Faisal Taj led Comos batting with a brilliant 112 not out off 84 balls. Photo by Shiek Mohamed

It was 17-year old Salam who mesmerized the opposition with a controlled spell of spin bowling after cosmos had won the toss and chose to field, while Taj followed with a brilliant century. This feat was another added onto an illustrious Cosmos 29-year history and a first since paceman Tyrone Stewart bagged 6 for 32 at Walker Park against Staten Island in 1987, and went on to win the bowling honors three times in four seasons in the Metropolitan Cricket League.

Opening bowler Sham Ali held a steady line and eventually made inroads into the top order with 2 for 30, while his partner Rasheem James, was quite erratic as he struggled for control of the new ball with 7 wides in his opening over, operating from the Aviation end. At the change of bowling, the runs dried up; however, Island Wide batsmen stubbornly resisted an economical spell from left arm orthodox Ricky Kissoon who went wicket-less for 15 runs off 7 overs. They  proceeded to build slowly to 83 for 3 off 22 overs. Cosmos was looking for a breakthrough and the introduction of  young Salam, in his first big outing, delivered the crucial blow with his 4th ball, one that pitched and turned through the gates clipping the top of D. Sobers middle stump on it way.

It was not until the 31st over that Cosmos got their next wicket. Terry Wells held one end and offered a counter attack forcing M. Kissoon (1 for 48) out of the attack. With the score on 143 for 4, Cosmos got the crucial wicket of Wells who went for a well played 56 runs when left arm orthodox Anjel Acharya deceived him with a flighted delivery that drew him out of his crease and K. Narine picked his bails.

It was Salam though, who looked like he enjoyed bowling showed the maturity at this level and rose to the occasion. He grew in confidence with every over as he spun the ball appreciably passed the outside edge on several occasions. He continued to peg away at the opposition with tantalizing spell. He weave a web around the opposition until he struck again in his 5th over and subsequently affected a collapse when he struck twice in his 6th over and again in the 7th for wicket #4, with a liking for the middle stump. A chance to bag his first five wickets was delayed due to some turbulence at extracover from the first ball of his 8th over. a leading edge looped and went in and oops pops out when Leonard Achaibar forget to close his hands – the commentary read’ that’s a terrible drop catch that extract a few choice words of ‘encouragement’ and stamped feet from the senior players and little disappointment for the young bowler.

Cosmos vs Island Wide scorecard.

A last chance to complete a memorable feat appeared lost with one ball left in his spell. Fortunately there was reprieve for Achaibar and excitement the young Salam when a straight hit looked like it would have cleared the boundary, however Taj measured it well and held a well judged catch. That gave Sajid Salam, 5 for 30 off 8 overs and the youngster announced himself in his first match for Cosmos in the metropolitan cricket league with FIVE WICKETS IN THE MATCH and the 18th bowler in Cosmos to have achieved this feat. Acharya, 2 for 10 in 4 overs, then trapped R. Uaz as island Wide inning closed on 163 all out in 38 overs.

Faisal Taj took Haraldo Marshall under his arms as his opening partner and they confidently walked to the wicket. Marshall ceased the opportunity with patience while Taj priced his with runs. As if Sajid Salam’s five wicket haul was not enough to dent the opposition batting line-up, Taj proceeded to punch a gaping hole in their bowling attack. He and Marshall added some taste and a preview into 2012 from a green Cosmos team with an excellent century partnership.

Taj found extra-cover, mid-on and mid-off boundary with fluency, while Marshal kept the score ticking. Their first time at the crease produced one of the best opening partnerships for Cosmos in the last decade. The opposition had few answers for a stonewalled Marshall and a powerful Taj, two batsmen if contrasting styles. Taj reached his fifty with a thumping six over mid-off and raced into the nineties while Marshall constructed a strong fence of singles.

With the score in 149 for 0 in the 25th, and Taj on 97 runs, Marshall committed his first error when he tried to turn over the strike and succeeded in pushing a low catch to the bowler.. Somewhat disappointed, but a brilliant partnership of 149 runs ended as Marshall departed for a good 39 runs.  The former Guyana national player Sohan Dass kept Taj’s nerves in quite, however the stroke that brought up his century was anything but quiet, a thumping straight drive to the boundary. It was vintage Taj who found the boundary on 14 occasions with 8-4’s and 6-6’s. Cosmos sealed a 9-wicket victory in the 27th over in a typical Taj fashion, a huge six over mid-on to close his inning on 112 not out off 84 balls. It was good all-round effort from this cosmos outfit as the look forward to a long season.

