8 QUCA players were part of the 14 man East Zone squad that played in the recently held USA Cricket U-19 championships in Houston, Texas. About 50 players were part of the East Zone trials held in New York and Albany from which the squad was selected.

This was a momentous occasion for QUCA, currently in its sixth year, to have such a high representation at the national level. This is a great testament to the hard work and dedication of academy director and head coach, George Smauel, and all the coaches at the academy for creating and growing QUCA into one of the finest youth academies on the east coast.

QUCA Players who represented East Zone Top from left: Mohamed Shaw, James Samuel, Abdur Rehman, Rahi Bhatia Bottom from left: Safwan Ahmed, Ansaar Yasim, Taahaa Warraich, Vishal Idapalapati

The East Zone team, despite going in as underdogs, and coming in cold from a winter with no outdoor practice still managed to win one out the four games. All the QUCA players performed creditably against some of the best youth players in the country. Of particular note were 2 half centuries by the captain Mohamed Shaw, a half century each by Safwan Ahmed and Taahaa Warraich and tight bowling by Rahi Bhatia.

Overall it was a great learning experience for the QUCA players and the exposure will stand them in good stead for the future.

To facilitate all the East Zone players after the tournament, QUCA organized a fantastic event in the long island, where not just the U-19 players but a large number of younger QUCA players attended. We had several special guests like Ajith Bhaskhar, coach Huburn Evans and team manager Dervon Wallace. In addition, several congratulatory messages came in from Gary Kirsten (former SA opener), Shaun Seigert (head of Root Avademy) and Jamie Lloyd (USA Cricket Youth Coordinator).

All players were presented with a plaque and few of them special trophies for their performances.