Hustlers 2 next game.

Sunday March 3rd

At

Tamarac Recreation Center

7501 North University Drive, Tamarac , FL 33321

Versus Viking Canecutters CC

Start  12 30pm

Softball Cricket International. News

S.C.I.will be participating in this years Florida Cup.

 

 

Players expecting to participate are:

 

Amar Singh

Anthony Dhannie

Rajin Baksh

Bohit Singh

Buddy Rampersaud

Narine Singh

Chris Arjoon

Ray Busgit

Muniram Pooran

Suresh Rai

Raj Bharat

Cliff Rahaman

Krisho Prettipaul

Masood Khan

 

The Hustler team and supporters would like to wish our very own Hustler, Amar and his squad all the best in the Florida Cup this year.

 

Good luck guys.

Florida Cup Squads 2013

 

South Florida All Stars / Manager Manny Hussein

 

Ramesh P United

Andy R Superkings

Andrew P United

Kaiume M Outlaws

Masood M Five Star

Philip M President

Anil B Hustlers

Anil D United

Imran S Superkings

Marvin S Hurricanes

Vickram K United

Ryan G Superkings

Romel B Hustlers

Keshan B Hustlers

Raj P Lehigh Indians

 

 

South Florida Master Squad / Manager Subash Singh

 

Vishnu N Hustlers

Vijay N Hustlers

Mike K Hustlers

John O President

Trevor P Hustlers

Basil R Hustlers

John S Superkings

Smally D Hustlers

Sadick M Hurricanes

Denah P United

Zameer R Diamond

Abdul R Berbice

Jaipaul S Superkings

Rajin R United

Bud A Diamond

 

 

The Hustler team and supporters would like to wish both of the South Florida teams the best of luck defending their Championships from last year.

 

What does everybody think about the selections? Good or bad ? Who should be in and who should be out?

Let the debating start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hustlers 2 birthday at the Yard......

The Hustler squad took advantage of their walkover week with 2 practice games played between themselves on sunday as well as celebrating Basil's, the vice captain's birthday.

Plenty of food and drinks were supplied for the thirsty and hungry players. As the day went on we were joined later on in the day by their club sponsor Arnold and his friends. We even had a few guys from Breakaway and Superkings show up to celebrate Basil's birthday who has been around the SFSCL scene for many years now.

Not only he is one of the most passionate and hard hitting batsman of cricketers on the field of play but also one of the fairest and most respected by his other fellow players around the league.

The Hustler squad of Chris, Cliff, Ravi, Derek, Michael, Reetesh, Sookraj, Calvin, Terry, Mohan, Jai, Ameer and Seenauth split into 2 sets of teams and then played a quick 10 over game where Basil's side chased down 88 in 9 overs to beat Chris's team. Derek surprised a few onlookers when opening the innings as he scored 26. Michael and Reetesh both hit some big sixes as they reminded the older Hustler players the youngster coming through may be pushing them for their top order batting spots in a few seasons from now. Terry even chimed in with some boundaries of his own as well as Ameer who retired early after blitzing the bowling for a quickfire 28.

 

The second game was a quick 6 over slog fest with Basil's squad putting up a score of 63. Mikey and Reetesh took a liking to all the bowlers as they hit more big sixes.

 

Chris and Sookraj started up well before Sookraj was bowled and then with Ravi coming in later set about the target with Chris. Ravi helped himself to 24 off one over and with only 7 needed off 2 overs, Chris sent Basil over the rope for back to back sixes to complete the game with an over to spare.

 

The two games played showed the captain that their batting strength is looking very impressive and bodes well for the rest of the season with good contributions from all the middle order batters.

 

 

The rest of the afternoon was celebrated with a few cold ones and another beer run before everybody packed up and headed to Hibiscus for a few more farewell drinks.

 

 

Many thanks to the birthday boy Basil for all the hard work he did with all his food preparation which went down a treat with everybody.

 

Next week it's back to league action when the Hustler squad head off to Tamarac to face new team Vikings Canecutters CC in which should be an entertaining and competitive game in the SFSCL.

