Argentina: Countdown to Copa America

As Argentine recovers from the traditional Christmas and New Year break in the domestic programme, excitement continúes to mount for the Americas Cricket Championship, to be played in Buenos Aires in March 2002.

Now virtually only two months away, this showpiece Americas cricket event promises to be a wonderful experience for local players and supporters, and visiting teams and officials alike.

Canada, Bermuda and the United States will be favourites to fight it out for the two finalist berths, but Argentina, after their fine showing at the ICC Trophy, and the Cayman Islands, having showed much promise at the first Americas Cup in Canada in 2000, will be looking to test the three bigger guns to the full.

Newcomers, and relative minnows at this level, the Bahamas, should not be taken lightly, and I am sure they will relish the opportunity and experience.

The fixture schedule has thrown up a number of interesting match-ups, not least of which will be the opening game on Saturday March 9th, between hosts Argentina and defending champions and World Cup qualifiers Canada. This will be followed on Sunday 10th by a repeat of the last tournaments crucial final game between Bermuda and Canada.

Interesting and decisive matches throughout, but the game between Bermuda and the United States on Friday 15th may well be a crucial one for both teams.

The final will be played on Saturday 16th March, between the top two teams on the round-robin table after all the teams have played each other.

The 103rd three day contest between North and South will take place from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th February, at Belgrano. Last years encounter was drawn, largely due to the second day being completely washed out, so both teams will be looking for a win this year.

The North will be captained by Martin Cortabarria of Belgrano, while the South will be led by Christian Tuñon of St.Albans. Guillermo Kirschbaum of Belgrano and Hernan Pererya of St.Albans have been appointed captain and vice-captain respectively of the Argentine national team for the Americas Cup in March, the same duo that led Argentina in the ICC Trophy. Dutchman Marc Nota will coach the squad, while Mike Ryan of Lomas will be the manager.

Domestic cricket has reached the halfway mark, with perennial heavyweights Belgrano again the team to beat, but this season being matched blow for blow by St.Albans.

Their two encounters thus far have delivered scintillating matches. In the first game, St.Albans racked up an impressive 310 in their 50 overs, only for Belgrano to overcome that target with 8 balls to spare and 4 wickets in hand.

The second game proved even more exciting, with Belgrano this time setting a daunting target, scoring 305 for 4 in their 50 overs, only for St.Albans to pull off an astounding win in the last over with 3 balls remaining, to win by 3 wickets.

Shades of the ICC Trophy with these breathtaking finishes.

Belgrano take a 12 point advantage over St.Albans into the second half of the First Division Championship, while St.Albans lead by 27 points in the Robin Stuart Shield, although Belgrano have a game in hand there. The Shield is decided by an end of season final, so the two games between these two sides next year may well produce champions in the respective premier competitions.

St.Albans clinched the Third Division title with an unbeaten run of games, while in the Second Division, Lomas A sit top of the table, having completed their fixtures. In a key outstanding game, Old Georgians need to beat Belgrano A to finish on equal points along with Lomas A and force a run-rate decider for the title.

The Natal Midlands U15 boys from South Africa completed a successful unbeaten 9 match tour, with their closest encounter coming with a 2 wicket win over an Argentine U17 selection.

The Wellinton/Hutt Valley U15 girls from New Zealand were also unbeaten on their 4 match tour, although the local Argentina U17 girls were not disgraced in their two representative level games that were played.

Junior cricket continues to thrive on all fronts, with three age-groups preparing for tours next year. In late March an U17 team travels to Trinidad, while the U13's take part in an international tournament in Orlando in July, and the U15's have the Americas Championship in August, also in the USA.

St.George's College meanwhile are undertaking a three week tour of South Africa in January with their U15 squad.

The performances of the boys and girls respectively against touring opposition has been encouraging, and several younger players are beginning to shine in First Division club action.

The club summer holiday programmes have been attracting better numbers than usual, and cricket is also attracting more attention in local media.

Lucas Paterlini, 19 year old national team all-rounder, will have the experience and opportunity of a lifetime when he attends the Eastern Province Academy in Port Elizabeth, South Africa from early January to early March, thanks to the efforts and development initiatives of the ICC Americas Development Program.

Cricket at senior level has still been dogged by a lack of depth and numbers, and the eternal development dilemma of quantity and/or quality continues to raise its head.

Hopefully the Argentina "A" program, with a prospective tour later next year, and the South American Championship next season, will go some way towards alleviating this.

Thats the current state of Argentine cricket, in a nutshell, and all that remains is to wish you all a peaceful and prosperous Festive Season and New Year.