes off three consecutive deliveries from the leg-spinner, including a chest-high no-ball, as part of a 22-run over to take the score to 35 after 6.

However, the gentle medium pace of Daniel Singh proved to be the undoing of FDR beginning in the next over. Tariq went to pull a short delivery down the leg side and a massive appeal for caught behind was upheld. Tariq appeared unhappy with the decision, gesturing that it went off his thigh pad and after taking a few moments finally walked off for 7. Two overs later, Singh dismissed Zafar for 25, caught by Harmanveer Singh at long on. Five balls later he had Zain Ali splicing a simple chance to Wilson at cover for a duck and the wheels started to fall off for FDR with the score 38 for 4 after 9.

Despite a shaky first over by Yusuf, John Adams captain Mars stuck with him and the move paid off in the 10th when he bowled Das for 4 to make it 42 for 5. Daniel Singh capped off his match-turning spell in the 11th when Rana sliced a full delivery to Ganesh Bheir at gully for 1 to make it 44 for 6. FDR’s raucous support from the first innings had now been silenced.

FDR’s tail tried to bat out the overs, but they were finally bowled out for 63 three balls into the final over to spark wild celebrations on the field by John Adams. Daniel Singh finished with 4 for 10 in four overs while Wilson took 2 for 3 in three overs including a maiden. John Adams as a team bowled three maidens during the innings. Yusuf had 2 for 7 in his final three overs to finish with 2 for 29 in four. After the 22-run sixth over, the next best over FDR had in the chase was seven runs in the 18th as John Adams built relentless pressure which ultimately took them to victory.

The final between John Adams and Long Island City takes place on Saturday at the Baisley Pond Park South field in Queens, N.Y. Both teams are attempting to win their first PSAL title.

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.