Team USA Expected To Be Named Shortly

The North East Women squad.

By John L. Aaron
Canada and the USA finished in the first and second slots of the 2009 ICC Americas Women’s cricket tournament held in Florida. As such, the two nations will now face off at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club ground in Toronto, Canada, in three 50-overs matches between July 12 and 17, this year, to determine who moves forward to represent the Americas region.

This past weekend the USA held its national women’s cricket championships in northern California, with the North East Region emerging as tournament champions. From last weekend’s tournament, the USA is expected to name a squad of 20 players, from which the final 14 women will be selected to travel to Canada, this summer.

The winner of the ICC Americas three-day 50-overs contest will be the regional representative at the ICC Women’s World Cricket global qualifying event to be held in 2011, and in preparation for the Women’s Cricket World Cup scheduled for India in 2013. In the rare event that the scheduled three-match series ends up in a tie, the winner will be decided on the basis of net run-rate.

In addition to the three 50-overs matches scheduled, the two cricketing nations will also compete in two T20 matches at the end of the qualifying 50-overs tournament. However, the T20 matches are for developmental purposes only and have no bearing on the 2011 global qualifying event.

The Toronto, Canada tournament schedule is as follows:
Venue:
Maple Leaf Cricket Club ground, Toronto, Canada

Dates:
Official Arrival Date – Saturday, July 14, 2010
Official Departure Date – Sunday, July 18, 2010

Schedule:
July 11 – Arrival and Pre-Tournament Meeting

July 12 – Practice (Turf Wicket)
Morning Session: Canada
Afternoon Session: USA

July 13 – Game 1 – 50-overs format
July 14 – Game 2 – 50-overs format
July 15 – Rest/Rain Day
July 16 – Game 3 – 50-overs format

July 17 – T20 Format
Morning – Game 1
Afternoon – Game 2

July 18 –  Departure