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Six teams have come to Los Angeles pursuing a spot in the the 2019 World Cup and hoping the City of Angels can spare a few to be on their side.The next step on the road to England, the World Cricket League Division Four begins on Saturday at Woodley Park in the northwest suburb of Van Nuys. The two teams to finish on top get move on to Division Three. Then there is Division Two, which in turn leads to a qualifying tournament in 2018 in Bangladesh.USA would be pleased to have the home advantage in a WCL tournament, and that is not just because they had missed out on it, twice, due to administrative issues. Since the start of the 2009 cycle, in WCL events at which promotion and relegation are at stake 14 out of 19 hosting teams have finished in the top two slots and moved on to the next level.The other five teams - Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey and Oman - will provide strong competition over the course of the next week. Those who finish in the bottom two, however, will be relegated to Division Five.USA (fifth at 2014 WCL Division Three)The American squad is almost unrecognisable from the group that was relegated in Malaysia two years ago. Captain Steve Massiah, leading wicket-taker Usman Shuja and batsmen Aditya Thyagarajan and Sushil Nadkarni have departed the national scene and a wave of fresh faces has emerged.Allrounder Timroy Allen played for the 2016 CPL champions Jamaica Tallawahs. A destructive presence at the top of the order, Steven Taylor has also taken leadership of USA. His partner Fahad Babar forms the backbone of the batting line-up. Babar was USAs leading scorer at 2014 WCL Division Three, and has struck four fifties in nine one-day games, including two against Canada in Octobers Auty Cup. Akeem Dodson has been in solid form in the middle-order and Alex Amsterdam making a century in a warm-up match on Tuesday has bolstered the teams batting strength.USA may have the most potent pace attack in the tournament, but legspinning allrounder Timil Patel is their biggest threat. The Los Angeles-based player picked up 10 wickets at the World T20 Qualifier in Ireland last summer and should be a handful on his own turf.Bermuda (sixth at 2014 WCL Division Three)Since making their maiden World Cup appearance in 2007, Bermuda have fallen on hard times. They were beaten 3-0 by an under-strength Canada developmental squad in Hamilton last weekend. Among the defeats was a disappointing effort of 34 all out.Finding players has been an issue. Dean Minors, the 46-year old who hasnt played for Bermuda in five years, is their first-choice keeper. Their replacement for vice-captain Terryn Fray, who had broken his finger during that series loss to Canada, was 41-year old Janeiro Tucker.In his prime, Tucker was a match-winner and was Bermudas leading run-getter at the 2005 ICC Trophy. But a Bermuda Cricket press release said he has arrived in Los Angels after postponing surgery this week on his right shoulder. Their confidence heading into the tournament is low and the odds are heavily in favor of Bermuda being relegated come November 5.David Hemp, often Bermudas batting mainstay, has left to take up a coaching role in Australia. The 21-year old Tre Manders has picked up some of the slack, scoring 73 in the final game of the Canada series. Delray Rawlins is another player to watch out for. The left-arm spinner plays for Sussex in the English county circuit. Bermuda will also look to fast-bowling allrounder Kamau Leverock to lend them balance.Denmark (third at 2014 WCL Division Four)They have had a rocky start to their American tour, having lost a pair of warm-up games in Houston: one by 23 runs to Jersey and the other by three wickets to a Houston club side.Denmarks squad includes Amjad Khan, the former England fast bowler. He may not possess the searing pace he once did, but may still be a threat in early-morning conditions at Woodley Park. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Freddie Klokker and captain Michael Pedersen lend structure to their batting.Denmark are short of power-hitters which could become a disadvantage. They play only one of their games on a ground that has large boundaries - Wong Cricket Field - and might struggle to match the tempo of the other teams when playing at the smaller fields at Severn and Wright.Denmark may not look like a contender for promotion, but they have beaten USA in five straight one-day matches and should they extend the streak on day four of the round-robin stages it could help them snag a top-two finish.Italy (fourth in 2014 WCL Division Four)After playing in two straight World T20 Qualifiers, Italy were jumped by Jersey in 2015, a sign that their fortunes were changing. Peter Petricola, who has been a pillar with bat and ball since his debut in 2008, has not made himself available for this tournament. Neither have the equally dependable Andy Northcote and Vince Pennazza, putting a major dent into Italys hopes.The absence of the seniors was felt on Wednesday when Italy lost by 38 runs to a Southern California XI. Captain Damian Crowley made 77 out of a total of 173, having to compensate for six single-digit scores from his team-mates. He was the teams leading batsman at the last Division Four with 200 runs in six games.Carl Sandri, formerly of Sydney Thunder, could prove to be an impact player for Italy. Though he is primarily used as an offspinner, Sandri has a reputation as an explosive hitter in the middle order. The small boundaries at Wright and Severn in particular could help Sandri and Italy pose a greater challenge. After beating Oman in the final of Division Five in May, Jersey are one of the more confident sides heading into the tournament. They earned a spot in Division Four for the third time, though in each prior instance they have promptly been relegated. An up-an-coming squad is hoping to reverse that trend.Opener and captain Peter Gough provides stability to the batting, with a battery of allrounders, notably Nat Watkins and Anthony Hawkins-Kay, to follow him. They will miss Ben Stevens though, who had been their top-scorer in Division Five and in whose absence they were bowled out for 130 by Houston Club side. Harrison Carlyon, who is only 15 years old, has been chosen as his replacement and