The Americas Cup kicks off in Bermuda

Americas Cup action
Another three qualifying spots for next year's ICC Trophy in Ireland will be decided this week when the Americas Cup kicks off in Bermuda. The tournament features Bermuda, the United States, Canada, Argentina, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. The top three teams will qualify automatically, while the fourth will contest the Repechage series in Malaysia in February for the final ICC Trophy place.

Despite their poor showing in the Intercontinental Cup, the United States probably deserve a place on the qualifiers' list following their win in the Six Nations Trophy earlier this year. They are also the defending Americas Cup champions, having won the last tournament, in Argentina in 2000. Most of their players appeared in the preliminary round of the national championships in Dallas recently, and so should be match-fit.

Bermuda, one of the powerhouses of associate-member cricket in the 1980s and early '90s, are expecting a resurgence in this tournament. "We have a lot of allrounders and people who can single-handedly set the course of a game," Clay Smith, Bermuda's captain said yesterday. "We are close to full strength and our players have the self-belief that they can win this tournament. We have good batsmen such as Charlie Marshall and Glenn Blakeney who can post big scores, and seamers such as Dwayne Leverock and Dennis Archer who can exploit the conditions."

Marshall holds the tournament record for the highest individual score, 164 against Argentina in Toronto earlier this year. He will be looking to carry his good form into Bermuda's opening match, which is also against Argentina. Smith also predicted that the red clay pitches of Bermuda would suit the seamers early on and turn into spinners' wickets later on, and concluded: "Any score over 200 will be a good one."

Canada will again be captained by John Davison, the 17-wicket hero of their Intercontinental Cup win over the States. They are bolstered by the return of Don Maxwell, a veteran performer, and Austin Codrington, who recorded Canada's best bowling figures at the 2003 World Cup (5 for 27 against Bangladesh). Both were unavailable for the three-day match against the USA in Florida. Canada's first match is against the Bahamas.

The Cayman Islands, who play the United States in their opening match, have named Ryan Bovel, man of the series in Argentina, as captain. The Caymanians have troubled the USA in the past, although the Americans won their last completed match, in November last year. The Cayman Islands team has some good seamers who should revel in the bowler-friendly Bermudian conditions. Their squad also includes an amazing five members of the same family competing together, with four brothers - Christopher, David, Michael and Philip Kirkconnell - being joined by their cousin, Joseph Kirkconnell.

Cricket in China ...
Far removed from the high-level politics of the Chinese government's sports ministry in Beijing, cricket in Shanghai continues to bubble along at grass-roots level. Indeed, the Shanghai Dragons may have pleased cricket's new benefactors, springing a surprise win for the mainland over their Hong Kong opponents, the Lama/Sub-Continentals Combined XI, in the recent visit to the Special Administrative Region.

Such was the enthusiasm surrounding the match, talks have been instigated to investigate the possibility of reviving the traditional inter-port matches which were a feature of Far East cricket in the 1900s.

... and Iran
Iran can take some consolation from their demolition by Nepal in their ACC Trophy match in Kuala Lumpur last month. Their 29 all out wasn't, after all, the lowest known team total in a one-day international between non-Test countries. That dubious honour belongs to Japan, who managed just 18 against Hong Kong at the ACC Trophy in Kathmandu in 1998. Not far behind, New Caledonia scraped to 25 against Tonga at the 2000 Pacific Cup, while East & Central Africa grabbed the record for the lowest score by an associate-member country when they crashed to 26 all out against Holland in Kuala Lumpur in 1997.

Iran don't escape embarrassment completely, though - Nepal's feat in overtaking their total in nine balls is the fastest known chase by a team batting second. Hong Kong took a comparatively ponderous 15 balls to surpass Japan's total. So, you ask, which team holds the record for the highest total? I'll tell you next week.