 

 

 

A flashing blade, a canny mind.....Rohan B Kanhai

For the sheer pleasure that he gave the world as a batsman, Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is my favourite cricketer. Averaging fractionally under 48 in a distinguished Test career that saw him rise to become the captain of West Indies, Rohan had Bradmanesque qualities. This implies that he was ruthless, uncaring of the reputations of bowlers, and daring in his strokeplay. But at the same time he was a crafty batsman who understood the finer points of technique better than most. The great Sunil Gavaskar shares my view that he is the best he has watched and learned from. How many people know more about batting than Sunil?

Rohan was by no means a big man. He had a feline grace about him, rather like a leopard stalking its prey. Suddenly he would spring into action and devastate a bowler, taking him completely by surprise.

 

Rohan Kanhai

 

 

He scored in excess of 6000 runs, with 15 centuries and 28 half-centuries, and had the capacity to make batting look very easy. I first saw him in 1958-59 when I was a schoolboy and he caned the rather elderly Indian attack for 256. Garfield Sobers and Basil Butcher too made centuries in that Test, but Rohan's strokeplay was almost incandescent. I was not very old then - in my 13th year and already a cricket addict - but I remember his batting to this day. It was in vivid contrast to his scratchy effort of 90 in 1966-67, in Calcutta again, when he could not do a thing right. The pitch at the Eden Gardens was one of uncertain pace and bounce; the ball would stop after it hit the ground and Rohan's timing was all awry. He was dropped a couple of times.

 

However, there was one incident that remains engraved in my memory. He was playing the final over before lunch on day one. It was from the debutant Bishan Singh Bedi, whose first over in Test cricket it was. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the Indian captain, had brought the new boy on for the first time, thinking that he would be able to ease himself into the big league. Rohan played defensively the first five balls and it seemed almost certain that Bishan would start his career with a maiden. It was not to be. Rohan hit the last ball straight for six and walked away to lunch. Later he said to me: "The lad looked good from the beginning. I was not going to give him a maiden to start with. He must have been thinking of what I did to his final delivery during lunch."

There were numerous occasions when Rohan and I chatted, both in the West Indies and in India. We have a common friend in Tony Becca, a respected Jamaican sportswriter. Rohan can be garrulous when the mood seizes him. And from various conversations, one could understand the depth of his knowledge. I remember asking him about his batting and he explained, "You have to develop a sound technique and, especially, a tight defence. It is not that the defence should be the basis of your game, like it was in the case of a couple of Englishmen. A defensive stroke can get you a single if you learn to place the ball. As far as stroke-making is concerned, you have to put every poor delivery away to the boundary and sometimes even hit a few good ones too. It is when you do the latter that the bowlers are made to think. The odd risk is worth taking, provided the percentages are on your side."

 

He played a stroke that is unique in the annals of the game - the falling sweep. After hitting the ball, he would fall to the earth as the ball flew out of the ground. "I suppose I played it to waken myself," he remarked with a chuckle. "There was no risk at all but I had to do something different."

Rohan initially played with the three Ws, all knighted by the Queen of England - Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott - and was said to have had a lifelong rivalry with another knight, Garry Sobers.

 

"My rivalry with Sobie might have been there initially but then Frank Worrell talked to us about how we were both bulwarks of the batting," Rohan said. "Sobie is the greatest allrounder ever. But I like to think I had a role to play in influencing batsmen like Clive Lloyd and Alvin Kallicharran.

I loved to hear tales about Rohan's batting. And one I heard in Guyana is the best. It seems he got a double-century for Guyana against Barbados in a four-day Shell Shield tie. Barbados had an attack comprising Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Sobers, offspinner Tony White, and left-arm spinner Rawle Brancker. It was a formidable line-up on what was a lively pitch. An old cricket fan said, "The way Rohan hooked Hall and Griffith, maan, was spectacular. They were after him but our Rohan was just too good."

 

Contrast the daredevilry of his batting with his sedate and thoughtful effort in the World Cup final against Australia in 1975. His half-century in the company of Lloyd, who eventually made a punishing hundred, steadied the ship. It was an almost white-haired Rohan who played his lone World Cup and finished on the winning side. A match-winner, the best player I ever saw, and a friend.

 

The late Rajan Bala was one of India's best-known cricket writers. This article was first published in Wisden Asia Cricket magazine

When Lara led a players' strike.....1998

By the late 1990s, West Indies were no longer the all-conquering side they had been over the previous two decades - defeats at the hands of Australia home and away as well as an emphatic 3-0 series whitewash in Pakistan had seen them slip to No. 4 in the ICC Test rankings - but they were still a major force. There was real anticipation surrounding their first tour to South Africa in the autumn of 1998, with little between the two countries, on paper at least.

