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USA Cricketer
August 2012 - Posts
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
By Peter Della Penna in (on Twitter)
USA exercised some mental demons on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur when
they defeated Denmark by four wickets in a warm-up fixture at Royal
Selangor Club ahead of 2012 ICC WCL Division Four, which starts Monday
in Malaysia. In January 2011, USA lost twice to Denmark at ICC WCL
Division Three in Hong Kong, failing to chase targets of 194 and 241,
but on Thursday they were set 173 to win and managed to get across the
line with 15 overs to spare.
USA won the toss at Royal Selangor Club and sent Denmark in to bat.
The three players in USA’s squad who didn’t participate in the warm-up
are the three players still yet to arrive in Malaysia: Aditya Mishra,
Usman Shuja and Steven Taylor. However, USA’s victory without them will
give the squad a big confidence boost knowing that they won without
three players who will almost certainly be in USA’s first choice
starting XI come Monday, September 3 in USA’s first match of the
tournament against Malaysia.
Denmark’s highest score off the bat came from opener Shehzad Ahmed,
who made 25 off 62 balls, as no one was able to go on to make a
significant score after getting a start. The biggest partnership of the
innings for Denmark was 47 runs for the second wicket between Ahmed and
Anders Lambert, who made 22. It was broken by Muhammad Ghous, who had
Ahmed caught behind by Akeem Dodson, one of three dismissals completed
by the wicketkeeper.
The second high score in the innings for Denmark came from extras
with 24, including eight byes. USA’s bowling attack turned in a solid
combined performance. Playing in his first match in a USA uniform since
July 2011, Timroy Allen opened the bowling and took 2 for 37 in 10 overs
with three maidens. Left-arm seamer Elmore Hutchinson finished with 0
for 18 off six and Orlando Baker took 1 for 26 in seven.
In the spin department, Ghous claimed 1 for 25 in 10 overs while
fellow off-spinner Abhimanyu Rajp finished with USA’s best figures on
the day, taking 3 for 33 off 10 including the wickets of Lambert and
Denmark captain Michael Pedersen. USA captain Steve Massiah took 2 for
15 in six overs while Ryan Corns bowled one over, taking 0 for 7.
Denmark was 74 for 1 at one stage but lost wickets at fairly regular
intervals from there on out, eventually getting bowled out on the final
ball of the innings for 172.
Dodson and Sushil Nadkarni opened the batting for USA. The side
stumbled at the start of the chase when Dodson was dismissed for a
second-ball duck followed six balls later by the departure of Massiah
for 5 to put USA in an early hole at 11 for 2 in the third over.
 Aditya
Thyagarajan joined Nadkarni and the two veterans steadied the ship for
USA by adding 74 for the third wicket. Nadkarni scored at the quicker
pace, eventually finishing with 41 off 36 balls, including five fours
and three sixes before he was dismissed by Hamid Shah in the 15th over.
Image (right) - Aditya Thyagarajan file photo. [Courtesy: Bryan Vandenburgh/ICC]
Corns came in and scored 12 off 29 at number five before he was
bowled by Henrik Hansen to make it 110 for 4 at the start of the 23rd.
Thyagarajan, playing in his first match for USA since getting injured
against Denmark in Hong Kong last year, fell just short of a
half-century when he was caught behind off Hansen for 48 off 78 balls,
including seven fours and a six, to make it 133 for 5.
Baker fell LBW for 11 in the 32nd to leave the score at 151 for 6 and
give Denmark a sniff at victory but Andy Mohammed and Allen erased any
doubts with a 27 run-stand off just 19 balls to seal the match for USA.
Mohammed struck four boundaries in his 18 not out off 20 balls while
Allen clubbed two sixes, including one maximum that brought up the
winning runs, in his short stay to finish 14 not out off 10 balls as USA
sealed the win with 90 balls remaining.
DreamCricket.com will have live coverage for all of USA’s matches at
ICC WCL Division Four beginning with the team’s first match on Monday
against Malaysia from Bayuemas Oval. Each match is scheduled to begin at
10:30 a.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST the previous
day in America.
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CricketNext.com reported today that Cricket Holdings America's US T20 league will be launched in 2013 with six teams. The website reported that a number of high-profile cricketers had shown 'keen interest.'
Included in this list were Brett Lee, Shane Watson, David Warner, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi and Kumar Sangakkara. "My bags are packed," Brett Lee reportedly told the website. Lee said he would love to play in front of a packed house in New York.
 Although exact venues were not named, New York and San Francisco were 'short-listed' as potential host cities for the first season. In an interview in 2010, CHA director Rajiv Podar admitted that creating suitable venues was a challenge. "The key challenge will be development of infrastructure of international acceptable standards for cricket," Podar said at the time.
Keith Wyness, the CEO of CHA, told ESPN CricInfo that he anticipated the use of cricket-specific facilities, such as the Lauderhill Stadium in Florida, or other venues which could be prepared for cricket with minimal work.
Even if baseball stadiums are small for the sport of cricket, the Richmond County Park Ballpark in Staten Island and the TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ were used by the now defunct Pro Cricket league to host cricket matches during the 2004 season. In San Francisco, the much larger Kezar Stadium (pictured right) has been used for high profile cricket matches.
