USA overcome Nepal by 55 runs

USA almost booked their place in the final of ICC World Cricket League Division Three when they overcame their rivals from the fifth Division, Nepal by 55 runs at Pianoro.

Batting first, the USA side struggled to begin with, when Orlando Baker was dismissed for a duck off the second ball of the game. Carl Wright and Steve Massiah then resurrected the innings with a 31-run stand for the second wicket beore Lenox Cush scored a 32 off 37 to take USA to 82/2 in the 18th over.

Cush’s wicket pegged the Americans back with three wickets for 16 and after another 13 runs, the Americans lost their sixth wicket at 111 to raise hopes of ending the USA innings quickly.

It was Sushil Nadkarni, who was sent in down the order – instead of his opening slot – who scored an unbeaten 64, along with Usman Shuja and Muhammad Ghous, pulled USA back to 203/8 in fifty overs.

In reply, the Nepal innings never got underway as Shuja and Ghous added to their crucial stand, by picking up three wickets each. Paras Khadka played a captain’s innings by scoring a 44, and Gyanendra Malla then got a 34, but the rest of the side fell apart without any resistance. Nepal was all out for 148 in the final over of the innings to win the game by 55 runs.

USA play Argentina in their last game.

The 1000th Day/Night Match In Limited Overs Cricket

The abandoned match with toss between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Thursday (August 19) was the 1000th day/night match in limited overs international cricket.

This match also became the first-ever one day international match in Dambulla to be abandoned because of rain.

After New Zealand captain Ross Taylor won the toss and elected to bat, the downpour prevented the match from starting. This match has been abandoned for the day and a fresh match will be played tomorrow on the reserve day.

All the three teams have won a match in the first round of group matches. New Zealand and India are level on five points each after winning a bonus point in their victories, while Sri Lanka have four points.

It had taken 30 years and 266 days to reach 1000 day/night matches. The very first day/night match was played between Australia and West Indies at Sydney Cricket Ground on November 27,1979.

Australia played the highest number of day/night matches. The Aussies played 344 matches. India appeared in 262 matches while Pakistan played 234 matches under lights.

Sydney Cricket Ground (108 matches) holds the record of hosting the highest number of day/night matches followed by Melbourne Cricket Ground (70 matches) and R. Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, Colombo (58 matches).

EACH TEAM’S RECORD IN DAY/NIGHT MATCHES:

Suresh Raina’s Century Of One Day Matches:

Suresh Raina became the 29th Indian player to complete a century of limited overs international matches.

The third match of the Triangular Series between India and Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Monday (August 16) was 100th match for Suresh Raina who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in July after playing a record 98 one day internationals.

Suresh Raina who made his international debut against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on July 30, 2005, took five years and 16 days to reach this milestone.

The left hand middle order batsman and right arm-off break bowler from Muradnagar, has played 35 matches at home and appeared in 65 matches outside India.

India achieved victories in 58 matches when Suresh Raina was the member of the team. In 38 matches his team taste the defeat and four matches were abandoned.

The other Indian player to attain this distinction before Suresh Raina were Sachin Tendulkar (442 matches), Rahul Dravid (339 matches), Mohammed Azharuddin (334 matches), Sourav Ganguly (311 matches), Anil Kumble (271 matches), Yuvraj Singh (251 matches), Javagal Srinath (229 matches), Kapil Dev (225 matches), Virendra Sehwag (225 matches), Harbahjan Singh (212 matches), Ajay Jadeja (196 matches), Ajit Agarkar (191 matches), Zaheer Khan (175 matches), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (168 matches), Venkatesh Prasad (161 matches), Ravi Shastri (150 matches), K.Srikkanth (146 matches), Nayan Mongia (140 matches), Navjot Singh Sidhu (136 matches), Robin Singh (136 matches), Manoj Prabhakar (130 matches), Dilip Vengsarkar (129 matches), Mohammed Kaif (125 matches), Sunil Gavaskar (108 matches), Irfan Pathan (107 matches), Vinod Kambli (104 matches), Ashish Nehra (104 matches) and Gautam Gambhir (100 matches).