Dilly Khilawan of Liberty Sport Club top scored with 67.

Atlantis vs East Side Warriors
Atlantis 300 for 7 off 40 overs – A. Amsterdam 64, K. Bridgepaul 58, N. Standford 52; K. Naseem 3 for 50
ESW 158 all out off 27.3 overs – S. Ishfaq 34; G. Robinson 3 for 32

Richmond Hill CC vs Enmore CC
ECC 210 all out off 39 overs – M. Mohabir 96; R. Bactowar 3 for 15
RHCC 213 for 8 off 37 overs – D. McDonald 82*; S. Jainarine 3 for 40

Camelot CC vs Phantoms CC  – Game postponed

Zone II
LIUCC vs Arsenal CC
LIUCC 230 for 8 off 35 overs – A. Mahmood 44, A. Rafique 37; S. Gandhi 4 for 30
ACC 222 for 7 off 35 overs – S. Ghandi 59, M. Usman 54; Q. Dastgir 2 for 21

Saumil Gandhi of Arsenal had 4 for 30 and struck 59. Photo by Shiek Mohamed

Hillside SC vs All Star CC
HSC 266 for 8 off 35 overs -  A. Habibulla 61, N. Basdeo 57
ASCC 170 all out off 33 overs – M. Taher 60; N. Basdeo 3 for 17

Victory CC vs Falcons CC
FCC 148 all out off 34.4 overs – K. Shamsundar 34, G. Cheema 6 for 34
VCC 149 for 7 off 35.2 overs – S. Rajpaul 32; K. Shamsundar 3 for 13

Big Apple CC vs MMZ CC
MMZ 175 for 8 off 40 overs -  A. Mohammed 44, T. Ross 37; C. Senior 2 for 22
BACC 176 for 4 off 37.4 overs – Z. Saffie 62, C. Williams 38; A. Persaud 2 for 33

Note: there was an error in the NRR calculation for the Week one game between ESW and Camelot CC which was corrected here.

Aun Merchant picked up 4 for 27 off his 8 overs. Photos by Shiek Mohamed

LSC won the toss and took first strike on a windy but sunny day at Bay County Park. The men in blue found themselves in early trouble when a careless run out accounted for Hemchandrabose Persaud.

Micheal Noble then joined the 2011 MVP, Dilly, the pair commenced a threatening partnership. Noble with his typical technical cover and straight drives and Dilly with his typical aggression. The pair would put on 70 for the second wicket when another error in judgment of a quick single would cost Noble his wicket for 32.

The departure of Noble saw LSC in an all too familiar position to their opening game against Richmond Hill CC. Four quick wickets fell in the middle order leaving Dilly only to hold down the other end. He found some support in his brother Vickey Khilawan who scored a quick fire 24 which included taking 14 off of a Marlon Persaud over.

Dilly would get past 50 and carry on to 67 before getting out bowled by Aun Merchant. The remainder of the LSC batsmen pushed the total to 169 all out off 39.3 overs. Merchant was the pick of the bowlers for Everest bowlers with 4 for 27 off 8 overs while Karan Ganesh bowled a miserly 8 overs for 21 runs and claimed 3 wickets.

The defense of the under par total began strong for LSC as they remove E/ACS openers Aun Merchant and Steve Nowrangilall cheaply. Tamesh Balwant coming in at number three found support from skipper Karan Ganesh as the pair thwarted the efforts of LSC bowlers and pushed E/ACS forward in their charge for victory. Ganesh fell for 38 but by then Balwant was set and his team in a safe position to close in on victory.

Tamesh Balwant compiled an elegant unbeaten 65.

Hassan would pick up two more wickets in addition to the openers but that could not stop Everest from closing their chase off in the 32ndover. Balwant finished on 65 not out.

LSC will continue their push to gain grounds in the EACA Zone 1 this Sunday against East Side Warriors while Everest/ACS will tackle Enmore CC.

Abdullah Syed of Travel Treat stroked an exact 100 against Cavaliers. Photo by Shiek Mohamed

Bowling for Cavalier former West Indies test bowler Cameron Cuffy had 5 overs for 72 runs, Rampal took 3 wickets for 29 runs in his 7 overs.

Cavalier were bowled out for 192 in 30 overs. Albert Teixeira was the only batsman to show any resistant scoring 78 runs.

