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 USA Cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA Cricket. Show all posts
September 19, 2012
June 28, 2011
USA U19 Team for the ICC WC Global Qualifiers in Ireland
July 5, 2011
Not unsurprisingly, the pride of NY youth cricket, Greg Sewdial, has returned to claim his crown, the captaincy of the US U19 team. Move over Abhijit Joshi -- you only won 5 out of 5 matches as captain in the ICC Americas Tournament! There is now the added risk that Joshi may not make it to the playing XI if random acts of blindness continue, courtesy Sew and his wing men.
June 28, 2011
The New York region got three new players into the US 14 -- Greg Sewdial, Amarnauth Persaud, and Prashanth Nair made it in at the expense of Fahad Babar of CER (who withdrew), Kalim Ahmed and Waleed Karimullah of the Atlantic region. Greg Sewdial who did play in the 2010 U19 World Cup is coming back from serious injuries and his fitness levels have been a concern as well as his lack of match practice. Amarnauth Persaud is a bowling all-rounder and Prashanth Nair is a left arm spinner, both of whom did not shine in the Eastern Conference U19 matches in 2010. It does appear that the Kalim Ahmed has been dropped for no specific reason from the 14 just as his Atlantic region mate Waleed Karimullah didn't make the cut for the 18 even though he was never given a match.
The 14 sports multiple openers in Stephen Taylor, Cameron Mirza, Jodhbir Singh, Trevor Singh, Abhijit Joshi and Salman Ahmad, some of whom will surely be shifted to the middle order. Greg Sewdial and Pranay Suri are the only two true middle order batsmen. Pacers are Hamad Shahid, Salman Ahmad, Mittal Patel, and Amarnauth Persaud. Shayan Abdulgyani and Prashanth Nair are left arm off-spinners while Gurpreet Sandhu is a leg spinner. The only off-spinner (if they choose to use him as one) is Pranay Suri. There is no spare wicket keeper in the 14.
The matches against the West Indian U19 team starting in a couple of weeks will be a good test of how this team can stand up to quality opposition.
June 17, 2011
Realistically, USA's chances of finishing in the top six to qualify for 2012 U19 World Cup in Australia is not that great. It almost entirely depends on the one or two technically-strong batsmen that they have striking form and performing at a high level assuming their bowling clicks and fielding is upto snuff.
Not unsurprisingly, the pride of NY youth cricket, Greg Sewdial, has returned to claim his crown, the captaincy of the US U19 team. Move over Abhijit Joshi -- you only won 5 out of 5 matches as captain in the ICC Americas Tournament! There is now the added risk that Joshi may not make it to the playing XI if random acts of blindness continue, courtesy Sew and his wing men.
June 28, 2011
The New York region got three new players into the US 14 -- Greg Sewdial, Amarnauth Persaud, and Prashanth Nair made it in at the expense of Fahad Babar of CER (who withdrew), Kalim Ahmed and Waleed Karimullah of the Atlantic region. Greg Sewdial who did play in the 2010 U19 World Cup is coming back from serious injuries and his fitness levels have been a concern as well as his lack of match practice. Amarnauth Persaud is a bowling all-rounder and Prashanth Nair is a left arm spinner, both of whom did not shine in the Eastern Conference U19 matches in 2010. It does appear that the Kalim Ahmed has been dropped for no specific reason from the 14 just as his Atlantic region mate Waleed Karimullah didn't make the cut for the 18 even though he was never given a match.
The 14 sports multiple openers in Stephen Taylor, Cameron Mirza, Jodhbir Singh, Trevor Singh, Abhijit Joshi and Salman Ahmad, some of whom will surely be shifted to the middle order. Greg Sewdial and Pranay Suri are the only two true middle order batsmen. Pacers are Hamad Shahid, Salman Ahmad, Mittal Patel, and Amarnauth Persaud. Shayan Abdulgyani and Prashanth Nair are left arm off-spinners while Gurpreet Sandhu is a leg spinner. The only off-spinner (if they choose to use him as one) is Pranay Suri. There is no spare wicket keeper in the 14.
The matches against the West Indian U19 team starting in a couple of weeks will be a good test of how this team can stand up to quality opposition.
June 17, 2011
Surprise, surprise! The wise men of US Cricket, the selectors, Sew Shivnarine, Abrar Ahmed, and Sunny Khan decided on the following eighteen for the U19. (Hopefully, no one else participated as rumored.)
Shayan Abdul Ghani, Salman Ahmad. Kalim Ahmed, Sohaib Choudhry, Abhijit Joshi, Cameron Mirza, Prashant Nair, Prumjot Panesar, Mital Patel, Amarnauth Persaud, Gurpreet Sandhu, Gregory Raj Sewdial, Hammad Shahid, Trevor Singh, Jodhbir Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Pranay Suri and Steven Taylor.
