So here is the 100 day plan published with much fanfare on the USACA website on May 19th - now over a 100 days back.
Report Card:
1. THE SEARCH FOR THE CEO
Nothing - F
2. THE GOVERNANCE MODEL
Nothing - F
3. COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT
Nothing - F
4. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Not much - D
5. WOMENS DEVELOPMENT AND KEY FIRST STEP
Nothing - F
6. ESPN RELATIONSHIP
Nothing - F
7. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT
Nothing - F
Overall Grade: F
The pathetic power-clinging USACA regime continues to show us that it is not serious of just about anything. Look at their so-called 100 day plan goals and what they achieved. Practically nothing. One wishes they were just incompetent. They are actually worse -- they do not care an iota about US Cricket.
USACA's management and its cronies are made of two kinds of people. One who want to make money when it finally arrives in the form of ICC handouts or T20 riches. The other who want their juniors or friends to play for the US, deserving or not, but at any cost and compromise. There are a few who want both -- they are the ambitious ones.
Tragically, the ICC does not strip this sham of an organization of its authority. But they probably are looking for an alternative and in time they likely will get one with the advent of USYCA and ACF. In the meantime, US Cricket is being held hostage by power mongers and tricksters who are killing any and all real growth while helping themselves to power, influence and eventually money.
Showing posts with label US Cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Cricket. Show all posts
September 19, 2012
April 25, 2012
USACA Board Ignores Judge Koh's Ruling And Gets Controversial Election Certified
USACA Board presumably with advice from its presumably highly-paid Manhattan lawyers (ironically paid by dues of now disenfranchised leagues and ICC handouts) put enough pressure on the "Independent Auditor" that they themselves selected, to certify what many around the US and around the world consider to be a farce of an election. In doing so, they have chosen to ignore Judge Koh's ruling that the role of the Independent Auditor is much more than just ministerial. This surely will come back to haunt them even if ICC decides to bless this very controversial election.
The CPA firm of Keefe, McCullough and Company essentially performed a clerical task. They did not independently verify that the voters were legitimate -- they went along with whatever the USACA Board decided which is widely held to be farcical. They checked ballots and counted them. They certified what they counted. They in fact stated that it was not their job per the engagement letter to do, which is examine who and why a league was eligible to vote. In effect, USACA Board prevented them from doing what the USACA Constitution requires (as interpreted by a US District Court Judge).
Sixteen of the 32 leagues that were disenfranchised appealed this decision with the CPA firm presuming they were Independent Auditors but they fell on seemingly deaf ears. But Justice is not deaf, just blind -- hopefully, this whole travesty will be corrected in the not too distant future by the Judicial process.
November 2, 2011
A Critical Period for US Cricket
The next month or two will tell us if US cricket is still ruled by a despot or if there is "spring" in the air.
Gladstone Dainty has managed to cling to power though seemingly illegal tactics -- from not announcing the Atlantic region's results in July to keeping Masood Chik as the Central East rep despite his being recalled by a 10-0 vote and suspending John Aaron without due process to interfering in the women's cricket selections to claiming to clean USACA by deciding which leagues can vote and by asking all regions to hold elections again as part of this "pristine" campaign.
Gladstone Dainty appears to be very bad news for US cricket. He doesn't appear to care about the wellness of US cricket -- the precipitous decline of the US in the world scene in the last three years is well documented. He seemingly eliminates (thankfully only virtually) his board opponents and replaces them with yes-men. He is known to deliver selection and travel favors for a price or a vote. He is in power because there are enough other shady administrators running leagues and regions in US cricket who become Dainty's yes-men for the usual reasons.
There are three declared nominees as of now for President of USACA in the December elections. Dainty has not announced his intention but has spread rumors that he will run to some and that he will not run to others. The first to announce his intention is the ex-First-VP, Nabeel Ahmed, who decided to quit the USACA board many months back instead of openly confronting Dainty and his evil ways. Next to announce is a less-known but well-heeled businessman from Florida, Max Quereshi, known to throw money around as needed. And the latest to announce his intention is Ram Vardarajan, once a threat to Dainty but now his compatriot in the controversially-appointed board of Cricket Holdings America, the place where serious money is expected to pour in from the outside world but not necessarily into US cricket at the grass-roots level.
To be honest, none of the candidates inspire confidence. Any links to Dainty only adds to one's worry. But US cricket suffers from a serious lack of honest cricket-first administrators and so it may well be a case of choosing the least of all evils.
One of the key determinants of this election is which leagues get to vote. That will be decided by the so-called Dainty-sponsored compliance criteria which effectively appears to be a front for who will likely vote from Dainty or his friends. The only recourse left to leagues that are summarily banned or suspended is legal action. It may well come to that while real cricket in the US takes a back seat as it has for the last three years.
We will know how all this plays out between now and end of the year.
