In This Issue - American Cricketer

Transcription

SUMMER ISSUE 2008
In This Issue:
Charlotte International Cricket
Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference
USACA Update
ICC Invests $300M
and much more...
Downtown Charlotte, NC – Photo Courtesy of Visit Charlotte.
Willie J. Brown, Center Director
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2 AMERICAN CRICKETER SUMMER ISSUE 2008
American Cricketer is published by
American Cricketer, Inc.
Copyright 2008
Publisher - Mo Ally
Editor - Deborah Ally
Assistant Editor - Hazel McQuitter
Graphic & Website Design - Le Mercer Stephenson
Legal Counsel - Lisa B. Hogan, Esq.
Accountant - Fargson Ray
Editorial:
Mo Ally, Deborah Ally, Rickie Ali
David Sentance, K.C.S. Rao, Clarence Modeste
Dreamcricket.com
Photo Credits:
1. Cover photo – Courtesy of Visit Charlotte
2. ICC Women photos - Courtesy of Christopher Lee
3. Training Camp photos – Courtesy of
Stanford2020.com
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Mailing Address:
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Telephone: (305) 816-9749
E-mails:
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Web address:
www.americancricketer.com
Volume 4 - Number 3
Subscription rates for the USA:
Annual: $25.00
Subscription rates for outside the USA:
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SUMMER ISSUE 2008 WWW.AMERICANCRICKETER.COM 3
In this issue
www.americancricketer.com
Features
5
COVER STORY
SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES
13 IN RECOGNITION
JEFF MILLER
18 PHOTO GALLERY
21 IN MEMORIAM
BOB MAHABIR
22 LEGEND
SUNIL GAVASKAR
24 CRICKET EVENTS
29 STICKEY WICKET
Cricket
9
UMPIRING
THE FIELDER
PROFESSIONAL CRICKET
10 USACA SECRETARY OUTLINES STATUS IN
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?”
14 ICC TO PUMP $300 MILLION US DOLLARS INTO THE
WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENT OF CRICKET BELOW
FULL MEMBERS
8
REGIONAL CRICKET
MID ATLANTIC CRICKET CONFERENCE
15 ATLANTA - FROM COACH’S DIARY
28 SCCA - WHITHER CRICKET IN THE UNITED STATES?
11 YOUTH CRICKET
A BIT OF GOOGLY IN TUSTIN
25 WOMEN’S CRICKET
ENGLAND WOMEN HEAD TO SHENLEY
27 PHYSICAL FITNESS
INTEGRATED CARDIO-RESPIRATORY TRAINING
INTERNATIONAL CRICKET
20 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TEAM PRESENTED WITH
EXQUISITE STANFORD 20/20 CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS
30 STANFORD SUPERSTARS COMMENCE
TRAINING CAMP
SOUTH ASIAN CORNER
31 CRICKET GETS ITS CHAMPIONS TWENTY20 LEAGUE
32 TWENTY20 IS CRICKET
33 COACHING
PLAYING LEG SPIN
Letter From The Publisher
American Cricketer would like to
thank our advertisers, subscribers and readers
for the three years
of success of our
lifestyle magazine publication.
In our fourth year, we hope to bring
more league cricket from around the
country. We would also like to encourage league competition with grand final matches played at different venues
around the U.S.
Imagine the top teams in the respective
leagues competing in Broward Regional Park to determine the best team in
the U.S.
With the blessing of USACA, and some
funding, this can be made possible as
an annual event, which will stimulate
the growth of cricket in USA.
I would like to encourage the various
leagues to send us a response of such
and event. Furthermore, it can be developed where the winning team can win
$25,000 and the funds for the runner-up
can also be substantial.
In this issue we are featuring the Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference, who’s President Mr. Bilal Aslam is the proud winner
and host of the Southeast Regional Tournament. Congratulations to Mr. Aslam!
Recently, American Cricketer was invited to an event at the Myers Park Country Club held by the British American
Business Council. There members of the
Charlotte International Cricket Club had
a discussion of revamping their prestigious annual tournament.
However, at a hefty cost of $80,000 Mr.
Stephen Rose and his teammates are
seeking help from the community to
make it possible to rebuild their cricket
ground. The Charlotte International
Cricket Club is also member of the Mid
Atlantic Cricket Conference. We would
like to wish much success to the growth
and development of cricket in this region.
Mo Ally - Publisher
[email protected]
Letter From The Editor
Putting this issue had a special
meaning for me
while we toured
my home state of
North Carolina as
well as the states
of South Carolina, Virginia and
Georgia in the
name of cricket. It was amazing to me
that in my 20 year absence cricket is
being played as much as it is in all of
these areas.
We feature several articles and photos on the Charlotte area and thanks
to VisitCharlotte.com we secured the
beautiful shot of downtown Charlotte
and a few facts in case you’re not familiar with the area.
According to VisitCharlotte.com the
Charlotte region is composed of 16
counties, including two counties in
South Carolina, with the city of Charlotte serving as the hub. Located in the
heart of the Southeast, Charlotte lies
within the southern Piedmont of North
Carolina along the state’s border with
South Carolina. Charlotte is the largest
and most accessible city between Washington, D.C. and Dallas, TX. Owing to
its mid-Atlantic location, getting to Charlotte is easy from anywhere in the country or world, garnering its nickname the
“International Gateway to the South”.
More than 55 percent of the country’s
population lives within a two hour flight
of Charlotte, North Carolina and 6 million people live within a 100-mile radius.
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport,
the national hub of US Airways, carries
on average more than 500 flights a day
and has more flights per capita than any
other airport in the nation.
Close to home cricket is being played at
the Gastonia Lakhany Cricket Grounds
and Reedy Creek Park in Charlotte.
Thanks to the Mid Atlantic Cricket
Conference and the Memorial Weekend
Cricket Festival in Charlotte cricketers
and cricket fans are getting a taste of
cricket southern style.
Deborah Ally - Editor
[email protected]
Scope
Cover Story
See the wood for the trees in North Carolina Cricket
David Sentance
Park, North Carolina State University and
Climax.
David Sentance
It was a cool 70 degrees with a little of
the humidity characteristic of the region
when my trusty Victoria Cricket Club
(California) tour mate Martin Vann turned
into Reedy Park in Mecklenburg County
15 miles outside Charlotte where he
invited me to watch a match between the
International Cricket Club (IOCC) and
Morrisville Cricket Club (MOCC).
Morrisville, home to the research triangle
area in North Carolina, has attracted
enough electrical engineers from South
Indian to form the nucleus of three teams
since 1997. The International Cricket
Club (IOCC) roots are in Charlotte
where South African players helped
organize the Charlotte Cricket Festival
from 1989-1997 before joining the Mid
Atlantic Cricket Conference (MACC)
league established in 1997. The MACC
has grown in organizational capacity
since Bruce Wilmott became its founding
President.
The cricket region of the Mid Atlantic
Cricket Conference extends to Tidewater,
Virginia in the north where teams from
Virginia Tech play. There is a South
Charlotte Cricket Association (SCCA)
team, and a Mecklenburg Cricket Club
(MCC). The league uses six different
pitches around the Charlotte area
including two private grounds, Hobsons
and Gastonia. There are additional North
Carolina grounds in Durham, Winston
Salem, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Tanglewood
In South Carolina’s capital there are
two teams at Columbia which play on a
flex wicket. Robert Strauss, a chemical
engineer from England attracted to the
area by the rayon textile industry in
1960, recalled making five hundred mile
trips to play cricket in Williamsburg
when playing for the local MCC against
William and Mary College and the British
Commonwealth Cricket Club which
with its close affiliations to the British
Embassy located in Washington DC,
helped organize the Yorkshire County
Cricket Club tour of the United States in
1963 captained by Brian Close.
The historic connection of cricket in
Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia
remains palpable despite the evolution
of baseball in the cockpit area of the
American Civil War. Though Richmond
might best be remembered as the
beleaguered burning capital of the
Confederacy in David Selznick’s Gone
With the Wind, Tom Melville recorded
wicket an early variant of cricket being
played in Richmond before the American
Revolution. Similarly, William the Byrd
II wrote of cricket in his dairy on his
Black Swan Tidewater Virginia estate
in 1709 several years after returning
from England where he was educated at
Felstead School in Essex (English captain
Mike Gatting’s school) and after being
admitted to practice law at the Middle
Temple.
As I helped Martin carry his gear along a
wood chip path, past a large baseball field
with raucous mixed gender fans in equal
parts, into a clearing surrounded on all
sides by deciduous trees in the full flurry
of their spring green. The wind rustled the
broad deciduous leaves while the few pine
trees stood like sentinels at the bowlers
end. Bowlers bowled from just one end
on this converted soccer field made from
a clearing in the woods.
Onto the clearing marched the MOCC
comprising all South Indian members
who looked distinctly different but about
the same age. Drive shots dominated the
long outfield grass though there was the
occasional tickle to leg. In what seemed
a flash amid all the generous hospitality,
the HOCC are all out for 155 in 33 overs.
Runs were spread equally amongst the 11
with no ducks for the newest team in the
Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference.
After a short break the IOCC went into
bat. Host teams are not required to serve
lunch in the MACC which keeps its team
dues to $350 a team. This frugal approach
to the game has helped it spread in the
Carolinas three centuries after Lieutenant
Feltman of the Continental Army recorded
playing cricket not far from the Hornet’s
Nest where Swamp Fox Marion using
tactics learned from the Creek Indians
to defeat the King’s Loyalist Regiment,
a turning point in the American War of
Independence. Cricket was then played
underhand with a cudgel shaped bat. The
straight bat came in a century later in the
W.G. Grace when ‘gentlemen’ played for
free (amateurs) but their bar bills (paid
for by the club) exceeded professional
cricketers pay.
The IOCC comprised of remnants of the
Schweppes sponsored Charlotte Cricket
Festival side when cricket provided a
platform for overseas celebrities such
as ex-Marylebone CC President Sir Tim
Rice and Jeff D’Aobo made famous by
the Manfred Mann pop-group rendition
of the Mighty Quinn. In those days the
continued on page 6
continued from page 5
The newly designed IOCC badge reflects
the diversity of 11 nations on its decal.
Players such as Canadian Al ‘Chainsaw’
Harding who earned his moniker by
cutting down the raspberry bushes which
overtook the nets set up ten years ago for
the Charlotte Festival, has shown the team
spirit required if the future of cricket is to
expand off its strong competitive base of
33 local teams founded since 1997.
Carol and Martin Vann
cricket committee included the local
Honorary British Consul Michael Teden
and Zimbabwe born Craig Joss who
helped revive the Philadelphia Cricket
Festival. At the Festival, Sir Tim Rice’s
Heartaches test level players took on
the revived Gentlemen of Philadelphia
team, the New York Mad Dogs and the
Charlotte Cricket Club during the heyday
of the event.
Providence Tennis Club where the festival
was located edged out the cricketers once
their gentlemanly airs were questioned.