Carl Hooper and Brian Lara during in a break in meetings

As it turned out, it was one of the most one-sided series in Test history. Given what happened in the days before the tour it was hardly surprising that West Indies were humiliated.

 

Their preparations were overshadowed by the kind of dispute that was to undermine their game so many times over the next decade, and one that had been a perennial issue for years - players' pay. Most people assumed it was another argument that would rumble on until the squad landed and then be put aside until the eve of the next event. But this time player unrest and board incompetence combined to leave West Indies cricket in the gutter.

 

The tour party were heading to South Africa in November 1998 from different places, a few from the Caribbean while most were going straight on from a one-day tournament in Bangladesh. But on November 5, nine of them, including Brian Lara, the captain, told tour manager Clive Lloyd during a stopover in Bangkok that they were heading to London not Johannesburg, after a row with WICB board officials. A bemused Lloyd and entourage headed south while the players flew to Heathrow Airport.

 

The players were not so much unhappy with their tour fees - up to £35,000 each - as much as peripheral issues such as training and meal allowances, and these proved the catalyst in a row that had been brewing for months. They were also uneasy with security arrangements following incidents earlier in the year when Pakistan had visited the republic.

 

As soon as Pat Rousseau, the WICB president, heard what was happening he called a board meeting, and by the time Lara and Carl Hooper, the vice-captain, arrived at their London hotel a fax was waiting informing them they had been fired and the other squad members fined 10% of their tour fees.

 

Rousseau, whose relationship with Lara was strained, seemed to believe this would break the back of the strike but the action backfired badly, only serving to make the players more determined.

 

It later emerged that Rousseau had instructed the president of the Jamaican Cricket Board, Jackie Hendriks, to sound out Courtney Walsh to see if he would take over as captain. Walsh was having none of it and the plan was quietly shelved. The selectors had also chosen Keith Arthurton and Sherwin Campbell to replace Lara and Hooper in the squad, but that did not happen either.

In Johannesburg, where seven of the West Indies squad had arrived and were kicking their heels, Ali Bacher, the South African board's managing director, offered his support to his West Indies counterparts while privately fearing that the tour could be off, with a resulting loss to his board of millions of dollars.

 

After being kept waiting for more than an hour, Ali Bacher meets Courtney Walsh

 

 

A day later, despite pleas from Lloyd, those of the side who were in South Africa flew back to London - "to show solidarity" - increasing the chances of the tour falling apart. Publically the players insisted they wanted the series to go ahead, but not at any cost. For its part, the WICB was at pains to point out that it had recently lost a major sponsor and was heavily in debt.

Lara took a back seat, telling reporters: "I'm on the outside. I'm not a member of the West Indies cricket team at the moment. But I still want to go to South Africa." The spotlight fell on Walsh, Lara's predecessor and now president of WIPA, the players' association.

 

Bacher, meanwhile, had been working feverishly behind the scenes, and on the advice of a cricket lover and anti-apartheid activist, Professor Jakes Gerwel, had made an approach to Nelson Mandela, at the time South Africa's president, to intervene. "Jakes said he had a simple solution, one that no sportsman could refuse," Bacher said. "He drafted a letter imploring the players to go ahead with the tour, stressing the importance of their visit to the new democracy. He took the letter to Madiba [Mandela], who read it and signed it."

 

That night, with talks not going anywhere, Bacher and Lloyd jumped on a British Airways plane for Heathrow. "I flew to London for the crisis talks with the players [with] the letter in my back pocket," Bacher said.

 

The pair landed at 5am on Friday, November 6, and Bacher headed to the Excelsior Hotel, where he was kept waiting in the foyer by the players for more than an hour. While there, Bacher showed reporters the letter from Mandela. One of them cracked a joke about him resembling Neville Chamberlain and his "peace in our time" speech.

 

After an hour Walsh appeared, read the letter, spoke briefly with Bacher and withdrew to chat with his team-mates. Bacher repeated his claims that he was confident the tour would happen. "If the African National Congress and the National Party can sort out their differences in our country, I'm sure the people of the West Indies can come to some understanding to resolve theirs," he told the media. "I assured the West Indies players that if there were any undue fears over safety, we would provide them with the necessary security to make them feel comfortable in South Africa."

