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USA Cricketer
August 2010 - Posts
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Ram Varadarajan (unsuccessfully) ran for President of USA Cricket Association in 2008 but has mostly played a non-political behind-the-scenes role as a benefactor of worthy initiatives since that time. In April, Ram launched a monthly call but, due to unspecified commitments, the calls have been put on hold.
Yesterday, Ram and the company he co-founded, Arcot Systems, were in the news.
Here is an excerpt from Business Week:
CA Technologies said Monday that it is paying $200 million to acquire Arcot Systems Inc., a privately held company that provides authentication and fraud prevention software, in a move to boost its security offerings. Arcot's products, offered via onsite software or through its own hosted servers, help prevent fraudulent transactions for about one million online credit card transactions each day. The all-cash deal is expected to close by the end of September.
"Identity is a critical area for security whether you're talking about in-house or the cloud, and with 120 million identities verified by our solutions today, we bring a strong, solid recurring revenue base as well as sources of new growth opportunities for CA Technologies," said Ram Varadarajan, Arcot president and CEO, in a statement.
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Radiant Info T20 Cricket 2010: New England Pioneers - Will youth power and Indian Test cricketer Debasis Mohanty swing it their way?
Last year, New England Pioneers relied on the experience of Fazal Alam, Timmy Thomas, Sharaz Baksh and Lakhram Sanichar to propel their team into the Semis. What they were missing was some sting in their bowling and some spring in their fielding. The new look New England team have addressed these gaps, and how!?
For 2010, the Pioneers mantra is "more power to the youth!" Ten of the 14 members of the squad are under-25. They topped it off with the experience of Fazal, Sharaz and Timmy. And if that wasn't enough, they spiked up the octane level some more. The tournament's biggest x-factor - the former Indian Test and ODI cricketer Debasis Mohanty is part of the New England Pioneers!
Here is a sneak preview of the New England Pioneers:
 Debasis "Debashish" Mohanty (34) - It takes extra-ordinary merit for somebody like Debasis of Orissa or Dhoni of Jharkhand to break into the Indian team. Coming from a weaker Ranji state, Debasis was noticed for his swing bowling despite domestic conditions not being conducive to his art!
Making his Test debut for India in 1997, Mohanty got a four-wicket haul in his very first match against Sri Lanka - the Matara Marauder Sanat Jayasuriya was his first scalp. Later that year, playing in his first ODI in the Sahara Cup in Toronto, Debasis Mohanty joined the rare club of ODI bowlers to get a wicket off the very first over when he dismissed Saeed Anwar off the fifth ball!
Debasis played 45 ODIs taking 57 wickets at a 29.15 average. In the 1999 World Cup, he played a key role in favorable English conditions finishing second highest wicket-taker for India. At the peak of his international career, he was among the ICC Top 20 in ODI rankings.
Mohanty continued his exploits in India's first class competition where his tally of 405 wickets includes a perfect-10 for 46 in a 2001 Duleep Trophy match against South Zone.
Mohanty is only the third Indian bowler to get a ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket. His splendid bowling effort helped Orissa win the East Zone Vijay Hazare Trophy ahead of favorites Bengal in February 2010. He was the leading wicket-taker within his zone in the zonal ODI competition. Mohanty captained the East Zone side in the 2010 Deodhar Trophy - the List A competition in Indian domestic cricket before arriving in Boston at the invitation of the MSCL President Manas Sahu, where he currently plays for the Boston Gymkhana Sports Club.
Fazal Alam (35) - The captain of Commonwealth CC, Massachusetts State Cricket League and North East regional teams is a familiar name to cricket fans across USA. Consistently among the region's best cricketers, Fazal continues to lead the league in batting (379 at a 54.14 average) and bowling (15 wickets at a 14.6 average) in 2010.
In India, Fazal played U-25 for Hyderabad and represented Osmania University as well as South Zone Universities in the Vizzy Trophy.
Fazal played for Argonauts in the 2008 edition of the Radiant Info T20 before joining New England Pioneers in 2009 in the new format of the tournament. He was the second most impactful player in 2009 with an Impact Index of 5.7 and lead the charge as he took his deflated team into the semi-finals before losing to the formidable Global Challengers.
 Sharaz Baksh (29) - Sharaz, a former Guyana U-19 cricketer, has been part of of the New England side for two years. In 2008, Sharaz scored a record 708 runs in the Massachusetts State Cricket League including seven 50s and 1 century from just 12 matches. He then followed that up with 104 runs from his 4 appearances in the first edition of the Radiant Info T20 tournament. In 2009, he slipped down a few ranks on the MSCL best batsmen. But in 2010, Sharaz has returned to his usual place on top of the leaderboard where his total from eleven innings is 497 at an average of 62.12. Expect some fireworks from Sharaz at this year's Radiant Info T20.
Lakhram Sanichar (23) - Lakhram's reputation as a fiery hitter in the Massachusetts league preceded his appearance at the Radiant Info T20 2009. Lakhram did not play in the first match against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. Then came the must-win match against the Daredevils. Batting first, the NJ team put up 158 on the back of some spectacular fireworks by Kiran Patel. When NJ finished with 158, both NJ and Philadelphia appeared confident of a berth in the semis ahead of New England. In fact, one of New England's own players left the ground disillusioned after he was given out LBW with the score reading 2 for 2!
But Fazal and Lakhram had other plans! While Fazal's patient knock of 46 brought stability, Lakhram's cameo of 45 runs from 19 balls changed the course of the match! Lakhram's quickfire essay featured 2 fours and 4 sixes! It was abundantly clear that he was trying to land the balls on the South-bound Garden State Parkway! With that entertaining knock, he despatched Philadelphia down the parkway.
This year, the New England side features several U19 players! According to New England manager, Leighton Greenidge, the U19 cricketer Jonathan Bonner had a successful swing-through Jamaica. Upon his return, he got 73 runs in the two completed matches in the recently concluded U-19 Eastern Conference. His team-mate and captain of the North East U19 side, Chevon McLean, scored 34 in North East's victorious campaign against Atlantic Region.
A more complete roster will be published on RadiantInfoT20.com in the coming days.
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 The groups and match schedule for the Radiant Info T20 2010 tournament organized by DreamCricket.com are as follows -
VENUE
The games will be held at the cricket fields at Watsessing Park,
Bloomfield, New Jersey. Watsessing #1 is the cricket field that has a
baseball diamond adjoining the perimeter. Watsessing #2 is the one that
is farther away. [Directions below]
GROUPS
Group A:
Global NJ Daredevils
Gentlemen of Philadelphia
New England Pioneers
Group B:
Bedessee New York Destroyers
Atlantic All-Stars
Washington Senators
SCHEDULE
Saturday - SEPT 4, 2010
Orientation: All teams must be present by 9:30AM for a briefing. Ceremonial first pitch at 10AM.
Saturday: 10:00AM - Group Stage
Watsessing #1: Global NJ Daredevils vs Gentlemen of Philadelphia
Watsessing #2: Bedessee NY Destroyers vs Atlantic All-Stars
Saturday: 2:30PM - Group Stage
Watsessing #1: Bedessee NY Destroyers vs Washington Senators
Watsessing #2: New England Pioneers vs Gentlemen of Philadelphia
Sunday - SEPT 5, 2010
Sunday: 10:00AM - Group Stage
Watsessing #1: Atlantic All-Stars vs Washington Senators
Watsessing #2: NJ Daredevils vs New England Pioneers
[2PM: Announcement of A1 and A2 as well as B1 and B2 for Semis]
Sunday: 2:30 PM - Semi Finals
Watsessing #1: A1 vs B2
Watsessing #2: A2 vs B1
Monday - SEPT 6, 2010
FINAL at 2PM at Watsessing #2 on September 6, 2010
[The final will have a 20 minute break for half-time entertainment]
DIRECTIONS
By car: The grounds are less than five minutes from
Exit 148 (either north-bound or south-bound) on Garden State Parkway.
For point to point directions, please click here.
By train: The grounds are less than a five minute walk from Bloomfield Ave stop on the Montclair-Boonton Line. Click here for train schedule. See below for a map of the area.
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Radiant Info T20 Cricket 2010: Bedessee NY Destroyers gear up for another victorious campaign!
Bedessee NY Destroyers, the 2009 Radiant Info T20 champions, are strongly favored to make the finals this year as well. Their seeding is not just because of their strong line-up! This outfit is a reminder that regardless of individual talent, cricket is really a team sport.
 Last year, the team ratcheted up the intensity with each match. Their support structure was top-notch ensuring that the team worked like a well-oiled machine. Their manager even delivered home-cooked food at the hotel after the matches last year. If those are not reasons enough, here are more reasons why this team is the one to beat.
Firstly, Barrington Bartley (pictured right) is a captain's captain - someone that truly leads from the front. Last year, he topped the tournament Impact Index with 6.1 impact rating. The Impact Index is a DreamCricket.com innovation that provides context to the cricketing performance - the state of the match and the series, the strength of the opposition and pitch conditions.
Secondly, there is just one word to describe the Destroyers fielding - magical! And in that context, there is a person who must be named - Akeem Dodson. Take a bow!
And thirdly, there's the team:
Barrington Bartley (29) - Barrington has pedigree. As a youngster, the middle-order batsman played alongside Chris Gayle as part of the Jamaica U19 squad, and beginning 2005, he has been in and out of the USA senior team. In 2009, he was one of eight NY cricketers who were on the list of probables for 2010. A part-time left slow orthodox bowler, Barrington took an incredible 3 wickets for 6 runs in 3 overs in last year's Radiant Info T20, which sealed the fate of his opponents.
 Rashard "Rocky" Marshall (27) - Explosive is the one word that describes this USA batsman best. Jamaican born Rocky first raised eyebrows in 2006 when he scored an undefeated 90 to bring the United States very close to defeating West Indies XI captained by Brian Lara. The team eventually fell short by 6 runs. His 90 runs came off just 56 balls and included seven fours and two sixes. One Wavell Hinds' over went for 16 runs!
Since that eventful match, Rocky (picture at right) has continued to torment bowlers in the various ICC Trophies.
Fijians still have nightmares of his innings of 61 from 28 balls that included 8 fours and 4 sixes! This month, Rocky celebrated a personal milestone - a maiden century in an ICC championship - that too in a crucial match against Argentina. His 122 came of 84 deliveries and featured 11 fours and 6 sixes and sent Argentina packing to Division V.
