[BhoysFC1995]

sure the usa cricket saga has been in turmoil for the past 6 months and has been covered in the usa section of cricinfo.com but now a more mainstream sports site foxsoccerchannel.com (formerly foxsportsworld.com) has an article on it-

http://msn.foxsports.com/cricket/story/3688806

hopefully this mainstream attention will help get things in the right direction.

"Cricket is supposed to be done with a bat and ball, not on a desk with a pen and piece of paper."

[BhoysFC1995]

USA Loses Voice at ICC Meeting

cricinfo's story

BBC story

the jist of the story-

Warring American cricket officials will not be permitted to attend the upcoming International Cricket Council meetings.

"The result of this is that, at this stage, ICC does not intend to recognise any of the current competing parties as being in undisputed control of USACA. Further, at this stage, ICC does not intend to recognise any of the current parties as being the legitimate governor of USACA.

"In the circumstances, unless the matter can be resolved by mutual agreement in the meantime, we do not intend to recognise any party for the forthcoming ICC meetings."

more problems and punishments, yet no end to the dispute in site.

[BhoysFC1995]

not really anything to do with USA's internal turmoils but--
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read the story here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/4624495.stm

and my feedback to them-
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"We do not want an Americanisation of international cricket"- wow, what a total piece of crappy writing. how long did it take you to think of a way to bash the USA, when your assignment was to write about cricket?

how is adding subs 'amercanizing' cricket? hmmm, let's see, which american board member on the ICC suggested it? none, b/c none sit on the board.

perhaps the ICC were thinking of soccer, the worlds game- not america's, when thinking of incorporating subs.

nowhere in your article explains how subs are 'American'. the title is just a cheesy attempt to capture the readers attention and feed on anti-Americanism. i go to bbc.com for cricket news, not tabloid/ unsubstantiated titles and hate.

cheers
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agree, disagree?

[BhoysFC1995]

here's my latest column, mostly on usa cricket but also mentions the news regarding the second tier teams and their 'ODI' status, enjoy

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click the link too, give me the shameless 'hits' and too see the logo, opinions always welcome.
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http://bigcricket.com/
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Old Glory or Old Geezers

A recent thread at USCricket.com stated a need for a nickname for the USA cricket team. i professed the silliness of such a 'need', and then of course sat long and hard (ten minutes) and came up with the idea of Old Glory. The name has the perfect blend of sweet comedy, rich history, and a splash of cheesy-ness.

Comedy is the play on the fact that the team's average age is 40+, the oldest in the history of ODI's. Rich History is the term 'old glory' is a name for the American Flag, first was "coined by Captain William Driver, a shipmaster of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1831. As he was leaving on one of his many voyages aboard the brig CHARLES DOGGETT - and this one would climax with the rescue of the mutineers of the BOUNTY - some friends presented him with a beautiful flag of twenty four stars. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he exclaimed "Old Glory!". The Splash of cheesy-ness is of course me taking the time to come up with one. Ha! i can just see it now, Cricinfo, BBC, Cricket365 and all the other sites referring them as the Old Glory... or not.

Stats Don't Lie

Stats don't lie, but women who I bought a drink at the pub and then promises to return in a moment but doesn't, does lie. Anyway, as for the stats- two practice matches down, two loses.

Captain Oh Captain

USA Captain Richard Staple went for ducks in the first two practice matches. Not good for the team leader. Hopefully since these were just warm-up matches, he will get his kinks out before the real matches start. His words seem to be speaking louder than his actions, with him recently taking a jab at Aussie captain Ricky Ponting after his remarks on the old age and terrible play USA had last year. Too bad his big comments were not followed up with some big cricket playing.

Exciting Times

It was announced that the ICC decided to make the upcoming tournament not just qualifiers for the WC, but also the top five teams plus Kenya " will be able to play full one-day internationals against each other, or any of the Full Members..." as reported by Martin Williamson here. this is great news as the tournament in Ireland now has a lasting impact, well beyond the World Cup. Hopefully with this new status, and the money that comes with it, there will be some genuine and frequent competitions for these second tier countries.

USA Schedule

ok, the key matches for USA are, well all of the matches. they open July 1st vs UAE, then 2nd vs Denmark, 4th of July (a super-must win for the Old Glory) vs Uganda, 5th vs Ireland, and close out the opening round vs Bermuda on the 7th. SO in a matter of 7 days will decide basically the future of American cricket for the next 4 years. A win on day one i think will be a huge boost for the Old Glory as UAE is a tourny favorite.

Twenty20 + ProCricket USA=?

well, it equals nothing, at least for 2005 it seems. No mention of the upcoming season, and since it is already 2 days from july, I'd say its safe to say there will be no 'pro' (pro being used very loosely) cricket this year domestically here. All well, i guess i will settle for the ICC Trophy, the NatWest Series and Challenge, the Ashes and the Twenty20 English domestic competitions. not too bad i guess after all (but come'on, am i the only one who wanted to see the NY Sixers take the field this year?).

The Winner?

no not for the ICC Trophy, but for best website coverage of the tournament? Odds out favorite would be www.ICCTrophy2005.org but are there any other sites that are expected to give good coverage?

My Predictions?

Honestly, my predictions don't matter, but what does and will be exciting is to see USA qualify for many reasons. First you have a team in the WC but with no voice at the ICC meetings, and no board that is officially recognized by the ICC. If they do make it to the WC and gain that new ODI type status, what happens to the money thats suppose to come with it since the ICC put a hold on money given to USA until the warring sides results in a winner (with no end in sight since one side is taking the other to New York court).

Also, if Old Glory make it, will the same players who qualify for the WC still be on the team that actually plays in it? Not likely if the 'rebel' group gains control of the board.

Finally, if USA gets this new status and the right to hold ODI's, where will they actually play the games in this country? Where's our version of Lords, or the MCG? What's the status of the great stadium that's suppose to be built in Fort Lauderdale?

Thats it, i'm AllOut!