Steve Massiah, the USA captain, has been charged by United States federal authorities in connection with an alleged $50 million mortgage fraud case. Robert Nardoza, public affairs officer with the United States Attorney's Office representing the Eastern District of New York, confirmed the charges to ESPNcricinfo. Massiah declined to comment when contacted by ESPNcricinfo on Sunday night and USACA officials said they had no knowledge of criminal charges against Massiah.

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The USA Cricket Association has announced that national elections will be held in December, with the results announced on December 21, in keeping with ICC compliance regulations. The decision was taken at a board meeting over the weekend, at which it was also decided to complete by that time all regional elections and also a compliance review by an independent auditor.

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Thirteen of the 18-player USA women’s squad for the forthcoming 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier which is being held in Bangladesh next month have written to USACA to complain about proposed payments for the tournament. There is now a chance that USACA will be forced to name a second-string side for the prestigious event.

Such is the level of concern that the cricketers have threatened to boycott the final pre-event training camp this weekend. In return, USACA has said any of them who do not attend will be considered unavailable for the trip and will be replaced. With the deadline for submission to the ICC of the squad set for this Saturday, time is running out for both sides.

The players’ gripe is not so much the amount as the fact that they are paid less than their male counterparts. The offer to the women is $100 a day whereas the men get $175 a day for an equivalent event. They also claim a bonus promised to them for a series against Canada earlier this year has not been paid.

“We are thrilled at representing the USA at this prestigious tournament and looking forward to achieving the goal of going to India,” an email on behalf of the 13 said. “But we are feeling very much under-appreciated, disrespected, and simply disregarded for the achievements we have made thus far in our short history and underestimated, for what we can accomplish in Bangladesh.”

USACA countered that the $100 stipend is based on projected daily costs in Bangladesh, and denied there was any discrimination.

“I think the women should be treated the same way as the men because they also have commitments and expenses and we should treat them the same way,” USACA cricket committee chairman Krish Prasad told dreamcricket.com. “We never take advantage of the exchange rate or the cost of living per se. We were always dealing with a limited amount of resources but we’re always trying to do the best for the players.”

Two high ranking New York Region cricket officials sent letters out on Tuesday to US cricket stakeholders, urging them to band together and bring positive changes to the way the sport is run in the country. New York regional chairman Lester Hooper and Eastern American Cricket Association league president Rudy Persaud are some of the first people from outside the USA Cricket Association board to speak up against the recent actions of the USACA president Gladstone Dainty.

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With the USA Cricket Association embroiled in confusion and controversy, it appears the country is again heading towards an international suspension with the ICC under increasing pressure to step in.

Elections, which should have been held in March, are due on October 15 but this now seems impossible after Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president, suspended John Aaron, the board secretary and the man who should have been coordinating the process.

Faced with growing concern at his behaviour, Dainty has in effect rendered the board redundant and run things with a small cabal. There has not been any formal meeting since April and no face-to-face meeting since November 2010.

He still has some allies but not enough to enable him to carry on without being called to account, even though some of those most vocal in their opposition to him are finding themselves replaced with Dainty-friendly faces of the past. Aaron’s removal from office, ostensibly for publicly criticising USACA, appears to be unconstitutional, according to the USACA Constitution and it is dubious Dainty even has the support of the majority of the board in any case. Dainty, it should be remembered, was instrumental in the removal of Don Lockerbie, the board’s first full-time CEO, last year. It is believed that matter is currently in the hands of lawyers.

So as it stands, there are two factions, one claiming the moral high ground and the other firmly planted behind Dainty . The last two board meetings – called for September 24 and October 1 – have simply not happened. Dainty has reverted to his tactics of old, namely refusing to communicate and making arbitrary decisions. The other group, rallying behind the ostracised Aaron, can do little but raise awareness and hope that the ICC decides enough is enough.

The short-term loser here is US cricket. There are several investors keen to pump money into developing the game in the USA, but as long as Dainty remains at the helm and the board operates behind a shroud of secrecy, it is hard to see how they can. Ironically, it was Aaron’s public disclosure of the unconstitutional actions of Dainty that irked the latter into suspending the nationally elected secretary of USACA.

The USA was suspended by the ICC twice in the last six years because of the board’s dysfunctionality. The president back then was Dainty, and as it stands he is accelerating the country towards an unprecedented third international ban.

John Aaron has been suspended as the secretary of the USA Cricket Association by Gladstone Dainty, the board's controversial president, for what Dainty claimed were "comments damaging to the good standing and well-being of USACA".

In a move which brings into the open the battle between Dainty and those seeking to make him accountable, he claimed he had consulted "many of the USACA board members", he told Aaron he was suspending him "immediately and indefinitely".

Aaron has been openly challenging Dainty over many aspects of the way he runs USACA in the wake of cancelled elections, the failure to replace Don Lockerbie, who Dainty sacked as CEO ten months ago, and a complete failure to communicate with factions of the board opposed to his actions as president. Dainty unilaterally cancelled a board meeting called by Aaron last weekend, even though it had been arranged in accordance with the constitution. The board has not met face-to-face for ten months.

Aaron replied to Dainty that his action was "without basis and merit and is unconstitutional, and it impinges upon my right of free speech … in addition your reference to "consultation with many of the USACA board members," is also unfounded and unsubstantiated, and at best refers to a minority".

The ICC, which has twice suspended the USA from international competition while Dainty has been in charge, has yet to comment, but it is likely it will be watching the unfolding events with increasing concern.

Those insisting the USA Cricket Association is once again close to being dysfunctional under the control of its president, Gladstone Dainty, were left frustrated after a meeting called for September 24 by the board secretary was cancelled at short notice.

Dainty, who is under fire from a number of directions over what is claimed is his complete lack of accountability, scrapped the meeting even though John Aaron, the secretary, had confirmed attendances from more than enough members to constitute a quorum.

No face-to-face meeting of the executive has been held since November 2010, even though the position of chief executive has been vacant since Dainty removed Don Lockerbie from office ten months ago and elections scheduled for March have been delayed.

"The problem is those attending were not from Dainty's camp, so he changed the date to October 1" one board member told ESPNcricinfo. "He appears to be particularly manipulative of some members of the board considered his long-time allies."

Another board member said Dainty was avoiding a meeting unless he knew he could guarantee enough of his supporters were present as he feared the executive could overturn some of his recent decisions.

Former USA Cricket Assocation vice-president Nabeel Ahmed, who resigned last year, has accused the board of using a compliance review to try to manipulate the forthcoming elections.

“Why is there a need for a compliance review process at this time when it has never happened ever before?,” he said. “Has the math changed with the leagues voting the current administration out?”

Ahmed continued that while the regions were being given one set of rules, USACA was operating under another and was almost completely unaccountable for its actions.

“Elections that are long overdue [have] been procrastinated into indefinite schedule violating the constitutional requirements. It is a delaying tactics for this compliance process to take place four weeks prior to the announced election date. Who says it is not the height of non-governance.

“It will be an interesting scenario where the USACA compliance planned to be conducted now results in certain member leagues losing the voting rights because of non-compliance to be declared. There are administrative holes created and will become bigger with all these smart moves by the USACA administration which includes a few select individual executives inclusive of the office bearers selected on a telephone conference call.

“Will it not be considered a misrepresentation of the earlier data which was submitted to ICC from the office of Cricket Operations and in return the status of the associate membership with ICC getting into jeopardy?”

The intrigue and infighting within the USA Cricket Association continues with a row over the disappearance of the website which has been unavailable since September 6. While in the normal course of events that might seem a simple technical issue, critics of embattled USACA president Gladstone Dainty point out this is exactly what happened a few years ago when he was also under fire.

USACA secretary John Aaron has tried to contact Dainty, who holds the access passwords, regarding this matter but has not been able to elicit any response from him. John Thickett, the treasurer, is also proving hard to contact, and it is believed he is siding with Dainty in the ongoing internal squabbling.

The rumbling discontent within US cricket about the way the USA Cricket Association is being run continues to grow with reports that a number of its board members are at odds with Gladstone Dainty, USACA's president, over the way he is operating.

Dainty has been a controversial figure for a number of years, and it was on his watch that the USA was twice suspended from international cricket because of what the then ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed labelled its "dysfunctional" operation.

Through active and crafty politicking Dainty has managed to remain in office when his track record would have appeared to have fatally damaged his standing. He has often relied on a small group of associates on the USACA board to support him, but now he is again under attack.

Critics point out that Dainty has failed to hold a face-to-face board meeting since November 2010. Since then, Don Lockerbie, the CEO, has been removed from office and in eight months a replacement has not been sought. Dainty, it is argued, has made no attempt to encourage the search for a new CEO, surprisingly at a time when USACA is seeking to attract lucrative commercial deals and real funding, not to mention the rebuilding of a very tarnished image in the domestic and international cricketing communities. The argument is that the lack of a successor for Lockerbie allows Dainty to proceed unchecked.

Board elections, constitutionally due to be held in March of this year, have been delayed until October 15 and there are fears they may not even happen then. And most recently, Dainty has ordered election results in the Atlantic region be frozen, with critics claiming the reason is that one of his long-standing supporters is likely to be voted out of office.

Last week, one board member expressed concerns that Dainty would try to use the constitution to remain in power, and within days USACA announced that eight leagues may not be allowed to vote because of technicalities. Many of those on the sidelines have seen it all before.

Some board members are pushing for a face-to-face board meeting on September 17, and have more than enough support to impact a quorum of the board, but Dainty has refused to agree to that date, even though it is believed that the meeting was requested by USACA's executive secretary, John Aaron.

"We are all being painted by the general public, with one broad brush and labelled dysfunctional and incompetent," one of his opponents on the board said. "That's because our fight is not being seen on the outside. Dainty's ability to continue demonstrating such a dictatorial style of governance is helped by the few who are afraid of his wrath, that they are too weak to join the few who are strong-willed enough to stand up to him."

While in the past there has been little at stake other than some internal politics, there is now the prospect of large amounts of foreign money pouring into the USA from media deals, making control of USACA increasingly important.

The international community remains wary of a Dainty-controlled board, but he is a survivor and one that many have tried without success to unseat. His lack of accountability continues to deter many - both at home and abroad - from dealing with US cricket. It is crying out for slick and transparent leadership and, at present, it has neither.

This week, PE teachers in Baltimore and Wicomico (Maryland) counties attended cricket training sessions in preparation for the start of the new school year. During the sessions they learned the history and rules of the game, and then got a chance to play an informal game against each other. At the conclusion of the session, teachers were given USYCA cricket sets and printed material supplied by the International Cricket Council.

"As the new supervisor for physical education and originating from Newcastle, England, I wanted to bring a new, engaging activity from my homeland to my teachers that they could easily integrate into their strike and field unit for the upcoming school year," said Michael Charlton of Wicomico County Public Schools.

"The session was highly interactive, energetic and the feedback I received from my teachers was extremely positive. I would like to personally thank the (United States) Youth Cricket Association for a fantastic in-service that delivered relevant and rigorous instructional techniques that can be utilised throughout the elementary and middle level, " Charlton said.

The Baltimore and Wicomico school systems join Howard, Carroll, Prince George's, Queen Anne's and Kent counties, along with some schools in Baltimore City, in offering cricket to Maryland physical education students.

The bickering and confusion that has been a hallmark of much of US cricket in recent years continues to undermine attempts to bring the structure of the game onto a professional footing. The squabbling within the Atlantic Region following the decision not to issue the results of elections in July is another example of the dysfunctional state of affairs.

On July 26 elections were held and within 24 hours an email from Sheldon Ellis, the coordinator, said the votes had been collated, but instead of the results being released soon after, Sheldon Mollineau, the outgoing secretary, took a decision to withhold them.

Ellis stated that he had been called by Gladstone Dainty, the controversial president of the USA Cricket Association, who had instructed him not to release the results. Ellis, who is claimed to be very unhappy, said that if the matter was not resolved he would nevertheless send the results to the secretary of the region.

Seven leagues with the Atlantic Region requested Ellis to release the results to the secretary, which he did on August 3. But Mollineau, rather than forward them as expected, simply sat on them, citing Dainty’s request as the reason.

According to Dreamcricket.com, Sheldon Glasgow, the outgoing chairman, and Mollineau were both under pressure in the elections with a real threat they could be voted out of office.

Whatever happens and even if the results are released soon, this is yet another example of the often woefully unprofessional way the USA Cricket Association under the auspices of Dainty continues to administer the national game.

Canada captain Jimmy Hansra hammers a six on his way to his century © Getty Images

Canada won the Auty Cup with a 34-run victory over USA in Toronto, but the visitors battled back after a poor opening day to ensure the game remained competitive, even if the seemingly narrow winning margin was slightly deceptive.

In a bid to prevent negative play in the two-day match, it was agreed the first innings would be limited to 45 overs a side and the second to 40 overs. The result of this was that Canada's first-innings lead of 73 meant that barring a second-day collapse, they were always likely to be able to post too many runs for the USA to chase.

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The 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier will feature 10 teams and be played at four venues in Dhaka, the ICC has said. The tournament is scheduled between November 14 and 25.

The four venues will be the Sher-e-Bangla stadium, Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (Bangladesh Institute of Sports) 1 and BKSP 2. Hosts Bangladesh will be joined by South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, USA, West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Japan to battle it out for the four remaining spots at the 2013 Women's World Cup in India. England, Australia, India and New Zealand already qualified for the event because they were the top four teams in the 2009 Women's World Cup.

The teams for the qualifiers will be split into two groups. Bangladesh play Pakistan in the first game of the tournament on November 14 at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Group A
South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, USA

Group B
West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland, Japan, Bangladesh

It is now more than two months since Don Lockerbie was dismissed as chief executive of the USA Cricket Association and still no details have been revealed about the reasons for the decision nor what steps are being taken to find a replacement.

As those who have followed US cricket have come to expect, Gladstone Dainty, the board's president, has resumed his favourite approach to communications, namely a complete wall of silence. Minutes for its board meetings, which for a time were posted on the site, have stopped being published, and no officials are willing to answer questions. USACA has scuttled back into its shell.

Insiders hint one of the reasons is that discussions between Lockerbie and USACA regarding the termination of his contract are ongoing and until those are resolved there can be no announcement.

But for the time being it’s Groundhog Day as US cricket is taken back to the dark period three or four years ago.

The National Under-19 tournament scheduled for Woodley Park in California was called off because teams coming from New York and the South East Region were unable to get flights to California.

A USACA statement said: "Every opportunity is being made to engage those players in California along with the North West and South West Regional teams, in practice matches under the watchful eyes of the national selectors.

Meanwhile in New York, Krish Prasad, USACA’s Cricketing Committee chairman said that a New York indoor camp is tentatively being organized for the weekend of January 8-9, 2011 for the New York, North East and Atlantic Region players. A select group of those players will then be short-listed to join a group from this week’s California scrubby matches in a national camp of 24 players, and including players scouted in the other regions. The camp will be held sometime in mid-January in Florida. The selectors will then pick the final squad to represent the USA at the ICC Americas Under-19 tournament scheduled for February 6-13, 2011 in Florida.

USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty has said he wants his organisation to hire staff at the regional level with money generated from the recent multi-million dollar deal that formed Cricket Holdings America.

What do you think ... a sensible idea of more hot air from those running US cricket?

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Although Gladstone Dainty has announced an ambitious plan for a national Twenty20 tournament in the USA starting in 2012, the USA Cricket Association has been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by the North American Cricket League (NACL).

NACL, which describes itself as a "sports media and entertainment company dedicated to promoting cricket throughout the world, including so-called Twenty20 format cricket in the United States" claims that it has an existing deal with USACA which is in direct conflict with the board's new initiative.

A statement from NACL said that there were "nine causes of action" including breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation of proprietary business information and theft of trade secrets. It accuses USACA of embarking on a "fraudulent scheme to extract money from NACL and its investors".

NACL's case centres on an agreement it says it entered into with USACA to promote and organise an official Twenty20 league in the United States. "The parties signed an interim agreement that granted NACL an exclusive period of negotiations during which USACA was contractually bound to cease negotiations with any third parties for the same rights.

"While NACL continued to negotiate a master agreement in good faith, USACA had no intention of honouring the terms of the interim agreement and engaged in a fraudulent scheme to extract money from NACL and its investors."

The complaint further alleges that while NACL was negotiating with USACA in good faith, USACA entered into additional agreements with third parties from which USACA also accepted large cash payments for the licensing of the same commercial rights.

The USA Cricket Association's recently ousted chief executive Don Lockerbie set his sights too high and lost sight of the most important objectives.

If you're going to talk the talk, you'd better walk the walk too, and there was nothing that Lockerbie loved more than talking about bringing big sponsors and big money to US cricket. He would name-drop from his Rolodex of contacts at will, as if all he had to do was snap his fingers to get his choice of sponsors lining up outside his office door. Lockerbie was like Jimmy Stewart from It's A Wonderful Life, gazing into the eyes of USA cricket players, fans and administrators, wooing them by telling them that if they wanted the moon, "just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down".

Lockerbie certainly was reaching for the moon when he declared that a US$10 million annual budget was the minimum amount he needed to make the United States competitive in world cricket. That's a big step up for an organisation whose annual budget has typically ranged from $200,000-$400,000 in ICC grants, not to mention the fact that USACA never demonstrated sound fiscal management with those meagre resources in the past. Imagine Manny Pacquiao trying to go from featherweight to heavyweight in the span of two fights and picture what the result would be.

Instead of trying to build by attracting stepping stone, incremental sponsorships like Japan, Canada, or Ireland had successfully done, it appeared that Lockerbie's strategy was all or nothing. It wasn't worth his time to negotiate a three-year $650,000 deal like Cricket Canada had done with Scotiabank in 2008, or the three-year deal they signed in November with Reebok. RSA Insurance's sponsorship of Ireland, including a €100,000 boost before the World Twenty20 in April, was chump change. Such hubris contributed to Lockerbie's downfall. He didn't just want millions. He wanted tens of millions, and wound up getting nothing.

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A 22-year-old woman in the US has made headlines after complaining about cricket messages sent to her Twitter account, which is named @theashes.

Massachusetts-based Ashley Kerekes says she knows nothing about cricket, complaining she was "not a freaking cricket match". The number of her followers has risen from 300 to 6,100 and an airline has offered her a free flight to Australia.

She tweeted: "This is not the account of the cricket match. Check profiles before you send mentions, it's incredibly annoying and rude".

However, while initially moaning about the number of posts, she told the Brisbane Times that becoming a Twitter celebrity was "amazing". She is also selling T-shirts with the slogan "I am not a freaking cricket match".

"I hope no one is offended by me making t-shirts,” Kerekes said. “I probably (sic) make two cents a shirt. I'm not trying to get rich just have fun.

"My boyfriend gave me the nickname Ashes years ago, maybe because of the cricket tournament,” she added. “We don't remember. He's been calling me The Ashes forever. I intend on reading up on rules and such as soon as I recover from the shock. Right now, I'm just having a blast reading everyone's tweets to me.”

When they were kings ... Don Lockerbie and Lalit Modi © Getty Images

Rumours the façade of respectability Don Lockerbie had managed to erect was crumbling had been circulating for a while, but few expected him to be dispensed with so soon. In true USACA fashion, instead of senior executives fronting up to explain what was happening, they headed for the hills and resorted to the tactic of old – silence.

We will comment more when the reasons for Lockerbie’s hasty removal become clearer. Ostensibly, he has paid for not delivery on some eye-popping promises made in his first few months in office, and because the finances are causing concerns. But given the shambolic nature of US cricket in the years before he was appointed CEO, that would be a little harsh.

What should worry anyone connected with the game in the USA is that Gladstone Dainty, a man associated with the dysfunctionality which led the US twice being suspended by the ICC, is back in charge. It will also have been noted with alarm in Dubai where Lockerbie has strong support.

Don Lockerbie has been relieved of his position as chief executive of the USA Cricket Association with immediate effect hours before a board meeting in Florida, according to sources inside US cricket.

The news comes a little over a week after the resignation of Nabeel Ahmed, the first vice-president of USACA.

While nobody was prepared to confirm the report, it follows several months of increasing concern that Lockerbie's bullish promises about changes he was going to make to the game in the USA had come to nothing.

The board's finances remain a concern, and despite official denials it is widely believed the ill-fated tournament in Florida in May featuring New Zealand and Sri Lanka landed USACA with considerable losses.

Lockerbie had a reputation of being someone big on talk but far more reluctant to address media inquiries about the more questionable aspects of USACA's operations.

He took up his role in April 2009 and quickly unveiled ambitious plans to turn US cricket professional and stage an IPL-type tournament in the country. But despite strong support from the ICC his plans failed to materialise, and in recent months there has been growing discontent within the USA which appears to have cost Lockerbie his position.

While few will lament his departure, it does raise the grim spectre of the USA sliding back into the murky shambles that led to its suspension from the ICC in 2005.

The Americas Division One tournament starts in Bermuda on Friday, with four of the six countries going into the event possibly with one eye on upcoming World Cricket League (WCL) commitments.

Canada are taking part in the WCL Division One tournament in early July in the Netherlands, while Argentina, Cayman Islands and United States are playing in WCL Division Four in Italy, possibly in August.

Canada have rested captain Ashish Bagai and its Australasian-based contingent from the competition in Bermuda. Bagai is expected to play in Division Four although whether John Davison and Ian Billcliff will make that trip is as yet unknown.

The Cayman Islands have rested their premier batsman, Pearson Best, for this tournament, but coach Theo Cuffy told Cricinfo he will play in WCL Division Four.

There are six changes from the United States squad which won Division Five in Nepal in January. Four of the squad - wicketkeeper Azhar Mehdi and medium-pacers Imtiaz Moazzam, Adrian Gordon and Mohammad Khan - are making their debuts while offspinning allrounder Mohammad Ghous and batsman Azurdeen Mohammed played in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. Steve Massiah is again the captain of a USA squad which, as is typical, has no American-born players.

Argentina has a new coach in former Northamptonshire player, Toby Bailey, following the return of Hamish Barton to New Zealand. Match fitness may not be a huge issue for Argentina, this tournament coming not long after the close of their domestic season although the team has not played together as a unit since WCL Division Three in January 2009.

Aside from playing in front of home crowds, the other feature for Bermuda will be the first hit-out under new coach, Australian David Moore, who is thought to be something of a disciplinarian. The captain is the vastly experienced David Hemp.