Akeem Dodson (22) - Akeem Dodson is one of a rare species - he is US-born. Akeem is also one of the few members of the 2006 ICC U-19 World Cup team that made a transition to the senior team when he was chosen to play as part of the USA team in the WICB Cup in November of 2008. Akeem scored 31 not out against Trinidad and Tobago and featured in three important partnerships in that match. Of course, it was a brief cameo. Mysteriously, he was left out of the probables list for 2010 but in domestic competition, Akeem has continued to shine as a batsman and as a fielder. In last year's Radiant Info T20, Akeem played a key role in NY's progress to semis hitting 45 from 56 balls. He was also the tournament's best fielder and wicketkeeper.
 Azurdeen "Andy" Mohammed (19) - To the casual observer, Trindiad born Andy Mohammed gives off the appearance that life is easy. In Peter Della Penna's words, "For Mohammed, overcoming hardship is old hat." An injury at the Pearls Cup cost him his spot on the team that went to the ICC Americas tournament and forced him to take a short break from cricket.
But by June 15, in only his second competitive game since returning from the injury, Mohammed notched an unbeaten 109 in the NYPD Cricket Twenty20 Cup.
Andy was selected for the USA U-19 squad last year after two half-centuries and 157 runs in three innings for North East at the domestic U-19 tournament. In his first match for USA U-19, Andy scored 60 opening the match before taking 3 for 15 bowling left-arm orthodox spin. At the Global Qualifier, he grinded out 90 runs from the top of the order in his team’s loss to Afghanistan. And in New Zealand, at the U-19 World Cup came his most impressive performance scoring 70 runs in a defeat to Australia, but giving USA some respectability after it was reduced to 28 for 7!
Andrew "Kristoff" Gonsalves (32) - Former West Indies B and Guyana opening batsman Andrew Gonsalves is no stranger to fans of New York cricket. Playing for Global Challengers, he was the best batsman at last year's Radiant Info T20 with 174 runs in his 4 innings including a highest of 87 in the semi-finals with 5 fours and 3 sixes. This year, he is part of the NY Destroyers and hopes to repeat the magic.
The other players on the New York Destroyers include USA cricketer Kevin Darlington and U-19 cricketer Kavishwar Bridgepaul. The full team will be announced along with all the rosters next week.
[Bio of Andy Mohammed courtesy of Peter Della Penna. Pictures courtesy of USACA/ICC/NewYorkCricket.com]
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Radiant Info T20 Cricket 2010 - Global New Jersey Daredevils packs a 1-2 punch
In two previous editions of the DreamCricket.com organized Radiant Info T20, two New Jersey teams managed to reach the semi-finals. In 2009, the NJ Daredevils fell to the eventual champions New York in the semis. Global Challengers, the other NJ team, went all the way to their second consecutive finals before losing to New York. For 2010, the two have decided to join hands to build one formidable team captained by West Indies Test cricketer and former Guyana captain Neil McGarrell.
 McGarrell told DreamCricket.com on the sidelines of last month's National U-15 tournament that after two successive runner-up performances in the Radiant Info T20, he is hungry to win the title for New Jersey.
Neil McGarrell came close to lifting the trophy in 2008 and 2009
Global Data Management Corporation, which has stood behind the Challengers acted as a catalyst for the merger of the two sides. "Siddharth Mehta and I, we went back to the drawing board with the aim of pulling together a top-shelf team for New Jersey," Jaideep Reddy, promoter of Global Data and Manager of the newly christened Global NJ Daredevils told DreamCricket.com adding, "this team is packed with USA and international talent that is capable of beating the best."
Here is a sneak preview of the Global NJ Daredevils outfit.
Neil McGarrell (38): To those that follow cricket in New Jersey, Neil McGarrell needs no introduction. A resident of New Jersey, McGarrell plays for GWIA in the Garden State Cricket League and for Global Challengers in the Millennium Cricket League.
Making his international debut in 2001, McGarrell played 4 Tests and 17 ODIs for West Indies. In 2003, McGarrell was named captain of Guyana and last played for Guyana in the 2008 Stanford 20/20 semi-final against Jamaica, which his side lost by 1 run in a close contest. Although he is better known for his exploits as a bowler with 276 first class wickets, he is an equally proficient batsman and featured in several match winning knocks for his side. In a 2007 List A match for Guyana against T&T, McGarrell scored 51* off 39 balls with three fours and a six. At 38, Neil remains formidable and is on the leaderboard in both bowling and batting departments in both the leagues he plays. Last month, he scored a century playing for GWIA against East Orange CC.
 Siddharth Mehta (27): Atlantic Region cricketer Siddharth Mehta is a left-handed opening batsman and is a chinaman bowler as well. Having trained at the Kiran More Cricket Academy in Baroda, this cricket prodigy moved to the US when he was 18. He has won multiple individual awards in the bowling and batting categories and some of his personal milestones include hitting 200 in a 40-over game and scoring an unbeaten 144 against the Jamaican national team. He is known for his big-match temperament and has always stored his best for the key matches .
Sid has led teams to a championship in MCL, CLNJ, GSCL or WCL leagues every year since 2004 – a noteworthy accomplishment by any standards.
 Jermaine Lawson (28): Lawson is a West Indies fast bowler capable of unleashing the ball at 150 KmH (that is 93 miles per hour). Lawson has so far played 13 Tests and 13 ODIs for West Indies in an explosive international career that has been curtailed by illness and injury.
His 51 Test wickets include an incredible 6 wickets for 3 runs against Bangladesh and a career best tally of 7 for 78 including a hat-trick against Australia. In 2008, he was signed by the English county of Leicestershire as a Kolpak bowler. In 2010, Jermaine joined the Montego Bay Cricket Club in the Garden State Cricket League where he figures among the top bowlers.
Jermaine Lawson bowls to Rahul Dravid (File Photo)
Kumar Nandalal (26): This specialist left-arm spinner formed a potent spinning duo with Neil McGarrell in the last two editions of the Radiant Info T20 to create one of the best spinning attacks in the tournament. His variations in flight and loop and the deadly arm-ball have baffled way too many batsmen and he is gearing up to put on a beguiling show in the art of spin bowling. An Atlantic Region player, Kumar was called for USA last year but has since been sidelined due to injury.
Deepak Gopinath (24): Deepak is the NJ Sluggers batsman who is getting a lot of attention in his first season in New Jersey - he has so far scored 520 runs in 13 appearances at an average approaching 50. Although a newcomer to NJ, Deepak is no stranger to representative cricket having represented Tamil Nadu at U-16 and U-19 levels in India before taking time off for higher studies. After finishing his MS from CCNY, Deepak has now padded up again for his second innings in USA and is sure to make a strong claim in the forthcoming trials to join the Atlantic Region squad.
 Aditya Mishra (28): Aditya is a first class cricketer who was the opening batsman for the Karnataka Ranji Trophy team for the season 2001-2002. He also represented Karnataka in U-22 and U-19 categories. He is a gifted opening batsman with compact technique and aggressive batting style that makes him a treat to watch when on song. He plays for Atlantic Region in USA, for the traveling team DreamCricket Fooglies, and after a prolonged wait, he earned a call-up for USA this year.
He represents Gymkhana Cricket Club in the CLNJ cricket league for whom he has consistently been the highest run scorer.
Kiran Patel (27): A former Gujarat U-19 cricketer, Kiran is an explosive top-order batsman who bowls left arm chinaman. Rejoining the cricket scene upon finishing graduate school in USA, Kiran was quick to attention of selectors for his performances playing for Montego Bay in GSCL gaining him a spot in the Atlantic Region squad.
A more complete roster including the names of the two under-19 players will be released on Monday.
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By Peter Della Penna
Team Grades
 Bowling – A-:
The bowling attack functioned well not just as individuals but as a
unit. The fast bowlers were outstanding together at the start of a
match. The highest first wicket partnership for any opponent was 23 by
Cayman Islands, a tribute to the job done by the opening combination of
Usman Shuja and Kevin Darlington. There were only three 50+
partnerships by the opposition and one 100+ partnership allowed and
that came as a result of a series of drops in the loss to Italy.
Batting – B+: The only three players who scored
centuries in the tournament belonged to USA. The team also racked up
seven ducks and only one of those happened to a tail ender. Alarmingly,
they lost a wicket on the second ball of an innings on three occasions.
However, no one could match USA’s batting depth, which saw USA to
safety on several occasions. Most notably against Argentina, the
numbers seven and eight reached triple figures.
Fielding – C+: There was not a single catch
dropped in the slips during the tournament, although one chance was
missed when Lennox Cush bizarrely dove backwards with the ball landing
in front of him. The outfield catching was hot and cold with several
very good catches while at other times there were some very simple
chances missed. Some were because of drops while other chances never
went to hand because fielders reacted slowly or were not alert. The
ground fielding could also use some improvement.
Fitness – B+: When it came down to playing five games
in five days in 85 to 90 degree heat, USA’s players held up remarkably
well. Kudos to the players for taking on the individual responsibility
to come ready to play. Most impressive was the fitness of Shuja and
Darlington, who shared the new ball five days in a row and never showed
any signs of being worn out.
Individual Grades
Sushil Nadkarni – A-: The heartbeat of the batting
order, he set the tone for USA’s success or struggles. His first two
half-centuries were accomplished with brute force, while his third
against Nepal involved a tremendous amount of skill and patience to
guide the team to a winning total. Getting out for a duck to Italy in
their first matchup portended the gloom that followed and against
Argentina his nought was the first phase of a dramatic top order
collapse. As for his fielding, one would never know he is 12 months
removed from a torn Achilles tendon. For a man built like a tank, he
was extremely nimble in the field and took four catches with only one
drop.
Orlando Baker – B: He started off the tournament
with a half-century against Tanzania, but never crossed 50 again and
could have done much better than he did in the batting department. With
his bowling, he had an uncanny knack to come on and be a partnership
breaker, hurrying the batsmen with his nippy medium pace. Four times he
took a wicket in the first over of a spell. He was very reliable in the
field and took three catches.
Steve Massiah – B: Scored one half-century against
Cayman Islands, but like Baker, did not reach the level he should have
with the bat, especially considering that Massiah was the leading
run-scorer at Division 5 in Nepal against much better competition. He
demonstrated some very good captaincy though and almost always managed
to push the right buttons with his bowling changes. He also leads by
example with his fielding. He has perhaps the surest hands on the team
and held every chance that came his way.
