USA juniors off to Trinidad & Tobago

After considerable speculation over what the newly discovered Under-19 cricketers at the inaugural US national U-19 championships would do following their successful debuts, many of them are now headed for Trinidad and Tobago.

A widely-discussed trip to India by the juniors was rejected because of the time and expense involved in arranging for passports and visas, meeting travel and health requirements, and arranging itineraries at short notice. Instead, the USA Cricket Academy (New Jersey), which won the worldwide ICC Junior Development Award in 2002 for its international programs, is conducting a tour to Trinidad and Tobago over Christmas and New Year, with a possible tour to India slated for March 2005.

The USA Cricket Academy team to tour Trinidad and Tobago consists of the following: Anveet Patel- Captain; Megh Bhatt, (USA U19 ALL-STAR), Dhiren A Patel, Yuvraj Sharma, and Satyan Kansara, all from New Jersey; Anil Deopersaud, Vice Captain (USA U19 ALL-STAR), from Florida; Abhimanyu Rajp, (USA U19 ALL-STAR) and Vishal Mehta, from California; Kumar Hanuman (USA U19 ALL-STAR), Musaab Khan, Andre Kirton, Nigel Bridgelal, and Akeem Dodson (USA U19 ALL-STAR), all from New York.

The biggest omission is that of the Central Zone (Chicago and Texas regions), none of whose players are represented in the US Cricket Academy team. Also missing are Perkins (NY) and Renaldo Francis (FL), the top-scoring batsmen at the inaugural U-19 Championships in Los Angeles in October 2004. Unavailability at short notice in the "all-amateur" set-up of US cricket has always been a problem, and undoubtedly many of the youngsters may have been unable to travel so soon after October. But conflicts and lack of communication between regions could also have played a part, and this particular nuisance needs to be exorcised from US junior cricket if it is to continue the progress it has made in 2003 and 2004.

Part of the problem is that the USA Cricket Academy, over the past five years, has been the only US organization that has conducted independent international tours for US cricketers--USACA tours have taken place mostly when the ICC has put up all or most of the cash. This has incurred the envy of many in the USA, and its winning the worldwide ICC Junior Development Award in 2002 only fanned the flames of the frenzy.

In its defence, the tour has been called a "youth development tour from USA Cricket Academy" with a mix of proven talent (ie the five USA U-19 all-stars) and promising youngsters who could benefit from international exposure. The USA Cricket Academy, based as it is in New Jersey, had to rely heavily on its own region when seeking players with possible potential, and this could account for the preponderance of NY/NJ youngsters in the touring team. This is a problem that clearly needs to be addressed in the future, and one that the Cricket Academy should strive to address in the coming months.

It is hoped that the USA Cricket Academy will be able to continue the forward momentum for US junior cricket it has maintained in 2004 while the rest of US cricket seems mired in their own shallows and miseries. That alone would justify cheering on this latest offshore venture of the USA Cricket Academy.

Tour itinerary
23rd Dec 2004: Team Departs from Miami International Airport & Arrive in T&T
24th Dec: 1st Game vs. FCB Clarke Road @ Clarke Road, Penal
25th Dec Christmas Day - Rest Day
26th Dec: 2nd Game vs. South East @ Rio Claro
27th Dec: 3rd Game vs. Clico Preysal @ Preysal
28th Dec: 4th Game vs. Wanderers @ Gilbert Park
29th Dec: Rest Day / Practice session

30th Dec: 5th Game vs. Queen's Park @ Queens Park Oval
31st Dec: 6th Game vs. T&T U19's @ National Cricket Center
1st Jan 2005: 7th Game vs. invitational XI @ TBA
2nd Jan: Team Departs from T&T & Arrives in Miami, Florida