Speaking about giving local cricketers an opportunity, Podar hinted that merit would play a role. "One of our objectives is to give a platform to young, talented cricketers of US," Podar said. However, he added that "we'll not compromise on the quality of cricket being exhibited in the league.” Podar told CricketNext.com that a player auction would 'most likely to take place towards the end of September.'
Podar was unfazed by the mushrooming of T20 leagues. Wyness, in his interview to ESPN CricInfo, had said that the US T20 'would be right up there among the one or two or three top T20 leagues.' Podar echoed Wyness' view and said that the US T20 would be played mid-June to mid-July, which is off-season for several cricket playing countries.
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By Peter Della Penna in Brooklyn, NY (on Twitter)
Comments
 Randall
Wilson and Sajib Salam combined with the bat and ball to lead the
Dragons over the Lycons by eight wickets on Tuesday afternoon to win the
championship match of the 2012 NYPD T20 youth cricket tournament at
Gateway Park in Brooklyn, New York. Salam, who was also a part of the NY
PSAL champion Long Island City High School team this spring, was named
MVP of the NYPD T20 final after taking 4 for 4 in two overs of off-spin
to wipe out the Lycons for 93 in 17 overs while USA U-18 player Wilson
guided the chase to finish 40 not out.
Image (right) - Randall Wilson drives through the covers in his
knock of 40 not out for the Dragons in the championship match of the
2012 NYPD T20 tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
Lycons won the toss and elected to bat first on a sunny afternoon in
New York. The final was pushed back from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. after heavy
overnight and morning rains in the New York metro area. Lycons produced a
first wicket partnership of 26, but from then on it was a rough showing
with wickets falling in clumps as Dragons asserted control over the
match.
Opener Faisal Ahmed was one of only two players to reach double
figures, notching 18 before being the second player dismissed when
off-spinner Hassan Hussain bowled him at the start of the seventh over
to take the first of his three wickets in the match. Saed Haider’s
confident batting at the number three position for Lycons guided them to
51 for 2 before wickets started tumbling at the other end. The third
wicket partnership ended at 25 when Mohaminul Islam was caught off the
bowling of Hussain for 3.
Haider carried on at the other end, striking four boundaries and
three sixes in a top score of 41 to serve as the backbone for the Lycons
innings as he struggled to get any support. He was later named the Best
Batsman of the tournament at the post-match awards ceremony.
Haider put on 30 runs for the seventh wicket with Mohamed Tanim
before Tanim was dismissed off a spectacular return catch by Salam to
make it 89 for 7. Haider hung around for three more balls before he was
well caught on the boundary at deep midwicket by Trinson Carmichael for
Salam’s second of four wickets to make the score 90 for 8 at the end of
15 overs. Two overs later the innings had wrapped up for just three more
runs thanks to Salam. Hussain finished with 3 for 20 while Wilson took 1
for 18 and Zafaar Yusuf took 1 for 24.
Dragons took a methodical approach to the chase after suffering an
early setback when Rafeek Nazeer was caught behind off the bowling of
Faisal Mohammed for 4 on the second ball of the innings. Wilson joined
Carmichael and the pair went on cruise control until Carmichael was
runout for 24 to make the score 73 for 2. Salam joined Wilson to see
Dragons to the target in 16.2 overs. Sajib hit the winning runs, a six
over midwicket to end on 15 not out while Wilson finished with two fours
and a six in his unbeaten 40. The performance by Dragons was so
dominant the 2012 NY PSAL leading run-scorer Troy Mars didn’t have to
bat.
Image (above) - The Dragons accept the 2012 NYPD T20 championship
trophy from NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
At the post-match presentation, New York Police Department
Commissioner Ray Kelly presented medals to each player from the two
sides before presenting the championship trophy to the winning Dragons
side. He also commended both sides for the contributions they have made
to the fabric of the cricket and sports community by raising awareness
for the game in New York.
“The fact that you are here today for the final is a testimony to
your hard work and the work of the coaches as well,” Kelly said. “You
have really raised the public’s consciousness about cricket in New York.
It’s not where baseball or football is but believe me there’s a lot
more interest in it and you’ve played no small part in that.”
For more photos from the day, visit the NYPD Facebook page.
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[Source: ACF Media Release]
Philadelphia Cricket Festival and CC Morris Cricket Library express support for ACF's guiding principles
 ACF announced on Monday that it had received an expression of support from the CC Morris Cricket Library and Museum and the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival.
Pic (Right): CC Morris Cricket Library, Haverford College, PA.
The Philadelphia International Cricket Festival is an annual sporting charity event to benefit youth cricket staged during the first weekend in May to promote cricket and to encourage national and international sporting ties.
The CC Morris Cricket Library and Museum, located at Haverford College in Philadelphia, is the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere. The library includes over a thousand volumes and a very large collection of printed and photographic materials and related artifacts of US Cricket history.
C.C. Morris recently contributed substantially to a joint, global exhibition, "Swinging Away", which explored the links between cricket and baseball. In conjunction with the Bradman Center in Sydney, Australia, Lords of London and the US Baseball Hall of Fame, the exhibition toured all three locations to critical acclaim.