Bowling for Travel Treat Naved Islam took 5 wickets for 19 runs in 5 overs, Zafer Iqbal took 2 wickets for 44 runs in 7 overs and Nadeem Ahmed took 2 wickets for 25 runs in 6 overs

Travel Treat who was the Brooklyn Cricket League champion in 2008 made a great come back after three years.

Saiful Hasan of Lehman High School struck 112 against Bronx Science HS.

Amarnauth Persaud continues to prove why he’s one of the most talented batsmen in the Public School Athletic Cricket League as he leads all players in runs scored with the best batting average.

Syed Islam fell five runs (95) short of his first century and lead wicket taker, Taher Miah of Clinton thumped William Bryant by 9 wickets at Kissena Park on Saturday, May 12th.  Furthermore, Clinton’s division rival Lehman, almost spoiled LIC’s undefeated streak in a nail-biting finish at the picturesque Baisley Park South after Lehman restricted LIC to 105 total runs, but then failed to seize the opportunity for the “big” win.

Centurions:
(1) Saiful Hasan (112) – Lehman HS
(2) Tajinder Singh (108*) – Martin Van Buren HS

Hat-trick:  Dhanraj Hansraj (3 wickets, 3 runs allowed) – Richmond Hill HS

Five wicket haul:
(1) Keifer Phill (5 wickets) – HS of Construction
(2) Naquarn Charlemagne (5 wickets, 23 runs allowed) – Prospects Heights

Top five leading run scorers:

Leading wicket taker: Taher Miah (20 wickets) – Dewitt Clinton

Martin Van Buren’s Tajinder Singh slammed 108 not out against Newcomers.

May 7th.
(1) Lafayette Educational Campus vs. Prospect Heights Campus @ Marine Park 1
Lafayette Educational Campus – 114/9
ATIF AZAM – 17
KEVOY VASSELL – 3/26

Prospect Heights – 118/6
WARRELL BIGGS – 23
IMAIR HASSAN – 2/19

(2) Brooklyn International vs. Midwood @ Marine Park 2
Brooklyn International – 102/7
AKRAMOL HAQUE – 47
MUHAMMAD AWAIS – 4/12

Midwood – 91 all out
MUHAMMAD AWAIS – 35
SYED FORHADUDDIN – 3/19

(3) Hillcrest vs. Queens HS of Teaching @ Kissena Park 1
Queens HS of Teaching – 44 all out
HARMANJOT SINGH – 8
JAHED ALAM and MD RAYHAN UDDIN – 2 wickets each

Hillcrest – 45/3
JASON ROONEY – 23
DEORAM PURAN – 2/8

Amarnauth Persaud of Martin Van Buren could be considered as the "runs machine" of PSAL Cricket 2012 season with close to 600 runs so far. Photo by Shiek Mohamed

(4) Aviation vs. Martin Van Buren @ Baisley Park South
Martin Van Buren – 168/3
AMARNAUTH PERSAUD – 90*
MARJANUL KARIM and HARIS SHAH – 1 wicket each

Aviation – 113/7
MARJANUL KARIM – 36*
ABHISHEK PATEL – 3/13

(5) Long Island City vs. William Bryant @ Baisley Pond Park
Long Island City – 167/6
MD ISLAM – 51
AHMAD WYNE – 46
NASIR IQBAL and MUHAMMAD SIDDIQUI – 2 wickets

May 8th.
(1) Bronx HS of Science vs. Lehman @ Van Cortlandt Park
Lehman – 186/1
SAIFUL HASAN – 113
ZAHID HASAN – 33
SHYAM BHATT – 1/32

Bronx HS of Science – 64 all out
MOHAMMAD RIZWAN – 19
SAIFUL HASAN – 3/17

(2) HS of Construction vs. Queens HS of Teaching @ Kissena Park 1
Queens HS of Teaching – 37 all out
HARMANJOT SINGH – 8
KEIFER PHILL – 5 wickets

HS of Construction – 38/2
VICKRAM ARMOGAN – 6
DEORAM PURAN – 1/11

(3) John Bowne vs. Richmond Hill @ Baisley Park South
John Bowne – 70 all out
RAHUL SINGH – 17
YASIN ARAFAT and HASAN GHAFFAR – 3 wickets each

Richmond Hill – 73 without loss
DHANRAJ HANSRAJ – 31*
RAFEEK NAZEER – 30*

(4) Jamaica vs. Hillcrest @ Baisley Pond Park
Jamaica – 100 all out
TARIQ MAHMOOD – 23
MD RAHAD HOSSAIN – 3/10

