USA part ways with head coach Stuart Law
USA Cricket has parted ways with head coach Stuart Law. The announcement was made during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 campaign, in which the USA will be hosting Nepal on October 27.
Johnathan Atkeison, the CEO of USA Cricket has not revealed the reason behind the sudden departure of Law but a Cricbuzz report claims “allegations of discrimination, mistrust and favoritism laid by captain Monank Pateland 7-8 senior players in the squad.”
Law had joined USA Cricket in April, just before the T20 World Cup. Under his guidance, the team pulled off a T20I series win over Bangladesh at home and also qualified for the Super Eights of the mega tournament, beating a heavy-weight team like Pakistan in the group stage. Things changed drastically after the completion of the tournament as several players raised issues against Law.
The players were unhappy with Law during the series against the Netherlands. Several players took the matter to the management complaining about discrimination, particularly regarding players of South Asian origin. Soon afterward, the officials had a meeting with Law before deciding to relieve him.
Also Read: Reports: USA Cricket sacks head coach Stuart Law following discrimination, favouritism allegations
Atkeison mentioned that it wasn’t an easy decision for them but believes that it is right for the team to start afresh for the next phase of the ongoing competition. “Given Stuart’s contribution to the program, this was not an easy decision to make. Unfortunately, we felt that a change was necessary for the next phase of competitive preparation,” Atkeison said in a release.
Venu Pisike, Chair of USA Cricket added: “We thank Stuart for his contributions to USA Cricket during his tenure. We wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.”
USA is currently placed second Cricket World Cup League 2 points table. They are four points behind Canada, having played three games less. The team has managed to pick up four wins in their last five games and is in good form and will be hopeful to get the job done against Nepal.
Meanwhile, assistant coach Vincent Vinay Kumar will take charge in the interim while former USA spinner Usman Rafiq has been named as the assistant coach for the remaining ODIs against Nepal and Scotland.