At the start of the year, USACA appeared intent on ridding itself of all the ills surrounding its tournaments and its selection process. USACA, the national governing body recognized by the ICC, had just signed a three-year hosting deal with the City of Indianapolis. Wonder of wonders, USACA, recognized by the ICC (as we were repeatedly reminded), had also signed a broadcast deal with ESPN3.
Over-brimming with positive energy, American cricketers were also promised a “US National Championships Lead In Series.” This would ensure that only the most deserving players got a chance to represent their regions, a welcome departure from the past. To underscore the point that it truly had discovered an organizational gene that had hitherto been dormant, USACA actually published a schedule for each region’s Lead In Series – matches would be played in each region on 25th May, 15th June and 6th July, it announced. For USACA observers like me, this was not just a breath of fresh air, we were overdosing on oxygen.
As Spring turned to Summer, layer by layer, USACA’s promises unravelled. The dates for the Lead In Series were quietly forgotten, as though written in disappearing ink. A handful of regions conducted inter-league tournaments but it was not quite the Lead In Series that was promised. By May-end, Indianapolis announced that it was terminating its agreement to host the USACA National Championship following a breakdown in communications with the woebegotten USACA. Following a completely avoidable public fracas, the tournament was moved to Florida.
Disappointment awaited the eager few who went to Florida or, like me, who waited remote in hand, to watch the championship games live on ESPN3. We might as well have watched the weather channel. Only 9 of the 19 games were completed due to poor weather, six of those were abridged to 10-overs each and the two group-winners were declared joint champions.
Of course, for the USACA fans, the beloved national governing body (recognized by the ICC in case you forgot) could not be faulted at all. An untimely Australian job offer had snatched their highly capable CEO, a fickle-minded Republican mayor had come under political pressure, and rains in Florida in August – well, those were just unpredictable. In fact, just everything had conspired to derail their otherwise immaculate plan. [The broadcast deal? What broadcast deal?]
For long-time USACA observers, this was just another example of Murphy’s Law playing out on an American field.
Meanwhile, in the same country….
Contrast that with the domestic competition being organized by USACA’s rival, the American Cricket Federation (ACF). Before you read any further, you should also heed this warning – ACF does not have the ICC seal of approval. USACA does – it is their raison d’etre.
ACF’s American Cricket Champions League, has been humming along quietly. Some twenty five 40-over games have been played since May by the seventeen participating teams across six divisions. Yes, there were hiccups along the way, especially in the beginning, as one might expect for a pioneering effort.
As of last week, four of the six finalists – Washington Metro, Arizona Cricket, Midwest Cricket and Florida – have already booked their spots in the ACCL national championship tournament that will be held in Florida between October 10th and 12th. The winner of that tournament will be crowned the national champion league, and will automatically qualify as the US representative in the North American Cricket Championship, to be held in March of 2015 in Phoenix. Although it ain’t over, the ACCL appears to be going to plan.
Of course, some in USACA might argue that the Murphy’s Constant is in effect here – “Matter is damaged in direct proportion to its value.” For them, the ACF has no value. It is not recognized by the ICC (I inserted this line one more time for speed-readers and those suffering from short attention spans).
What of the hapless player who wants to play for the U.S.?
By all accounts, players seem to be enjoying themselves at the ACF tournament. In private, one player wondered why USACA has been unable to conduct anything on this scale in all these years. This player said he had reconciled with the fact that his near-term prospects of playing for USA remained bleak given the strong regional political headwinds against his league.
Another player, communicating via FB chat, wondered whether selectors would even look at the statistics that were available in the public domain when short-listing players. By all accounts, the player is among the best in the US, and not just in the ACCL. And yet, the lack of a transparent selection ladder threatens to keep him out of reckoning for some years.
According to this cricketer, his 40-over performances over the last two seasons, regardless of whether they were in the USACA league or the ACF league (or even in the ACCL), presented a better yardstick for consideration for the national team because the ICC Division 3 is played in the 50-over format. However, he feared that selectors might rely on the meager stats from the 10-over and 20-over games at the National T20.
In any event, it may be a bit premature to worry about all of this because the selection process itself hangs in balance for next month’s tournament. USACA has said precious little about how it plans to select the team that is going to Malaysia (the venue was changed from Uganda earlier today).
As for the selectors, according to USACA’s Twitter handle, the board interviewed selectors by September 4th and had appointed selectors as of September 17th. USACA expects to announce the selectors once these gentlemen accept their offers of appointment.