Stephen Rose, current President of the
IOCC club and the British American
Business Council in Charlotte has
successfully used his formidable Big
Six accounting connections to forge a
new partnership with Providence. In the
near future the Charlotte Cricket Festival
should be back in action. Elegant skill on
the field and conversation at a decent level
will be essential ingredients if cricket is
to retain the longevity it once had at the
club.
The essential ingredients were on display
in the IOCC v MOCC match, when
South African Warren, a former Charlotte
Cricket Festival player, showing a timely
return to form with a well crafted, hard
hit 54 top score of the match, anchored
an IOCC win with the help of Golab who
played a unbeaten courageous inning
with 24 invaluable runs score on a broken
foot which required a runner. The IOCC
victory over the MOCC was close and not
without controversy. Warren was caught
but given “not out” on a “no ball” as the
two league umpires showed fine backbone in upholding cricket’s bent arm
delivery rule. The IOCC squeaked a one
wicket win against a resolute opponent
initiating a winning streak of two victories
more than last year.
As the rust came off the players the more
congenial side of the IOCC team became
manifest as we headed for beers at the
local tavern followed by curry with the
local British society. Curry is familiar
fare to cricketers these days. I was also
impressed by local barbeque dishes such
as shredded pulled pork. Familiarity
with traditional Carolinas food will be
important if cricket is to break out of the
expatriate trap in Charlotte and attract
locals to the game.
Not since cricketer William Byrd II
surveyed the boundary between Virginia
and North Carolina in 1726 has cricket
looked so likely to call Carolina home.
Billionaire entrepreneur Sanford has
chosen Charlotte as the American HQ
for his 20/20 operation in a city keen to
attract more tourists. Charlotte’s problem
is that when tourists visit they relocate,
attracted by strong economic growth in a
city that has more Fortune 500 companies
headquartered than Los Angeles.
Tourist traffic needs additional attractions
beyond the Ravens, NASCAR and the US
Olympic Kayak Center. Cricket draws
international celebrities for longer than
the three day annual Golf-PGA event. I
left the wooded clearing secure that the
MACC has seen the wood for the trees
with the stated goals on its website and
optimistic that local Cricket leadership
has the courage and capacity to make the
game relevant in Charlotte for Americans
as well as expatriates.
Martin Vann standing tall with his International Club team mates.
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Bilal Aslam
It was an historical moment for the Mid
Atlantic Cricket Conference (MACC)
to host the South East Regional Tournament. It was even more exciting for us
to be the champions of this momentous
event.
Conference and Ken Singh Regional
Chairman for USACA were also present at the award ceremony.
The Tournament provided a prime
opportunity to promote and develop
cricket in our area. Several spectators
Special thanks go to Sister Mortgage attended the events and curious people
for being the official sponsor of MACC. stopped by to inquire about the tournaFor their personal contributions in ment. Several media outlets covered
helping MACC make this event suc- the events and ran news stories about
cessful we want to thank: Mr. Nabeel MACC and the visiting teams. We
Ahmad, 1st Vice President of USACA; look forward to capitalizing on events
Mr. Nasir Javed, Regional represen- like these to help U-19 and U-15 playtative for USACA and Mr. Hitesh of ers groom their talent.
Shah J. Corp. In addition, we thank Mr.
Gladstone Dainty, President of USACA Highlights of the Tournament
for pledging USACA’s support for the MACC won its first game convincingly beating Florida by 210 runs. Wasif
Tournament.
Nasir Javed presided over the events of
Honors in Tanglewood Cricket Park,
Clemmons, NC after the Grand Finale
on Sunday, May 25, 2008. Mr. Bilal Aslam, President of Mid Atlantic
Cricket Conference, Mr. Deepesh Tiwari Secretary for Mid Atlantic Cricket
Khawaja scored 103 run which earned
him the “Man of the Match” award.
The game was played at Hobson Cricket Field in Climax, NC.
At the next match held at Hobson
Cricket Field, MACC beat Atlanta,
Georgia by 120 runs. Qaiser Mehmood
of MACC launched a barrage of sixes
scoring 65 runs in no time and was declared “Man of the Match”.
Then at Tanglewood Cricket Ground
MACC triumphed over Combine X1
by 81 runs with Aravind scoring 97 and
Ketan scoring 103. Ketan was declared
“Man of the Match”.
Winners
Runners-Up
Atlanta Georgia Cricket Conference
Best Batsman
Haroon Warriach - Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference
Best Bowler
Harsh Patel - Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference
Most Valuable Player
Qaiser Mehmood - Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference
For more information please visit our website www.macc-cricket.org
THE FIELDER
Clarence Modeste
Other than the wicket-keeper, no member of
the fielding side is permitted to wear gloves
or external protective leg guards. Protection
for the hand or fingers may be worn only with
the consent of the umpires.
the wicket-keeper.
B. Fielding the ball by using a cap, hat or
helmet.
C. The fielder uses clothing he is wearing
to field the ball. The fielder is allowed
to clutch the ball to his person in taking
a catch but is not allowed to pull out the
bottom of his sweater to form a pouch in
catching it.
D. If the ball hits a cap, hat or helmet thrown
to the ground by a fielder accidentally,
5 penalty runs will be awarded to the
batting side.
E. If the ball hits any discarded item left
on the field of play by the fielding side 5
penalty runs will be awarded.
Any member of the fielding team may wear
a helmet but no other external protective
equipment is permitted. A helmet worn by
a fielder is considered part of his person.
However, a striker cannot be out/Caught
if the ball in play is caught after hitting the
helmet. Other protective equipment may be
worn inside a player’s normal clothing and is
thus covered and invisible.
In all cases of illegal fielding 5 penalty runs
are awarded to the batting side. Whenever
such fielding is deliberate a report is filed as
mentioned. If the illegal fielding is accidental
a report is not made. It is strongly advised
that all items of equipment or clothing, if not
held by the umpire, be removed completely
beyond the boundary line.
If a fielder wishes to have some part of his
hand or finger taped for protection, he may do
so but, only with the consent of the umpires.
Such protection does not extend to gloves of
any type. The opposing captain has no right
of objection.
Fielding The Ball
A fielder may field the ball with any part of
his person but, while the ball is in play he
willfully fields it otherwise:
A. The ball shall become dead and 5 penalty
runs shall be awarded to the batting side.
And the ball shall not count as one of the
Over.
B. The umpire shall inform the other
umpire, the captain of the fielding side,
the batsmen and, as soon as practicable,
the captain of the batting side of whart
has occurred.
C. The umpires together shall report the
occurrence as soon as possible to the
Executive of the fielding side and any
Governing Body responsible for the
match. If the act is deliberate, the report
is made; if accidental, the report is not
made.
The only piece of equipment that is allowed
on the field is a fielder’s helmet and this,
when not worn, must be placed behind the
wicket-keeper in line with the two wickets.
More than one fielder’s helmet may be placed
in line here but not a helmet belonging to a
batsman. In spite of this being the only place
on the ground the helmet is allowed should
the ball in play come in contact with it, 5
penalty runs will apply.
What is Not Allowed
A. A fielder using the discarded glove(s) of
In each case where the ball comes in contact
with a helmet, other equipment or clothing
the ball becomes automatically dead and 5
penalty runs are awarded to the batting side.
The only exception is where the batsman
made no attempt to play the ball with his
bat nor tried to avoid being hit by the ball.
Since runs are not allowed to batsmen in such
cases neither will penalty runs apply.
Limitation of Fielders on the “On Side”
At the instant of the bowler’s delivery there
shall not be more than two fielders, other than
the wicket-keeper, behind the popping crease
on the “On (leg) Side”. A fielder will be
considered to be behind the popping crease
unless his whole person, grounded or in the
air, is in front of this line. An infraction on
this limitation will result in either umpire
calling and or signaling “No ball”.
Fielders Encroaching on “The Pitch”
While the ball is in play and until the ball
has made contact with the bat or person of
the striker, or has passed the striker’s bat, no
fielder, other than the bowler, may have any
part of his person grounded on or extended
over the pitch. Infringement of this Law by
any fielder other than the wicket-keeper will
result in the umpire at the bowler’s end calling
and signaling “No ball” as soon as possible
after the delivery of the ball.
The width of the pitch is defined as 10 feet and
no fielder, other than the bowler, is allowed
to have any part of his person grounded or
extended over the pitch until the ball has:
A. hit the striker’s bat, or
B. hit the striker’s person, or
C. passed the striker’s bat
And what of the fielder’s shadow? The
shadow is not part of the fielder’s person.
However, the fielder must make sure that
his shadow does not move during the period
between when the bowler starts his run-up
and the striker’s attempt to play the ball. The
umpire will make sure that the shadow does
not distract the striker.
Movement by Fielders
Any significant movement by any fielder
after the ball comes into play and before the
ball reaches the striker is unfair. In the event
of such unfair movement, either umpire shall
call and signal “Dead ball”.
Definition of Significant Movement
A. For close fielders anything other than
minor adjustments to stance or position
in relation to the striker is significant.
B. In the outfield, fielders are permitted to
move in towards the striker or striker’s
wicket. Anything other than slight
movement off line or away from the
striker is to be considered significant.
C. The striker is entitled to know where
all fielders, including the wicket-keeper
are, when the ball comes into play. It
is unfair for the wicket-keeper to make
any significant movement towards the
wicket after the ball comes into play. If
he does so the umpire will call and signal
“Dead ball”.
Reference: Tom Smith’s Cricket Umpiring and Scoring
USACA Secretary outlines status in “What’s happening?”
Courtesy of Venu Palaparthi of DreamCricket.com
DreamCricket.com - USA’s leading destination for cricket content & equiptment
In a step in the right direction, the USACA
Secretary issued a “what’s happening”
memo, which he hoped would promote
greater communication between the national cricket body and its constituents.
“I have opted to use this method of keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening at
the administrative levels in your national
organization. As part of the volunteerism
of USACA, it is important that members be
kept up-to-date on what the organization is
doing, planning on doing, and if any, what
obstacles are standing in its way,” John Aaron wrote in the memo, a copy of which was
obtained by DreamCricket.com from one of
the recipients.
He asked the recipients to share the what’s
happening memo with all interested members through the normal communication
channels used in their regions. Mr. Aaron
said he was not entrusted with the management of the USACA website.
Operational Matters
The memo confirmed that the Second Vice
President Manaf Mohamed was named the
Director of Cricket Operations by the USACA Board, when it met on April 26, 2008.
A CEO Recruiting Committee was appointed by the board, with Gladstone Dainty as
Chairman and September 1, 2008 was established as the deadline for the appointment
of USACA’s CEO. Similarly, the board also
created an Operations Committee with a
view to examine proposals and other financial approaches to USACA. President Gladstone Dainty will preside over this committee as well. The two committees have not
yet met, the memo informed.
