by Israel cricket to create youth teams
By Joel Gordin
The Israel Cricket Association is embarking on a scheme toexpand
its membership in preparation for the world Mini-Cup in 1997.
The same team will also contest the 15th Maccabiah, to be staged
in the same year.
The plan, outlined by veteran ICA secretary Noah Davidson, is to
create four youth teams this year. Two will be at the stronghold
of Israeli cricket at Ashdod, one in the south (in the
Beersheba-Yeroham-Dimona area) and another in the country's
center.
These teams will supplement the 14 which make up the league: Four
at Ashdod, four in the south, two at Lod, and at Ramla, Tel
Aviv/Jerusalem, Netanya and Petah Tikva. The plan received a
boost by the performance of the national team at the Internation-
al Cricket Council Trophy competition for developing countries
held last month in Kenya.
Israel was without its two star fast bowlers, Alan Moss and Louis
Hall, yet finished 14th out of 20, ahead of Gibralter, East-
Central Africa, West Africa, Singapore, Argentina and Fiji. Is-
rael has only about 150 players who play about 10 matches a year
on pitches which have only a passing resemblance to a proper
cricket field. This is in comparison to countries like Canada
(20,000 players), US (10,000), Holland (5,000) and Kenya (5,000)
where there are proper facilities.
The Trophy was won by the United Arab Emirates, whose team is
made up mainly of former professionals from India and Pakistan.
The UAE beat Kenya in the finals. In the game for 3rd place,
Holland defeated Bermuda. The UAE, Holland and Bermuda will now
play in the next major World Cup in India in 1996, together with
the heavy artillery of world cricket: India, Pakistan, Sri Lan-
ka, West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England
and Zimbabwe.
Israel won one of its seven games, defeating Singapore by eight
wickets. Among the outsanding individual performances was the 92
scored by Neve Yonatan's Neil Ward against Namibia. However,
Ward fell off form in later games and the team's batting had to
rely heavily on veteran captain and all-rounder Stanley Pearlman.
He was awarded the coveted Man of the Match trophy for his per-
formance against Singapore - only the third time an Israeli has
won the award. Recipients in previous years were Pearlman in 1982,
and, Alan Moss in 1986.
Among the bowlers, 17-year-old Raymond Ashton from Young Ashdod
showed great promise and will form the nucleus for the 1997 na-
tional squad. However, the team's "secret weapon," according to
both Pearlman and Davidson was the fighting spirit which came to
the fore during the tournament. Pearlman singled out players
like Ward, Avi Talkar, Shimshon Raj, Hillel Awaskar and Mark Ham-
burger for "pulling off brilliant catches at vital stages."
Thanks :: Jerusalem Post
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Vicky:
UMass, Mar 14, 1994