Next Issue: Washington Youth Cricket . Charlotte Int. Cricket Club . Private Cricket Grounds 2 AMERICAN CRICKETER WINTER ISSUE 2009 American Cricketer is published by American Cricketer, Inc. Copyright 2009 Publisher - Mo Ally Editor - Deborah Ally Assistant Editor - Hazel McQuitter Graphic & Website Design - Le Mercer Stephenson Legal Counsel - Lisa B. Hogan, Esq. Accountant - Fargson Ray Editorial: Mo Ally, Peter Simunovich, ICC, Ricardo Innis, Colorado Cricket League, Erik Petersen Nino DiLoreto, Clarence Modeste, Peter Mc Dermott Major U.S. Distribution: New Jersey • Dreamcricket.com - Hillsborough Florida • All Major Florida West Indian Food Stores • Bedessee Sporting Goods - Lauderhill • Joy Roti Shop - Lauderhill • Tropics Restaurant - Pembroke Pines • The Hibiscus Restaurant - Lauderhill and Orlando • Caribbean Supercenter - Orlando • Timehri Restaurant - Orlando California • Springbok Bar & Grill - Van Nuys & Long Beach Colorado • Midwicket - Denver New York • Bedessee Sporting Goods - Brooklyn • Global Home Loan & Finance - Floral Park International Distribution: • Dubai, UAE • Auckland, New Zealand • Tokyo, Japan • Georgetown, Guyana, South America • London, United Kingdom • Victoria, British Columbia, Canada • Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies • Barbados, West Indies • Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies • Sydney, Australia • Antigua, West Indies Mailing Address: P.O. Box 172255 Miami Gardens, FL 33017 Telephone: (305) 851-3130 E-mails: Publisher - [email protected] Editor - [email protected] Web address: www.americancricketer.com Volume 5 - Number 1 Subscription rates for the USA: Annual: $25.00 Subscription rates for outside the USA: Annual: $35.00 WINTER ISSUE 2009 WWW.AMERICANCRICKETER.COM 3 From the Publisher and the Editor In this issue Mo and Deborah Ally www.americancricketer.com American Cricketer and friends would like to extend our sympathy to cricketers and families in the tragedy at Lahore, Pakistan. Indeed a senseless Features attack by cowards committing a horrific Lankan players and their families. At 5 COVER STORY crime against innocent people. Here is this time we also have to make safety and CLAYTON LAMBERT what some of our friends had to say about security considerations even a higher pri- 13 IN RECOGNITION this senseless crime committed by Paki- ority than the actual quality of the sport- MONEER BAKSH stani gunmen in Lahore. ing facility that we would provide for the 18 PHOTO GALLERY sporting event. It is something we have Vishal Durvasula – Secretary, Mid At- not seriously considered before and it is 19 CRICKET EVENTS lantic Cricket Conference (teams from really going to cause us to take a whole 30 STICKEY WICKET North Carolina, South Carolina and new look at how we organize sporting Virginia - (This email sent to all the events in the future. team’s Board members) Cricket At this moment of sadness in cricket (Sri Dr. Bala Balakrishnanan - Sri Lankan UMPIRING Lanka in Pakistan incident), MACC Ex- Pathologist 24 LOST BALL ecutive Committee condemns violence It is horrible and hard to imagine how this and hope that peace and spirit prevail. It team was targeted and for what I cannot 25 ICC PAYS TRIBUTE TO STEVE BUCKNOR AS HE is really sad to see the sport which brings understand. This causes several countries PREPARES FOR RETIREMENT IN MARCH people and nations together and cricket- to be out of cricket and I don’t think any- PROFESSIONAL CRICKET ers who epitomize the game, targeted. one will go to play cricket in Pakistan. 8 WEST INDIES GREATS RICHARDS, ROBERTS AND Our sincere condolences to our cricket- This is sad for Pakistan for even Sri Lanka HOLDING INDUCTED INTO ICC CRICKET HALL OF FAME ing brethren, their has its own prob- families and lems. 10 GAYLE BLOWS AWAY THE COMPETITION the security forces USA CRICKET and their families C h a n d r a d a t h 6 USACA’S QUEST FOR A NEW WAY who lost valuable Singh - Special lives in putting Project Coordi- 9 OH NO SKIPPER MASSIAH, YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG! their life on the nator REGIONAL CRICKET line for cricket. On behalf of the Broward County, we feel 11 KERVYN DIMNEY (CCL PRESIDENT) SHINES WITH 4 a tremendous sense of empathy with the AWARDS IN 2008 SEASON Clarence Modeste - Staten Island Sri Lankan team and officials who were 21 WOMEN’S CRICKET Cricket traveling on that ill fated journey. We also WEST INDIES SETS ONE EYE ON SUPER SIX STAGE Unfortunately this is the most despicable feel a sense of deep concern about Paki- AND OTHER ON THE FUTURE and regrettable thing that has occurred. stan and the Pakistan Cricket team. We 27 PHYSICAL FITNESS It is parallel to what happen in Germany do not think both teams should suffer the CARDIO-RESPIRATORY TRAINING to the Israeli sporting team in the Olym- negative consequences of this incident. pics. All of us regret this given our love We hope and know they will pull through INTERNATIONAL CRICKET 20 ICC BROADCAST for cricket. We feel downhearted today so and that the Cricket World would rally we extend our condolences to the cricket- around and support both teams who are COLLEGE CRICKET ers, relatives and friends. Sadly this may victims to the situation. 