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A CHILLY "US World Cup TOURNAMENT"
The original announcement for the tournament received by CRICINFO USA, had started by saying that the USA Cricket Association, or USACA, the present governing body of US cricket that is officially represented at the ICC, had "...during recent years...proved to be a complete failure in providing any competitive cricket on national and international levels in the United States." This was what was intended to be dealt with.
The announcement then went on to say that " The first of these events --the Y2 American Cricket
World Cup--will be played in Chicago during the Memorial Day Weekend, May 27 to May 29, 2000. "
The teams for the "American Cricket World Cup were "resident US cricketers who have volunteered to play for their country of origin. The selected players/managers were" required to arrange for their air travel to and from Chicago, board, lodging, local transportation, playing equipment…. Organisers will provide 2 colored shirts, one cap, one trousers, one jacket in respective national colors, grounds,
lunch/refreshment on the grounds, and white balls."
The Chairman of the tournament was Akhtar M. Chic Syed, former President of the USACA, and the Vice Chairman was Zain Jeewanjee, whose Insurance Agency was one of the organizations sponsoring the tournament, the others being the A&K Financial Company of Texas and the Midwest Cricket Conference. The Tournament Director was Faiz Ul Hasan of San Jose, California, assisted by Mr. Badar Rafaie also of California (currently a member of the USACA Board). The Coordinators of the Tournament were officers of the USACA's Midwest Cricket Conference--- Tariq Ahmed, Humayun Mirza and Sohail Alvi.
Eight teams were selected: India, West Indies, Canada, and a World XI in Group One of the Tournament, and Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States and an Asian XI in Group II. But were these purely local cricketers--or if not, how had they been selected from throughout North America, or were they selecting themselves? We never did find out.
The tournament was plagued by chilly winds and rainy weather. Only two rounds could be played on Saturday, May 27. The weather continued to be bad on Sunday May 28, and the organizers decided to reduce the number of overs from 20 to 15 each inning. The third round, semi finals and the final were all played on the second day.
Following were the summarized scores:
1st round: World XI 120 beat India 118, Asian XI 142 beat Sri Lanka 141, West Indies 65 lost to USA 66, Canada 63 lost to Pakistan 64.
2nd round: World XI 115 beat Sri Lanka 100, USA 81 beat Pakistan 80, Asian XI lost to India 92, West Indies 95 beat Canada 60.
3rd Round: West Indies lost to Pakistan, World XI beat Asian XI, India beat Sri Lanka, USA beat Canada (scores unavailable).
Semi Finals: India 93 beat USA 58, World XI 58 lost to Pakistan 60. Finals: India 88 for 4, Pakistan 76 for 6, India wins the tournament..
Interstate Tournament in Houston, TX
The organizers of the Chicago tournament are planning an inter-state National Cricket League in Houston, Texas on Thanksgiving Day weekend in November, 2000. Several state teams have already indicated they will participate in the event, according to Tournament organizers. US cricketers interested in this event are asked to get in touch with Mr. Faiz Ul Hasan, Tournament Director, 2554 Ohlone Drive, San Jose, CA 95132 (Home phone: 408 446 0895).
Connecticut Hall-of-Fame SIXES Tournament
The following report is excerpted from a very entertaining narrative by Taj Khadar, aka FunnBoy, who reports on Connecticut cricket happenings in his inimitable style. Space prevents us from printing the entire story; however, it can be accessed at the Riverside CC Web site.
After five games, two days, lots of sweat and total teamwork, the Riverside Cricket Club was rewarded with the grand prize of $2100 for the Connecticut Hall-of-Fame Six-a-Side Tournament.
It all started under bright sun and scorching heat, a day when sunscreen was selling faster than Heinekens.
Riverside had to win a crucial game to qualify for the semi-finals. It faced off against the top seed of the tournament, The Atlantis Cricket Club from New York.
Atlantis CC's strong point was their batting throughout the tournament, with their batsman plugging everything over the fence, but Riverside did not let up and bowled them out for 40 runs...