Bahamas return to Division One and are looking to consolidate their place in the top flight of cricket in the region. For the first time, a three-day Twenty20 event has been added.

The Asian Cricket Council has announced that in its tournaments it will be mandatory to include three members in the playing side who are passport holders of the country they represent, and no team will be permitted to field more than two players in the under-four-year-residency category.

This ruling will initially apply to Under-16 sides but the aim is to roll it out across all age groups and eventually senior sides.

The number of qualified players used to boost sides, as opposed to home-grown talent, has been a concern for a long time and continues to be so. The USA side at the recent ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers was almost entirely made up of players from the Caribbean and the subcontinent, while some other Associates and Affiliates have at times had as few as one player who could not be considered an expat.

"If cricket is to put down roots and grow and break out of the relatively small cradle in which it currently is placed in many countries, it has to be played by, taken up by, as significant and substantial a part of the population as possible,” a statement on the ACC website said. "Cricket is increasingly an Asian game yet at the same time, it cannot be a game for the people connected to just a few Asian countries."

The ACC’s decision had an immediate impact, causing Qatar and UAE to withdraw from the ACC Under-16 Elite Cup.

The UAE are particular unhappy with the new regulations because local laws make it hard, and in some instances impossible, for some people born in the Emirates to gain citizenship.

MCC have departed for their seven-match tour of the USA. The tour starts in California on March 17 before heading east to Florida, culminating in two matches at Central Broward - the new national cricket stadium - against USA and a West Indies XI.

The 16-man squad is captained by Michael Foster, the former Australia Under-19 batsman, and includes Matthew Friedlander, who has played for both Northamptonshire in England and Boland in South Africa, and actor Torquil Deacon.

MCC's first match is against the Southern Californian Cricket Association (SCCA) at Woodley CC in Los Angeles. They play two more games at Woodley - against the South West Region of the SCCA, and the Hollywood All-Stars on March 19 and 20 - before moving on to San Jose to play the North West Region and North West Region Under-19s. They then travel to Cupertino, just outside San Jose, to run a coaching session, before flying east to Miami.

"North America has great cricket history - USA and Canada played the first ever international match back in the 1840s - and we hope it's got a bright future too," said John Stephenson, MCC's head of cricket. "MCC believes the USA is a massive potential growth area for the game and we're delighted to do our part to encourage interest in California and Florida."

MCC teams have been regular visitors to the USA, having toured five times in the past twenty years, most recently in 2004.

The ICC has agreed to demands from Singapore that it look into events surrounding the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 match between Nepal and USA in Kirtipur which was marred by serious crowd trouble.

Singapore argue that Nepal only qualified for the final and so gained promotion as a result of the disruption. Until the stoppage, Singapore looked set to edge them out on net run-rate, but, so they argue, the revised target agreed by the ICC technical committee altered the equation in Nepal’s favour and they edged through by 0.0035.

The ICC, who dismissed initial complaints, belatedly decided to look into the complaint, which centres on the decisions of the technical committee. Nevertheless, it seems bewildering an immediate investigation was not launched into the riot itself.

It may help Singapore’s efforts that Imran Khwaja, chairman of the Singapore Cricket Association, is one the ICC executive committee, although insider said there was little chance of the ICC reversing the technical committee’s decision. “They will do what they always do in this kind of situation – nothing.”

An editorial in the Straits Times, was highly critical of the ICC. “Nepali fans are known to run riot when their team are losing. But is it Singapore’s fault that security measures at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kathmandu were inadequate to stop around 5,000 of them from throwing stones and invading the ground for nearly an hour? The ICC’s silence is deafening.”

The round-robin match was delayed for around 45 minutes after sections of the 12,000-strong crowd started to throw rocks and debris onto the outfield. Trouble had been brewing for some time as USA cruised towards an easy victory over the hosts, and riot police were already in situ when things got nasty.

While most people headed at speed for the exits and the teams fled from the field, a hard core of spectators continued to hurl anything they could grab hold of onto the playing area. Some reports suggested tear gas was fired into the stands.

Eventually order was restored, and as police cleared the rubbish from the outfield using wheelbarrows, the ICC technical committee deliberated as to whether to continue the game or abandon it and award the win to the USA. In the end, a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of seven from 14 overs was agreed on and the match ended quickly and in relative calm.

Don Lockerbie, the chief executive of the USA Cricket Association, has said that plans for the professionalisation of the game in the United States was on track to begin later this year.

“We’re fast approaching the ability to feel comfortable with some of the initiatives that we’ve put in place and some of the financial planning that we’re putting in place and can soon announce,” he told dreamcricket.com. “We’re adding staff to my office which would include hiring a national director of coaching, an assistant coaching staff, kind of retooling the way we select players throughout the country. We’d be looking at a regional coaching staff around the country that we’d want to incentivise with paid positions.

“I think that a lot of people know that my strategy all along has been to start at the national team level and work our way down because I believe that club cricket and regional cricket is healthy. Certainly, they can always use more funding and more facilities and more initiatives and we’ll get that to them in the near future, but the first thing to do in my opinion is to meet the mandate of the ICC and the mandate of the ICC is to make sure that we’re developing professional cricket teams that can make it to World Cups.”

The perennial problem for USACA has been money as the funding it receives from the ICC is no bigger because of the size of the country. “I think the stakeholders of US cricket will soon find that there will be funding for all areas of US cricket,” Lockerbie insisted, without going into specifics. “The goal is to make noise and noteworthy headlines at the national and international level so that the funding can come in so that there are broadcasters and sponsors and investors who want to be part of US cricket and so that it then makes its way throughout all spectres and spectrums of US cricket.”

Sceptics will again flag that Lockerbie’s ambitious plans are big on confidence and promises but sketchy when it comes to details on where the cash will come from.

Lennox Cush

I’ve never had the chance to go to Italy and now - if selected - I’ll be heading off there this summer for Division 4.

Today was kind of bitter-sweet for us as although we’d already qualified for the next division, with an epic match yesterday, we still wanted to come out and win against Nepal again today.

Looking at yesterday’s match against Nepal, I think it was an excellent game. We executed our plans beautifully and our opening bowler Darlington and Shuja did really well and prior to the game the coach had asked the openers to get at least three wickets in the first 10 overs and they’d done in this game. Coach asked and they provided.

Looking at Nepal, they were on the back-foot early after we took some early wickets and unfortunately for them it was too hard to come back.

In comparison with today’s game we didn’t do half of what we were supposed to and as a batting side we didn’t handle the Nepal spinner Rahul at all well. Credit has to go to the young man though – he was the making of the Nepal side today and deservingly the Man of the Match.

It was a huge crowd today who cheered for good performances and it was incredible to play in front of something like 15,000 people today – the crowd were in good spirits and cheered good performances all round. It was really good for us to be able to play in front of such a huge audience and also live on national television here in Nepal.

It’s been a long month or so away from home so I’m very much looking forward to heading back to New York and seeing my family and relax a bit. Then it’s going to be time to focus on making sure I’m in the team that travels to Italy this summer.

Lennox Cush

Jersey played well to start with and their captain Ryan Driver made good inroads, but I don’t think they ever really threatened us, despite their potent bowling.

Carl played very well today, he went in at a time when things weren’t going well and I think him and Aditya were really good today and credit goes to both of them for the runs they scored.

I think the earlier bowlers made it easier for me, Daniram and Darlington in particular, they set the tone and pushed the Jersey side back so that I could take the wickets. When I came out they needed to score at six runs an over which made it easier for me – I felt mentally I was more ready to take the wickets.

The University ground has by far the best outfield of all three grounds so it’s been good to play there and if we make it to the final that’s where we’ll be playing and in front of Nepal’s national TV station which has been broadcasting all the matches live from that ground.

Tomorrow we face Singapore, which is a really important game for us because if we win it, it means we’re guaranteed a place in Division 4 this summer in Italy – which is somewhere I feel we rightfully deserve to be. Once we’ve completed tomorrow then we can focus on winning the finals and taking home the Division 5 title.

I am looking forward to a rest this evening so that I’m fully prepared for tomorrow – I might even go and get a massage to help me get a good night’s rest.

Lennox Cush

Well I nearly got my century! After yesterday’s post about how important it was for one of the top four to get into triple figures I thought it was a good idea if I tried to lead from the front. I didn’t quite make it but I’m not unhappy with 91 and I really felt it was a match-winning innings on my behalf for the side. To then take a couple of wickets as well topped off the day nicely.

It’s always nice to win a Man-of-the-Match award and I’m sure it’ll look nice at home in New York – but I’d rather it were the World Cricket League Division 5 trophy that I get to take home to the US.

I didn’t expect Bahrain to be as strong as they were and credit to them, they worked hard today but we proved again that we were the stronger side. I am aware next up we’ve got Jersey who easily beat Fiji today but we musn’t be complacent. Every single match in this tournament is important and we want to go through as winners and table-toppers.

I was pleased with our score today. Again we made a plan to get into the high two hundreds and we did just that and it was good to see our captain Steve Massiah leading the way too with a hard-fought 67.

I’m looking forward to our rest day tomorrow – I’m not too sure what we’ve got planned, we may have a light training session but I’m looking forward to relaxing and preparing myself for Wednesday's match which I hope will be another victory for the Stars and Stripes.

Lennox Cush, USA

I think we had a good day today where we played to our plan – we wanted to go out there and make at least 300 and that’s something that we did do. The score may say that Fiji were a weak side but I wouldn’t say that – they tried hard but our plans worked out for us.

We have to play every game with the same mentality and treat it as though it were a final, which is what we did today.

It was good to make a half-century with my first innings of the tournament, but I know I can do better as I am in good nick at the moment after scoring 95 here, in Nepal, during our warm-up match last week against one of the local sides.

I feel as a side we need to find at least one of our top four who can go right through and make it into triple figures, and I hope that's something we can accomplish this tournament.

I don’t think we were tested enough today – I think that will come on another day – quite possibly from the Nepal side, who are the hosts, but again we can’t take anyone for granted in the tournament.

It was a nice atmosphere at the ground and there were few USA supporters down there, which is always nice to see, and everyone was very amicable.

I was surprised to find out that some of the teams have been checking out my statistics – coming prepared on how I play. It was something I didn’t expect and now I need to start doing some more research myself on some of the players I am due to come up against.

I didn’t get a chance to go to the opening ceremony last night as I wasn’t feeling too well. I am still a bit disappointed about that as I heard it was cool and that the prime minister of Nepal came to launch the tournament. Hopefully they’ll be another opportunity for me to experience some of Nepal’s hospitality later on this week.

Ireland 202 for 4 (O'Brien 84, Cusack 46) beat USA 124 for 6 (Thyagarajan 72*, Connell 4-14) by 78 runs

Scorecard

After the jubilation of their unexpected win over Scotland, USA came crashing back down today as Niall O'Brien's 84 lifted Ireland to a massive 202 for 4 and set up a 78-run win. Aditya Thyagarajan's unbeaten 72 saved USA's humiliation after they had slipped to 25 for 6 in their chase, but the result was already all but guaranteed after Ireland ratcheted up their highest total in Twenty20 cricket.

After the promising start in the win over Scotland, USA were badly let down by their bowlers today. William Porterfield and O'Brien stormed to 83 at 10 an over before Saurabh Verma found the edge of Porterfield's bat for 45, and after he departed Alex Cusack ensured there would be no let-up in the onslaught.

O'Brien looked set for a maiden Twenty20 hundred as he entered the 80s with 19 balls remaining in the innings, but it was not to be. He gave Timroy Allen the first of his two wickets to depart for 84, but by then the total had already passed 170. The other O'Brien - Kevin - came and went quickly, and Cusack was dismissed four runs short of a half-century, but Trent Johnston and Gary Wilson's late hitting took Ireland's score past 200.

Thoroughly demoralised after Ireland's blitz, USA's batsmen quickly capitulated in Peter Connell and Trent Johnston's opening spells. Three top order batsmen fell without scoring - including Captain Steve Massiah, to the first ball he faced - as USA crumbled to 11 for 5. Three overs later they slipped to 25 for 6, and it looked as though USA would struggle to survive past the halfway mark of their innings.

With only honour left to play for, the debutant Thyagarajan set about his task with gusto, collecting 11 fours in his innings and adding 99 with Orlando Baker to salvage some pride for USA. He was particularly severe on George Dockrell, the young left-arm spinner, and USA's final total was an admirable one after the depths of their collapse.

Ireland will be pleased with the extent of their victory in this game after their opening loss to Afghanistan, as they are now in strong contention for a Super Four berth. In theory, USA also still have a chance of going through to the next round, although they will have to inflict a resounding defeat on Afghanistan tomorrow which, on current form, looks highly unlikely.

USA 121 for 4 (Wright 62, Cush 41) beat Scotland 120 for 7 (Hamilton 41, Darlington 2-19, Dhaniram 1-12) by six wickets

Scorecard

A 97-run partnership between Carl Wright and Lennox Cush helped USA to an unexpected six-wicket victory over Scotland in the opening game of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers at Abu Dhabi.

Coming together after the early loss of Sushil Nadkarni, the pair compiled their runs at better than a run-a-ball to guide USA to within striking distance of victory. Wright struck eight fours on the way to a 57-ball 62, and Cush was no less enterprising, with three fours and a six in his 41.

Wright's dismissal, trapped lbw by Jan Stander with victory in sight, sparked a mini collapse as three wickets fell for no runs. Cush picked out Richie Berrington off Ryan Watson's medium pace, and Timroy Allen - the hero of USA's thrilling one-wicket win over UAE in the warm-ups - fell without scoring as USA slipped to 114 for 4. But Sudesh Dhaniram and captain Steve Massiah played a calm hand to ensure no further blips, sealing the win off the first ball of the 20th over.

Though Wright thoroughly deserved the Man-of-the-Match award for his match-winning half-century, the victory was set up by a solid team effort from USA's bowlers, who took the pressure off their batsmen by pegging Scotland back.

Usman Shuja began in superb fashion, getting rid of the dangerous Kyle Coetzer with his second ball. Orlando Baker then bowled Navdeep Poonia before he could get going, and Rashard Marshall and Wright combined to run out Fraser Watts and reduce Scotland to 42 for 3 in the ninth over.

Dhaniram kept the reins on the middle order with an extremely frugal spell, conceding just 12 runs in his four overs and picking up the vital wicket of Gavin Hamilton for 41. Stander's bright cameo lifted Scotland's score in the closing overs, but a target of 121 was never going to be a stern test, even for USA's brittle top order.

Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has confirmed plans to stage tournaments outside India, and is keen on staging events in the US.

The second season of the IPL, in 2009, was forced to move from India to South Africa because of security concerns but the success of the tournament has persuaded League chiefs to explore other opportunities.

"There are plans in the works to hold IPL matches overseas and we hope to be able to provide fans all around the world with the live IPL cricketing carnival experience," said Modi. "We are looking at a shorter version of the league post the IPL seasons, which will help us take the game to the fans across the globe. Initially we are looking at markets which have large Indian and cricket loving populations such as USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bangkok, Middle East, Canada and others."

"We will also host a few matches in the US in the next 18 months or so. My team have started examining venues and dates which may be available for this in the summer months. The duration for all these tournaments will be short and compact.

"Along with these markets, South Africa will undoubtedly be high on our priority list after seeing the astounding response we received during IPL season 2009. The remarkable success achieved there will obviously see us want to go back there soon."

As the Associate nations prepare for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament, which begins February 9 in the UAE, there is one fixture in Group A that jumps out at you. In perhaps the most intriguing sporting event of recent times, USA will face Afghanistan.

It's a match that will reverberate beyond the cricketing world as people try to imbue it with a progressive significance. Amidst all kinds of domestic turmoil Afghanistan have risen rapidly to become one of the best Associate nations and they will be desperate to secure a berth in the main World Twenty20, which takes place in West Indies in April.

They were within a whisker of qualifying for the 50-over World Cup last year and have impressed in the Intercontinental Cup, beating defending champions Ireland and the Netherlands.

"The match against the USA will be an interesting and exciting one," said Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal. "But it will just be another game of cricket in which both the sides will try as hard as possible hard to emerge winner. Like any other opponent, we respect the USA and know we cannot afford to be complacent against them.

"Initially, we started off with a reputation of being a good Twenty20 side because this is the format that is played and popular in Afghanistan. But in the last 18 months, we have shown that we can adopt and excel in any format. Personally, I believe we are a better Twenty20 side simply because we have more experience in the shortest version of the game.

"Our group is a tough one with Ireland and Scotland having loads of international experience. But I am quite optimistic that after narrowly missing out on next year's 50-over World Cup, we'll be able to qualify for the World Twenty20. We just need a good start in the tournament and our big boys need to fire throughout the next week."

For their part, the USA comes to this event plenty to prove. Having fallen down the rankings in recent years they only made it to the qualifiers as a wildcard entry, along with hosts United Arab Emirates.

"We are feeling very positive and very confident," said USA captain Steve Massiah. "Judging from the way we played in the last tournament, which was the Americas Cup, we feel good. We want to make the most of the opportunity to play in this event and we are all looking forward to it."

Keen observers will notice the name of Lennox Cush in the USA team, he was in the Stanford Superstars squad that defeated England in 2008, and Massiah wants to draw on his experience. "Lennox is very important as he has had the opportunity to play a lot of Twenty20 cricket and was part of that Stanford squad. He is very experienced and hopefully this will rub off on the other players."

The squads for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Dubai and Abu Dubai between February 9 and 15 have been announced.

The tournament will see 17 matches take place in the five days, played Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City, where the final will be staged.

At stake are two places in the World Twenty20 which takes places in the West Indies from April 30 to May16. The winner of the UAE event will join South Africa and India in Group C while the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.

All eyes will be on Afghanistan, who's stellar performances over the last ten months have reverberated around the cricketing world and beyond. While they narrowly missed qualification for the 50-over World Cup 2011 in April, they have been in good form at the Intercontinental Cup. Most recently they displayed flair and resilience to defeat defending champions Ireland, and also recorded a come-from-behind, one-wicket victory over the Netherlands in August 2009.

Ireland, who have been pushing for full-member status, remain one of the strongest associate sides and their squad includes 13 players from the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, where they defeated Bangladesh by six wickets and qualified for the Super Eights.

The Netherlands, who caused the major upset of the 2009 tournament when they defeated England in the opening match, will be without captain Jeroen Smith's this time round but will still be looking to impress.

Afghanistan Dawlat Ahmadzai, Hameed Hasan, Karim Khan Sadiq, Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai, Mohamamd Shahzad Mohammadi, Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Merwais Ashraf, Nawroz Khan Mangal, Noor Ali Noori, Obaidullah Konary, Raees Ahmadzai, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Shahpoor Zardan and Samiullah Shinwari.

Canada Harvir Baidwan, Ashish Bagai, Geoff Barnett, Umar Bhatti, Ian Billcliff, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, John Davison, Sunil Dhaniram, Shaheed Keshvani, Usman Limbada, Henry Osinde, Abdool Samad and Saad Bin Zafar.

Ireland Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Peter Connell, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Paul Striling, Andrew White and Gary Wilson.

Kenya James Kamande, Lameck Ngoche, Nehemiah Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Nelson Odhiambo, Otieno Ondik, Elijah Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Rakep Patel, Steve Tikolo and Hiren Varaiya.

Netherlands Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Atse Buurman, Timothy Gruijters, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski and Bas Zuiderent.

Scotland Richie Berrington,, Kyle Coezter, Gordon Drummond, Gordon Goudie, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Simon Smith, Jan Stander, Ryan Watson and Fraser Watts.

UAE Fayyaz Ahmed, Saqib Ali, Arfan Haider, Mohamed Iqbal, Amjad Javed, Khurram Khan, Mois Shahid Malik, Naeemuddin, Qadar Nawaz, Ahmed Raza, Abdul Rehman, Shoaib Sarwar, Mohammad Tauqir and Qassim Zubair.

USA Timroy Allen, Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Kevin Darlington, Sudesh Dhaniram, Glenmore Hall, Rashard Marshall, Steve Massiah, Sushil Nadkarni, Usman Shuja, Aditya Thyagarajan and Saurabh Verma Carl Wright.

USA’s preparations for the ICC Under-19 World Cup came unstuck as they were beaten by Hong Kong in a warm-up match. Afgahnistan, who beat Hong Kong earlier in the week, lost to a Canterbury A team, while Canada lost to an Auckland XI.

USA only managed 182 for 9 after they chose to bat, their efforts not aided by three run outs. Hong Kong raced to 186 for 4 in 32.2 overs with captain Jamie Atkinson blasting 100 off 86 deliveries. He added 156 at almost a run-a-ball with Ashish Gadhia (59).

Afghanistan went down to a five-wicket loss to Canterbury A, being bowled out for 169 after a promising start. Canterbury eased to victory in 32.2 overs, opener Kereyn Ambler leading the way with 70 off 77 balls.

Auckland XI made 171 for 6 in a match reduced to 33 overs-a-side by rain. Canada struggled to keep on top of a stiff asking rate and finished on 148 for 7, although a fifty from Ruvindu Gunasekara gave them some cause for optimism.

This was the last round of unofficial warm-ups as the teams all head to Christchurch for the tournament’s official opening on Sunday. Two days of official warm-ups follow before the first batch of proper games on Friday, January 15.

The USA Cricket Association has announced an intention to establish a “strategic partnership agreement” with New Zealand Cricket. The proposed partnership covers a variety of activities, ranging from the sharing of coaching and development resources through to the staging of international fixtures involving the two countries.

“We are very positive and excited about the benefits our relationship with NZC can bring to USA cricket,” Don Lockerbie, USACA’s chief executive, said. “USA cricket can learn greatly from the experience and knowledge of NZC, and we believe there are real and significant cricketing benefits and commercial opportunities possible through this partnership.”

“We are looking forward to a long-term partnership with USACA,” added NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan. “Cricket in the United States is at a very exciting stage, and we are enthusiastic about the prospect of helping USACA significantly grow the game in their country. The benefits of cricket becoming more established in the USA are globally significant for the sport.”

Two years ago USACA appeared to have thrown in its lot with neighbours West Indies, but the latter’s internal political and financial problems have made it a less appealing prospect for the ambitious Lockerbie.

