August 9, 2011
Nepal beat US convincingly in the last match for the two teams resulting in US failing to qualify for the "real deal" in 2012 in Northern Australia. Electing to bat after winning the toss, Nepal, despite some good pace bowling from Shahid and Salman which reduced them to 78 for 4, had two large partnerships -- one of patience and one of care-free hitting to take them to 264 in the allotted 50 overs. In reply, a fiery half century by Taylor got the US to 78 for 4 in just 20 overs with Mirza and Joshi not bothering the scorers while captain Sewdial made 4 and Suri made 13. However, unlike Nepal from the same position, the US could only get to 165 in 44 overs with Salman and Shayan contributing in delaying defeat.
US finished seventh in the points table ahead of Canada, Kenya and Vanautu, all of whom will stay home when the 2012 U19 World Cup gets into full swing next summer. Clearly, there are a lot of things that conspired to prevent the US to make it to the world stage but what was glaring through the tournament was their shoddy fielding and catching and, more starkly, their lack of consistent batting prowess, save Taylor who accumulated close to 450 runs in 9 matches. Without him, the seventh place finish would not even have been possible for the US.
August 7, 2011
US laid an egg against Canada who played inspired cricket. Man of the match Aulakh ripped through the US lineup who were shown wanting in technique as the pitch did offer early assistance. Electing to bat first, the US could only muster 101 runs and couldn't even bat 50 overs. The Canadians got the runs with the loss of five wickets with only Shahid, who shockingly bowled one change, showing any fire in his bowling.
This loss makes US's last match versus Nepal all important. A win will all but guarantee US passage to the CWC while a loss, particularly a huge loss, will likely mean an exit from CWC. A close loss will bring NR-based tie-breaking scenarios into play which will reveal themselves at the end of Tuesday when the tournament concludes.
August 5, 2011
US made short work of Vanautu in a rain-affected match. Vanautu batting first got to 132 in 32 overs for the loss of eight wickets. The US reached 120 for 2 in 21 overs before rain ended play and US were declared winners based on D-L method. Given the weak Vanautu bowling attack, it was quite odd that a circumspect Taylor saw the US through.
US is now in fourth place with a 4-3 record. They play their arch rivals Canada next. A win will guarantee qualification while a loss will guarantee all kinds of complications.
August 4, 2011
US easily defeated Kenya to climb to 3-3 in the standings. Put into bat first, the US got to 239 for 9 in 50 overs thanks to a well-constructed 68 from captain Sewdial and a steady 41 from Joshi who were involved in a crucial 106-run partnership for the third wicket. The rest of the batting never really got untracked except for a breezy 28 by Suri towards the end of the innings. In reply, Kenya could only muster 108 in 34 overs with Ahmad getting three wickets with Shahid, Abdulghani and Suri chipping in with 2 wickets each. Many positives from this important win -- batting through 50 overs and bowling efficiently.
US climbed to fifth in the standings. They are now tied with Namibia, Canada and PNG with their 3-3 record. US play 0-6 Vanuatu Saturday while Canada faces PNG and Namibia play Scotland.
August 3, 2011
US's deficiencies in batting showed up as they lost to Scotland in their fifth match, this one in Northern Ireland. US could only muster 124 in 35 overs with many batters getting out to poor shots. Only three batsmen got into double figures -- Taylor (28), Sewdial (31) and Joshi (23) -- and none of them went to play through the innings. While Mirza and Persaud appeared wanting in terms of technique in the top order, the middle order pretty much threw their wickets to indiscreet shots, something for which they cannot have any excuses. The Scottish batsmen despite losing two early wickets to Mittal Patel stuck to proper cricket and won by eight wickets.
The next match on Friday is a big one as it is against another 2-3 team with a better NRR - Kenya. Hopefully, the US team can regroup and play sensible cricket -- bat 50 overs, bowl tightly and field like every run matters. If they can beat Kenya and Vanuatu on successive days, they will have a decent shot at qualifying going into the final two matches.
August 1, 2011
The US got past Afghanistan in a rain-affected match. They are now very much in the thick of things with 4 points, with five matches to go of. Starring for the US was pacer and man-of-the-match Mittal Patel with six wickets including an inning-ending hat-trick with Shahid chipping in with two wickets from eight probing overs. Stephen Taylor again got the US off to a flier with a brisk 49. Fellow opener Mirza made a quiet 34 while Jodhbir and Salman saw the US through with 3 balls to spare with D/L method in effect and three wickets in hand. Both Sewdial (28) and Joshi (10) of the middle order did not do justice yet again to their batting talent and got out just when they looked set while the other middle order batsman Persaud failed to open his score. This continues to be an area of some concern for the US team.