Hillcrest – 101 without loss
AHSAN RIAZ – 32*
VIJENDRA MOHABIR – 25*

May 10th.
(1) Brooklyn International vs. Wingate Educational Campus @ Marine Park 2
Wingate – 40 all out
GRANTLEY HOLDER – 9
AKASH CHOWDHURY – 3/6

Brooklyn International – 41/1
ABU SHARIF – 14

(2) Prospect Heights Campus vs. Sheepshead Bay @ Marine Park 1
Prospect Heights – 127/7
RICHARD DAVIS – 35
SAMEET KHAWAJA – 3/19

Sheepshead Bay – 128/9
QAMAR ABBAS – 23
NAQUARN CHARLEMAGNE – 5/23

(3) Hillcrest vs. John Bowne @ Kissena Park 1
John Bowne – 147/6
MOHAMMED SADAT – 59
MD RAHAD HOSSAIN – 1 wicket

Hillcrest – 148/4
AHSAN RIAZ – 84
ABHISHEK SATYAM – 1 wicket

(4) Jamaica vs. John Adams @ Baisley Park South
Jamaica – 81 all out
GURKIRAT SINGH – 18
ZAFAAR YUSUF – 3/15

John Adams – 83/4
GURPRIT SINGH – 34*
SYED SHAHI PIR – 2/8

(5) Richmond Hill vs. HS of Construction @ Baisley Pond Park
HS of Construction – 16 all out
LAKSHMIDAT CHAITRAM – 10*
DHANRAJ HANSRAJ – 3/3 (hat-trick)

Richmond Hill – 20/1
SUBHAN ZAIB – 9*
KEIFER PHILL – 1 wicket

(6) Franklin K Lane vs. Thomas Edison @ Kissena Park 2
Franklin K. Lane – 167/4
WILLIS RAMDAS – 36*
ISAAC RAMNARAIGN – 26*
MD RAHMAN – 3/19

Thomas Edison – 67 all out
FARIAL HAQUE – 27
ALEX CHATTERGOON – 3/4
GAVINDRA JAINARAINE – 3/8

May 11th.  
(1) Prospect Heights vs. Midwood @ Marine Park 1
Prospect Heights – 95/8
VIC JOHNNY – 28
MUHAMMAD AWAIS – 3/16

Midwood – 96/8
MUHAMMAD AYAZ – 19
RICHARD DAVIS – 2/10

(2) Long Island City vs. Aviation @ Baisley Park South
Aviation – 98 all out
KAZI ISLAM – 28
MAHNAZ MUSTAFA – 4/6

Long Island City – 102/1
AHMAD WYNE – 50*
ATTAUR KHAN – 36*

(3) Newcomers vs. Martin Van Buren @ Baisley Pond Park
Martin Van Buren – 218/1
TAJINDER SINGH – 108*
AMARNAUTH PERSAUD – 69

Newcomers – 139/6
MOJEEB AHMED – 50
SAKIB RAHAT – 25
TAWHIDUL ISLAM and AMARNAUTH PERSAUD – 2 wickets

(4) Herbert H. Lehman vs. Thomas Edison @ Kissena Park 2
Lehman – 112/8
ZAHID HASAN – 69
NIKUNJ AGARWAL – 2/3
DERON SCOTT – 2/11
Thomas Edison – 93 all out
DERON SCOTT – 18
NIKUNJ AGARWAL – 13
ZAHID HASAN – 3/8

May 12th.
(1)Lafayette vs. Franklin D. Roosevelt @ Marine Park 1
Franklin D. Roosevelt – 252/3
MOHAIMINUL ISLAM – 65
ZAHIB TARIQ – 60
ABRAR ZAFAR – 58
MOHAMMAD QURESHI and MUHAMMAD ADNAN – 1 wicket each

Lafayette – 79/8
MUHAMMAD AMIN – 20
HAMZA RANA – 3/5
MOHIB TARIQ – 2/4

(2) Midwood vs. Lincoln @ Marine Park 2
Lincoln – 134 all out
ZEESHAN ARIF – 27
FAHAD RIAZ – 18
MUHAMMAD AYAZ – 3 wickets

Midwood – 92/ 4
TANVEER KHAN – 35*
AMRANUL HAQUE – 1/11

(3) Bronx HS of Science vs. Aviation @ Baisley Pond Park
Aviation – 120 all out
HUMZA AHMAD – 19
PAVIL SABU – 3/6