** Tillakaratne Dilshan became the sixth Sri Lankan batsman to score 1500 runs against India in one day internationals. The right hand opening batsman from Kalutara, achieved this feat by making 45. It was 45th innings of his 51st match against India in one day internationals. The other Sri Lankan batsmen to score over 1500 runs against India before him were Sanath Jayasuriya (2899 runs in 89 matches), Kumar Sangakkara (1862 runs in 57 matches), Mahela Jayawardene (1814 runs 65 matches), Aravinda de Silva (1786 runs in 58 matches) and Marvan Atapattu (1570 runs in 52 matches).

** India became the first team to play 750 one day international matches. India who played their first match against England at Leeds on July 13, 1974 took 36 years and 35 days to reach this milestone.

** Virender Sehwag became the first Indian and 10th batsman overall to left stranded on 99 in a limited overs international match. Suraj Randiv deliberately overstepped the bowling crease off the final delivery to bowl a no-ball and deny Sehwag a well-deserved century. He also became the fifth Indian on seven occasions to become the victim of 99 in one day internationals.

** Virender Sehwag became the fourth Indian and 25th player overall to receive 20 or more man of the match award. His 20th man of the match award came in the 225th one day international match. It was his 3rd such award in 45 one day matches against Sri Lanka.

SURESH RAINA’S PERFORMANCE IN ONE DAYERS:

Sachin Tendulkar- Third To Face Over 25000 Balls In Tests

Sachin Tendulkar scored his 48th hundred in Test cricket by making an unbeaten 108 in India’s first innings on the third day of the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo on Wednesday (July 28).

Master blaster’s 48th hundred came in the 274th innings of 168th Test match. It was his ninth hundred in 34th innings of 24 Test matches against Sri Lanka and fifth hundred in 17 innings of 11 Test matches. 27 of Sachin Tendulkar’s centuries came in 152 innings of 94 away Test matches while he scrored 21 tons in 122 innings of 74 Test matches at home.

Sachin Tendulkar also became the first overseas player and ninth batsman overall to hit five or more hundreds in Sri Lanka.

The champions batsman also became only the third batsman after Rahul Dravid (27085 balls in 243 innings of 141 Tests) and Allan Border (27002 balls in 265 innings of 156 Tests) to face 25000 or more balls in Test cricket.

** Virender Sehwag was dismissed stumped for the first time against Sri Lanka in 16 innings of 10 Test matches. It was his fourth such dismissal in 133 innings of 78 Test matches.

** Murali Vijay scored his maiden half century in overseas Test match by making 58 in 194 minutes off 124 balls with eight fours. It was his only second half century in eighth innings of six Test matches.

** Suresh Raina who are playing in a Test match for the first time after appearing a record 98 one day international matches, became the 35th batsman to score a fifty on debut for India. His unbeaten 66 is the 20th highest score on debut for India. Suresh Raina has a bright chance to become the 12th Indian batsman to score a hundred in first Test match as the conditions were still batsman-friendly at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo.

Pakistan’s Chance To End The Drought:

By S.Pervez Qaiser

The first match of the two-Test series between Australia and Pakistan will be played at Lord’s from July 13 to 17. Headingley, Leeds will host the second Test from Juky 21 to 25.

It will be the 56th Test match between the two teams and first in England. Australia have won 27 and Pakistan 11 in 55 previous Test matches. The remining 17 Test matches ended with out a result.

Pakistan have lost 12 Test matches in a row against Australia. After the drawing the Test match at Karachi in 1998, Australia went to win nine Test matches at home, two Test matches at Sharjah and one in Colombo.

Australia have blanked Pakistan 3-0 in their last three series in Australia. Pakistan’s last victory over Australia came at Sydney in 1995-96 series.

Shahid Afridi who led Pakistan in five one day internationals and 11 Twenty-20 matches, will captain for the first time in a Test match.