All in all, a big win for the US team as they head to Northern Ireland for the rest of the competition. They need to win at least two and possibly three of the remaining five matches, especially against Vanatu who are in the cellar, Canada who likely are true equals and Kenya who are a bit of an unknown, to finish in the top six. Scotland and Nepal wins would be an added bonus as one senses they are better on paper based on performances to date.
July 31, 2011
The US defeated Namibia by 46 runs to claim its first victory. That along with its positive NRR means they are seventh in the standings with 6 more matches to go. US batted after winning the toss and thanks to a blistering century by the in-form Steven Taylor were at 151 in 20 overs when Taylor departed. Thanks to a 40 by Persaud and an unbeaten 55 by Pranay Suri, they made it to 312 in 50 overs although more was possible on the small venue and fast outfield. Again, Sewdial, Joshi and Mirza did not do much to get back into the sort of form from where the US can really dominate proceedings. The US bowlers, but for Suri and Shahid, went for runs, early and often. Patel and Gurpreet Sandhu were particularly guilty of some loose bowling. However, Ahmad and Patel did come back at the end to cut off the Namibia rally at 266 after some nervous periods. Fielding continued to be substandard but there were one or two brilliant catches as well.
It is clear that a change in batting order is needed. Mirza is just not the opener that we thought he was from his ICC Americas performances and Joshi is going through quite a lean patch. Sewdial has to start batting like he once was capable of and hopefully still has it in him. Jodhbir has been inconsistent but that is the nature of his batting -- hit or miss -- but may be useful in the early overs when power play is on. As far as bowling is concerned, it makes no sense to not open with Shahid. Not sure what the thinking is with that. It doesn't make any sense to not play Shayan ahead of Gurpreet. Another mystifying selection choice. As has been said before in this blog, Taylor should not be keeping given the batting workload expected of him as an opener, game in and game out. The selectors in their infinite wisdom did not have a backup keeper in the 14. Either Taylor is going to tire as the tournament progresses or worse get injured. Either way, that will only hurt the team's chances.
Next match is against Afghanistan who play aggressive cricket but can be beaten with smart cricket on US's part. Lets hope the US boys do what it takes as a win against Afghanistan will be a huge boost going to Northern Ireland.
July 29, 2011
The US won the toss and surprisingly put PNG (Papua New Guinea) into bat, possibly because of the rain that reduced the match to 43 overs. PNG made hay of things and got to an imposing total of 262 for 9 with their top three batters accounting for 2/3 of those runs. US bowling was expensive with only Jodhbir going for just 25 in 8 overs. Mittal Patel did get four wickets in the slog overs but conceded 56 runs.
US started their response weakly with Mirza and Persaud out cheaply. Captain Sewdial and Joshi didn't help either getting out for low scores. Taylor was all ablaze and almost single handedly kept US in the match. There was a stirring last wicket partnership by Hammad Shahid and Mittal Patel which came within 6 runs of the total but sadly it was not to be.
The "feet" aspect of US cricket continues to be poor -- too many fielding lapses and too many run-outs/near run outs which is unlikely to improve. Given that, the US top batting order has to fire which except for Taylor has been dormant. One suggestion would be to replace Mirza with Jodhbir at the opening slot -- he is an attacking opener (opens for NWR) who can take the game away from the opposition on his day.
For what it is worth, the US NRR is the best among the bottom five but that is not much of a consolation unless they have some points as only three teams (including the US) are at 0 points. The US need a win against Namibia (who are 2-0) on Sunday to keep up their spirits and chances.
July 28, 2011
The U19 campaign started with a very close match with hosts Ireland. After being put into bat, the US team got to 177/9 in 50 thanks to rearguard action by the lower middle order after being 82/5 midway. The Irish team overhauled the score in the second last ball of the allotted 50 overs with just one wicket to spare.
The US went with three spinners and two seamers with Jodhbir Singh bowling pace as an all-rounder. Surprisingly, US U19 spearhead, Hammad Shahid was warming the bench instead of bowling on a seam-friendly track. Hope this was because he was unfit. Despite Hammad's omission, the US bowling was quite effective but their poor catching and sloppy fielding did not help at all. The US batting top order but for Taylor and Persaud failed miserably and that also had a telling effect on the outcome of the match. Next up is Papua New Guinea who lost their first match to Namibia.