Gladstone Dainty has managed to cling to power though seemingly illegal tactics -- from not announcing the Atlantic region's results in July to keeping Masood Chik as the Central East rep despite his being recalled by a 10-0 vote and suspending John Aaron without due process to interfering in the women's cricket selections to claiming to clean USACA by deciding which leagues can vote and by asking all regions to hold elections again as part of this "pristine" campaign.
Gladstone Dainty appears to be very bad news for US cricket. He doesn't appear to care about the wellness of US cricket -- the precipitous decline of the US in the world scene in the last three years is well documented. He seemingly eliminates (thankfully only virtually) his board opponents and replaces them with yes-men. He is known to deliver selection and travel favors for a price or a vote. He is in power because there are enough other shady administrators running leagues and regions in US cricket who become Dainty's yes-men for the usual reasons.
There are three declared nominees as of now for President of USACA in the December elections. Dainty has not announced his intention but has spread rumors that he will run to some and that he will not run to others. The first to announce his intention is the ex-First-VP, Nabeel Ahmed, who decided to quit the USACA board many months back instead of openly confronting Dainty and his evil ways. Next to announce is a less-known but well-heeled businessman from Florida, Max Quereshi, known to throw money around as needed. And the latest to announce his intention is Ram Vardarajan, once a threat to Dainty but now his compatriot in the controversially-appointed board of Cricket Holdings America, the place where serious money is expected to pour in from the outside world but not necessarily into US cricket at the grass-roots level.
To be honest, none of the candidates inspire confidence. Any links to Dainty only adds to one's worry. But US cricket suffers from a serious lack of honest cricket-first administrators and so it may well be a case of choosing the least of all evils.
One of the key determinants of this election is which leagues get to vote. That will be decided by the so-called Dainty-sponsored compliance criteria which effectively appears to be a front for who will likely vote from Dainty or his friends. The only recourse left to leagues that are summarily banned or suspended is legal action. It may well come to that while real cricket in the US takes a back seat as it has for the last three years.
We will know how all this plays out between now and end of the year.
July 6, 2011
Time for the US National Cricket Teams to Play and Play Well
July 6, 2011
The selections for the US T20 senior side and U19 side are done and dusted. They have been critiqued here and elsewhere. There have been some shocking exclusions and a few strange inclusions, with a lot of speculations on the reasons behind these. But there are also many deserving players who have been selected, presumably on merit but one can never tell as little is known on how selections work and how selectors think.
Much is at stake as the US senior and junior sides get ready to participate in international tournaments in July and August. For the senior side, the goal is to finish in the top two to qualify for further T20 competition leading to the T20 CWC in 2012. For the U19 side, the goal is to finish in the top six of the ten teams that will compete so that they can qualify for the U19 CWC also in 2012. Neither of these goals should be considered gimmes.
In a few weeks, we will get a chance to reflect and analyze how these teams did and, in turn, how the coaches and selectors did. Until then, lets enjoy watching, hearing and reading about our national teams' performances and lets hope that their campaigns are successful.
The selections for the US T20 senior side and U19 side are done and dusted. They have been critiqued here and elsewhere. There have been some shocking exclusions and a few strange inclusions, with a lot of speculations on the reasons behind these. But there are also many deserving players who have been selected, presumably on merit but one can never tell as little is known on how selections work and how selectors think.
Much is at stake as the US senior and junior sides get ready to participate in international tournaments in July and August. For the senior side, the goal is to finish in the top two to qualify for further T20 competition leading to the T20 CWC in 2012. For the U19 side, the goal is to finish in the top six of the ten teams that will compete so that they can qualify for the U19 CWC also in 2012. Neither of these goals should be considered gimmes.
In a few weeks, we will get a chance to reflect and analyze how these teams did and, in turn, how the coaches and selectors did. Until then, lets enjoy watching, hearing and reading about our national teams' performances and lets hope that their campaigns are successful.
June 26, 2011
NWR's CCA successfully hosts yet another national youth cricket tournament
It is really a study in contrasts. While USACA bumbles around with its tournaments, the latest being the T20 nationals held in New Jersey, the young upstarts in the form of California Cricket Academy based in Cupertino, California have pulled off yet another successful youth tournament, this time an Under-17 with representation from the CER and the NY-NJ region as well as two teams from CCA itself. What stands out is the extent of volunteerism and the ability for these volunteers to work together and run the even as smoothly as one can expect. There is much to be admired and to learn from for the rest of us both in the West Coast and US in general.
These tournaments have been conducted from 2006 and for the first few years they included U11, U13, and U15 while this year was limited to U17. CCA has finished at the top each year not just because of their home field advantage but because they appear to benefit from the solid young cricketers groomed under the tutelage of coaches such as Ajit Tendulkar (Mumbai) and Amit Buch (Ahmedabad) over the years. CCA has even sent a few teams overseas to Canada, India and England and surely such experience can only be quite helpful to youth player development.