Bronx HS of Science – 81 all out
PRASENJIT SAHA – 13
KAZI ISLAM – 4/19

(4) Brooklyn International vs. Franklin K. Lane @ Canarsie Park
Franklin K. Lane – 131/6
WAYMON WOOLFORD – 47*
ALEX CHATTERGOON – 28
SYED FORHADUDDIN and AKASH CHOWDHURY – 2 wickets each

Brooklyn International – 106/8
SYED FORHADUDDIN – 17
ZAHEER AHMAD – 3/17

(5) Herbert H. Lehman vs. Long Island City @ Baisley Park South
Long Island City – 105 all out
REDWANUR KHAN – 19
AMJAD HUSSAIN – 3/29

Lehman – 92 all out
SAIFUL HASAN – 39
IBRAHIM ALI – 27
TUFAYEL AHMED – 3/9

(6) Dewitt Clinton vs. William Bryant @ Kissena Park 1
William Bryant – 170/9
MUHAMMAD SAEED – 51
AOWN IQBAL – 38
TAHER MIAH – 2/16

Clinton – 171/1
SYED ISLAM – 95*
ASMAR KHAN – 31*
ASFAQUE CHOWDHURY – 29

Zaheer Saffie produced a captain's knock of 62 not out against Meten Meer Zorg. Photos by Shiek Mohamed

Winning the toss MMZ decided to take strike first with openers Ken Nandkumar and USA national player Andy Mohamed.  For Big Apple, the fiery pace duo of Telston Johnson and Charlton Senior took the new balls.  Mohamed was the aggressor of the two taking eight of Johnson’s first over. Nandkumar played some fine shots before he was caught of the bowling Senior for 18.

In would walk U-19 national Amarnauth Persaud, who along with Mohamed were looking to rebound from the early wicket. Mohamed continued to punish the Big Apple pacers banishing anything that was short to the boundary. It was a short ball from Senior that led his demise, as he miss timed a hook and was brilliantly caught by the wicket-keeper Clain Williams.

Next in was youngster Trevis Ross. Both youngsters showed much promise at the crease, with Ross playing aggressive shots and Amarnauth stroking the ball around.  The two seemed very settle at the crease, leaving Big Apple pondering how to set their field.

Last week’s hero Kumar Nandalall got the breakthrough that ended to youngsters’ resistance, as he had Trevis Ross caught on the boundary by Rhett Ramotar. A middle order collapse ensued for MMZ, due in part to a couple of run outs, as the team stuttered towards the end of the innings. Some late innings heroics by Rocky Kowchai brought MMZ to the competitive total of 175 for 8.

Innings Summary:
MMZ: 175 for 8 (Andy Mohamed 44 5x4s and 1×6, Trevis Ross 37 2x4s and 1×6, Amarnauth Persaud 22 1×4)
BACC: Kumar Nandalall 8-2-17-2, Charlton Senior 8-2-22-2, Shiv Raghubar 8-1-42-1

Zaarah, one of Meten Meer Zorg youngest supporter.

To kick off their chase Big Apple made a change at the top by bringing in one of the newest members of Big Apple, Alvin Kalimootoo, to open the batting with Rhett Ramotar, while Rocky Kowchai and Bilal Shahid took the new balls. The two got off to a cautious start nudging the ball for singles, but soon ended as Kowchai had Ramotar caught for 7. Clain Williams was the next man in and proceeded to have a cautious partnership with Kalimootoo. Shortly after Kalimootoo had to retire hurt because of a hamstring injury, so in walked Zaheer Saffie.

Saffie served as catalyst for the runs chase as he and Williams took it to the MMZ bowlers. Williams would eventually fall for a well played 38 off the bowling of Amarnauth Persaud. Kalimootoo would return to make 34 falling LBW to Persaud.  All the while Saffie would keep his composure and play on to make a well-deserved 62 not out.

Zaffie and Ryan Balram would see Big Apple home in 37.2 overs. With Saffie finding his form early on in the season, he poses as a serious threat to the competition. The club’s MVP is looking to pick up where he left off last year and have another spectacular season.

Inning Summary:
BACC: 176 for 4 (Zaheer Saffie 62 4x4s and 1x6s, Clain Williams 38 1x4s and 2×6, Alvin Kalimootoo 34 2x4s and 1x6s)
MMZ: Amarnauth Persaud 8-0-33-2, Rocky Kowchai 8-0-46-1, Bilal Shahid 7-1-25-1

Saif Yasin is a 17 year-old student at Scholars Academy and a member of Big Apple Cricket Club.

Arsenal cricket club is one of the newest team in the Eastern American Cricket Association.

