USA Cricket Name Group of 44 Players For Men’s National Training

USA Cricket is pleased to be able to announce today a number of selection updates for the National and Zonal Squads for the Men’s, Women’s and Youth structures.

After nearly 12 months with all USA international cricket, and much domestic cricket, completely on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all USA National Teams now have important fixtures in their schedules to prepare for in 2021. There has been significant work undertaken by the National Selection Panels and the Cricket Committee to give the Men’s, Women’s and Youth teams the best foundations for the return to action this year.

The announcements and timeline updates as follows:

Men’s National Training Group
The USA Cricket Men’s National Selectors have extended the Men’s National Training Group to a total of 44 players that will make up the wider group of cricketers in the reckoning for Team USA Men’s National Team selection. This is a starting point for Team USA for our first fixtures since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Training Group will continually be revised in consultation with the selection committee and coaches in line with the player’s skill development, performance, fitness and attitude.

The completion of the majority of the Men’s Senior & Youth Zonal Trials in the final quarter of 2020 has helped to unearth new talent across all Zones. This, combined with the lack of competitive cricket in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, has necessitated the extension of the National Training Group. The full list of 44 players can be found at the bottom of this story.

Men’s Training Camp & Team USA Selection Matches
USA Cricket announce the majority of this newly named Men’s National Training Group will gather for a Training Camp and a series of Team USA Selection Matches next month. The camp will be held at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston in February, with final dates to be confirmed in due course. The plans are currently COVID dependent, and USA Cricket will only proceed with the camp and series of matches if it is safe to do so, in line with our COVID-19 protocols.

The camp and series of matches will give selectors the opportunity to see the players who are challenging for positions in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 matches, which will mark the return-to-action for Team USA.

Chairman of the USA Cricket Men’s Selection Panel, Michael Voss, explained, “It has been a hugely challenging 12 months for everyone involved in cricket around the world. On behalf of my fellow selectors, I would like to thank the cricketers from all over the country who took part in the Zonal Trials – for their attendance, commitments, efforts and for their patience as we work our way through this difficult time. We are delighted to now extend the National Training Group to a panel of 44 talented cricketers from right across the country. This Training Group will be regularly revised based on each player’s attitude, training and match performance, and of course their skill development and fitness.”

“We have vitally important matches coming up in 2021, so the Men’s Training Camp and Team USA Selection Matches we are planning for next month in Houston are critical to bringing everyone together underneath our new Head Coach, J Arunkumar. The extended group of players more fairly reflects the depth of talent we have seen across the country, and will allow us to pick the strongest possible Team USA squad for our return to action in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2.”

Women’s National Training Group & Women’s National Under 19 Training Group
The Women and Girls Talent ID Events were initially curtailed by the COVID-19 Pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, before being safely completed in the final quarter of last year. This has given USA Cricket a wider pool of Women & Girls to consider and plans are in place now to select a larger Women’s National Training Group, and for the first time select a Women’s Under 19 Training Group. Both National Training Groups will train within regionalized hubs in their geographic Zone.

The rationale for extending the Women’s National Training Group is to encourage further development within the already strong areas of women’s cricket across the country, and offer competition within the existing National Team squad. The two new Training Groups will be formally announced together by USA Cricket soon.

Men’s Zonal Training Group & Men’s Youth Zonal Training Group
The Men’s and Youth Zonal Trials were also affected by the pandemic but were nearly fully completed, with 11 of the 14 events finishing in November 2020. Plans are in place to finalize selections for both the Men’s Zonal Training Group & Men’s Youth Zonal Training Group for all 6 of the USA Cricket Zones.

Final selections with registration of players, individual player eligibility and availability is all continuing to be worked through by the Zonal Selection Panels in consultation with local leagues where applicable. All squads are now planned to be named before the end of January, and will see a wider group of players being able to train together, more effectively within regionalized hubs in their geographic Zone.

USA Cricket Operations Director, Richard Done said “The naming of the extended Men’s National Training Group, and the announcement of the Men’s Training Camp and Team USA Selection Matches next month are the first steps on the path back to representative cricket after a hugely challenging 12 months for the USA and so many of our fellow cricketing nations. At the very least, we have been fortunate that this time off the pitch has given us the chance to develop a more robust, wide-ranging selection process in line with USA Cricket’s Foundational Plan.”

“I would like to thank all of the players, coaches, clubs and leagues for engaging so strongly in both the Men’s & Youth Zonal Trials and the Women’s & Girls Talent ID events. With strong attendances and an abundance of talented cricketers in every zone, it has meant an elongated selection process. However, we are committed to making the best selections for all National & Zonal Training Groups, and we will ensure to make all of the announcements in an appropriate and timely manner. We understand the importance of getting every aspect of our selection processes right, particularly with the scale of opportunities for our Men’s, Women’s and Youth teams who are targeting qualification for global ICC events.”

Men’s National Training Group 2021: