January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
icc americas’ division one world cricket league
How BDA's ICC competition is shaping up
With Bermuda back in action today and the tournament continuing for the rest of the week we take a look at the competition in the tournament.
With Canada beaten, who will be the biggest danger? Who are the key men for the other teams in the region?
Argentina
The Players: Talented South African, Gary Savage , now qualifies for Argentina and he will add depth both in the batting and bowling attack.
Veterans Donny Forrester (batsman), Diego Lord (medium pace bowler), skipper Estaban (Billy) MacDermott and Matias Paterlini should be the other key men.
The Coach: Hamish Barton - Former New Zealand first class cricketer who also played for Argentina.
Quotable: "It's important that we perform to our potential, we have belief in our ability to play, it's time now to step up and do it on the field against good opposition" - Barton on his team's prospects.
Did you Know? Argentina won the ICC Americas' Division Two tournament on home turf earlier this year to qualify for this week's event.
They also beat a team from the MCC, including former England star Mike Gatting, in February.
The Prospects: Not Good. Despite some decent results recently, Argentina are historically the weakest of the five teams in the competition.
Canada
The Players: Skipper John Davison is the undisputed star of the team and he and Ian Billcliff carry the batting (as Bermuda found to their cost in the Intercontinental Cup).
They have struggled in the one-day format and will look to the likes of Ashish Bagai, Abdol Samad and George Cordington for improved performances.
The controversial decision to leave out Umar Bhatti and Henry Osinde appears to have weakened their bowling attack but Austin Codrington looks a useful alternative.
The Coach: Andy Pick - Former seam bowler for Nottinghamshire in the English County Leagues and also a former England U19 coach, Pick was drafted in to lead Canada to the World Cup.
Quotable: "I am embarrassed with the way we performed. I know nobody expects us to win the World Cup, but we must perform better against the second-tiered nations like Kenya and Bermuda, Scotland and Holland.
"There are simply no excuses." - Pick in the Toronto Star after defeat to Bermuda at the weekend.
Did You Know? Canada have won two of the last three ICC Americas Championships
The Prospects: Started the tournament as defending champs and joint favourites with Bermuda but their loss to Gus Logie's men on Monday seriously dented their hopes.
Cayman Islands
The Players: Pearson Best, who scored 74 from 40 deliveries against the Bahamas in the Stanford 20-20, is the danger-man. Skipper Ryan Bovell, Steve Gordon and Ainsley Hall will also be key players.
The inclusion of several young players including Troy Taylor speaks well for their development programme. Newcomer Saheed Mohammed will also make this team an improved one over the last Americas' Championship.
The coach: Theo Cuffy - A former Trinidad & Tobago skipper, Cuffy hails from the same part of the West Indies as our own coach Gus Logie.
Quotable: "It's extremely important (to do well in this tournament) Every step taken by my country must be progressive as it inspires our youngsters and enhances our development plan" - Cuffy, before the tournament.
Did You Know? Despite beating the Bahamas in a qualifying round Cayman did almost as badly as Bermuda in the Stanford 20-20. They were skittled for 92 by Trinidad & Tobago, who won the match in 10 overs.
The Prospects: The Cayman team thinks they can win this tournament but beating Argentina and qualifying for the ICC World Cricket League Division Three seems a more realistic goal - particularly after their crushing defeat at the hands of the U.S. on Monday.
U.S.
The Players: An influx of talent from the West Indies has bolstered the U.S. squad and they should be much improved from last year's ICC Trophy.
Newly appointed skipper, Steve Massiah hit a century against Cayman on Monday. He ranks right up there with Clay Smith as one of the most consistent batsmen in the region.
Massiah together with former Guyana national player Lennox Cush will be two of the known key players. Imran Awan has shown he has genuine pace, the rest of this squad is unknown but with a lot to prove.
The Coach: Faoud Bacchus - A former West Indian Test opener who once hit 250 against India.
He also made seven ducks in a short Test career (19 matches) before defecting to the U.S. where he was a player before he became coach.
Quotable: "It is absolutely important for us to do well as we continue to restore some much needed pride and stature to U.S. cricket," said captain Steve Massiah before the tournament.
Did you know? Canada v U.S. is the oldest international cricket match, first played in September 1844. The two teams will meet, in this competition, on Saturday.
The prospects: After a spell in the doldrums the U.S. come into this tournament with new hope and could spring a few surprises. Certainly they should provide the stiffest challenge to Bermuda, now that Canada have been beaten.
Source: ICC America & CricInfo.[[In-content Ad]]
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