Powered by the hot bats of Rashard Marshall (47 runs) and Captain Dawood Ahmad (30 runs), the Washington Tigers engraved their way into the sports history books as the Champions of the First U.S. Cricket Open. Both the Tigers and the runner-up New York Bedessee Destroyers stormed their way through the highly competitive field of ten finalists this past weekend. The Washington Tigers won the coin toss for the final match, elected to bat first and never looked back on their way to hoisting their U.S. Open Championship Crystal Trophy and their First Prize Check of $10,000, presented to them by MAQ Qureshi, CEO of Cricket Council USA.
Each team was bolstered by members of the USA National Team. The Washington Tigers and USA member, Rashard Marshall, earned Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Cricket Open Tournament by scoring the most runs (162 ) over the three days of competition and muscling 5 Sixers in the final match. Marshall’s teammate on both the Tigers and Team USA, Tim Allen was honored as Finals Most Valuable Player for his all-around performance, including his excellent bowling (5 wickets/4 overs). Steve Massiah, Captain of Team USA and playing for the Champion Tigers, acknowledged the celebrating fans during the awards presentation and thanked Cricket Council USA for establishing “this well-organized, historic and competitive U.S. Cricket Open.” Steve’s USA teammates, Imran Awan, Carl Wright, Gowkaran Roopnraine and Usman Shuja, were all vital to the success of the Champion Washington Tigers.
New York’s Bedessee Destroyers rallied midway through their inning behind Zaheer Saffie (30 runs) and Dennis Evans (20 runs). Three batsman later, George Adams (22 runs) made a remarkable run before the Destroyers fell short. Managers Chubb Bedessee and Lester Hooper relied on the skills of a speedy and aggressive team, which included USA Team members Captain Barrington Bartley, Akeen Dobson, Kevin Darligton and Orlando Baker. Hooper was proud of staking his team’s place in American sports history: “On behalf of Mr.Bedessee and The Bedessee Destroyers, I would like to thank Cricket Council USA for providing the opportunity to be part of a wonderful tournament . Although we came up short, the experience gained from such a tournament provides our players the opportunity to grow and contribute to the growth of cricket in the United States. “
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