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REPORTS ON THE US CRICKET SCENE
Here are reports
for US cricket, from as many areas as we have managed to
collect. Each report can also be accessed directly from the Home Page.
Some areas
and leagues have yet to report; in other cases, we only
have partial or incomplete details. If you wish to correct or add to the
reports, please e-mail me at USA Coordinator, CRICINFO with your comments. And of course, we are
looking for reports from the leagues and areas we have been unable to contact
so far!
Deb K.
Das, USA Coordinator, CRICINFO
BROOKLYN SOFTBALL LEAGUE of New York
In the year 2000 season, soft-ball cricket is being played under lights in Brooklyn every Tuesday and Thursday nights, reports Orville Powell in Caribbean Sports.Com, a Web site dedicated to covering sports and other news in the Caribbean area.
The competition, called Calypso Night Cricket, is played at St. Andrew's Park on Atlantic Avenue , between Kingston and Brooklyn Avenues.
The officials at the helm for 2000 are: Gerry Archer, president; Iwill Mason, vice president/treasurer; Margaret Latouche, secretary; and Clive Lammy and Mathis Paguanus, public relation officers.
The tournament is played with the first match of the night scheduled at 7:00 PM, and the second at around 9:00 PM. Winning scores have ranged between 110 and 130, and losing scores at 70 to 100--i.e., an average of 7 to 9 runs per over, which certainly makes for a high-scoring game.
Here are some early (June) results as reported in CRICKET International, the New York cricket newspaper, which also shows how cricket is actually played in the Brooklyn Softball League.
At Albany, Rochester batted first and scored 86/8 in their allotted 15 overs. Caribbean replied with 92/7 in their 15 overs.Rochester then declared their second innings at 150/7 in 19 overs.Caribbean had 25 overs to score the needed runs, but managed only 128/7 and the match ended in a draw.
Meanwhile, in Queens, Eagles won the toss, elected to bat, and scored 61/6 in 15 overs. In reply, New Society were 80/10 in 14.4.overs. Eagles then managed only 50 runs, and New Society, needing 32 to win, did it in 3.2 overs for the loss of only 2 wickets.
Along with Spartro and Ardsley, there appear to be six teams contending for the Challenge Cup in the Brooklyn League. More results will be posted as we receive them.
According to a Media Press Release issued by the CSA, In the General Elections of the Caribbean Softball Association on Friday August 18, 2000, Mr. Vish Lekhram was elected President. He is said to bring to the Office a charismatic style of leadership, an unshakable commitment to excellence and an accomplished air of professionalism.
The elected Vice President is Mr. Eric Ferrier. Known for the tenacity of his convictions, (he) is held in high esteem by the membership since joining the Association in 1994. From the early days on the Disciplinary Committee, Mr. Ferrier won the attention of the membership with his thoughtful insights and active participation. In 1998 he distinguished himself by winning the Presidential Award for his unselfish dedication to the Association.
The Office of the Secretary was uncontested with the incumbent Mr. Sham Samaroo unanimously re-elected.
Mr. Raj Beharilal of the Wakefield cricket club has been elected Treasurer. Since joining CSA in 1998 Mr. Beharilal has been very active in the life of the Organisation. His most recent contribution came as a member of the Selection Committee for the 2000 Allstars games. Thanks to the work of that Committee, for the first time in the history of CSA every team was represented on the Allstars roster.
The Assistant Secretary/Treasurer is Mr. Rajendra Jaikaran. Mr. Jaikaran has been a member of CSA as far back as 1994. He has been the driving force in the formation of several teams in the Association. Mr. Jaikaran is presently a member of the United cricket club.
The following members have been elected to serve on the prestigious Disciplinary Committee (DC): Mr. Deodat Bissessar; Mr. Cecil Hodge; Mr. Charles London; Mr. James Persaud and Mr. Hargobin Singh.
Mr. Deodat Bissessar is the Manager of the Buccaneers cricket club. He is one of the most respected and well-liked individuals in CSA. His dispassionate discourses and uncorrupted convictions have distinguished his tenure at CSA.
Mr. Cecil Hodge is the Manager of the Chancy Bombers of Brooklyn. The Bombers joined CSA at the end of the 1999 season and their wonderful attacking style of play, spearheaded by Cecil Hodge, has won the admiration of the entire League.