Saturday, November 7, was a day of talking without any breakthrough. Meetings were held, broke up and restarted. Joel Garner, there to help on behalf of the players' association, looked bemused and said: "We're nowhere near resolving this."

 

Hooper signs the agreement between board and players and the tour is back on

 

 

By the time Rousseau had realised the only way he would be able to hold face-to-face meetings with the rebellious players was to fly to London, the players' demands had increased to include the reinstatement of the captain and vice-captain. "That's part of the condition," said Walsh. "We want the entire 16 the way they were selected. The boys want Brian as captain."

 

At midday on Sunday, November 8, Rousseau landed at Heathrow, and that afternoon he met for a long time with Walsh, Lara, Hooper and Jimmy Adams. At an informal lunch with a few journalists Bacher joked: "If this isn't over today, I pay. If it's resolved, the British press pays." Bacher had to cough up when a weary Walsh appeared at 8pm and said no progress had been made.

 

The complexity of the affair grew when it emerged a sponsor had been found for the tour, which would apparently help meet the players' demands for better pay and conditions, but it was dependent on the reinstatement of Lara and Hooper.

 

By Monday, November 9, there were so many journalists milling round the hotel that the Excelsior management provided a special room for them ("to stop them clogging up the foyer") and there they waited. Only one player turned up to represent the players in ongoing meetings - Adams - and by 7pm the journalists were back in the foyer, as they had had to vacate their makeshift base, which had been booked for a wedding reception.

 

At 8.35pm a press conference was finally called in a basement room and Rousseau announced that the tour was back on. While there was widespread relief, what followed was an unconvincing exercise in trying to save face.

 

Rousseau denied the shambles had been a PR disaster and that Lara had in effect held them to ransom. "Both sides acknowledge that the dispute originally stemmed from a misunderstanding," he said, also insisting that there had been no increase in the players' fees. "Again, that was a misunderstanding," he said, "not between the players and ourselves but between the players and their association." If he was to be believed, the board had not caved in at all.

"It looked as if the impasse was never going to be broken," a relieved Bacher said, "but, in the end, common sense prevailed."

 

The squad made the five-minute bus ride to the airport terminal that evening and caught the late flight to Johannesburg, arriving in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Even then there was one more twist. On the flight Adams severed tendons in a finger following an altercation with a knife as he tried to cut some bread. What initially seemed a minor injury proved serious enough to rule him out for the remainder of the tour.

 

Lara faced inevitable questions about the standoff when he landed in Johannesburg but refused to be drawn other than to say talks had been "confidential" and that "the letter sent individually to each player by President Mandela had given them food for thought".

 

Only years later did Rousseau reveal that Mandela had expressed "disappointment with how the matter was handled". He said: "Lara never even acknowledged the letter and I know that Mandela was a little peeved, because I got that from Bacher. Can you imagine? Brian Lara, a black man, ignored a request from Mandela? There are guys who would jump off buildings for Mandela, bigger heroes than Lara. He never answered Mandela, and I don't think he has ever answered him since then."

 

The media reaction in the Caribbean was less relaxed. "The WICB owes the people of the region an apology, either for the manner in which they dealt with the players' protest, or for buckling under pressure and sacrificing discipline on the altar of expediency," wrote the Jamaica Gleaner, while the Nation said: "The lessons of the last week, an experience which might well have led to the death of the spirit of West Indian cricket at the highest level, will be salutary, and those who played major parts in salvaging it may have already begun to appreciate the narrowness of its escape."

As it turned out, it was less of an escape than a reprieve. And on the field West Indies were a shambles, becoming only the sixth side in Test history to be whitewashed in a five-Test series. "Certainly, there was a divided air about the West Indies party for much of the tour," Wisden noted. "Lara admitted after the fifth Test that 'we are not together as a team'. That appeared an understatement, and, for that lack of unity, Lara had to bear some responsibility."

What happened next?

