Historic win for Chile

Finally an Argentine selection was defeated at the South American cricket championships. Chile pulled off a resounding 96 run victory over Argentina A at Longchamps, and thus break a winning streak maintained by the full Argentine side at the first three tournaments and by the A side at the last championship.

And it was a fully deserved and comprehensive victory. Chile batted first and compiled a daunting 249 for 3 in their allotted 40 overs. Opener Paul Hollis continued his blazing form with an undefeated 114 to follow his unbeaten double century of the previous day, with solid support from Simon Shalders (58).

In reply, Argentina A were bundled out for 153 in only 26,3 overs. Player-coach Grant Dugmore top-scored with 50, with other contributions coming from Sunyog Chauhan (31) and Alejandro Ferguson (28). Overall a sustained Chilean seam attack proved too accurate and consistent for the Argentine batsmen, with Jason Anglin providing the bulk of the damage with 7 for 32 off 7 overs.

In the other match of the day played at Pinazo, Brazil were too strong for a valiant Andean Masters combination. Brazil made 250 for 5 in their 40 overs, and then restricted the Masters to 206 for 8 to win by 44 runs.

The final day of the round-robin league sees Chile take on Brazil at Belgrano, while Argentina A host the Andean Masters at Pinazo. Wins for Chile and Argentina A will see them through to the final on Sunday, but if Brazil should beat Chile, the three teams will have equal points, and the finalists will be decided by nett run-rate.