Lennox Cush – B+: He had a somewhat quiet start
to the tournament, but stamped his authority on it at the end with a
half-century to initiate a revival against Argentina and a thumping
century against Italy in the final to be named Man of the Match. With
the ball, he was decent in taking five wickets, but was relied upon
less than in other recent tournaments due to the success of Ghous. His
fielding was solid in the slips and decent elsewhere.
Carl Wright – C+: Only scored 47 runs in four
innings at 15.66, well below his standards. He looked set for a big
score against Italy until he was unfortunately run out by Aditya
Thyagarajan. Wright kept very well behind the stumps to have seven
catches and three stumpings and just missed one or two other sharp
chances. He gets docked credit for drawing a reprimand from the match
referee for his misconduct in the match against Argentina.
Aditya Thyagarajan – B+: Saved USA’s bacon in the
match against Argentina with his second century for USA. His
half-century in the first game against Italy was tarnished due to the
role he played in running out Wright which sealed his team’s fate in
that game. He took two catches, one of them an outstanding diving
effort against Cayman Islands, but had multiple drops and needs to get
a little sharper with his ground fielding.
Rashard Marshall – B+: Rocky scored a long overdue
maiden century for USA, picking the perfect time to do it against
Argentina. He could have scored many more runs, but got himself out in
his two other times at the crease with a pair of soft dismissals. He is
right up there with Massiah in the fielding and catching department. He
took four catches and teamed up with Wright for a runout.
Usman Shuja – A: USA’s standout bowler and their
leading wicket-taker. He was the catalyst for USA’s dominance in the
field, bowling with great ferocity and intimidation. Just as he did in
a do or die showdown vs. Nepal on their home turf, he turned in a
clutch display in the same situation in Bologna against Nepal to setup
victory. His batting technique is good enough to be a number seven or
even a six, but once he gets his eye in, he gets overexcited and plays
one too many shots to lose his wicket. Concentration at the crease is
just about the only thing he needs to adjust to get better.
Muhammad Ghous – A-: The 20-year-old has taken to
playing with the national team at the senior level like a duck to
water. It’s hard to find fault with anything Ghous did in the
tournament. He got hit for a few late against Cayman Islands, but in
the big games, he showed himself to be a big game player. With a spot
in Division 3 at stake against Nepal, he was given the ball at the
midway point of Nepal’s chase in a pressure situation and showed nerves
of steel, eventually finishing 3 for 31 to help seal the match.
Adrian Gordon – A: Only played four games, but
finished tied for second on the team with 10 wickets and had the best
average at 11.80 runs per wicket and stepped up in a big way when
Timroy Allen went down with an injury. He sometimes took an over to get
his line right and get settled, but once everything with him was in
tune, he was marvelous. He was unlucky not to take any wickets during
an outstanding spell against Nepal, but reaped just rewards to claim
seven wickets in the team’s final two games.
Kevin Darlington – A-: Darlington took 10 wickets in
six games and was solid at building pressure, turning in a team high
seven maidens. Had an off game against Cayman Islands but after that
was solid. The 38-year-old is one of the fittest players on the team as
well and tied with Ghous to bowl the most overs on tour with 50.
Nasir “Charlie” Javed – D: Javed looked good against
Cayman Islands to take 3 for 29, but then followed that up with a
disastrous performance against Italy. He was standing at mid off when
Italy’s Peter Petricola drove a chance in his direction while on 3, but
Javed’s reaction time was so poor that he never even got a hand to what
should have been a catch. Petricola went on to score 85 to be Man of
the Match in a win for the hosts. Javed was picked as a specialist
bowler, but only bowled three ineffective overs in that match before he
was taken off and then got out for a duck to cap off his day. To
underscore how bad that error was on Petricola’s chance, Allen was used
as a substitute fielder ahead of Javed in USA’s final three matches.
Allen fielded for Sushil Nadkarni for the duration of USA’s innings in
the field against Nepal, despite the fact that he could not raise his
right arm above his head, let alone throw anything in, due to a torn
muscle in his upper back sustained while fielding against Tanzania.
Javed’s mistake against Italy was so costly and his fielding deemed to
be so sub standard that a person who could not use his arm to throw a
ball in was preferred as a substitute fielder ahead of him.
Timroy Allen – Incomplete: Allen only bowled six overs
in the tournament because of an injury he picked up in the field
against Tanzania. However, he showed tremendous heart by coming on as a
sub fielder against Nepal to take two catches only a day after his arm
was in a sling. He also took another catch as a sub fielder against
Argentina.
Steven Taylor – Incomplete: Taylor played one game and
got out for a six-ball duck against Argentina. Behind the stumps, he
was sloppy in conceding eight byes and had numerous other fumbled
takes. Physically, he is capable of holding his own, but on the mental
side of the game, he has yet to demonstrate the level of focus and
concentration required to play at the senior level.
What the team needs heading into Division 3 – A left-arm spinner:
Or at least that’s what Massiah said when posed with this question
after the team qualified to play in Hong Kong. “It would be great for
us to have the addition of a left-arm spinner in our attack which gives
us a little more variety. Over the course of this tournament and the
previous tournaments and in world cricket, we see how effective a
left-arm spinner can be. So obviously that’s an area in which we’ll
have our eyes wide open and the search is on for a good quality
left-arm spinner.” This is also another way of saying that the team
needs a good spin bowler who can turn the ball away from right-handers,
which spells doom for Javed’s spot on the team. Massiah shot down
Barrington Bartley and Samarth Shah when asked if they would be
suitable to step into the squad.
Ryan Corns is probably still chomping at the bit to get into the senior
team after being named Player of the Tournament at the ICC U-19 World
Cup Global Qualifier last year and his left-arm spin troubled the
senior players during the Twenty20 trial matches played at USACA
Nationals last November. It would be a positive step to include him in
a 14-man squad for Division 3.
[Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was
present at all of the team's matches. If you have differing views or
opinions, we respect those views and urge you to provide your feedback
- both positive and negative - in the comments section.]
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UPPER MARLBORO, MD
 The
United States Youth Cricket Association held its first national
elections last week, one month after its members adopted a
constitution. Staffed with an elected Board of Directors, USYCA
anticipates moving forward quickly with a number of initiatives,
primarily its Schools Program and administrative tasks, such as
establishing standing committees.
Jamie Harrison was elected
the President. Edward Fox of Kansas became First VP, Jatin Patel of
Indiana was elected 2nd VP and David Sentance of California as
Secretary. Orville Hall of New York is USYCA's new Public Relations
Director. The association also elected the following members as At-Large
Board Members: Rakesh Kallem, Connecticut; Siva Narapareddy, Virginia;
Yogesh Patel, Texas; Vasu Ram, Massachusetts; and Lloyd Jodah, New York. "The
milestones that USYCA has reached in recent months clearly establish it
as the nation's youth cricket organization, and we look forward to the
challenge of establishing our sport's popularity among young people,"
said President Jamie Harrison. "The USYCA Schools Program is taking
cricket to hundreds of thousands of children this fall, and the
community youth cricket leagues that we will help to establish in the
spring will continue that progress. It's a very exciting time for youth
cricket in America, and USYCA is ready to go to work." 1st Vice
President Edward Fox said, "I'm excited to be a part of the
administrative team for the United States Youth Cricket Association as
we move forward with helping schools, individuals and youth
organizations realize the fun and life skills benefits that all
children, boys and girls can have, learning, playing and enjoying
cricket."
USYCA also announced that Maryland's Prince
George's County Public Schools will become the first American school
system to offer the centuries-old game of cricket to its physical
education classes this fall. The new program, sponsored by the
United States Youth Cricket Association (USYCA) and delivered by the
Maryland Youth Cricket Association (MYCA), will give free equipment and
instruction in the original American team sport to PGCPS elementary and
middle schools. This fall, MYCA will train physical education
teachers in the sport and provide schools with cricket equipment. The
schools participating in the program will then introduce the sport to
students in physical education classes. “Prince George's County
Public Schools is excited about this partnership that will bring the
international sport to our physical education teachers and students,”
said Dr. William R. Hite, Jr. Superintendent of Schools. Cricket
emphasizes good sportsmanship, is easily modified for indoor or outdoor
play, and can be adapted to any playing surface. The world's
second-most popular sport, cricket can also be used to promote a
greater understanding of international cultures as children learn about
cricket-playing nations and their players. USYCA is a network
of volunteer organizations that promotes good health and an active
lifestyle for children through cricket and has recently announced a
partnership with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports. The groundbreaking USYCA cricket program is being offered free
of charge to any American school system that expresses an interest. “We
are delighted that Prince George's County will be bringing cricket to
its schools this year,” said Jamie Harrison, President of USYCA. “It is
fitting that a county with as much history as Prince George's will be
returning to America's first team sport, a sport that was played by
George Washington's soldiers at Valley Forge.” For more information on the USYCA, visit http://usyouthcricket.org.
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By Peter Della Penna in Bologna, Italy
An electric bowling spell from Adrian Gordon wrecked Italy’s middle
order and restricted them to 185 before a Lennox Cush century took USA
to victory by 8 wickets to be crowned ICC WCL Division 4 Champions on
Saturday at Ovale del Pianoro in Bologna, Italy. Cush was named Man of
the Match for his 101 off 57 balls, carving up Italy’s bowling attack
for 14 fours and four sixes.
“Judging from when we fielded, I think the wicket was good for
batting,” said Cush. “Yesterday we played on the same track too and the
ball was coming on well so I know once I get myself in and my feet
moving properly, I can just bat.” 
Image: USA poses for a victory photo with the tournament trophy
after winning ICC WCL Division 3 in Bologna, Italy. [Courtesy: ICC]
Italy won the toss and elected to bat on another warm and sunny day
in Bologna. They reached 16 when Kevin Darlington and Carl Wright
teamed up for a double strike in the fifth over. The first to go was
Thushara Kurukulasuriya caught behind for 9 before Nic Northcote fell in
the same manner for a second-ball duck.
