Why Electing An Established Slate Is Important
In any general election where a group of individuals are expected to lead from the front, the chemistry of the group pre-election is an indication of the energy that will be used to drive the process post-election. Therefore, it is important to judge the content of the characters and the chemistry within the group of individuals, to determine some measure of the anticipated success.
The chemistry exhibited by the group of individuals led by Ram Varadarajan is indicative of the effort already put out in creating such a dynamic lead administrative team, that is expected to serve USACA and the cricketing community in the USA.
The Varadarajan group consisting of Shadid Tahir, Manaf Mohamed, John Aaron and John Thickett, along with presidential candidate Ram Varadarajan, has obviously done their homework, as is evident from their web site and the expectations for success outlined therein. Clearly, the group has looked carefully at the mistakes made by the current administration of USACA and determined that they would not be caught making the same errors - namely a lack of vision, accountability, transparency and the need to communicate with the membership of USACA.
Ironically, since the group launched its web site www.newinning.com, signalling a new era for cricket and cricketers in the USA, the incumbent administration has raced to post stories to the normally dormant national organization’s web site, beyond the much-needed election information driven by the Independent Third Party Chris Dehring. It is amazing what electorial competition can create. Now, if only the site’s manager can update the 2005 Picture of the Week to something more relevant.
Electing a group of individuals to be the principal administrators needed to drive USACA is very important, more so when that group has already begun the groundwork necessary to lift the organization and the spirit of the players, clubs, leagues and regions, and regain the respect of the international cricketing community.
The selection of the five individuals was obviously done with some very careful consideration, as the strengths of each of the five men appear to complement each other, without the usual ego-tripping and agenda-pushing, that has become the hallmark of the incumbent USACA. Those exercising their right to represent their member clubs through their votes, would be well-advised to seek the installation of the leading team of candidates who have already set the bar for excellence at such a high level; enough to motivate the incumbents to strive to showcase some minimal effort via the organization’s web site, albeit too little too late.
Electing the Ram Varadarajan slate in its entirety will do cricket and the development of the sport in the US a tremendous amount of good, as the five individuals seek to bring about a new inning of dynamic leadership, transparency, accountability, and are fully cognizant that they are merely administrators of the sport and not rulers. The group has already indicated their willingness to build a cadre of responsible individuals capable of bringing to USACA, the kind of performance levels needed to be competitive in the international cricket arena. That extended administrative group of seasoned veterans qualified in their own right, will serve as the support mechanism for the development of the sport in conjunction with the regional administrations, already in place. It’s clearly an opportunity for increased chemistry among all cricket stakeholders in the USA.
I sincerely urge those with the right to vote, to vote for the Varadarajan team, for a better USACA, determined to lift the national organization from the doldrums of ridicule and despair.
Tags: administrative, slate, team, Varadarajan


March 6th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I could not agree with the writer more. USACA has been kicked back by several years through the ICC’s suspension. In order for the organization to jump start itself back into contention, a qualified team of administrators is needed to hit the ground running from day one, after the suspension is hopefully lifted.
The team on your web site appear to have all the necessary ingredients to pilot USACA back into calm and more friendly waters. It will bring about a greater response from players, clubs, leagues and regions, that I believe is unprecedented in the history of USACA.
Good luck and you have my 150% support in your efforts.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
USACA clearly is dysfunctional. That its website is dated, is in my opinion, a reflection of the people leading it. If the voters truly want cricket to flourish in America, they would vote out the current administration and select people who have the vision and competence to make USACA relevant once again. And if the current team is voted back to office, it is only a reflection of the people who voted. As they say, you get the leader you deserve.
If you folks do half as much good as you committed to do, US cricket will be well served. So good luck to Ram and his team.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Gentlemen,
My name is Lesly Lowe and I am the President of the Commonwealth Cricket League (CCL) in the New York Region. In 2007 the CCL had 65 registered clubs making us the largest cricketing organization in the entire North America.
Our clubs are not registered members of the present USACA, because when Mr. Gladstone Dainty took over we deliberately stayed away. We felt that by enrolling our teams with “his” USACA we would appear to be throwing our support behind him. We had no intentions of doing that!
I will not get into the reasons behind our actions, but I have been around cricket since 1972 in this country, and I have watched the game grow from strength to strength, only for it all to be squandered away by the present regime. All of our cricketers are suffering, but the worst casualties are our youths who have missed many good opportunities that will not come their way again.
You have our full support and hopefully soon the CCL can once again be reunited with a proper, legitimate group to lead us forward for many years to come.
Regards,
Lesly Lowe
President
Commonwealth Cricket League
5736 Mosholu Avenue
Riverdale, NY 10471
(718) 942-5356
LesCricket@aol.com