When America's most talented players begin play in Fort Lauderdale on Friday for the USA Cricket Association (USACA) National Championship, each one will be full of hope about their team's chances of walking away with the title. They'll also be desperate to impress selectors at the grounds each day because the tournament is also acting as trials for the USA national squad to compete in February's World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai and the World Cricket League (WCL) Division Five in Nepal.

For the full story click here.

USA's senior and Under-19 teams are scheduled to compete in several major tournaments over the next five months. However, USACA is currently struggling to figure out the best way to prepare them.

USACA is planning on having its National Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from November 13 to 15. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from October 9 to 11 in Houston, Texas, but officials wanted to move the event to Florida to give players competing for spots on the national teams the opportunity to play on turf pitches, as opposed to the matting wickets used in Houston and around most of the country.

Florida's venues would provide them necessary preparation for when the United States travels to Dubai for the 2010 World Twenty20 Qualifier from February 9 to 13 as well as to Nepal for the World Cricket League Division 5 from February 20 to 27.

The National Championship will pit four regional teams, which qualified through USACA's Eastern and Western Conference tournaments, against each other in 50-over matches on November 13 and 14 to determine the national champion.

November 15 was intended to be used as an opportunity for players from these squads to be selected to face teams from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago in Twenty20 matches, but those plans are now on hold because a financial agreement hasn't been reached to lure the teams from the Caribbean to play on US soil.

"We would have picked the best team we have and played Jamaica and Trinidad," said Krish Prasad, chairman of USACA's cricket committee. "Seeing that that is not likely to happen, we will have to come up with a different structure, because we're going to Nepal and Dubai to play Twenty20 and Nepal to play 50 overs. We've got to come up with a plan to facilitate both teams' preparations."

Another problem in selecting the senior team is trying to get the entire short list of 40 probables an opportunity to play and be evaluated when some of them belong to regional squads that were eliminated in the tournaments leading up to the nationals.

"Hopefully we have, I think 90% of the players in the four regional teams," said Prasad. "We've already selected 40 players to get there. We're going to have to somehow get all those 40 players there. The ones that are not from the regions that's going to be contesting in the national tournament will also be invited there to participate maybe in the Sunday tournament or something like that.

"But we have to come up with a way of getting these guys there. The original plan we had was going to work well, but unfortunately that's not going to work. So we're going to have to get everybody there because we can't select 40 guys and then don't take them to a trial to see who's the best team that we can send to Dubai and Nepal."

Other financial issues are also a consideration in the planning process of the weekend. The matches for the USACA National Championship will most likely be played at Brian Piccolo Park rather than Central Broward Regional Park because USACA is reluctant to pay for the Broward stadium's rental fees for a non-revenue generating event.

"If the stadium was available, we could have used the lights in there and played two night games also," said Prasad. "That was the plan if the Jamaican team was going to come, because that would be a revenue generating opportunity." According to Prasad, it would cost $2,500 per match to rent the facility.

USACA's financial constraints are also having an effect on the Under-19 squad, which is set to compete in the 2010 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand from January 16 to 30. A training camp had been planned to take place concurrently with the senior tournament in Florida, but those plans have been shelved for the time being.

"The junior team, we were hoping to get them there at the same time," said Prasad, "but because of the funding situation, we are just going to sort of keep them on hold for now and hopefully get them into some sort of practice sessions, playing a couple of games and fitness because I think our major problem with the Under-19 has been their fitness.

"Living in the United States, they don't play cricket every day in the summer and when they went to that tournament [Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto], it showed that nine games in 13 days was a little bit too much for our boys. We learned that we need to get them physically fit for this tournament that's going to be starting in New Zealand in January."

There is hope that the situation will change in the near future though as USACA is currently trying to lock in a commercial partnership to generate significant funding to be used for improvements both on and off the field.

"We are looking at these commercial programs, which the CEO [Don Lockerbie] is pursuing as we speak," said Prasad. "So if that comes through in a couple of weeks, we could be in a very good position financially to start some very good programs. But like everything else, we have always been hampered by financial problems and once again we are encountering the same thing."

The most talented young players in Associate and Affiliate cricket gather in Toronto this week in an attempt to qualify for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, staged in New Zealand.

While the opportunity of competing against the best young squads from larger nations, such as Australia and India, is at the forefront of the players' ambitions, the tournament gives them a chance to impress and perhaps even press for a place in the senior team. Ireland's Paul Stirling, a highly regarded left-hander, turns 19 September 3 and displayed his potential during his senior side's three-run defeat to England on Thursday, cracking 30 from 26.

Click here for the full story.

Although Don Lockerbie, the USA Cricket Association's CEO, has outlined ambitious plans for the game in the country, some locals in Florida are less than impressed that the USA's first purpose-built stadium has yet to stage a major match, more than two years after it was opened.

The construction of the ground at Broward County in Lauderhill was never universally welcomed, and many locals expressed concern at a bill running into tens of millions of dollars. At the time, they were assured it was the first step in bringing big-time cricket to the USA, and the ICC sanctioned it as the first international-standard venue in the country. Up to now, however, all it has hosted are a handful of minor matches, but is often empty as few can afford the significant hiring fees asked for.

The 5000-seater stadium - it can be expanded to accommodate 20,000 with temporary stands - is proving a white elephant, and it is believed to have lost more than US$1m in its last financial year.

"We understand that there will be commentary and a lot of frustration by the stakeholders who feel that the stadium hasn't seen its fair share of international cricket," Lockerbie told the Florida-based Sentinel newspaper. "The point is, the United States itself has not been the powerhouse of cricket."

Tentative plans to attract major international teams were in place as far back as 2006, and there was even talk of hosting warm-up matches in Florida ahead of the World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007. But such was the shambles with the USACA at the time, the country was sidelined and ambitious plans were shelved.

Lockerbie, however, is confident that is all in the past and is adamant the big time is not far away. There is talk of attracting teams to Florida ahead of next April's ICC World Cup Twenty20 (again staged in the Caribbean) but to date countries contacted by Cricinfo have expressed, at best, lukewarm interest.

"It's not quite simply you build it and they will come," John Webb, senior vice president for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Sentinel. "We're selling it the best we can."

If Lockerbie's plans come good, then Broward County could become a major venue for international cricket, probably of the Twenty20 variety which many believe is the way to crack the US market. If they don't, then the local taxpayers, already increasingly vocal, will only grow more agitated.

The inaugural season of the American Premier League, which was set to take place in Staten Island, New York, in October this year, has had to be postponed, and it is now very doubtful if the project will see the light of day.

According to the league chairman, Jay Mir, a full and detailed proposal for the competition was sent to the USA Cricket Association six weeks ago as part of an application to gain official sanctioning, but no reply has been forthcoming.

Sir Richard Hadlee, the APL executive consultant, said: "We have done what we were asked to do by preparing and sending a proposal to have our event supported and sanctioned and as we have not had any official responses, time has run out for the October tournament. We are hopeful of continuing dialogue in the future."

However, Cricinfo has learned there were major concerns with the size of the proposed venue, a baseball field in Staten Island. The recent announcement that USACA is exploring plans to launch its own Twenty20 tournament also makes the future of the APL highly dubious.

Will Luke

Cricket rarely makes the pages of the New York Times, and if it does, it's usually related to the global game, not the sport in the United States. But today is the exception, with a wide-ranging piece on the power cricket can do for good.

Police Officer Jeff Thomson from the NYPD first got in contact with us a couple of weeks ago, and since then his force have staged a family day to launch their season.

But it is cricket's global appeal that can forge ties locally. With the game so popular in south asia and the Caribbean, those two communities in New York who sometimes struggle to integrate are given a vehicle to do just that.

“The Muslim community is not a community we had great outreach to in the past,” said Deputy Inspector Amin Kosseim, who runs special projects for the department’s Community Affairs Bureau.

And so the police decided to experiment with cricket, a game with a huge following across the Caribbean and South Asia. The response has cut across community lines. Tuesday’s opening match pitted the SuperStars — made up largely of players from Guyana — against the KnightRiders, a predominantly Pakistani team.

The NYPD have also had to make other adaptations to fit New York conditions.

For example, a strip of rolled and immaculately trimmed grass is normally used as the playing surface on which a ball bounces before it is struck by a batsman. But that strip is expensive and rare in this country. So the league’s matches, played at Spring Creek Park in Brooklyn and Kissena Park in Queens, use a substitute: a heavy, fibrous mat that is staked to the ground before a game.

At a SuperStars training session recently in Baisley Pond Park, youngsters on a neighboring basketball court looked on askance as the team carried the mat from a metal locker and used mallets to secure it to the damp earth. The bounce, according to the team’s coach, Ajaz Asgarally, was satisfactory.

It remains to be seen if the Police Department is able to nurture cricket talent in the way that other law enforcement agencies have. According to Keith A. P. Sandiford, a professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba who has written extensively on cricket, a police boys club established in Barbados to keep wayward boys off the streets once showcased the talents of a young Garfield Sobers.

Read the full piece and leave your comments below.

The United Arab Emirates will host the ICC World Twenty20 2010 Qualifier later this year. The event, which is currently scheduled to take place in late October, will also be expanded from its previous staging, in Ireland in 2008.

In addition to featuring the six Associate and Affiliate teams with ODI status - Ireland, Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland - it will also include the host team and the United States of America (USA).

The top two sides from the tournament will go forward to join the 10 ICC Full Members in next year's main event, set to take place in the West Indies in April and May at three locations - Barbados, Guyana and St Lucia.

These decisions were made by the ICC Development Committee, which has been meeting this week in Dubai.

"I am thrilled that the ICC Development Committee has again taken an expansive and innovative approach to promoting our great sport by inviting the UAE and USA to join the top six Associate and Affiliate teams at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier later this year," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat. "The committee has given the chance for the top six Associate and Affiliate teams to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20, something they had the chance to do in the equivalent event in Ireland last year, while, at the same time, creating two additional invitational slots for this event."

The ICC has thrown the USA an unexpected lifeline by inviting them to take part in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in the UAE later this year.

After several years of infighting, including two periods where the USA Cricket Association was actually suspended by the ICC, the team currently languishes in the lower regions of world cricket.

However, the ICC's development committee decided to fast-track the team into the Qualifiers which features the six Associates with ODI status alongside hosts UAE. This will be greeted with anger by the many countries above the USA in the global pecking order, not least Namibia, the Associate on the periphery of joining the top six, who have been hit below the belt for the second time in as many days.

On Tuesday, they were excluded from the top flight of the Intercontinental Cup after the ICC decided to restructure the competition, partially to accommodate Zimbabwe, and now they find that they have been leapfrogged by the USA.

"For the USA the tournament represents a wonderful opportunity to move towards a brighter future and exploit its potential after a period on the fringes following previous suspensions and demotions because of administrative issues," explained Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive. "The ICC has strategic plans to target and strengthen the game in potential growth markets and the USA, with its player base, development potential and cricket broadcast interest, now backed with a new professional administration set-up, has obvious potential in all these areas."

Lorgat's comments suggested that the decision owed little to cricketing credentials and almost everything to commercial and marketing opportunities. How that will sit with other Associates remains to be seen. The last global event USA participated in was the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in May 2008 when they lost to Jersey in the semi-finals.

"Twenty20 is the perfect vehicle for cricket to excite the USA and the carrot for its players and administrators is that a top-two finish will earn it a place in the main event which is to be held in its own region."

Inzamam-ul-Haq and up to seven disaffected members of the Lahore Badshahs ICL franchise are in discussions with an American entrepreneur who hopes to establish an international Twenty20 tournament in New York City.

Click here to read the full story.

The USA rarely receives much publicity in the papers' sport sections. Every now and then, however, it makes an appearance, often owing to the plucky efforts of a group of fans. Or, in this case, a group of college students attempting to create their own tournament.

With only a few weeks’ notice, the five teams did what many college students do this time of year: they packed their sunscreen and headed to Florida. Nearly 60 players drove or flew at their own expense to the lush cricket pitches of Central Broward Regional Park. They played Twenty20, a version of cricket in which many stuffy traditions are left behind and matches are completed in about three hours instead of taking up to five days. The only custom-built cricket stadium in the United States stands in this park, but securing the 5,000-seat facility was far too rich a luxury for the tournament’s shoestring budget. Competing on the park’s manicured fields was already an upgrade over the converted soccer fields and tennis courts the players were used to.

“I wanted them to see the stadium to know what they are playing for,” said Lloyd Jodah, the founder and president of American College Cricket. “That is where we want to be next year.”

The idea for the college tournament came to him last year as he campaigned to have cricket included in the Olympics. Standing on Wall Street with a cricket bat in one hand and petitions in the other, Jodah, 50, an immigrant from Guyana who works selling health club memberships, met Kalpesh Patel, a Jamaican business student from the University of Miami.

Once Jodah heard how difficult it was for college cricketers to find regular games, he began toying with the idea of a nationwide organization for collegiate clubs and founded American College Cricket. He made a group on Facebook as a way to reach out to players.

“We always had the desire to play, but there was no real framework for us to get involved,” Patel said. “So this idea gave us the push to get involved with the most competitive form of the game.”

The New York Times has the full story.

DIRECTV has secured broadcast rights in the USA for all ICC and IPL tournaments. These rights include events such as the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 and 2010 IPL tournaments and the 2011 World Cup.

While the intentions of the USA Cricket Association might be genuine, it hardly sets out to help itself.

Last weekend’s annual meeting was arguably one of its most important given that the ICC’s patience with the ongoing lack of transparency and failure to appoint of CEO is well documented. A reasonable person might expect that stakeholders would be kept in the loop. And yet for several days around the meeting the USACA website was down and while it has now resurfaced, it has nothing about the meeting other than a feeble month-old message advertising the date and location.

Thousands of clubs manage to run small sites so it is utterly unacceptable that a board receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the ICC in grants cannot manage to run a simple website. It’s been the case for several years and despite lots of bullish promises, nothing has changed.

Critics point out, with increasing justification, how on earth can an executive who continuously fail to do the basics with any degree of professionalism be trusted to look after the interests of the cricket fraternity in the USA.

Gladstone Dainty, the president of the USACA, told the association’s annual general meeting in New York that there was no truth the ICC were reviewing the operation of USACA and that there was any question of another suspension.

Dainty, speaking under the watchful eyes of Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and IS Bindra, the ICC’s special advisor, insisted the the ICC was “happy we are all getting along” and that there was a general air of stability.

Behind the scenes, the ICC are believed to be increasingly concerned that almost one year after the implementation of a new constitution and fresh elections, the post of chief executive remains unfilled.

Dainty, however, said that the ICC appreciated that the process could not be hurried and that 41 applications had been received of which 20 were considered to be credible. Five had been asked to interview and the appointment would be announced after that.

The question of how the full-time CEO would be paid for also arose, with John Thickett, the USACA treasurer, admitting organisation was far from well off. The post would be covered from increased ICC funding and other local initiatives.

Thickett added that third parties had approached USACA with a view to staging international matches in the USA and these proposals were being examined.

Speaking on behalf of the ICC, Martin Viera, the Americas development officer, called on the US to up its expansion of the game as it compared unfavourably with Canada and Bermuda. He concluded by urging USACA to explore non-ICC funding options including government and corporate funding.

Click here for a full report on the meeting from dreamcricket.com

ICC president Haroon Lorgat and special advisor IS Bindra will meet with USA Cricket Association officials in New York later this month.

The visit is the first by any senior ICC official since the board returned from its second suspension following elections last March. The USACA president, Gladstone Dainty, was re-elected despite being seen by many as the major block to progress within the country, and he has continued to court controversy with rumours growing that the USA could even be suspended again after months of inaction.

"Given the huge potential, we don't want to lose the market in the USA," Bindra told the Kolkata-based Telegraph, but he made quite clear that did allow Dainty to carry on regardless. "At the same time, we in the ICC need to be clear about the direction the USACA is taking, that's why this review.

"Many in the USA have an emotional attachment to cricket and that needs to be harnessed. Sadly, there's been in-fighting from the early 1990s. Now, apparently, everybody is getting together and that's a good sign. The USACA can't afford to have more factionalism."

But the disharmony remains, and privately ICC officials are believed to be angry that after the fresh elections have been followed by months of inactivity. It took until November for the executive to hold its first meeting, and the post of CEO, which should have been done and dusted by the year end, has only just been advertised.

Critics of USACA hope that the real reason behind Bindra and Lorgat's visit is to fire a final warning blast across Dainty's bows. Shape up, or this time you will be kicked into touch for good.

The USA Cricket Association is seeking a CEO. Please visit their website at www.usaca.org for details.

The Hawaii Premier League (HPL) was successfully launched as Hawaii’s first Twenty20
competition in October. The league is scheduled to hold tournaments twice annually each November and May. The first three teams were comprised of all-star cricket players from Oahu and Maui. The three teams wore different coloured uniforms and were named the Master Batters, Spitting Cobras and Terminators. The tournament has plans to expand to include mainland cricket teams in 2009 before expanding further to include international teams from Asia and Oceania. The plan is to expand the Hawaii Premier League into an international competition, in a tournament structure beginning in May 2010.

The month-long competition in October featured several close matches and after six matches all three teams were level with two wins and two defeats. The Spitting Cobras and Master Batters made the Grand Final by virtue of securing the most bonus points. The Grand Final went to the
Spitting Cobras who batted first and amassed 160 runs including 99 runs from 47 balls by Mark Berwick. The Master Batters got off to a promising start however were held to 127 runs.

For more information contact Mark Berwick at Honolulu Cricket Club or check out the website.

USA beat Cayman Islands in a rain-interrupted match to clinch the ICC Americas Division 1

In a rain-interrupted match at Brian Piccolo Park, USA clinched the title with an 87-run win Cayman Islands, thus finishing their campaign unbeaten. A commanding opening stand of 194 between Sushil Nadkarni and Carl Wright put the USA firmly in the driving seat, with Wright going on to make a brilliant 112 from 105 balls. Nadkarni, the player of the tournament, made 84 from 103 balls with 10 fours. Kevon Bazil bowled well in difficult conditions to take 4 for 75 as USA reached 289 for 6 in 49 overs.
Rain interruptions curtailed Cayman Islands' response and the match was eventually called to a halt with them struggling on 65 for 4 in the 24th over.

Click here for the final-day match reports along with quotes from Steve Massiah.

The Indian board has received an offer of help from the unlikeliest of sources – a small city in New Jersey. Edison, whose population is about one third Indians and is home to five clubs, had offered land to the BCCI if it wants to build a cricket stadium.

Jun H Choi, the mayor, made the offer to BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, who was in New York as part of the official Indian delegation to the United Nations. A more formal proposal is now being drawn up. Choi is reported to believed that such a partnership would bring in considerable revenue and business.

Results went according to the script on the second day of the ICC Americas Division 1 tournament as USA, Bermuda and Canada registered comfortable victories

At Brian Piccolo Park another fine innings from Hamish Barton steered Argentina to a respectable 200 for 9 against USA, but that was put into perspective by Sushil Nadkarni, who struck his second century in two days. Nadkarni hit 109 off 116 balls as USA cantered home with 12 overs to spare. Argentina's day didn't improve when Barton picked up an ankle injury and he is in doubt for the next match against Cayman Islands.

"We played well against determined opposition and did the job we set out to do," Imran Khan, the USA manager, said. "While our batting - and especially Sushil - is looking good, we have work to do on being more disciplined in the field, and especially not gifting the opposition with bowling extras."

Canada had a less stressful match than yesterday, when they almost slipped up against Argentina, easing to a 206-run victory against Cayman Islands. At Central Broward Regional Park, they racked up an impressive 298 for 9. Opener Sandeep Jyoti top-scored with a stylish 88 off 129 balls, while further half-centuries came from Zubin Surkari and Qaiser Ali.

Cayman Islands' chase began poorly when they lost a wicket first ball and the innings never recovered, eventually folding for 92 in under 33 overs. Khurram Chohan took 3 for 34 and Zahid Hussain claimed 3 for 11

"We set ourselves goals today and I believe we achieved almost all of them," Canada captain, Umar Bhatti, said. "The team performed tremendously well today, all three departments were up to scratch, and it was a huge improvement from yesterday."

On the main stadium field at Central Broward Regional Park, Bermuda were predictably too strong for Suriname and notched a commanding 224-run win. Lionel Cann's 97-ball 101 led Bermuda to 290 for 3 and he was helped by Stephen Outerbridge's 62, plus a half century from captain Irving Romaine.

In reply, left-arm spinner Delyone Borden proved too much the Suriname batsmen, taking 6 for 17 from his 10 overs as the minnows were bundled out for 66, having been skittled for 60 in their opening match.

Bermuda's coach, Gus Logie, was pleased with how his team are progressing. "Today was all about building on yesterday's effort, and we did that strongly," he said. "It was also good to continue building confidence for the tough games ahead. We are constantly looking for self-improvement and today we got that, also our attitude and approach towards the game was very business-like, which was important."

Cricinfo has been told that an executive meeting of the USA Cricket Association was held on November 8 at which job specification for the new post of chief executive was agreed.

As with so much involving the USACA, there is no official announcement of the outcome of the meeting, or even that it was scheduled. Despite this, the column published at the end of last week did produce a couple of terse emails suggesting we check our facts before claiming that the executive hadn’t met … despite the fact that few emails to the association ever get as much as an acknowledgement.

So, for the sake of clarity, some seven months after elections, the new executive has finally met. Publication of the minutes are awaited with interest.

The USACA was due to have made the appointment of the chief executive by October 1, so it is already some way behind the agreed deadline.

Patience is running out in the international community with the continuing failure of the USA Cricket Association to fulfill obligations which followed the implementation of a new constitution and fresh elections in March.

In those elections, Gladstone Dainty, who many hold responsible for the tattered reputation of the USACA and its suspension from the ICC in 2006, was surprisingly re-elected as president, although almost all of those most closely linked with him were booted out of office. Hopes the new members of the executive would be able to bring order to the USACA have already disappeared.

Despite a brief charm offensive in the weeks ahead of the March elections, the hallmarks of the old regime - a lack of accountability, a virtual media blackout, poorly-organised events - have resurfaced since. The new executive has not met and attempts to convene meetings have proved fruitless. The next one is scheduled for November but few believe it will actually happen.

Three-and-a-half years ago Malcolm Speed, at the time the CEO of the ICC, said "the governance of USACA appears to have reached a level that is dysfunctional". There is a suspicion that things are rapidly approaching that state again.

