India vs Zimbabwe

1st Twenty20 Match

June 12, 2010

Both twenty20 internationals will be played at the venue where India didn’t able to win a single game on this tour and that is something they have to look for. Indian selectors decided to rest most of the senior players from this tour and that not only cost India the two shocking defeat against Zimbabwe but also send question marked over the next lined up cricketer who are suppose to be regular part of this squad in the coming years.

After offering so much with two early victories, Kolkata has petered out dismally; their last hit out against Bangalore Royal Challengers was a seven wicket thumping.

Posting what appeared to be a somewhat competitive total of 160, Bangalore chased down the runs in quick time, Rahul Dravid (52 off 35 balls) finally fired while Robin Uthappa (50 not out off 22 balls) continued a good run of form.

Kolkata’s spear head, Ishant Sharma continued to be ineffectual going for 46 off four wicketless overs while Ajantha Mendis (0/44 off four overs) was shown similar disregard.

For Kolkata to overcome Chennai they are going to need their top three of Ganguly, West Indies Chris Gayle and Kiwi Brendon McCullum to post a large individual score.

McCullum’s 45 in his last hit out could a signal of things to come and something Chennai’s combination of Ravichandran Ashwin, Doug Bollinger and Shadab Jakati will need to focus on as the Kiwi still remains as the IPL’s highest run scorer.

If Delhi is to prove overcome their underdog’s status they will need to ensure that Tendulkar’s impact is nullified early, something they were unable to do in their March 17 IPL clash when the little maestro again top scored with 63 off 32 deliveries.

Dirk Nannes and Farveez Maharoof both unable to dislodge him and bowling the wrong lines outside off stump to a batsmen who excels back of square leg and through the covers.

To be fair though the bowlers were lucky not to have experienced more pain at the hands of Tendulkar who can step across his stumps and whip the ball through the leg side with consummate brutality.

Delhi’s batsmen capitulated in their last outing against Kings XI Punjab with only two batsmen breaking the 20-runs barrier and only four hitting double figures to be all out for 111.

Like has been proven in most IPL matches this season, there is no such thing as a safe total but anything that is 170-plus should keep this game competitive however the likes of Amit Mishra and Maharoof will need to find the edges if they are to keep their IPL tournament alive.

By Peter Della Penna

Thunderbird
School of Global Management (T-birds) secured a win over USC on
Wednesday in the first match of the 2010 American College Cricket
Spring Break Championship on the artificial wickets outside the stadium
at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla. Auburn also
notched a victory in a rain-interrupted match over George Washington.

“Right now, I think people are pumped up,” said T-birds captain Sudeep
Misra after his team’s victory. “We’re gonna win every single match
we’re gonna play.”

USC won the toss and elected to bat first in overcast and wet
conditions getting off to a very strong start but the T-birds fought
back with wickets in the middle overs to restrict the Trojan batting
lineup. USC was still hopeful of posting around 140 but due to the
nature of the tournament rules, which do not follow ICC guidelines,
they were not able to make a final push as their innings was called
after 18 overs and they finished on 115 for 8.

“They had a fantastic start so we were thinking of wrapping them up
within 125 or something and we were partly successful,” said Misra. “We
got them for 115 runs. But at the same time, when they started they
were getting some boundaries because there was some sloppy fielding I
would say from outside and the ball was swinging a lot. It was
different than our conditions back in Arizona. It’s way too dry. It
doesn’t swing at all and right here it was overcast and the ball will
swing so it was difficult for the bowlers to control it.”

According to the tournament rules, each innings can not take longer
than 80 minutes, regardless of injury stoppages or stalling by the team
in the field. The umpires initially were going to let USC bat 20 overs
and then penalize T-birds for bowling at a slow over rate, but the
tournament organizers intervened to make sure that the official rules
for the tournament were being applied. As a result, USC’s plan to hit
out in the final few overs was negated and they finished on 115 for 8
in 18.

“The last momentum, the last push we usually give towards the end of
the innings, we couldn’t give that because our batsmen weren’t aware,”
said Tarun Sandhu, USC vice-captain. “They were playing thinking about
playing 20 overs and suddenly in the 17th over [the umpires] go in and
they’re like, ‘Okay guys, this is the last over.’”

Initially, it was decided by the umpires that Thunderbird would have 18
overs to score 116, but then this was changed to 116 off 17 overs after
a decision was made that T-birds should be penalized for bowling slow
in the field.

“They told us that these guys have batted for 18 overs so let’s make it
a fair game, you’ll also get to bat 18 overs,” said Misra. “Actually,
he told us 17 overs, bat for 17 overs, that was one over deduction for
us… that was a punishment for us.”

USC got off to a fantastic start in the field as Sandhu’s pace claimed
two wickets in the first over, including one on the first ball of the
innings, to put T-birds in a big hole. However, number four batsman
Nimish Jalan dug in at the crease and dug his team out of trouble with
a very solid 49 to top score for T-birds.