With two early Arsenal wickets LIUCC players were making early dinner plans, but Muhammad Usman and Saumil Gandhi had different ideas. They weathered the storm and kept the Arsenal innings afloat with some sensible strike rotation, and did not panic with the climbing asking rate. Muhammad Usman contributed 54 and Saumil Gandhi 59, as the target crept closer and closer slowly and painfully.

The match kept flowing back and forth with 47 required in the last four overs, with Usman and Saumil back in the dressing room, and everyone on edge as VCC and ESW teams also joined the spectators after finishing their games, and a lot of good hearted insults and unwanted advice about each others cricketing skills flying in either direction.

The young but experienced Anwer Kamal ran in for the 32nd over, and LIUCC seemed pretty confident at this point. But Ayaz Chaudhry stunned everyone with 22 runs in that over. Now with 25 required in three reaming overs, the confident Qasim Dastgir ran in hard for the 33rd over and bowled a wicket maiden.

With the match turning again and LIUCC quick Ishtiaque Gul ready for the 34th over, once again LIUCC spirits were high, but with a last ball 6 and 16 off the over, the agony for players and supporters increased ten fold.  With 9 required of the last over, Qasim Dastgir ran in like a demon and only gave up two runs, which give LIUCC the victory.

Games like these remind us why we love the game.

Atlantic skipper Prasanth Nair.

Winning the toss and electing to take first strike, Atlantis Cricket Club coming off of a convincing 180+ run win over Enmore Cricket Club the previous Sunday, quickly raced to 188 for 2 in 27 overs, before closing out at 300 for 6 its 40 overs. Alex Amsterdam knocked up an exciting 64, while the previous week’s near-centurions Kavishwar Bridgepaul and Nicholas Standford returned with half-ton scores of 56 not out and 52 respectively. Opener Henderson Blades cruised to 42, before exiting. Kasif Naseem with 3 for 50 was East Side Warriors’ best foot soldier.

In response to Atlantis’ even 300, East Side Warriors gave it their all, but eventually ran out of steam at 158 all out in 27.3 overs, after struggling at 46 for 3 in 7 overs. Sajjad Ishfaq 34, Ahson Qadeer 26 and the usually reliable Salman Rafique 24, along with Faisal Ahmed 24 contributed to the team’s tally. Bowling for Atlantis, pacer Greg Robinson 3 for 32, Timothy Rodney 3 for 34, Keon Lake 2 for 44 and skipper Prashanth Nair 2 for 39, captured the Warriors’ wickets.

Atlantis’ skipper Prashanth Nair said he was very impressed with the batting of Amsterdam, Blades, Bridgepaul and Standford, adding, “I was glad that Nicholas (Standford) and Bridgepaul carried on their good form from last week. It was a very tough wicket to bat on.”

Timothy Rodney took 3 for 34 against East Side Warriors.

Commenting on his team’s performance with the ball and moving to 2-0, the first-year college student and Atlantis skipper stated, “We could have bowled better than that. However, Robinson and Rodney gave us a good start.”

This Sunday Atlantis faces Camelot Cricket Club at Heckscher State Park, while East Side Warriors clashes with Liberty Cricket Club at Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways.

All matches start at 1:00pm.

West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson.

The West Indies coach said this series presents the players with another opportunity to take up the challenge and play their best against the World No.1 side.

“I suppose in the context of playing in England, it will be tough, but sometimes, the best place to get experience is out in the middle,” said Gibson. “We know it’s going to be a challenge for them – but the selectors have got a lot of confidence in them, as I have.

He added: “We know they are good players – they’ve proven that at home. Not a lot of people perform outstandingly well at home and, bearing in mind we are still in a rebuilding phase, these guys are the guys the selectors have decided are the ones they want to have first go at rebuilding the Test team.”

Gibson said the second innings of the warm-up match against the England Lions was more like what he expected from the batting of the team.

West Indies made 390 in their second innings, after they were dismissed for 147 in the first innings in the four-day, first-class tour match at Wantage Road.

The coach said the most pleasing aspect of the performance was the way the team fought back from 28 for three and almost made 400.

“They were a little bit disappointed after the first innings and I had to step in and say, ‘you shouldn’t be disappointed because if we’d bowled first, in those conditions on the first day I believe we would have bowled [the England Lions] out for a similar score’,” said Gibson.

“In the second innings, Kieran Powell played very well and got a hundred. He’s feeling pretty confident right now, he has a smile on his face.

“Darren Bravo, who’d been playing well for us for the last year-and-a-half, he played well and got two half-centuries.