So what we have is the same 14 as was selected for the ICC Americas tournament with Greg Sewdial coming in for Babar (who apparently made himself unavailable) and three bowlers and a keeper -- Sohaib Choudhry, Amarnauth Persaud, Jasdeep Singh (all bowlers) and Prumjot Panesar (who kept for NWR but is a lower-middle order batsman).
Several technically-strong batsmen (notably Akash Jagannathan and Krish Goel) in the group of 20 (and who happened to be in the reserves for the ICC Americas Tournament) despite their commendable performances in the U19 tournaments and camps were kept out for reasons only known to the selectors. This despite the well-established need for more batting in the team. One explanation that seems to make more and more sense is that Sew (the dominant selector as the other two are not as confident of their cricketing knowledge, I am told) is not keen on any batsman who is a grafter/anchor/accumulator. He likes the ones who can send the ball into orbit and if you look at the batsmen, there are none who will qualify as grafters/anchors/accumulators.
If you want to go by regional counts -- NER - 0, NY - 5, Atlantic - 4, SER- 1, CER - 2, CWR - 0, SWR - 3, NWR - 3. What stands out is that selector Shivnarine's region (NY) has five players who I would expect to make it into the 14.
As for competition at the qualifiers, Afghanistan and Nepal are expected to be quite strong along with Ireland and Scotland who will be experiencing home conditions for the most part. Canada will be stronger than the team at ICC Americas given that three of the U19s who were with the senior squad at the CWC in South Asia will be back. Not much is known about the remaining teams but Hong Kong has a good U19 setup and they can be expected to be competitive.
Realistically, USA's chances of finishing in the top six to qualify for 2012 U19 World Cup in Australia is not that great. It almost entirely depends on the one or two technically-strong batsmen that they have striking form and performing at a high level assuming their bowling clicks and fielding is upto snuff.
June 15, 2011
Approximately 20 U19 players from different parts of the country made their way to New York to go through a new set of USACA-sponsored trials to "fine tune" the U19 fourteen that finished first in the ICC Americas U19 event in Florida back in February 2011. The west coasters were made to take a red eye to get in early Saturday to some wet weather but the weather got better on Sunday so some assessment was possible although clearly not ideal.
From the February ICC Americas tournament, it has been a consensus view among keen observers of youth cricket around the country that what the team lacks is batting depth as it moves to stiffer competition of the ICC Global Qualifiers. What the team can really use is some top/middle-order batting depth in exchange for the one or two extra bowlers they have. It can also use a reserve keeper-batsman given that the only keeper the team has, regularly opens the batting to try to give them a flying start.
The eighteen will be announced this week from which the fourteen will be announced by the end of June, apparently in consultation with coach Robin Singh who disappointingly was not at the trials. Lets hope that the selectors balance the side, keeping in mind the challenging batting conditions and much better competition they can fully expect to face in Ireland.
February 12, 2011
USA are the 2011 ICC Americas U19 Champions!
USA beat Canada in a tense rain-affected low-scoring affair to win the 2011 ICC Americas U19 Championship. Congratulations are due to the entire USA U19 team and its coach, Robin Singh, for winning this tournament with a convincing 5-0 record.
Morning rain delayed the start of play to noon which made it a 36 over match. USA won the toss and decided to bat, only the second time that they have done so in this tournament, and managed to get to 143 for 8 in 36 overs. Taylor (21) and Mirza (29) put on 37 for the first wicket in 8 overs but the middle order failed leaving USA in trouble at 93 for 7. Pranay (34) and Hamad (17) took the score to 121 with a vital partnership when Pranay departed and Hamad did well in the company of tail-ender Mital Patel to get to 143 for 8. This was a low score but still could be defended if pressure could be put on the Canadians when they batted.
The Canadians started sedately and put on 32 runs for the first wicket and thanks to a 50 run partnership between Edghill and Ali got the score to 91 for 2 in 26 overs leaving 60 balls to get 52 runs. The pressure got to the Canadians as they played poor shots to some inspired tight bowling and lost wickets at regular intervals to find themselves short by 23 runs in 34.2 overs. It should be said that the Canadian side that US will see in Ireland will be stronger as it will have three players who are currently playing for the senior Canadian side in the upcoming 2011 ICC World Cup in the subcontinent.