Australian opener Simon Katich expects Pakistan’s new captain Shahid Afridi to spark an improvement from his side when the teams meet for two Tests. The series comes barely six months after Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia, when they lost 3-0 and the board subsequently dished out harsh penalties to a range of players.

HIGHEST INNINGS TOTALS:

Pakistan’s 624 at Adelaide in 1983-84 is their highest ever total against Australia. Australia’s highest against Pakistan is 617 at Faisalabad in 1979-80 while their highest at home is 585 at Adelaide in 1972-73.

LOWEST INNINGS TOTALS:

Pakistan were bundled out for just 53 runs at Sharjah in 2002-03 which is their lowest total against Australia. Their lowest total against Australia in Australia is 62 at Perth in 1981-82. Australia’s lowest against Pakistan is 80 at Karachi in 1956-57 while their lowest in Australia is 125 at Melbourne in 1981-82.

HIGHEST MATCH AGGREGATES:

As many as 1640 runs were scored for the loss of 33 wickets in the match played at Melbourne in 1972-73 series which is the highest match aggregate between the two teams.

LOWEST MATCH AGGREGATES:

The lowest match aggregate between Pakistan and Australia was recorded at Sharjah in 2002-03 when 422 runs were scored for the loss of 29 wickets. The lowest match aggregate in a ‘complete’ Test match played on Australian soil is 783 runs for 32 wickets at Sydney in 1976-1977.

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORES:

Mark Taylor holds the record of highest individual score on either side. He made an unbeaten 334 at Peshawar in 1998-99. Graham Yallop holds the record of highest individual score for Australia at home . He made 268 at Melbourne in 1983-84. Salim Malik’s 237 at Rawalpindi in 1994-95 is the highest score by a Pakistani batsman against Australia. The record of highest individual score by a Pakistani in Australia is held by Majid Khan who made 158 at Melbourne in 1972-73.

BEST BOWLING IN AN INNINGS:

Sarfraz Nawaz who took nine wickets for 86 runs at Melbourne in 1978-79, holds the record of best bowling performance in an innings on either side. Glenn McGath’s eight for 24 at Perth in 2004-05 is the best bowling performance by an Australian bowler against Pakistan.

BEST BOWLING IN A MATCH:

Fazal Mehmood’s 13 for 114 at Karachi in 1956-57 is the best bowling performance by Pakistan bowler against Australia. Imran Khan who took 12 wickets for 165 runs at Sydney in 1976-77 holds the record of best bowling performance for Pakistan in Australia. Shane Warne’s 11 for 77 at Brisbane in 1995-96 is the best bowling performance by an Australian against Pakistan..

Bangladesh’s Maiden Victory Over England:

By S.Pervez Qaiser

Bangladesh scored their first ever victory over England in Test or one day internationals when they defeated the Twenty-20 World Champions by five runs at County Ground, Bristol on Saturday (July10).

After a valiant 94, Jonathan Trott, the last man to fall, was caught behind off a slower ball from Bangladesh seamer Shafiul Islam to send the Bangladesh team wild with delight. The drama was intensified when Ian Bell, who scored an unbeaten 84 to take England to victory in the opening match, hobbled on to a hero’s welcome as the last batsman after fracturing a bone in his left foot while fielding.

Bangladesh’s maiden victory against England came in the 13th one day international match and 21st overall. They played eight Tests with out a win against England.

The five-run victory was Bangladesh’s smallest in terms of runs in one day internationals. Their previous smallest was 8 runs against Zimbabwe at Harare on March 10,2004.

** Jonathan Trott recorded their highest score in limited overs international cricket by making 94 off 130 balls with eight fours. His previous highest was 87 off 119 balls with eight fours against South Africa at Centurion on November 22,2009.

** Jahurul Islam became the first Bangladeshi wicket-keeper to dismiss three batsmen against England in limited overs international cricket. Khaled Mashud and Mushfiqur Rahim who dismissed one batsman on three occasions each, held the previous record.

** Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad set a new record for the eighth wicket for England against Bangladesh by adding 43 runs. Eion Morgan and Graeme Swann’s 5-run stand at Dhaka on March 2,2010 was the previous best.