Michael Thomas joins ACF's Interim Advisory Board
.jpg) The media release also noted that Michael Thomas had joined ACF's interim advisory board. Michael is a co-founder of Philadelphia Cricket Festival and a Director of the C.C. Morris Cricket Library and Museum at Haverford College.
Pic (Right): Philadelphia International Cricket Festival
Michael brings with him years of cricketing experience as former captain and president of the British Officers C.C. in Philadelphia.
Michael's successful corporate career included roles as the European Treasurer of a large pharmaceutical company and variously as VP Business Development and CFO in several public companies.
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'Cricket for Girls' program
 The Cricket League of New Jersey (CLNJ) Youth program and DreamCricket Academy announced their support of Delkash Shahriarian’s plans to launch a 'Cricket for Girls' program starting this Fall. Delkash is a member of the USA Women's cricket team.
The program will kick off with a free two-hour clinic for girls conducted by Delkash at DreamCricket Academy's indoor nets in Hillsborough, NJ on Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 11AM. Please email camps@dreamcricket.com to register.
Pic (Right): USA cricketer Delkash Shahriarian will launch a cricket program for young girls in collaboration with DreamCricket Academy
The clinic will be open to girls 9 through 16 years of age. All participants will receive a free goodie bag at the end of the clinic, which includes a hat, a certificate of participation and a t-shirt. Once schools open, efforts will be made to introduce cricket to girls in elementary and middle schools in Central New Jersey with the support of USYCA.
First woman to play in the Cricket League of New Jersey
 CLNJ Youth already runs a successful age-group program for boys. The more advanced boys play as part of the CLNJ Colts team in Division 3 of CLNJ adult league. The Colts, comprising fifteen U-15 boys, play under the supervision of Coach Earl Daley and are guided by two senior chaperone players who provide situation-oriented mentoring to the boys.
On Sunday, August 19, CLNJ Colts made history by fielding the first ever woman to play in a CLNJ league match. Delkash Shahriarian was one of the chaperone players in the final match of the season for the Colts.
Pic (Right): Delkash Shahriarian opened the Colts innings with Rohan Aravindh in last Sunday's match.
Speaking after the game, Delkash said: “The game on Sunday was amazing and our win was a good way to end the season. The Colts are a very talented team and it is great to see CLNJ and DreamCricket support and nurture their talents."
Speaking of her involvement with the NJ Youth cricket program, Delkash said: “I have now seen first-hand the commitment of DreamCricket Academy and CLNJ for promoting youth cricket at the grassroots level. Girls should also take advantage of this youth cricket movement and I am willing to provide my time so that more girls can come forward and enjoy this wonderful game.”
About Delkash Shahriarian
Delkash Shahriarian was the captain of the Rustom Baug Sir Ness Wadia Club in Mumbai, a team she successfully led to victory over stronger women’s teams like Godrej Baug and Dadar Parsi Colony during the 2004-05 season. After graduating from Rachna Sansad’s Academy of Architecture, Delkash joined the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York for her Masters in Architecture. Following her graduation from Pratt, Delkash returned to playing cricket while working as an Architect.
At the 2011 USACA Women’s National Championship, her exceptional performance behind the wickets, followed with a half-century, ensured her a spot on the National Team. A wicket-keeper batswoman, Delkash represented USA in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh in November 2011 and followed that up with a tour of Cayman Islands for the ICC Americas Women’s T20 in April 2012.
Delkash plans to continue her career with the USA Women’s National Cricket team. She continues to train and improve her game skills in preparation for the upcoming Women’s World Cup Qualifier trials in 2013.
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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)
Batsman Andy Mohammed has been added to the USA squad in place of
Rashard Marshall for 2012 ICC WCL Division Four, which begins Monday,
September 3 in Malaysia. According to an ICC spokesperson, USACA made a
request to add Mohammed as an “injury replacement” for Marshall, which
was approved.
 However,
according to an anonymous source, Marshall is not injured but was
removed from the squad after requesting to leave the USA on the evening
of August 31 due to a work assignment. USA’s squad is due to leave Los
Angeles for Kuala Lumpur in the early morning hours of August 27.
Meanwhile, Steven Taylor, Usman Shuja and Aditya Mishra will all be
departing from the USA four days later on August 31.
Prior to the official USACA squad announcement on August 3, Shuja,
Mishra and Taylor had received permission to join the squad late. Shuja
and Mishra made the request due to work commitments while Taylor is
currently in Barbados as the captain of the ICC Americas U-19 squad at
the West Indies Cricket Board Regional U-19 Tournament. The ICC Americas
U-19 squad’s last match is August 29 and they will not depart Barbados
until August 30.
Yet, it appears that Marshall’s request to join the squad late for
work reasons was denied because he notified the USACA board on August 16
instead of prior to the squad being chosen and submitted to the ICC for
the August 3 deadline. If Marshall was replaced by USACA due to work
reasons, it would be contradicting their formal request to the ICC to
replace Marshall due to injury.
In an email – obtained from an anonymous source – dated August 16,
and addressed from USACA selection chairman Selwyn Caesar to USACA
General Manager Manaf Mohamed, Caesar wrote the following:
I received a call from Rashard
Marshall this morning advising he has an unscheduled work assignment on
Friday August 31st and would like arrangements be made for his travel on
the evening of August 31st.
