Rain threatens final day of Americas Championships

It may well be that rain, which devastated the opening weekend of fixtures of the 2nd Americas Cricket Championship being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, will have the last laugh on the final day of scheduled fixtures.

Already denied a final, organisers had revised the schedule to include a round-robin league in order to determine the champion team. With an exciting three-way tie a possibility, rain has delayed the start in all three games, with the prospect of any play looking less and less likely as time marches on.

If no play is possible today, and all matches are declared no results, the United States will automatically be declared winners by virtue of their unbeaten record in the first four games and they currently stand two points clear at the top of the table.

However, should play be possible (before the 14h15 cut-off time to ensure at least 25 overs per innings), it would take a Cayman Islands win over the United States, and a Canada win over the Bahamas, to create a three-way tie at the top of the table. With each team having beaten one of the other two, and all teams having won the same number of games, if that scenario eventuates, the winner will be decided by net run-rate.

At present the net run-rate race is being led by the Caymans (1.48) followed by the USA (1.24) and Canada (0.42).

Ironically, the one game which appears to have the most chance of perhaps getting under way after violent storms ravaged the Argentine capital through the night, is that at Belgrano (where the final would have taken place) between Argentina and Bermuda.

Although this game, if played, would have no bearing on the fate of the championship, it is a direct shoot-out for fourth place, and the Argentines would surely love a chance to try and put the traumas of the past week behind them and attempt to leapfrog from 6th into 4th place on the log. Likewise, Bermuda, after a last ball thriller loss against the USA, and having being upstaged by the Caymans earlier in the week, would like to hold on to the fourth position.

The Bahamas, ecstatic after their fine victory over Argentina, will no doubt be content with their current and very creditable fifth position.