Venkatapathy Raju, Courtney Walsh pleased with players as ICC Americas Combine Phase 1 concludes

ICC Americas Cricket Combine Phase One concluded on Tuesday evening in Indianapolis.

Courtney Walsh and Venkatapathy Raju were pleased with the players after the phase one of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Americas Cricket Combine concluded on Tuesday evening in Indianapolis. Amateur cricketers from Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, and United States of America participated in the two and half days tournament, which was held at Indianapolis World Sports Park, which saw regional and international coaches train the players.  About 70 players played under the watch of coaches and eight players were selected for the phase two, which will take place from September 25 till 27. Another four players will be selected provisionally.

Courtney Walsh said, “It has been very competitive,” said Walsh. “The way they are playing over the past three days, you’d think they had played together before…the intensity they have shown has been tremendous.”

“This is a great opportunity. There’s a lot of talent here,” said Timroy Allen, who was selected for phase two.

Venkatapathy Raju said, “These men, they’ve got the skills and the ability to play cricket at a high level. They just need the fine tuning. This Combine is the right direction to go, for the players and for cricket in the Americas. Over the last couple of days, with all the coach’s involvement and the involvement of the ICC and WICB, the Combine effort is going to be a huge success. I think it’s a step in the right direction. Everyone involved has gone above and beyond the call of duty.”

“I was overwhelmed when I saw the facilities. I’ve never seen anything like this in the U.S. before. I’ve been blown away by what I’ve seen. Obviously the people of Indianapolis are very sports oriented and very sports crazy,” added Walsh.