“I just wanted to stay in the crease and ensure that I see through the
first six overs and see the new ball and that was the plan,” said Jalan.
 
T-birds were 99 for 6 in 15 overs, needing 17 to win with two overs
remaining, when the match was called after 80 minutes of time had
elapsed for the second innings. According to the tournament rules, the
winner in this situation is decided on net run rate, not
Duckworth/Lewis Method.

More confusion resulted as USC should have won based on a run rate
calculation for chasing the runs in 17 overs (6.82 per over, 102 par)
while T-birds would win based on an 18 over calculation (6.44 per over,
97 par). Eventually, T-birds were declared the winner.

USC was left smarting after having both innings curtailed to their
detriment!  “We were just expecting standard rules,” said USC captain
Tarun Tyagi.

“This is the first time that we’ve had a game cut short,” said Sandhu.
“In the entire history that we’ve been playing, we’ve never faced this
kind of situation. We always play our 20 overs and that’s how we plan
it out. If you look at it, our main bowlers, they still had on over up
their sleeve because we were waiting to use them right at the death.
But saying that, I would still give all credit [to T-birds]. I think
they batted well. Whatever the conditions I think their batsmen, a
couple of those guys got stuck in and they played really well.”

After seeing how their first match turned out, USC sees an open door
for teams to manipulate the over rates to work in their favor and
believes other teams will follow suit.

“The teams who were watching the game today, they will certainly react
to the situation,” said Sandhu. “Basically, the way to interpret these
rules is that if your team is doing well, you slow the game down. You
slow it down because you already have the advantage and then the other
team gets under pressure because they have to perform at the same rate.”

In the second match of the day, Auburn blitzed the George Washington
bowlers and capitalized on some poor fielding to run up 141 for 1 in 15
overs before time was called on their innings. In reply, GWU was 35 for
3 in 7.1 overs when the umpires took the players off the field as the
showers at the ground became stronger and fielding became dangerous.
Under the tournament rules, the match becomes official if at least six
overs are completed so Auburn was declared the winner, way ahead on net
run rate. Auburn captain Naveen Thiagarajan opened the innings and
top-scored with 49 not out.

The other three games on Wednesday, College of Wooster vs. Minnesota,
University of West Indies vs. South Florida, and University of Miami
vs. Thunderbird, were washed out.

Eleven matches are scheduled for Thursday to be split between Central
Broward Regional Park’s artificial wicket fields and the artificial and
natural turf wickets at Brian Piccolo Park in nearby Cooper City. York
College and University of Pennsylvania are scheduled to play the
morning match on the natural turf wicket at Brian Piccolo Park while
USC will face University of Miami (Fla.) in the afternoon contest.

From the Daily Trojan:

You can see them every Friday night under the Cromwell Field lights anytime from 6 p.m. to 11:00. Upon first glance, you guess that they’re a group of baseball players barred from playing on Dedeaux Field.

However, a second glance yields a different impression. You notice the batter wields a large, flat paddle — strikingly similar to those used in the freshmen hazing rituals in Dazed and Confused.

New direction · The USC cricket team, which has been in existence for 10 years, suffered through numerous losing seasons before getting serious last season. The team is now one of the best in its region. – Photo courtesy of USC cricket team

Full article here

Members of the NYU-Poly cricket club (left to right): Dhwanil Shah, Sumanth Kalidindi, Adrian Gordon (captain), Jagminder Singh, Dhaval Dharaiya.

Instead of sand in their shoes, 12 Polytechnic Institute of NYU students hope to return from spring break with grass stains on their batting pads and batting gloves.

The students are members of NYU-Poly’s cricket club who will represent the school at the American College Cricket Championship March 17-21 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. And if you don’t know what batting pads and batting gloves are, they’re essential cricket equipment: batting pads protect players’ shins; batting gloves protect their fingers.

NYU-Poly’s cricket club was established informally two years ago, and became an official club this year. Bruce Niswander, director of NYU-Poly’s business incubators and director of the Office of Innovation, Technology Transfer, and Entrepreneurship, coaches the team, which includes Imad Akhtar, Dhaval Dharaiya, Adrian Gordon, Sumanth Kalidindi, Karan Khetan, Dinesh Kumar, Ali Ahmed Lali, Raj Parekh, Alok Prabhu, Dhwanil Shah, Hardik Shah, and Jagminder Singh.

Full article here.

An All-Star team comprising players drawn from various SCCA clubs will play in the Hollywood All-Star versus MCC Twenty20 match on Saturday, March 20, 2010.  The match begins at 9:30AM and will played at Woodley Field, Van Nuys, CA.

Several current SCCA and USA players will join local legends who have served SCCA for years. Two former test internationals – Gary Crocker (Zimbabwe) and Franklyn Rose (West Indies) – who play their cricket in the Southern California Cricket Association, are also part of the All-Star team. 

The team is coached by one of USA’s finest coaches - Reginald Benjamin and is managed by Mark Azeez who is a long time member of Hollywood CC and Hollywood Golden oldies.