“We know what Shivnarine Chanderpaul can do, Denesh Ramdin got a good knock and Marlon Samuels got a good knock.”

Gibson said consideration had been given to elevating veteran left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the current World No. 1 Test batsman, from his regular No. 5 slot to add greater stability to the batting.

“Our batting revolves around Shiv – he’s very comfortable in the position he is at the moment and he’s doing a good job for us,” he said.

“Without trying to upset the batting line-up too much, we’ve decided to leave it as it is at the moment.”

Gibson said: “It’s something we haven’t completely ruled out, but it’s something we will have to revisit at some stage.

“If it is a team decision, then I am sure he will be very happy [to move up].”
Gibson also brushed aside concerns about the bowling attack following concerns about Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach.

“Everybody pulled up okay,” said Gibson. “It all goes back to managing niggles with the Lord’s Test on Thursday being the big event in mind.

“Kemar twisted his ankle at Northants – he’s been treated twice a day for the last couple of days. He had a little bowl today, about six overs, pretty controlled. . .no complaints, so at this stage he’s doing okay.

“Ravi was just a twisted neck from sleeping badly or just staying up too late watching TV or playing Playstation! He’s fine and Fidel is fine also. Everything looks all set for Thursday.”

Sunday May  6 – Season Opening & President X1 Game @ 12 noon

Mpk C     President X1 Team  vs  League X1

Saturday May 12

Mpk A   Middlesex    vs    Queensbury

Mpk B   Youth Game

Mpk C   Cavaliers     vs     Travel Treat

Mpk D   Diplomats   vs   Panthers

SV         Imperial    vs   Sheffield

Sunday May 13 – Mothers Day

NO  GAMES

Saturday May 19 – Mayors Cup Round 1 (Mpk 1 & SV 108)

NO   GAMES

Sunday May 20

Mpk A    Imperial     vs    Wanderers

Mpk B    Queensbury   vs   Sheffield

Mpk C    Travel Treat   vs   Middlesex

SV          Cavaliers  vs Guest

Saturday May 26 – Memorial Wkend – Mayors Cup Rd 2 (SV 108)3^rd place & Finals

NO   GAMES

Sunday May 27 – Memorial Wkend

Mpk A     Middlesex   vs   Panthers

Mpk B     Youth Game

Mpk C     Sheffield   vs   Travel Treat

SV           Youth Game
Saturday June 2

Mpk A    Cavaliers    vs   Sheffield

Mpk B    Travel Treat   vs   Wanderers

Mpk C    Queensbury    vs   Imperial

Mpk D    Diplomats    vs    Middlesex

SV          Youth Game

Sunday June 3

Mpk A     Panthers  vs  Queensbury

Mpk B     Wanderers    vs    Diplomats

Mpk C      Middlesex   vs     Cavaliers

SV            Youth Game
Saturday June 9 

Mpk A     Sheffield   vs    Diplomats

Mpk B     Youth Game

Mpk C     Cavaliers    vs    Imperial

Mpk D     Middlesex     vs    Wanderers

SV           Queensbury    vs    Travel Treat

Sunday June 10

Mpk A      Diplomats    vs    Queensbury

Mpk B      Travel Treat    vs    Panthers

Mpk C      Wanderers    vs    Sheffield

SV            Youth Game

Saturday June 16 – Caribbean Cup
NO  GAMES

Sunday June 17

Mpk A    Panthers   vs   Wanderers

Mpk B    Middlesex   vs   Travel Treat

Mpk C    Cavaliers   vs   Diplomats

SV          Youth Game

Saturday June 23

Mpk A     Sheffield    vs   Panthers

Mpk B     Youth Game

Mpk C     Queensbury  vs  Cavaliers

Mpk D     Youth Game

SV           Imperial  vs  Travel Treat

Sunday June 24

Mpk A    Panthers    vs    Cavaliers

Mpk B    Diplomats   vs    Travel Treat

Mpk C    Wanderers  vs   Imperial

SV          Sheffield   vs   Queensbury

Saturday June 30 – Independence Wkend

Mpk A     Diplomats   vs   Wanderers

Mpk B     Imperial    vs    Panthers

Mpk C     Cavaliers     vs   Queensbury

Mpk D     Youth Game

Sunday July 1 —  Independence Wkend

Mpk A     Panthers    vs    Diplomats

Mpk B     Wanderers     vs    Middlesex

Mpk C     Travel Treat     vs   Cavaliers

SV           Sheffield    vs    Imperial

Saturday July 7 – NYCR Double wicket (SV 108 #1, #2)