Showing posts with label USA U19. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA U19. Show all posts
August 9, 2011
July 14, 2011
Rocky Road for the US to the 2011 U19 ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland
July 14, 2011
For the first time, USA U19s batted first after winning the toss and in what can be called in improvement over the first two matches, they built their total to 133 in the fourth and final match against the West Indies U19 team. There were a couple of partnerships for the US team but many batsmen did perish of their own doing. There was a paucity of singles and twos and a penchant to go for big shots. The West Indians made very quick work of the total as if they had an afternoon appointment. Opener John Campbell slashed, slammed and pulled his way to a 100 of just 69 balls against insipid bowling by the US, particularly and worryingly by the pacers. Despite not being in the twelve for the match, the mystery keeper, Chris van Tull, played in the match while Steven Taylor, the regular keeper, tried some spin. Of course, US administration has said nothing of all this -- van Tull is not even in the probables but may well find his way into the 14 ahead of more deserving players. One thing we can say about US cricket -- we start young -- with the politics, that is.
The US boys have two weeks to get ready for Ireland. First and foremost, they need to really improve their catching and fielding. They need to bowl consistent lines and length instead of going for pace or trying random variations as spinners. They need to take all the singles and twos on offer and wait for loose deliveries to dispose for boundaries instead of taking unnecessary chances or get bogged down. If they do the basic things right, they will perform creditably in Ireland.
July 12, 2011
A better performance by the US team in its third match although the West Indian team's batting improved as well. The net-net was a 220 run victory for the West Indian U19 who were put into bat and had two centurions in Campbell and Mayers. US's Prashanth Nair who took 5 wickets for 57 from 9 overs was the standout bowler. The US batting which began circumspectly (for a change) got to its highest total in this series of 101 for 5 in the allotted 42 overs (D-L reduction due to rain). Cameron Mirza played a steady innings of 34 with the first wicket partnership of 29 with Taylor being the largest of the innings. Clearly, the US is out of its depth against the West Indian side but they can take heart from their improved performance in all three aspects of the match, thanks to Coach Robin Singh in no small measure.
The conduct of the US cricket administration got worse, if that can be believed. They introduced a hitherto-unknown keeper -- not in the 14, not even in the reserves and never has been to trials. They also brought in Kalim Ahmed, who is a reserve, into the match after saying just yesterday that there will not be any changes to the squad. So much for that. The West Indian team management did appear to question how non-squad members can be randomly inserted onto the field of play but they chose not to sustain a protest. Perhaps, they have now realized that US cricket is devoid of anything resembling due process and proper etiquette.
What is very apparent is that USACA does not seem to bother with how others (in and out of the US) perceive them as long as they get to do what they want. There is no one to hold them accountable -- they know that, we know that. If any of you feel aggrieved (and many do), I suggest you email to enquiry@icc-cricket.com with your feedback on the state of US cricket. It cannot hurt when ICC sees multitude of emails from US rank-and-file cricket enthusiasts.
July 11, 2011
Never an off day when USACA politics is in full swing! Two extraordinary decisions (both from the very top) -- one was to replace an already selected US T20 player (Nauman Mustafa from NWR) with another who should have been selected in the first place (Sushil Nadkarni of CWR) and the second was to invite a seemingly random assortment of U19 players (mostly from Washington DC and South Florida) to the "training camp" alongside the U19s. Manaf Mohammed, USACA's operations chief ominously added "the squad remains the same for now."
One has to feel terrible for Nauman who did nothing wrong and because he belonged to an anti-Dainty region, he was seen as expendable. What is worse is that such actions are par for the course in the US -- a few will bark but there is never any bite.
As for the additional invitees for the U19 camp, it makes no sense given that only one of them appears to be from the reserves. It almost has to be a quid pro quo between USACA and a region or two, the details of which we can only speculate. It would not be surprising if one or two of the current "expendable" players in the squad are excused and replaced with the "trainees."
What is surprising is why someone like Coach Robin Singh would put up with such zaniness in the midst of a serious training camp that he has promised. How he reacts and what he does will tell us a lot about his character.