• The opening tour game - against the Nicky Oppenheimer XI at Randjesfontein - was cancelled
• Lara himself continued to underachieve with the bat, extending his sequence of matches without a Test hundred to 14. On his return home the tour report noted his "weakness in leadership", and he was told he had to make "significant improvements in his leadership skills"
• After reassuring the West Indies players about safety arrangements in South Africa, Rousseau was held up at gunpoint in Soweto on November 26

Hustlers 2 get the walkover against Renegades.

Hustlers 2 got the 6 points and the win after Renegades CC forfeited their latest fixture in the SFSCL.

Hustlers now have 3 wins out of three games and couldn't ask for a better start to the season. However, only the 3rd week of games in the league and we see a team allowing a walkover simply because they could not field an 11 to start the game.

When is the league going to realise that this should not be allowed to happen and teams must be penalised with either a big fine or a reduction of points. Teams already are stretched with their lack of numbers on their team and continously allowing new teams to form and weaken exisiting teams numbers will continue unless something is done pretty soon.

New teams should always be encouraged to join the SFSCL for expansion but not at the cost of existing teams and their playing staff. The league needs to get more proactive and take 3 seasons registration at the beginning of the year for all new teams wanting to join the SFSCL to ensure they are here to stay and not just for a one season hit.

Renegades have been around the league for many years now and hope they continue to play every sunday but through no fault of their own they simply do not enough players to honor a regular season game after just 3 weeks of the season start.

The SFSCL ruling body need to do something pretty quick otherwise more teams will follow suit and end up only playing half of their regular season games and impacting all the other teams vying for a playoff position.

Ramdin ready for Zimbabwe challenge

Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies wicketkeeper, said he is mentally and physically ready for the ODI series against Zimbabwe. Ramdin, who was left out of the ODI team for the Bangladesh and Australia tours, replaced Devon Thomas in the squad.

"My form is 'there' and I am feeling confident with the bat and I have been working twice as hard to make sure I get runs when I'm out in the middle," Ramdin said. "Behind the stumps I worked overtime to make sure that I was fit and ready when the selectors called on me."

Ramdin was part of the team that won the World Twenty20 title and travelled to Bangladesh for the Test series, but Thomas replaced him in the ODI series that followed. Thomas managed 48 runs in five innings in Australia forcing the selectors to recall Ramdin.

Ramdin, who has played 94 ODIs since making his debut in 2005, said he was clear on his role within the team.

"While I was out I did a lot of work on all areas of my game. I think my role with the bat is mainly to hit the ball in the gaps, run really hard between the wickets and accumulate good scores for the team.

"There are other guys in the team, like Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, who have the power to clear the boundaries and other guys who can come and hit the ball down at the bottom. So basically, I see myself as someone to keep things ticking and look to bat through the end once I get that chance."

The first ODI of the three-match series will be played at St. George's on February 22.

Hustlers 2 beat Lehigh Indians

Hustlers 2 faced Lehigh Indians in Round 2 of the SFSCL and came away with a victory that had it's moments of interest.

Lehigh batted first and were scoring at a good rate early on as they took advantage of some erratic bowling by the Hustler bowling team. Amar went down injured early after bowling his second over as he sprained his ankle.

At this point Hustlers knew that other bowling options were needed and found Reetesh bowling for the first time. His 5 overs cost 47 runs but he grabbed 2 good wickets. Terry once again came good as he finished with 3 for 15 in 4 overs.

Deo playing his first game for Hustlers bowled well in parts as he netted 4 wickets for 38 runs.

Lehigh closed their innings at 175 all out in 22 overs.

Hustlers got off to a tremendous start as Cliff and Chris scored at well over 10 an over from the beginning. Cliff was first out for 37 with the Hustler score sitting on 82.

Ravi and Chris went to the break not out with the Hustler score at 114 for 1. Chris 64 not out and Ravi 11 not out.

As the game went on they both scored easily with singles and boundaries before Ravi was caught behind for 21. They both had added 67 for the second wicket. Chris completed his second consecutive century shortly afterwards before he was caught out for 102.His innings consisted of 10 sixes and 5 fours as he saw his team reach the winning post.

A mini collapse ensued as the middle order for Hustlers came and went before Basil and Derek saw their team home in the 23rd over.

It was another good performance by the Hustler squad to get their win but a lot of work still needs to be done especially with the bowling accuracy.

Next week we host Renegades again to be played at Lauderhill Middle School.