I am aware the call should have been
directed to you, however I request you arrange to call Rashard this
afternoon (he may be sleeping today for work tonight) in order to work
out the details and advise accordingly.
Mohamed then sent out an email to numerous USACA administrators which stated:
Regarding e-mail from Selwyn below..
Spoke to Rashard today. He only found out a day or so ago that he has to
be at work on Aug 31 to receive his work assignments for the month.
Should I re-schedule his flight out or do I need to replace?? Please advise.
This would not be the first time USACA has attempted to pull off a
questionable maneuver with regards to replacing a player for an ICC
event. At 2011 ICC WCL Division Three in Hong Kong, Aditya Thyagarajan
was lost for the tournament following the second match after dislocating
his right knee. USACA then requested to add assistant coach/bowling
coach Howard Johnson to the squad as an injury replacement.
According to sources, the ICC agreed to accept Johnson as a
replacement player under the premise that Johnson would only be utilized
in case three other players also became injured at which point USA
would have had no choice but to use him as a substitute fielder or put
him in the starting eleven. Johnson’s last appearance for USA before
then came as a 40-year-old at the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland.
However, 46-year-old Johnson leapfrogged three other healthy players,
including then uncapped 28-year-old fast bowler Durale Forrest, to
appear in the starting eleven in USA’s next match against Papua New
Guinea. Johnson took 2 for 23 in the seven-wicket loss after USA was
sent in by PNG and bowled out for 44. Johnson then sat out USA’s final
three matches of the tournament.
Six months later, USA named a squad for the 2011 ICC Americas
Division One Twenty20 tournament in Florida which included Nauman
Mustafa in the 14-man list. However, he was mysteriously removed from
the squad just a week before the start of the tournament and replaced by
Sushil Nadkarni. When asked to explain how Nadkarni was added to the
squad in favor of Mustafa, Manaf Mohamed replied, “The president
[Gladstone Dainty] gave me that instruction.”
USA’s first match of 2012 ICC WCL Division Four will be against
Malaysia on September 3. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage from
Kuala Lumpur for all of USA’s matches beginning at 10:30 a.m. local
time, 10:30 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. PST the previous night in America.
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By Sadiq Yusuf - MCC
Midwest Cricket Conference officially launched its premier T20 cricket tournament of the season, the second annual Shekhar Aravind Memorial Unity Cup, to be played in Chicago-land over the upcoming Labor Day weekend (September 1-3, 2012).
"Sheks", as he was universally known, was the dynamic reform-minded President of Midwest Cricket Conference, who tragically passed away a year ago in a boating accident on Lake Michigan. The concept of the "Unity Cup" was the last official task he worked on as league president - and, inspired to continue his vision, Midwest Cricket Conference held the inaugural Unity Cup named in his honor only 3 weeks after his passing in 2011 consisting of 12 teams (with 8 local teams, and including strong support from the Central-East Region, with Minnesota CA, Michigan CA and American Cricket Conference all providing squads at short notice). The tournament was a rousing success, by consensus the best-organized tournament seen in the Central-East region in many years. It featured thrilling and high-quality cricket, culminating in a high-octane thrill-a-minute final under floodlights with a spectacular finish - as Sheks' favorite "Youth Team" edged the squad skippered by his captain and best friend Bhavesh Amin by 1 wicket on the last ball of the game.
In 2012 the Shekhar Aravind Memorial Unity Cup has taken a quantum leap forward, with the addition of significant prize-money thanks to the generosity and support of Mahammad A. "Maq" Qureshi and Cricket Council USA, and a consequent leap in the level of national awareness and interest.
The 2012 Shekhar Aravind Memorial Unity Cup will see 20 teams battling it out for supremacy, chasing the Grand Prize of $10,000 ($7500 to the winner and $2500 to the runner-up). Teams from as far afield as Seattle (Washington), Memphis (Tennessee), Cincinnati (Ohio), Atlanta (Georgia), Dallas (Texas) and Fort Lauderdale (Florida) will join squads from Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and Indiana - all congregating in Chicago for a Labor Day Weekend festival of cricket. Chicago itself will remain strongly represented, with every significant league in the city and region sending a representative outfit to battle for the prize.
The host-league's Midwest All-Stars will be led by Team USA spinner Asif Khan, and include, among others, erstwhile Team USA wicket-keeper Ashhar Mehdi. USA Under-19 stars Fahad Babar and Abhijit Joshi will both represent the Defending Unity Cup Champion "Midwest Cubs" - the Midwest Cricket Conference's Youth-based squad who will be looking to retain their cherished trophy.
The official launch of the 2012 Shekhar Aravind Unity Cup took place at a local restaurant, with an "NFL-style Draft" of registered players, with "team captains/general managers" drafting their own squads.
The 3 Midwest-team captains - Bhavesh Amin, Romeen Lavani and Shiraz Najam - had the difficult task of choosing from 178 players, all of whom had registered and expressed the availability and the desire to play in this season's Unity Cup for Midwest squads. With "restrictions" in place - the ability to draft only 8 "Division One" players each, and the need to draft at least 1 additional Youth Player each being examples - the 3 captains did an outstanding job playing General Manager of the Bulls, Sox and Bears respectively. They sat through 15 Rounds of the NFL-style Unity Cup Draft, taking turns in choosing players and building, in the end, three extremely strong squads that they will lead onto the field on the first day of September.