July 10, 2011
Things got from quite bad to much worse in the second match as the West Indians piled up 339 runs in the allotted 50 overs with opener John Campbell scoring a seven-life unbeaten century. The US could only manage 71 runs in return with extras top scoring and no batsman even making into double figures. It does appear that this team is disoriented technically, mentally and physically. Coach Robin Singh, who joined the team today, did seem to take this performance in stride in his post-match comments but he has quite a few holes to plug and plug quickly and effectively. The next match is scheduled for Tuesday and a day's gap can only come as a welcome one for the US team and its coach as they scramble to look like a cricket team that can qualify for the 2012 edition of the U19 Cricket World Cup. As of now, they look like pretenders.
July 9, 2011
The West Indies U19 overwhelmed the US U19 in the first match winning by a whopping 215 runs. Areas of real concern from this match for the US are the poor catching and fielding and the very brittle batting display. Bowling was quite good by the front-line bowlers despite lack of catching support. While one does not expect the US U19 to consistently match up well against a member country's U19 side, there is room for lots of improvement in the next three matches.
July 8, 2011
Rain showers forecast for the entire week in Florida where the West Indies U19 play the US U19. Should anyone be surprised by this -- after all, this is the start of the hurricane season in that part of the world. But don't tell that to the organizers at USACA of such events. They seem to have a knack of picking the wrong place to have tournaments of late. Lets hope enough matches get played to completion.
Per Dreamcricket's Peter Della Penna, the weather at the stadium is very good but despite that the match got postponed (last night) to Saturday. Some disturbing points mentioned in Peter's article -- Greg Sewdial appears unfit (he is recovering from serious injuries) and he is the captain and main middle order batsman; Gurpreet Sandhu has not arrived and may not due to inability to enter the US on a valid visa; Masood Chik (Ex-CER-USACA-Rep) still involved with the team; Amarnath Persaud being trained to be a backup keeper as there are no real keepers except for Stephen Taylor.
For the first time, USA U19s batted first after winning the toss and in what can be called in improvement over the first two matches, they built their total to 133 in the fourth and final match against the West Indies U19 team. There were a couple of partnerships for the US team but many batsmen did perish of their own doing. There was a paucity of singles and twos and a penchant to go for big shots. The West Indians made very quick work of the total as if they had an afternoon appointment. Opener John Campbell slashed, slammed and pulled his way to a 100 of just 69 balls against insipid bowling by the US, particularly and worryingly by the pacers. Despite not being in the twelve for the match, the mystery keeper, Chris van Tull, played in the match while Steven Taylor, the regular keeper, tried some spin. Of course, US administration has said nothing of all this -- van Tull is not even in the probables but may well find his way into the 14 ahead of more deserving players. One thing we can say about US cricket -- we start young -- with the politics, that is.
The US boys have two weeks to get ready for Ireland. First and foremost, they need to really improve their catching and fielding. They need to bowl consistent lines and length instead of going for pace or trying random variations as spinners. They need to take all the singles and twos on offer and wait for loose deliveries to dispose for boundaries instead of taking unnecessary chances or get bogged down. If they do the basic things right, they will perform creditably in Ireland.
July 12, 2011
A better performance by the US team in its third match although the West Indian team's batting improved as well. The net-net was a 220 run victory for the West Indian U19 who were put into bat and had two centurions in Campbell and Mayers. US's Prashanth Nair who took 5 wickets for 57 from 9 overs was the standout bowler. The US batting which began circumspectly (for a change) got to its highest total in this series of 101 for 5 in the allotted 42 overs (D-L reduction due to rain). Cameron Mirza played a steady innings of 34 with the first wicket partnership of 29 with Taylor being the largest of the innings. Clearly, the US is out of its depth against the West Indian side but they can take heart from their improved performance in all three aspects of the match, thanks to Coach Robin Singh in no small measure.
The conduct of the US cricket administration got worse, if that can be believed. They introduced a hitherto-unknown keeper -- not in the 14, not even in the reserves and never has been to trials. They also brought in Kalim Ahmed, who is a reserve, into the match after saying just yesterday that there will not be any changes to the squad. So much for that. The West Indian team management did appear to question how non-squad members can be randomly inserted onto the field of play but they chose not to sustain a protest. Perhaps, they have now realized that US cricket is devoid of anything resembling due process and proper etiquette.
What is very apparent is that USACA does not seem to bother with how others (in and out of the US) perceive them as long as they get to do what they want. There is no one to hold them accountable -- they know that, we know that. If any of you feel aggrieved (and many do), I suggest you email to enquiry@icc-cricket.com with your feedback on the state of US cricket. It cannot hurt when ICC sees multitude of emails from US rank-and-file cricket enthusiasts.