Mr. Charles London is the Secretary of the Country Boys cricket club, a team that joined the league this season. The disciplined approach of the Country Boys team is in no small measure a direct result of his management style.
Mr. James Persaud is the Captain of the Long Beach cricket club and one of the pioneers who founded CSA. Through the years Mr. Persaud has been a dedicated supporter of the league and his election to the DC augers well for CSA.
Mr. Hargobin Singh is the Manager of the Nirvana cricket club. He has been especially active in the affairs of CSA this year. Mr. Hargobin has participated in several committees this season and will be a strong voice on the DC.
Meanwhile, by end-June 2000, the "round of 16" for the 30-over Caribbean Softball Championship had been reached, according to Sham Samaroo reporting in CRICKET International, the New York cricket newspaper. The Playoffs were slated to begin.
This tournament is played in a different format from the Brooklyn Softball League (see previous report). Instead of two innings, the first of 15 overs and the second upto 25 overs, only one 30-over innings per team is featured.
The Assassins, defending champions, were undefeated in the Preliminary Round. The others making the final 16 were: Country Boys, Nirvana, Long Beach Youth, PDC, Buccaneers, Atomics, EZII, Waves, Liberty Gold, Unpredictables, Untouchables, Wildfire, Bombers, Erasers and Essequibo.
CRICKENT, the cricket Website associated with the CRICKET International newspaper, has picked Essequibo to win the tournament, displacing the Assassins. It has also named Unpredictable as a possible Cinderella team, and Liberty Gold as the long shot. Time will show how actual results match these predictions.
Meanwhile, here are the results of various softball cricket tournaments played last year in the New York area.
30-Over Tournament
Sponsored by Kaieteur Restaurant and Sports Bar
Winner: Assassins
Sports Club , 2nd Place: Essequibo Cricket Club 3rd. Place: Unpredictable Cricket Club
Individual Awards:
Highest score: Ravi Mangal (PDC) Best Batting Av: Ravi Persaud (Assassins)
Best Bowling Analysis: Pritnauth Shivram (R H Cavaliers) Most Wickets: Arnold
Gulliver (Essequibo), Man of the Match: Ravi Persaud (Assassins)
Centurion Club: Vinod Persaud (Nirvana) , Ravi
Persaud (Assassins) , Ravi Mangal (PDC)
Hat trick Club:Mike Chinsammy (Ace Auto),
Pritnauth Shivram (R.H.Cavaliers)
25-Over Division I
Tournament Sponsored by Cricket International
Winner: Untouchables
Cricket Club 2nd. Place: Assassins Sports Club 3rd. Place: Everest
Cricket Club
Individual Awards: Highest score: Jagdesh Arjune
(Untouchables), Best Batting Av: Rustum Khan (Everest), Best Bowling
Analysis: Goutam Persaud (PDC); Most Wickets: Brooks Prashad
(Belair), Man of the Match:Jagdesh Arjune (Untouchables).
25-Over Division II
Tournament Sponsored by Singh’s Sporting Goods
Winner: Blazers
Cricket Club ; 2nd. Place: Park Lane; 3rd. Place: Wakefield
Cricket Club
Individual Awards: Highest Score: Pitamber
Pritipaul (Wildfire), Most runs: Deo Bhikham (Buccaneer), Best
Batting Av: Mohamed Sadick (Wildfire); Most Wickets: Jerry Singh
(Wakefield), Best Bowling Analysis: Deo Bhikham (Buccaneer);Best Bowling
Av: Rooplall Phagu (Wildfire); Man
of the Match: Anand Hargobin (Blazers).
Hat Trick Club :Jerry Singh (Wakefield), Raj
Beharilal (Wakefield)
ARIZONA CRICKET ASSOCIATION
With a League now comprising 10 teams, the Arizona Cricket Association enjoys a unique distinction; it is the only cricket league in the USA that functions as a totally winter league, with a season beginning in mid-October and ending in mid-March. No doubt this is because the climate in Arizona is more like Delhi or Lahore than any place in the USA. Summers are when local temperatures hit 110-plus degrees and outdoor sports becomes impossible; from late fall to spring, on the other hand, highs are in the seasonable 70s and just right for cricket.
