USA Senior and Under-19 Nationals in Los Angeles in October 2004

After several delays and uncertainties, the arrangements for possibly the biggest weekend of the US cricket season are now set for Los Angeles in early October.

Both the finals of the third annual USA Cricket Association's national championships and the first annual USACA Under-19 tournament will be held at the Woodley Cricket Fields (Leo Magnus Cricket Complex) in Los Angeles over the Columbus Day weekend - October 8, 9 and 10.

For the National Championship Finals, the four contending teams are: the New York Region, the Atlantic Region (DC, Maryland and North Carolina), the Central West Region (Texas and Colorado), and the North-west Region (Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State). The New York and Atlantic Regions were the winners and runners-up, respectively, in the US Eastern Conference, while Central West and Northwest are the finalists from the Western Conference. New York are favoured to retain their national title, but both Western teams impressed with their excellent play and are capable of springing a few surprises on their Eastern rivals.

The National Under-19 tournament is being held for the first time in the United States, and is intended to showcase the youthful talent that exists around the country. It will feature players born after September 1, 1985, divided into four zones: New York/North East, Atlantic/South East, Central East/ Central West, and South West/North West. Selections for these zonal teams are already under way, and will be finalised after zonal trials are completed during September.

With an eye to ICC's rules for determining player-eligibility for ICC-sponsored international tournaments, the USACA has set up the following rules for the Under-19 tournament: five players in each team must be citizens, four can be residents who have stayed in the USA for more than four years, and two can be residents who have been in the USA for more than two years. How this will affect participation in the tournament remains an open question. There are some who argue that most youth cricketers from immigrant communities along the eastern seaboard are likely to be non-citizens who do not meet the residency criteria. On the other hand, the US rule, which confers citizenship to anyone born in the USA, might qualify many youngsters whose parents are non-citizens. Only time will show how this plays out in US junior cricket, and who gets included or excluded under these regulations.

Meanwhile, many US cricketers are looking forward to the Columbus Day weekend as a grand finale to their season, where both the present and the future of American cricket will be showcased in one of the best-maintained cricket-ground complexes in North America.