** Imrul Kayes recorded his highest score against England by making 76 off 111 balls with four fours. It was his second highest score in limited overs international cricket after 101 off 138 balls with 11 fours against New Zealand at Christchurch on February 11,2010. Imrul Kayes’ previous highest against England was 63 off 113 balls with four fours at Dhaka on March 2,2010

Corns shines as Houston takes Central West Tournament

All rounder Ryan Corns showed his maturity as he led the Houston Cricket League to victory in the two-day Central West Cricket Tournament in Houston during the Memorial Day weekend.

Corns, 19, who has represented the United States national Under 19 team, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player scoring 145 runs and taking five wickets with his left arm orthodox spinners in the two matches.

In the championship match, the Colorado Cricket League (CCL) was dismissed for 163 in 41.3 overs and the Houston Cricket League (HCL) cruised to 164 in 17.1 overs without losing a wicket.

“It was very hot and humid,” said Corns in an interview with cricketusamag.com.

The tournament was Corns’ coming out party as he showed his class as a potential player for the US national senior team. He scored at ease with classical drives and powerful pull shots.

He dominated the bowlers in both games he played and was the unanimous selection for the MVP award.
While at the crease, he was patient, picked the right ball to hit, and seems to have  eliminated the cross bat slogging.
Corns said that since he returned from New Zealand with the Under 19 national team he has worked hard on changing his technique.

“I have cut back on the bad shots, and I am trying to be patient and waiting to punish the bad balls. By being patient the runs will come,” he said.

“I have been in stages where I have been impatient and it has cost me. Patience brings runs.”
Corns, who moved to the US from South Africa and is studying business administration and also has a part time job as a sales associate, said Jermaine Levine, his captain at Memorial Cricket Club, and club president Mike Greathead, who is also from South Africa, had helped him improve with advice.

The CCL reached the championship game for the first time with an upset win over the North  Texas Cricket Association (NTCA) on the opening day.

In this contest, Rohit Ramkumar confirmed himself as one of the best batsmen in the region with a powerful 128 as CCL amassed 329 in 50 overs, which was beyond NTCA’s reach.

HCL was without Sushil Nadkarni and the NTCA missed Orlando Baker. Both were on duty for the US national senior team.
HCL spinners Jermaine Levine and Corns, both left arm orthodox, and off spinner Niraj Shah were at their best in both matches.
Vivek Inampudi underlined that he is the backbone of the NTCA offense with 88 in the unsuccessful chase of CCL’s 329. He came in at 3/9 in the second game against Central Texas Cricket League (CTCL) and led it to a win.

In the first game, HCL dominated CTCL, which was all out for 193 in 37.2 overs. HCL’s fielding was superb and when HCL batted Corns hammered 68 as it made 4/194 in 34.2 overs.

HCL had a shaky start in the championship game, but it eventually overcame a fast start by CCL, which took advantage of some wayward bowling, dropped catches, a run out miss and a solid 0/106 start after 19 overs.

Spinners Levine, Corns and Shah slowed down CCL capturing a bunch of wickets before fast bowler Andre Rowe returned to bowl out the last three batsmen and mopped up the innings with CCL making 163.

The result was never in doubt as HCL replied with 164 without loss with Cornes (77) and Majid Rizvi (70) both unbeaten..
The new fields at Paul D Rushing Park were in good condition after being constructed less than two years ago.
It was a fitting finale for Tournament Director Sean Chapman, who will be returning to Australia after 11 years. He said: “This was an outstanding weekend of cricket, with exceptional individual and team performances over two very hot days. I was especially thrilled to see the ‘spirit of cricket’ on full display from all teams throughout the weekend as all teams played hard, but fair.

“This weekend was the perfect way for me to say goodbye to cricket in Houston and the USA, as I am moving back to Australia after 11 years in the USA in July.”

Nanda Kumar, the Vice President of the Houston Cricket League said the tournament had “very good quality of cricket” and about 250 people attended the two day tournament, which was played on Astro-turf.
Kumar said that before the tournament organizers were skeptical regarding the conditions of the field. There had been no rain for six weeks and it was “very hard, dry and no grass.” Rain finally came.

