No new blood for USA

No new blood for USA
The chairman of the United States Cricket Association selection committee, Akthar "Chik" Masood Syed, does not anticipate any changes to the national squad for their ICC Champions' Trophy campaign in September in England - even though his captain, Richard Staple, called for an infusion of youth in the pace-bowling department, in last week's BTTW.

"I don't see any changes at this time," said Masood. "The selectors put together the best possible team. We look at players because of their ability not their age ... I don't believe in a young player replacing a senior, experienced player simply because he is young. I personally don't believe in changing a team if you are winning."

Masood added that an injection of younger talent had taken place during the ICC Six Nations campaign last month. "It is important to realise we replaced five members of the team that won the Americas Cup with players aged under 27."

Meanwhile, Masood and Staple both clarified the reasons for Amer Afzaluddin's exclusion from the starting line-up in Sharjah. "Amer did not get the chance to play because both of the openers performed very well in every match," said Masood. "I believe if Amer was an allrounder he might have played in place of Jignesh Desai or Ajaz Ali." Staple added that the pre-tournament injury to their first-choice wicketkeeper, Wasim Khan, was an additional factor. "Amer was originally slated to open," he said, "but when Wasim withdrew a place had to be found for Mark Johnson, who opens."

Maldives join south-east Asian tournament
The Maldives have applied to compete in this year's Tuanku Ja'Afar Trophy, the most prestigious trophy in south-east Asian cricket. If their application is successful, the Maldives will become the fifth team in the competition, alongside Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, the hosts. It would also be the first time a team from outside south-east Asia has participated in the annual tournament, which will take place between May 12 and 16.

The trophy will have added significance this year, as it will serve as a practice tournament for the ACC Trophy, a World Cup qualifying event, which takes place from June 12 to 22. For Malaysia, however, their immediate focus is their opening Intercontinental Cup match against Nepal in Kathmandu (April 23-25), and the Malaysia Cricket Association will announce their team next week.

Such is the importance of the Intercontinental Cup and ACC Trophy, the Malaysian board has suspended the Carlsberg Premier League, to enable the national squad to undergo intensive training. Ther defending champions, Negeri Sembilan, lead the table with six points from six matches, while Selangor, Perak and FTCA are close behind with four points. Perak and Selangor still have matches in hand, while Penang are trailing after playing four matches.

Bahamas qualify for Americas Cup
The Bahamas have qualified for the Americas Cup tournament, which takes place in Bermuda from July 5 to 11, after winning last week's Americas Affiliates tournament in Panama. The Bahamians went undefeated in four matches and finished ahead of Panama, Belize, Turks & Caicos and Suriname.

The find of the tournament was the 16-year-old Belize opener Conway Young, who made the highest score of the event (118) and also topped the runs table with 186. As a World Cup qualifier, this tournament offers a fleeting spotlight for players such Young who cannot aspire to Test cricket - although he can now boast that he's played in a World Cup match.

For the first time, the tournament also provided international exposure to Belize, Turks & Caicos and Suriname. And as Suriname's captain, Raj Narain, explained, the event provides a benchmark for these aspiring nations: "In our competition back home, there are hundreds scored every week and we have been bowled out cheaply - but this has given us an idea of where we stand and the level we need to work towards."

Victory in defeat for Rwanda
Botswana have progressed to the African Cricket Association Championships, after finishing second in the African World Cup Qualifying tournament in Benoni in South Africa. However, the tournament's other big winners were Rwanda, for whom it was a victory just to be there. About ten days before the start of the tournament, all the countries were slugged for a US$5000 entry fee. "The weekly wage in Rwanda is around US$1," revealed Charles Haba, a Rwandan official. "But our players paid our own way there, some contributing up to US$200."

Following the late withdrawal of Morocco, South African Country Districts were invited to make up the numbers ... and duly won the event with ease.