By Orville Hall
USA National captain Steve Massiah will lead a strong Cavalier X1 in a 30-Over game against the West Indies Legends on Sunday, January 25 at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Steve Massiah will skipper a Cavaliers XI against the West Indies Legends team. Photo by Shiek Mohamed
Massiah, 35, is a former Guyana Under-19 batsman, and played alongside then up-and-coming stars Ramnaresh Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine. Massiah first represented the USA in 2000 when he was selected to play against a Minor County XI in England. He celebrated his selection with a classy century. He was then chosen to represent the USA in the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2004, where he scored a century in a warm-up game against Zimbabwe.
In the tournament’s first game against New Zealand, Massiah didn’t get off the mark, but he made amends in the second game against Australia at Southampton when he top scored with 23 in a low-scoring game, as the USA was bowled out for a paltry 65. Massiah was the only batsman to get into double figures against a formidable opponent that included the likes of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.
Massiah has been a fixture on the National team ever since, and was promoted to captain in 2006, when he led the National team to a second-place finish in the ICC Americas tournament in Canada. When asked how he felt about leading the CavaliersX1, Massiah said, “It’s an honor to be asked to lead this team against such formidable opponents, and against a group that includes Brian Lara as captain. I have always admired Lara’s ability and classiness, and I’m thrilled to be in his presence as captain”.
Massiah stepped down from the captaincy in 2013, when he passed up an opportunity to represent the USA in the ICC World T20 Qualifier, but he was reinstalled as captain to lead the team, once again, in the ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Malaysia. Prior to the game, on Saturday, there will be a banquet Dinner where the legends will be on hand to mingle with the patrons.