Games will be played at the famous Washington Park facility in Chicago, Illinois, and in Hanover Park, Illinois. Etihad Airways will present a High Flying Sixes Award- a free round-trip airline ticket from Chicago to Abu Dhabi to the "highest six hitter" of the tournament. Other cash-prize cricket-skills contests are also planned. Further details about the 2012 Shekhar Aravind Memorial Unity Cup can be found at www.midwestcricket.org
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The 140 year old Staten Island Cricket Club is hosting its Annual Youth Cricket Festival from August 29th to 31st, 2012. This year's tournament is expected to feature four Under-18 teams.
Radhakrishna Mohan, Youth Coordinator of the Staten Island Cricket Club, welcomed supporters of youth cricket to come and watch the contests between bat and ball at the historic Walker Park cricket field in Staten Island.
This year's Staten Island Youth Cricket Festival will honor Late SG Deenan. Deenan, who passed away recently, is an Indian first class cricketer who played for Madras and Andhra. Deenan also played alongside CK Nayudu against a visiting European XI and was part of the Indian squad led by Vijay Merchant which played against an England XI in 1938.
Deenan had the unique distinction of playing in the War Fund Matches in London where he represented the British Empire XI against the England XI.
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[Source: NCCA Media Release]
The IPL Style USACA approved NCCA-T20 2012 Edition has reached its “Auction Day”. Speaking ahead of the auction, the NCCA-T20 2012 Commissioner and President of NCCA, Sunil Kumar said: “Six teams in the tournament will be participating in the auction on August 21, 2012 to pick the best fourteen among over 200 players who had signed up online."
The six teams with their owners and Icon players are listed below:
Blasters - Team Owners: Deval Patel & Ayan Banerjee; Icons: Sunny Singh, Krishna Prasad, Imran Khan, Arshi Jammu
Cloudalyze Spinners - Team Owner: Vaibhav Mankame; Icons: Shiva Vashishat, Saqib Saleem, Naseer Jamali, Muhammed Saleem Mustafa
CSZ Titans - Team Owner: Mukul Kumar; Icons: Mukul Kumar, Sujesh Pulikkal, Anwar Ahmed, Sheryar Khan
Fooglies - Team Owner: Arjun Thyagarajan; Icons: Arjun Thyagarajan, Shantanu Divekar, Ritesh Kadu, Syed Fareed Ahmed
Stanford Supernovas - Team Owner: Rohan Chandran; Icons: Pranay Suri, Mahesh Krishnamurthi, Rishi Bhardwaj
Warriors - Team Owner: Sridhar Reddi; Icons: Sridhar Reddi, Srinivasan Mohan, Jayavel Shanmugam, Shafiq Khan
 TVU Networks (Sponsor NCCA-T20) will be streaming the auction live from 7 pm pacific time to the end of the event which is expected to run over 4 hours.
Cricket lovers can catch the action live in high-definition by visiting the NCCA-T20 Channel. The tournament website is nccat20.com and Twitter handle is @nccat20.
The Auction Nite will be held at Dosa N’ Biriyani (DB), Sunnyvale, CA. DB are also the official sponsors and caterers for this event and for the tournament. The partners at DB have taken their love for cricket and their support for it to the next level by renaming their bar to “The Pavilion”.
Sunil Kumar, was highly upbeat about the NCCA-T20 2012 Auction Nite and was confident that this event which will see some of the best names in the cricketing circuit across the country being auctioned live, albeit through virtual dollars, will be among the best.
“The auction nite is a big phase of this tournament, the phase when the team owners slug it out in the middle to get the best bet for their money. Top quality players will be on high demand and will fetch maximum it is expected”. It is all about preparation, strategy and planning prior to the auction and having your plans and counter plans ready to take the situation head on, said Sunil Kumar.
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DreamCricket Media Release
About 100 children had the rare privilege to learn from one of the
greatest cricketers of all time this weekend when they took part in
MetLife sponsors “Meet the Legend” Cricket Coaching Camp with Sunil
Gavaskar at DreamCricket Academy in Hillsborough, N.J. Gavaskar, who
played in 125 Tests and 108 ODIs for India in a decorated career from
1971-1987 and was the first batsman to score 10,000 career runs in Test
cricket, said he was delighted by the support MetLife was giving to
enable children to pursue their passion.
“Sports need enlightened sponsors and MetLife have been enlightened
sponsors for such a long time because what they’ve done is invested in
youth.” Gavaskar said. “I’m so happy to be here at this facility because
I was here a couple of years back and to see again that DreamCricket
continues to give the opportunity to youngsters to come and play their
favorite sport is something which is absolutely terrific and of course
without sponsors like MetLife, I don’t think cricket can survive.”
Image (above) - Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar with youth
cricketers from the first of three sessions as part of MetLife sponsors
"Meet the Legend" Cricket Coaching Camp with Sunil Gavaskar at
DreamCricket Academy in Hillsborough, N.J. [Courtesy: Peter Della
Penna/DreamCricket.com]
 Gavaskar
was especially pleased to see the enthusiasm shown by children who
were a part of the clinic because initiatives like this are what will
sustain the game for future generations.
