Another sad and rainy day in Buenos Aires

Torrential rain wreaked havoc with the 2nd Americas Cricket Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the second consecutive day.

It all added up to another sad and rainy day, as in two days, five out of six games have been abandoned without a ball being bowled, while the Argentina v USA clash at Hurlingham somehow managed to find enough respite between the storms to fit in some 35 overs of play, but not enough to somehow manafacture a result one way or another.

On top of all the disappointment, a further setback for local organisers is the temporary loss of San Albano as a venue when the area was hit by a freak storm, uprooting trees and unleashing savage winds and heavy rain on the ground and the immediate vicinity.

This after the Argentine Cricket Association and dedicated members of the local St.Albans club had succeeded against all odds in a race against time in order to complete the construction of a brand new turf wicket facility, so that this important event could be played only on turf wickets.

For the next few days at least, some fixtures will have to be completed on artificial wickets at reserve venues.

The unseasonal and severe weather has forced organisers to restructure the entire tournament, which will now consist only of a round-robin group without a final between the top two teams to establish the champion. Instead, the winner of the mini-league, after five consecutive days of matches from Tuesday 12th to Saturday 16th, will be declared Americas Champion.

No games will be played on Monday 11th, allowing locals to put various logistical changes into place, as well as to allow the grounds some recovery time from the violent climatic onslaught over the weekend.

The fixture schedule sees some changes - matches previously scheduled for Saturday 9th will now be contested on the final day, Saturday 16th, while matches that we due to be completed today, Sunday 10th, will be completed on Thursday 14th. The original fixture schedule for Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th and Friday 15th, will remain as previously scheduled, apart from the venues to be confirmed for matches previously scheduled for San Albano.

In the only cricket action witnessed thus far, hosts Argentina may take a great deal of confidence into their next game, after reducing the United States to 97 for 5 after 28,2 overs before the first storm intervened. Hero for the home side was medium-pacer Christian Tuon, who completed his 10 overs, taking a fine 4 for 43. Still, even though the Argentines will feel satisfied with that solid effort, of that 97 total, 33 of those runs were gifted by wides and no balls.

After heroic efforts by local officials and assistants, the game eventually got underway again at 4.40 pm, with Argentina needing 117 to win in 25 overs after the Duckworth-Lewis adjustment. They looked to be heading towards an historic victory, when (no prizes for guessing) another storm promptly ended the days play with their score poised at 33 for 1 after 7 overs, and a no result conclusion.

Summarised scores:
UNITED STATES 97 for 5 (28,2 overs) A.Afzaluddin 23, S.Pathak 16 not out, C.Tuon 4 - 43, L.Paterlini 1 - 17
ARGENTINA 33 for 1 (7 overs) M.Paterlini 16 not out, L.Paterlini 14, D.Blake 1 - 20 ; No Result.