Most of the teams in the Arizona Cricket Association (ACA) are located around the Phoenix metropolitan area, with a few in Tucson as well. The ACA also plays regular fixtures with teams in the Southwest which are unaffiliated to any league, such as Albuquerque (NM) and Salt Lake City. The ACA has also managed to play regular home and away fixtures with the Southern California Cricket Association {see the section on Inter-League matches), and is thus a major contributor to cricket in the US Southwest.
As of yet, we do not have any results to report on the current league matches in the ACA. These will be posted as soon as they become available.
The Atlanta (Georgia) Cricket Association has had an illustrious history. Originally founded with the encouragement of the late Sir Conrad Hunte, the great West Indies cricketer who had retired to Atlanta on completion of his career in the Caribbean, the league grew from strength to strength as cricketing immigrants from the Caribbean and from other countries flocked to the area. Now the League has ten teams, with the Tropical Sports Club (founded by Hunte) as the leader in the club rankings. The Atlanta (Georgia) cricket League also occupies a pivot position in the USA cricketing map, entertaining regular visits to (and from) the South East (Florida) leagues, from the Caribbean islands in the south, and Texas and points to the East.
Over the years, The League has assembled a coterie of cricket stars, mainly from the contiguous Caribbean territories, who rival in quality (if not in numbers) the best of the rest of the USA. Among the noted players in the League are: Desmond Lewis(former West Indies wicketkeeper), Junior William (former Jamaica representative), Patrick Harris (former West Indies Youth representative), Alford Givans ( former West Indies Youth representative) and Clayton Lambert (formerly West Indies representative).
The major teams playing in the 1999 League were: Tropical Sports Club, Metropolitan Cricket Club, Climax Cricket Club, North Gwinett Cricket Club, Cavalier Cricket Club, Gymkahana Cricket Club, United Sports and Social Club, Caribbean Sports and Social Club and the Clemson Cricket Club. Tropical Sports Club won the 1999 league competition--for the 10th straight year! The finest batting performance of the season came from Clayton Lambert, who scored a double century. Other century makers were William Cole, Patrick Harris and Alfred Givans (all of Tropical Sports Club)
In the other competition played in the Atlanta area, there were 6 teams representing different countries: Jamaica, Barbados, India, Pakistan, Guyana and a combined Rest of the World team. Jamaica won for the second straight year.
In 1999, the League Officers were: WILLIAM COLE, President; SAM MCDONALD, Vice-president; PAUL ABRAHAMS, Secretary; and MELVILLE GRIFFIN, Treasurer. Elections for the Yr 2000 season are to be held shortly, at which time the names and contact information for the new season will be posted in CRICINFO.
COLORADO CRICKET ASSOCIATION
The 1999 version of the Colorado
Cricket League involved several more teams than in 1998--a total of 9
teams, in and around Denver and the State of Colorado. The season proved to be an
exciting one, and the undefeated winners of the 40-over League were the One
World Cricket Club (10-0), followed by Littleton "Red" (
7-3) and Fort Collins (6-4).
The Regular Season
Individual Awards went to: 1. Best Batsman - Roland Walker, The Littleton
Cricket Club; 2. Best Bowler - Swadeep Pagadala, One World CC. Centuries
were scored in the regular season by: 1. Nayab Khan, The Littleton
Cricket Club, 121, against Denver Sluggers CC. 2. Dipal Patel, Fort
Collins CC, 137, against Littleton "Blue".
In the 1999 Colorado
Cricket League Knock Out Tournament, Littleton Cricket Club beat Boulder
Valley CC in an exciting final. Scores were: LCC 187/8, and BVCC 173/10. Garth
Wilby of the Littleton Cricket Club took all the top honors in the Knockout
: Best Batsman - 187 Aggregate Runs (62.33 Average); 2. Best Bowler -
24-3-78-8; and 3. MVP with Best Bowling Figures 4-14 (against Rocky
Mountain CC) and 110 Runs scored (against Denver Sluggers CC).
A team from Colorado also
participated in the US Inter-League Tournament held in the Bay Area, with
Australian all-rounder Mike Riley scoring 50 in Colorado's best
individual batting performance in the tournament.