However, while for now the ICC has remained silent on the matter, its policy being that a democratically-elected board has to get its own house in order, the USACA has failed to fulfil a major commitment, namely to appoint a full-time chief executive by October 1. At that date, the terms of employment had not even been agreed as that can only be done at an executive meeting. Rumours abound that one of those voted out in March could be parachuted in to strengthen Dainty's position.

While it might suit Dainty to let things rumble on, it is unlikely the ICC will be so relaxed. The lack of appointing the CEO could mean at the least all funding to the USACA will be cut off - that is in the ICC's own rules for Associates - and with the increases due next year and additional high-performance grants, that will runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, given Dainty and the USACA's poor track record, it is possible that another suspension could be on the cards.

Yet again, Dainty's lack of action and poor control is risking vital funding and the USA's international credibility and exposure. Those who voted for him last March should be asking themselves why they did so when it was pretty obvious this old leopard was not about to change his spots. Not only that, those members of regions that voted for Dainty should be asking their representatives to explain why they acted as they did.

If people are waiting for the ICC to step in, by the time it does it will be too late. It is, again, down to stakeholders to act. To be precise, the non-Dainty-aligned executive has to insist on a meeting regardless of whether Dainty attends and to start grabbing the USACA by the scruff of the neck. They outnumber Dainty and now they need to turn their guns on him.

Despite a brief charm offensive in the weeks ahead of the March elections, the hallmarks of the old regime - a lack of accountability, a virtual media blackout, poorly-organised events - have resurfaced since. The new executive had not met and attempts to convene meetings have proved fruitless. The next one is scheduled for November but few believe it will actually happen.

Three-and-a-half years ago Malcolm Speed, at the time the CEO of the ICC, said "the governance of USACA appears to have reached a level that is dysfunctional". There is a suspicion that things are rapidly approaching that scenario again.

However, while for now the ICC has remained silent on the matter, its policy being that a democratically-elected board has to get its own house in order, the USACA has failed to fulfil a major commitment, namely to appoint a full-time chief executive by October 1. At that date, the terms of employment had not even been agreed as that can only be done at an executive meeting. Rumours abound that one of those voted out in March could be parachuted in to strengthen Dainty's position.

While it might suit Dainty to let things rumble on, it is unlikely the ICC will be so relaxed. At the least, all funding to the USACA will be cut off - that is in the ICC's own rules for Associates - and with the increases due next year and additional high-performance grants that will runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, given Dainty and the USACA's poor track record, it is increasingly possible that another suspension could be on the cards.

Yet again, Dainty's lack of action and poor control is risking vital funding and the USA's international credibility and exposure.

Those who voted for him last March should be asking themselves why they did so when it was pretty obvious this old leopard was not about to change his spots. Not only that, those members of regions that voted for Dainty should be asking their representatives what they were thinking.

If people are waiting for the ICC to step in, by the time it does it will be too late. It is, again, down to stakeholders to act. To be precise, the non-Dainty-aligned executive has to insist on a meeting to be held regardless of whether Dainty attends and to start grabbing US cricket by the scruff of the neck. They outnumber Dainty and now they need to turn their guns on him.

Canada and USA have been invited to take part in the as yet unsponsored West Indies domestic one-day tournament which starts on November 13 in Guyana.

The ICC Americas Division One tournament will be staged in Florida from November 24 to December 1, with the new Broward County stadium hosting some of the matches.

Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Suriname and USA will take part.

In the last competition in 2006 in Canada, Bermuda beat USA in the final.

While many hoped the USA Cricket Association elections last March would herald a new era of openness and progress, the reality is that it seems to have slumped back into its bad old ways with little communication between it and its stakeholders.

The most recent high-profile event, the USA Senior National Tournament, should have started on October 10 but nothing seems to have happened and nobody knows when and if it will happen.

USACA’s unexplained failure to appoint a new chief executive is also threatening to affect the amount of funding it receives from the ICC.

Cricket Council USA has announced that 31 teams have registered to take part in its $100,000 US T20 Cricket tournament which takes place next April in Florida.

The teams that have registered come from as far away as Canada, West Indies, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Australia, as well as from within the USA.

The Americas Region Division I is now confirmed to take place in Florida, November 24
December 1. Five matches will be played in the new stadium built for cricket in Broward County.
–
Six countries, Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Suriname and the USA will
compete for the title. For Suriname, an affiliate, it will be their first appearance in Division I. The team earned the right to compete having won Division 2.

A new Twenty20 tournament is being launched in the USA and will feature teams from across the North East region.

The event, sponsored by dreamcricket.com, will feature 12 teams and runs from September 27 to October 18. The sides will be split into two groups with the top two in each progressing to semi-finals. The total prize money on offer is $10,000, of which $5000 will go to the winners.

The preliminary matches will be played on cricket grounds in Central NJ - Colonial Park, Weston Road-2, Edison Cricket Club ground and South Brunswick. The semis and the final will be played at Warinanco Cricket Park in Roselle, NJ.

Group A Tri-State Argonauts, Holmdel Hurricanes, NJ Royals, New York Knights, Edison Daredevils and Global Challengers

Group B North Jersey Renegades, Connecticut Patriots, Somerset Cavaliers, Mercer Warriors, Jersey Indians and Philadelphia Terminators

The itinerary for the international Tour of the Under-17 USA team to England has been finalized at last, and the tour will begin on August 14, 2008. The USA Team will be playing four 40-over and two 20-over matches during their visit.

Unfortunately, it proved to be impossible to schedule any matches with an English Under-15 team because of their already pre-arranged schedule, Hopefully, this will happen in 2009 and beyond, as the idea of U-15 cricket gets more established in world cricket circles.

The USA team contains several players who have already proved themselves in international competition. Among them are Akash Jaganathan, Jason Fox, who is an accomplished batsman, bowler, and keeper from Kansas; Pranay Suri, who captained the Western region team which won the US National championship.and who also performed extremely well in the recently concluded Americas U-15 championship in Bermuda.

Other squad members include: Vinay Suri, an opening bowler who is also a top-order batsman on the winning squad in the US U19 national tournament; Alok Mehta, a bowler who won the Man-of-the-Match award during the recently concluded US Junior National tournament in California; Adhiraj Watave, a talented all-rounder who is the youngest player on the team; Deep Sathe, a legspin bowler who has taken five wickets a few times in youth games and is also extremely strong batsman with the bat.

Chanakya Lokam is an opening batsman who played in the U15 Nationals and has been training in India. Gaurav Ambekar is a combative batsman who punishes the ball often; and Navneet Wariach is a consistent offspin bowler and a utility batsman. All in all, this is a team with all the skills and experience that has earned top honours for USA junior squads for the past three years in international matches, and it is expected to prove as much in its tour of England. The team arrives on August 14 in England, and returns to the USA on August 23.



Tour itinerary

August 15 40-over fixture v Treeton CC

August 17 20-over fixture v Treeton CC

August 19 40-over fixture v Anston CC

August 20 40-over fixture v Sheffield United

August 21 20-over fixture v Anston CC

August 22 20-over fixture v Killamarsh CC

Canada have won the Under-15 Americas Cricket Championship in Bermuda after completing the tournament with an unbeaten record.

Canada were run closest by Bermuda who reduced them to 85 for 6 chasing 168 in their penultimate match, but an unbeaten 44 from Bryan Henry ensured they squeezed home with three balls in hand.

“Grassroots development through talent identification and development programs instituted in the winter of 2007-2008, helped put together a strong team which has taken Canada to this pinnacle and promises to be an indicator of things to come for Canadian cricket,” Atul Ahuja, Cricket Canada’s chief executive, told Cricinfo.

“Cricket Canada has a stated goal to win the Under-19 World Cup that Canada will host in 2012. Many players that were part of the winning team today could well be part of that squad. Programs are being put in place to develop this talent pool to help Canada achieve this goal.”

Florida is to embark on an ambitious plan to build a state of the art ground in the Boca Raton and Delray Beach area by November.

The plans are bankrolled by Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) - a management organisation in charge of cricket in Florida - and come on the back of a successful Twenty20 tournament held on July 4.

Click here for the full story.

The New York City Police Department had an impressive opening to its inaugural youth cricket Twenty20 program at the Gateway Plaza Cricket Ground, in Brooklyn, New York. dreamcricket.com has the full story.

It is being reported in the Caribbean that the KFC Cup, the region's premier limited-overs competition, will he held in Florida.

Trinidad & Tobago's Newsday claimed that a senior West Indies board official said the event would be staged in Fort Lauderdale where a new purpose-built stadium has recently opened. The seating capacity is 5000 but there is room for more on grass banks.

In a further bid to attract local interest Canada and USA will be invited to participate. Canada played without any real distinction in 1995-96 and 2002-03 while USA took part in 2000-01 and scored a surprise win over Barbados.

The event has been brought forward to October because if held at its usual time it would clash with the multi-million dollar Stanford match against England.

KFC's sponsorship ends this year and the new sponsors are thought to be based in Florida and will bankroll the entire venture.

"I believe Lauderhill is strategically well-placed," Faoud Bacchus, the former West Indies Test player and USA captain, who now lives in Florida, told dreamcricket.com. "We have all the facilities, hotels and attractions and it's only a short plane ride from West Indies.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising beyond the Test world.

The USA National Junior Tournament got underway on Wednesday, and Dreamcricket.com has a full round-up of the action.

On the first day, USA Falcons won both their matches convincingly in the Under 15 category. In their first match, they inflicted a massive defeat on CCL by bowling them out for 52 runs in 19.2 overs and then reaching their target in 8.4 overs. In their second match against NCCA Mustangs, Falcons put up a whopping 148 runs in 25 overs and bowled out their rivals for 50 runs in 17 overs. J Gerber scored 15 not out and 54 for Falcons in these two matches. Brandon D took 4 for 10 against the Mustangs and Domaille took 3 for 19. Adithya Nagaraja claiming 2 for 14 and 3 for 8 respectively against CCL and NCCA.

WIth the likes of J Gerber, Abhijit Joshi and Steven Taylor (the last two played in the ICC Americas team) in the batting department and with the formidable bowling strength of Adithya Nagaraja and Brandon D, the Falcons are expected to pose the strongest challenge yet to CCA, who are the defending champions.

The saga of the Midwest Cricket Conference’s suspension of six players rumbles on with an announcement that it required the players to email the “management” expressing “unequivocal remorse” and giving an assurance that they will “not in future, violate any of the Rules and Regulations of the MCC”.

The six have been accused of playing for a rival Chicago league in a regional competition in May.

They were allowed to play in last weekend’s matches “in the spirit of getting on with game” but critics of the board’s action have been quick to point out that the regulations that were allegedly breached were only published on the eve of the competition.

Referring to the case of 15-year-old Abhijit Joshi, who last month represented the USA at the Clico International Under-15 event in the Caribbean, one local cricketer told Cricinfo that it was “preposterous and arrogant” to expect someone so young to give the statement expected by the MCC.

The lack of cohesion between the various regional organisations in the USA was highlighted by the decision of the Midwest Cricket Conference (MCC) to ban a 15-year-old, and five other adults, who represented a different region in the Central East Regional tournament.

Among those barred was Abhijit Joshi, a 15-year-old who last month represented the USA at the Clico International Under-15 event in the Caribbean. Joshi was actually presented with a special award at the Central East Regional tournament by a vice president of USACA recognising his performances in the West Indies.

The six were not included in the official MCC side and, as happens with many players, they opted to turn out for another league in which they also play. MCC did not select their squad until shortly before the competition itself. Joshi had agreed to turn out for the National Cricket League, as he also plays in their games, before MCC announced that anyone turning out for any other league would be punished.

On May 31, the MCC said that the six had been suspended. Joshi turned up for a club match the next day only to be told he could not play. "He moped around for all 80 overs cheering a nine-man team onto a brave win from the sidelines," an eyewitness told Cricinfo. "The other suspended players are all over 30 years of age, and a weekend off meant more time with family. But the tragic news of a 15-year-old being suspended for actually playing cricket has stunned folks."

"People should understand that this is not a disloyal act," one of the six told dreamcricket.com. "It's not Kevin Pietersen turning up to play for UK because he did not get on the South African team. Playing for multiple leagues is a done thing in Chicago. A lot of my friends play in multiple leagues. We do this because we like to play more cricket than what just one league can afford. In my case, the two leagues also play a different format."

The USA Northwest Region's first-ever Under-19 tournament was played in the San Francisco Area over Memorial Day weekend, reports Deb K Das.

This event was unique, in that most of the 50-odd players were playing as teams against other U-19 league squads for the first time. The exception was the NCCA team, whose players had participated in USACA conducted U-19 nationals for the past two years; naturally, their experience made them favourites. The four leagues participating in the tournament were: Northern Califirnia Cricket Association (NCCA), California Cricket League (CCL), Bay Area Cricket Association (BACA) and the California Cricket Academy (CCA)

As per expectations, the NCCA team showed their experience to win all their games while pulling themselves out of trouble on a couple of occasions. The other teams shared the honors among them; each of the other leagues - CCA, CCL and BACA -- won one game each, and learnt a lot from this experience.

Game 1 : NCCA 271-9 : (Saqeeb Saleem 91, Prateek Tandon 42, Saad Khan 35, Pranav Pradhan 2-25, Arsh Buch 2-39) beat BACA 85 ( Happy 4-12, Mayank 2-5).

Game 2: CCL 202 (Rakesh Singh 103, Deep Sathe 4-34 ), beat CCA 140 (Deep Sathe 35, Rakesh Singh 5-19).

Game 3:: CCA 138 (Kapil 34, Pranay 17*, Saad Khan 4-32) lost To NCCA 139-5 (Himmy 50, Saad 38*, Deep Sathe 3-25 )

Game 4: CCL 143 ( Sameer 26, Harkamal 22 , Arsh 3-32, Pranav 2-23, Dushyant 2-4 Ameya 2-16) lost to BACA 144 for 7 ( Zubeir 68, Gaurav 23, Arsh 22, Kuldeep 3-16)

Game 5 : NCCA 195 (Himmy 33, Saqib 24, Harkamal 3-32) beat CCL 94 (Rakesh Singh 24, Saad Khan 3-21)

Game 6: CCA 138 (Kabir Chawla 47, Pranav Pradhan3-24) beat BACA 101 ( Neil 30, Pranay 3-22)

Notable performers were: MVP : Rakesh Singh, Best Batsman : Rakesh Singh; Best Bowler: Saad Khan;Best Fielder : Kuldeep; and Best Wicket keeper : Saami. And 14 year old Pranav Pradhan tied with Saad Khan and Rakesh Singh for the highest wickets in the tournament with eight wickets.

Rakesh Suri , Mahendra Patel , Prem Suri (the NWR youth coordinator) provided the logistics for conducting the tournament. Hemant Buch, Chairman of NW region, put this tournament through, and provided the U-19 youngsters with their first-time opportunity to participate with their peers in a competitive and healthy atmosphere.

Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference won South East Regional Tournament convincingly, beating Florida by 210 runs thanks to Wasif Khawaja, who made 103 and was declared Man of the Match.

Click here for the full report from the MACC website.

The USACA has set a target of September 2008 for the hiring of a chief executive to oversee the running of the association.

The news comes in the light of new rules being considered by the ICC which will entitle the leading Associates to a considerable increase in funding that could run into more than a million dollars a year. While the USA is, because of its clash with the ICC, not ranked highly at the moment, many believe that could change with its recent reinstatement.

However, one of the conditions that has to be met to make a country eligible for the various grants is that it has to have a CEO. It's a chicken and egg situation, as most cannot afford a CEO without the additional income but cannot get the cash without a CEO.

Click here for the full story.

Bangladesh romped to a nine-wicket win over Malaysia in the third-place play-off in the CLICO International Under-15 tournament in Trinidad. Ireland defeated ICC Americas by two wickets to secure fifth place, while Netherlands thumped Kenya to take seventh.

Click here for the full report

John Campbell struck 112 for West Indies Under-15s in the CLICO International Under-15 Championship. Click here for the full report. Scorelines and cards for the other matches can be found below.

West Indies 237 (Campbell 112) beat Bangladesh 200 (Nelson 3-43) by 37 runs
Scorecard

Ireland 111 for 3 (Getkate 31*) beat Kenya 110 (Karim 46, Getkate 4-17) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Pakistan 332 for 5 (Naeem 90) beat Netherlands 102 (Worries 20, Gohar 3-32) by 230 runs
Scorecard

Malaysia 157 for 8 (Goonasagaran 33, Hazim 19*) beat Americas 156 (Joshi 64, Zahid 3-36) by two wickets
Scorecard

More than a year since they were suspended from international cricket, the USA have named their side for their comeback in the ICC World Cricket League Division Five which takes place in Jersey next month. The side will be captained by Steve Messiah, who led them during their last outing in August 2006.

The USA were, at that time, in the World Cricket League Division One, and were it not for the suspension imposed by the ICC they would almost certainly have been in the mix at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year. As it stands, they will need to win promotion from Division Five and Four and then win the Division Three event next January to be invited to the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup.

The event in Jersey will also feature Afghanistan, Bahamas, Botswana, Germany, Japan, Jersey, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Singapore and Vanuatu. The top two sides will be promoted to Division Four which will be held in September.

USA squad Steve Massiah (capt), Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Rahul Kukreti, Rashard Marshall, Mohamed Masood, Sushil Nadkarni, Steve Pitter, Niraj Shah, Kwawaja Shuja, Wahab Syed, Aditya Thyagarajan, Carl Wright.

The first matches in New York’s Department of Education new cricket league got underway in Queens with teams from John Adams, Richmond Hill, Aviation and Newcomers High Schools.

Click here for more details and here for the latest results from the league.

An excellent piece in today's Daily Telegraph highlights the growing interest of cricket among schoolchildren in New York:

Impressed by numbers of white-clad young players in the city's parks at weekends, New York's Department of Education has set up a league, with about 600 state secondary school students playing. Announcing its decision, the department said New York was the first and only state school system in America to offer competitive cricket.

The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) has been re-recognised as an Associate member of the ICC following their suspension in March 2007.

The USACA held their elections at the weekend when Gladstone Dainty - despite facing strong criticism over the past few years - was re-elected president, beating off the favourite, Ram Varadarajan, who was widely tipped for the post. The elections were a last-gasp effort for American cricket; without a formal constitution in place, the ICC would have had no other choice than to continue their suspension. With that particular condition met, the ICC's president, Ray Mali, was pleased to welcome the board back as an Associate member.

Click here for the full story and leave your comments below

In a result which won't exactly boost the the profile of US cricket internationally, Gladstone Dainty has been re-elected as president of the USA Cricket Association by three votes.

Dainty, who has overseen the almost catastrophic implosion of the USACA in recent years and under whose tenure the association was suspended from international cricket by the ICC, polled 18 of the 34 votes cast. Ram Varadarajan, who was widely expected to beat Dainty after running a slick campaign, polled 15 votes while Kamran Khan got 1.

It was not all good news for Dainty. Selwyn Ceasar, the much-criticised treasurer, was defeated by Varadarajan's running mate John Thickett by 18 votes to 16 while John Aaron beat Paul De Silva.

Nabeel Ahmed won the vote to be first vice-president by a large margin while Manaf Mohamed saw off Suresh Anne and Jefroy Morrishaw in the vote for the second vice-president.

The news will almost inevitably lead to claims that the ballot was not conducted fairly, but once the dust settles, the fact that Dainty has lost two of his closest allies will mean that his new board will have to be far more accountable that it has been in recent years when it has operated in almost complete secrecy. The presence of Aaron and Thickett could be enough to paper over the cracks which have ripped the USACA asunder.

It remains to be seen whether the investors and others boards who have been waiting on the sidelines, many of who have expressed reservations about dealing with Dainty, will now came forward.

This weekend’s USACA elections represent the last chance for stakeholders inside the country to end several years of massively self-destructive bickering and start rebuilding. The “last-chance saloon” tag has been used a number of times in connection with US cricket recently. This time it’s for real.

The main media attention, rightly, has been on the three-way race for the key role, that of USACA president. Over the last fortnight I have interviewed the gentlemen concerned and each of them has had an opportunity to put forward their vision for the future.

Outside the USA there is quiet but sincere interest in the outcome. The ICC, who in exasperation has suspended the US from the international community, is keen to see what the elections bring. There are those inside the US who see the ICC as either irrelevant to them or as being more in need of the USA than they are of it. Such views are utterly misguided. Without the ICC’s funding and, more importantly, recognition, the USA will become more of a cricketing backwater than Gibraltar or Thailand.

There are also commercial organisations waiting on the sidelines, as they have been for a year or more, with marketing and promotional deals that could bring millions of dollars into the US game for grassroots and national development.

The three candidates all have their strengths. Kamran Khan is well-known and respected as a player, coach and administrator; Ram Varadarajan is a self-made man with vision and a strong team behind him; Gladstone Dainty, the incumbent, has years of experience in office.

With respect to Khan, he seems to be the outsider. His campaign has been low profile and while he will attract some support, he does not appear to have enough broad appeal to win, although supporters of Varadarajan fear he might split the anti-Dainty vote.

Varadarajan ticks the right boxes, and while until a few months ago he was almost unknown outside Californian cricketing circles, his team has credibility and he is a man who outsiders could deal with. He also seems to have the passion and drive to turn things around.

It is hard to build a credible case for voting for Dainty. As USACA president he has overseen a period of chaos, international humiliation and squandered opportunity. Stakeholders have been ignored and kept in the dark, accusations of regional favouritism abound, and his board have operated in almost complete secrecy. There is almost nothing in the plus box. In fairness, Dainty still wants to finish the job and for that and his amazing ability to weather all kinds of storms, he deserves some credit.

But the real fear is that if Dainty wins then all that can be promised is more of the same. The deep rifts will remain, as will the international suspicion. And if USACA under his tenure has been unable to attract funding or support, why will anything change in the coming months?

For that reason, Varadarajan has to be the preferred candidate. The alternative is too depressing to contemplate.

On the eve of the USACA elections, the dirty-tricks brigade are at it. On the USACA’s new bulletin board, claims are being made that John Aaron, a candidate for the role of secretary, has deserted the Ram Varadarajan team and linked up with Kamran Khan.

