Organisers of the inaugural Americas Cup didn't schedule a final, but they
virtually have one anyway, with unbeaten teams, Bermuda and host, Canada,
meeting on the last day of play today to decide the tournament winner.
The climax was set up following Friday's matches in which Bermuda defeated
the United States by 83 runs and Canada beat the Cayman Islands in a low
scoring game.
Both camps have expressed optimism for today's match at King City, Ontario.
"We have seen Canada play and we know we can beat them," Bermuda coach
Winston Reid said.
Meanwhile, the Canadians are confident the Bermudian batsmen will not be
able to handle Victorian Pura Milk Cup off-spinner, John Davison.
Captain Charlie Marshall again provided the backbone of the Bermudian
innings of 232 all-out off 47.3 overs batting first against the United
States.
Marshall smashed 6 sixes and 6 fours in his score of 95, after combining
with Kwame Tucker to rescue the islanders from 36-3 to take the score to
139-4.
The partnership of 103 dramatically changed the tempo of the Bermuda
innings. At one stage 99 runs were scored in 15 overs.
Unfortunately for Marshall he was caught on the boundary attempting to bring
up his century with another six.
Off-spinner Naseer Islam was the pick of the United States bowlers snaring
6-33.
The United States innings began promisingly, making 4-87 after 20 overs,
however on the fall of the fifth wicket, the run chase fizzled out.
Dave Wallace and Zamin Amin both topscored with 34.
Opening bowlers, Dennis Archer (3-35) and Herbie Bascombe (2-36) were the
pick of the Bermuda attack.
The Canada-Cayman Islands match was reduced to a 30-over-a-side affair as a
damp outfield meant play did not start until 3pm.
In a day obviously dominated by bowling, Canada crawled to 112 all-out from
its allotted 30 overs in an innings where every mishit went to a fielder.
The Cayman Islands at one stage looked likely to cause an upset, seemingly
cruising at 35-2 off 10 overs. An observer at the match said the Caymanians'
batting seemed to lack confidence when a positive approach could well have
won the match.
In a dramatic collapse, the Cayman Islands collapsed to 62 all out, with
Canadian bowler, George Codrington the chief destroyer, taking 5-13.
Argentina, which enjoyed the bye on Friday, is apparently confident of
causing an upset over the United States in the other match today.
The winless South Americans, who feature the most indigenous players at the
tournament, have reportedly caught the eye with their general enthusiasm.