In the Colorado Cricket League's year 2000 season, as of June 16 the Littleton CC had won 2 and lost none, followed by Rocky Mountain CC which had won its only match of the season so far (I win, 0 loss), and then One World CC (2 wins, I loss), and the Fort Collins CC with a 50:50 season so far (1 win, 1 loss). These standing are likely to change as more of the season is completed. In the most recent games posted so far (June 10 and 11) , Boulder Valley CC Gold (235/6 in 40 overs, Usman 87, Mike 31, Sam 36*) LOST TO Fort Collins CC (237/4 in 35 overs, Chuck 85, Dipal 70*, Phaneendra 3/52); Boulder Valley CC Green (206/9 in 40 overs, Armi 50, Rajesh 43, Sachin 3/27) BEAT Colorado State University CC (167 a.o. in 35.5 overs, Bala 55, Tejas 3/19); and Rocky Mountain CC (170 a.o. in 39 overs, Riaan 67, Kishore 5/26, Swadeep 3/35) BEAT One World CC (160 a.o. in 39 overs, Praveen 37, Kishore 39).
The Connecticut Cricket
League playoff for the 1999 season kicked off with United C.C defeating the West Indian
Social Club and Sportsman's Athletic Club defeating the Caribbean
Social Club in the semi-finals. The finals were a bit of an anti-climax
with United losing easily to Sportsman's. The C.C.L held their Annual
Presentation function on October 2nd in Stratford. The featured address was
given by the great former West Indies opening bat, Sir Conrad Hunte.
Once again, Verasammy Virrapen walked away with all the batting honors,
having scored almost 700 runs during the season, including two centuries, two
scores in the nineties and two additional fifties. His final batting average
was a shade under 100 runs per innings!
As of June 18, 2000, the West Indian Social Club was leading the League, with 4 victories (out of 5 played) and 27 points. Close behind were the St. Lucia Social Club (3 wins of 5 played, 24 points) and the Bridgeport Cricket Club (3 wins, 21 points) which also has the current highest team aggregate (248 runs) in a match so far. The prolific Virrapen seems to have had a slow start, with scores of 13 and 37* in his first two matches. However, this could change later in the season!
There are 10 other clubs playing in the League this year, each with 2 or less victories so far this season; the 1999 finalists, in particular, seem to be starting slowly, being in the middle or bottom half of the rankings.
Meanwhile, Riverside Cricket Club, also with a 2 -2 record in the League, scored one "plus" and another "minus" . It won the Connecticut Hall-of-Fame Six-a-side Tournament in great style (see Hall-of-Fame Tournament Report); but was criticized by the CCL for its players not showing up at the Connecticut - Massachussetts Inter League game because they preferred to play in their own friendly match.
CRICKET IN CONNECTICUT: Riverside vs Caribbean
Here in the inimtable style of Taj Khader aka Funnboy, is yet another description of a lively game in the Connecticut Cricket League. We are printing extracts from Funnboy's report, the full story can be seen at the Riverside Cricket Club Web site.
The last…meaningful encounter between these two teams was in the summer of 1995, when Caribbean won the game from the last delivery, and went on to the 1995 finals …. ...[This time], Riverside being led for the first time in 2000 by a new Captain, Sheik Mohammad. Just an insight on Sheik, he is a tactical master and one smooth cool strategist, making Norman Swartzkoff and Colin Powell look like first graders.
..Toss won by Caribbean, and they decide to go out and bat, this was a good decision, as the conditions was ideal for Riverside to improve on their immaculate sensational tan lines…
Openers Masters aka edLova, and Morgan aka Country, came out looking very positive and relaxed, the innings got off to a flyer-- the scintillating swing bowling of Ashok da Avenja Rangandan was introduced in the attack, both batsman played with fiya but they were lucky not to get burn right away, a canister of extinguisher was seen near by just in case. The opening pair Ed Lova and Country was beginning to look dangerous.. Masters clubbed a sixer but his luck was soon running out... the RCC skippa Sheikh Mohammad sent the secret message to Ashok da Avenja, and [Mohammad Khan aka] Moka was sent to the deep midwicket boundary.