The game will be played as a tribute to Christopher Carroll from Hollywood CC and Phil Lynch of Corinthian CC.  The two long serving SCCA members passed away in the last 2 weeks.

A Tribute to Christopher Carroll

Chris was born March 1, 1944 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England.  he was raised in a carefree era, before cell phones, email and fax machines, a 'luxury' Chris maintained for most of his life. 

His family traveled extensively throughout Europe during his childhood in the 1950s, thereby instilling in him a lifelong love of adventure and travel.

In 1965, when Europe was still recovering from WW II, Christopher left England for America.  Having completed his undergraduate degree from London University, he took an enormous leap of faith and arrived in New York aboard the Queen Mary, from where he boarded a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles with $100 in his pocket.  With pluck and perseverance, the 21 year old Englishman joined an investment firm.  Two years later, he put himself through USC, earning a master's degree in Finance and then moved into a coveted position with a major New York investment bank.  Later, he established Carroll Capital Management Corp., specializing in venture capital, money management and real estate investment.

An avid athlete and passionate cricket player, Christopher is a past president of the historic Hollywood Cricket Club. 

Christopher dedicated a formidable amount of his time to the local arts community and at the time of his death, he was an active member of the board of directors of Opera Santa Barbara and the State Street Ballet. He was also a former board member of the Montecito YMCA, past president and current member of the Rotary Club of Montecito, a council member at the Music Academy of the West, and a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. 

A Tribute to Phil Lynch

Phil arrived in California in 1997 when he joined the Corinthian Cricket Club.  His impact on the Southern California cricket scene was felt immediately as he started to contribute to the Southern California Cricket Association (SCCA) as Director, Grounds Committee member and other key roles.

Originally from England, Phil was an avid reader, a writer and a talented musician with the blues guitar and vocals.  Above all, he will be remembered for his love of cricket in its purest spirit. 

He played competitive and social cricket with the same attitude as a gentleman and promoted the spirit of cricket among all.

Pen Pix of the Hollywood All-Stars Squad

Aditya Thyagarajan (C) – Hollywood CC (India):  Current USA National player and SCCA captain. Former India U-19 and Karnataka Ranji player.

Nazim Shirazi (VC) – Pegasus CC (Bangladesh):   Former SCCA captain and Bangladesh National player.

Ritesh Kadu (WK) – Hollywood CC (India):  Future USA player and currently representing SCCA.

Franklyn Rose – Corinthian CC (West Indies): A former West Indies and Jamaica international.

Gary Crocker – Hollywood CC (Zimbabwe): A former Zimbabwe test and ODI player.

Ronnie Iranpur – Hollywood CC (India): Former SCCA and Hollywood player.

Rodney Cutting – Carribean CC (West Indies): Former SCCA player.

Richard Blackledge – Corinthian CC (England): SCCA player and former English first class player.

Paul Severn – Corinthian CC (USA): The only USA born player of the team.

Anup Desai – Hollywood CC (India): Long time SCCA and Hollywood club player.

David Pieters – Pasadena CC (South Africa): At 23 years of age, one of the most talented fast bowlers in the country. A future USA prospect.  Currently playing professional cricket in England.

Coach – Reginald Benjamin

Manager – Mark Azeez

Four years after start, cricket team makes nationals

by Elizabeth Traynor
Hatchet Reporter  

It's not uncommon for college kids to spend their spring break in Florida. But one group of GW students will be heading south next week for a different reason: the 2010 American College Cricket Championship.

It's a far cry from four years ago, when a trio of current seniors decided to start a cricket team at GW without ever having played the game. Ankit Sheth, Ali Sternberg and Curt Sonnet recruited potential teammates – and then asked them to teach them how to play.

"We just started off looking to do something different," said Sheth, "And I don't think I would have ever thought we'd be here after four years."

It took a while to get the cricket team off the ground. They started playing pickup games in University Yard as more of a fun pastime than a competitive team.

Once the team gained momentum, however, they reached out to GW students to boost their roster and then to the surrounding colleges to find anyone that would play them.

"It started off as an accident," Sternberg explained, "and then turned into something institutional."

As their number increased, so did their visibility, and the players found themselves with funding from the Student Association and match-ups against surrounding colleges, including American and Montgomery college.

Full article here.

Brillian article in the Washington Post by Annys Shin

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Last March, the Montgomery College men's team handily beat four other schools to win the first American College Cricket championship.

There was only one problem: The school had no idea it had a cricket team.

Despite the college slogan, "endless possibilities," national titles are hardly commonplace at Montgomery, which has more than 60,000 students on its campuses in Rockville, Germantown and Takoma Park. But officials didn't realize that their own school was a cricket powerhouse until some weeks after the tournament, when English professor David Lott read a newspaper article about the championship. He alerted the administration, which didn't exactly shower the team with support, leading Lott to agree to serve as the team's faculty adviser.

Click here for full article.