Image (right) - Sunil Gavaskar (right) shares some batting tips
with DreamCricket Academy members Mohammed Surti (left) and Pranav
Kanukollu (center). [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
“It’s really a pleasure to be here because the first thing you see is
the young eager faces,” Gavaskar said. “It takes me back to a time when
I was a school kid and wanting to play cricket. At that stage, your
ambitions were limited and you didn’t think about playing for your
country. You just thought of trying to do well for your team to make
sure that the sport you enjoyed was also a sport whereby you could learn
from others. If you learn from that experience it helps you to improve
and become a better cricketer but more than just being a cricketer I
think what this sport teaches you is to become a good human being.”
The young cricketers, ages 7 through 16, were divided into three
separate sessions by age. In the morning, Gavaskar took his time sharing
batting and bowling tips with some of the more advanced players to
sharpen up their skills with assistance from DreamCricket Academy
coaches Earl Daley, Damion Morgan and Delkash Shahriarian.
 In
the afternoon, the youngest kids in attendance got the chance to ask
Gavaskar various cricket related questions during a special Q & A
session. Snoopy also made a special appearance for MetLife and got
everyone excited by showing off his bowling skills. At the end of each
session, every aspiring cricketer got the opportunity to have their
picture taken with Gavaskar and Snoopy to cap off an amazing day.
Image (right) - Snoopy shows off his bowling skills. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]
“I always love things with children so I enjoy watching them learn
about the sport and interact with Sunil Gavaskar but what’s really fun
for me is watching the parents who are totally in awe of being able to
see their kids learn from a legend,” Laurel Daring, assistant vice
president of multicultural marketing for MetLife, said. “In the South
Asian community cricket is a huge sport so when this opportunity was
presented to us, it really made sense that we could be part of doing
something for the first time with DreamCricket and the USYCA that would
help MetLife to be a part of cricket with something that is really loved
by the community.”
The DreamCricket Academy in Hillsborough, N.J., has been a vital
resource for young cricketers since 2008 by offering clinics and
coaching camps throughout the year. Willow TV and the United States
Youth Cricket Association partnered with DreamCricket to help organize
the event for MetLife, which was yet another successful occasion for the
development of youth cricket.
“These kids come together and practice day in and day out, they have
the love and passion for the game,” Kranthi Bayya, DreamCricket CEO,
said. “Having a living legend like Sunil Gavaskar come to visit, spend
time with them and share his expertise with them validates our mission
at DreamCricket to help support children while they pursue their love of
cricket. Everyone knows that MetLife has been a valuable supporter of
the South Asian community but this is the first time that they have
engaged in youth cricket in America and we are thrilled that
DreamCricket could help make it happen.”
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
Former India captain, Anil Kumble was in the United States this past weekend attending a series of events to promote the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 to be held in Sri Lanka between 18th September and 7th October 2012.
NASDAQ closing bell
The former captain  rang the NASDAQ closing bell on Friday in New York City.
Welcoming Kumble and the Federation of Indian Associations, Venu Palaparthi, Vice President of NASDAQ, said that it was a pleasure to have NASDAQ participate in Indian Independence Day with the bell ringing.
Pic (Right): Anil Kumble at the NASDAQ closing bell on August 17, 2012
Palaparthi noted that having a cricketer at NASDAQ's closing bell held an additional personal interest for him. "I have a special connection with cricket. I co-founded USA’s leading cricket portal – DreamCricket.com and spend all my free time running a youth cricket league for the Cricket League of New Jersey."
Palaparthi noted that the 32nd India Day Parade was a special treat for Indian cricket fans as Nawab Pataudi’s son, Saif Ali Khan Pataudi was the grand marshall.
Calling Kumble the most inspiring Indian cricketer, Palaparthi said, "We all know how Anil bowled with a broken and bandaged jaw in Antigua and took Brian Lara’s wicket - a day before he was to fly back to India for surgery."
"For me personally, as someone for whom cricket is a religion. It is a great honor to have a cricketing God - Anil Kumble here at Nasdaq!"
[Click here for a video recording of Nasdaq's closing bell on August 17th]
Speaking at the closing bell ceremony, Kumble said: “There is a lot of representation in NASDAQ from India and thanks to the Indian community that a cricketer is here to ring the closing bell."
ICC World Twenty20
In an ICC Media Release, Kumble said that he was thrilled to be leading the efforts to promote the sport to cricket fans in the US ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. “Twenty20 has for long been considered a product fit for an American audience," Kumble is quoted as saying.
Speaking about the free-to-air coverage of the ICC World Twenty20 via ESPN3, Kumble noted: “Cricket has also always been a huge draw among the expat Indian population in the USA. So the live coverage of ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 on ESPN3 in the US will help us get our great game to a bigger and wider audience."
32nd India Day Parade
Tens of thousands lined up along Madison Avenue at the 32nd India Day Parade in NY marking 65 years of India's independence.
Cricket was prominently featured at this year's parade with Kumble himself accompanying the ICC World T20 Trophy on the ESPN float. For the second year, TV Asia promoted American College Cricket (ACC) on their float. TV Asia is ACC's exclusive broadcasting media partner. ACC president Lloyd Jodah, LIU-Brooklyn Club President Sandeep Devarshetty and several other college cricketers were invited to ride on the ESPN float along with Kumble. The ACC website noted that Kumble was 'happily surprised' when he discovered that cricket was played in American universities.