Riverside changed its batting order ...this indeed paid off, openers Captain Tony Kallicharan and Shannan Ragnaught were just what the doctor ordered, [and] from ball one the Tigers was on the prowl, looking to ravage and wreck havoc on Atlantis. Captain Kallicharan was especially hungry for runs and even a happy meal, but he kept his eyes on the prize and was totally destructive on everything Atlantis sent his way, scoring more than a run a ball, belting eight boundaries, that included four 6's and four 4's , this was indeed a treat to all present at the Keney Park Oval. ....
The final showdown was against a very formidable opponent, the Sri Lankan Cricket Club from New York.
Riverside CC won the toss and sent the Lions in to bat on a very friendly pitch. The batsmen had a party in the middle, clubbing the balls left and right. the Lankans opening pair established a very good total, a partnership of 57, but they failed to capitalize on their excellent start. Riverside, at the right moment, [ran] out two batsman and [took] some spectacular catches in the deep, leaving Sri Lanka in the middle with pure agony. Still a very challenging total-- the SLCC's eight overs were good enough for 66 runs.
For the Riverside Tigers , the usual pair of Tony & Shannan went on the hunt for runs but was not successful in scoring many, as the opening partnership totaled a meager six runs. Then big hittas Mahadeo Ajodhi and Vishnu Tiga Sanichara kept the runs flowing like a slurpee at the local Seven-Eleven, with the support of Navin Bodnaraine and Raj Rai. Sri Lanka bowled a very tight line and did not give an inch, making it very challenging for the Tigers to score. Mahadeo played a game saving innings, scoring a very valuable 22 runs including a Godzilla size six way over the pavilion. Navin came and went faster than a speeding train without any brakes as he was run out after scoring 8 beautiful runs-- runs is runs, this reporter loves any kind of runs... RCC was not out of trouble, but the fearless and most determined tiger Vishnu was still in the middle batting with the young cub Raj Rai... Raj was run out for 2, but Riverside kept the concentration level up and played superbly, Vishnu clubbed the ball around, scoring a tremendous 21, and brought home the Hall of Fame 2000 Six-A-Side Trophy.
Team Tigers: Tony Kallicharan, Vishnu Sanichara, Taj Khadar, Navin Bodnaraine, Raj Rai, Sanjay Patel, Mahadeo Ajodhi.
Player of the Tournament: Tony Kallicharan scoring 124 runs and taking 5 wickets . Best Batting: Tony Kallicharan. Most Sixes: Tony Kallicharan (5) Highest Team score in an Innings: Riverside CC (81)
LA Independence Cup won by Jamaica 'A'
The Southern California Cricket Association (SCCA) hosted its Third Annual Independence Cup tournament in Los Angeles between Friday, June 30th and Tuesday, July 4th, 2000.
The four teams represented at the tournament were: the Jamaica 'A' National Side, Western India, a USA Invitational Team and an SCCA side.
The Jamaica A side featured and first class players Nehemiah Perry, Brenton Parchment, Marlon Samuel, and Leon Garrick. Former West Indian player and current Jamaica national coach Robert Haynes was the player/coach for the visiting Jamaica team.
The Western India team included first-class players Lalchand Rajput, Bhupinder Singh, Manoj Joglekar and Amol Rane.
The tournament was won by the Jamaica 'A' NationalTeam.
MVP of the Tournament was Marlon Samuels (Jamaica), Man of the Match for the Final game was Robert Haynes (Jamaica). The Best Batsman award for the tournament went to Jatin Paranjape (Western India XI) , and Best Bowler was Vineet Sarang (Western India XI).
While the US Invitational and the SCCA teams were generally outplayed by the visitors, Abbas Rizvi, selected for the USA team for the ICC Trophy in Canada in 2001, performed very creditably all-around in the matches he played, and Hopeton Barrett, ex-USA bowler, turned in the single best US bowling performance against a visiting team.
Detailed scoresheets for the tournament can be found at the Southern California Cricket Association Web site.
Guyana Association wins Fifth US Interleague Tournament
Sir Garfield Sobers , in the Bay Area as a member of the ICC Ambassador's Program, presided over the 5th Annual National Inter-League Cricket Tournament for the Fujitsu Software Cup held in the San Francisco Bay Area, from Sept 2 - 4, 2000.