USA bowled quite well to defend the low total highlighting their strength in bowling with Hamad and Ahmad leading from the front and the rest supporting them well. However, the American batting has to be a worry as they think about the next round. It is clear that they need solidity in the middle order if they are to compete successfully from here on as sides they will see will be much more competitive than were encountered in the Americas tournament. The American fielding also was spotty -- a few catches were spilled and Taylor wasn't at his sharpest behind the stumps. This is another area that needs to be looked at and improved considerably. As far as batting is concerned, Pranay Suri, batting for the first time in this tournament despite his considerable performances this year, may have been a revelation to some at USACA. Folks in the west coast know not only of Pranay's cricketing talent but of others, currently languishing in reserves, who would bring much needed batting depth and solidity to the side.
When all is said and done, US has a good chance to go to the WC 2012 U19 tournament. They need finish in the top six in Ireland but for that to happen, they need to make sure that they send the best side for the global qualifiers to deal with challenging conditions and strong opposition. This almost never happens in US cricket mostly because "quid pro quos" dominate how USACA goes about selecting teams. Unless this changes and changes significantly, there is very little hope that the best sides will play and put their best foot forward.
We owe it to our cricketers, young and not-so-young, and to US cricket fans, to select the best teams based on talent and performance without assorted biases and preferences that have very little to do with real cricket. Will that happen? Time will tell and you and I can make a difference by helping elect the right folks in local, regional and national elections.
Morning rain delayed the start of play to noon which made it a 36 over match. USA won the toss and decided to bat, only the second time that they have done so in this tournament, and managed to get to 143 for 8 in 36 overs. Taylor (21) and Mirza (29) put on 37 for the first wicket in 8 overs but the middle order failed leaving USA in trouble at 93 for 7. Pranay (34) and Hamad (17) took the score to 121 with a vital partnership when Pranay departed and Hamad did well in the company of tail-ender Mital Patel to get to 143 for 8. This was a low score but still could be defended if pressure could be put on the Canadians when they batted.
The Canadians started sedately and put on 32 runs for the first wicket and thanks to a 50 run partnership between Edghill and Ali got the score to 91 for 2 in 26 overs leaving 60 balls to get 52 runs. The pressure got to the Canadians as they played poor shots to some inspired tight bowling and lost wickets at regular intervals to find themselves short by 23 runs in 34.2 overs. It should be said that the Canadian side that US will see in Ireland will be stronger as it will have three players who are currently playing for the senior Canadian side in the upcoming 2011 ICC World Cup in the subcontinent.
USA bowled quite well to defend the low total highlighting their strength in bowling with Hamad and Ahmad leading from the front and the rest supporting them well. However, the American batting has to be a worry as they think about the next round. It is clear that they need solidity in the middle order if they are to compete successfully from here on as sides they will see will be much more competitive than were encountered in the Americas tournament. The American fielding also was spotty -- a few catches were spilled and Taylor wasn't at his sharpest behind the stumps. This is another area that needs to be looked at and improved considerably. As far as batting is concerned, Pranay Suri, batting for the first time in this tournament despite his considerable performances this year, may have been a revelation to some at USACA. Folks in the west coast know not only of Pranay's cricketing talent but of others, currently languishing in reserves, who would bring much needed batting depth and solidity to the side.
When all is said and done, US has a good chance to go to the WC 2012 U19 tournament. They need finish in the top six in Ireland but for that to happen, they need to make sure that they send the best side for the global qualifiers to deal with challenging conditions and strong opposition. This almost never happens in US cricket mostly because "quid pro quos" dominate how USACA goes about selecting teams. Unless this changes and changes significantly, there is very little hope that the best sides will play and put their best foot forward.
We owe it to our cricketers, young and not-so-young, and to US cricket fans, to select the best teams based on talent and performance without assorted biases and preferences that have very little to do with real cricket. Will that happen? Time will tell and you and I can make a difference by helping elect the right folks in local, regional and national elections.
February 8, 2011
USA U19 impresses with big wins against Argentina, Bahamas and Cayman Island
Match 1: USA vs Argentina: The land of Maradona is not known for its cricket and it showed when the Argentinian U19s played the USA U19 in the first match of the 2011 ICC Americas U19 Tournament. They were comprehensively beaten in all aspects of the game. The USA openers, Taylor and Mirza, got big scores including a maiden U19 hundred by Mizra, against what appeared to be mostly inept bowling with Ahmad completing the battering to post a 300+ score. The Argentinians in reply were no match whatsoever having been bundled out for 30 odd.
Match 2: USA vs Bahamas: While admittedly stronger than Argentina, Bahamas struggled to put up a half decent score and lost most of their wickets against the second-line bowlers of USA. USA polished of the total while losing Taylor who perished attempting to polish off the total in one swing.