"Indians have made cricket popular in the US and I hope America too becomes an important member of the cricketing fraternity," Anil Kumble said at the parade.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
[Source: SCCA Media Releases]
SCCA announced its Premier League T20 tournament which will take place at the Woodley cricket fields, Van Nuys (CA) over the Labor Day Weekend.
 The SCCA Premier League T20 features an auction with eight franchise bidding for the players. The cost to buy a team is $1000. Owners to bear expenses for food, drinks and umpiring. For 2012, the owners are Denise Stuart (Carrib Blues); Sammy Kang (Punjab Blues); Janak Patel (Master Blasters); Peshan Wedanarachi (Centurion); Mushi Khan (Pro T20); Mehul Dave (Dhinka Chika XI); Atul Rai (Challengers);
Parvez Badar (LA Warriors).
In an auction that took place on August 19th, owners were awarded $5000 (virtual dollars) and bids were invited for players. The following "Icon" players were named ahead of the auction: Challengers - Abhishek Pawar, Abhik Vyas, Theo Mavrokefalos; Carrib Blues - Ali Mukaddam, Clayton Graham, Muhammad Amin; Punjab Blues - Ricky Singh, Kanishka Chaugai, Muhammad Asad Khan; Master Blasters - Janak Patel, Nandish Patel, Priyank Patel; Dinka Chika XI - Mehul Dave, Mrunal Patel, David Pieters; Centurion - Peshan Wedanarachi, Ali Ijaz, Marcus Stewart; Pro T20 - Rohit Yadav, Tarun Bhoomireddy, Muhammad Sadiq; LA Warriors - Richard Blackledge, Gary Croker, Rodney Cutting.
Organizers said that teams will be announced on August 22nd. The SCCA Premier League T20 will award cash prizes with the winning team taking $5,000 and $2,000 going to runners-up.
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Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket
[ACF Media Release]
 American
Cricket Federation announced its inaugural ACF National Tournament for
Columbus Day weekend (October 6-8) and invited all cricket leagues
across the country to participate in this event.
The tournament will be held on natural turf wickets at the Woodley Park Cricket complex in Los Angeles
Pictured right: Matches will be held on the finest natural turf grounds at Woodley park. (Copyright protected).
The tournament will be played in the exciting Twenty20 cricket format.
The ACF Tournament Committee will arrange for special hotel rates for
all attendees and will also assist with finding the best airfare deals
for any participating leagues that request such assistance with
adequate notice. Local logistics and tournament coordination are being
handled by the ACF in conjunction with the Southern California Cricket
Association. Leagues interested in participating should write to americancricketfederation@gmail.com
by August 31, 2012. Playing rules, terms and conditions will be made
available on request. A nominal fee of $300 per team will be charged
to cover cost of colored clothing.
The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with
the Southern California Cricket Association maintains four world class
cricket grounds at the Woodley Park Cricket Complex. "Besides the
Hollywood scene, the beaches and mountains, Los Angeles provides a host
of events within close proximity. You can play a game of cricket during
the day, attend a basketball game or a live theater show and still
visit the pier at Santa Monica," Kamal Azeez, President of SCCA said.
"It is our goal to create a national event structure that we can all be
proud of and we believe in the spirit of volunteering," Leighton
Greenidge, Convenor of the ACF Steering Committee said. Those willing
to assist with marketing, sponsorships, logistics, hospitality and
other aspects of tournament organization are requested to write to americancricketfederation@gmail.com.
ACF said that it was planning to organize women's and youth cricket
tournaments on natural turf during the 2012-13 season. Plans for those
tournaments will be announced shortly.
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[Guyana Tri-County Games Media Release]
By John L. Aaron
 USA
skipper Steve Massiah is headlining several very talented USA and
national players from Guyana in next weekend’s 2012 Guyana Inter-County
Games at Idlewild Park in Rosedale, Queens, NY. Massiah will skipper a
representative Demerara XI, one of the three participating county teams
that also includes USA national player Amarnauth Persaud, while Guyana
national player Jonathan Foo, USA national players Quasen Alfred, Kevin
Darlington and Gregory Sewdial, will suit up for Berbice County.
Azurdeen Mohammed and Clain Williams, USA national players will wear the
colors of the Cinderella County of Essequibo.
Guyana,
with a population density of less than 10 persons per square mile, is
the only English-speaking nation on the South American continent, but
has produced countless world-class Test cricketers over the years, so it
stands to reason that many players who have been knocking on the doors
of Test cricket have made quite a name for themselves at the First-class
level, despite not going on to represent the abundantly talented former
British colony on the international cricket circuit.
The
vast country of just under 800,000 citizens is divided into three
counties and demarcated by rivers bearing the names of the counties;
Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. Thus, for many, many years the rivalry
between the counties in cricket has been a fierce one. With the
migration of thousands of Guyanese to North America, that rivalry has
followed the new immigrants here, with some 220,000 Guyanese living in
America. Many of those reside in the New York metropolitan area.
Therefore, New York has become the bedrock for Guyanese cricketers and
the importation of the culture of cricket rivalry.