As was reported on this website last week,
John Thickett, the Treasurer, has posted all
prior year USACA tax filings to the USACA
website and has provided all board members with a monthly financial report (April,
May and June 2008).
However, the organization’s Treasurer has
not yet been able to gain control over the or10 AMERICAN CRICKETER SUMMER ISSUE 2008
ganization’s bank account. This, the memo
stated, has restricted the Treasurer’s ability
to carry out certain functions as required by
the USACA constitution.
With respect to the minutes of the April 26
board meeting, the memo said that the minutes were prepared and approved by a majority of Directors and will be posted when
the President authorizes the webmaster to
do so. A second meeting of the USACA
board scheduled for July 12th, 2008 in New
York, was cancelled on the evening prior to
the meeting, with the President citing a lack
of quorum. The memo also informed that
the next meeting is planned for Saturday,
August 9, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
The ICC Conference
President Gladstone Dainty and John Aaron,
USACA Secretary, attended the ICC Annual
Conference in Dubai earlier this month, as
the representatives of USACA. USACA’s
presence at the conference helped to “establish a level of confidence with those ICC
officials with whom we had discussions, as
well as our peers from other member countries,” Mr. Aaron wrote in the memo.
“It is my opinion that our organization came
away from the conference with the firm understanding that the ICC, primarily through
its Americas Regional Development Office in Canada and the West Indies Cricket
Board, would lend USACA whatever assistance is needed to further develop, promote and encourage the sport in the USA.
The WICB’s President Dr. Julian Hunte has
pledged his commitment to helping USACA raise the standard of its national team
through bi-lateral tournaments, coaching
and organizational support for event planning and execution. The ICC’s Global Development Manager Mr. Matthew Kennedy
said that the resources of the Regional Development Office were at USACA’s ready
disposal.”
Grants and Fundraising
On the subject of further grants from ICC,
the memo noted that “USACA has the opportunity of acquiring larger sums of mon-
ey from the ICC, starting in 2008, through
that organization’s revamped development
funding plan. However, that plan is based
on a number of criteria, including the implementation of an ICC audited adherence to a
budget, membership head-counts, development programs put in place, appointment
of a CEO, and other performance criteria.
Much work is needed to prepare USACA
for the new funding environment.”
The memo also confirmed that USACA had
received the 2008 ICC Associate grant of
US$90,000 in addition to US$20,000 development funding. “Most of that money
was spent preparing and allowing our team
to participate in the WCL Division 5 tournament in Jersey.”
U-15 and U-19
Referring to the selection of a team to participate in the ICC’s Americas Under-15
Cup in Bermuda next month, the memo
said that the “current method of selecting
our national teams, including the appointment of selectors and team management,
is seriously flawed and requires immediate
action by the Board of Directors to establish
a process and procedural protocols for the
future.” The secretary informed that the Under-19 National tournament was postponed
due to the unavailability of suitable grounds
in Florida. Alternate venues in other USACA regions are now being considered.
Membership Issues
With respect to the leagues seeking membership of USACA, Mr. Aaron noted in the
what’s happening memo that “the Massachusetts Cricket League has not yet been
readmitted as a member of USACA. Their
omission depleted the certification of the
Northeast Region as a bona-fide region,
because there were less than the requisite
three leagues within the region. In addition, several leagues are being investigated
or denied membership in their regions. At
least one league has appealed directly to the
USACA board.” These issues are expected
to be dealt with at the next meeting of the
board.
YOUTH CRICKET
A Bit of Googly in Tustin
Nadia Afghani
Abid Hussain came to this country some
40 odd years ago and instantly realized that
life in the States wasn’t so different than life
back home in Pakistan. He settled in, started
a family, and did what any man with his physique would do-- join a sports team!
But Hussain did not join a basketball team,
a soccer team, or an “as-American-as-applepie” baseball team. Nope, Hussain came to
America and discovered his love for cricket,
a sport which dates back to the 11th century.
“When I first came to the U.S., I got involved
in cricket. It was the only game I knew at the
time,” says Hussain. “Even though I was new
to this country, I felt the connection with the
people I played with. They were my teammates; they backed me up. I could hardly
wait to get out and play with them again.”
When Hussain came to this country, in 1958
to be exact, California could hardly boast
of many cricket teams; there were merely a
handful at the time that Hussain played on as
a wicket-keeper. But his skills quickly developed and landed him a spot from his Southern California team onto the U.S. National
team. He played against opponents from all
over the globe: England, Canada, and New
Zealand. Along with his teammates, Hussain traveled for more than 10 years, playing
in various tournaments and matches.
It’s interesting to see the progression the
sport has taken right here in our very own
state. There are nearly 50 teams now in California --with two or three new teams added
every year-- in four different leagues.
Hussain has retired his padded wickerkeeper gloves and picked up another piece
of sporting equipment, an umpire’s whistle.
As a certified coach, he began training with
cricket players in Burbank. Word of Hussain’s cricket expertise spread throughout
his neighborhood and, for some reason, the
children of Tustin found themselves yearning to learn this almost outdated sport.
“Some kids approached me and wanted me
to coach them,” says Hussain. “I brought this
up to [Tustin] City Hall and they did anything possible to get this class going, even
though most of them didn’t know what it
was. They supported me 100 percent.”
Unlike most legislative actions which tend
to take weeks of consideration and often
months of precautionary preparations, Hussain and his newfound friends from the city
of Tustin put this idea into motion within a
couple of hours. Just like that, the city of
Tustin now officially has an “Introduction
to Cricket” class on its roster, an influx of
players already signed up and its very own
cricket team.
Think you’ve got what it takes to be a wicket
keeper, a bowler, a batsman, or an all-rounder? You can sign up for this class by logging
onto www.tustinca.org. The eight week
classes start October 5, 2008 for ages 8-14.
Metro Sports Officials
We schedule officials for youth and school sports!
NC Certified Officials for
BASEBALL, SOFTBALL, BASKETBALL,
VOLLEYBALL, FOOTBALL AND SOCCER!
Tres Page
Owner
TEL: 704-678-7071 * EMAIL: [email protected]
In Recognition
Jefferson Courtney Miller - Justly Deserves Recognition
Ricardo Inniss
during the ICC Trophy, he had the distinction of taking a hat-trick against Canada.
Ricardo Inniss
The news that Florida’s Jefferson Courtney
Miller will be inducted to Hartford’s Cricket Hall of Fame has been most gratifying to
all and sundry in the cricketing fraternity
of Florida and New York. A ceremony will
be held on Saturday, September 20, 2008
at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Hartford, Connecticut.
Miller will be joined by the former prolific West Indies opening pair of Gordon
Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, Mascelles Bailey of the New York Metropolitan League, Rev. Canon Austin of the St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church of Connecticut and Mohamed Baksh, a member of the
West Indies Cricket Umpires’ Training and
Examination Committee.
The 49 year-old Jefferson Courtney Miller was born in Sargeant’s Village, Christ
Church, Barbados. Jeff, as friends familiarly know him, became interested in
cricket at an early age while attending St.
David’s Primary School. Later continuing
his studies at Parkinson Secondary School,
he represented the school in the Under-15
tournament.
Jeff migrated to New York in 1977, and
completed his high school education at
the George Wingate High School in 1978.
He went on to attend the State University of New York at Stonybrook, where he
graduated with a BA in Political Science
in 1983.
From 1978 to 1986, Jeff represented the
United States of America as a fast bowler and toured England, Antigua, Canada,
Bahamas and Barbados. In the summer of
1986, representing the USA in England
While living in New York, Jeff represented
Casablanca in the American Cricket league,
Long Island Cricket League, and Hillside
in the Eastern American Cricket League.
In the summer of 1986, he represented the
American All Stars against a Kerry Packer
World X1 at Shea Stadium.
From 1985 to 1986, Jeff was chairman
of the now defunct Northeastern Cricket
Association (NCA) and was an Eastern
Zone representative to the United States of
America Cricket Association (USACA).
In May of 1986 he moved to South Florida
and was elected as a committee member
to the Executive Committee of the South
Florida Cricket Association (SFCA) in
1990. In 1992, he was elected as Treasurer
and voted as President in 1996. In 2006
he was re-elected as President for a fourth
term, and is currently still sitting in the
President’s chair.
A fighter, Jeff has spearheaded movements
to regroup, and is always in the forefront of
change, planning, directing, doing and perfecting, to reshape, or reorganize things in
an effort to make them work. This characteristic has acutely impacted on his peers.
His influence and presence is always welcome by most cricketing organizations in
the USA. Jeff possesses a dogged tenacity, an unwillingness to surrender, even in
the face of insurmountable adversity. He is
a‘fighter’ who refuses to give in.
A Man For All Seasons
It is extremely difficult to write about a
man who is admired the way Jeff is; there
are just too many noteworthy and creditable things to write about this outstanding man. So that in summation, this writer, who sat with Jeff on the board of the
Northeastern Cricket Association (NCA),
way back in 1985, would just like to say
that for his meritorious contributions to
cricket in the USA, Jefferson Courtney
Miller deserves the recognition of a place
in Hartford’s Cricket Hall of Fame come
Saturday, September 20, 2008. On the
cricket field he was a fierce competitor and
in the boardroom he is the quintessential
of cricket administrators made of the right
stuff, “A Man For All Seasons”.
Upon moving to South Florida, Jeff took
up a career in the mortgage and real estate
industry. His professional career as a mortgage broker has spanned many years and
he is currently Chairman and CEO of Jefferson Financial Group, Inc. Jefferson also
currently sits as President of Lauderhill International Cricket Club.
Between 2000 and 2001, Jeff was appointed a member of the USA National Selection
Committee, and was later (in 2005) appointed Chairman. In 2003, he was nominated to the Broward/Lauderhill Cricket
World Cup Local Organizing Committee,
and is currently a member of the City of
Lauderhill Organizing Committee for the
Mayor’s Night-Cricket Tournament. Jeff
was also recently appointed as the executive Director of the newly formed Broward/Lauderhill Cricket Inc.
Jeff was recently selected by the Executive
of the National Association of Barbados
Organizations (NABO) to receive a special
recognition award. The award will be
presented at NABO’s collaborative conference in Barbados at the Hilton Hotel on
Saturday, August 9, 2008. Jeff currently
resides in Coral Springs, South Florida.
Sincere congratulations Jeff.
Jefferson Courtney Miller
ICC to pump $300 million US dollars into the worldwide development of cricket below
Full Members
ICC, Brian Murgatroyd
ever investment in the game from top
to bottom over the next seven years.
From 2009, the ICC will pump almost
$300 million into our 94 Associate and
Affiliate Members that make up the
developing cricket world”.
Haroon Lorgat
New Chief Executive Officer Haroon
Lorgat hails move as “biggest
investment in global development by
any sport outside football”
“We want to see results that challenge
world cricket’s existing order. And
we want to develop better players and
better structures on and off the field,
giving everyone the chance to be the
best they can be.”
