Argentina make it two out of two

Host nation Argentina cruised to a second successive victory at Corimayo with a convincing 7 wicket win over Panama. With Panama only mustering 105 runs after being put in to bat, the Argentines, although losing an early wicket, picked off the runs required in just over 25 overs, and thus place themselves firmly at the top of the Division 2 table.

Panama made a bright start, and moved smartly to 41 before the first wicket fell in the 14th over. However, this wicket proved to be start of a slide with the Panamanians losing all 10 wickets for merely 64 runs to be all out for 105 in 38,2 overs.

The bulk of the damage was inflicted by young Argentina captain Esteban MacDermott, with the off-spinner finishing with an impressive 5 for 18 off 6,2 overs. Credit must also go to experienced left-arm spinner Hernan Pereyra, who started the collapse, and claimed 2 for 27, while Diego Lord continued his fine bowling form from the first day with 2 for 8 in 7 impeccable overs.

Panama captain and opener Soyeb Chohan top-scored with a classy 25, but apart from that cameo, the Panamanian batting made for some dismal reading. When paceman Irfan Tarajiya claimed the wicket of Carlos Gibson in the third over, there may have been an inkling of a contest, but Gaston Arizaga (28), Gary Savage (28no) and Donny Forrester (22) steered Argentina to a relatively comfortable victory with a few balls less than half their overs to spare.

Tomorrow sees Suriname kick off their campaign with a daunting challenge against the Bahamas at Hurlingham. The tournament is due to finish on Saturday 8 April.