With
a heavy concentration of very talented cricketers in the New York area,
it was only a matter of time that the rivalry between the expatriate
county teams would become a part of the cricket landscape. Billed as the
2012 Guyana Inter-County Games, this year’s T20 event has been
attracting great interest and generating a lot of buzz in the cricketing
community. The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 25 at Idlewild
Park, located at 223rd Street and 147th Avenue in Rosedale, NY. The T20
tournament follows three previous high caliber cricket events over the
years, and on the annual New York cricket calendar; The Red
Stripe/Guinness Championship, Ed Ahmad New York Caribbean Cricket Cup,
and the 2A’s Mechanical, Inc. sponsored Guyana Inter-County T20
tournaments.
However,
with the recent economic downturn and the subsequent decline in
sponsorship for those premier events, Tournament Organizer Telston
Johnson, in a spirited move this year, sought to resurrect the rivalry
between the three Guyana counties. According to Mr. Johnson, “We needed a
top quality cricket event just like we previously had with those
tournaments,” adding, “…the players need it, the public wants it, and
it’s a good thing for cricket in the metropolitan area. It’s an
opportunity for players to showcase their talents to cricket
administrators and selectors alike.”For the past
several months Johnson, an all-rounder who hails from the Essequibo
region of Guyana and a member of the Big Apple Cricket Club in the
Eastern American Cricket Association, has worked diligently to secure
sponsorship from small businesses and individuals, rather than the Big
Box or corporate sponsors. Traditionally, with the exception of Red
Stripe/Guinness and the Ed Ahmad Group of Companies, sponsorship of
cricket in the New York area is supported largely by mom and pop
businesses, and benevolent individuals.
Mr.
Johnson noted his appreciation of the eagerness of Terry Dat in
spear-heading the effort to acquire financial support for the event, at
times from his own resources. He was also high in his praise for the
support provided by Shiek Mohamed and newyorkcricket.com
in promoting the event. Mr. Johnson pointed out that the event was
designed to be self-sustaining with an entry registration fee of USD$500
and a USD$2.00 per ticket raffle that is expected to raise USD$3,000.
That amount combined with the registration fees would cover most of the
cash first and second prizes of USD$3,000 and USD$2,000 respectively.
The remaining and other operating expenses are expected to come from
cricket enthusiasts in the area, as well as businesses within the
Guyanese Diaspora.
The
raffle will be drawn at the event next Saturday with a first-prize of
an Android Tablet, second-prize is a digital camera, and the third-prize
is a surprise autographed cricket bat. The fourth and fifth prizes are
“Bowl-off Opportunities” for USD$200 and USD$100 respectively.
The two-match event scheduled to start at 10:00am will be streamed live via www.newyorkcricket.com
with live scoring provided. When asked what he hoped to accomplish by
almost single-handily hosting such a cricket event, Telston Johnson
stated, “I am hoping to energize the cricket community to come out to
see and support the upcoming stars, as well as the talented senior
players who have delighted the New York cricketing community in recent
times.” The diminutive, but energetic pacer hopes to make the event an
annual one in the New York area. He should not have much to worry about
in the talent pool, as each month sees a cadre of talented cricket
players from Guyana migrate to the USA and settle in the Borough of
Queens and neighboring communities.
In
addition to the cash prizes, several individual performance awards will
be distributed. One of the three teams will draw a bye on August 25th,
with the remaining two County squads battling it out in the first match
to earn the right to face the winner of the bye for the championship.
The representative Guyana County teams are expected to be selected from the following squads.
Berbice:
Quasen Alfred, Sharaz Baksh, Kavishwar Bridgepaul, Kaleem Bux, Triston
Carmichael, Kevin Darlington, Jonathan Foo, Karan Ganesh, Ryan
Girdharry, Andrew Gonsalves, Michael Noble, Trevis Ross, Gregory Sewdial
and Vijai Sewnarine.
Manager: Chubb Bedessee, Coach: Linden Fraser.
Demerara:
Safraz Ali, Ramphal Bactowar, Akeem Dodson, Romeno Dean, Dino
Chow-Wee-Nam, Azamudeen Khan, Melroy Kingston, Troy Mars, Steve Massiah,
Francis Mendonca, Kumar Nandalall, Amarnauth Persaud, Ryan Persaud,
Zaheer Saffie and Trevor Singh.
Managers: Kerk Higgins and Jerry Persaud.
Essequibo:
Deonauth Baksh, Tamesh Balwant, Mark Gomes, Azam Hanif, Telston
Johnson, Rafman Khan, Prashad Mahadeo, Zaaid Majeed, Shawn McKay,
Azurdeen Mohammed, Shiv Ragubar, Rhett Ramotar, Travis Rodney and Clain
Williams.
Managers: Alfred Madray and Ajaz Asgarally.
The
championship trophy can only be claimed for keeps by the team winning
it three years in succession, according to organizer Telston Johnson.
That may be an extended process as all three teams are expected to be
very competitive in the coming years. It is more likely that the trophy
will rotate among the three Guyanese county teams, for some time.
Next
weekend, cricket enthusiasts in the New York metropolitan area and as
far south as the nation of Guyana will witness a no-holds barred clash
at Idlewild Park in Queens, New York.
[Telston Johnson picture courtesy of newyorkcricket.com]
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