Peter Petricola came in to put the innings back on course with the
captain Alessandro Bonora. After seeing off the opening spell of Usman
Shuja, the two men carried Italy to 55/2 at the first drinks break. But
on the very first ball after resumption, the left-handed Petricola
flicked a ball from Orlando Baker behind square and was called through
for a run by Bonora. But Muhammad Ghous was alert at short fine leg and
circled round to field before firing a direct hit at the keeper’s end
with Bonora a yard short to have the captain run out for 11.
Damian Crowley came in and forged a decent partnership with
Petricola to add 27 runs for the fourth wicket. It was stopped when
Gordon unleashed himself on the Italian middle order.
“I just did the job that the captain told me to do,” said Gordon. “I put my head into it and went straight for the target.”
USA vs. Italy WCL D4 Final Post Match Interview with Cush & Gordon from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
Petricola hit two fours in Gordon’s first five balls, but on the
final ball of his first over, he pulled a short ball straight to Ghous
at midwicket in the circle to fall for 42. Crowley then survived a few
shouts for lbw and several plays and misses before he finally edged a
drive to Rocky Marshall at backward point for 15 to make it 87 for 5.
Gordon took his third when he squared up Hayden Patrizi with a gem that
took the edge and popped up to Marshall who took the catch running in
from point to make it 90 for 6. In one 25-ball stretch during his
initial six-over spell, Gordon took 3 wickets for 2 runs, with one of
those runs coming off a misfield.
“I think what’s the key ingredient with young Gordon is his
willingness and his eagerness to learn,” said Massiah. “I think that
will take him a very far way. Especially today I thought he bowled an
exceptional spell. His first spell, it’s one of the better old ball
spells that I’ve seen in a very long time. I thought he was pacy, he was
very accurate and he was rewarded with three wickets initially and then
he came back to take the fourth wicket which I thought was deserved.” 
Cush took a wicket on his second ball when Michael Raso tried to
sweep a full ball that produced a top edge. Sushil Nadkarni sprinted
from his position at slip and covered a lot of ground to take a
wonderful catch on the run at fine leg and Raso walked off for 9 to make
it 105 for 7. Shuja came back after Gordon’s first spell and dismissed
Hemantha Jayasena LBW for 16 with a full delivery into the pads that the
batsman was late on trying to whip through midwicket and Italy was
reduced to 116 for 8 in the 37th over.
Image: Usman Shuja's successful appeal for LBW against Hemantha
Jayasena gave him his team leading 11th wicket for the tournament.
[Courtesy: ICC]
Teenager Roshendra Abeywickrama came in and along with 23-year-old
Gayashan Munasinghe produced a terrific stand to repel the USA bowling
attack. The two added 51 runs together in 12.2 overs to give Italy a
fighting chance. Munasinghe finally fell on the last ball of the 49th
over when he checked his drive to a good length ball from Gordon and
chipped a catch to Shuja coming in from mid off to leave for 24. Dilan
Fernando Arsakulasuriya came in and plundered Cush in the final over for
two fours and a six to give Italy a final push to 185 for 9 in their 50
overs.
USA finally got over their second ball jinx and then some as Cush
opened the chase with Baker to take USA to 102 in 11 overs. They showed
no mercy to each of Italy’s bowlers, making the same attack that had
dominated USA only three days earlier look absolutely toothless on
Saturday. USA was cruising so easily that they elected to take their
batting power play at the start of the 11th over in order to keep the field in when Italy opted not to take their bowling power play.
In USA’s first meeting against Italy, Cush had been out for 1
driving to mid off. In the rematch, he gave a chance while on 1 on his
second delivery when he slammed a full ball from Arsakulasuriya straight
back to the bowler who put down the stinging chance at waist height.
Cush cashed in big time, making Italy pay for an extra hundred runs as a
result.
Baker finally fell for 40 pulling a short ball to Raso at midwicket
in the circle. Cush then added another 64 runs for the second wicket
with Massiah. He went to 99 when he drove Petricola back over his head
for six before pushing a single past Petricola to bring up his ton in
only 55 balls. He fell two balls later, trying to hit Abeywickrama for
six and picked out Petricola at deep square leg.
Wright came in to team with Massiah to get the 20 runs they needed
for the championship. Wright hit the winning runs with a four lofted
over mid on to finish 9 not out while the captain ended on 28. It was a
satisfying victory for Massiah to get revenge on Italy and establish a
mental advantage over them heading into Division 3.
USA vs. Italy WCL D4 Final Post Match Interview with Massiah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
“I thought it was a wake up call after we lost against Italy,” said
Massiah. “We came in against Italy not knowing them. But after having a
look at them, like I had said yesterday, we had a pretty good game plan
and today I thought we executed it brilliantly and we were clinical in
our performance. After going down against them and having to face them
again in the Division 3 tournament, we think it was important for us to
take the psychological edge.” 
Nadkarni was named Player of the Tournament after scoring three
half-centuries on his way to being USA’s leading run-scorer during the
week with 216 runs at 108.00, collecting a Man of the Match award for
each game in which he passed 50, including 64 not out in a crucial win
over Nepal. Shuja was USA’s leading wicket-taker with 11 in 6 games at
13.27.
Image: Sushil Nadkarni receives his Player of the Tournament medal from ICC Elite Panel umpire Ian Gould. [Courtesy: ICC]
Nepal finished in third after walking all over Tanzania to win by
10 wickets, passing the first innings score of 73 in 12.3 overs.
Tanzania beat Nepal by 9 runs defending 117 earlier in the week, but
there were no such heroics in the field on this occasion. Cayman Islands
defeated Argentina by 7 wickets in the fifth place game to ensure that
Argentina finished the tournament winless.
With the Division 4 title, USA moves up in the ICC Global Rankings to 25th
in the world and will take on Italy, Denmark, Oman, Papua New Guinea
and hosts Hong Kong at ICC WCL Division 3 from January 22-29, 2011.
Match Scorecard
Italy vs. USA
USA won by 8 wickets
Italy won the toss and elected to bat
Man of the Match: LJ Cush
Italy Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
TA Kurukulasuriya 9 17 1 0 ct Wright+ b Darlington
A Bonora* 11 51 1 0 runout (Ghous)
NM Northcote+ 0 2 0 0 ct Wright+ b Darlington
PA Petricola 42 56 4 0 ct Ghous b Gordon
DG Crowley 15 21 2 0 ct Marshall b Gordon
HP Patrizi 4 17 0 0 ct Marshall b Gordon
MG Raso 9 23 1 0 ct Nadkarni b Cush
HS Jayasena 16 20 3 0 LBW Shuja
GRD Munasinghe 24 32 2 1 ct Shuja b Gordon
RS Abeywickrama 24 37 2 0 not out
DF Arsakulasuriya 15 5 2 1 not out
Total Extras 16 (1 no ball, 0 byes, 9 leg byes, 6 wides)
Team Total 185 for 9 in 50 overs
Fall of wicket: 16/1 (Kurukulasuriya), 16/2 (Northcote), 55/3
(Bonora), 82/4 (Petricola), 87/5 (Crowley), 90/6 (Patrizi), 105/7
(Raso), 116/8 (Jayasena), 167/9 (Munasinghe)
USA Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington 10-2-27-2
KU Shuja 9-2-29-1
OM Baker 5-0-21-0
MA Ghous 10-0-27-0
A Gordon 10-0-35-4
LJ Cush 7-0-37-1
USA Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
OM Baker 40 34 6 1 ct Patrizi b Petricola
LJ Cush 101 57 14 4 ct Petricola b Abeywickrama
SJ Massiah* 28 26 4 0 not out
CD Wright+ 9 12 1 0 not out
Total Extras 10 (0 no balls, 0 byes, 4 leg byes, 6 wides)
Team Total 188 for 2 in 21.4 overs
Did not bat: SS Nadkarni, A Thyagarajan, RA Marshall, KU Shuja, MA Ghous, A Gordon, KG Darlington
Fall of wicket: 102/1 (Baker), 166/2 (Cush)
Italy Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
GRD Munasinghe 7-0-64-0
DF Arsakulasuriya 3-0-26-0
HS Jayasena 4-0-37-0
PA Petricola 4-0-35-1
RS Abeywickrama 3.4-0-22-0
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By Peter Della Penna in Bologna, Italy
The Ice Man, Aditya Thyagarajan, teamed up with The Microwave, Rocky Marshall, to form a 205-run unbroken seventh wicket partnership as USA defeated Argentina by 196 runs at Ovale del Pianoro in Bologna, Italy, on the last day of round-robin matches at ICC WCL Division 4. Thyagarajan was named Man of the Match after he came in to bat in the fifth over and carried the team on his back from 17 for 5 to 306 for 6 in USA’s 50 overs, scoring his second century for USA.
“This innings definitely for me is right on top and credit goes to Cush and Marshall,” said Thyagarajan. “I had a partnership with Cush earlier and then with Marshall and I think those two partnerships were the key for us to win the game.” 
USA has now qualified for Division 3 in Hong Kong scheduled for January 22-29, 2011. Along with Italy, who also gained promotion, USA will take on Oman, Denmark and Papua New Guinea in addition to the host team.
Image: Aditya Thyagarajan walks off the field drenched in sweat after facing 146 balls for his 102 not out. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna]
USA won the toss and elected to bat first on a hot and humid morning in Bologna. For the third match in a row, USA lost their first wicket on the second ball of their innings as Sushil Nadkarni clipped a leg stump half-volley from Gary Savage straight to Pablo Ferguson at square leg. After Steve Massiah came in and took a single straight away, Orlando Baker departed on the final ball of the first over going for a booming drive to a full length delivery and feathered an edge to the keeper to make it 1 for 2.
Agustin Casime duplicated Savage’s start and in the next over claimed another two wickets for Argentina. Massiah got a bouncer that he tried to hook and managed to tickle it down the leg side for another catch by the keeper Alejandro Ferguson. Three balls later, Carl Wright got a bouncer on the stumps and went for a hook that popped up in the air off his gloves and was taken at first slip by Donald Forrester to make it 3 for 4.
It nearly became 3 for 5 when Lennox Cush clipped the first ball he faced from Savage in the air towards the man at midwicket but it just cleared him by about a yard and raced away to the rope. Steven Taylor was new to the crease with him, but only managed to survive six balls before he played all around a full and straight delivery from Savage to have his leg stump knocked out to mark USA’s fourth duck on the scorecard as the match was in a surreal state at 17 for 5 in the fifth.