“It was much better than we expected and the tournament was a success,” he said.

Tournament champions: Houston Cricket League.
Runner up: Colorado Cricket League.
Third: North Texas Cricket Association.
Fourth: Central Texas Cricket League.
Tournament MVP: Ryan Corns (HCL) 145 runs, five wickets.
Best batsman: Vivek Inampudi (NTCA) 158 runs.
Best bowler: Niraj Shah (HCL) six wickets.
Best fielder: Majid Rizvi (HCL).

The Day Houston Cricket Nearly Died

By Sean Chapman

Cricket in the USA faces 2 major issues; its status as a fringe sport, which will not be easily overcome, and the lack suitable playing facilities.

Over the years Houston cricket has not had to face the problem of playing facilities, with one of the best cricket facilities in the US, five quality grounds at Tom Bass Park, 15 miles south of downtown Houston. For almost 20 years thousands of games of cricket were played on these fields, with bemused local residents and golfers looking on. Synthetic wickets, sight screens and beautifully manicured outfields greeted the players week after week.

5 long established clubs, each controlled one ground, and were responsible for its maintenance, and on almost every weekend of the year, you would see organized cricket being played on all 5 fields. Memories of double hundreds, hat-tricks, amazing catches and firm friendships were created on the fields. Many players who represented the USA over the years have called these fields home.

THE LOSS OF TOM BASS PARK

In 2007, there were some concerns over the long term availability of the fields, the authority that controlled the park, had been reluctant to sign a long term agreement with the Houston Cricket League, or any of the clubs. The interactions between the cricket community and the parks authority was taking on a slightly different tone than in the years past.

In a letter dated January 9^th, 2008, the Precinct One commissioner served notice to the Houston Cricket League that Tom Bass Park (TBP) would no longer be available for cricket effective October 31^st, 2008. This letter came to light not long after the 2008 Houston Cricket elections in February 2008, when it was given to the incoming president.

The newly elected Executive Committee of the Houston Cricket League immediately had the greatest crisis ever known to Houston cricket to deal with. Immediately a plan of action was created. In involved attacking the problem on 2 fronts.

• A Tom Bass Park committee was formed to fight for the survival of our access to the fields. It involved representatives of each of the 5 teams that controlled a ground on TBP, and was led by Fayyaz Sarwar, the new HCL president.
• A small working group was formed from the HCL EC to look for alternative grounds in the case that the eviction stood.

After an initial meeting with the parks department, they outlined the reasons behind the eviction. It was felt by the precinct one parks department that for the space used that there was very little benefit to the local residents. The parks department believed that most of the players came from other precincts and mostly made up of foreigners who did not love in the area, (and therefore did not vote).

There were also two incidents that spurred the parks department into action, the first being a situation between a tenant club of the park and a club that was requesting to share their field. It was typical for a fee to be charged to teams wanting to use one of the grounds to offset the cost of maintenance, (grass cutting, wear and tear etc.). The club wanting to share the field felt the charge was excessive and took their complaint first to the league, and after not getting a satisfactory resolution there, hired a lawyer and sent t notice to the parks department. Obviously the parks department was very displeased with the inability of the clubs to work out their issues, and now that money and law suits were involved, it became a big issue.

The second was when the precinct one commissioner was driving away from the park and the road was partially obstructed by a cricketer who was parked illegally during a mid week practice session, there was a verbal altercation and another black mark went against Houston Cricket.

The HCL scrambled to justify to the parks department that there were many Houston Cricket League members who were residents, owned business and worked or studied within the precinct, however there was an apathetic response from the league member clubs when demographic information was requested.

After exhausting all avenues to save the fields, including political and legal paths, a final meeting was held with the parks department. They refused again to revoke the eviction, again stating that the HCL was not made up of residents of the precinct. They told the HCL delegation it was their intention to turn the fields into a dog park. This was a crushing blow, and members throughout the league had trouble envisioning the HCL without TBP. There was much talk about what sort of league would exist in 2009.

