Hosts Brazil stumble in opening encounter

Chile 103 for 6 (Walker 42) beat Brazil 102 (Islam 17, French 17, Bradbrook 3-19) by four wickets

The 8th South American Championships commenced on Thursday at the Sao Paulo Athletic Club in Brazil, with the first-time South American Championship hosts taking on Chile. Brazil won the toss and chose to bat on a warm, sunny morning.

After losing opener Travers McNaught in the second over, Brazil lost wickets regularly and were unable to build any significant partnerships. Middle-order batsmen Rubab Islam and Matt French both top scored with 17, with Islam hitting three fours and French one four and a six. Overall, it was a very rusty batting performance as the innings ended at 102 in the 32nd over.

The disciplined Chilean attack was led by Tristan Bradbrook (3 for 19) and well-supported by a solid fielding display.

Chile set about the job of scoring around 2.5 runs an over in a steady fashion. They went to lunch at 20 for 1 from ten overs. After the break, opener Ian Walker (42) played a key role in guiding Chile to a comfortable win. There was a bit of a wobble towards the end, but Brazil simply didn't score enough runs. Chile reached the target the 36th over with four wickets to spare. Walker was named the Man of the Match after batting for the bulk of the innings on a difficult pitch.