Here is the scenario, narrated blow by blow for those of you who missed a catch that will be talked about for years like a folklore--
Ashok from the Albany Ave end, he bowls to Masters aka edLova, who goes for the big hit and the ball is launched like a rocket high in the sky and is heading towards midwicket, Moka is running to get under the ball, the ball is a little behind him, he overstepped, but wait-- he puts his right hand behind him and dives backward, lands on his back and does two reverse summersaults and comes up wid--da-ball.
Oh-my god-- that was incredible.
The RCC players and fans are ecstatic, there is total mayhem on the field. Ed lova jaw just dropped and hit the floor. All the dance hall queens are running on to the field they want Moka, they are on top of him ripping his shirt off and exposing his gorgeous chest carved out of stone like a Inca god.. Oh lawd have mercy. The dance hall queens are doing something to Moka right on the field...
After all the honeys got off the field, Caribbean send in their best batsman and the League top run scorer, the very technically accomplished Everton Nelson, he was watchful for the first few balls he faced but is eventually bowled by the wicked Spin of Raj Rai for 19. Similarly Morgan also a victim from the dangerous Ballie as Chokshi took a simple catch sending him back for 19.
At the end of the 39th over Caribbean had a decent 138 for 6 on board. Over to Riverside…
Captain Sheik Mohammad …and JC Ballie opened the innings, with Sheik taking first blood against the...Caribbean bowling attack. Sheik played his shots placing the ball in the perfect gap, accumulating runs quickly, but an Umpire verdict send him back to the stands, scoring 5. In came the man of the moment Mohamad Moka Khan, pairing up with Ballie…, the fans knew Moka was not one to disappoint them… Morgan send down a quick delivery on the leg, and Moka ravaged it hitting the ball at the deepest part of the ground high over the trees almost landing on Ridgefield Street. the runs kept flowing. Moka pulled another ball from the off stump and send it over the ropes for another crowd pleasing six, but attempting another aggressive stroke he was judged LBW by the Umpire, contributing 19. At this stage RCC were 2 for 49.
Shannan Ragnauth, after scoring 82 against United the previous week, continued where he left off, adding more runs as he became his team's leading scorer.This partnership was looking good but Ballie was again judged LBW by the Umpire.. do I see a trend here? Next batsman in, Tony Kallicharan, was surprised by the extra spin, going forward and misjudge his shot, with the ball clipping the bails, he was gone for 9.
In come Ashok, the worlds most hardcore cricketer who reminds me of a Machine, this guy just keep on going and going--- or is that the Energizer Bunny. As Shannan was having his way with the bowlers belting the ball around…, Ashok kept his bat busy scoring with ease. Both of these guys took the score to within a few runs of the target, but Shannan playing a bold shot was caught by the best wicket keeper in the league Wyane Bennett after top scoring again with a valuable 35. …Another Rcc weapon entered the field, Mahadeo Big Hitta Ajodhi who does not waste time in the middle, immediately plugging runs and finishing the game off in his own style, by blazing a sixer in the trees, Ajodhi scoring a quickfire 10 and Ashok doing the job as usual scoring a game winning 24 saw to it that Riverside won this game with ease.
CRICKET ASSOCIATION of DELAWARE State
During the 1999 Season, the
Delaware Cricket Association played matches with teams like British Officers cricket club,
Haverford College, Landsdale cricket club, Maryland cricket
club and Metro oval cricket club, winning over half of them. There were
very good and consistent performances from players like Waqas Shahid, Arif
Niaz, Abid Ahsan, Sohail Majeed, Omar Watson, Bashir Mansoori, and
Humair Querishi.
For year 2000 season,
Delaware is trying to constitute itself into a league club, and are trying to
join the Garden State League. Hopefully by then they will have their own
home ground ready; the State of Delaware is willing to provide the new
ground. So by the next season they will most probably host all the matches at their
new ground
As the year 2000 season commenced, Delaware Cricket Association achieved a unique distinction for a small regional cricket group; its captain, Waqas Shahid, was named to the 27-member US National Team from which the final XI will be selected for its England, South Africa and the 2001 ICC Trophy Tournament in Canada.
Two matches in the year 2000 were played so far; a match against the Maryland Cricket Association, which was lost by 4 wickets, and another with the Indians Cricket Club which Delaware won by 4 wickets. Details are available at the Delaware Cricket Association's Web site.
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