The HCL championship game in the first week of November would be the last game held at Tom Bass Park.

The loss was great, but the fields went out with a last harrah, hosting the 2008 USACA Western Conference Championship. Dreamcricket.com noted:

The facilities at Tom Bass Park were ideal for a National level tournament and everyone left in praise of the efforts of the management team.

It is a shame that some of the best cricket grounds in the country at Tom Bass Park will be converted to a Dog Park from November of this year denying cricket players all over the country to play at such a great facility.

(http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=9682&ntid=4)

THE RE-BIRTH OF THE HCL

Fayyaz Sarwar, although never giving up on saving Tom Bass Park, was working behind the scenes on an alternative, and on July, 31^st, not long after that final fatal meeting regarding TBP, Fayyaz announced to the league:

Dear Fellow Cricketers,

I am extremely proud to break this news to you that with the help of Judge Edward Emmett who has worked tirelessly finding us a home for Cricket, THREE grounds have been approved and allocated to HCL. I have a meeting with the Park Director and the Surveyors Monday morning to finalize the plans. I have requested Nanda to accompany me which he has graciously accepted. (Monday is a working day). Lord willing, the construction will start in couple of weeks. The major expense of the concrete work will be done by Commissioner Radack’s office. Matting will be done by the HCL.

The entire league took a breath and smiled, Houston cricket was saved. Through the hard work of Fayyaz, and the incredible generosity of Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Precinct three Commissioner Steve Radack, the HCL would have 3 brand spanking new grounds to open the 2009 season with.

The 2009 Houston Cricket season started on schedule at the new HCL grounds at Paul Rushing Park in Katy, 25 miles west of Houston. Players were greeted with 3 wonderful new fields. Already we are ahead of where we were with Tom Bass Park where no permanent structures were permitted, with a dedicated HCL storage shed, a permanent shade structure, and plans for practice facilities and more shade structures at the new Paul Rushing Park fields.

Following some good reviews from the Precinct Three parks department the Houston Cricket League has signed a 10 year agreement for the fields at Paul Rushing Park. Fayyaz Sarwar, Judge Ed Emmett and Commissioner Steve Radack with support from the HCL Executive Committee have combined to save cricket in Houston.

The fields will see their first big test when the Houston Cricket League hosts the USACA National Championship in October.

The quality of the outfields is still not to TBP standard, as expected for brand new grounds and combined with the scorching hot summer Houston has experienced, but with the hard work of some dedicated people, it won’t be long before Paul Rushing Park is a sparkling center piece of USA cricket.

Hunger and Drive to win saw us through: Osama Khan

By Suneer Chowdhary

And according to Osama Khan, the captain of the side in the semi-finals and the final, there wasn’t more special feeling in his cricketing career than to beat their opposition in the tournament decider. After all, Houston Indian CC was the defending champions, apart from having finished atop of the league at the end of the group stage in the competition. Osama went on to add that it feels even better to get the better of a side which had beaten them twice in the league stage, by a whopping margin of 152 runs.

Hunger and Drive to win saw us through: Osama Khan

A tete-a-tete with the winning captain of the Triggers Cricket Club

The Houston Cricket League Championship is in its tenth year, and they had a new champion this year. The Triggers Cricket Club won their first crown by beating four times winners, Houston Indian Cricket Club in the final in a one-sided game that would have surprised even the biggest Triggers Cricket Club fan.

And according to Osama Khan, the captain of the side in the semi-finals and the final, there wasn’t more special feeling in his cricketing career than to beat their opposition in the tournament decider. After all, Houston Indian CC was the defending champions, apart from having finished atop of the league at the end of the group stage in the competition. Osama went on to add that it feels even better to get the better of a side which had beaten them twice in the league stage, by a whopping margin of 152 runs.

