The 3rd Central American Cricket Championships got underway in San Jose, Costa Rica, today with Panama making the best start by recording two wins in this T20 format event. Although making only their first appearance in this event, Panama justified their pre-tournament tag of favorites to easily trounce Mexico, then get the better of rivals Belize in a last over thriller. After being handily placed at 78 for 5 chasing 94 for victory, Belize slumped to 87 for 9 in 19 overs, and could only muster one run off the last over.
The hosts Costa Rica featured in the other two games on day one, all matches played at the Las Reyes Polo Club. They had mixed fortunes, slumping to defeat against Belize in the morning but bouncing back after lunch with a ten wicket demolition of El Salvador in the afternoon. Perhaps here was the highlight of the day, a stunning innings of 74 not out by Shane Catford, which included nine huge sixes and three fours, as Costa Rica raced to victory in only 8,1 overs.
This event marks an historic occasion for cricket in Costa Rica, being the first international event of its kind played in the country. The tournament is also the designated ICC Centenary event for Costa Rica. The previous two Central American tournaments were played in Belize and Mexico respectively, and were won both times by the hosts. Although recognised as an international event, this is an unofficial tournament in the sense that ICC player eligibility criteria is not enforced, although ICC Americas do supply regional panel umpires.
Summarised scores (all matches T20, played at Las Reyes Polo Club, San Jose, Costa Rica):
- Belize beat Costa Rica by 83 runs.
Las Reyes Polo Club, 4 April.
Belize 175-5 (20 overs, K Roca 60*, W Anthony 40, P Flowers 31, B Smith 2-18
Costa Rica 92-7 (20 overs, S Catford 41, W Anthony 2-21) - Panama beat Mexico by 113 runs.
Las Reyes Polo Club, 4 April.
Panama 173-5 (20 overs, Irfan Tarajia 77*, A Jatin 22, N Bhakta 20)
Mexico 60 (12 overs, T Gupta 20, Irfan Tarajia 3-9, B Patel 2-1) - Costa Rica beat El Salvador by 10 wickets.
Las Reyes Polo Club, 4 April.
El Salvador 97 (19.5 overs, S Cullen 29, P Mostyn 26, S Catford 2-7, S Arthur 2-15, Y Bhatnagar 2-11)
Costa Rica 101-0 (8.1 overs, S Catford 74*, Ben Smith 22*) - Panama beat Belize by 5 runs.
Las Reyes Polo Club, 4 April.
Panama 93-9 (20 overs, S Bhakta 20, A Banner 2-14, K Roca 2-24, D Sutherland 2-17)
Belize 88-9 (20 overs, P Flowers 22, D MacFadzean 24, N Bhakta 3-9, S Ahir 2-15, S Chohan 2-16)
P W L T Pts
Panama 2 2 0 0 8
Belize 2 1 1 0 4
Costa Rica 2 1 1 0 4
Mexico 1 0 1 0 0
El Salvador 1 0 1 0 0
Fixtures
- Sunday 5 April: Mexico v El Salvado; Costa Rica v Panama; Costa Rica v Mexico; Belize v El Salvador
- Monday 6 April: Panama v El Salvado; Belize v Mexico