“In the morning, I think all of us were shocked,” said Thyagarajan. “I think even the opposition was shocked, media was shocked and we were shocked. I think the umpires were surprised too with what happened. It was just one of those days but again shows the character of our team. We have come back in these situations really well and we just have to work hard for Division 3.”
USA vs. Argentina Post Match Interview with Marshall & Thyagarajan from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
Thyagarajan came in and did what he does best to dig USA out of a massive hole. While he blunted Argentina’s bowling attack, Cush launched a counterattack, seizing on anything short and pulverizing it to the boundary. He brought up his 50 in 42 balls in the 16th over with nine fours and a six at that point. On the very next ball, he fired a rocket back to the bowler Diego Lord, who couldn’t hang onto the catch. After his second six was hit four balls later, Cush was dropped on the next delivery again by Lord when he checked a drive and the ball looped up towards the bowler but Lord couldn’t complete a catch diving forward. Finally with the score on 101 in the 22nd over, Lord dismissed Cush for 58 as he chased a short and wide ball, clobbering it straight to Matias Paterlini at point who held on to a low catch falling forward and Argentina was feeling good about themselves once again in the field.
But Marshall came in and took the game away for USA, notching his maiden century for the Red, White and Blue. With a greater focus than he demonstrated in the previous two matches, Marshall utilized his full talents to pick up where Cush left off, destroying anything loose from Argentina’s bowlers. The bad balls came often and went even faster to the boundary. He came to the crease with Thyagarajan on 27 and eventually caught up to his teammate in the 40th over during USA’s batting power play. On his 114th delivery, Thyagarajan started the over bowled by Lord with a single to move to 65. On the next ball, Marshall clocked a four off a full toss to join him on 65 in only 52 balls. Marshall then celebrated the feat by hitting a six and two fours off the next three balls. By this point in time, Argentina was completely sapped in the field.
“The key thing for me today was shot selection,” said Marshall. “Coach spoke to me this morning and said just choose the shots, select the proper ball and be patient and that was the key.”
Thyagarajan overtook Marshall in the 90s and reached his century first with a late cut to third man. His second century for USA was also his second against Argentina and he got there in 143 balls. He was physically spent, batting for over three hours through the heat and humidity with the temperature into the 90s, and he barely had enough energy to raise his bat upon reaching the milestone. It was an innings that won’t be forgotten anytime soon by those who witnessed it.
After nudging his way through the 90s with singles, Marshall reached his century in 76 balls by yanking a short ball over square leg for six. He added two more sixes in the final over, finishing with six in all, to walk off 122 not out while Thyagarajan came off with him 102 not out. Argentina’s dream start had turned into a nightmare by the time that lunch was served.
“All credit to Marshall and Thyagarajan for an excellent partnership, but it was first started by Cush and Thyagarajan,” said Massiah. “In the end, the result was good.”
USA vs. Argentina Post Match Interview with Massiah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
USA then got down to business in the field and with renewed vigor after the heroics of Thyagarajan and Marshall, they jumped all over Argentina and never let up. Usman Shuja continued his superb tournament with the ball by claiming two in two to put himself on a hat trick in the fourth over. First to go was Pablo Ferguson for 4. He got a bouncer that he tried to sway out of the way from, but couldn’t move fast enough and the ball popped up in the air off his glove to Nadkarni at first slip. Carlos Gibson came in and tried to defend a back of a length ball on the back foot and inside edged the ball onto his stumps to make it 7 for 2. Tomas Francis saw off the hat trick ball, but Shuja was raring once again.
Darlington supported him at the other end by taking care of Matias Paterlini in the next over for 1 to make it 7 for 3. Paterlini got a riser that clipped the shoulder of his bat going back to defend and sailed to Timroy Allen fielding at third slip, on as a substitute for Thyagarajan. Darlington made it 14 for 4 when he squared up Savage on a good length ball and the edge flew low to Nadkarni at first slip for his second catch.
Argentina’s batsmen looked terrified in the face of the short pitched bowling attack from USA’s openers, frequently backing away and taking blind heaves. Forrester was out for 1 doing exactly that to a good length ball from Shuja and the edge ballooned up to Marshall at point to make it 26 for 5. Darlington took his third when Alejandro Ferguson appeared to hit bat on pad going to defend a good length ball, but the appeal went up and Taylor took the catch behind the stumps to dismiss Ferguson for 4, making it 30 for 6.
Lucas Paterlini arrived and put on an entertaining partnership with Francis, freeing his arms to swing at just about everything that came his way. The two added 49 runs for the seventh wicket before Adrian Gordon was gifted a wicket when Paterlini hit a full toss straight to Baker at long on for 27. Argentina captain Esteban MacDermott came in and gave Francis brief support before his stumps were knocked over by a full and straight delivery from Gordon to depart for 9 with the score now 101 for 8. Francis gave Gordon his third trying to scoop a length ball over Baker, who had moved in to mid on, but couldn’t clear him and Baker teamed up with Gordon for the ninth wicket as Francis was finally out for 32 and the score went to 102 for 9.
Massiah took the final wicket for USA with a loopy off-spinner that Casime missed trying to sweep to be bowled for 3 and Argentina was all out for 110 in 27.2 overs. The final score read just how many would have imagined it at the start of the day, but the journey to get there certainly caught just about everyone by surprise.
“I hope USACA organizes some camps where we all get together and we just have to be much better than what we were in this particular tournament to do well in Division 3 and that’s the key,” said Thyagarajan. “We have to go to Division 2. The team has been together for two years now. You saw players like Marshall, always comes down the order, always scores for America at the crucial time at a really fast pace. We need such players and we have it within us to go to Division 2.”
USA finishes round-robin play at the top of the table and will take on Italy in a rematch for the Division 4 championship at the Ovale del Pianoro on Saturday. Italy advanced to Division 3 with USA after defeating Tanzania by 167 runs. Nepal beat Cayman Islands by 7 wickets and will play Tanzania in the third place game while Cayman Islands and Argentina will face off for fifth place.
Match Scorecard
Argentina vs. USA
USA won by 196 runs
USA won the toss and elected to bat
Man of the Match: A Thyagarajan
USA Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
SS Nadkarni 0 2 0 0 ct P Ferguson b Savage
OM Baker 0 3 0 0 ct A Ferguson+ b Savage
SJ Massiah* 1 3 0 0 ct A Ferguson b Casime
LJ Cush 58 54 9 2 ct M Paterlini b Lord
CD Wright 0 3 0 0 ct Forrester b Casime
SR Taylor+ 0 6 0 0 b Savage
A Thyagarajan 102 146 14 0 not out
RA Marshall 122 84 11 6 not out
Total Extras 23 (2 no balls, 7 byes, 2 leg byes, 12 wides)
Team Total 306 for 6 in 50 overs
Did not bat: KU Shuja, A Gordon, KG Darlington
Fall of wicket: 0/1 (Nadkarni), 1/2 (Baker), 3/3 (Massiah), 4/3 (Wright), 17/5 (Taylor), 101/6 (Cush)
Argentina Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
GJ Savage 10-0-61-3
AL Casime 5-0-22-2
LM Paterlini 10-1-62-0
DM Lord 10-0-78-1
EA MacDermott 10-0-51-0
MJ Paterlini 5-0-23-0
Argentina Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
MJ Paterlini 1 12 0 0 ct sub (Allen) b Darlington
P Ferguson 4 10 1 0 ct Nadkarni b Shuja
C Gibson 0 1 0 0 b Shuja
T Francis 32 52 4 0 ct Baker b Gordon
GJ Savage 2 4 0 0 ct Nadkarni b Darlington
D Forrester 1 9 0 0 ct Marshall b Shuja
A Ferguson+ 4 5 0 0 ct Taylor+ b Darlington
LM Paterlini 27 19 5 0 ct Baker b Gordon
EA MacDermott* 9 13 1 0 b Gordon
DM Lord 5 31 0 0 not out
AL Casime 3 9 0 0 b Massiah
Total Extras 22 (1 no ball, 8 byes, 3 leg byes, 10 wides)
Team Total 110 all out in 27.2 overs
Fall of wicket: 7/1 (P Ferguson), 7/2 (Gibson), 7/3 (M Paterlini), 14/4 (Savage), 26/5 (Forrester), 30/6 (A Ferguson), 79/7 (L Paterlini), 101/8 (MacDermott), 102/9 (Francis), 110/10 (Casime)
USA Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington 6-1-21-3
KU Shuja 6-0-33-3
A Gordon 8-2-25-3
SJ Massiah 7.2-1-20-1
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By Peter Della Penna in Bologna, Italy
 Sushil
Nadkarni’s remarkable tournament continued with another Man of the
Match performance to lead USA to victory by 55 runs over Nepal at the
Ovale del Pianoro in Bologna, Italy, at ICC WCL Division 4. Nadkarni
was the backbone of USA’s innings, coming in at number five to score 64
not out off 85 balls in USA’s first innings total of 203 for 8.
Pic : Steve Massiah tosses the coin as Paras looks on. [Courtesy ICC]
“Once we got past 125, I was just looking to be not out at the end
hoping to get to 200,” said Nadkarni. “In between, I tried to set
different targets, 150, 175 and when the power play came on I thought
200 was gettable so that’s what we went after at the end.”
USA captain Steve Massiah won the toss and elected to
bat on a hot and sunny morning. It appeared things might head down the
same path as the prior day’s match against Italy when USA lost a wicket
on the second ball of their innings as Orlando Baker tried to fend off
a short ball from left arm paceman Amrit Bhattarai and gloved it
through to the keeper Mahesh Chhetri for a duck.
Massiah joined Carl Wright at the crease and the two looked very
assured in building a steady partnership of 31 runs. Wright was
outstanding until he played down the wrong line defending a full
delivery from medium pacer Binod Das and was out LBW for 16. Lennox
Cush stepped in next and caught fire quickly, striking five boundaries
in his first 11 balls.
However, he cooled down just as quickly when the spinners were
introduced. Left-arm orthodox spinner Basanta Regmi was not discouraged
when Cush swept him for six in the middle of the 18th over
and on the very next ball, tossed one up that Cush drove back to him
for his first wicket, sending Cush off for 32 to make it 82 for 3. He
took his second when Massiah fell for 29, trying to smash him against
the turn only to spoon an edge to Nepal captain Paras Khadka at point
as USA fell to 86 for 4.