NO   GAMES

Sunday July 8 – NYCR Double wicket (SV 108 #1, #2)

NO  GAMES

Saturday July 14

Mpk A     Queensbury   vs  Middlesex

Mpk B     Panthers    vs    Travel Treat

Mpk C     Imperial    vs    Diplomats

Mpk D     Youth Game

SV           Sheffield    vs   Cavaliers

Sunday July 15 – Caribbean Cup (SV 108)

NO   GAMES

Saturday July 21

Mpk A     Imperial    vs   Middlesex

Mpk B     Queensbury    vs    Wanderers

Mpk C     Cavaliers   vs   Panthers

Mkp D     Diplomats   vs   Sheffield

SV           Youth Game

Sunday July 22

Mpk A     Imperial    vs   Queensbury

Mpk B     Travel Treat    vs    Sheffield

Mpk C     Cavaliers    vs    Wanderers

SV           Panthers    vs    Middlesex

Saturday July 28 

Mpk A      Queensbury   vs   Panthers

Mpk B      Diplomats   vs   Imperial

Mpk C      Cavaliers    vs    Middlesex

Mpk D      Youth Game

SV           Wanderers     vs    Travel Treat

Sunday  July 29

Mpk A      Diplomats    vs    Cavaliers

Mpk B      Travel Treat    vs   Queensbury

Mpk C      Middlesex    vs    Imperial

SV            Sheffield    vs   Wanderers

Saturday August 4  ——  – Caribbean Cup

NO  GAMES

Sunday August 5

Mpk A         Panthers     vs    Sheffield

Mpk B         Middlesex     vs    Diplomats

Mpk C         Travel Treat     vs    Imperial

SV               Wanderers    vs     Queensbury

Saturday August 11

Mpk A      Wanderers   vs    Panthers

Mpk B       Middlesex   vs   Sheffield

Mpk C      Imperial   vs   Cavaliers

Mpk D      Youth Game

SV            Queensbury    vs    Diplomats

Sunday August 12  

Mpk A     Wanderers    vs   Cavaliers

Mpk B     Travel Treat   vs   Diplomats

Mpk C     Panthers   vs   Imperial

SV            Sheffield   vs   Middlesex

Saturday August 18 — 35 Overs KO 1^st  Round

Mpk A    Team A    vs   Team  B

Mpk B     Team C   vs    Team D

Mpk C    Team E   vs    Team F

Mpk D     Team G    vs    Team H

Team I — Bye

Sunday August 19 ———- NO  GAMES

SV          Diplomats    vs    Guest

Saturday August 25  —- 35 Overs KO 2^nd Round

Mpk A     Winner Team AB     vs    Team  I

Mpk B      Youth Game

Mpk C     Winner Team  CD    vs  Winner Team EF

Mpk D      Youth Game

SV            Youth Game

Winner Team — GH — Bye

Sunday  August 26  —- 35 Overs KO Semi Finals

Mpk C    Team ABI    vs   Team  GH

Winner Team CDEF ——- Bye

Saturday  September 1 – Labor Day Wkend —–  Caribbean Cup 

NO   GAMES

Sunday September 2 – Labor Day Wkend

NO   GAMES

Saturday September 8 —– Play Offs – September Games Starts @ 12

Mpk A      Team  # 4    vs    Team # 1

Mpk C      Team # 3    vs    Team 2

Sunday September 9 — 35 Overs KO Finals

Mpk C     Winner Team ABIGH     vs   Winner Team CDEF

Saturday September 15 — T20 KO Games First Round

Mpk A    Team  B    vs    Team C

Mpk B    Team  D   vs    Team E

Mpk C    Team F    vs    Team G

Mpk D    Team H    vs   Team I

Team A —- Bye

Sunday September 16 — Regular Season Championship

Mpk C        Winner Team #4, # 1    vs     Winner Team # 3, # 2

Saturday September 22 – T20 2^nd Round

Mpk A     Winner Team  BC    vs    Team  A

Mpk C     Winner Team DE     vs    Team FG

Winner Team HI —- Bye

Sunday September 23 —  T20 Semi Finals

Mpk C    Winner Team  BCA     vs   Winner  Team  HI

Winner Team DEFG —— Bye

Saturday September 29 —– T20 Championship

Mpk C     Winner Team BCAHI    vs   Winner Team DEFG

Please Note That The Schedule Is Subject To Changes As Per The Needs Of The
Brooklyn Cricket League Inc., 2012