Canada ease to win over Argentina

In a match affected by rain, Canada found some winning form in a comfortable 9 wicket win by Duckworth-Lewis method over luckless Argentina at Maple Leaf CC in Toronto, Canada, on the penultimate day of the 2006 Americas Championships.

After winning a vital toss and putting Argentina in to bat, the Canadians soon made inroads into the Argentine batting line-up, and due to some controlled seam bowling were in the driving seat with Argentina 53 for 4 with the top-order gone.

It was left to the consistently impressive Donny Forrester and wicket-keeper / batsman Alejandro Ferguson to steer Argentina towards a total that might give their bowlers and renowned fielding something to work with.

Forrester made 43 off 74 balls with 5 fours, while Ferguson remained undefeated on 49 off 55 balls, including 4 fours, as Argentina ended their 50 overs on 182 for 9.

For Canada, paceman Steve Welsh was particularly impressive with a miserly 10 over spell of 2 for 16, with fellow opening bowler Austin Codrington also taking 2 wickets, but at a cost of 33 runs.

After a brief but bright start from opening pair John Davison and Sandeep Jyoti, a lengthy rain interruption at the interval reduced Canada's target to 137 in 33 overs. Davison batted in his familiar aggressive fashion and had virtually wrapped up the chase single-handedly by the time he was dismissed for 53 in a mere 34 balls, including 8 fours and a six, an innings that along with his 1 for 20 in 7 overs deservedly earned him the man of the match award.

Jyoti ended unbeaten on 46, in 74 balls with 4 fours, and Asish Bagai added 26 not out, off 24 balls with 6 fours, as Canada raced to their victory target to end with 140 for 1 off 24,3 overs and a 9 wicket win.

Canada now face traditional North American rivals, the United States, in tomorrow's final day action, and will be looking for a morale-boosting win against their southern neighbours as they look towards next years World Cup.

Argentina face the Cayman Islands in their final match, and will no doubt be going all out to register a win over their more fancied opponents as reward for showing vast improvement overall in this tournament. A win for the Cayman Islands, and a USA victory over Canada, would see them clinch a very creditable third place.