Aaron himself was quick to scotch the suggestions. "I am sorry to disappoint those who would like to think that there is a split in the New Inning team, and at the same time I appreciate the flattering rumors allegedly made by at least two other independent candidates, that I have now hitched my wagon to their cause and candidacies,” he said. “For the record, my candidacy for Secretary of USACA and my decision to be associated with the New Inning team remains intact. I am not now, nor have I ever been a part of any other presumed slate, nor have I teamed up with any other candidate, as a means of being elected.”

With the much-anticipated elections to the USA Cricket Association's board of directors this weekend, in the last of three interviews with the candidates for the presidency, we talk to Gladstone Dainty, the incumbent.

Click here for the full interview

The much-anticipated elections to the USA Cricket Association's board of directors take place with many believing that they are the USA's last chance of salvaging their standing within the international community. Three candidates are challenging for the presidency. In the second of our interviews, we talk to Ram Varadarajan, whose slick campaign has attracted considerable attention.

Click here for the full Q&A

The much-anticipated elections to the USA Cricket Association's board of directors take place, with many believing that they are the USA's last chance of salvaging their standing within the international community. Three candidates are challenging for the presidency, and in the next ten days we will interview them all.

We start with Kamran Khan, who captained the USA and has been involved in the game as a player, coach and administrator for almost four decades. He was president of the board between 1999 and 2000.

Click here for the Q&A session

	© Cricinfo

Until last month, little was known about Varadarajan, but his announcement that he was ready to take on Dainty was supported by a PR offensive as slick as Dainty's was non existent.

"I had a sense of disappointment that there were not many ideas coming from USACA and I realised something had to be done to bring some energy and liveliness to the organisation."

One thing that Varadarajan's group is aware of is the perception that USACA is run in one corner of the country and is "irrelevant to the leagues and stakeholders". As a result, the candidates allied to him are from across the country and, crucially, people picked for their strengths and not because they are friends of his. "I wanted people with skills from across the USA.

"I believe that USACA is public service, and the president needs to believe he is the servant of the leagues and not its master. Currently USACA is operating as if it is the master and I want to change that. It needs to be more relevant."

Click here to read the full story

There are three candidates seeking to become the new USACA president in elections set to take place on March 29.

A list of all candidates for the various executive posts, including secretary, treasurer, and vice presidents, was announced by USACA after the vetting processes required under the new constitution were completed.

As expected, Gladstone Dainty will be seeking re-election as president, and he faces a strong challenge from Ram Varadarajan. A third candidate, Kamran Khan, is also standing.

The main battles for the other posts are between existing USACA officials and those who have lined up on Varadarajan's ticket.

Click here for a full list of candidates

The USACA elections take place on March 29, and Gladtone Dainty and his incumbents face a tough battle against an organised group headed by Ram Varadarajan.

While Dainty has been so low key as to be invisible - much the same could be said of USACA under his leadership - Varadarajan, who was born in India and emigrated to the USA in 1982, has been on a media offensive as well as launching a slick website outlining his vision.

"The response to the announcement of our team and the ideas and energy we bring has been fantastic," Varadarajan said. "I am getting e-mails and calls from interested people all around the world telling me that US cricket needs new management and initiatives to take it to the next level. There is widespread support for our team and people are asking how they can help make change happen. We appreciate and are humbled by the outpouring of support.

"It pains me that USACA has not been able to bring corporate commitment to cricket, the world's second most popular sport. The last few years have seen a significant increase in the monies spent globally on cricket by corporate sponsors and commercial organisers. The new USACA will find a symbiotic way to match the support of corporate sponsors and professional cricket organizations with the grass roots development needs in America. My team and I are well suited for this task and are committed to its success."

John Aaron, who is standing for the post of USACA secretary, targets the readmission of the USA to the international fold as a priority. "For too long now our children and adult players have been unable to play and develop their cricket in the international arena due to the ICC's suspension of the current administration. It is critically important for our team to be elected. We have harnessed the energy and chemistry needed to affect change in US cricket. We will strive to allow our players the opportunity to represent their country against the best in the world, and also create opportunities for the flow of capital needed to develop the sport in the very large US market."

The Tuscaloosa News in Florida reports on the new cricket stadium in Broward County.

The 5,000 blue stadium seats are in place. So are the special cameras embedded in the equipment to get close ups of the action. Then there is the exquisite field - emerald and manicured. But this $70 million park wasn't built for baseball or football - it's the first in the U.S. built primarily for cricket.

The sport, which enjoys worldwide popularity but has long struggled to gain an American following, has taken root in South Florida because of its large Caribbean population. Fans and officials say the stadium offers their community a chance to draw professional players, cultivate youth programs and attract new fans to the game.

"There's a tremendous awaking," said Chandradath Singh, a Broward County parks special projects coordinator. "And a major interest."

There will be a serious challenge to the existing Gladstone Dainty-led USA Cricket Association administration at next month's executive board elections.

Cricinfo has learned that a group of senior administrators is standing against the existing board and has already gained the backing of several regions. Sources suggest that they have the support of the majority of the regional presidents.

California's Ram Varadarajan is lined up to oppose Dainty as president. Varadarajan would not only bring his passion for cricket to the post but he has considerable business acumen as president and CEO of Arcot Systems, an authentication software company based in Sunnyvale, California. He is backed by John Aaron, a well-known and respected figure inside US cricket circles, as secretary and John Thickett as treasurer.

The group has already underlined its credentials by launching a slick website outlining who they are and what they stand for. This is in direct contrast to the moribund USACA site which has become almost legendary for its lack of any meaningful information to stakeholders.

"Our team is receiving endorsements every day from players, current and former administrations, and cricket lovers from across the length and breadth of the country," a statement on the new site says. "This outpouring of support is a clear indication that cricket enthusiasts across America see a complete break from the current USACA management as a necessary step for the game to flourish here."

The California Cricket Academy will run the USA’s first inter-school championship among Cupertino middle schools starting on February 27. In the first round there will be three middle schools but the organisers expect more middle and elementary schools to join the program in coming months. CCA launched school program last year by distributing cricket instruction material and cricket kits to about eight schools in Cupertino and neighboring schools. CCA graduates took up the challenge to start clubs in their respective schools and as a result now they are ready to start school championship program. The first phase of the program will be with hard tennis balls, but regular cricket equipment will be introduced in the second phase.

Visit www.calcricket.org to review Cupertino Interschool program details and results as they become available.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

The USA Cricket Association has announced the timeline for the election of its board of directors.

Nominations for executive board members open today (February 19) and close on February 26. All nominees will have background checks completed by March 7 and the final list of valid nominations will be circulated on March 8. The elections themselves will be held on Saturday, March 29 in Washington DC.

Sixteen schools in New York will embark on a pilot program for cricket starting in April. They will be participating in scheduled 20-over matches, for both boys and girls.

Tryouts for the games will take place between February 11 and 29.

For further information visit the New York City Public Schools Athletic League’s website at www.psal.org

A week after Cricinfo revealed that Chris Dehring, the independent third-party appointed by the ICC to oversee US cricket, was about to appoint an auditor to oversee the executive elections, there is still no official news on what is happening. The USACA website has not been updated in a month and several regional administrators we have spoken to are equally in the dark about the process. Meanwhile, regions continue to elect representatives to the board while those who have been mismanaging the USACA in recent years continue to adopt a policy of silence.

The USA Cricket Association elections are on hold, although this does not appear to have been conveyed to those involved in the process.

Chris Dehring, the independent third party appointed by the ICC to try to find a resolution to the ongoing struggle for control of the USACA, managed to get a new constitution approved but the elections that were meant to follow within 30 days have already become embroiled in controversy.

It is believed that Dehring will appoint an external independent auditor to oversee the elections and this means that they not take place until March at the earliest.

Since the announcement of the yes vote for the new constitution, the USACA has yet again not uttered a word in public. Some regions have held their elections while others appear to be uncertain how to proceed.

New York Region and Central West have already announced their regional board and their representatives to USACA.

Any lingering hopes that the approval of a new constitution would herald the dawn of a new era for US cricket have been ended by the conduct of the USACA executive over the last three weeks. Rather than a fresh approach, US stakeholders continue to be treated with disdain with elections being conducted once more in the complete secrecy which has been a hallmark of the association of late.

The USACA website carried the brief news that the constitution had been updated but nothing more has materialised since. Under that constitution elections have to be held within 30 days – ie by February 10 – and yet it is unclear what is happening.

Cricinfo has learned that many of the people who have been running the USACA during the last few chaotic years are offering themselves for re-election, including Gladstone Dainty, the reclusive president.

The wall of silence put up by the USACA ensures that however fair the process is, the elections are almost certain to be mired in controversy with various factions claiming to be the real representatives. That is only likely to lead to a return to exact situation which led to the ICC suspending the US in the first place.

Ahead of the Stanford 20/20, which gets underway this weekend, its billionaire benefactor and organise, Allen Stanford, is piling another $3.5m into promoting the tournament...in one town.

Fort Collins is the lucky recipient of "ads, parties, promotions, billboards, giveaways, clinics" in order to promote the game to an "audience more concerned with the Super Bowl and college basketball".

“I wanted to see if we could get a city in the U.S. that knew nothing about the sport to be cricket crazy,” Stanford said in a telephone interview.

“It’s so dadgum entertaining, it will be different from anything you’ve ever seen.”
20/20 Cricket, Stanford points out, is a faster paced version of the sport that can take two to three days to play in its original form.

Colorodaoan.com has more - as does the glitzily named yougottaseethis2020.com

Whatever people might think of the process, the USA Cricket Association finally has a democratically-approved new constitution. For all the abuse he has had to endure, Chris Dehring has done all that he can to ensure this has been implemented fairly, and for that he should be given tremendous credit. Making sense of such a divided and acrimonious mess probably made his troubles running a World Cup seem tame by comparison.

Now the fun starts. Already there are rumblings of discontent with accusations that many of the clubs who were eligible to vote did not exist in any real form. The easy way round that is for the USACA executive to release a list of which clubs voted - not how they did, but just their names. That will enable people to scrutinise the ones that sent in ballots and establish their credentials, and for club members who did not to ask their committees why they sat by and did nothing.

Fresh elections for the USACA board should now take place within 30 days, and that's where things get interesting. It's too early for any candidates to be named, but for the sake of US cricket from the top down, it has to be hoped that none of the executive who have, through their own dysfunctionality, made US cricket the pariah of the international family and who have caused untold harm within the country, will stand.

In any other walk of life - business, politics, your local sports club - someone who had overseen such a mess as Gladstone Dainty, the current USACA president, would have walked away in shame. But, remarkably, Dainty seems impervious to all that is thrown his way, and the same applies to his utterly discredited executive.

They have operated in a manner which at times has seemed in direct opposition to the game's best interests, and have done so with an arrogant disregard for stakeholders. Almost everything has been done behind closed doors. It's a sign of how bad things had become that the ICC suspended the USA and, after two years of internal squabbling, asked Dehring to bang heads together. Not even Zimbabwe has had that kind of treatment. It's a sign of how desperately the ICC wants a stable and reliable US board.

But there is every indication that Dainty and his associates will offers themselves up again. The low poll on the approval of the constitution - barely 25% of clubs bothered to vote on what was a crucial issue - makes that more likely than ever. Many of those who did vote were probably allied to the current board. If the existing bunch can muster enough support from a core which stands to gain from their continuing incompetence while the rest sit by and watch, it will be easy.

Laks Sampath, a director of the North West region and an influential administrator, has decided not to seek re-election, and he thinks that others should do the same. "At the end of the day the constitution is but a small issue," he told Cricinfo. "It's the governance that needs to change. The level of inactivity within the current administration must be addressed. The organisation lacks people with corporate experience and hence do not have the skill set to administer it.

"It's clear that we need to have a fresh set of people that actually have experience running successful enterprises. There's this complete unfounded thinking that only people with cricket experience can run USACA. That is about the as rubbish an argument I have heard and the proof is in the pudding. Let us bring in people that have some exposure to cricket, but have not been tainted administering USACA. Let us give them a chance."


The real concern comes if Dainty and the others are re-elected on a low turnout. US cricket will, in effect, be back to square one. Officially, the ICC will again recognise the USACA and the national side will be readmitted to international competition. But such is the level of infighting even that simple process is likely to end up in a mess. Factions will continue to snipe and several major investors who have been sitting on the sidelines with grand designs for cricket in the country may well walk away.

What is needed is a fresh start. There is too much baggage and too much bitterness. For the good of the game the next generation of administrators have to step and the old guard move on. The alternative is more of the same. Only this time, the international community will turn away for good. They have enough problems of their own without this one. This really is US cricket's last chance.

To paraphrase a well-worn quote of Benjamin Disraeli. The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone sought re-election, it would be a misfortune. But if he was re-elected, that would be a calamity.

Cricinfo has learned that the new USA Cricket Association constitution has been approved by 74% of clubs which voted, although the turnout was disappointingly small.

Only 180 of the 677 clubs who could have voted did so, despite the deadline being extended. Of the votes received, more than a quarter, surprisingly high number, were rejected for a variety of technicalities. Of the ballots accepted, 97 voted yes and 34 no.

This now means that fresh elections have to be held within 30 days, although critics of the board are certain to be unhappy with way that the USACA has handled the process, especially the inordinate delay in announcing the results of a poll of less than 200 votes. Oddly, although Dehring released the results to the USACA, they were not immediately announced, as he requested, because Paul DaSilva, the secretary, wanted approval from his executive before he released them.

The news means that Chris Dehring, appointed by the ICC as an independent third party, has been able to hand over a democratically-approved constitution which will provide the basis of a new platform for the USACA to operate under. No more could have been asked of him.

It is, however, unlikely to be the end of the bitter rows which have blighted US cricket for several years. The low turnout will be used by critics of the current board to show the level of apathy among stakeholders and that, in effect, the approval came from less than 14% of the total clubs.

Nine days after the deadline for the approval of the USA Cricket Association deadline and the association’s website remains dead. Results, promised shortly after the original deadline of December 27, have not been posted. While a short delay is understandable, it defies logic that counting a relatively few votes can take so long. It makes Kenya’s presidential elections look the model of efficiency.

While the timing of the result is not crucial, what is does do is raise serious concerns that what should be a brave new world is , in fact, a continuation of the old, unaccountable, inefficient and flawed one.

Only by making the results public immediately and scheduling the board elections, which must be within 30 days of that announcement, will the USACA show that it is serious about change.

Three days have passed since the extended deadline expired on voting to approve the new USA Cricket Association constitution. We were promised a result on December 27 but Chris Dehring, the independent third party overseeing the process, agreed to a four-day extension after claims that some voting forms were sent out late.

The hope was that the dawning of a new era would mean an end to the USACA’s dismissive approach to stakeholders and the media. Sadly, the deadline has come and gone and the USACA remains silent. Let’s hope this is not a sign of things to come, but it’s not a promising start.

Unease over the ratification of the revised constitution of the USA Cricket Association grew with the last-minute extension of the deadline for voting from December 27 to December 31.

The move by Chris Dehring, the independent third party appointed by the ICC, was largely in response to claims that some voting forms were not sent out in time for them to give clubs the required period to consider how they wanted to vote.

There were claims circulating last week that some forms were only dispatched on December 12, giving less than a fortnight for them to be completed and returned and not the 21 days required. By giving an extra four days, Dehring should have ensured that particular bone of contention has been put to rest.

It seems likely that Dehring's intervention will ensure that the new constitution is passed and that fresh elections can be held as a result. However, it is also growing abundantly clear that if those elections return Gladstone Dainty, the existing chairman, and his much-maligned executive then even some of those who have backed the new constitution will refuse to work with the board.

As the deadline for voting for the new USA Cricket Association looms, Chris Dehring, the independent third party appointed to oversee the process, has drawn up a Q&A to help answer stakeholders’ queries.

Click here to download the PDF

Cuba will not be playing in the 2008 Stanford 20/20 because of a political embargo by the USA government, the competition's board of directors has announced. Click here for the full story.

Martin Williamson argues that there's a certain double irony about the USA's actions.

Cricket is thriving among the ex-pats in Houston, Texas. But, reports the Houston Chronicle, the future of the game could be threatened.

Junior cricket is again on the march in the USA. On the heels of the USA Under-17s tour of India, an Under-19s squad put together by the Texas Cricket Academy will be going to India as well.

Read the full story at Cricinfo where you can also leave your comments.

The ongoing drama that is the USA Cricket Association shows no sign of ending despite the hope expressed by Chris Dehring, the independent third party appointed to try to find a solution to the imbroglio.

Last Friday (November 30) Dehring wrote to stakeholders to advise them that after months of negotiations the new constitution had been released for ratification. He said: "I recommend this new constitution to you as a solid foundation to take US cricket forward."

But those hopes might come to nothing after a scathing attack on the new constitution by Atul Rai, the man who preceded Gladstone Dainty as the USACA president.

Click here for the full story

Fans and players hailing from Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies are finding common ground as immigrants in Houston through cricket.

"What the West Indian teams are working on here is more than just cricket — we're trying to leave a legacy of who we are in Houston," said a philosophical Eccles, a senior gas and oil refinery consultant and a Houston West Indies Cricket player on his days off. "We're making our voices heard with our play."

The robust amateur league of weekend warriors will celebrate its 21st championship title match today, weather permitting. The game is to start at 9 a.m. and will include the Memorial Cricket Club, a diverse mix of South Africans, South Asians, Zimbabweans and West Indians. MCC will take on the Houston Cougars Sports Club, a predominantly Pakistani team of doctors, engineers and gas station owners. Many of them graduated from the University of Houston. Hence, the name.

The winner doesn't get a cash prize — just a big trophy and bragging rights that last a year. During the championship match, the players will break for lunch, a time-honored tradition, and will sit down together for a meal that will consist of what has become the universal grub for most of the British commonwealth: Indian food.

"Cricket for me is my childhood passion, it is like a religion in India," said Yogesh Patel, 59, who is the league's current president and who arrived in Houston in the 1970s. "Back home, I would never have gotten the flavor of the Caribbean culture, I would never have gotten a chance to play with South Africans. Here, this is all possible."

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle.

A cricket game in Florida ended when one of the players shot an opponent with a semi-automatic rifle.

The UPI agency reported that Devan Bascom shot Francis Singh in the abdomen after he was threatened him with a cricket bat following a heated argument in the match in Orlando. In a rather bizarre comment, police said that while Bascom appeared to be acting in self defence, the presence of a gun at a game was “unusual”.

"The shooter was defending himself from an attack with a cricket bat which is similar to a baseball bat, but it's flat," a spokesman said. "For this man to bring a firearm to a sporting event is odd but then again, he has the right to do so. He has a concealed weapons permit and if, in fact, he was protecting himself, he was authorized by law to do so."

Bascom was questioned by police but not arrested while Singh underwent an operation and was reported to be in a stable condition.

by Deb K Das

With less than the expected flourish of trumpets, a new constitution for the USA Cricket Association (USACA) was released by the board executive.

The first reactions to the document were lukewarm. At best, it was seen as an earnest effort to paper over some of the most obvious flaws in the old constitution, but in the process it inadvertently exposed some new problems. At worst, it failed to address some fundamental issues facing US cricket, and in so doing, it represented something of an anti-climax.

There are some issues thrown up by the new document, not the least being how US cricket should be governed so as to maintain its essentially democratic structure, which has been at the heart of the rows over the last decade. In this regard both the old and the new USACA constitutions totally fail to address the issue.

The lurch towards a furtive and centralized modus operandi, which has developed in USACA over the past three years, is not significantly addressed by the new constitution. Beyond steps to curb the most flagrant abuses of power, the new constitution offers little safeguards against usurpation of authority and the maintenance of conspiratorial secrecy.

Again by way of contrast, the CLP re-draft submitted to ICC in December 2006 included a series of 10 procedures to incorporate needed checks and balances into the re-draft. Steps were spelled out to maintain accountability at all levels of governance, and penalties were included to ensure that USACA executives and board fully complied with their stated responsibilities - an unheard-of thing in the present USACA.

The second concern is over finances and how US cricket will pay for itself in the short, medium and long run? Neither the old nor the new USACA constitution offer any new ideas on this point. Revenues from that bring in about $18,000pa and there will also be the additional income from the ICC once USACA is readmitted to the fold.

There is the rather shadowy deal entered into with Consensus, a marketing company, which could, if their promises come to fruition, earn USACA millions of dollars in fees for sanctioning ODIs involving overseas teams, mainly from Asia . But the deal is very much up in the air and the promises are no more than that. But the prospect of such riches does help explain why Dainty and his associates seem so keen to cling to office.

Thirdly is the question of how will USACA be made to operate at the levels of efficiency required by ICC to meet its responsibilities as an Associate Member, when it has failed to meet a single one of them in the last ten years?

This is the issue that has been most remarked upon by USACA's critics, from Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Speed to just about every stakeholder in US cricket outside the USACA inner circle. But the ICC requirements for Associate Membership are not even mentioned in the new USACA constitution, nor are any provisions made for meeting any of them.

Where things go from here is the big question. Most US cricket leagues whose clubs are members of USACA have their presidents as members of CLP. Any constitution, which fails to address the fundamental issues facing cricket, may well be rejected by them.

There are, however, differences of opinion within CLP. Some want to get any kind of constitution adopted, and vote in a new USACA leadership as soon as possible, leaving fundamental changes for later. Others argue that only in a brand-new constitution can a slew of fundamental changes be instituted from the start, and they want a draft constitution to contain most of the items that were proposed on their behalf to the ICC. They are unwilling to settle for less.

Only time will tell, of course, which of these viewpoints will be likely to prevail. But that time is not far off.

A $70m park has opened in southern Florida – the most expensive new park in the state – including a 5,000 seater cricket ground, the first of its kind in the United States.

"It was just a vacant lot, nothing here," Bill Kristen, the county parks and recreation project manager, told sun-sentinel.com. "I think everybody realized the area had to be revitalised."

The Central Broward Regional Park opens officially tomorrow, where local residents will watch exhibition matches for football, cricket and American football

Cost overruns almost killed the project in 2006. The contractor sought as much as $15.3 million more than the $35.5 million the county originally agreed to pay for construction. But cost-saving alterations, such as building a vehicle storage garage underneath the bleachers, helped lower the cost overruns. The county in December agreed to pay the remaining $7.5 million, and work resumed. In total, the county paid about $70 million for land and construction, the most it has paid to open a park, said Bob Harbin, Broward park director.