Ask Osama what had changed in the ensuing time, and he says he is sure that it was a combination of many factors. However, he is also quick to add that the most important one was the hunger and the drive to triumph in the final that went in their favour. So much so, that the side did not think too much about the two losses before going into the game. He also said, “Plus I think we had a well settled and balanced team in the final than the one that played them in the regular season and we held great chemistry going.”

Talking of a pressure match like the final, Osama thinks that the batsmen really batted well to get to a total of 242, which boosted their morale midway through the match. And why wouldn’t it have done so, especially given that not too many teams batting first in the final of the tournament had ever got to even 200 in previous years! “That meant”, Osama said, “we really fancied our chances at the halfway stage.”

However, Osama does not forget to add that the tournament win was a team effort. According to the stand-in captain – Biren Patkunaraja was the captain till he had to leave for Dubai – there was not a single player who did not contribute in one or the other way in the final. The team gelled well as Roshan Ngangom and Arun Douglas scored 60 each, Fahim Ibrahim and Girish Kamthe scalped three wickets each, while the captain himself scalped two. Add to that Osama’s captaincy, which saw the promotion of Roshan, who had batted at number number in the previous game to the openers’ slot saw him smash the opposition bowlers away.

But ask Osama about that move, and he plays it down saying that Ngangom is a genuine batsman and also holds the record for highest individual score (187) in HCL play-offs. The role, according to Osama, that was assigned to him was that of a floater. Osama said, “It is just that with the team we had he was really a floater who could bat anywhere so in absence of an opener we used him at that slot and it paid dividends.”

Osama has no qualms in saying that they began to dream about actually winning the trophy was in March of 2009, at the start of the season. He said, that he had never doubted their ability to go all the way, but did encounter some rough time towards the latter part of the season when they lost a few close games, one of them to HICC and hence surrendered the division championship. The following break also did not help, but after that they played their last league game against Houston West Indies that boasted of really big names such as Orlando Baker who plays for the US National team and Carl Thompson. “In that game”, Osama recalled, “We had more or less the same team we were planning to go into the play-offs with. We won that match convincingly and just in time for the play-offs so personally to me that was our turning point where all the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place.”

Talk of what the side had differently from the previous couple of seasons, when the finished up as quarter-finalists and semi-finalists respectively, Osama was rather frank in his opinion. He said, “Previously, I think our batting lacked a bit of bite and the experience to “seal the deal” so to speak and we stumbled at crucial junctures during important games. With some of the more seasoned players such as Roshan, Zubair, Arun Douglas, Girish Kamthe and Satish coming in to play for us this year, it made a lot of difference. We were primarily considered a bowling team but now we had the batting firepower to match our bowling.” That is where they turned the corner.

Talking about his own form, Osama made no bones about accepting that he could do much better. This, despite possessing a bowling average of around 25 in the tournament, which can be classified as excellent in the longer limited overs version of the game! Of course, as a captain, his resume now has an added feather of having won the trophy, but that quality of ‘hunger to outperform’ returns, when he says, “My first message to the guys after we had won was ‘Let us not rest on our laurels’. We would like to keep the momentum going to target Championship number 2 in 2010.” And as if his performances so far weren’t enough, he also adds, “I don’t consider myself automatic selection for the team and would like some more match winning performances to be in the victorious playing eleven next year!”

This Imran Khan-fan then signs off the interview by saying that he would like to concentrate and practice more on his bowling during the off-season and make sure he does his part as the bowler in the team’s cause. Now, that is some hunger for you!

Getting Candid: A tete-a-tete with Ryan Corns

I think USA cricket has a bright future as long as Don Lockerbie is in the drivers’ seat, he has done so much already in the short amount of time he has been involved in cricket in the USA. It can only mean good news for the future.

Ryan Corns, left arm orthodox bowler and a right handed batsman, won the man-of-the-series award in the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers; a ten-nation event. His all-round performance ensured that USA qualified for the Under-19 World Cup to be played next year. Cricket USA Magazine caught up with Ryan in a candid interview…

Congratulations Ryan! USA has qualified for only its second ever Under-19 World Cup. How does it feel?