20 AMERICAN COLLEGE CRICKET REACHES SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT WITH BEDESSEE mean the end of International Cricket in SPORTING GOODS Pakistan for the foreseeable future. It is a sad day for cricket and it is the last thing Pakistan Cricket need because I SOUTH ASIAN CORNER 28 ASIF BANNED FOR ONE YEAR BY IPL Derryck Murray - President, Trinidad imagine they will suffer the consequences & Tobago Cricket Board/Former West in term of their schedule games. I would 29 INDIA DETERMINED TO ADD ICC WOMEN’S WORLD Indian Cricketer like to repeat that we at Broward Regional CUP TO ITS COLLECTION I think it is a very frightening develop- Park spoke to the Pakistan Cricket Board 14 PERSONALITIES ment. This is the first time a sporting that we are willing to help with our Cricket CHRIS READ team has actually been targeted since the Stadium to make up for any shortfall they Munich Olympics. It brings a whole new may have in scheduling future games. perspective to organizing sporting events. Cricket is bigger than this incident and I In a way, as a sporting fraternity, our first am sure the cricket world supports that concern is for the well being of the Sri Mo Ally. 4 AMERICAN CRICKETER WINTER ISSUE 2009 Scope Cover Story Clayton Lambert Peter Simunovich the team. You know what you are getting despite the odds and hurdles they may into,” he said. face in getting the job done. Cricket in the US and Canada, he says, benefits from The game is growing in the US, but not fast players from cricket playing countries enough for some long time administrators, helping the game improve and grow and players and fans. There is a reason for this he is confident the trend eventually will and it is just one word: Money. change. “I’m sure that one day it will happen that 100 percent of the US team Lambert believes that the infrastructure of will be born in the US,” said Lambert. Clayton Lambert American cricket “is not great.” He says: “In America everything costs money. Lambert, who played at club level until If Clayton Lambert was the coach of a The game needs sponsorship and a bit of last year when his knees began to tell him cricket powerhouse like Australia, the money to set it up.” He added: “Money is that it was time to hang up his bat and West Indies, England, South Africa or holding the game back.” pads, is worried about the lack of respect India he would have a fulltime job with shown to umpires by players. an attractive salary. But as coach of the He fully supports the idea of introducing American team Lambert is not getting cricket at school level as New York has. “I don’t think there is that respect for anywhere near a salary where he could “School level is the key. You have to them (the umpires) and their decisions,” live comfortably and he has to have a start there,” he said. He says that players he said. “The high quality of decisions is regular Monday to Friday day job to pay can’t take time off work to represent lacking. There are more bad umpires than the bills. the US in international matches and he good umpires.” laments that their employers don’t seem He works as an independent sub contractor to understand. Cricket is not a major Again, the problem comes back to money. in the freight business in Atlanta, Georgia, sport nor is it professional like baseball, If there was more to spend the but his goal to help improve the state of football, basketball or hockey and it is still umpiring standards would improve and cricket in the United States is still his fighting to be heard and get a footing on the respect for umpires would also get major priority. the national stage. better. Lambert, 46, a former opening batsman When Lambert took over as coach he “Cricket is a challenge and I love a who represented the West Indies in seven graded the skills and talent in the US as challenge,” says Lambert. “The USACA Test matches, is slowly climbing the B plus and fitness at C minus. Because is, I think, doing everything it can and is mountain of the job that he faces. He has there isn’t enough money he, as coach, helping in what I need. There have been been in the job for almost two years and can’t spend enough time with the players different requirements since I became has already made inroads that have been to help them improve.