Nadkarni was then joined by Aditya Thyagarajan, but another
left-arm orthodox spinner broke through when Rahul Vishvakarma got
Thyagarajan to gift another edge to point where this time it was Regmi
who took the catch to get rid of the batsman for 4 and USA fell to 98
for 5 in the 25th over. Rashard Marshall didn’t last long as
he played all around a quicker ball from off-spinner Sharad Vesawkar to
be out for 9 and Nepal was feeling good with the score at 111 for 6.
USA’s tail was shepherded well though by Nadkarni, who showed his
versatility coming in down the order and reining in his aggressiveness.
Nadkarni didn’t score a boundary until his 66th ball, but kept the runs ticking over by deftly nudging the spinners into the gaps.
Shuja got himself set for the second day in a row, only to get out
by middling a ball straight to a fielder when he cut a loose delivery
from Vesawkar to Regmi at backward point and Shuja was gone for 11 to
make it 139 for 7. Muhammad Ghous came and showed terrific poise under
pressure to team up with Nadkarni for the second highest partnership of
the innings, 44 for the eighth wicket. Ghous offered a sharp chance on
2 when he blasted a ball through the hands of the cover fielder.
Otherwise, he played a solid knock before popping one up from Bhattarai
to Regmi in the covers for 15 in 42 balls to make it 182 for 8.
Adrian Gordon came in to bat and stayed there for eight balls,
which was just long enough to keep Nadkarni from being stranded. USA
was at 189 for 8 heading into the final over before Nadkarni tore into
Khadka for 13 out of the final 14 runs, including a big six off the
final ball of the innings to take USA past 200.
“Obviously it was a very tense game,” said Massiah. “Obviously we
were on the back foot initially coming into today’s match with a must
win for either team so I guess it was very intense. I thought the guys
responded beautifully. The target we were looking for initially was
170. We knew once we got there it would be difficult for Nepal because
they’re not one of the better teams chasing so our target was 170. I
thought once we were able to make 200 I thought it would be a pretty
difficult task for them and in the end it proved to be.”
USA vs. Nepal Post Match Interview with Massiah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
USA’s total of 203 turned out to be more than enough for USA to
defend as the fast bowlers did the lion’s share of the work at the
start of the chase to put their team in command. Usman Shuja seemed
programmed to do one thing: search and destroy. His short pitched
barrage rattled the Nepal top order badly and produced three wickets.
The first one for Shuja and USA was Anil Mandal. The Nepal opener
fell without scoring for the third time in five innings at the
tournament when he edged his fourth ball to Timroy Allen at second
slip, who fielded the entire second innings as a substitute for
Nadkarni, who himself had injured his left hand while batting.
In came Shakti Gauchan at number three looking more like a
nightwatchman than a top order batsman. Gauchan ducked, blocked and
flailed at everything short that Shuja, Baker and Kevin Darlington sent
his way. He looked in no way prepared for the type of bowling he has
going to face. After surviving a run out chance having only faced two
balls, Gauchan could only score 1 run in the next 34 balls before Baker
mercifully sent him on his way as he feathered a short of a length
delivery to Wright, making it 26 for 2 in the 11th over.
Khadka came in to join Chhetri, who looked solid while building
his 15, but Shuja was breathing fire at Nepal’s batsmen and was
rewarded with Chhetri’s wicket, edging one that was well taken by
Wright falling to his right to make it 26 for 3. Shuja’s third was in
his next over when the new man Vesawkar edged one to Allen at second
slip once more. Allen dove full extension to his right to complete a
spectacular catch to make it 31 for 4 in the 14th over.
“I thought Shuja really set the benchmark for the bowlers to
follow after,” said Massiah. “He bowled according to the plan and like
I said the plan was to bowl three-quarter length and push the Nepal
batsmen on the back foot because when we batted against the new ball it
wasn’t easy so we basically didn’t want to give them anything to come
forward to which is their comfort zone.”
Drinks were taken at the fall of the wicket and upon resumption,
Khadka was joined by Gyanendra Malla. The two fought off the rest of
Shuja’s spell, then did their best to neutralize the rest of USA’s pace
attack which was continually posing problems. While Darlington, Shuja
and Baker all got their name in the wickets column by the end of the
day, Gordon’s spell was just as noteworthy for tying down one end and
keeping the run rate in check. The two men batted through until the
second drinks break was taken with the score at 83 for 4 in 30 overs.
By that time, Khadka was on 34 and Malla 19.
Ghous had entered the fray in the 26th over and
immediately exerted pressure on Nepal, especially Khadka. Khadka was
only able to score on two of the first 15 balls he faced from Ghous
before drinks. After the break, he tried to use his feet to Ghous and
despite initial success, it lead to his downfall. On the third ball of
the 34th over, Khadka came down the track again, but Ghous
pulled back his length just a fraction enough to beat him in flight and
Wright collected for the stumping to have Nepal’s captain out for 44.
Ghous halted the partnership at 69 runs and the wheels started to fall
of Nepal’s innings straight away. Two overs later, he had the new man
Pradeep Airee out driving to Massiah at cover for 2 to make it 104 for
6.
“[Ghous] has been an absolute find for us because it’s a
department which we’ve always stressed the importance of and how it can
change games to have a quality spinner,” said Massiah. “He’s proving to
be that, but he’s still young and he’s in his embryonic stage of his
career so it’s gonna get more difficult as you keep going up the ladder
but I think he has the right attitude and like I’ve said before he’s
got the confidence.”
Baker came back on after Gordon’s lionhearted spell was complete
and removed Malla for 34 to end Nepal’s slim chance at victory and the
score was 114 for 7. Ghous took his third when Das slogged him to long
off where Shuja circled around and dove forward for a solid catch to
send Das off for 6, putting USA closer to finishing off the match at
123 for 8.
Darlington got Regmi out for 11 trying to slog, only to sky a
chance that Massiah took on the run after sprinting a long way from mid
on and Nepal was down to their last wicket with 134 on the board.
Vishvakarma slapped singles and twos to try to get to 50 overs, but
Bhattarai sliced Cush to Massiah at cover in the final over for 6 to
end the match as Nepal was bowled out for 148 with three balls left.
Massiah thought about heaving the ball in the air as he had done on his
first two catches, but instead stood with the ball clenched in his
fist, arms raised above his head before letting out a loud scream of
joy.
Italy and Tanzania won their matches on Thursday to move to 3-1
along with USA while Nepal dropped to 2-2. Cayman Islands are at 1-2
and will play Nepal on Friday to avoid being relegated to Division 5.
Argentina has already been relegated and will be playing USA for pride
on Friday in an attempt to try to disrupt USA’s near guaranteed
promotion to Division 3. Currently USA is at the top of the table based
on run rate. Italy and Tanzania are right behind them and they square
off in a virtual playoff on Friday to decide who will advance to Hong
Kong, presumably with USA as long as they aren’t tripped up by
Argentina.
“Every game is crucial,” said Nadkarni. “Cricket is a very funny
game. Granted Argentina’s been losing, but we have pretty good momentum
right now and I think all our batters would like to try to get in form,
take advantage of the bowling tomorrow. But I would be surprised if our
team came out and took the game lightly tomorrow because if we lose it
won’t be good for us.”
Match Scorecard
Nepal vs. USA
USA won by 55 runs
USA won the toss and elected to bat
Man of the Match: SS Nadkarni
USA Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
OM Baker 0 2 0 0 ct Chhetri+ b Bhattarai
CD Wright+ 16 20 2 1 LBW Das
SJ Massiah* 29 53 5 0 ct Khadka b Regmi
LJ Cush 32 37 6 1 ct & b Regmi
SS Nadkarni 64 85 3 2 not out
A Thyagarajan 4 19 0 0 ct Vesawkar b Vishvakarma
RA Marshall 9 7 2 0 LBW Vesawkar
KU Shuja 11 27 0 1 ct Regmi b Vesawkar
MA Ghous 15 42 1 0 ct Regmi b Bhattarai
A Gordon 3 8 0 0 not out
Total Extras 20 (1 no ball, 0 byes, 6 leg byes, 13 wides)
Team Total 203 for 8 in 50 overs
Did not bat: KG Darlington
Fall of wicket: 0/1 (Baker), 31/2 (Wright), 82/3 (Cush), 86/4
(Massiah), 98/5 (Thyagarajan), 111/6 (Marshall), 139/7 (Shuja), 182/8
(Ghous)
Nepal Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
A Bhattarai 10-0-37-2
BK Das 8-2-40-1
P Khadka 5-1-28-0
B Regmi 9-2-26-2
SP Gauchan 4-1-16-0
S Vesawkar 9-1-25-2
RK Vishvakarma 5-0-25-1
Nepal Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
MK Chhetri+ 15 26 2 0 ct Wright+ b Shuja
AK Mandal 0 4 0 0 ct sub (Allen) b Shuja
SP Gauchan 1 36 0 0 ct Wright+ b Baker
P Khadka* 44 73 5 0 st Wright+ b Ghous
S Vesawkar 1 10 0 0 ct sub (Allen) b Shuja
G Malla 34 73 2 0 ct Wright+ b Baker
P Airee 2 9 0 0 ct Massiah b Ghous
B Regmi 11 18 1 0 ct Massiah b Darlington
BK Das 6 13 1 0 ct Shuja b Ghous
RK Vishvakarma 11 30 0 0 not out
A Bhattarai 6 7 0 1 ct Massiah b Cush
Total Extras 17 (1 no ball, 5 byes, 0 leg byes, 11 wides)
Team Total 148 all out in 49.3 overs
Fall of wicket: 11/1 (Mandal), 26/2 (Gauchan), 26/3 (Chhetri),
31/4 (Vesawkar), 100/5 (Khadka), 104/6 (Airee), 114/7 (Malla), 123/8
(Das), 134/9 (Regmi), 148/10 (Bhattarai)
USA Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington 9-2-17-1
KU Shuja 8-0-17-3
OM Baker 10-0-32-2
A Gordon 10-0-37-0
MA Ghous 10-0-31-3
LJ Cush 2.3-0-9-1
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Dallas; August 12, 2010
51 games, 7 grounds, 240 players, 9 dedicated
volunteers, 12 hours non-stop cricket - AshaJyothi's Dallas event was
one of a kind with a lot of action on the ground. But the real reason
that this is such a commendable effort is because of what the
organization's volunteers do when not on the ground.