Ryan— It is a great honour to get the opportunity to play in such a big “world class” event with the best youth cricketers from around the globe! I hope we can make our country proud on the cricketing world stage.

Yes, it must! Your own performance with both, the bat and the ball was exemplary. Some awesome figures there; 13 wickets at less than 14 a wicket and more than 200 runs. It must be a great feeling to have got the man of the tournament award from amongst almost 150 players who participated in the tournament?

Ryan — Oh! You have got no idea how great it feels! I was not expecting to even coming close to getting the award, but when I heard my name getting announced, I had a feeling of euphoria running through my blood because I have never received an award of this magnitude.

So, how do you prepare for big tournaments/matches like these?

Ryan — I practice two to three times a week, on a bowling machine to get into “form”. And I hit the gym four to five times a week to get physically fit. But cricket is not all about physical fitness and skill. Mental toughness plays a huge role. So before a big game I like to clear my mind and primarily focus on the cricket game ahead! Rest also plays a big factor so sufficient sleep is essential.

Given your practice regime, would it be fair to say that cricket in USA is still an amateur sport?

Ryan — By definition amateur sports require participants to participate without any compensation.  Given that neither I nor my team mates are compensated for our participation, by definition that makes it an amateur sport in the USA right now.  Personally, I play cricket out of self- interest and because I am passionate about it and understand that in order to realize my dreams I need to make personal sacrifices (managing my time between college, working and cricket to be able to afford it) at this point in time because cricket in the USA is not a professional sport.  I am of the opinion that we all need to work hard at branding cricket in the USA so that it becomes worthy of being elevated to a higher plane in the public forum. Getting cricket elevated to a higher plane will pave the way for it to become professional sooner rather than later.

If cricket does not become professional, there is a risk that the USA could lose some talented young players who just cannot afford to play the game.

What do you love doing more; batting or bowling?

Ryan — I have grown up learning to enjoy all parts of the game. Growing up in South Africa, where I learnt most of my cricket, I started out as a top order batsman. And as I got older I became more of a bowler who could bat. So, I love both, batting and bowling.

What about your take on fielding?

Ryan — I also love fielding! Fielding is the most important part of the game because you spend most of your time doing it, so you may as well enjoy it. You have to enjoy fielding, or else cricket is not fun, and if you’re not having fun, cricket is not enjoyable! I enjoy fielding in the ring, close to the bat, and catching in the slips.

Do you get to watch/follow a lot of cricket on television?

Ryan — Yes I do get to follow Cricket. I cannot function if I cannot watch cricket!

Who is your cricketing idol?

Ryan — My bowling idol is Daniel Vettori and I like to watch AB de Villiers bat.

Indeed, been a left-arm orthodox bowler and a batsman with origins in South Africa! How did you take to cricket in a country where cricket is not one of the major sports followed?

Ryan — Been from South Africa helped. So I gained all the knowledge on the game and learnt all of my cricketing skills over there.

The senior USA side also plays a qualifier tournament for the ICC World T20 Cup next year. Chances of making it to the squad?

Ryan — It would be an honour to be a part of that side, but I’ll need to work and train extremely hard in order to prove myself.

Which format of the game do you love playing the most; the T20s, the fifty overs cricket or the longer double-innings game? Why?

Ryan — Well for batting, I enjoy all the three formats of the game, but for bowling I prefer bowling in 50 over games and double innings cricket because you get a lot more overs to bowl, which means more opportunities to take wickets!

And what about your future goals?

Ryan — My future goal is to play on the USA national side, and to play in a men’s World Cup

Where do you think is the cricket in the USA headed?

Ryan — I think USA cricket has a bright future as long as Don Lockerbie is in the drivers’ seat, he has done so much already in the short amount of time he has been involved in cricket in the USA. It can only mean good news for the future.

Do you think an IPL-like tournament would do well in the USA?

Ryan — I think it would make Americans want to watch cricket if world class famous cricketers come and play on the shores of the USA. And it could be one step forward into making cricket a professional sport in this country.

Thanks Ryan! And all the best!

Ryan — Thanks!

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