could become the youngest player to represent Jersey.Batsman Jonty Jenner failed to cross fifty despite getting plenty of starts in Division Five but he comes to Los Angeles on the back of a 116 for Sussex second XI in a three-day match in August.Jerseys bowling attack is spearheaded by seamer Ben Kynman, who took 15 wickets in Division Five and garnered interest from Kent last summer. Oman (2nd place at 2016 WCL Division Five) Though they stunned Ireland in the 2016 World T20, Oman have been woeful in 50-over cricket over the last three years.They took their first steps to turning their fortunes around in Jersey, finishing second in Division Five, but the batting remains an area of concern. Outside of allrounder Zeeshan Maqsood, who was the tournaments leading batsman with 350 runs, only one other player crossed 100 runs, a fact that had worried coach Duleep Mendis.The return of Amir Ali, their match-winner at the World T20, could help ease some of the concern. He had missed Division Five with a broken hand but has since recovered. Another key addition is Arun Poulose, a former Kerala opening batsman who recently qualified to play for Oman having spent four years in the country. He top-scored with 47 in Omans last match, beating UAE by 72 runs.On the bowling front, Munis Ansari will be key in the final overs while Rajeshkumar Ranpura should enjoy using the new ball in Woodleys swing-friendly conditions in the morning. Their left-arm spin arsenal is missing a key component though. Allrounder Aamir Kaleem was injured during a training camp ahead of the tournament, leaving captain Ajay Lalcheta to pick up the slack.Fake Blue Jays Jerseys . 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Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said.My father often referred to Gundappa Viswanath as a gentleman cricketer. He often spoke of the time when Viswanath recalled Bob Taylor after the umpire had wrongly given Taylor out. For him it mattered how a certain individual behaved and often his rating of a cricketer was linked to the personality and on-field behaviour of that player. While I appreciated his sentiment, I often wondered whether it is important for a cricketer to be a role model. Does it really matter how a cricketer behaves on the field as long as he is great player?When Rahul Dravid retired, a lot of focus and praise was on what a gentleman cricketer he was and for the way he conducted himself. There is no doubt that he conducted himself very well, but what if he hadnt conducted himself the way he had? Would that have taken anything away from his greatness? No, he would have still been the best No.3 batsman India ever had. Unintentionally, we attributed a lot of emphasis to his behaviour and undersold him on his pure cricketing skills. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Ricky Ponting. A fine batsman, probably the best player of fast bowling ever, but he wasnt the most gentlemanly cricketer around. However, Ponting remains one of Australian greats, second only to the peerless and unsurpassable Sir Don Bradman.People judge cricketers based on their off-field activities. I have often heard statements like X loves partying... he is not concentrating on his game from people who know nothing about the player or his lifestyle. We (media and the public at large) tend to keep an eye out for such cricketers and the moment they fail on the field we pounce and blame their errant lifestyle. They are soft targets. Judging cricketers on their off-field activities is like judging regular office-goers on what they do once they go home after work. No employer keeps a tab on what an employee is doing after office hours. Similarly, judging cricketers on what they do after stumps are called is not only intrusive but also unfair.When the law of averages, coupled with some fine swing bowling from Jimmy Anderson got the better of Virat Kohli in England this year, the problem was attributed to the latters love life. This was stupid, and insulting to both Kohli and Anderson.Another topic which gets lot of attention from the pundits is the on-field behavioour of certain players.dddddddddddd Sledging and abusing are always looked down upon by the commentators. These experts have had problems with the manner in which some players mouth expletives while celebrating their on-field success. While I do not condone foul-mouthed outbursts from players, I have always wondered if the commentators are there to report on the game, or to perform a behaviour analysis of players. Cricketers like David Warner and Anderson have played all their cricket in a certain manner and that has worked for them. If one asks them to change the way they play, I think that will restrict their style and that will ultimately affect their cricket. Yes, aggression does not mean abusing, but what if sledging or taking on an opposition works for them? Asking Warner to tone down will take away what works for him and that will only be detrimental to him and in turn, to cricket at large.An average cricketer makes his debut somewhere between the ages of 18 and 25. At that age, most of us are still figuring out what we want to do with our lives, but we expect the cricketer to not only take tremendous pressure of representing his country, play in front of large crowds but also put on a behaviour which is good for the kids watching them on telly. I feel it is all a little too much to ask. Yes, some of the behaviour is boorish and that is not acceptable but some leeway needs to be given to cricketers. If anything, proper training sessions should be organised at a young age to explain what is acceptable and what is not and also to channelize the aggression.Rahul Dravid was a legend and so was Ricky Ponting, both had different methods to achieve the kind of success they achieved. If walking away from sledging worked for Dravid, then giving it back to the bowler worked for Ponting. Theres no need to judge them for their methods. Judge them on their cricket, nothing less and nothing more. So while my father will continue to adore the Viswanaths and Dravids of the world, I, on the other hand will have no qualms in accepting Warne or Ponting as my heroes. Maybe it is just a generation thing.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with Inbox in the subject line ' ' '