USA Cricket Squad Qualifier, Fights For 2022 Australian Tickets!
USA have named their squad for the Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B, as they vie for one of the two final spots at Australia 2022.
USA Cricket also announced dates for a preparation tour in the build-up, playing two T20s against Namibia and Jersey in Windhoek, before warm-up matches against the Netherlands before their first Qualifier fixture on July 11th.
After missing the recent Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series with injury, six-hitting record-holder Jaskaran Malhotra returns to the squad, with young left-arm orthodox spinner Vatsal Vaghela also included. Spinning all-rounder Marty Kain earned a spot, while there was no room for Karima Gore or Ian Holland.
The Americans are pitted against the hosts, Singapore and Jersey in a tricky Group A, and must finish in the top two, and win a semi-final over an opponent in Group B to punch a tick to this year's global tournament. Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda make up the other group in the eight-team tournament.
USA Cricket Operations Director Richard Done stressed the importance of the tournament for the game in the country.
“The ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe is a genuine chance for our men’s national team to make history and qualify for a first Cricket World Cup. We have worked hard to put a very strong T20 preparation program in place with T20 games versus Namibia and Jersey in Windhoek before a pair of games versus the Netherlands in Harare.
"We know how difficult this qualifier will be with eight high-quality sides all battling to get on the plane to Australia, but we are hopeful of playing to the best of our abilities as a team."
USA T20 World Cup Qualifier squad
Monank Patel (Captain), Aaron Jones, Ali Khan, Cameron Stevenson, Gajanand Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Rusty Theron, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Yasir Mohammed, Vatsal Vaghela
Schedule (all T20s)
USA in Namibia (practice matches)
USA vs Namibia, Windhoek June 30th.
USA vs Namibia, Windhoek July 1st.
USA vs Jersey, Windhoek July 2nd.
USA vs Jersey, Windhoek July 3rd.
USA in Zimbabwe
USA vs Netherlands, Harare, July 6th – Warm-up match.
USA vs Netherlands, Harare, July 7th – Warm-up match.
T20 World Cup Qualifier B (Group A)
USA vs Jersey, Bulawayo, July 11th.
USA vs Singapore, Bulawayo, July 12th.
USA vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, July 14th.
Semi-Finals/5-8th Place Play-off, Bulawayo, July 15th.
Final Classification Match, Bulawayo, July 17th.