Some black Americans opposed the park, saying it was too Caribbean-focused. And one housing development planned for north of the park, St. James Luxury Town Homes, was canceled because of the soft real estate market. Construction of Georgetown Homes has slowed for the same reason.

Read the full story (and watch a video of the park) at their website.

An argument between several Indian men during a match in Orlando, Florida, led to a shooting yesterday when one of the players, Francis Singh, was shot in the abdomen.

"The shooter was defending himself from an attack with a cricket bat which is similar to a baseball bat but it's flat," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Spike Hopkins said. "For this man to bring a firearm to a sporting event is odd but then again, he has the right to do so. He has a concealed weapons permit and if, in fact, he was protecting himself, he was authorized by law to do so."

Winona State University are looking for new members according to Winona Daily News. The clichéd-riddled piece tries to make sense of this strange sport - "Matches are played on a circular field with a rectangular 'mound' in the middle - but if it appeals and you'd like to play, contact the paper directly.

One of the world's only gangster cricket teams – if not the only one – is heading to Australia soon for their latest tour. Find out more here

Cricinfo's USA correspondent Deb K Das reviews the so-called new USACA constitution and finds that it is all a bit familiar.

In yet another display of the obduracy that has become endemic to its activities, the USACA Cricket Association trotted out a so-called 'final' version of a constitution that ICC had requested over a year ago. In doing so, it managed to ignore one salient fact; a redraft of the old constitution had been prepared and submitted to USACA in December 2006.

Click here to read the full article and to give your views

After months of rumour and little information, signs of progress in the review of the USA Cricket Association's constitution have finally emerged.

In a letter to regional league presidents, John Aaron, the chairman of the USACA League Presidents Reconciliation Commission, has announced that a document will be sent out this week.

Click here for the full story

Silence continues to be the order of the day in the USA where it is proving impossible to find out how the review of the constitution is progressing.

Cricinfo has learned that the process has stalled, and it seems that is because the USA Cricket Association executive has thrown up a series of objections at the 11th hour. The exact nature of these is unknown, and the irony that the very body that tried to force through a new constitution earlier this year with almost no consultation is now stalling at the end of a lengthy and all-encompassing review is not lost on anyone.

With the review process now weeks behind schedule, it looks increasingly unlikely that national elections can be held by the end of November. That delay will mean that the USA’s long-awaited readmission to international cricket will be further stalled. Once more, grassroots cricketers suffer because of largely anonymous administrators' egos.

The few glimpses Cricinfo has had behind the scenes reveals increasing exasperation among many stakeholders at what they perceive as the relentless attempts of the existing USACA executive to remain in place regardless of the harm it does.

However, most stakeholders remain in the dark. The USACA refuses to comment on anything – it has still not ever admitted publicly that it has been suspended from the ICC – and the review group are equally silent. This is turning out to be a most private battle.

The USA is the world’s major democracy. The USACA, however, is about as open and accountable as the North Korean government.

It is emerging that the review of the USA Cricket Association's constitution, which is the first and most important step towards the USA being readmitted to the international arena, is not going according to plan.

The entire review has been shrouded in mystery since it was agreed on in June, but it now seems that there have been setbacks.

Cricinfo has learned that the USACA executive has raised objections to the findings of the review committee and has, according to one source, deliberately hampered the process.

Click here for the full report.

Hammy Reid, one of the few internationally qualified umpires in the USA, has been inducted into the United States Cricket Association’s (USACA) Hall of Fame. Dreamcricket.com have more:

Reid was made an honorary member of Unity Sports and Cultural Association of Boston, Massachusetts in 1994. In 1997, he sat and passed the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association Certifying Final Written, Oral and Practical examinations. In that same year he was selected as a USA representative umpire to officiate at an ICC Trophy Tournament in Malaysia. He was selected again in 2001 as a USA umpire at the ICC trophy tournament in Toronto, Canada. In 2002, Hammy officiated at the Second Americas Cricket Championships held in Argentina, and also at the ICC Americas Under-15 championships held at Disney World of Sports in Florida. In 2003 and 2004, Hammy officiated at the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) Regional Finals held in Houston and Dallas, Texas, respectfully. Currently, he is the longest serving USACUA cricket umpire at the ICC level in USA and has held the position of ICC match umpire for seven years. He continues to diligently serve cricket in the USA, and on July 9, 2006 he officiated in the West Indies XI vs. USA Select XI match at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, NY.

Will Luke

Is Twenty20 the catalyst to popularise cricket in the USA? Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, is excited at what the shortened format could do to cricket in the States.

Baseballs reigns supreme, of course, but cricket enjoys a thriving community in America. And the USA were once an Associate member of the ICC, before they were suspended in March (again) for failing to adopt a new constitution. But the current administration has done little to inspire confidence and the incumbent president, Gladstone Dainty, is blamed (not entirely fairly) for many of the problems.

Nevertheless, Twenty20 could provide a much-needed injection of enthusiasm to USA’s cricket community.

"I heard today about an article in one of the Washington papers that was talking about the phenomenon of Twenty20 cricket,” Speed said. "It has been televised in the USA and it's been televised in China, so it's the perfect vehicle for cricket to develop in new countries.

"We've said many times that we don't expect cricket to be a major sport in the USA, but it's already a niche sport in the USA in that there are already lots of Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and West Indians who are there and they play cricket - we can build on that and Twenty20 is a great opportunity."

What are your thoughts? Is Twenty20 an adequate vehicle to promote the sport to borderline fans? Leave your comments below

Cricket’s popularity in the USA continues to rise, no more so than in New Jersey according to the Daily Record.

And cricket is fast emerging in this country, after lying dormant for some two centuries under the wraps of old Philadelphia money, snoozing behind the walls of the Merion Cricket Club, or across the tracks at Quaker-strong Haverford College, where young scholars have been "cricketing" since 1833. Cities have always seen their immigrant newcomers bring pastimes to U.S. playing fields. The first recognized, modern baseball game, descended from cricket and a game called "rounders," was played in 1846 at Hoboken's Elysian Fields. […]

"The unique thing about cricket is you bring so many different peoples from so many walks of life, so many nationalities, ethnicities, religions," said Rouse, whose novel "Sticky Wicket, Volume I -- Watkins at Bat" is a cricketing story set in the imaginary Fernwood, N.J., which Rouse modeled after a Cherry Hill or an Edison.
"These are people who ordinarily would not have much in common. But you mention cricket and they all can identify with it," said Rouse, a college educator.
Cricket's rise is not without conflict. There are more teams vying with one another for playing space, and thereafter vying for the same space -- called "the pitch" in cricket parlance -- with other more-common sports, such as soccer or softball.

overseas tour by a US junior side to a major Test-playing nation.

The US team was selected strictly on the basis of player performances in the 2007 US National Junior Championships. Three top players from the Under-13 national championship squads were selected to give them exposure for future leadership at the Under-15 level in 2008 and beyond. The rest were drawn from the top performers in the U-15 Nationals, and include players from all across the USA.

Click here for the full story.

It is almost three months since the various factions fighting for control of cricket in the USA met in Washington and, with Ken Gordon, at the time the chairman of the West Indies Cricket Association, mediating, thrashed out a deal to broker a solution.

The main agreement was that an independent panel would review the much-criticised new constitution and once that had been agreed on, fresh elections would follow by the end of the year. A natural follow-on from that would be the ICC readmitting the US to the international fold.

But, as with anything involving the USA Cricket Association, there has been silence ever since. In fairness, one of the conditions of the agreement was that things would not be chewed over in public, but nevertheless, it has been impossible to find out anything that has been happening.

It was expected that the constitution review would be completed by now and that the fresh document would be circulated to stakeholders for their perusal. However, after three months of an uneasy peace, reports are starting to circulate that all is not well.

One regional director flagged his concerns last week, complaining that he had not seen the new draft constitution nor heard any plans when they would be able to vote on it. "It starts to raise suspicions that again the USACA is looking to fudge the issue," he told Cricinfo.

Late last week rumours started to circulate that Gladstone Dainty, the embattled USACA president, was stalling. Dainty is blamed for most things, and while he is to blame for much of the current mess, there are many other culprits.

What will worry the Reconciliation Committee is that there are signs that people are again considering breaking away from the USACA, and this unrest will grow unless there is seen to be progress soon.

While there may well be behind-the-scenes progress, what is abundantly clear is that the USACA cannot continue to operate under a shroud of complete secrecy and expect people to trust it. And whatever the agreement was last June, all parties to it have an obligation to keep the long-suffering stakeholders inside the country in the loop.

If people's worst suspicions are realised and the USACA executive are stalling, then nobody will be left in any doubt that their motives are entirely selfish. It has to be hoped that this judgment proves unfounded, but history is not on their side.

The deadline for national elections is the end of November. In June that was six months away and there was no immediate rush. Half that period has elapsed and, as far as the stakeholders are concerned, there has been no progress. Time is running out.

USA lost their opening match in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup in Hyderabad. In a match affected by rain, USA made 122 in 44.1 overs and Karnataka eased to a seven-wicket win with 20 overs to spare.

The US side have been given a warm welcome in the city and when rain prevented training they invited one of their opponents to a game of football which the USA won 8-1.

	Jeety Sandhu, of the Seattle Cricket Club © Seattle Times

Seattlites more used to baseball were introduced to the finer game recently, when Worcestershire's Over-50s toured the city.

The players, all over 50, matched up against Seattle Cricket Club on Wednesday for a five-hour-long event at Magnuson Park in Seattle. Worcestershire scored 135; Seattle scored 124.

There was also a break for a proper high tea in the afternoon — complete with little cucumber sandwiches, dainty cakes and, of course, tea — set up right on the playing field.

"It's a social event rather than a competitive one," said Bunti Sarai, president of the Seattle Cricket Club, which plays against British guests once every three or four years.

At the Seattle Cricket Club, formed in the 1960s as part of a competitive league from British Columbia, there are about 100 playing members ranging from 13 years old to 71.

Read the full story at the Seattle Times

The real impact of the USA's suspension from international cricket will hit home today when north of the border in Toronto the region's leading teams will meet to take part in the Americas Under-19 Qualifier.

The prize at stake is a place at the ICC U-19 World Cup in Malaysia next February and March. While hosts Canada will be joined by sides from Argentina, Bahamas, Bermuda and Cayman Islands, the USA's young players will be left at home dreaming of what might have been.

The USA were present at the last U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka - on that occasion the ICC hierarchy commendably decided that it would be unfair to punish young players because of the governance issues affecting the national board . But this time there has been no such concession and so the U-19 side will miss out.

The sadness of this becomes more apparent when you listen to people involved in grassroots US cricket.

Last month, Hemant Buch, co-founder of the California Cricket Academy, told Cricinfo: "There will simply be more and more junior cricket in all parts of North America, and we should have several thousand first-class juniors ready to play competitive cricket by 2011."

When the various factions indulge in their next bout of self-obsessed squabbling for control of the USA Cricket Association, they would all so well to remember that the real victims of their conduct of recent years should be in Toronto preparing for the biggest week of their lives.

Chris Dehring, who headed the organising committee of the World Cup, has been named as the independent third party in attempts to resolve the dispute which led to the United States being suspended from international cricket by the ICC.

The two main factions - the official USA Cricket Association and a group of disgruntled league presidents - met in Washington in June where they agreed to put aside their differences and work towards finding a solution.

That meeting was chaired by Ken Gordon, the erstwhile president of the West Indies board, and the two factions agreed to appoint a reconciliation commission headed by John Aaron, the president from the New York region, and consisting of four lawyers and Julian Hunte, who last week replaced Gordon as WICB president.

That commission examined the new constitution which is at the centre of the row. Drawn up by the USACA, its opponents were highly critical of it, and the commission's report will be submitted to a three-man panel comprised of Dehring, Aaron and Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president.

The other main issue causing friction is the national elections. These were held in February but were roundly condemned as the timescale given to members was general considered to be unacceptable, and there were also allegations of widespread flaws. The Washington meeting set a date of November 30 by which time new elections had to be held.

The next round of meetings are scheduled to take place this weekend (August 11 and 12) in Miami and it is understood that Gordon will again be in the chair although Hunte will also be present, as will Dehring.

The USA remains suspended from all international competition and, crucially, is not in receipt of any funding from the ICC. That position will not change until after elections have been held at the earliest.

As recently as five years ago, no one would have given US junior cricket a chance to exist, let alone flourish in any meaningful sense.

Active US cricketers, it was argued, were mostly ex-pats from cricket-playing countries, too busy with their own game to expend energy on junior cricket development. The few juniors who could be found playing cricket were the younger brothers or sons of adult US cricketers, playing as 12th men or extras in senior league matches with little opportunity to display their all-round skills. There were no resources, it was argued, to develop junior cricket skills; no incentives offered to cricket clubs or leagues to develop youth cricket programs, and draconian eligibility rules set by the ICC which hindered overseas cricketers from representing the USA.

How different things look in mid-2007. By Cricinfo's count, there are at least 100 US cricketers under 19 whose skills are up to the highest senior standards, and many more on the way as US cricket academies develop Under-15 and Under-11 talent.

Just how good these players are was demonstrated by USA's clean sweep of the Americas Under-19 tournament in Toronto in 2006, and their subsequent performance at the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka where they turned in the best performance by a non-Test country and the first official victory by any USA team in a World Cup tournament. This was followed by another US sweep of the Americas U-15 tournament in Florida, and a tightly-fought series against the visiting Australian National Under-15 team at Woodley Park in California.

Remarkably, the USA juniors have yet to concede a single series. And they have lost only one match (a close one, to the Australian national team) out of 12 tournament fixtures.

How is one to interpret this fresh and invigorating breeze that is blowing through US junior cricket?

A lot of credit needs to go to unsung heroes in US cricket academies whose efforts are, at last, beginning to bear fruit. While the academies are by no means created equal, the best of them have clearly performed well above the call of duty, and this is reflected in the quality of their young trainees. What's more, they have taken a proactive stance, taking their campaign to the cricket field rather than wait for something to happen. Against the protests of organizers in 2005, they cobbled together an Under-19 tournament to run at the same time and place as the nationals. The coaches of the U-19 teams also voted to name an " all-America" team of the top performers at the tournament, the first time such a roster of junior cricketers had been compiled. USACA executives denounced the move as illegal, but the deed had been done and the basis was laid for success in 2006 and beyond.

There was also a remarkable change in attitudes towards junior cricket in 2006 and 2007. The names of their sons or younger brothers on the US junior rosters led many to support junior cricket programs in their own leagues and neighborhoods, and there is no more talk today about US junior programs being a "pipe dream" or an unrealistic fantasy. This commitment has been growing exponentially, and is heartening for the future of US junior cricket.

The support given to junior programs by ICC, Cricinfo and others also provided a tremendous fillip to US junior cricket.

In an open letter, the ICC's Matthew Kennedy commended the California Cricket Academy for its pioneering efforts. Sachin Tendulkar wrote a congratulatory letter, and his brother Ajit spent several weeks training coaches for the Academy teams. Larry Gomes, former West Indies Test player, was set to follow Ajit on a coaching stint aimed at the young cricketers. Ricky Ponting was pronounced a hero for his remarks in support of US junior cricket, as conveyed by the Australian national team on his behalf during their US tour. The Indian board sent an official memo from India commending US junior cricket, and promised to follow up on Australia's example by sending junior teams to tour USA in late 2007 and 2008.The list keeps growing as more and more well-wishers from around the cricket world add their voices to the chorus.

At this point, declares Hemant Buch, co-founder of the California Cricket Academy, US junior cricket has nowhere to go but skywards. "There will simply be more and more junior cricket in all parts of North America, and we should have several thousand first-class juniors ready to play competitive cricket by 2011."

The significance of 2011 is that the World Cup is due to be played in India that year, and US cricket is gearing up for the challenge. "In four years we will be ready," says Hemant Buch, "and we should surprise world cricket".

Brave words, but it has the ring of quiet self-confidence born of past success. There are many cricket aficionados who will be cheering US junior cricket along from the sidelines.

Is Richmond in the United States about to get its first cricket pitch?

Since she became mayor, Lawson said that in addition to the miniature golf course, the city has built a “chip and putt” course for beginning golfers and outdoor basketball courts.

“I have been happy to seen that many of our Hispanic residents have begun using the Lake Reba basketball courts,” she said. “I think the next thing we may do is create a field for playing cricket. We’ve had so many requests from cricket players. I never realized how many we have. That shows just how diverse our area has become.”

Via the Richmond Register.

Deb K Das

Adding yet one more event to the ever-expanding program of US junior cricket, an official team representing Australia is to make their first ever tour of the USA in late August.

The USA tour is a stopover for the Aussies, on their way back from the West Indies after a series of matches with their counterparts in the Caribbean. Several matches are scheduled with the top US junior teams in California, on a tight and demanding schedule. The event should also serve to verify the abilities of US youth cricketers when faced with serious international competition, and this would as a benchmark for the future.

The cricket world - or at least those running the game in countries from Australia to Zambia - assemble in London this week for their annual get-together. However, there will be a notable absentee. For the second time in three years, there will be no representation from the USA.

While the US might not be a major player on the field - it would probably rank just outside the top ten Associates if it ever managed to take to the field - but it does control one of the game's biggest and potentially most lucrative markets. It also is home to one of the most dysfunctional and unaccountable boards, the USA Cricket Association, and it is its ongoing shenanigans that have twice caused the ICC to suspend it from the international game.

A fortnight ago, in Washington, the two factions claiming to have the right to run the game in the USA met with Ken Gordon, the WICB's president, acting as peacemaker. The irony of Gordon, head of a board under fire from almost every side and millions of dollars in debt, being asked to sort out someone else's dirty linen caused more than a few wry smiles. But the two-day sit-down ended with a brief statement that the two sides had agreed to work together to resolve their problems.

The announcement was hardly a hold-the-front-page moment. For one thing, although there are thousands of players in the USA, and millions of fans, the USACA has almost no affect on anything they do. As one administrator told me, it could disappear tomorrow and nothing would change. The other issue is that both parties agreed not to say anything. To anyone.

Secrecy has been one of the major gripes against the USACA. It says almost nothing to anyone, and the tiny ruling group has been known to shut out its own directors if it sees fit. So while those who cared might have hoped that a deal would herald an era of transparency, they were instead given a familiar wall of silence.

The immediate reaction was here we go again. A decade ago the West Indies board, represented by Julian Hunte, sat down in New York with warring factions inside US cricket and reached a similar agreement. The USACA president since shortly after then has been Gladstone Dainty, a man of monosyllabic answers on the rare occasions he deigns to talk to the media. But despite all of the positive words, nothing changed. Elections were disputed, allegations of serious governance issues circulated, and a decade on, the running of the game continues to be a shambles that would disgrace a banana republic.

But the agreement reached on June 10 in Washington - for a new independent panel to review the much-maligned constitution and then for fresh elections before the end of the year - has to be given a chance. While there is every reason to suspect that nothing will change, the US has no choice but to wait and hope.

The independent panel - and it is that - should be in a position to hand down its findings within a couple of months. Unlike the heavily criticised and rushed election in February, the next ones, set for November, should be open and above suspicion.

For the time being the stakeholders have to trust Dainty - although they have a million reasons not to - and rely on him to deliver what he and others have promised. The time to deliver a verdict on his achievements will be in November when, by all rights, he will be sent packing

One of the main failings of the USACA is that it appears to operate under the grossly misguided belief that the international cricketing community needs it more than it needs them. While the dollars available from staging third-party matches in the US is a lure, that can be done without involving the USACA if push comes to shove.

The ICC is weary with the antics of a cricketing small fry. It has tried to help but by asking the WICB to act as broker it has probably offered its final olive branch. Much is at stake. Aside from funding from the international coffers, if the US stays suspended then the national team cannot play at any level. There is also the small matter of the pending Centrex deal relating to marketing cricket and staging international matches in the USA. If that goes through then it could bring millions into the game. But it relies on a credible and transparent board. The lack of that already scuppered Project USA.

So the next six months is make-or-break for US cricket. For the last time, stakeholders have to keep fingers crossed and hope that, finally, Dainty and his associates do the right thing and act in the interests of the game. There is every reason to doubt they will, only this time if they get it wrong, there may be no way back.

More than 200 cricketers from all across North America, ranging in age from 10 to 15, are converging on Cupertino in the Bay Area for the largest cricket tournament to be staged on North American soil. There will be teams from Florida, the Atlantic Coast, Canada, the Bay Area and Los Angeles, each selected by "expert committees" applying standards that had to be fully documented and approved by the tournament committee before the tournament rosters would be finalised.

Click here for the full report

The USA may well be readmitted to the international fold after talks between the warring factions battling for control of the USA Cricket Association in Washington over the weekend.

The USA was suspended by the ICC in March after two rival groups claimed to be the rightful ones to run the game in the country. The ICC asked the West Indies board (WICB) to intervene and try to find a solution. Only when the WICB reported back that the dispute had been settled would a readmission be considered.

Ken Gordon, the WICB president, met with the USA Cricket Association and representatives of the regional league presidents and the two sides agreed to revise the review of the constitution so that all stakeholders could be consulted. There were deep concerns at the short time given by the USACA for examination and debate of the previous new constitution before it had to be approved.

While specifics are hard to come by, a statement said that "the USACA has agreed to the proposals for the way forward made by the ICC and will move promptly to remove all impediments to the lifting of the suspension from Associate Membership imposed by that body". Firm time lines have been fixed and these will be closely observed.

It is likely that Gordon will now report back to the ICC when it meets in London later this month and there seems no reason that the suspension should be lifted.

The Daily Telegraph reports that MCC is looking to establish a body called MCC America to help with coaching and coordinating the games development in the USA.

Although the news is a much-needed boost for the USA at a time its association has been suspended by the ICC following a disputed election and implementation of a questionable new constitution, there are toes likely to be trodden on.

Firstly, the USA Cricket Association, a body with a soviet-style approach to openness and transparency, is still nominally in charge of all aspects of the game and is likely to treat the idea as a threat more than an opportunity.

Secondly, the USACA has signed a deal with a marketing company called Centrex which aims to pass all the marketing and promotion of the game to a joint-venture third-party body. That new organisation will also be responsible for arranging and hosting ODIs featuring India and West Indies in the USA.

As well as setting up MCC America, the club is planning a tour of America in 2009 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first major overseas tour by a representative side from England in 1859. It has to be hoped the weather is better than then when the last match, admittedly on October 26 in New York on a baseball ground, was played out on a flooded pitch. The following day four inches of snow fell.