July 11, 2011
Never an off day when USACA politics is in full swing! Two extraordinary decisions (both from the very top) -- one was to replace an already selected US T20 player (Nauman Mustafa from NWR) with another who should have been selected in the first place (Sushil Nadkarni of CWR) and the second was to invite a seemingly random assortment of U19 players (mostly from Washington DC and South Florida) to the "training camp" alongside the U19s. Manaf Mohammed, USACA's operations chief ominously added "the squad remains the same for now."
One has to feel terrible for Nauman who did nothing wrong and because he belonged to an anti-Dainty region, he was seen as expendable. What is worse is that such actions are par for the course in the US -- a few will bark but there is never any bite.
As for the additional invitees for the U19 camp, it makes no sense given that only one of them appears to be from the reserves. It almost has to be a quid pro quo between USACA and a region or two, the details of which we can only speculate. It would not be surprising if one or two of the current "expendable" players in the squad are excused and replaced with the "trainees."
What is surprising is why someone like Coach Robin Singh would put up with such zaniness in the midst of a serious training camp that he has promised. How he reacts and what he does will tell us a lot about his character.
July 10, 2011
Things got from quite bad to much worse in the second match as the West Indians piled up 339 runs in the allotted 50 overs with opener John Campbell scoring a seven-life unbeaten century. The US could only manage 71 runs in return with extras top scoring and no batsman even making into double figures. It does appear that this team is disoriented technically, mentally and physically. Coach Robin Singh, who joined the team today, did seem to take this performance in stride in his post-match comments but he has quite a few holes to plug and plug quickly and effectively. The next match is scheduled for Tuesday and a day's gap can only come as a welcome one for the US team and its coach as they scramble to look like a cricket team that can qualify for the 2012 edition of the U19 Cricket World Cup. As of now, they look like pretenders.
July 9, 2011
The West Indies U19 overwhelmed the US U19 in the first match winning by a whopping 215 runs. Areas of real concern from this match for the US are the poor catching and fielding and the very brittle batting display. Bowling was quite good by the front-line bowlers despite lack of catching support. While one does not expect the US U19 to consistently match up well against a member country's U19 side, there is room for lots of improvement in the next three matches.
July 8, 2011
Rain showers forecast for the entire week in Florida where the West Indies U19 play the US U19. Should anyone be surprised by this -- after all, this is the start of the hurricane season in that part of the world. But don't tell that to the organizers at USACA of such events. They seem to have a knack of picking the wrong place to have tournaments of late. Lets hope enough matches get played to completion.
Per Dreamcricket's Peter Della Penna, the weather at the stadium is very good but despite that the match got postponed (last night) to Saturday. Some disturbing points mentioned in Peter's article -- Greg Sewdial appears unfit (he is recovering from serious injuries) and he is the captain and main middle order batsman; Gurpreet Sandhu has not arrived and may not due to inability to enter the US on a valid visa; Masood Chik (Ex-CER-USACA-Rep) still involved with the team; Amarnath Persaud being trained to be a backup keeper as there are no real keepers except for Stephen Taylor.
February 17, 2011
USA U19 Performance Review
It is hard to argue with success. It is hard to argue with winning. USA U19 went 5-0 and except for the Canada match, they overwhelmed the others sides. Except for Canada, the other sides as it turned out were not in the same league as USA. Should be noted that Canada were without the services of three of the U19s who are in India with the seniors and getting all the experience of playing the very best in the world. They will be stronger when USA sees them again in Ireland in the global qualifiers. None of this should take away from the US performance which we should all be proud of especially the young men who were part of the side. But it would be a mistake to get carried away and over-estimate our side and under-estimate the opposition in the process, as we move forward in the qualifying phase towards the 2012 U19 World Cup.
So lets look at the US squad's performance objectively, at least as objectively as we can.
So lets look at the US squad's performance objectively, at least as objectively as we can.
- Their fast bowling consisting of Salman, Hamad and Mital Patel was quite successful but I only see Hamad as having the ability and experience to be a true strike bowler. He has ability to raise his game as the opposition gets better. It is often the case that really good outswinging bowlers like Hamad will often miss the edge of lesser batsmen. Salman is improving rapidly but I dont see him at the same level as yet as Hamad. Mital Patel bowled surprisingly well but he appears to be a confidence bowler -- if his loose deliveries are dispatched with ease, he may struggle.