Match Highlights

Chris 102
Cliff 37
Ravi 21
Deo 4 for 38
Terry 3 for 15
Reetesh 2 for 47

Next Game Sunday 17th Feb

Hustlers 2 v Lehigh Indians

Venue
Lauderhill Middle School
1901 NW 49 Avenue, Lauderhill, FL 33313

Gametime
12 30pm start

Hustlers 2 beat Miami Royals in Round 1

Hustlers 2 kicked off their new season in the SFSCL with a comprehensive win against the Miami Royals.

Hustlers won the toss and inserted Miami in to bat first on a wet batting wicket. The outfield was surprisingly dry and immediatley Miami lost both their openers after 3 overs with some good bowling by both Amar and Terry.

Miami then found themselves at 60 for 5 after 10 overs. Ameer, Amar, Terry, and Mohan all bowled with accuracy early on and stifled the Miami batsmen from scoring quickly. Miami then made a recovery as Azam and Sunil became aggresive and upped the run flow and went into the break at 107 for 5.

Soon after the resumption Ravi and Amar both took out these two dangerous batsmen as Miami managed to reach a potentially winning score of162 all out after 19 overs.

Hustlers went to bat with the old war horse Cliff and Chris and soon were punishing some wayward bowling. Cliff was very severe on anything pitched up in his zone as he reached  a quick 31 before getting out caught on the boundary. The opening partership added 97 in 9 overs. Chris was doing his usual batting by blocking the good balls and putting away the bad balls as he reached 90 not out at the 13th over break with Hustlers score sitting on a pretty 133 for 1.

Chris 109 not out

Shortly after the break Chris raised his bat as he completed his century with a deep six hit over the mid wicket boundary and eventually finished on 109 not out. His match winning innings consisted of 9 sixes and 5 fours in a class performance of patience and clean hitting.

Terry 3 for 35

Generally it was a good performance by the Hustler squad as they got the win and the 6 points on offer. There is still plenty of room for improvement for the remainder of the season as the Hustler 2 squad look forward to their next game scheduled at Lauderhill Middle School against the Lehigh Indians CC this coming sunday.

The Hustler team would also like to offer our thanks to our supporters Satti, Joan, and Devya for all the work they do off field which we appreciate immensely. See you all again next week ladies.


Match Highlights

Chris 109 not out
Cliff 31
Amar 2 for 28
Terry 3 for 35
Ameer 2 for 30
Mohan 2 for 34
Ravi 1 for 22

West Indies' chance to move closer to the top teams

Ramnaresh Sarwan returns to the West Indies side as an injury replacement but he is out of form and not on the best of terms with the team management.

Darren Sammy's team will begin their 2013 programme of international cricket on Friday with a limited-overs series in Australia. Ask them privately and some of the West Indians would have probably been happy to still be back on their islands, easing into the new year. In December they were trekking back from Asia, having lost the ODI series 2-3 to Bangladesh after winning the two Tests. Now they turn up in Australia for five ODIs and one T20. One could well ask, why bother?

Some could also ask as to why Sarwan is back in the squad....

Hustlers 2 Schedule Spring 2013

2/10/13
Hustlers 2 v Miami Royals
Lauderhill Middle School

2/17/13
Hustlers 2 v Lehigh Indians
Lauderhill Middle School

2/24/13
Hustlers 2 v Renegades
Lauderhill Middle School

3/3/13
Vikings v Hustlers 2
TBA

3/17/13
Hustlers 2 v Starlite
Lauderhill Middle School

3/24/13
Hustlers 2 v Warriors
199th street North Ground

4/7/13
D Diamond v Hustlers 2
Lindsey Ewing Park

4/14/13
Hustlers 2 v Raiders
Lauderhill Middle School

4/21/13
Hustlers 2 v Guyana Heat
Lauderhill Middle School

4/28/13
Hustlers 2 v Takers
Lauderhill Middle School

5/5/13
Berbice v Hustlers 2
199th street South Ground

Chanderpaul's son to make first-class debut

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul's son, Tagenarine, will make his first-class debut at the age of 16, for Guyana against Leeward Islands in the regional four-day competition in Antigua from February 9.

Tagenarine has been selected as an opener for Guyana, who are captained by spinner Veerasammy Permaul.

 

 

Tagenarine, like his father, is said to be a patient batsman, hard to dislodge and capable of spending a lot of time at the crease.

