Bermuda retain Americas Under-15 championship

Bermuda took the 2004 Americas Under-15 Tournament in style, posting an unbeaten 3-0 record in the Cayman Islands to reclaim the championship they won in Orlando in 2003. But the USA, who had performed miserably at that inaugural tournament in Florida, turned in a much improved performance this time to finish in second place with a 2-1 record.

The 2004 tournament had a reduced field of teams. Argentina and the Combined Affiliates, who finished bottom of the standings in 2003 along with the USA Under-15s, chose to pass up the 2004 competition. That left the top three teams in the 2003 tournament - Bermuda, Canada and the Cayman Islands - with the USA in the unenviable position of having to prove they belonged on the same field.

The USA had lost every match except one in 2003. They scored only 67 against Bermuda (and lost by 102 runs), managed 128 (with 53 extras!) against Argentina only to lose by two wickets, lost by seven wickets to Canada, and by 25 runs to the Cayman Islands. The highest individual score by an American batsman in the whole tournament was only 27, which speaks for itself. It was the worst-ever performance by a US junior team in a major tournament.

The USA's first match in 2004 was against Bermuda, following on the heels of the controversy over team selection that seems endemic to US cricket. At first it seemed like 2003 all over again. After a hopeful start by the captain Brian Ajodhi and the rest of the American top order, the middle order crumbled and the USA could manage only 132, thanks to a devastating spell from Bermuda's captain Mark Jones, who followed his 4 for 15 with an energetic 29, and lifted the Man of the Match award as Bermuda coasted to a seven-wicket victory. Was this a case of déjà vu?

And then came the turnaround.

Facing the Cayman Islands, who had humiliated them in 2003, the USA bowlers Ravi Timbawalla and Shaham Mumtaz (the wunderkind from three years ago, who had been the youngest player, at 12, ever to play in an ICC Under-19 tournament), kept up a relentless line and length, and completely shut down the Islanders' natural ebullience. Between them they conceded only 2.5 runs an over. Assisted by the slightly more expensive Mehra, who however managed to take two wickets, the Cayman Islands were restricted to 119 for 5 in their allotted 40 overs. And this time the USA batting was up to the occasion, with skipper Ajodhi contributing an unbeaten 37, and teaming up with Man of the Match Timbawalla (37 not out) to set up a nine-wicket victory.

There still remained the USA's final match of the tournament, against arch-rivals Canada, who had been runners-up in 2003. According to spectators, emotions were running at fever pitch before the match, with taunts and jibes flowing freely between the two teams, with the adults trying heroically to maintain some sort of decorum on and off the field. Memories of the Canucks' 2003's seven-wicket thrashing of the USA were conjured up gleefully, and it is fair to say that the USA youngsters were not amused.

Ajodhi, who had lost the toss in the previous two matches, won it this time under threatening skies, and promptly put Canada in. Both sides knew that the Duckworth/Lewis method might have to be invoked to decide the outcome, and that a high run-rate would need to be maintained at all costs. Canada's innings proved to be a hectic seesaw affair, swinging this way and that; Timbawalla and Mumtaz were in their best form, taking two wickets apiece, and Mehra and Patel also took a couple each. By the time the inevitable downpour finally arrived, Canada had already completed their 40 overs, scoring 189 in the process, and the USA openers had started briskly in their chase.

After a 90-minute interruption, the USA resumed its innings with a D/L target of about a run a ball, with 15 overs remaining. The top order performed very creditably under difficult circumstances on a rather sticky wicket, managing to keep the run rate up to the required mark. The middle order showed signs of crumbling, but Man of the Match Chirag Bhakta held firm, and managed to score the winning boundary in the last over of the day with a decidedly agricultural shot, which bisected the space between third man and deep fine leg.

If the match against the Caymans had been the USA's greatest victory, the win over Canada would have to count as the most satisfying. Ajodhi, the successful skipper, received the award for scoring the most runs in the tournament, a tribute to his leadership and his consistent performance as opening batsman.

There were some American players who wished for more - they were hoping that Canada might defeat Bermuda in the postponed final match of the tournament, which would have given the USA an outside chance of first place. However, that was not to be: Bermuda, having decisively beaten both USA and the Caymans, took care of a demoralised Canada rather handily, and secured the Championship again. But the USA had shown that they could play with spirit and confidence, and that might be the best thing for the American youngsters to bring back from the Cayman Islands.