Bio

A couple of high-profile success stories have punctuated his career in the Stars and Stripes. A naturally aggressive batsman and wicket-keeper, Dodson played for the U.S. U19 team in 2005/06 and has been in and out of the senior men's team since 2008.

Firstly, during the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Ireland he set a world record behind the stumps for most dismissals in a T20 match, and was also the leading run-scorer for the U.S. at the tournament.

Then, at World Cricket League Division 4 in Los Angeles in 2016, a video of his catch and subsequent celebrations off the bowling of Jessy Singh during their first up win against Bermuda was splashed all over sports media in the U.S. and abroad, catapulting him and the team into the national spotlight for a short time.

14

Playing Number

Team Role

Top Order Batsman, Wicketkeeper

Hometown

Brooklyn, New York

Nickname

Spoogy

Country of Birth

USA

Career Highlights

Current world record holder for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a T20 International match. Catch against Bermuda at ICC WCL Division 4 featured on SportsCenter.

Favorite Cricketer

Jack Russell

"That particular instance was just raw emotion. I was caught up in the moment"

Bio Continued...

Last ball of the 26th over. Jessy Singh bowling to Tre Manders. It's outside the off stump and Manders has a wild swing at the ball, looking to flay it over the infield and away to the boundary.

But he has only managed to connect with the outside edge of his blade. The ball flies high and wide to the right of wicket keeper Dodson, surely on its way to the boundary. But wait…Dodson has leapt to his right at full stretch, his right hand shooting out like a viper toward unsuspecting prey and has plucked the ball out of the air as clean as you’d like. What a grab!

This was the moment that launched United States cricket, and Akeem Dodson, into the national spotlight for an all too brief moment in 2016. The catch, and Dodson’s enthusiastic celebrations afterward, made the SportsCenter Plays of the Week. It was an uncharacteristic display of raw emotion for a U.S. cricketer, if not for Dodson, who is certainly the most expressive player in the current squad.

Asked if this on field flamboyance was a deliberate ploy of his, or simply a natural aspect of his personality, he at first laughs.

He considers himself a pretty ‘chill’ easy-going character away from cricket, but the field is his comfort zone. It’s where he is willing to express himself. Looking to impose himself on the opposition by letting them know that he is there and keeping the spirits of his own players up are the two obvious benefits of his on-field exuberance, whether it’s chatter from behind the stumps, continual encouragement of his bowlers, or dramatic displays of athleticism. Dodson sees this role of his as especially important in 50 over cricket, which he admits his team mates don’t get to play enough of, and where the focus of the players can easily flag.

When pressed on the issue he suggested that the only other area where he perhaps displayed some flamboyance in life was in the way he dressed. He certainly has a style of his own, but in a team that combines people from so many different ethnicities and religions this is not entirely unexpected. Dodson referred to the mutual respect that existed amongst the squad, despite their disparate cultures, as a big positive for the team. Dodson himself, as a devout Muslim, has earned the title of ‘Hafiz’ by memorizing the entirety of the Koran. Something that he is immensely proud of – and should be.

He finished our chat by suggesting that the biggest uniting factor in the current U.S. squad was their desire to succeed at World Cricket League Division 3 and their passion for their other religion – cricket.