Shivnarine had also made his first-class debut for Guyana as a teenager, when he was 18. He is currently playing the Bangladesh Premier League and will be away during the course of his son's debut.

The competition has been dominated by Jamaica for the past five years. Guyana last won the title in the 1997-98 season.

Gibson calls for climb up ODI ladder

Ottis Gibson wants his West Indies side to use their Twenty20 success to help improve their one-day cricket. They go into the series in Australia ranked seventh in ODIs and Gibson is looking for them to move up the ladder.

West Indies open their tour against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Tuesday with speculation surrounding Gibson's future. He will almost certainly be in charge for the five-match ODI series and the one-off T20 - West Indies first match against a major nation since winning the World T20 in October.

 

Chris Gayle made 207 runs in his two innings in the Caribbean T20, lifting him to third on the list of run-scorers.

 

As might be expected, Sammy is looking to Chris Gayle to have a defining impact for them. West Indies played at the same venue against the Prime Minister's XI two years ago and made 399 for 5 off 45 overs. Gayle made 146 off 89 balls.

"I remember Chris hitting the ball all over the park," Sammy said. "I'm expecting Chris to have a good tour as a whole. When he came back home he looked really good and I think he almost had the most runs in the Caribbean T20 tournament after just a couple of games. We all know what he's capable of, but the strength for us is the way the team has performed together. We are getting stronger as a unit."   

 

League AGM Update

The teams reps from the SFSCL all attended the AGM at Tropics Bar & Restaurant yesterday and have confirmed the new season will consist of 22 teams in 2 Divisions starting on Feb 10th.

Sal will once again stand as President, Jay (Warriors) vice President, Raj (Lehigh) Secretary, Shankar (Breakaway) Treasurer, and Mohammed (Takers) Assistant Secretary.

The DC will involve Subash (Hustlers 1), Jainan (Hurricanes), Dave (Superkings), Brian, and Ramesh (Berbice).

New teams are being formed searching for a Championship with older teams suffering as the recruiting machine starts disrupting and taking players in search of a winner. Every season the same thing happens with long standing teams being dissected and made to suffer by the league allowing new named teams to form all with the limited number of players scattered around South Florida at present.

When is this league going to realise that they are the main culprits for allowing this to happen every start of every new season? Fix the problem SFSCL and don't allow teams to come in for one season. Take 3 seasons registration off them if they are here for good and not just for one season and see if they are serious for the betterment of the league.

There is no parity or sense of planning in both Divsisons with teams being drained financially and player resources everytime a new team springs up.

The same players will always move no matter what and that can never be changed but at least give the longer standing teams the opportunity to survive and to keep their players.

Now we have potentially a 3rd team coming out of Lehigh meaning more travel for the South Florida teams. Since when did it become mandatory for teams to travel so far out? Lehigh was welcomed into this league 2 years ago on the understanding they would have to travel down for games but within that time they have a voice now on the governing board meaning everybody has to travel up to them. Make the ruling right now SFSCL.......Give the South Florida teams the choice as to whether they want to go to Lehigh or not.....DON'T FORCE THEM.

The Hustler 2 squad would like to wish all the old, all the new, and all the temporary one season teams all the best this coming 12 months in the SFSCL.

Good luck to all the new committee members and we all hope you do a fine job this year.

USA's planned T20 league postponed

The proposed professional Twenty20 league in the USA, scheduled to be held in June and July 2013, has been postponed for a year because of operational reasons. However, the promoters are looking at a "major cricket event" in the coming season.

Neil Maxwell, a director of Cricket Holdings America LLC (CHA), which has been putting together the event, told ESPNcricinfo: "The league will be pushed out until 2014. There are a number of issues that have taken longer than anticipated to address. We are conscious of getting the product right, particularly in the area of venues.

"We are excited about the prospect of the league and, to this end, we are looking to stage another major cricket event this season to bridge the gap."

Gladstone Dainty, the president of the USA Cricket Association, confirmed the delay. "It's a fact that the T20 league will not get started until 2014. Instead a series of matches will played by international T20 teams later this year while we work on a quality T20 product."

But he denied suggestions the failure to stage the competition in 2013 would have serious implications for USACA's budget, telling ESPNcricinfo: "The financial impact on USACA should not be burdensome because USACA is still entitled to fees under the current agreement."