In his first week as ICC Chief Executive
Officer, Haroon Lorgat has announced
the most significant funding package
for the development of cricket in the
history of the game.
Mr Lorgat said the ICC would be
pumping almost $300 million into the
development of cricket outside the 10
Full Members in a massive investment
to further strengthen the game around
the globe.
“Thanks to agreements with our
commercial partners, foremost among
them the one we signed in December
2006 with ESPN STAR Sports, the
game is financially secure,” said Mr
Lorgat.
“The promise that this brings means we
can confirm we are making the biggest14 AMERICAN CRICKETER SUMMER ISSUE 2008
“That’s at least $40 million per annum,
compared to $18 million in 2008, a
120 per cent increase. We believe this
is the biggest investment in global
development by any sport outside
football,” he added.
“It forms a key part of our current
strategic plan, to consolidate and
to strengthen the game where it is
currently played”.
“We want to see results that challenge
world cricket’s existing order. And
we want to develop better players and
better structures on and off the field,
giving everyone the chance to be the
best they can be”.
“All Full Members will also benefit
from substantial increases in funding
from the ICC over the coming years
and this is in keeping with one of my
aspirations for the game while I am
the ICC’s Chief Executive Officer –
strengthening the game horizontally
across the world, throughout our Full,
Associate and Affiliate Members”.
“This fresh cash injection highlights we
are a not-for-profit organisation. All the
revenue we generate from our events,
broadcast and commercial agreements
is ploughed back into the game”.
“It is also an indication of how
strong this great game is at present.
Participation is at an all-time high in
all our members at all levels. Thanks
to the ICC World Cricket League, all
Associate and Affiliate Members now
have a clear pathway through to one of
the crown jewels of the game, the ICC
Cricket World Cup”. “A month ago, Afghanistan and Jersey
finished as the top two sides in the WCL
Division 5 event and have progressed
to the Division 4 event in Tanzania, to
be held in November. From there, for
the top sides, it’s on to Argentina in
January for Division 3”.
“The top two sides from there go
forward to the ICC World Cup Qualifier
in the UAE next March and April and
the top four sides from there will go
forward to the ICC Cricket World Cup
in Asia in 2011”.
“It is quite a prize and I am thrilled to
be coming into the ICC at this very
exciting time for the world game,” said
Mr Lorgat”.
Mr Lorgat took over as ICC CEO on
Friday 4 July. He succeeds Malcolm
Speed in the top job.
The ICC now has 104 Members,
including 34
Associates and 60
Affiliates as well as the 10 Full
Members. Turkey, Estonia and Bulgaria
are the latest to join the ICC family
having been granted Affiliate Member
status at ICC Annual Conference in
Dubai last week. It was an important
week, too, for cricket in Guernsey as
the former Affiliate was upgraded to an
Associate Member after it fulfilled the
qualification criteria.
ATLANTA - From Coach’s Diary
Monty Desai
The word “CRICKET” as a sport in
USA is now getting more and more
recognized and as we all know the USA
boasts of offering the highest number
of Cricket leagues.
I would like to mention that one of the
competitive leagues in the South East
region is the ATLANTA GEORGIA
CRICKET CONFERENCE (www.
atlantacricket.org). This years’ Premier
league has reached its play off stage
with eight very strong teams hoping to
win the championship.
When I first moved to this country in
April 2006, I was more than surprised
to see the amount of cricket that is
played here, not only that this league
plays almost all year round with around
22 cricket clubs participating, but more
importantly there’s enough talent which
can be groomed to compete among the
best in the world.
My association with this league and the
South East region has been as a coach
for the “Under 19” and the senior team
and I am proud to say that we have
progressed amazingly in the last three
years.
There are at least 5 to 6 representatives
on the South East team from Atlanta
and they have been contributing
considerably in the last two years in
the number of wins that the South East
team had at the national level. One
of the major highlights was winning
the national championship last year
in Florida against the Central West
region.
Some of the most promising cricketers
from Atlanta are DHRONAL SHAH,
JAPEN PATEL who represented
the Under 19 last year and
ANAND TUMMALA, HAMMAD
CHOUDHARY, JIMIT AMIN, and
JIBRAN GUL. Our league has also
been fortunate to have the presence of
the USA’s present coach CLAYTON
LAMBERT. I really feel players like
Dhronal Shah and Japen Patel who
have both scored more than 500 runs
and taken more than 25 wickets and
have also performed for the South East
team deserve a chance to be looked at
for national trials.
For me I have been fortunate to be
working with such a talented bunch
of cricketers, with players like Japen
and Jibran who even traveled with me
to India to get some more intensive
training at the World Cricket Academy
in Mumbai.
The progress has not only been with
the seniors but with the youth. When
we saw that it had not yet reached
the root level for a lot of aspiring
youngsters who are willing to play this
game but with very little knowledge
and opportunity for them, we started
conducting Summer Cricket Camps.
From the summer camps we have now
formed the Atlanta Georgia Cricket
Academy which has a dream project of
creating a team of “Atlanta Rising Stars”
initiated by the local Asian community
and the WCA (World Cricket Academywww.worldcricketacademy.com).
These camps include a few aspiring
girls and many talented young boys
with a couple of American kids. The
facilities provided were excellent and
the grounds had a lush green out field
which was a plus to avoid any injuries
to these young cricketers.
There was huge support by all the
parents who were present on the ground
everyday to encourage their kids from
the sidelines. Some of them also
volunteered when it was required to
help the coaching staff with improving
the kids’ skills to play this fascinating
game in a better way.
One could see the enthusiasm and
challenges that every young one was
feeling and how they were enjoying
every moment of it.
It was a huge success and the
appreciation and response we received
for providing excellent coaching was
overwhelming. We have a great vision
in Atlanta to make this game more and
more popular and we are hoping to get
all kind of support which is so crucial
for such activities.
Personally, to be honest, there’s nothing
to loose and everything to gain to keep
on climbing the ladder of success for
the community for this wonderful
game and more than anyone else for
these young ones with so many dreams
in their eyes.
&
PL A N TAT ION HOT EL
CON F E RENC E C ENT ER
1711 N . U niversity D riv e . Plant a t ion, FL 33 32 2
Tel: 954.556.8200 Fax: 954.556.8299
RE SE RVAT I ON S 1 . 9 5 4 . 5 5 6 . 8 2 0 0
o r To l l F ree 1 . 8 7 7 . 5 5 6 . 8 2 0 1
w w w.P lant at ionHot e lCC.c om
The Plantation Hotel & Conference Center is set in a beautiful tropical
environment, just minutes from Sawgrass Mills Mall, The Bank Atlantic Center and only minutes from Ft. Lauderdale airport.
Accommodations & Amenities: Complimentary Hi-Speed Wireless Internet .
Meeting & Banquet Facilities Businesss Services . Restaurant Serving Breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner . Cocktail Lounge . On-Site Fitness Facility Nearby Florida
Beaches . 5 Minutes to Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall . Nearby Golf & Tennis . Many
Restaurants within Walking Distance . ATM/Cash Machine . Free Parking . Pets
Welcome.
Restaurant & Banquet
I nd
E x ot i c
ia n C u i s i n e
1711 N University Dr . Plantation
ZAGATRATED
EXCELLENT
2000-2008
Ph: 954.565.5701 Fax: 954.565.6345
www.IndiaHouseRestaurant.com
Lunch Buffet $8.95 Mon-Fri Special Buffet Saturday & Sunday $10.95
Lunch Hours 11:30am-3:00pm Dinner Hours: Sun-Thur 5:30pm-10:00pm
Fri-Sat: 5:30pm-10:30pm
Vintage Cricket Carnival in Florida
promises to be something special. The program includes 3 games, Opening Party,
Finale Dinner and Dance and a Big Day Out enjoying the beaches, sights and
sounds of the Sunshine State. Team numbers will be limited. Check out details on
the website.
MIAMI-MIRAMAR-FT. LAUDERDALE
October 11 ~ 18, 2009
Register your interest with
[email protected] or
[email protected]
VINTAGE CRICKET
Level 1, 250 Mahurangi East Rd
PO Box 78 Snells Beach 0942
New Zealand
WWW.VINTAGECRICKET.COM
British American Business Council
Summer Retreat at Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte, NC
Anntony’s Caribbean Café – Charlotte, NC
Charlotte, North Carolina
Atlanta, Georgia
US Team Trials in Florida
Stanford 20/20 Ring Presentation
Trinidad and Tobago team presented with exquisite Stanford 20/20 Championship rings
Imran Khan, Stanford 20/20
Stanford 20/20 2008 logo along with
a replica image of the Stanford 20/20
Trophy and is engraved with each
recipient’s name on the inside.
The players and management of
the Stanford 20/20 Tournament
2008 winning Trinidad and Tobago
team were presented with exquisite
championship rings this evening.
At a gala ceremony at the Hyatt
Regency hotel in Port of Spain
each member was presented with a
personalized gold and diamond ring
for their triumph in this year’s Stanford
20/20 Tournament.
“Trinidad and Tobago delivered an
outstanding performance in 2006 when
they were narrowly beaten in Guyana
in one of the most exciting cricket
matches of all time. The teamwork
and dedicate demonstrated in the 2008
Stanford 20/20 Tournament earned
them these rings which I am delighted
to present to them this evening as a mark
of their exceptional performance,”
Sir Allen Stanford, originator of the
Stanford 20/20 Tournament said.
The stunning rings are made of 10k gold
and feature twenty 2pt diamonds. Each
diamond represents one of the twenty
teams that participated in the glittering
single elimination tournament which
has revived tremendous interest in
cricket in the Caribbean since its
inception in 2006.
Each ring reads ‘Stanford 20/20
Champions’ on the top, carries the
In the final of the multimillion dollar
regional tournament, played on
January 24 at the Stanford Cricket
Ground in Antigua, Trinidad and
Tobago beat Jamaica by nine wickets
to win the top prize of US$1m and the
title of regional 20/20 champions.
Full Trinidad and Tobago squad who
were presented with Stanford 20/20
championship rings: Daren Ganga
(captain), Samuel Badree, Dwayne
Bravo, Andre Browne, Mervyn
Dillon, Rayad Emrit, Sherwin Ganga,
Richard Kelly, Ahmed Mohammed,
Dave Mohammed, Jason Mohammed,
William Perkins, Kieron Pollard,
Denesh Ramdin, Lendl Simmons,
David Williams (coach), Kelvin
Williams (coach), Omar Khan
(manager), Gerald Garcia (fitness
trainer).
About the Stanford 20/20 for 20
The Stanford 20/20 for 20 is the
richest team prize for a single sporting
match with a total prize pool of US$20
million on offer. A series of five annual
matches will be played between the
Stanford Superstars and England from
November 1, 2008, at the Stanford
Cricket Ground in Antigua. US$11
million goes to the eleven winning
active team players with US$1 million
to be shared between the 12th man and
other non-playing squad members
of the winning team in Antigua
and a further US$1 million to the
management team.