The finals of this year's edition was between the unbeaten CCA Royals and the Chicago-Michigan combined team which even had a player or two from Florida. The CCA Royals breezed to an easy 10 wicket victory after dismissing the Chicago-Michigan team for 122 runs. This is the fourth in five years that the U15/U17 trophy has been won by CCA. Vikram Valluri was adjudged the Tournament MVP and Best Batsman while Pranav Pradhan was adjudged Best Bowler and Neil Tagare was adjudged Best Fielder. It is indeed surprising that the national youth teams do not have more of CCA's abundant talent given their continued success and diverse experience. To the extent there is bias in USACA against one group or region or the other (and evidence to support this is sadly overwhelming), it is time to put that aside and get the best players playing for the nation.
Those interested in the details of this year and past years national tournaments can peruse the CCA website devoted to them at http://calcricket.org/nationals.
These tournaments have been conducted from 2006 and for the first few years they included U11, U13, and U15 while this year was limited to U17. CCA has finished at the top each year not just because of their home field advantage but because they appear to benefit from the solid young cricketers groomed under the tutelage of coaches such as Ajit Tendulkar (Mumbai) and Amit Buch (Ahmedabad) over the years. CCA has even sent a few teams overseas to Canada, India and England and surely such experience can only be quite helpful to youth player development.
The finals of this year's edition was between the unbeaten CCA Royals and the Chicago-Michigan combined team which even had a player or two from Florida. The CCA Royals breezed to an easy 10 wicket victory after dismissing the Chicago-Michigan team for 122 runs. This is the fourth in five years that the U15/U17 trophy has been won by CCA. Vikram Valluri was adjudged the Tournament MVP and Best Batsman while Pranav Pradhan was adjudged Best Bowler and Neil Tagare was adjudged Best Fielder. It is indeed surprising that the national youth teams do not have more of CCA's abundant talent given their continued success and diverse experience. To the extent there is bias in USACA against one group or region or the other (and evidence to support this is sadly overwhelming), it is time to put that aside and get the best players playing for the nation.
Those interested in the details of this year and past years national tournaments can peruse the CCA website devoted to them at http://calcricket.org/nationals.
February 11, 2011
USA U19 blitzes past Bermuda to qualify for the Global Qualifiers
The USA U19 made quick work of Bermuda by dismissing them for just 50 and getting those runs without losing a wicket and doing so before the rains arrived. They have now qualified for the next round on the road to the ICC U19 World Cup in 2012.
USA U19 has had a dominant week with ball and bat. When they have batted first (once against Argentina) they have put up an imposing total. When they have bowled first, they have gone through the top order like sharp knife through warm butter with spinners mopping up the tail with regularity. The catching has been decent enough that they have not let any batsman off who has subsequently scored. They fully deserve to go through to the next round in Ireland and have a real chance to qualify for the 2012 U19 World Cup if current form and talent is any indication.
There is one thing to settle which is the bragging rights for ICC Americas U19 with their arch-rivals, Canada. That match is on Saturday in the stadium -- a perfect setting for the finale. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. It will be a very good test for where US U19 cricket is at this stage relative to Canada despite Canada missing their top three U19 players who are with the senior side at the moment. The US side appears to have the momentum and the edge but that is why they play the game.
One comment about the other sides in this ICC Americas U19 tournament. These teams have been very disappointing, particularly Bermuda which is well funded and has the best of resources and should be expected to fare better, much better. For perspective, the US NWR U19 team has not lost to US SWR U19s in the last year (they have played twice) despite the four bowlers from SWR U19 (Salman, Shahid, Gurpreet, Abdulghani) being dominant bowlers for US in this tournament. That speaks to the depth that US cricket has, particularly in the west coast.
USA U19 has had a dominant week with ball and bat. When they have batted first (once against Argentina) they have put up an imposing total. When they have bowled first, they have gone through the top order like sharp knife through warm butter with spinners mopping up the tail with regularity. The catching has been decent enough that they have not let any batsman off who has subsequently scored. They fully deserve to go through to the next round in Ireland and have a real chance to qualify for the 2012 U19 World Cup if current form and talent is any indication.
There is one thing to settle which is the bragging rights for ICC Americas U19 with their arch-rivals, Canada. That match is on Saturday in the stadium -- a perfect setting for the finale. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. It will be a very good test for where US U19 cricket is at this stage relative to Canada despite Canada missing their top three U19 players who are with the senior side at the moment. The US side appears to have the momentum and the edge but that is why they play the game.
One comment about the other sides in this ICC Americas U19 tournament. These teams have been very disappointing, particularly Bermuda which is well funded and has the best of resources and should be expected to fare better, much better. For perspective, the US NWR U19 team has not lost to US SWR U19s in the last year (they have played twice) despite the four bowlers from SWR U19 (Salman, Shahid, Gurpreet, Abdulghani) being dominant bowlers for US in this tournament. That speaks to the depth that US cricket has, particularly in the west coast.
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