Rumours have been circulating for some time that organisers were facing a series of problems ranging from venues to problems attracting investors but these had always been denied.

However, at USACA's AGM in December Dainty admitted there were difficulties and indicated the board's partnership with Rajiv Podar, the primary investor supplying funding to USACA through CHA, might be coming to an end. Podar denied this, admitting to "minor delays" but insisting he did not envisage them being enough to end the league.

Dainty was due to meet Podar earlier this month regarding funding issues. If Podar has withdrawn then USACA would have to return advances he made to it which would pose serious issues as the board is in debt and has no significant revenue streams.

Team News.......

The Hustlers 2 management and players would like to wish the players who have joined other teams this season all the best at their new clubs.

We appreciated your time and commitment to the Hustler squad in the time you spent with us and hope the friendship and comaderie built up playing with us stays true indefinitely.

No one is held to ransom to whatever they choose and who to play for and that is why the Hustler team players will always support you all wherever you end up. Playing in the SFSCL is not just about winning at all costs even though it is sometimes nice to win a Championship or two for all the hard work and energy put out every sunday afternoon.

Players will always feel they are better than others and deserve to play in front of players of lesser ability and this is where the problem lies in some instances. Whoever joins our team in the future will always be welcome to don the Hustler shirt but they also must remember no one is bigger than the team no matter who they are and what they have done before on a cricket field. Fit in and enjoy the game and the people you play with because winning is by no means all that matters. If players changed their mentality to realise that the only way your game will improve is if you practice because not many of us are blessed with the god given talent of being brilliant everytime we take the cricket field to play then they will become not only be better cricketers but better team players as well..

It is all good and well to encourage youngsters to play in your side for the future development of your squad but youngsters in and around this league simply don't have the patience or skill to bide their time and wait for their game to improve and learn from some of the older players. They always seem to think they know what is best when in reality they don't know about the basics of the game and that is why their improvement is a very slow process. Instead of playing with a solid team they will jump from team to team looking for what they want and if they don't get that, they throw their rattle out of the cage and move on again. Don't blame the team you play with guys.......blame your own skill and commitment to trying to improve.

So with all that said, the Hustler 2 squad would like to state that we shall be playing again this season in Division 2 although some of you may have heard through the SFSCL grapevine we have split up again. Rumours are always out there and that will never change.

Hustlers 2 are definitley registering this Spring and hope all the other teams, new or old are looking forward to another season at the park in 2013 in the SFSCL.

SFSCL News

SFSCL: Annual General Meeting will be held on January 26, 2013 at the Tropics Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale starting at 2:00 pm. All teams are asked to send a representative to this meeting.

SFSCL 2012 Presentation will be held on January 19th, 2013 at the same venue it was held the last two years. ‘Catering At Inverrary, Lauderhill, FL starting at 7:00 PM ‘.

Fall Season Update

Hustlers 2 managed to miss out on a playoff spot by losing their last 3 league games against Diamond, Breakaway, and Renegades CC.

What had promised out to be a successful start to the Fall season turned out to be a poor showing at the end of the regular season as we finished in a dissapointing 5th place. We had some strong individual performances throughout the season but collectivley we did not do it as a team as key players underperformed when it mattered most.

On the bright side, we still managed to keep out of trouble off the field and with no major dramas in house the Hustler squad look good to go again in January.

The eventual Champions turned out to be Lehigh CC who defeated Breakaway in the Div 2 final with Hurricanes CC winning the Div 1 trophy. We want to wish both Championship teams the success they deserve.

So now we have a nice long break away from league action and get aquainted to household chores which have been put on the back burner for most part of the year. As for me, I managed to redo one of my bathrooms in our extended break finally. The holiday season is upon us and getting together with families is par for the course at this special time of the year and hope everybody has a safe holiday.

The annual presentation is scheduled in mid January where the excitement of collecting a few trophies, drinking a couple of drinks, and telling some old time cricket stories are the norm. We are definitley looking forward to that with the get together and supporting the SFSCL as they move onto another year of 3 seasons of cricket.

Goodwill to all at Christmas and remember this...........play hard but play fair. Enjoy the competition but most importantly respect the opposition and all that come out to watch and support the games.

Chris
Captain Hustlers 2