The remaining prize money will be
shared between the England and
Wales Cricket Board and the West
Indies Cricket Board. The Stanford
Superstars will be a team selected from
active players from the 2006 and 2008
regional Stanford 20/20 Tournaments.
The Stanford 20/20 for 20 will use the
iconic black bats and silver stumps for
which the Stanford 20/20 Tournament
is now famous.
About the Stanford 20/20 Tournament
The Stanford 20/20 Tournament is a
single-elimination knockout cricket
competition featuring teams from
several Caribbean territories vying
for the top spot. Nineteen (19) teams
competed in the inaugural 2006
Tournament and twenty (20) teams
in the 2008 Tournament. Created
by financier Sir Allen Stanford, the
first Tournament took place in July/
August 2006 with Guyana emerging
as the Stanford 20/20 Champions
and Trinidad & Tobago triumphing
in the 2008 Tournament that ran
from January 26 to February 24,
2008. The 20 countries participating
in the competition are Anguilla,
Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas,
Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands,
Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica,
Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Lucia,
the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten,
St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks
& Caicos Islands and the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Visit the Stanford2020.com website for
more information about the Stanford
20/20 programme.
BOB MAHABIR
Sadia Hosein
Bob Mahabir
Born in the twin islands of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1946,
Bob Mahabir was raised in Couva and
San Fernando where he would eventually attend Naparima College while
working in the family’s hardware,
lumber, construction and real estate
rental businesses.
In 1972 he left for Miami and established a career in banking where he
not only became the Vice President
of Capital Bank, but would move on
to become the Operations Manager of
Bank of America.
Bob Mahabir was always known for
his part in making our Caribbean community a place of well-being. He was a
member of many community associations including the Lions International
Club, the Greater Miami Chamber of
Commerce, the Trinidad Chamber of
Commerce and several others. Intelligent, soft spoken and an immaculate
dresser was his trade mark.
In his drive for success he set out and
experimented with many different
business ventures one of them being his coin laundry and dry cleaning
stores catering to institutions and garment manufacturing industry. It was
his passion for radio broadcasting that
would soon make him a name never to
be reckoned with and never to forget.
In 1990, Bob Mahabir became the
President of Whiz Communications
Network in what he called “The Voice
of the Caribbean People in South
Florida”. Whiz is a radio broadcasting
company producing predominantly
Caribbean flavored radio programs
on Radio WAVS 1170 AM and Radio
WVCG 1080 AM. It caters mainly
to all of the sectors of the Caribbean
American business and residential
communities of South Florida.
Although things were not always easy
for Mr. Mahabir and the rest of the
Whiz Communications staff, with the
help and support from his loving wife
Joy Mahabir, his love and devotion to
his community would eventually make
his Radio program “Dosti ki Awaaz”
the number one Indian program on
air.
daughter Analisa, son David Mahabir
and grandchildren Zachery, Marvin
and Allysa. He is sadly missed but
will never be forgotten…We will forever love you.
In his honor, the First Annual Bob Mahabir Children’s Foundation Scholarship Gala will be held on November
9, 2008 at the Plantation Hotel & Conference Center in Plantation, FL. The
gala will raise funds for International
students in need who live in South
Florida. For more information, contact Sharon Blackwood, Director of
Marketing at Whiz Communications
at 1-800-208-8646 or 954-792-0777.
Donations can also be made online at
www.bobmahabir.com.
His service to the Caribbean community was indelible, for several of his
former employees were avid cricketers. While he sponsored cricket events
in the 80’s, Bob did not play cricket
but was a good spectator and always
encouraging the youngsters to participate in sports and furthering their education.
Through the years, Mr. Mahabir has
seen many people pass through Whiz
Communications Network. I myself
being one of them shared many great
adventures with him. He was a great
teacher who taught me that I could
be anything I wanted to be. He took
me through the whole process and
I eventually took his place in hosting the show that he had successfully
produced and hosted for the past 15
years.
U19 National
Tournament
August 29, 2008
through
September 1, 2008
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
He would then sadly lose his battle
with cancer on November 5, 2001. He
is survived by his wife Joy Mahabir,
Legend: Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar Portrait of a Hero
Clifford Narinesingh
To preserve an admirable past
is to give relevance, meaning
and recognition to its historical
significance as an insignia of a
civilization and a memoir for future
generations.
Gavaskar Portrait of a Hero,
a biographical work on Sunil
Gavaskar, is a gesture of recognition
of one who has contributed to the
game by virtue of his craft as a
batsman and his significance on
and off the playing field. Though
it encompasses his life and career,
it makes no ambitious claim as the
definitive biographical record but
attempts to focus on the personality,
the process of his flight to heroism,
his presence as a cricketer and his
impact on the game.
batsman bent on accumulating scores
and records without the “larger”
interests of the game, perhaps one
of the evils of professionalism, and
then there are those who delight
gracefully blending skill, technique,
correctness and aggression.
The work attempts to re-acquaint
cricket lovers and supporters of
Gavaskar who were delighted
and fascinated by his prowess. It
celebrates his achievements, looks
critically at a career with its brilliant
flashes and its less luminous periods. It is hoped that the checkered career
which emerges will reflect relevance
The writing is done with a
and significance.
commitment to undisputed facts,
While statistical records are useful free of sensational and fanciful
in assessing achievement and anecdotes which at times embellish
contribution one’s sensitivity must the recorded careers of past
focus on analysis of scores are not the personalities. It attempts to be free
emphases. The objective is to relate of reckless indictment or dogmatic
to sensibilities that recognize the interpretation of the game. It tries
larger implications of his presence to recall faithfully the pursuits of
as a national hero and as a person one excelling in achievement and
whose flight to heroism was fraught also faltering at times as heroes do.
Sunil Gavaskar rose to eminence
from his early youth to mature
retirement and was acclaimed
a cricketing hero, distinguished
and exalted. His craft in its form,
technique, skill and variety is a
symbol of the indestructibility of the
pleasures of the game of cricket.
with predicaments, dilemmas and
controversies.
He shaped a career which has
impacted on and changed the psyche During the past few decades we
of Indian cricket and inspired his have read of or seen batsmen with
fellow countrymen. In the process varied approaches to the game.
he acted as a catalyst for future Some of them are characterized by
players and the progress of cricket or known for special techniques and
in India. This is now clearly seen approaches.
in the new batting talent emerging
in India and the greater respect There is the crowd pleaser or
Indian cricket now earns on the entertainer in his cavalier style,
international scene. A new spirit aggressive in intent and execution;
of optimism now informs India’s there is the dogged, monotonous
cricketing presence.
Sunil Gavaskar was not the loose
cavalier, neither the dogged routine
opener. Though he accumulated
high scores it never seemed as if he
harbored and inordinate passion for
records but his was an approach that
betrayed a deep impulse to perform
with distinction for his self-esteem,
his team and his country’s pride.
It is hoped that Gavaskar Portrait
of a Hero as well as others in the
same genre will add to the rich body
of literature in the realm of cricket.
In expressing the spirit of the game
and of the age, an attempt is made to
be faithful to the craft of writing in
the same manner in which Gavaskar
the batsman has been faithful to his
craft.
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Golden Oldies
August 8 – August 15, 2010
For Party Rentals Call
Mo Ally (305) 710-8640
Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
www.goldenoldiessports.com
For Event Planning Call
Deborah Ally (305) 389-8640
Lucaya Cricket Festival
November 26 - November 30, 2008
Freeport, Bahamas
242-373-1460
Vintage Cricket Carnival
October 11 - October 18, 2009
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
www.vintagecricket.com
954-822-3353
violataz.com
Texas Super Sixes
August 29 - August 31, 2008
Dallas, Texas
www.dreamcricket.com
Sarasota Six-A-Side Festival
November 26 - November 30, 2008
www.sarasotacricket.com
England Women Head To Shenley
Imogen Gaunt
England Women’s Cricket Team who
recently powered to victory over
Australia when they retained the
Ashes down under, will play South
Africa in two NatWest Women’s oneday internationals at Shenley Cricket
Centre on August 11 and 14 2008.
This series signifies the start of a hectic
schedule for England as they embark
on 12 months of almost non-stop
cricket. Following the series against
South Africa they take on India in
five one-day internationals and one
Twenty20.
same day at the same venue and the
same ticket as the men’s equivalent
matches.
The ICC Women’s World Cup follows
shortly afterwards in Australia in
March and that’s swiftly followed by
the inaugural ICC World Twenty20
tournament in England in June 2009.
England Women won the
NatWest
Women’s Series 4-0
These two matches provide perfect
preparation for a side tipped for success
in the coming months.
Photos Courtesy of Christopher Lee
The semi-finals and final of that
competition will be held on the
Charlotte Edwards, England’s esteemed
captain who hails from neighboring
Cambridgeshire, will lead the side as
they attempt to continue their winning
form which includes series wins against
New Zealand ad the West Indies. They
also recorded a series draw against the
number one team, Australia.
“We’re so excited about this summer.
Playing South Africa and India is going
to present a huge challenge as it’s lots
of games in quick succession for us.
But it will be fantastic preparation for
next year which sees us compete in the
ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC
Women’s World Twenty20.
“We’re travelling to some amazing
grounds this summer, which makes us
feel really privileged. It’s great that we
can take women’s cricket right across
the country and helps us generate more
interest and raise the profile of the
sport.”
Miramar City Hall
Miramar ...
Come Grow With Us.
The City of Miramar is South Florida’s geographical center of corporate and business development. It has become a
preferred locale for major corporations and Fortune 500 companies as well as hundreds of thriving small and mid-sized
companies. But we’re not just about business . . . Miramar also knows how to live and play.
Commitment to smart growth, quality lifestyle, and ease of living are just a few of the reasons Money Magazine
recently selected Miramar as one of its “100 Best U.S. Cities.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, we are not only
the nation’s eighth fastest growing city, we are also one of the most culturally diverse.
The welcome mat is always out in Miramar. Isn’t it time you stopped by for a visit? For more information, please call
Dr. Wazir Ishmael at (954) 602-3123.
Lori C. Moseley
Mayor
Yvonne Garth
Vice Mayor
Winston F. Barnes
Commissioner
M
Carl J. Lanke
Commissioner
Troy R. Samuels
Commissioner
Miramar
#IVIC#ENTER0LACEs-IRAMAR&LORIDAss&AXsWWWCIMIRAMARFLUS
INTEGRATED CARDIO - RESPIRATORY TRAINING
Rickie Ali
Cardio-respiratory training is usually
associated with sustaining activities
such as the treadmill, bike, elliptical,
jogging, running, jump rope, stair-master etc, for at least 5-45 minutes. The effort or difficulty is typically determined
by a formula which calculates an approximate heart rate.