The organization supports physical and
occupational therapies for special needs children in partnership with
the AshaJyothi in Hanuman Junction, India. The AshaJyothi cricket
event aimed to raise funds for a variety of equipment including - a
therapy room for ongoing evaluation, providing equipment for balance
and mobility rehabilitation, children aids such as crutches and
cerebral palsy chairs, etc.
Tournament Highlights:
The day began early in the morning on August 7th around 6.00AM and
lasted till late evening 9:45PM. There were a total of 51 matches
conducted in one day.
The rules made the game really interesting and none of the matches were one-sided.
Each team stepped up and played as if they were
playing for the world cup. Due to bad light, the finals could not be
finished and the two teams 7 idiots and Outlaws shared the Men's trophy.
Congratulations to both the teams who showed that
it was not about winning or losing but everyone is a winner when it
comes to a fundraising tournament for helping kids.
Three cheerful womens teams participated for the
cause and enjoyed playing the game setting an example to all the women
in DFW metroplex. Chak De Dallas won the Women's Ashajyothi USA Trophy
For the 3 junior kids teams, a first experience
for some kids, it was an opportunity to display good sportsmanship
regardless of the results. Shocking Sparks took home the silverware.
Four teams participated in the senior kids
tournament. Due to bad light the organizers decided to postpone the
finals between Badmash Company and Easterly Beasts.
Media Sponsors
KC Chekuri of Yuva Radio; Desiplaza.us
Acknowledgements
AITC, Saxon Global , ePace Technologies, Veritis, Primus, Cigniti, Primus Global Services Inc, Techgene,
Techstar, Intellisoft , Centaurus, Mayuri, Hotbreads, Sridhar
Kantamsetty, Amit Gumman, Sasirekha Gandrothu, Deepa Challa, Sangeeta
Ganti, Arjun Kantamsetty, Richaritha Gundlapalli
Umpires: Ravi Charan, Satya Modugula,
Harnath Kanukolanu, Naresh Kasu, Jaya Prakash Jetti, Sridhar Rayaprolu,
Vinayak Mankal, Kuljit Singh Nijjar, Amit Gumman, Srinivasarao
Kilaparti, Abhishek Goyal , Ravi Kantamsetty
Photography: Sridhar Rayaprolu, Ravi Kantamsetty
Volunteers: Rajani Kasu, Varsha
Sareen, Vasundhara Sareen , Apoorv Sareen, Mala Sareen , Rajeev Sareen
, Robin Singh , Anjali , Ravi, Birinder Singh Nijjar ,Simran Nijjar,
Sarayu Kantamsetty , Arjun Kantamsetty , Dhruv Kantamsetty, Madhavi
Adari , Jaya Morisetti, Krishna Uppalapati, Deepa Challa, Satish
Bommineni, Srinivasarao Kilaparti, Durga
More info: Please contact Kuljit Singh Nijjar, http://www.ashajyothiusa.org
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By Peter Della Penna in Bologna, Italy
Cayman Islands delayed the inevitable for only so long as USA completed a crushing nine-wicket victory at Centro Sportivo Dozza on Tuesday at the ICC WCL Division 4 in Bologna, Italy. Sushil Nadkarni was named Man of the Match for the second game in a row at the tournament after finishing 84 not out to lead USA past the Cayman Islands total of 181 for 9. He also took the Man of the Match award against Cayman Islands in June at the ICC Americas Division One when he scored 101 not out off 54 balls. 
Image: Sushil Nadkarni tore into the Cayman Islands bowling attack once again to the tune of 84 not out, earning another Man of the Match medal. [Courtesy: ICC]
“I thought it was a very good team performance,” said USA captain Steve Massiah. “I thought we executed our plan very well.”
Cayman Islands won the toss and elected to bat first on a clear day with a temperature in the mid 80s. The Caymanian opening pair of Ricardo Roach and Ramon Sealy were not scoring very many runs against the opening combination of Kevin Darlington and Usman Shuja, but they each had solid defensive techniques and were determined not to be removed.
In stepped Orlando Baker for the ninth over and on the final ball of the over, he got one to jag back to beat Sealy through the gate for 8 to make it 23 for 1. Pearson Best was the new man in but survived for only 11 balls when he was beaten by a bouncer-yorker combo from Shuja. Against the bouncer, he cut Shuja for four behind point but when the yorker came on the next ball, Best had no answer and was bowled for 6 to make it 36 for 2. Roach was finally removed three balls after the first drinks break for 29 when he drove Shuja in the air to mid off where Aditya Thyagarajan sprinted to his left and took a spectacular diving catch.
In stepped Charlie Javed and the leg-spinner bowled a tidy line and length and along with Muhammad Ghous bowling at the other end, built pressure on the Cayman Islands middle order. Javed finally struck in his fourth over with the wicket of the captain Saheed Mohamed, out for 26. Mohamed tried to flick a full length ball through the on side but a leading edge popped up to Javed’s left and he dove forward to take a brilliant catch inches from the ground to make it 79 for 4.
Javed’s second wicket was Abali Hoilett for 3 to make it 91 for 5. Hoilett got a full ball on his legs and tried to sweep but sent it low and fast to Thyagarajan at fine leg in the circle who held on to the catch. For the second time in the match, USA took a wicket three balls after a drinks break as Javed claimed Ryan Bovell for 26 to make it 98 for 6 in the 40th over. Bovell had been batting with great resistance but could hold himself in no more and went for a big swing to midwicket only to send an edge to Lennox Cush at slip to give Javed his third.
“I thought Charlie and Ghous bowled brilliantly, especially Javed,” said Massiah. “10 overs, three wickets, I thought it was exceptional. That was the reason why we had selected him knowing the weaknesses of certain teams and I thought today we exploited that brilliantly.”
USA vs. Cayman Islands Post Match Interview with Massiah & Nadkarni from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
Cayman Islands took the batting power play at the start of the 41st over and did well to score 41 runs from it while only losing one wicket, that of Kevin Bazil for 9 when he sliced a delivery from Baker to Javed at short third man to make it 126 for 7. Number seven batsman Ronald Ebanks top-scored with 46 and targeted Ghous to score the bulk of his runs. Ghous had figures of 0 for 17 after eight overs, but finished with 0 for 41 in 10 after Ebanks launched him over the sightscreen on consecutive deliveries to start the 48th over. However on the fourth ball of the over, Conroy Wright clipped a ball to midwicket and set off for a single, only to find himself short when Darlington fielded and fired a direct hit at the bowler’s end to send Wright off for 4, ending the biggest partnership of the innings at 37 to make it 163 for 8.
USA should have bowled out Cayman Islands for 168 in the final over, but on the ball after Baker dismissed Ebanks for the ninth wicket, Alassandro Morris was dropped when his top edged pull bounced off Darlington’s hands at midwicket. On the very next ball, Morris sent a catching opportunity to Ghous at long on, who wasn’t paying attention and the ball landed just in front of him and bounced by for four runs. On the next delivery, Morris hit Baker for six before taking a single off the final ball. Instead of finishing with figures of 4 for 17, Baker had to settle for 3 for 30 in 10 overs.
“I thought it was just a little lapse in concentration,” said Massiah. “Probably we got a little complacent. It’s cricket. These things are gonna happen and it’s just unfortunate that we dropped a few catches in the last over but luckily in the end it didn’t hurt us.”
The extra runs conceded only presented an opportunity for Nadkarni and friends to score more runs. On the fifth ball of USA’s innings, Nadkarni declared his intentions with a gargantuan hook over square leg for six off the bowling of Wright. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Baker launched a mega hit over the fence at midwicket a few overs later against the off-spin of Morris.
The two men took USA to 71 when on the last ball of the ninth over, Baker went back to defend and was hit high on the pads and given out LBW for 32 to pace bowler Marlon Bryan. Massiah joined Nadkarni and the two methodically went about their business to guide USA toward the target.
Nadkarni brought up his 50 in 53 balls when he flicked a ball to fine leg and the fielder let it go through his legs and over the line. Massiah reached his half-century in 56 balls by clobbering the off-spin of Ebanks out of the ground for his third six. Massiah then finished the match two overs later when he spanked a free hit from Bovell over the midwicket boundary for the winning runs.
USA’s position at the top of the table was cemented about 30 minutes later when Nepal lost their match against Tanzania by 9 runs. Italy defeated Argentina by 60 runs to produce a four-way tie at 1-1 for second place while Argentina is at the bottom of the group with an 0-2 record. Play continues on Wednesday with USA playing for the first time in Medicina in a matchup against Italy while Argentina plays Nepal and Cayman Islands take on Tanzania in Bologna.
Match Scorecard
Cayman Islands vs. USA
USA won by 9 wickets
Cayman Islands won the toss and elected to bat
Man of the Match: SS Nadkarni
Cayman Islands Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
RN Roach 29 81 3 0 ct Thyagarajan b Shuja
RA Sealy+ 8 14 1 0 b Baker
PI Best 6 11 1 0 b Shuja
SA Mohamed* 26 49 3 0 ct & b Javed
RD Bovell 20 55 0 0 ct Cush b Javed
A Hoilett 3 20 0 0 ct Thyagarajan b Javed
R Ebanks 46 39 5 2 ct Shuja b Baker
KF Bazil 9 10 0 1 ct Javed b Baker
C Wright 4 11 0 0 runout (Darlington)
A Morris 14 10 1 1 not out
MO Bryan 0 0 0 0 not out
Total Extras 16 (0 no balls, 5 byes, 3 leg byes, 8 wides)
Team Total 181 for 9 in 50 overs
Fall of wicket: 23/1 (Sealy), 36/2 (Best), 47/3 (Roach), 79/4 (Mohamed), 91/5 (Hoilett), 98/6 (Bovell), 126/7 (Bazil), 163/8 (Wright), 168/9 (Ebanks)
USA Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
KG Darlington 10-0-47-0
KU Shuja 10-2-26-2
OM Baker 10-1-30-3
N Javed 10-1-29-3
MA Ghous 10-0-41-0
USA Batting
Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s Dismissal
SS Nadkarni 84 92 11 2 not out
OM Baker 32 25 3 2 LBW Bryan
SJ Massiah* 59 62 4 4 not out
Total Extras 7 (2 no balls, 0 byes, 1 leg bye, 4 wides)
Team Total 182 for 1 in 29.3 overs
Did not bat: LJ Cush, A Thyagarajan, CD Wright+, RA Marshall, KU Shuja, MA Ghous, KG Darlington, N Javed
Fall of wicket: 71/1 (Baker)
Cayman Islands Bowling Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets
C Wright 4-0-26-0
A Morris 9-0-55-0
K Bazil 8-0-41-0
MO Bryan 3-0-22-1
RD Bovell 4.3-0-22-0
R Ebanks 1-0-15-0
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By Peter Della Penna
 USACA’s
senior men’s tournaments have been scheduled to take place on the same
weekend on opposite coasts as both the Eastern and Western Conference
Tournaments will be played from September 17-19, according to USACA VP
of Operations Manaf Mohamed. Just like the USA Cricket Junior
Nationals, USACA has decided to play both events on the same weekend,
perhaps limiting the opportunities for selectors to see all the players
which would have been possible if the tournaments took place on
separate weekends.
