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Argentina Make It Two Out Of Two

• Panama 105 lost to Argentina 106-3 by 7 wickets.
  Corimayo, Buenos Aires, 4 April

Host nation Argentina cruised to a second successive victory at Corimayo with a convincing 7 wicket win over Panama. With Panama only mustering 105 runs after being put in to bat, the Argentines, although losing an early wicket, picked off the runs required in just over 25 overs, and thus place themselves firmly at the top of the Division 2 table.

Panama made a bright start, and moved smartly to 41 before the first wicket fell in the 14th over. However, this wicket proved to be start of a slide with the Panamanians losing all 10 wickets for merely 64 runs to be all out for 105 in 38,2 overs.

The bulk of the damage was inflicted by young Argentina captain Esteban MacDermott, with the off-spinner finishing with an impressive 5 for 18 off 6,2 overs. Credit must also go to experienced left-arm spinner Hernan Pereyra, who started the collapse, and claimed 2 for 27, while Diego Lord continued his fine bowling form from the first day with 2 for 8 in 7 impeccable overs.

Panama captain and opener Soyeb Chohan top-scored with a classy 25, but apart from that cameo, the Panamanian batting made for some dismal reading. When paceman Irfan Tarajiya claimed the wicket of Carlos Gibson in the third over, there may have been an inkling of a contest, but Gaston Arizaga (28), Gary Savage (28no) and Donny Forrester (22) steered Argentina to a relatively comfortable victory with a few balls less than half their overs to spare.

Bahamas Start With Impressive Win

• Belize 112 lost to Bahamas 113-4 by 4 wickets.
  Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, 4 April

At Hurlingham, the Bahamas opened their ICC Americas WCL Division 2 campaign with a comfortable 6 wicket win over Belize. In a match reduced to 42 overs per innings due to a rain-delayed start, the Bahamians performed solidly in the field to dismiss Belize for only 112, and then knocked off the required runs in merely 20 overs for the loss of only 4 wickets.

Belize opted to bat first after winning the toss, but were soon in trouble at 9 for 2 against the left-arm pace of Garcha Blair (2-30) and nagging consistency of Andrew Ford (2-28). Wicket-keeping opening bat Winston Flowers top-scored with a dogged 20, but wickets fell regularly throughout the innings, and it was only thanks to a defiant last wicket stand of 22, joint highest partnership of the innings, that saw Belize reach their final total of 112 all out in 39 overs.

The continous flow of wickets was due to the combined efforts of Gary Armstrong (3-29) Narendra Ekanayake (3-14), although mention must be made of left-arm spinner Dwight Weakley, who although wicketless, conceded only 8 runs off his 9 overs.

Although the Bahamas lost 2 quick wickets at one point to be 49 for 3, in reality they never looked like losing the contest, and man of the match Gary Armstrong (right) made sure of the points with an enterprising 46 off 54 balls, including 8 fours.

Pick of the Belizean bowlers was seamer Lawrence Banner with 2 for 29 in 7 overs, but now Belize will be looking to bounce back against Panama and Suriname in their final two games. The strong Bahamas performance pegs them as genuine contenders for the Division 2 title.

Argentina Make Strong Start

• Belize 136 lost to Argentina 137-0 by 10 wickets.
  Corimayo, Buenos Aires, 3 April

At Corimayo host nation Argentina showed their potencial strength in the Americas Division 2 Championship opening match by recording a resounding 10 wicket win over Belize. After a good showing in the recent Central American Championships, Belize had high hopes for a competitive performance against Argentina in their first ever match against an Associate nation, but the hosts simply proved too strong in all departments on the day.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Belize made a disastrous start, slumping to 17 for 4 against some fine seam bowling from Diego Lord (4 for 18) and Gary Savage (2 for 29). There was brief resistance from the middle order, and Belize looked like clawing their way towards a reasonable total at 104 for 6, with still 23 overs to go. The fightback was due to determined knocks from Dorian Gabb (36 in 44b) and Clarence Anthony (30 in 38 balls). In the end however, there was no bright wag of the tail, and the Belize innings ended in the 33rd over with their total on 136.

With no real pressure in terms of run-rate, Argentina confidently moved towards their target, and with the aid of some dropped catches, opening pair Gaston Arizaga (77no in 107 balls – 11 fours / 2 sixes) and Charles Gibson (right, 40no in 105 balls – 2 fours) took the hosts home with an unbeaten first wicket partnership of 137 in 33 overs to register a 10 wicket win.

Thus the race is on to gain promotion to Division 1, and Argentina could not have hoped for a better start. For Belize, they will certainly look for improvement in all areas when they face the powerful Bahamas outfit at Hurlingham tomorrow. Also tomorrow, Panama will be making their debut in the competition, and will perhaps not be relishing an opening encounter against Argentina at Corimayo after the hosts clinical performace on day one.