For example, someone 30 yrs old the
constant 220 is used, 220 – 30 (age) =
190, 190 is then used to calculate the
heart rate. For example, if the desired
working level is 70% capacity, 190 x
.70 = 133, therefore the difficulty of the
activity will be hard enough to elevate
the heart rate to 133 beats per minute
while performing the activity for the
desired time. This is the straight line
method.
However among many, one physiologically adaptation to cardio-respiratory
exercise is the eventual lowering or a
decreased exercising and resting heart
rate. Therefore in order to elicit further
adaptive responses, the changes in resting heart rate will have to be considered. The KARVOVEN formula is then
better suited for this purpose.
Therefore you will have to initially take
your resting heart rate first thing in the
morning for three consecutive mornings, and then average the readings.
For example the same individual 30 yrs
old takes three morning readings of 62
+ 63 + 64 = 189 divided by 3 = 63 averaged.
FORMULA: constant 220 – 30 (age) =
190 – 63 (avg. resting heart rate) = 127
(constant)
Therefore to determine working capacities of:
A. 60% = 127 x .60 = 72 + 63 (resting) =
135 beats per minute
B. 70% = 127 x .70 = 85 + 63 (resting)
= 148 beats per minute
C. 80% = 127 x .80 = 96 + 63 (resting) =
159 beats per minute
Therefore your resting hear rate will
have to be monitored every 4-6 weeks
(some sooner) to determine changes
and adjustments to your exercising hear
rates. Now that you have learned how to
calculate the heart rate, the next article
will teach you how to utilize the heart
rates in an integrated fashion for actual
programming that will be specific to the
cricketer.
The type of activities you choose must
also be applicable to the sport. Consequently riding a bicycle is good and
should be used to take stress of pounding your joints from running; but running, jogging and sprinting should be
the first choice since that’s how cricket
is played.
Choose a rubber track, dirt or grass, do
not run on the pavement or concrete
or run-up hard surfaced stairs, these
surfaces only destroys the joints and
places too much pressure on them, the
long term affect is joint pain and injury.
Even considering the so-called popular
expensive shoes would not alleviate the
joint trauma. Bottom line the body was
not made to run on these surfaces, big
mistake.
Another key factor is posture and alignment, do not run with your head forward and down, this does a number of
things.
A.First it disallows the even weight
and force shock absorption throughout the entire kinetic chain, placing
too much load on the neck extensor
muscles upon foot strike, leading
to excessive stress to the cervical
spine.
B. Second the downward forward
head/neck rounded shoulder pos-
ture, efficient air intake and air flow
and lends to shallow mouth instead
of diaphragmatic breathing.
C. Third, this posture also prohibits
efficient arm action during running,
this renders the posterior oblique
system inefficient at using the lats
to perform their function in breathing at opening up or expanding the
rib cage for maximal oxygen – the
uptake and delivery to the lungs.
This occurs during efficient backward arm action along with the diaphragm.
Obviously decreased oxygen uptake
forces the accessory breathing organs,
trapezius and some of the smaller neck
muscles to take on a compensatory role
placing too much strain on them and simultaneously disallowing them to perform their role of as postural stabilizers
during gait, dysfunction leads to compensation that leads to pain and injury.
Remember all joints are linked, therefore all the muscles and ligaments and
connective structures that attach are
also linked, therefore dysfunction and
poor postural alignment in one area will
eventually feed throughout the entire
kinetic chain.
Even when performing the popular
cardio-vascular machines, posture and
alignment must be apparent and maintained throughout the activity. The difficulty must therefore allow joint alignment to be maintained, if not reduce the
difficulty and use what is appropriate,
heart rate can also be use to monitor
this as well.
Next: How to utilize the heart rates in
an integrated fashion for actual programming that will be specific to the
cricketer.
Whither CricketDavidinSentance
the United States?
David Sentance
Dhruv Kanna speaking to his four guest teams
at the Kirgin Winery just off Route 129 near
Gilroy, asked his audience to “dial down
their expectations of making financial gain in
US cricket.” Showing a sincere concern for
diminishing the brand of cricket he believes
honest administration and an adherence to the
love of the game should be the guiding spirit
of Cricket in the United States. Restoring the
gentlemanly mutual respect between players
is what differentiates cricket from other sports
corroded by the chase for money.
Dhruv who made his wealth as one of the first
Covad shareholders has a distinctly different
vision from Quarishi in Florida, the founder of
the US Professional League which held its first
competition at the new stadium in Lauderhill. By
all accounts the event drew several spectators.
An ESPN TV crew approached to televise the
game were not used as film and distribution
rights remained unsold.
In Fontana, seventy miles from the storied
Woodley cricket complex in Los Angeles, Dr
Asif Ahmed and his wife Nina, keep a strict
regimen of cricket under the exacting coaching
of Mumtaz with spectacular results. Two of Dr
Ahmed’s young men have qualified for the West
Regional finals in Chicago where USACA will
make the final selection for the US Under XV
and XIX teams.
In Old Bridge, New Jersey, Ashok Patel has
maintained a successful representative US
Cricket Academy which has produced quality
playing youngsters who have toured Barbados,
Trinidad, Southern California and India.
Ashok’s involvement in youth cricket started
in 1996 when Sir Clive Lloyd attended the
first US Under XIII selection event. Trophies
for the event were provided by the Hartford,
Connecticut, cricket establishment which also
promoted US professional cricket at the event.
Professional cricket leagues with potential for
buying city cricket franchises along baseball
team lines was attempted in 2004 but the
execution was poor and several investors took
heavy losses. Similarly the 501c.3 non-profit
approach to cricket which has worked well in
Southern California for over seventy years
now appears under attack. SCCA officials have
sought to promote the game in the belief that
greater exposure of the game would bring it
to the attention of the American mainstream
culture. There’s the rub.
American sport is about money. Seventy-six
sports have funding through scholarships to
athletes in American colleges and cricket is
not one of them. Are we that parsimonious as
business people we cannot afford to fund a few
cricketers in their prime college playing years?
To strengthen cricket’s brand in America, cricket
needs coaches in the inner cities as in New
York and now in Inglewood, California where
cricket has been written into the curriculum for
the 2009 academic year in the Middle Schools.
A path needs to be funded for the promising
Middle School players so they can participate
in academy and inter-school programs.
Scholarships for competitive play would be
enough to get American participants to play, if
the gentlemanly ethos which cricket developed
after its early development is sustained. This is
where Dhruv Kanna is right about maintaining
the integrity of the brand. Without it cricket
won’t differentiate itself from other team
sports such as baseball, basketball or lacrosse.
I’ll never forget how impressed the Angeles
Krickets team members were when they first
met the World Champion Sri Lankans on our
return from England. No bling, no fuss, just
head down action and a courteous hand shake to
admirers after the game.
Women’s cricket has a role in keeping the cricket
establishment abuzz. A recent United States
Women’s Cricket Association tour to Victoria
was a step in the right direction.. Women have
always had a civilizing role to play. Their
influence, if they are allowed to participate on
a similar basis to that established in Canada,
could have a beneficial impact on US cricket
leadership.
Cricket’s amateur tradition should be enhanced
in the schools where its rules are appreciated
while scholarships could help in competition
from other sports at top American educational
institutions. Once the cultural elite start playing
as they did in Philadelphia over a century ago
then you will be able to put on tournaments
funded by ‘kranks’ coming through the turnstyles
as baseball promoters referred to spectators
a century ago when they learned the future of
their sports was with mass culture.
In Las Vegas last week I was drawn to a picture
of Elton John playing cricket as the moon
went down. Elton John is well known for his
cricket fund-raising events at county grounds in
England where finances have remained fragile
but conservatively managed for over a century.
Let’s learn to put on imaginative fund-raisers for
cricket in America and then we can truly preach
to a crowd instead of a curious few.
REVIEWING THE REVIEW SYSTEM!
KCS Rao
utes (six unsuccessful reviews in an innings).
Add the time lost in successful reviews. Precious playing time is lost in this process. Per
the rules, the request for review should have
been made within a few seconds, and not based
on discussions with the field umpire. KCS Rao
“American Cricketer” readers must be wondering what this review is and what ‘Review
System’ we are talking about. If you have
been current in following international cricket
scene you would have known that ICC is now
trying as a pilot project a ‘Review System’ in
India—Sri Lanka Test series now being held
in Sri Lanka. This system allows players to
challenge the umpire’s verdict. Each team is
allowed three unsuccessful challenges in an
innings. Successful challenges are not taken
into account and will not be counted. The
writer here is trying to review this ‘Review
System’. This review looks into the reasons
that prompted ICC to come up with this, and
the possible outcomes on the implementation
of this system.
This is not the first time the ‘Review System’
is in operation. England tried this system in
one of their cricket tournaments and dropped
the idea. Their experiences drove them to this
decision. ICC is now trying the same system
in International games. ICC, in the writer’s
opinion has left some areas very vague. For
example, the system allows a few seconds after
the incident for requesting a review but does
not define the word ‘few’. In the second test
that is playing played in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan
captain first asked the umpire why he turned
down the lbw decision against Rahul Dravid.
The umpire had explained to him the reasons
for his not giving Rahul Dravid out. This process took considerable time. Sri Lankan Captain then requested a review. The Writer does
not see the logic in the umpire explaining, in
detail, the reasons for his initial decision. After the review, the umpire reversed his decision
and declared Rahul Dravid out, lbw. We are
not questioning the final outcome of the review
but are concerned with the process, the time
taken to arrive at a decision. An average of
ten minutes per review means loss of 60 min-
Standard of Umpiring in International cricket
has always been on the minds of people who
play, who watch and who write about the game.
Because of the uncertainties surrounding this
game, Cricket has been an interesting game
and attracts people all over the world. A few
of these uncertainties were due to poor umpiring decisions. One has to accept the fact that
decisions left to human errors will always have
controversies. No two watches tally and so
are the opinions of two human beings.
Of late, the quality and standard of umpiring in cricket has become the talk of the day.
Ever since the incidents in England--Pakistan
Test series in England a couple of years back
where Pakistan walked out of the field; and in
Australia--India test series in Australia where
Steve Buckner’s services were abruptly ended,
the issues pertaining to the standard of umpiring has became a hot topic.
Meanwhile the incidents that have occurred
and are occurring in International cricket have
dictated upon ICC to come up with a solution
to remedy the situation. Here area the incidents that prompted ICC’s decision to include
additional technology in umpiring.
As the saying goes, ‘it is easier said than done’,
ICC could not, as yet, come up with a viable
solution to the umpiring inconsistencies. ICC
appears to be merely copying a system which
was tried out in England and dropped altogether. The laws of Cricket are very clear and
provide prerogatives to the umpires. It clearly
states that the ‘benefit of doubt’ should go in
favor of the batsman. This rule had a slight deviation as a result of the incident that occurred
in India -West Indies series in West Indies, a
couple of years back. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
was caught on the boundary line. It was not
clear in the minds of the umpires that the catch
was taken by the fielder from within the boundary line or from outside the boundary line. If
it is the former, the batsman is out and if it is
the latter, it is six runs to the batsman. As usual
two different opinions existed, one that of the
fielding side and, the other of the batting side. After some commotion in the field, the umpire
declared M.S. Dhoni out. As it goes in such
controversies, the press, the commentators
and all connected with cricket had a field day. Umpteen numbers of opinions were expressed
and suggestions made for changes in the law.