MCC will also host a USA v Europe match at Lord's in 2010.

American cricket has had a boost of a kind recently and there’s more good news in store. An all-star cast of West Indian players is heading to New York to play a celebrity match as part of a celebratory Caribbean Week in the city. Joel Garner, Gordon Greenidge, Colin Croft and Larry Gomes are among those who will be turning out – although some may say they would be better served at Old Trafford this week.

Ken Gordon, the chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, has agreed to meet with the two sides battling for control of US cricket in a bid to find an end to the row which has seen the USA suspended from the ICC.

The two factions - the USA Cricket Association, led by Gladstone Dainty, and the regional league presidents - have been asked to come together in Washington on the weekend of June 9-10.

Click here for the full story

Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008.

The ICC’s decision follows a recent visit to the island by a development team to inspect the country’s suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

Jersey has been an Affiliate Member of the ICC since June 2005 and as such is one of the more recent additions to the ICC’s Development Program. Selection to host this global event is recognition of the successful developments that the Jersey Cricket Board (JCB) has achieved over the past two years since gaining membership.

The largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey is located off the north coast of France and has a population of around 90,000 people. Approximately 3,500 participate in the game in Jersey. There are six grounds with turf squares on the island, which play host to a league structure made up of more than 40 teams competing across two weekend divisions, three evening league divisions and two indoor league divisions. There are also a further 47 teams that compete at junior level.

Chris Minty, JCB’s director of cricket, said: “This is tremendous, not only for Jersey cricket, but also for Jersey. We are looking forward to the challenges that this will present and will be doing all we can to ensure it is a successful tournament.”

Keith Dennis, chairman of the JCB, commented: “We feel very proud and honoured that the ICC has awarded this big tournament to Jersey and it's a tribute to the structure we have in place here and, of course, our facilities, together with support from our local government and sponsors. This has created the opportunity to be in a position to host such a tournament and we are looking forward to it.”

The WCL Divison 5 is scheduled to take place sometime in May or June of 2008, but the exact date is yet to be confirmed. Originally planned to be an eight-team event, a recent decision at the ICC Development Committee meeting earlier this month opted to expand the league to include 12 teams - Botswana, USA, Afghanistan, Norway, Nepal, Singapore, Jersey, Mozambique, Bahamas, Germany and two teams yet to qualify from the East-Asia Pacific region.

The WCL is made up of five divisions with the Europe region contributing eight teams to the overall event: Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland (Division 1), Denmark (Division 2), Italy (Division 3), Norway, Jersey and Germany (Division 5).

ICC Regional Development Manager for Europe Richard Holdsworth said: “Jersey’s excellent facilities and administration will ensure this is a memorable event for those countries participating. This will do the game of cricket a tremendous service in Jersey.”

The top two teams from the Division 5 tournament will progress to WCL Division 4 which is a six-team round-robin event to be staged in late 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

While the row over who runs US cricket rumbles on, some good news from New York where the New York Times reports that the city will become the first school district in the country to recognise cricket as an official varsity sport.

As many as seven schools in Brooklyn and Queens have expressed interest in fielding teams when the Public Schools Athletic League launches the season in the spring, education officials said, and recent weekend clinics have drawn scores of students.

"When I saw the ad on the wall I said, 'Damn, I've got to be dreaming,' " said Avinash Sookhwa, a junior at John Adams High School in Queens who emigrated from Guyana in 2004. "It was a feeling like being down to the last point and the game is in your hands. All I wanted to do was play."

Nearly three months after the ICC charged West Indies with the responsibility of helping to resolve the bitter infighting which led to the USA Cricket Association being suspended from world cricket, Cricinfo can reveal that no progress has been made.

With the ICC's AGM due at the end of June, a mere six weeks offers scant time in which to make any headway into resolving the situation, leaving USA facing an indefinite period in international isolation.

Click here to read the full story.

Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008, the ICC confirmed on Tuesday.

The decision follows a recent visit to the island by an ICC Development team to inspect the country's suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

It’s not often that the mainstream US press takes much notice of cricket, but a feature in The New York Times this week bucks the trend. Some of the writing is fairly predictable, but it does off a few interesting insights.

The sport of googlies and wickets, of five-day games and breaks for lunch and tea, has gained a toehold in this land of baseball and apple pie. Increasingly, immigrants from countries as diverse as England and Bangladesh are congregating in neighborhood parks, setting up pitches and reconnecting with lands left behind.

The report cites the success of the Atlanta Georgia Cricket Conference, which has has grown to 18 teams:

They don't come close to matching the influx of Latin Americans who have transformed soccer into an leisure-time phenomenon north of the border. But cricket has a strong following among those who emigrated from the former British Empire to the ex-colony that came up with its own bat-and-ball game.

And it concludes with an interesting report on a game between North Atlanta and the JP Gymkhana Cricket Club:

In the middle of the oval-shaped field, there's a 22-yard-long strip of packed dirt, which is where the bowler bounces the ball toward the batsman. Wickets stand at each end, the all-important wooden pegs that must be defended by the batting team. The outer boundary is staked out by small red tags, the kind the water company leaves when it's about to dig up a yard.

The North Atlanta team is a downsized version of the U.N. In addition to Bangladesh, the players hail from India, Pakistan, Jamaica and England -- a diverse group that puts aside cultural differences and any simmering rivalries. India and Pakistan may be blood enemies on the subcontinent, but they get along just fine in Dixie.

It is almost two months since the USA Cricket Association was suspended by the ICC and, as is so often the case in the USA, no information has been made available to the public.

The association's website, the only source of official news, has not been updated in more than two months and makes no mention of the ICC's decision. Cricinfo has asked senior USACA officials to comment but none have replied to such requests.

So far little seems to have moved. The USACA apperas to have done nothing on moving ahead with the ratifying of the constitution - it has to name an independent audit group that is acceptable to all stakeholders, and with the authority to have its rulings accepted by all participants in the ratification and subsequent election process.

This independent audit group is to be approved by the West Indies Cricket Board, who the ICC have asked to oversee developments in the US. So far, no such group has been proposed, let alone accepted. Opponents of the association say it appears inclined to let the matter ride for as long as it can get away with it.

Two of the executive board have resigned. Veman Reddy, co-chairman of the USACA Council of Presidents, and Arjunan Ethirveerasingam from the Southern California region. One other regional director is believed to be about to follow.

Ethirveerasingam sent a blunt email when he quit, outlining his reasons. He blamed the executive's "complete lack of communication, accountability and transparency in all aspect of its governance, its failure to meet the deadlines set by the ICC, and agreed to by USACA, for the adoption of the new USACA constitution and the holding of elections despite the fact that these deadlines were extended by the ICC, and the unconstitutional manner in which the new constitution was adopted, especially the lack of adequate opportunity for member clubs and leagues to consider and have input into the constitution."

He concluded: "I no longer wish to be associated with such an inept, mismanaged, incompetent, unaccountable, secretive organization which has brought cricket in the USA to the lowest levels ever. My recommendation to cricketers in the USA and to the ICC is to start at the beginning; to develop a new organization that rises from the grass roots."

Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president, and his close associates appear to have adopted their well-used technique of saying nothing and doing little more. That might help them weather the storm, but it is hardly likely to mollify opponents or unite all factions.

It is also unclear where the current shambles leaves the relationship between the USACA and Centrex, the marketing company, which was signed last year and was supposed to herald a new start for the game in the country. There have to be questions whether the deal is even valid, given the questionable status of the USACA, and the company now appears to be staying on the sidelines until the dust has settled.

Meanwhile, a number of stakeholders inside the USA have expressed unease that the ICC has charged the WICB with overseeing progress. The West Indies' board is embroiling in ongoing rows itself, and has run up debts of tens of millions of dollars. Ken Gordon, the WICB's president, is under fire at home after his side's dismal World Cup performance.

It comes as no surprise that the USACA were today suspended by the ICC for failing to meet the agreed deadlines. Read the full story, and this comment piece, and leave your comments and thoughts below.

Peter Whitehead is 12 years old, and president of his local cricket club. Following on from Gladstone Dainty's promise that "youth and female cricket programmes are the priorities of USACA," we print Peter's email and would welcome comments.

If you've had a similar experience to Peter, drop us an email

Dear Sir,

I am a 12 year old kid and the president of a youth cricket club in Mesa, Arizona, at Fremont Junior High. I would like to say that the USACA or the MLCUS has done nothing to help me start this club.

I started laying the foundations for this club in August 2005. I first contacted the USACA thinking that my national cricket association would be glad to help me. I first wrote to the president and the vice-president. After two weeks, the vice-president responded to me by saying that I should contact my local USACA representative. I then contacted the director in charge of Arizona. Two weeks later he told me that I should contact the California director. I then contacted the California director who after one week told me to contact the Arizona director. I contacted him again and he said that I should contact my local league, Arizona Cricket Association, but I got no response from them.

I then contacted Major League Cricket US (MLCUS) after pursuing help from the USACA for about three months. The MLCUS responded to me very [quickly] and told me they would help. For about seven months, they led me to believe that they would help me, but they were all talk and no action. I then refused to believe that they would ever help me. My assumption was right.

In the summer of June-July 2006 my family and I were in England. While there, I heard of Urban Cricket. I contacted them and they were very willing to help me, donating eight plastic bats and balls to start practice with. I was very pleased. Also, while there my father and I spent £200 each on equipment for the club.

After returning, I wrote to 20 different cricket companies asking for equipment. I only got responses from 3 of them and Kookaburra was the only company to help us by giving us 2 bats, 3 sets of leg-pads, 3 sets of batting gloves, 1 set of wicketkeeping gloves, and one set of wicketkeeping leg-pads.

Recently, I contacted the USACA for help with an artificial pitch since our numbers of boys and girls playing had grown from 10 kids per week to about 30 kids per week. They responded to my question about inter-USA matches, but I have never heard from them [regarding] a pitch.

Currently we have 20 to 30 boys and girls playing every week. They are divided into two teams and we practice weekly. From August until the middle of January, my father who is a teacher at Fremont JHS coached one team, and I coached mine. Recently one of the player’s fathers has come to coach my team when he is there. We had our first Twenty20 cricket match in January, and are planning to have one once per month until it gets too hot to play. Our next match is Saturday, February 23, 2007. All of the players are Americans and have only one citizenship, except for three players who hold British passports and citizenship.

In all, no USA cricket organization has helped me start this club. I have started it only with help from Kookaburra and Urban Cricket.

Peter Whitehead

	Dainty opens up © Getty Images

Gladstone Dainty, the USACA's president, has spoken to Martin Williamson and Will Luke in a comprehensive, wide-ranging interview. Read what he told us at Cricinfo and leave your opinions or thoughts in the comments below.

Your critics claim that under your tenure, the USACA has lurched from crisis to crisis, culminating in your suspension from the ICC. How would you respond to those attacks?
The efforts of outstanding individuals have been undermined long before my time. Political forces in and out of the organization have made bad calculations about the financial rewards of cricket in the USA.There are those who believe that it takes a few dollars to make many millions. This belief has been around for many years; it has undermined the efforts of many and drained our limited resources.

What would you consider to be your achievements?

Over the last three-and-a-half years our achievements have been many .We have:

Introduced Under-19 regional and national tournaments

Licensed Under-11, Under-13 and Under-15 national tournaments

Won the ICC Americas regional Under-19 tournament

Qualified for the ICC's 2006 Under-19 World Cup

Won the recent ICC Americas Under-15 tournament

Placed 2nd at the ICC Americas WCLQ series

It should be noted that the ICC Americas WCLQ series included Canada and Bermuda and the average age of the team was reduced to 25.6 years.

Atul Rai, a past president of the USACA, comments on why he feels the current process to elect a new constitution is not only unfair, but illegitimate. Read the story and leave your thoughts below.

The results are in, as reported on Cricinfo earlier, but it doesn't make for pretty reading:

The results of the proposed USA Cricket Association constitution ratification vote has been announced today with 70.03% (201 votes) of the responding member clubs agreeing to the proposal.

However, in total, only 287 votes were registered which amounts to just 43% of the 667 registered clubs the USACA has on their books, some way short of the mandatory 50% under which the existing constitution was formed.

Furthermore, only 12 days' notice was given for the clubs to vote on the new constitution, partly explaining the low turnout. It seems likely that another issue affecting USA cricket will be settled in the courts, just 8 days from the ICC's deadline: by March 1 they must have held new elections under a fresh constitution if they are to maintain its status as an Associate member.

Cricinfo sources indicate the Council of League Presidents are taking the issue to the courts in the next few days. What are your thoughts on this latest setback?

A row which has been brewing behind the scenes over the USA Cricket Association's proposed new constitution has spilled over into the public domain with the publication of an open letter from two regional directors slamming the changes.

Arjunan Ethirveerasingam, a regional director of the South West, and Laks Sampath of the North West, have written to the USACA executive all all board members in which they express "dismay" at the draft constitution and recommend that clubs and stakeholder vote against it.

The USACA had already come under fire for the short time it had given regions to consult stakeholders, and Cricinfo has been made aware of deep dissatisfaction among senior representatives with the way the entire process has been handled.

The letter points out several flaws with the way the planned changes have been handled, pointing out that they breach the existing constitution. The main complaints stems from the way that board of directors are to be appointed, effectively unelected for a three-year term.

"The USACA is administered by an executive committee who are a part of the board who nominate a panel to select the next executives. The nominating panel (the current board of directors) select the individuals who, in their "expert opinion", are qualified to be executives and eliminate the rest. The panel then asks the board to do a back ground check on the final list and the names are forwarded to the regions to "select" (not "elect").

"It is incomprehensible in a democratic society such as ours that a panel can eliminate everyone except the current executives or the five members that they want on the executive body. "What chance does a serious challenger have to break into the very private circle appointed by the current executives? Agreed, the regional administration votes for the executives, the first step is to get on the ballot and that very avenue is insurmountable."

The existing board, once famously described by the ICC as "dysfunctional", has been lambasted in the last couple of years for being almost unaccountable and incommunicado. The most recent elections were also shrouded in controversy, and it seems that the new constitution, which must be in place by March 1 to meet a deadline imposed by the ICC, will only add to the disharmony.

Sampath and Ethirveerasingam seem to drive a coach and horses through many areas of the constitution and they make a compelling case for stakeholders to refuse to approve it. Even if it is eventually passed, what is clear is that it needs more time to be examined. If it is passed, the letter points out that it is drafted in such a way that it is unlikely ever to be amended.

"This constitution will not change into eternity. Yes mathematically it can, logistically with the country as large as United States it is just impossible. Never in the history of USACA have there been 400+ people present at a general meeting."

The conclusion is unequivocal. "The proposed constitution is not a constitution for the membership but is a constitution for the incumbents," they wrote. "There is no forum for the stakeholders to voice their concern or to even seek clarification.

"We urge you to withdraw this constitution and call a meeting of the general body to work on a constitution that is both acceptable to the membership and will also provide a strong foundation for the future of cricket in USA. In the meanwhile, we will request any member clubs wanting to vote send in their "No" ballots and to vote via email so that there will be proof of deliver of the ballot."

Cricinfo has been contacted by several other senior regional representatives endorsing these views and it is now possible that what initially looked to be a simple rubber-stamping process could present a major headache for the USACA incumbents.

The revelation that the USA Cricket Association had finally put forward a new constitution to its stakeholders was, on the face of it, a rare piece of good news in the murky world of domestic US cricket. But after a closer look, the news might not be as good as it seemed.

Within hours of the announcement there were signs of unrest. The most obvious issue was that the whole deal was presented as one that only needed rubber stamping rather than consideration. After months of silence and rumour, stakeholders were given three weeks to digest the proposals, circulate and discuss them, and vote. While that may be time enough, there was a feeling of indecent haste about the whole process.

And then there was the issue of the regions, and more specifically the clubs within those regions. A close examination shows that there is a considerable imbalance between the way the regions are divided. More worryingly, some regions appear to have grown at a phenomenal rate.

One regional president made his views clear. “There are a number of so called clubs that are nothing but bogus clubs,” he told Cricinfo. “I challenge this administration to conduct a through independent audit of all clubs in all regions to see if they really play cricket or if certain individuals chose to pay $30 per club time 8 per League (i.e. $240 per year) to ensure they have enough leagues and enough clubs to vote.”

In other words, are all the clubs recognised by the USACA genuine?

A quick examination of the numbers of affiliated clubs in each region throws up some remarkable success stories. In the Atlantic region, in 2004 there were 69 clubs – now there are 133. It’s the same story elsewhere. North East region has grown from 16 to 40 clubs; Central East from 51 to 127. This may represent a tremendous success story for the USACA in that it has expanded the game.

Cynics claim it is little more than an exercise in manipulation. Each of the regions will elect a representative to the USACA board, so gain control of the regions and you effectively run the USACA. The new clubs may well decide whether the current regime is allowed to carry on or not.

“You’re damned if you do, damned if you don't,” a senior official said. “If you oppose the constitution then you are hampering progress; if you are in favour of the constitution you are keeping the incumbent in power.”

The most recent elections were shrouded in controversy. It seems that these will be no different. The veneer of democracy will keep the ICC happy and will satisfy the various external companies rumoured to be about to climb into bed with the USACA. It will also ensure that the existing bosses remain in place.

Unless leopards can change their spots, that is likely to mean a continuation of a policy of running US cricket in virtual secrecy, with no information made available to stakeholders or the media.

Like elections in the old Soviet Union, they claim to be democratic and open when in reality they are quite the opposite. The candidates offer themselves for a re-election that is inevitable and as soon as the poll is counted, they wave, head back behind the curtain and carry on as before.

Perhaps we are wrong and this is a brave new world. We have asked senior USACA officials to comment, as we have repeatedly done over the last two years. Stay tuned to see if they reply. Stay tuned, that is, but don’t hold your breath.

After months of silence and less than five weeks before the ICC's final deadline for its implementation, the USA Cricket Association has finally circulated the proposed new constitution to its members for ratification.

The documentation was sent out by Paul de Silva, the secretary of the USACA, with a note asking each region to appoint a regional administration in accordance with the draft constitution by February 21, 2007. "This will help fast track the electoral process," he explained, adding that he "presumed that the draft constitution will be ratified".

To maintain its status as an associate member of the ICC the USACA must hold new elections by March 1, 2007 under a new constitution. This means that from the date of de Silva's email, the regions have 21 days to consult all member clubs, ratify the constitution and appoint a representative, as all ballots must be completed by February 19.

While stakeholders will be delighted to finally have some information after months of silence from the USACA board, the timescales for the process to be finalised are almost ridiculously tight, and questions have to be asked regarding why the board has left it so late and what exactly have they been doing in the meantime.

Few inside the USA expect the new elections and fresh constitution to bring many changes in leadership.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

Contrary to reports at the weekend, it is highly unlikely that a planned one-day series between India and Australia in North America will be able to include matches in the USA. At present, there are no venues in the country approved by the ICC to host a one-day international. In fact, there are none even close to being recognised.

While Canada might conceivably host a few games at the quaintly named Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, the failure of Project USA - which was intended to develop the US market - has set the game back in the continent at least until 2008.

A new deal between the largely dysfunctional USA Cricket Association, whose utter inability to run the game led to its suspension by the ICC, and a marketing company called Centrex should give cricket in the USA a commercial stability hitherto absent. But it won't happen in time for this series.

To many - mainly the marketing men who so dominate the way cricket is run - the USA remains the untapped Holy Grail. Crack that, so the thinking goes, and the rewards are almost unlimited. Millions of dollars of income - up to $6 million per game for up to seven matches - was touted as a likely reward for the venture. Up to 10 million first-generation Asians make for a lucrative market, even if the average American doesn't care one jot for the game.

There are three main centres in the USA - New York , Florida and California. The speculation over the Australia-India series centred on New York, but there is not a venue there that could host a match. There was talk that an NFL stadium might be used, but that shows the lack of credibility of the reports. The major NFL stadiums are astroturf, and even if the organisers laid an artificial wicket, such a surface would not be approved for an ODI. There is one other minor detail. NFL pitches are far too narrow.

That leaves baseball grounds, and only one - the Mets' Shea Stadium - could conceivably be used. However, the cricket season in New York runs slap bang in the middle of the baseball season, so that's not an option. And drop-in-pitches are not a short-term solution as there are strict rules about transportation of soil and grass across state lines. The raw materials available in New York are just not good enough.

With that in mind, California has been earmarked as the ideal centre for the game, with the right climate and good soil. In the short-term, the venue at Burbank is the nearest to being ready. There are two grounds in Florida - at Fort Lauderdale and Broward County - but neither has pitches nearly good enough for international matches. The grass pitches they have crumble too easily. One expert told Cricinfo that soil with the right amount of clay needed to be imported, probably from Georgia, and that meant a mountain of red tape to be overcome before the project could even start.

When Andy Atkinson, the ICC's pitches guru, was consulted by the bosses of Project USA, he estimated that with the right soil and the will, a pitch could be laid and ready in around eight or nine months. Australia and India's commitments mean that the only spare dates for a North American series is June, and there is no way on earth that any grounds in the USA could be ready by then. As the flamboyant boxing promoter Don King loves to say: "it's got two chances ... slim and none, and slim just left town."

That leaves the one ICC-approved venue in Toronto, which hosted several one-day series in the late 1990s. It offers a foothold on North American soil, but a long series there would have limited appeal, and it's the USA not Canada that whets the two boards' appetites. In terms of TV coverage, they might as well play in some more established neutral centres such as Kuala Lumpur or Sharjah.

There is now hardly anyone in USA cricket circles who believes that there ever was a Centrex deal negotiated by, and for, the USACA Cricket Association.

Reported on Cricinfo by a gentleman who proclaimed himself the USACA representative for media relations (an appointment, incidentally, which was never presented for approval of the USACA board of directors), the magic deal appears to be a case of smoke and mirrors, with no basis in fact or reality. There is no other explanation that can fit the facts at hand.

An unguarded statement by the media representative provides a clue to what is going on. According to his explanation, USACA wanted to make sure the draft constitution was being sent out by hard copy, so its contents would not be "tampered with". Surely some one in the USACA has heard of "read only" reports, which can be sent out with a single mouse click? In any case, if the original of the draft was still in the USACA's files, would it be so difficult to compare it with any tampered drafts that were sent back--and view the tamperings as contributions to the discussion, rather than as attempts to sabotage the USACA? Or is the process of discussion inherently subversive in USACA's eyes, so any discussion is to be perceived as a threat?