The Western Conference will take place in Los Angeles while the Eastern
Conference will be played in Atlanta. The top two teams in each
conference will then move on to the USACA National Championship, which
is currently set to take place November 12-14 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
although the dates have yet to be confirmed.
The tournaments will provide a good opportunity for some of the
domestic talent to put their hands up and push for selection for a spot
on the USA senior team that may potentially play in ICC World Cricket
League Division 3 in Hong Kong next January, provided USA qualifies for
that event with a top two finish at ICC WCL Division 4 which is
currently taking place in Bologna, Italy. USA won its first match by 10
wickets over Tanzania on Sunday and will go up against Cayman Islands
on Tuesday.
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By Peter Della Penna in Bologna, Italy
A dominant performance in the field was followed by a swift run
chase as USA easily disposed of Tanzania to complete a 10-wicket
victory on Sunday at Centro Sportivo Dozza in Bologna, Italy at the ICC
WCL Division 4. Sushil Nadkarni was named Man of the Match after
top-scoring with 68 not out including three boundaries and eight sixes.
“I thought it wasn’t anything different from what I get to play in
Houston,” said Nadkarni. “I’m backing myself in this tournament because
the wickets we are playing on are exactly similar to what I play in
Texas so it’s easier for me to adjust to these wickets here.”
VIDEO: USA vs. Tanzania Post Match Interview with Baker & Nadkarni from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
After winning the toss, USA sent the opposition in to bat for the
second day in a row. The match was delayed by 15 minutes due to a wet
artificial pitch that hadn’t yet dried out from Saturday’s rain.
However, the conditions around the ground were warm and clear and the
ground small with the long boundaries only about 55 yards and the
square ones roughly 50 yards. A big score would have been possible for
a good batting side, but Tanzania’s lineup stood no chance against a
focused USA bowling attack.
USA struck on the seventh ball of the match when Adrian Gordon
sent down a searing yorker that Enjo Kiongozi couldn’t catch up with
and the stumps were knocked back for a golden duck. USA made it 3 for 2
on the last ball of the third over when the new man in Abhik Patwa
drove Timroy Allen to Massiah at extra cover, who held on to a low
catch to send Patwa back for 1.
Orlando Baker claimed USA’s third wicket when Shaheed Dhanani
inside edged a ball off his thigh guard, popping it up into the air
behind the stumps. Carl Wright, who was standing up to the stumps,
waited for the ball to come down to complete the dismissal and Dhanani
was out for 16 to make it 40 for 3 in the 15th over.
Opening batsman Seif Khalifa was still there, but with the middle
order now exposed, Muhammad Ghous took the opportunity to put his stamp
on the game. Tanzania captain Hamisi Abdallah was dismissed for 1,
edging a good length ball to Lennox Cush at slip to make it 41 for 4.
Issa Kikasi was out for 4 after he played inside the line of the ball
trying to defend on the back foot and was bowled.
Leg-spinner Charlie Javed got into the action to dismiss Khalifa
for 26 making it 56 for 6. Khalifa tried to drive him over the fence at
long off but didn’t get enough elevation and Ghous took a simple catch
jogging in from the boundary. Ghous then continued to run through the
lineup as Benson Mwita came forward to defend a good length ball and
edged it to Cush at slip for his second catch to make it 61 for 7.
Ghous put Khalil Rehmtullah out of his misery, bowling him through the
gate for a 20-ball duck and Tanzania was reduced to 63 for 8. Ghous
finished with 4 for 15 in his 10-over spell.
“In my opinion, Ghous has been the find for US cricket,” said
Nadkarni. “He’s truly an off-spinner with great great potential in my
mind. He has some skill sets which not many off-spinners have and he’s
come on in very critical times for US in the past and delivered really
well. He’s gone through his 10, he’s got us wickets, he’s kept the runs
low. I mean for a guy who’s just come off the Under-19 levels, I think
he’s truly a find for our US senior team right now.”
Number nine batsman Kassim Nassoro played an intelligent innings
to top score for Tanzania with 49 not out. Nassoro gave Tanzania’s
scorecard a slight measure of respectability as he put on 52 runs for
the ninth wicket with Riziki Kiseto.
“I wouldn’t say we relaxed,” said Baker. “I think those guys who
came and batted, they batted well. We bowled good areas but they batted
well and we have to give credit. In cricket we have to respect people
for putting a good partnership together.”
Gordon came back for a second spell later and struck in the second
over of the spell to have Kiseto LBW for 12. Kiseto went back to defend
a good length ball but played around it and was hit on the knee roll
before being given out. Gordon wrapped up the innings two overs later
to deny Nassoro a deserved half-century when he teamed up with Wright
to dismiss Harsh Ramaiya. With Wright standing back for Gordon’s pace,
Ramaiya decided to stand out of his crease while batting. He let the
first delivery of the 39th over go through to the keeper but
Wright alertly underhanded the ball into the stumps from about 15 yards
away. Wright belted out a loud appeal and the umpire raised his finger
immediately as Ramaiya had to go. Tanzania was bowled out for 128 in
38.1 overs.
“I thought it was an exceptional bowling performance,” said
Massiah. “We’re off to an ideal start which we spoke about being
disciplined and I thought the guys hit good areas which made it a lot
easier for the bowlers coming after.”
VIDEO: USA vs. Tanzania Post Match Interview with Ghous & Massiah from Peter Della Penna on Vimeo.
USA’s reply was short and sweet. They were supposed to complete
roughly 40 minutes of play before the official lunch break, but with
the score at 103 for 0 when lunch was due to be taken at 2:15 p.m., the
umpires opted to play on to wrap things up. Nadkarni and Baker duly
obliged by taking another 15 balls to pass the target.
Nadkarni and Baker both got slightly lucky over the course of
their short partnership. With Nadkarni on 8 in the third over and the
score on 14, he top edged a pull toward midwicket. Dhanani ran a long
way from mid on and dove for the ball but it landed just out of the
reach of his fingertips. Nadkarni established his authority once more
on the next delivery by pulling it for six over square leg.
 On the fifth ball of the eighth over from the off-spin of Nassoro,
Baker top edged a pull to square leg. Khalifa, who was fielding about
five yards in from the boundary, backpedaled and jumped up about two
yards in from the line to take a catch over his head. However, he
landed with his back over the boundary line and the umpires rightly
ruled it a six. Had he been standing on the boundary when the ball was
delivered, he most likely would have completed the catch without losing
his balance. Like Nadkarni had done before, Baker rubbed salt into the
wound by smashing a six over the leg side on the very next delivery.
Pic: Sushil Nadkarni poses with his Man of the Match medal at the post match presentation ceremony. [Courtesy: ICC]
Baker brought up his 50 first and did so in bizarre fashion. He
defended a delivery from Nassoro back to the bowler. Nassoro
inexplicably hurled the ball to the keeper but missed with a wild throw
and the ball went racing away along the ground to the boundary for four
overthrows to bring up the half-century. Nadkarni notched his in
slightly more conventional style three balls later by scooping Nassoro
over square leg for six. Baker scored his 50 in 34 balls while Nadkarni
did his in only 25. Baker then finished the match a short time later by
scooping his third six over square leg.
In the day’s other scheduled matches, Nepal defeated Italy by five
wickets in a low-scoring match that was reduced to 40 overs because of
a wet outfield from yesterday’s rain. Italy was bowled out for 71
before Nepal passed the target in 25 overs. Mahesh Chhetri’s 19 opening
the chase for Nepal was the high score in the game. Argentina’s match
against Cayman Islands was abandoned to due a wet outfield in Medicina.
That match will be replayed on Monday.
Saturday’s round of matches, which included USA vs. Nepal, will be
replayed on Thursday as long as no other matches on the following three
days are left incomplete due to weather or ground conditions. That will
mean USA will potentially play five days in a row to end the tournament.
“It’s daunting to think that we’re going to play five games in a
row, but I’d like to believe that given our bowling attack and our
batting strength that some of those games are not going to go full
span,” said Nadkarni. “So just like this one finished pretty early,
we’re hoping some of the others might finish early. If that happens,
it’ll help us preserve our energy for the big games like Nepal and
Italy.”
ICC Official Scorecard
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Here is an extract from SILive website.
Before Shekhar Kripalani, 11, could tell a reporter how long he has been playing cricket, Richard Ramrattan, 12, piped up, “Just say your whole life.”
....
Before they’d cleared off the field, Raymond Ramrattan, 11, of Jersey City, hit a pretty off-drive shot (the ball goes to the side and behind the batter) that even a casual observer could appreciate.
This camp is being conducted under the auspices of the Staten Island Cricket Club by Coach Earl Daley.
Coach Earl Daley takes the boys through their paces; many of the drills for fielding develop skills common to baseball. Originally from Jamaica, Daley played for the USA team and [has served as] a selector for the USA team. A WICB Level 1 coach, he also coaches at the DreamCricket Academy in Hillsborough, N.J., and he plays with SICC.
...
“My mother remembers me watching finals when I was 1-year-old in Sri Lanka,” says Sahan Ratnayake, 15, of Bulls Head. He found out about the Staten Island club from his friend Harish Saikara, 15, of Willowbrook, whose father played in India.
“Every time you play, it’s new and different. Nothing of the same happens. Some things may be in your favor and some not in our favor,” said Harish, explaining his love of the game.
......
For information, call Clarence Modesta at 718-465-1020, or visit www.statenislandcc.org. Walker Park is at 50 Bard Ave., Livingston.
Complete article here.
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