- Their slow bowling is mediocre. Might sound harsh but the reality is that Shayan and Gurpreet are not the sort of bowlers who will trouble good batsmen. While Shayan may be effective from an economy rate standpoint, Gurpreet bowls far too many loose deliveries every over for a spinner. Neither of them stood out in the Western Conference U19 matches. In fact, Viraj Sehgal of SWR was a more effective slow bowler who may not have caught the fancy of the selectors in the December trials. The fact that Pranay Suri who has been dominant slow bowler in U19 matches out West has been mostly ignored as a bowler is a shocker to those who have seen him in action. He needs to be shown faith so that he can bowl with confidence and deliver the goods.
- Their top-order batting consisting of Taylor, Mirza and Joshi is one where it will click when it is their day but it won't be their day when the opposition bowls enough wicket-taking deliveries. Taylor is flamboyant but he is also reckless. Mirza appears solid but I am not convinced that he can be patient when the going gets tough. Joshi is a talented batsman but he tends to throw his wicket far too often to loose shots, something he needs to work on.
- The middle order batting consisting of Babar, Jodha and Suri has the problem that they are inherently attacking batsmen who take chances. When it comes off, it is fun to watch as runs come in a hurry. When it doesn't, the batting will be in disarray.
- Part of the strength of the US team is its all-rounders -- Salman and Hamad. Both are batsmen who are gritty, put a price on their wicket and can wield the long handle very effectively when needed. It shouldn't be lost that Hamad took the USA score from 121 to 143 in the Canada match in the company of the #10 batsman, Mital. Those 22 runs ultimately were the difference between the two sides.
- Hard to say that US boasts a fine fielding side. It appears average with a good upside if trained by the likes of Robin Singh. Several catches were put down, some easy, but it never cost the US too much. This will not continue to be the case in Ireland and beyond. Taylor is an okay wicket keeper -- not bad but not great. And the fact that he opens the batting means that the side needs a true wicket keeper so that Taylor can focus on his batting up top.
- In the 14, Trevor Singh is a good upcoming batsman but he is not yet ready for U19 level cricket when there are better options in the reserves. The two pacers, Kalim and Waleed, are unlikely to get a game given that in addition to the fast bowlers in the 11, the likes of Jodhbir and Joshi can bowl effective medium pace. So having both these pacers in the 14 is a waste.
- In the reserves, Akash should find a place in the playing 11 especially against good opposition on sporting tracks. He is a technically-strong and dependable batsman and he also keeps wickets regularly for his A division Northern California league side. Krish is also a player who deserves a close look as he is a good batsman and a good off spinner. Both of them did quite well in the Western Conference U19 matches and the December trials which should bode well. In fact, the NWR side that they played for and that Suri captained easily handled the SWR bowling side which is effectively the US bowling side in 2010.
Now a look at the coach, support staff and selectors.
- I like Robin Singh as coach. His demeanor is just right. He does not get carried away and he is not stingy when praise is due. Hope he returns.
- I do not like the selection committee. Sew Shivnarine, an experienced top-class cricketer, tends to dominate the committee with his strong views, some his own and some maybe whispered into his ear. He ignores statistics and recent performances and also seems to ignore what Abrar Ahmed and Sunny Khan, the other selectors, may have to say. He may feel, and arguably so, that that they haven't played enough cricket to be selectors. But that shouldn't mean that he has full and total control of picking the 14 and possibly the 11. Let us not forget that his performance as coach in New Zealand (U19 WC 2010) was disastrous. Not that they lost most of their matches (they finished 15 out of 16), but the team did not appear to play for him as the tournament progressed. That is not good.
- I am also against support staff like physio and manager being USACA board members or closely connected with USACA administration. Far too much conflict of interest. Masood, USACA Board Rep for CER, is a physiotherapist by training but having him in the mix can make things complicated. There is evidence that it has. Not sure about what influence manager King had on the side. And having Sew around would have made Robin's job that much harder as Sew happens to the ex-coach who likely thought he was going to get the job again until Robin was given it.
The US side can finish in the top six in Ireland and should do so given the other nine countries in the mix. But the goal should be to be in the top 12 in the U19 World Cup in 2012. Anything less should be considered a disappointment. To achieve the goal of top 12, merit and performance should be the guide, not power politics that we have seen far too often in the US to our own detriment.
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