ICC then came up with a ruling that the ‘benefit of the doubt’ in such cases should be given
to the fielding side (fielder).
Another controversial incident that took place
in Australia in Indo-Australia series almost
had the rest of the series cancelled with India
threatening to withdraw from their commitment. Here, in the opinion of the writer, the
umpires were at fault in not properly enforcing
the Law of the game. The laws of the game allow the umpires to consult the other umpire, in
case of doubts, prior to arriving at a decision.
Unfortunately, in this case, the umpire consulted the fielder (presumably remembering
the Dhoni incident in West Indies) to ascertain
whether the catch was cleanly taken. Umpire’s
consultation with the fielder clearly establishes
the fact that the umpire had a ‘doubt’ in his
mind about the catch. Per the law, the ‘benefit
of the doubt’ should go in favor of the batsman
and the umpire should not have consulted the
fielder. No fielder in a sane mind would accept
that he did not take a fair catch.
Secondly,
he did not consult the other umpire when he
had the doubt. Even though ‘human’ element
plays a major role in umpiring, the umpire, in
this case, did not follow the procedures laid
down in the rules of the game. As a reaction
to this incident, Steve Waugh suggested ‘player referral’ system (Challenging the umpire’s
decision) similar to the ones used in major
Tennis tournaments. To the writer, this is like
comparing ‘apples’ and ‘oranges’. Tennis is an
individual game while cricket is a team game.
Cricket is popularly known as a ‘gentleman’s
game’ only because it teaches you to obey the
umpire’s decision and respect the ‘captain’ of
the team. Once the player(s) are given the
prerogative to challenge the umpire’s decision, this will no longer remain a ‘Gentleman’s
game’.
Let us compare it to other team games, such
as the multimillion dollar baseball game in the
United States. Even though USA is well known
for advancement in technology, they do not allow the use of technology in this game. Use
of technology makes this game a mechanical
Continued on page 34
Stanford Superstars commence training camp
Imran Khan
The Stanford Superstars 32 man training squad began the first two week
training camp in preparation for the
November 1st 20/20 for US$20million
match against England at the Stanford
Cricket Ground in Antigua.
The camp which is also based at the
Stanford Cricket Ground began on
Wednesday July 30th and will run
through to August 13th under head
coach Eldine Baptiste along with assistant coach Roger Harper, manager
Lance Gibbs and assistant manager
Cardigan Connor with specialist advice from several of the legend of West
Indies cricket on the Stanford 20/20
Board of Directors and other experts
including internationally renowned
fielding coach Julian Fountain.
Twenty two members of the 32 man
squad commenced training with nine
of the ten remaining players to arrive
in Antigua over the next several days.
All the players could not be present for
the start of the camp as some players
had previously scheduled personal and
cricketing matters to attend to and will
join the camp once these are completed.
However all players except Shivnarine
Chanderpaul will be present at the
camp for at least one week.
will see the culmination of the Stanford Super Series with the richest team
prize in sports and the series will also
involve Trinidad and Tobago as Stanford 20/20 champion and Middlesex,
as England Twenty20 county champion
in a Champions match with a purse of
US$400,000.
Rayad Emrit does some sprinting.
The camp is designed to upgrade the
fitness levels of the players, fine tune
their all round cricket skills and there
will also be emphasis on other critical
aspects of the game such as team work,
strategy formulation and video analysis
review.
The Stanford Superstars final playing
squad to face England will be selected
at the end of the training camp.
The 20/20 for US$20million match
Stanford Superstars squad players to
arrive shortly: Daren Ganga (Trinidad
and Tobago), Chris Gayle (Jamaica),
Danza Hyatt (Jamaica), Xavier Marshall (Jamaica), Daren Powell (Jamaica), Kieran Powell (Nevis), Darren
Sammy (St Lucia), Ramnaresh Sarwan
(Guyana), Jerome Taylor (Jamaica)
Excused: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
(Guyana).
The Sir Vivian Richards led Stanford
Superstars selection panel excused
Chanderpaul from attending this initial
camp in order that he may continue his
ongoing contractual commitments to
county side Durham.
Chanderpaul will remain eligible for
selection to the Stanford Superstars
team.
Stanford Superstars squad players at
camp: Samuel Badree (Trinidad and
Tobago), Lionel Baker (Montserrat),
Sulieman Benn (Barbados), Dwayne
Bravo (Trinidad and Tobago), Jonathan
Carter (Barbados), Lennox Cush (Guyana), Travis Dowlin (Guyana), Rayad
Emrit (Trinidad and Tobago), John
Eugene (St Maarten), Andre Fletcher
(Grenada), Chad Hampson (Antigua
and Barbuda), Montcin Hodge (Anguilla), Lyndon James (St Vincent and
the Grenadines), Sylvester Joseph (Antigua and Barbuda), Aldermond Lesmond (United States Virgin Islands),
Dave Mohammed (Trinidad and Tobago), Nelon Pascal (Grenada), William
Perkins (Trinidad and Tobago), Kieron
Pollard (Trinidad and Tobago), Denesh
Ramdin (Trinidad and Tobago), Kelbert Walters (Anguilla), Tonito Willett
(Nevis)
Dwayne Bravo warming up.
Photos Courtesy of Stanford2020.com
Cricket gets its Champions Twenty20 League
US $6 million prize money with eight teams participating
Enthused by the individual successes of
their domestic Twenty20 Leagues and
the overwhelming global acceptance
of the DLF Indian Premier League,
organized by the Board of Control for
Cricket in India, KFC Big Bash Twenty20 organized by Cricket Australia and
the Standard Bank Pro20 conducted by
Cricket South Africa, the three boards
have reached an agreement to stage the
inaugural “Champions Twenty20” later
this year.
The Champions Twenty20 League will
be a collaboration by the three cricketing boards to build on the success
of their domestic Twenty20 leagues
in an effort to accelerate the development of cricket globally. Importantly,
this would mark the introduction of a
long-awaited football-style Champions
League format for cricket, which will
pit the best-of-the-best clubs in domestic cricket globally against each other.
The ten-day inaugural tournament will
be played from September 29 to October 8, 2008. The eight teams will be
representing the finalists in the various
domestic leagues, as per regulations of
the League. The eight teams will play
15 matches in the inaugural Champions
Twenty20. The number will move up
to 12 teams playing 23 matches from
year two.
The eight teams will be divided into
two groups of four teams each. After
the preliminary league matches, the top
two teams from each group will qualify
for the semi-finals and their winners
will clash in the grand finale.
Teams will be competing for a prize
pool of US$6 million in the Champions Twenty20.
At the meeting today, the regulations
concerning the league, the business
plan, the governance model, the shareholding pattern and the commercial aspects including the tender process relating to the League have been approved.
Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner
of the Indian Premier League and Vice
President BCCI, said, “The success of
the DLF Indian Premier League has
undoubtedly captured the imagination
of cricket supporters from around the
world.
The Champions Twenty20 League,
which will be played by eight best teams
from the world which have earned their
place through their domestic competitions, provides a new and exciting pinnacle for club championships across the
world. It will provide teams with the
opportunity to earn the title of World
Club Champions in a format which will
be eagerly anticipated by spectators and
players alike. I keenly look forward to
the inaugural season of the Champions
Twenty20 League in September/October 2008.”
James Sutherland, Chief Executive of
Cricket Australia, said, “This fantastic
new competition gives our best state
cricketers, and their equivalents in
other competitions, a chance to pit their
skills against champions from other
countries. I am also delighted that the
benefits of this global event will flow
down to state level and enhance cricket
at grass roots level. I am certain it will
add a whole new dimension to our own
KFC Big Bash Twenty20 interstate
competition and globally, will help
us all in winning new fans for cricket
around the world.”
Cricket South Africa, said, “The Champions Twenty20 League is an idea
whose time has come. I am certain this
competition will significantly enhance
the international stature of domestic
cricket and pave the way for greater
involvement of cricketers, right from
the club, province, state and county
through to the national and international arenas.
CSA is proud to be associated with this
initiative and we are sure that this event
will ignite the passion of cricket lovers
the world over, quite along the lines of
what we had experienced with both our
current Standard Bank Pro20 and the
recently held inaugural ICC T20 World
Cup held in South Africa last September.”
The Champions Twenty20 League is
the first attempt of this type of concept in cricket and is aimed at producing more players capable of competing at the highest level. The Twenty20
Champions League’s mission will be to
promote and develop cricket from the
grassroots level upwards and promote
the spirit of cricket among all the players and participating teams.
Gerald Majola, Chief Executive of
TWENTY20 IS CRICKET
Greg Chappell
(Former cricket captain of Australia and Former coach of the Indian team.)
It is with interest that one has read
some recent articles by high-profile
commentators on the credibility of
the Twenty20 format. They make
some strong and emotional arguments
against it being a legitimate form of
the game. I have asked myself some of
those same questions as the Indian Premier League has unfolded over the past
month or so.
Twenty overs do not seem to be much
cricket. But what is cricket anyway?
In my mind, it is a contest between bat
and ball, which is one thing that most
of the critics say that Twenty20 is not.
I beg to differ. The bowler has a ball
in his hand and the batsman has a bat;
although some use it as though it is a
rustic piece of agricultural equipment.
One is trying to take wickets and the
other needs to score runs, quickly.
With the grass-less wickets and short
boundaries, the bowlers are bound to
suffer some punishment if they do not
bowl with great discipline and control.
Batsmen will get out if they don’t play
with some self-control and sense and
while most of the shots cannot be construed as classical, they are often awesome and, in their own way, highly
skilful. If one has a criticism it is that,
with the small grounds, we don’t see
as much quality fielding and running
between wickets as one would prefer.
But, heck, that is quibbling.
What one has witnessed is batsmen and
bowlers struggling to come to grips
with the pace and pressure, as well as
the different demands, of the new format. A few have taken to it as ducks
to water. I remember when one first
played limited-over cricket that the adjustment was significant. The pressure
to score quickly could easily become
stifling.
As the bowler began his run to the
wicket my mind began to race and the
noise inside my head became distracting. I need a boundary; the run rate is
going up; this game is getting away
from us; what is a good total to set under these conditions? Where can one
possibly get a boundary? I had better
take some chances.
Before the ball was bowled my heart
was racing, my blood pressure was rising, the rushing sound in my ears was
deafening and the tension in my arms
was causing them to ache. The veins in
my arms and hands would have been
clearly visible had one not been wearing gloves and had my cream shirt not
been long sleeved and buttoned down
at my wrists. My eyes were darting
from the bowler to the vacant areas in
the outfield where a boundary could
possibly be scored. I must get a boundary; we need a boundary; the pressure
is becoming intolerable; to hell with
the consequences. I’m going over the
top, this ball.
