The United States of America gets ready to host an International Cricket Council World Cricket League divisional event for the first time when Los Angeles hosts the six-team Division 4 tournament from 29 October to 5 November.
USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake. Photo by Jayden Higgins
The top two sides from among the competing teams – Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey, Oman and the USA – will advance to the ICC WCL Division 3 while the bottom two will drop to Division 5 in the system of continuous promotion and relegation between divisions. The third and fourth teams will remain in Division 4.
The Division 2 in this cycle allows teams a chance to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018. The top two teams from Division 2 will join the top four sides from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the bottom-four sides from the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings in the 2018 Qualifier.
The USA team, which dropped down from WCL Division 3 along with Bermuda and with whom it will clash on the opening day, was buoyant ahead of the tournament with its new coach Pubudu Dassanayake hoping his team would rise to the occasion.
“Regardless of the division, WCL tournaments are always tough. Our outcome will depend on how we handle the pressure periods. I’m confident everyone will lift their game and stand up to the occasion. It’s a well-balanced squad and now it’s all about transferring ability into performance,” said Dassanayake, a former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper who has coached the Nepal and Canada teams in the past.
USA captain Steven Taylor, an attacking left-handed batsman, said: “The World Cricket League isn’t an easy tournament. The squad and I have been working really hard. We’ve put in the work, so now we are going to look for good results by playing some fearless and intense cricket.”
Bermuda captain Oliver Pitcher (Junior) said his team was aiming to get back to Division 3.
“The team and I are very excited about the upcoming tournament and the chance to reclaim a place back in WCL Division 3. There have been a lot of changes in the squad and many new young faces are eager to prove themselves on the international stage,” he said.
Jersey, which has been promoted from the WCL Division 5 along with Oman, has come into the tournament with good preparation according to its captain Peter Gough.
“We feel like we’re in really good shape going into the tournament. We have played four of the teams before, so we know we’re going to need to perform well to be successful, but we’ve got every belief in ourselves we can do it,” Gough said.
Italy captain Damian Crowley said his team was aiming to play positive cricket during the tournament which will be held at the three grounds – Severn, Wright and Wong.
“We have a good mix of experience and new players in our squad so I am looking forward to the fresh team dynamics and the development of younger players,” he said.
Schedule:
29 October:
USA v Bermuda (Severn);
Denmark v Italy (Wright),
Jersey v Oman (Wong).
30 October:
Bermuda v Oman (Severn),
Denmark v Jersey (Wright),
USA v Italy (Wong).
1 November:
Italy v Jersey (Severn),
USA v Oman (Wright),
Bermuda v Denmark (Wong).
2 November:
USA v Denmark (Severn);
Bermuda v Jersey (Wright);
Italy v Oman (Wong).
4 November:
Denmark v Oman (Severn);
Bermuda v Italy (Wright);
USA v Jersey (Wong).
5 November: Final (Severn), 3rd v 4th playoff (Wright); 5th v 6th playoff (Wong).
The squads:
Bermuda: Oliver Pitcher Junior (captain), Terryne Fray, Tre Manders, Delray Rawlins, Curt Stovell, Dennico Hollis, Kamau Leverock, Brain Hall, Dean Minors, Cejay Outerbridge, Greg Maybury, Jordon De Silva, Jordon Smith, Steven Bremar (Junior).
Coach: Clay Smith
Manager: Terry Frey
Denmark: Michael Pedersen (captain), Mohammad Amjad Khan, Frederik Klokker, Yasir Iqbal, Bashir Shah, Omar Hayat, Basit Raja, Aftab Ahmed, Hamid Shah, Anders Bulow, Saif Ahmad, Zahmeer Khan, Taranjit Bharaj, Abdul Hashmi.
Coach: Jeremy Bray
Manager: Ole Roland
Italy: Damian Graham Crowley (captain), Alessandro Bonora, Luis di Giglio, BBJL Perera, Carl Stephen Sandri, W.T.N. Fernando, Fida Hussain, G.P.S. Meade, Manpreet Singh, Charanjeet Singh, S.T.C.W.M. Mahapatabadiralage, Michaele Morettini, Rizwan Tanweer, Zahid Hussain Cheema.
Coach: Kelum Asanka Perera
Manager: Luca Bruno Malaspina
Jersey: Peter William Gough (captain), Corey Peter Frank Bisson, Harrison Carlyon, Jonty William Jenner, Anthony Wilferd Hawkins-Kay, Rhys John George Palmer, Ben Kynman, Charles Walter Perchard, Robert Ross McBey, Nathaneil Watkins, William Peter Harris, Jake Dunford, Luke Gallichan, Eilliot Miles.
Coach: Neil MacRae
Manager: Tony Carlyon
Oman: Ajay Lalcheta (captain), Jatinder Singh, Sufyan Mahmood Mohammad, Syed Amir Ali, Khawar Ali, Rajesh Kumar Ranpura, Zeeshan Maqsood, Swapnil Khadye, Munis Ansari, Mehran Khan, Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Mohammad Nadeem, Arun Manavalan, Zeeshah Ahmed Siddiqui.
Coach: Duleep Mendis
Manager: MJ Jesrani
USA: Steven Taylor (captain), Akeem Dodson, Alex Amsterdam, Danial Ahmed, Elmore Hutchinson, Fahad Babar, Jasdeep Singh, Muhammad Ahsan Ali Khan, Nicholas Stanford,
Prashanth Nair, Srinivasa Santhanam, Syed Abdullah, Timil Patel, Timroy Allen.
Coach: Pubudu Dassanayake
Manager: Kerk Higgins
Match officials:
Mentor Umpire: Gregory Brathwaite
Tournament referee: Dev Govindjee
Umpires: Alu Kapa, Lakani Oala, Carl Tuckett, Jacquline Williams, Kathleen Cross, Akbar Ali Khan, Courtney Young, Iftikhar Ali.