Meanwhile, the USA Council of Cricket League Presidents, or CLP, is not waiting for USACA to keep prevaricating. It has moved swiftly to take centre stage in US cricket politics, and is picking up momentum as time passes.

The first thing CLP has done is to find out which US cricket leagues can be counted on for support. Firm participation is expected from leagues west of the Mississippi, including Chicago. As of 2007, there are 15 leagues in Western USA who could participate if they so wished. Perhaps four or five from Eastern USA might join. Together, these leagues cover 75% of cricket clubs in the USA, which is a healthy place to start.

The CLP also forwarded a formal list of 12 amendments to the USACA draft constitution, along with a detailed critique of the draft explaining the need for these amendments - needless to say, there has been no response of any kind from the USACA. The CLP is also taking steps in the federal courts to block USACA's plan to register itself in New York, and seeking an injunction to block any implementation of the draft USACA constitution until it is fully approved and ratified by its membership.

The CLP is warning all cricket clubs that it may take some time to exorcise all the demons left over from the past three years of mismanagement by the USACA. But the process, says CLP, is at last fully under way.

The ongoing mystery over the marketing deal agreed by the USA Cricket Association and Centrex continues, with the USACA refusing to provide stakeholders or the media with any information.

It now seems that not even all the association's board of directors are aware of what has been signed. "At a conference call on November 16 we were promised a copy of the deal," one member told Cricinfo. "We were clearly told that it would not be in electronic form as "some" board members were prone to "leaking" such information and the executive was going to make it harder to "leak" such information."

He continued: "A marketing deal that is supposed to be beneficial to the organisation is not touted to the membership and press as the best things since sliced bread; instead we are concerned about the information "leaking" to the media and the membership. I know, I find that rather hard to swallow too."

The USACA has a long history of refusing to keep stakeholders informed, and for several years it has effectively shut out the media. Senior officials have repeatedly refused to answer questions put to them by Cricinfo.

There is growing concern over exactly what the new deal, which according to some could earn US cricket millions of dollars, actually involves. Given that there is a continuing row over the USACA's constitution, there have also been questions as to whether it is within the current leadership's powers to agree to enter into such a major contract.

There is widespread confusion in US cricket circles over the almost secret marketing deal reportedly agreed last October between the USA Cricket Association and a company called Centrex. The deal, which was flagged in outline to Cricinfo before it was finalised, has reportedly been signed and a payment made to the USACA, and yet it has proved almost impossible to find any information about what it involves and how much money has changed hands now and is expected to in the coming years.

What we have been told is that the agreement will mean a joint-venture company will run most aspects of the game and its promotion, with the USACA reaping a financial benefit. But a source close to the USACA said that a number of issues remain unresolved, although it is not expected that the ongoing dispute over the association’s constitution and elections will affect the deal.

Wild sums have been bandied around behind the scenes, with some claiming that the deal could net the USACA millions of dollars a year. While this appears to be an exaggeration, the sudden influx of cash could account for the association’s reluctance to make the arrangement public. The already ultra-secretive board of directors are unlikely to be happy about potential rivals becoming aware of a new income stream.

And what of Major League Cricket, the organisation which threatened to usurp the USACA and which seemed to be expanding rapidly into the void left by the shambolic organization of the association? Insiders report that if the Centrex deal goes through, it spells the end of MLC as much of its raison d’etre centres on doing what the USACA should be expected to do in any normal board.

And MLC has gone from sending out almost daily press releases to becoming almost as uncommunicative as the USACA. Its website has not been updated for seven months and, like the USACA itself, emails go unanswered.

While the next year could be exiting for the game in the States, the sad truth is that almost nobody knows. And the question that raises is, what have those who are supposed to represent the stakeholders got to hide?

If anyone has any more information, please send us feedback!

Once again, time is running out for the USA Cricket Association to live up to its basic responsibilities. And this time, there are not likely to be any further reprieves.

The trouble started when the USACA asked for yet more time to write and approve its constitution. The current deadline was November 20, which itself had been a postponement from the original date of July 2006. This time, said the ICC, the deadline would be March 2007, but that would be it—no further extensions would be granted.

In fact, USACA’s Constitution Review Committee (CRC) had already produced a draft for the USACA. Its existence, however, had been a well-guarded secret. No one outside the USACA executive and board had any idea when it had been prepared, let alone what its contents were.

Then came the bombshell. An alert board member noticed that a draft USACA constitution had indeed been posted on the web site, but it was completely different from the CRC version. Moreover, this “new and improved” draft was a complete mess; it was riddled with errors and inconsistencies, contradicted itself on many key points, and used arbitrary formulas for counting member votes that made no particular sense.

The biggest problem with both the CRC and the new version of the constitution was their abandonment of any democratic principles in the operations of the USACA. Up to this point, the USACA has functioned as a national association of cricket clubs, which elected their representatives to a board of directors, which, in their turn elected a president and executive. The CRC version stayed within those parameters, although it tightened things up in a few decidedly undemocratic ways. The new version simply made cricket clubs and their leagues irrelevant; regional boards would consist of league representatives and any number of appointees, all aspects of cricket would be “controlled” by a central organization, and there would be a paid chief operating officer who would answer directly to the president. As one cynic put it, Hitler could not have come up with a more authoritarian constitution … assuming, of course, that he would bother to write one.

All this has led to a flurry of activity in US cricket circles, which is one good thing that may come out of all this skullduggery. Within the USACA, Laks Sampath of the Northwest Region and Shelton Glasgow of Mid Atlantic teamed up with Aron, a lawyer and one of the writers of the CRC version, to see if they could rewrite the new version to a more satisfactory format.

Meanwhile the Council of League Presidents, which has been in hibernation for a year, is cranking up its web site and has also produced a formal list of 12 amendments to the “new and improved” constitution, which it has sent to the USACA group as its contribution to constitutional reform. There has, of course, been no word from the USACA executive on any of these developments … and none are expected in the foreseeable future.

The ICC executive, which met in Mumbai last week, received a request from the USA Cricket Association for an extension towards the fulfillment of National Body elections under a new constitution.

The original deadline for elections under a new constitution was November 30, 2006 and the board agreed to extend that deadline to March 2007, the time for the next ICC board meeting. However, it resolved to offer no further extensions.

The USA Cricket Association executive meeting in Florida on Saturday (October 7) is set to unveil an ambitious new partnership with an international sports marketing company.

The USACA is likely to enter into a joint venture with the company, and this body will be responsible for a number of aspects of cricket in the USA.

Click here for the full story

After more than a year of reports of more concrete links between the USA and the Caribbean being established, the city of Lauderhill in Florida has announced a deal with Falmouth in Jamaica to use the newly-constructed stadium in Trelawny to promote cricket in Jamaica and the USA.

The partnership was launched with a match between a USA Invitational XI and the Jamaican national team on September 30, which the Jamaica side won by 36 runs.

Click here for more.

After months of silence, the proposed new constitution has finally been unveilled. Deb K Das writes:

The long-awaited draft Constitution of the USA Cricket Association (USACA), under preparation for the past six months under cloak-and-dagger secrecy, is finally available on the USACA website for all to see. It remains to be seen whether it will be approved by USACA's member clubs - and if it is, whether it will really lead to a reform of US cricket, or end up as another road to nowhere.

Click here for the full story

For the first time in the team's history, the Jamaican Civic and Cultural Association of Rockland's All Stars will play in the final of the New York Commonwealth Cricket League (CCL) tournament later today.

"It's very, very exciting," said Dillon Coley, manager and a player of the Spring Valley-based team. He said the team reached this point because its members had worked hard together. Coley, 51, a native of Jamaica who started playing cricket when he was 12, moved to the United States in 1987.

Full story at The Journal News

Simon Worral, in the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent radio programme, reports on the rise of cricket in America in which he watched the semi-final between Tropical Sports Club and North Atlanta.

But it felt like Sunday in Antigua. Under an awning, a large-hipped lady in a bandana barbecued jerk chicken in an oil drum. Men sat under the trees drinking Red Stripe and reminiscing about home. A copy of Ovid's Metamorphoses lay open on the ground.

The silver-haired man standing next to me was not any old bystander. His name was Desmond Lewis and in his cricketing heyday he had opened the batting for the Windies with Sir Garfield Sobers.

Cricket, he told me, has grown exponentially in America. When Des arrived in 1978, he could not find 11 players to make a team.

He also makes mention of the long (and often unknown) history of American cricket:

Though few people either side of the Atlantic know it, cricket has a long history in the United States. It was once the national game and the annual fixture against Canada, which was first played in the 1840s. It is the oldest international sporting event in the modern world, predating today's Olympic Games by nearly 50 years.

The earliest account of a cricket match in North America comes from a plantation owner in Westover, Virginia, named William Byrd. "I rose at six o'clock and read a chapter in Hebrew," he noted in a diary he kept between 1709 and 1712. About 10 o'clock Dr Blair, and Major and Captain Harrison came to see us. After I had given them a glass of sack we played cricket. I ate boiled beef for my dinner."

A fascinating article. Read it, or you can also listen to it.

Bermuda won the World Cricket League Americas Division 1 Championship for the first time. Canada has two previous wins and the USA won once. Bermuda took the title thank's to Canada's ten-wicket win over the USA last Saturday. The Cayman Islands beat Argentina on Saturday and this ensured they qualify for the Global Division 3 section of the World Cricket League in 2007.

Bermuda and Canada had already qualified for the Global World Cricket League (WCL) Division 1 as a result of their rankings in the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland. WCL Division 1 is in Kenya in January 2007. The USA will be in WCL Global Division 3.

Bermuda ended the Americas championship with three wins and one no-result for a total of 14 points. USA were second (two wins, one loss, one no result for 10 points). Canada came third edging out Cayman Islands on net run-rate (difference betwen rate of a team scoring runs when batting, and conceding runs when bowling). Both teams had two wins and two losses. Argentina came last with five losses.

The player of the tournament was US captain Steve Massiah, who also won the batting award for his 283 runs in 4 matches. Ronald Ebanks (Cayman) took the bowling award for 10 wickets. Bermuda took the fielding prizes with Stephen Outerbridge (fielder) and Kwame Tucker (wicketkeeper) getting the honours. Regular Bermuda wicketkeeper Dean Minors had to return home due to an illness in the family.

Shabir Mohammed plundered 353 not out in a league game for his club side United Cricket Club in northern California on August 27. In all, Shabbir slammed 25 sixes and 40 fours, facing 156 deliveries. His hundred came up off 46 balls, his 200 off 94.

He went into the match with a season’s average of 18.60 and a best of 41.

His side amassed 630 in the 45-over match. In reply, Bay Area were bowled out for 181.

More details can be found on the 4th Umpire blog.

Mohammad Azharuddin, the former India captain and Rizwan-uz-Zaman turned out for a club side in Glendale Heights, Illinois, yesterday to raise money for flood victims in Gujarat, India.

The Federation of Indian Associations hosted the Peace Cup. Vice President Keerthi Ravoori of Chicago said the organization had two objectives: to strengthen relations between local Indians and Pakistanis, and to raise funds for the victims in Gujarat, India.

He said he hoped the match would spread excitement about cricket in the United States, particularly in the Midwest.

“This is the first time we’re hosting this cricket match, and we hope to bring harmony and better understandings within these two countries,” Ravoori said.

Full story at the Daily Herald

The United States cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Argentina on the third day of the Americas Championship at Maple Leaf CC in Toronto, Canada, and in doing so set up a potential championship decider with Bermuda on Friday.

Sent in to bat, Argentina started disastrously, losing their first two wickets in the very first over to paceman Imran Awan. It was a continued uphill struggle from then for the Argentine batsmen against a sharp USA attack, and it was only thanks to a gritty 6th wicket partnership of 59 between Donny Forrester and Alejandro Ferguson that steered Argentina towards respectability.

Forrester eventually ended with 43, from 75 balls, with five fours, while Ferguson scored a well-deserved half-century, making 57 from 83 balls with five fours and a six. Argentina's innings closed on 182 in the 49th over.

For the USA pacemen Iwan, with 3 for 51, and Khawaja Shuja, with 2 for 22, did the initial damage, while spinner Lennox Cush bowled well to end with 2 for 30.

Although a respectable target set by Argentina, it was never going to be enough against a powerful USA top-order, despite a spirited opening burst from the Argentine seamers.
With the USA at 64 for 3, and first-day centurion Sushil Nadkarni back in the pavilion, there was a sniff of another giant-killing act in the tournament.

But captain Steve Massiah and Lennox Cush had other ideas, and their 120 run undefeated 4th wicket partnership saw the USA home with 22 overs to spare. Massiah continued his fine form with the bat, scoring an undefeated 54 off 59 balls, with 7 fours, while Cush, later named man of the match, scored a blistering 73 not out off only 42 balls, with 8 fours and 5 sixes.

Seamers Gary Savage, 1 for 37 in 8 overs, and Steven Nino, 1 for 34 in 8 overs, bowled well to test the USA top order, but Argentina ultimately did not score anywhere near enough in their innings.

The USA now face unbeaten Bermuda on Friday in a key clash. A Bermudan victory will clinch the title for them for the first time in their history, while a USA victory will keep the championship chase alive into the final day on Saturday.

Sudesh Dhaniram, former West Indies A-team batsman, smashed an unbeaten 257 on June 24, possibly the highest individual limited-overs innings in US cricket.

His innings was instrumental in Far Rockaway's massive 334-run victory over Lions in a 40-over clash in the Nassau Cricket League in Queens, New York.

The problems which blighted the USA Cricket Association last year might be about to resurface according to a report from Cricinfo's Deb K Das. It appears that the long-awaited constitutional review might not be all it seems after the intervention of one of the panel charged with the process.

She voted to junk the process of democratic elections for the USACA board and executive, and proposed instead that they should all be appointed by an expert panel to be named by USACA. This constitution would be submitted to the 35 presidents of the USACA member leagues for approval. There would be no vote of the USACA membership, and no elections for any USACA positions.

This would start the whole internal battle again, and Das wonders if the ICC would get involved.

Without decisive action on their part, USACA will continue on the same dysfunctional path that was first enunciated by Speed and Mani three years ago, and US cricket will continue to exist in its self-created doldrums.

Cricket is not a sport associated with American University, but at Stanford the game is on the up, with improving facilities and two teams being run. While the participants mainly comes from the large expat community, interest is high.

"I’ve been here for 14 years, so I’ve seen a huge difference from last year and having the grounds back to the year I came in. Unless you were really passionate about the game, you wouldn’t even know we had a cricket club here at Stanford — I had to dig around to find out how to get involved — and now we’re right out in the open, so really it’s a huge difference."

In an excellent (well, we would say that!) article, Cricinfo editor Sambit Bal has written about the claims that hosting ODIs in the USA will help promote the game there:

"Both the ICC and the West Indies Cricket Board have made pious-sounding statements about matches in the USA and Canada helping the spread of the game, and it is simply a false promise.

"A few years ago, when Jagmohan Dalmiya was taking cricket far and wide, I had felt a genuine surge of excitement. It was novel watching cricket matches in Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Some grounds were oddly shaped, the matches were thinly attended, and there were hardly any locals. But I supported the expansionist zeal, and hoped that cricket would catch on. I was naïve, and wrong."

The Arizona Republic reports on the upcoming season for the local expats, and gives an insight into cricket in America.

But on weekends from September to April, hundreds of devoted cricket players gather for competition, camaraderie and a recreational link to their native countries across the globe.

With 12 Valley teams, including the Scottsdale Cricket Club, and one in Tucson, the Arizona Cricket Association has close to 200 players representing more than a dozen cricket-playing nations. That includes Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

They also make comparisons with baseball

Batsmen try to keep the ball from striking wickets, or wooden posts, and attempt to hit the ball off the field. A batsman scores six runs for hitting the ball over the boundary on a fly and four for rolling one out.

Despite those differences, cricket and baseball, as played by weekend warriors, share common traits in the intensity of the play and the sore arms and other injuries that can keep players in pain for days afterward.

Kothari describes twisted ankles, cuts and strained hamstrings that punctuate the six-hour matches.

"I've broken my thumb before," he said. Only the wicketkeeper wears a glove.

More here.

An intriguing tale from the USA of an expat from India who arrived six years ago and turned to one of the country’s homegrown sports – baseball.

When Amartya ''Marty" Ray, a cricketer from Calcutta, moved to Boston in 1998 to attend college, he didn't even know what a home run was. Today, at age 26, he is coordinator of fan and neighborhood services for the Red Sox.

"Growing up in India I knew baseball was a sport. 'I knew the Yankees were 'the best team. But I didn't even know what teams they played for. I didn't even know who the Red Sox were.

"The natural tendency was to compare it to cricket. 'My first thought was, 'This is odd. This is very odd.' The field has weird dimensions. The foul balls didn't make any sense to me. Then I thought, 'What's up with the gloves? They can't catch a ball with their bare hands?'"

The United States Cricket Association's conversion from the second tier - cricket's political outcast - to the mainstream looks to be gathering pace.

The USACA is about to be named as host of the Third Division of the ICC’s World Cup Qualifying Series slated for next year.

The USA Cricket Association is again under pressure, this time following the request to the ICC by the rival Major League Cricket to take control of the games Stateside. Cricinfo reports that the USACA has some tough questions to answer when the ICC meets later this month.

The USACA has adopted an approach of operating in virtual secrecy for some time, and it looks as if it had decided to deal with the ICC in the same way. If so, then it made a massive mistake. The ICC is highly professional, well organised, and holds the purse strings. Bluster and bull will not work.

Anyone who has followed US cricket in the last 18 months will be familiar with the shambles among those running the game there, with the USA Cricket Association slammed – and shunned – by the ICC and attempts to remove the executive quashed in court. Now Bernard Cameron, the man behind Major League Cricket, has written to the ICC requesting that his group be allowed to take control of the US game.

In his letter to the ICC, Cameron said:

"I remember the Gladstone Dainty [the USACA chairman] debacle, involving education, strategic development and promotion of cricket throughout the United States ten years ago. It certainly was a painful and bitter memory written in the annals of US cricket. Notwithstanding, that evil seems to befall us again and again."

The Winter Haven Club, in Florida, is looking for new players to join. More details at The Ledger

Vish Lekhram writes enthusiastically about the USA team who today head to Sri Lanka for the Under-19 World Cup:

Ordinarily in other sporting disciplines this would not be a very noteworthy event but because we Americans are viewed as the best at everything by the global population, this has added a lot of pressures on this cricket team to do as well as the other sporting disciplines, and are being compared to the US Olympic team that will participate in the Winter Games in a few weeks time. What an honor this team has bestowed on the USA's cricketing nation that is well represented by these strong, talented, and gifted young men!

We all expect the "boys," soon to be men to win the whole thing! Is this an unreasonable expectation? Are we being practical? Can this squad as talented as they are, beat the West Indies, South Africa, or Australia (they are grouped together in "D") to advance to the next round?

A much-needed boost for US cricket with the news that the Indian and Pakistan boards are looking at playing matches at neutral venues. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, said:

Once again we would go to our governments for approval before finalising the venues but places like the United States and a few European countries are under consideration. We have offshore venues like Florida and New Jersey in the United States and some venues in the United Arab Emirates and we want to popularise cricket in these countries.

Given the ICC's view of the USA Cricket Association - one shared by most of the major countries who see the board as an embarrassment - this will increase the pressure on Gladstone Dainty, the embattled president, to stand down for a more internationally acceptable candidate. The alternative is for the USA to remain a cricketing backwater.

With the USA Cricket Association still doggedly determined to run cricket in the USA after it saw off the challenge from a rebel group of stakeholders, it has a new challenger - Major League Cricket.

A recent national event run by MLC in Florida was a success despite attempts by unknown parties, thought to support the USACA, to persuade and even intimidate sides to stay away. And now MLC has thrown down the gauntlet and started taking on the USACA head to head.

The contrast between the two could not be greater. MLC appears to be open, eager to speak to the media, and keen to host events and promote the game. The USACA has a history of CIA-like secrecy, shunning the media and, frankly, not doing much for the game in the country. It even managed to get its funding suspended by the ICC and was barred from attending the ICC AGM.

Gladstone Dainty, the president, clings on to power with grim determination but his time seems limited. And a USACA EGM to discuss the crisis attracted a single-figure attendance last month, leaving Dainty embarrassed but still there.

A good source of lively chat about the US cricket scene can be found at www.uscricket.com/ and click on forums.

In case it slipped your attention, USA's U19 squad for February's World Cup were announced a few days ago.

So low is the USA Cricket Association's standing in world cricket - this was the organisation barred from the last ICC AGM in London - that you woukd think they would do all they could to show that they are now on the ball. Not so. At the weekend they held a meeting in Dallas which should have shown that all disputes are a thing of the past. The problem is ... nobody turned up.

The attendance was so poor that there were not enough people present to constitute a forum, and furthermore, only six of the 12 USACA directors turned up, so it was not even possible to hold a board meeting.

The tremendously enjoyable - and I speak from personal experience -

There's just a lot of camaraderie between the players, and we call it a festival, not a tournament. It's really more like a reunion for the teams.

The Herald Tribune has provided a photo gallery and more information can be found at the official Sarasota Cricket Club website.

The MLC Interstate tournament is up and running in Florida and Texas's Sushil Nadkarni has been the star of the show. He kicked off with 171 not out and followed with 214. Texas won both games, the second, against the hosts, by the small margin of 379 runs.

UScricket.com profiled him back in August.

The tournament is ongoing and Cricinfo will have regular daily updates. Check out the official MLC site.

An end in sight for the shambles that has been blighting the USA Cricket Association for more than a year, or another false dawn? Cricinfo reveals that finally there will be an Extraordinary General Meeting in Dallas on December 10.

It is unclear how many members of the association will actually attend what could be a lively meeting, assuming that the officers are willing to answer questions from the floor and not fall back behind the legal agreement.

People from across the country have to attend as this could be one of the last chances they have to be heard and make a difference before US cricket, already something of a pariah, is irreparably damaged.

"There is wicket keeping – it's kind of like catching like a catcher and then there is bowling which is like a pitcher and then there's fielding which is, you know, fielding."

But there are also interesting comments about the profile of the game among the next generation and some great clips of the youngsters in action.