In this state of mind, one was a long
way from the cool and collected player
that one prided oneself on being in the
longer forms of cricket. I didn’t feel
under control, calmly waiting for the
next ball to be bowled, mentally alert
but physically relaxed like the panther
watching its prey and ready to pounce
should a juicy half-volley or a fat halftracker stray into my orbit.
Instead, my mind was racing like a
strung out junkie desperately in need of
my next fix staggering down an evernarrowing dark alley that was of my
own making. Even if the juicy half-
volley had a warning siren and flashing
lights it was unlikely to register in my
already overcrowded mind. I was an
accident looking for a place to happen.
What one learned in time was that
one had to apply the same mental disciplines in this situation as one did in
four- or five-day cricket. While the
format demanded that one take greater
risks, one still had to give oneself the
widest range of options once the ball
was bowled. I still had to keep the odds
in my favor. I see this same dilemma
affecting some of the IPL players.
Cricket is a game of risk and reward. If
you want to score runs at an acceptable
pace then you have to risk getting out.
If you want to take wickets then you
must be prepared to have some runs
scored from your bowling.
If one panics in any form of the game
one is bound to make mistakes. I have
seen plenty made in the IPL and, no
doubt, will see more in the remaining
weeks of the tournament. This is part
of its charm.
I do know though that the best thinking cricketers and the most disciplined
teams will be the ones that reach the
final in early June. Oh, and those who
employ the best cricket methods will
be the most successful performers. It
might not suit the purists, but Twenty20
is legitimate cricket that demands great
skill from the participants. In my mind,
it is the next step in the evolution of the
game and it will force the future generations of cricketers to develop new
skills that will enhance the other forms
of the game. The trick will be for the
administrators to find the right balance
between the new and the old.
Playing Leg Spin
Zubin Bharucha
watching the bowlers hand and quickly discerning what each bowler is capable of doing with the ball, and playing well in-front
of the pad.
Zubin Bharucha
Another common mistake while batsman
are playing spin is the advise some coaches
give of opening their front foot, to play
balls on the leg stump. Once the foot goes
outside the leg stump there is no where for
the other (back) foot to go but fall over to
the off side thereby leaving the head/eyes
in a bad position to play the ball. Once the
head falls over it is extremely difficult to
keep the ball down on the on/leg side.
The next problem it creates; is exposing your stumps to the ball and giving the
bowler two options of getting you out. Both
bowled and caught behind or at slip.
Further, it is also impossible to judge the
degree of spin by opening ones leg as we
are leaving ourselves no options but to play
only one shot and that is at the ball, without being able to leave any options for the
turning ball, as we are simply not sure how
much it will spin.
This completely reduces your options of
playing against the spinning ball and further reduces chances of surviving, let alone
scoring.
While playing leg spin the great players of
spin “anticipate” the ball to turn with the
alignment as follows. The outer half of the
bat is “aligned” and “covering” for the spin
and the inner half of the bat is aligned to
cover for the straight through. From this
alignment one has enough time to adapt
to either the straight ball or the one that
turns.
Obviously this coincides with anticipation,
Another very basic but common mistake
made while playing leg spin is the angle
of the bat on impact, invariably this is not
straight (i.e. down the wicket) but towards
cover, once again this translates to presenting only half a bat to the ball and you are
not giving yourself the maximum opportunity to connect.
A tip while “practising” playing leg spin or
orthodox left arm spin would be to try and
play against the spin/break on the front foot
on the (on side) and with the break on the
back foot on the off side (unless the ball is
very short and you can pull it off the back
foot).
So, try and drive a ball which you would
have normally driven to cover to mid-off
and the next time to mid-on and then midwicket by constantly altering where you
land your front foot to play the ball.
This is a great exercise as we know we
can always drive the ball to cover, this is
easy, but to practice driving the ball where
it isn’t easy to drive is great practice. Also,
do the same while defending, if the ball has
dropped on the off side in the direction of
point, try and drop the next one in the direction of cover, then mid-off, then mid-on,
mid-wicket, square-leg and even fine leg.
This way of playing gives the bowler two options to get you out, caught at slip as well as
bowled to the ball turning away from you.
Further, it is virtually impossible to maintain
ones balance when one takes the foot at this
angle as there is no base being created and
there is no option but to fall over, creating
even more problems. One has also noticed a
lot of players maintain a extremely straight
front foot ankle position i.e. its not in line with
back foot toe (i.e. like we talk about having
the hips in line with where the feet land for
fast bowlers) the same holds good for batsman and those who’s feet point straight down
the wicket while the back foot is pointing at
cover also tend to lose their balance quite easily as there is no base being created.
Try not to leave too many balls, but get
yourself into a position to defend the same,
even if the balls are well outside the off
stump, you can do this by keeping the
downswing slightly outside the line of the
ball (see article on downswing) as well as
taking your foot further and further across
towards the ball.
This is great practice, once you perfect doing the same there is very little which is
going to trouble you while playing leg/left
arm spin.
continued on page 34
Stickey Wicket continued from page 29
Coaching continued from page 33
Here the batsman has done a few things correctly, anticipated the ball will turn and so has
positioned his foot slightly outside the line of
the ball, he has also covered his stumps and
offered the full face of the bat to the ball, reducing his risk of bowled or caught at slip (as
the above photo shows). As all batsmanship
is about maximising scoring opportunities
and minimising risk in doing so, this seems
a more logical way of playing the leg spinner
turning the ball away.
one and ruins all the fun out of the game. The
umpire’s decision is final. In baseball, basketball, etc., umpires have been given powers not
only to make decisions but to strictly enforce
discipline in the game. They have the powers
to eject (suspend) a player and the coach, if
necessary, during the course of the game.
In recent times cricket has allowed the use of
technology in determining the ‘stumping’ and
‘run outs’. This has resulted in umpires, of late,
resorting to referring virtually every ‘stumping’ and ‘run out’ to the third umpire unless it
is very, very clear to the naked eye.
ICC in an effort to minimize, if not eliminate,
the human errors, introduced a “Referral System” limiting the challenges (referrals) to three
in an innings to a team. This referral system
is now being tried out as a “pilot” project in
the three-test series of India-Sri Lanka being
played in Sri Lanka. The implementation of
the referral system in the recently concluded
first test has received mixed reactions from
both the Press and the Players.
ICC’s Referral System using the technology
is aimed at minimizing, if not totally eliminating the human element from umpiring. This
very intent of eliminating human element from
umpiring decisions appears to have been defeated in this pilot project.. When challenged
(referred) by the Captain of the fielding side or
the batsman, this is referred to the third umpire,
who has the benefit of viewing the footage of
the film. In the present system(pilot project
being tried out), the third umpire is supposed
to relay the facts to the field umpire, who, in
turn, makes the call based on the clarification
received. This is where the human element
comes in. The conversation between the third
umpire and the field umpire is not made public. The umpire may have to ‘reverse’ his original
decision depending upon the input received
from the third umpire. This means swallowing
his pride. How many times will he ‘reverse’
his decision? Human nature is such that no one
wants to accept his mistakes, that too publicly,
jeopardizing his future assignments.
The alignment one is seeking while playing
the leg spinner is this: if the ball goes straighton and doesn’t spin (photo on the left), it
should meet the inside half of the bat. If the
ball spins it should meet the outside half of
the bat (photo on the right). He is also playing well in front of his pad and his head is
positioned right on top and close to the ball,
almost like he is seeking the ball with his
head/nose!
In the first test between India and Sri Lanka, T.
Dilshan, when his individual score was on one,
referred his caught behind dismissal. As viewers, we could see from the re-plays the dust
coming out of the pitch from where the ball
landed (surprisingly on the second day of the
game, after the first day’s game was restricted
to 22 overs only due to rain) and the ball gracing the bat (snicometer). We were not privy to
the conversation between the third umpire and
the field umpire. The field umpire ‘reversed’
his decision swallowing his pride and gave him
not out. Dilshan went on to score a century.
Michael Holding former Test cricketer of West
Indies once said that the noise (sound) picked
up by the microphone need not necessarily be
that of the ball hitting the bat. It could, among
other things, be that of a pebble (small stone)
coming out of the pitch from where the ball
landed, bounced and hitting the bat. In this
review system, umpires do not have the benefit
of the snicometer.
In the writer’s opinion cricket umpiring should
be left as they are ‘independent of the technology’ to keep the interest in the game. Umpiring, left to human elements, not only makes
the game interesting but breeds controversies
and interpretations. Makes public who watch
the game to talk about it for years to come and
provides more food for the Press. Cricket is
known as unpredictable game because of the
nature of the game and the rules that govern
them. Let us leave it as they are.
If one cannot live with it, then partially introduce technology in umpiring. Presently, making decisions on ‘stumping and run out’ are left
to the third umpire. Making decision on lbw
(leg before wicket) should be referred to the
third umpire who has the benefit of reviewing
the video re-plays. This may not totally eliminate errors in such decisions but would minimize it. Even in the present ‘Review System’
it would immensely help if the ‘final’ decision
making on challenges (referral) is left to the
third umpire. Field umpires do not have to
worry about their ‘pride’ to ‘reverse’ their own
decision. This will amount to overruling by the
third umpire based on the re-play of videos and
do not hurt the pride of the field umpires. Umpiring fully controlled by technology may
eliminate/minimize errors but will make the
game more predictable and drive away the
audience. Popularity for cricket will decrease
and there will not be anything left for people to
discuss when they meet socially.
Other alternative that could be considered for
maintaining consistency in umpiring decisions is to fine the field umpire who makes a
blatant mistake. The fine amount should be
deducted from the umpiring fee given to both
the umpires. This would make umpires more
conscious about their decisions. They would
think twice prior to making a call and would
also consult the other umpire more frequently
than is being done now. This is similar to the
fine imposed on all the members of the team
for bowling slow over rate in a day’s play.
If ICC wants cricket to be popular, they should
leave it as it is with all the nuances of the game
and umpiring.
Make the Pilgrimage!
14th Golden Oldies
World Cricket Festival
8 -15 August 2010, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.
What we arrange for you
J016665
• The best three days of cricket in your life
• Teams from around the world
• Team transfers to hotels, functions and
matches throughout the week
• Seven nights accommodation
• Parade and Opening Ceremony
• Festival souvenir, Festival newspapers
and giveaways
• Three of the best social functions you will
ever attend - food, drink, entertainment
and dancing included
- Welcome Party
- The Great Golden Oldies Festival
Picnic Day
- Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony
For more information contact:
Golden Oldies World Cricket Secretariat
Ph +64 9 336 2783 Fax +64 9 336 3330
Email: [email protected]
or visit www.goldenoldiessports.com
J016665 GO American Cricketer Ha1 1
11/7/08 4:56:55 PM

In This Issue - American Cricketer

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