The Fujitsu Software Corporation was the sponsor of the event.
The teams participating in the 5th Annual National Inter-League Cricket Tournament for the Fujitsu Software Cup were: American Cricket Society (NY), American Youth XI, Colorado Cricket League, Northern California Cricket Association, North West Cricket League, AND The Guyanese West-Indian Association.
Conspicuous by their absence were the Southern California Cricket Association, the major Western cricket league in the West and a neighbour of host Northern California Cricket Association(NCCA); and Eastern participants Massachussetts State Cricket League (MSCL), the Metropolitan Cricket League of New York, and the Mid-Atlantic Cricket League, which had been champions or semifinalists in previous years' tournaments. Without this participation, the tournament was robbed of much of its significance as a determinant of US Inter-league cricketing strength. The tournament, however, did produce some entertaining cricket, and it is hoped that in future years it will once again become a truly national Inter-League event.
Dominating the tournament was the Guyanese West Indian Association , which was made up of players of Guyanian extraction from East and South USA. The Guyanese have been trying for some time to put together a broad-based ad hoc team which would take on all comers as part of a Westward swing through cricketing centers. Having tried and failed to secure fixtures in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, The Guyanese Association settled on the Bay Area tournament as the place to make their statement,and succeded in walking away with the tournament.
The "interleague" component of the weekend tourney consisted of the US Northwest Cricket League (NWCL), making its first foray into uncharted territory, and the Colorado Cricket Association which was making its second appearance in the Bay Area. The NWCL was unfortunate in having to face the Guyanese West Indian Association in its very first outing outside its home ground, and could muster only a few runs aganst the deadly bowling of Imran Awan, one of the USA's most successful bowlers in England and the America's Cup tournament; it recovered somewhat against the American Youth XI, but still lost handily. The Colorado Cricket Association fared somewhat better in its two outings against the hosts NCCA and the Guyanese, but lost both its matches. The finals saw the Guyanese win comfortably over hosts NCCA, while Colorado picked up the Consolation prize with a narrow victory over the American Youth XI--its first award at the National Tournament.
Summary scores for the tournament are given below.
Day One Results
North West Cricket League 47 all out ( Imran Awan 6/14 [MOM] ) lost to Guyanese West Indian Association 48/2 (Raja N. 39*)
NCCA 297 all out (Deep Ghai 74, Ganesh Seetharaman 66 [MOM] , Safdar Anwar 54) beat
Colorado 179 all out (Usman Waheed 40, Arun Tholodur 27, Dipal Patel 35)
American Youth XI 191 all out (Carmo Rodrigues 68*, Peshan 30, Abhishek Powar 26, Zimo Mohammed 3/37)
lost to American Cricket Society 192/2 ( Sarfraz Ali 84* [MOM] , Amin H. 50, Jairam A. 28)
Day Two Results
Guyanese West Indian Association 303/9 ( Mukesh Sookram 72 [MOM] , Imran Awan 47, Nasir Islam 33, Raja N. 29) Colorado 177 all out (Nayab 39)
American Youth XI 210 ( Abhishek Powar 47 [MOM] , Alastair Hutcheson 43) beat North West Cricket League 175 all out
American Cricket Society 207/9 (Terry Hastoo 67, Amin H. 34, Sarfraz Ali 34) lost to NCCA 208/8 ( Deep Ghai 72 [MOM] , Umesh Kelkar 43, Ganesh Seetharaman 35)
Day Three Results
Fujitsu Cup Final
Guyanese West Indian Association 155 ( Denniss Hewitt 35 [MOM] , Leon Copeland 29*, Ganesh Seetharaman 5/14, Safdar Anwar 6 catches [MOM] ) beat NCCA 143 all out (Ganesh Seetharaman 31, Deep Ghai 25)
Plate Final
American Youth XI 242 all out ( Carmo Rodrigues 46 [MOM] , Alistair 46) lost to Colorado Cricket Association 243/8 (Kit 50, Gopal Susarla 50 [MOM] )
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