Match 3: USA vs Cayman Islands. Once USA got rid of their star batsman, Sacha De Alwis, it was never competitive as Cayman was dismissed for 40 and a helmet-less Taylor got the runs in a hurry while Babar played second fiddle.
Winning against minnows is expected but it must be said that USA has put them away with ease and helped themselves to the most favorable NRR in case rain plays spoil sport. They play a disappointing Bermuda side on Friday and arch rivals Canada on Saturday. A win against either of these teams should assure them of a trip to Ireland for the global qualifiers although a win against Bermuda would be preferred and more likely.
Team selection continues to confound. Off-spinning all-rounder Pranay Suri was in the XI only to be scratched at the last minute for a pacer, ostensibly because of the "conditions." As it turns out, the conditions favored the spinners as much as the pacers, if not more, making the scratch decision drip with bias and smell bad. But there is plenty of deodorant to go around so everything looks good and smells good.
Match 2: USA vs Bahamas: While admittedly stronger than Argentina, Bahamas struggled to put up a half decent score and lost most of their wickets against the second-line bowlers of USA. USA polished of the total while losing Taylor who perished attempting to polish off the total in one swing.
Match 3: USA vs Cayman Islands. Once USA got rid of their star batsman, Sacha De Alwis, it was never competitive as Cayman was dismissed for 40 and a helmet-less Taylor got the runs in a hurry while Babar played second fiddle.
Winning against minnows is expected but it must be said that USA has put them away with ease and helped themselves to the most favorable NRR in case rain plays spoil sport. They play a disappointing Bermuda side on Friday and arch rivals Canada on Saturday. A win against either of these teams should assure them of a trip to Ireland for the global qualifiers although a win against Bermuda would be preferred and more likely.
Team selection continues to confound. Off-spinning all-rounder Pranay Suri was in the XI only to be scratched at the last minute for a pacer, ostensibly because of the "conditions." As it turns out, the conditions favored the spinners as much as the pacers, if not more, making the scratch decision drip with bias and smell bad. But there is plenty of deodorant to go around so everything looks good and smells good.
January 28, 2011
Messiah's Men mess up in the 2011 WCL Division 3 Tournament
It isn't the lack of talent or the lack of resources but somehow the USA's senior team managed to not only not get promoted but took the elevator down to WCL Division 4. There will be many views on why this happened but one cannot escape the sense one got that they were over-confident, they even felt entitled, they didn't seem to play as a unit, and their age showed. Their batting was particularly vulnerable with ill-advised shot making costing them dearly. Catching wasn't their strong point either with several drops and run-out misses. They did have good moments -- the win over Hong Kong was an impressive one and the fightback win over Oman after being nearly done and dusted at 20 for 7 chasing 122. And, of course, they likely got the raw end of many decisions.
This was a team that was picked not because the players had performed of late but because they were mostly an established albeit aging group who appeared to be successful. I think with this debacle, it is time for many of the older players to move on and for younger ones to find their places and get their feet wet as they attempt to get up to WCL Division 3 in the next couple of years. Any player who is over 35 who plays ODI cricket better be incredibly fit or incredibly skilled. I don't think US has such players. So youth is the way to go.
Lets not forget that team management must have been an issue especially when the assistant coach is asked to play and he gladly does. The performances of the manager, coach and other staff needs to be carefully evaluated given some of the bizarre decisions regarding team composition.
Dainty and company back in the US should feel quite embarassed by this demotion and use it as a forcing function for changes that ultimately make US cricket better. What most people in the know will tell you and me is that no such thing will happen because the current crew at USACA is not interested in winning but mostly interested in the perks and privileges that come with staying in power.
To me, this lack of desire to win at the highest level of cricket managememt is the saddest part of all this.
This was a team that was picked not because the players had performed of late but because they were mostly an established albeit aging group who appeared to be successful. I think with this debacle, it is time for many of the older players to move on and for younger ones to find their places and get their feet wet as they attempt to get up to WCL Division 3 in the next couple of years. Any player who is over 35 who plays ODI cricket better be incredibly fit or incredibly skilled. I don't think US has such players. So youth is the way to go.
Lets not forget that team management must have been an issue especially when the assistant coach is asked to play and he gladly does. The performances of the manager, coach and other staff needs to be carefully evaluated given some of the bizarre decisions regarding team composition.
Dainty and company back in the US should feel quite embarassed by this demotion and use it as a forcing function for changes that ultimately make US cricket better. What most people in the know will tell you and me is that no such thing will happen because the current crew at USACA is not interested in winning but mostly interested in the perks and privileges that come with staying in power.
To me, this lack of desire to win at the highest level of cricket managememt is the saddest part of all this.
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