The Brazilian team celebrate winning the WCL Americas Division 3 tournament © Cricinfo Ltd

Tony Munro

Brazil and Belize won their matches on the final day of the World Cricket League Americas Division 3 tournament in Santiago on Monday, to seal the first and second places respectively. Brazil beat Peru by 18 runs in what was possibly the latter's best performance of the tournament, while the Belize beat hosts Chile by two wickets.

Captain Matthew Featherstone led the charge for Brazil, top scoring with 77 in his team's total of 251 for 6 in 50 overs, while Greigor Caisley (48) and Rubabul Islam (39) provided good back-up. Tony Sanford was the main wicket-taker for Peru, taking 2 for 51 from his 10 overs.

Peru ended the tournament in spirited fashion, managing 233 for 9 in reply. Michael Soulsby was their main contributor with 57, while Ahmed Ansari Nadeem chipped in with 29. Vince Bastick took 4 for 59 from 8.4 overs for Brazil.

Chile captain Simon Shalders won the toss and elected to bat in their battle for second place against Belize. Shalders led the way, top scoring with 59, as Tristan Bradbrook (48) and Guy Hooper (40) lent good support. Belize captain Dirk Sutherland bowled well to take 5 for 32 from nine overs, to keep Chile to 223 for 9 from its 50 overs.

Sutherland performed with the bat as well, staying undefeated on 39, while Robert Casasola (60) provided the backbone to the reply and saw them through with 21 balls to spare. Pablo Meijas was the pick of the Chilean bowlers with 2 for 37.

Scores:

Belize 224 for 8 (Casasola 60, Sutherlund 39*, Mejias 2-37) beat Chile 223 for 9 (Shalders 59, Bradbrook 48, Hooper 40, Sutherland 5-32) by two wickets

Brazil 251 for 6 (Featherstone 77, Caisley 48, Islam 39, Sanford 2-51) beat Peru 233 for 9 (Michael Soulsby 57, Ahmed Ansari Nadeem 29, Bastick 4-59) by 18 runs

	Simon Shalders after making 195 not out against Peru © ICC

Matches on day two of the ICC Americas Division 3 tournament in Santiago were abandoned around 3.00 pm due to persistent showers. Both games started as scheduled but there were insufficient breaks in the rain for them to be completed.

The match between first-round winners, Chile, and Brazil had enough play for Chile to make 31 for 0 from 9.2 overs. The other game involving Peru and Belize had only five overs and Belize made 13 for 1. Both matches will now start afresh on Monday, previously the scheduled reserve day.

Meanwhile, Chile captain Simon Shalders' unbeaten 195 on Saturday against Peru is now (unofficially at least) third on the list of highest individual scores in official ICC cricket at the Associate and Affiliate level. Arshad Ali (United Arab Emirates) made 213 against Brunei in the 2006 ACC Trophy, while Gerrie Snyman (Namibia) hit 196 against the UAE in the 2007 World Cricket League Division 2 tournament. Thanks - Grant Dugmore and Andrew Nixon.

Tony Munro

An unbeaten 195 from captain Simon Shalders launched Chile to a 163-run win over Peru in Santiago in their first game of the World Cricket League Americas Division Three campaign on Friday.

Shalders smashed seven sixes and 24 fours to boost Chile to 323-5 from their 50 overs; Peru only managed 160 in reply. Such was Shalders' dominance that the next best scorer for Chile was Guy Hooper (32), while Tristan Bradbrook (21) also chipped in. Nadeem Ahmed Ansad was the only Peru bowler to hold out against the rampage, taking 1 for 29 from his ten overs.

Peru captain Miles Buesst (32) and Chris Abbott (20) were the main contributors against the Chilean attack led by Kamran Zeb (4-24) and John Fecci (3-23).

Meanwhile, Brazil caused something of an upset when they sneaked home by one wicket with three balls to spare against Belize. Belize batted first to reach 182 from their 50 overs; they recovered from a precarious position at 102 for 8 in 27 overs. Jermaine Pook stayed with the tail score an unbeaten 34 from 80 balls. Deodat Randolph (3-34) was the pick of the Brazil bowlers.

In reply, Brazil slipped to 59 for 4, before a pivotal fifth-wicket partnership of 90 between Randolph (48) and Rubabul Islam (76) lifted them to 149 for 5. Belize counter-attacked to take four wickets, and left Brazil nine wickets down with two runs still needed for victory.

For Belize, Mykelt Anthony (3-31) and Howell Gillett (3-26) were the main wicket-takers.

The winners of Saturday's matches, Chile and Brazil meet on Sunday, as will the losers, Belize and Peru.

Scores:

Chile 323-5 (50 overs) (Simon Shalders 195n.o., Guy Hooper 32, Tristan Bradbrook 21; Nadeem Ahmed Ansad 1-29)

Peru 160 (38.2 overs) (Miles Buesst 32, Chris Abbott 20; Kamran Zeb 3-32, John Fecci 4-24)

Belize 183 (42.5 overs) (Jermaine Pook 34n.o.; Deodat Randolph 3-43)

Brazil 187-9 (49.3 overs) (Rubabul Islam 76, Deodat Randolph 48; Howell Gillett 3-26, Mykelt Anthony 3-31)

Tony Munro

The latest regional qualifying tournament for the World Cricket League kicks off on Friday when Americas Division Three involving hosts, Chile, Belize, Brazil and Peru commences in Santiago.

There'll be a touch of deja vu for three of the four teams - Chile, Brazil and Peru. This will be the third tournament where they have met in 12 months. Last October, all four teams met when Americas Division Three was staged, while the South American Championships brought three of the teams together earlier this year.

Chile go into the tournament arguably as favourites due to a combination of home advantage and recent results against the same opposition - they finished above these three teams in the corresponding tournament last year, and ahead of Brazil and Peru at the South American Championships.

Three of the four teams have locally born players in their squad - Belize, adjacent to the Caribbean, is totally home grown; Brazil has five and Chile four.

Chile are led by last year’s Player-of-the-Tournament, Simon Chalders, in a squad which contains five all-rounders - Ian Walker, Jim Scarbrough and Michael Meade, Thomas Dawes and Christian Eyzaguirre. Spinner Pablo Mejias and opening bowler Tristan Bradbrook are the other two locally born players in the squad.

Peru are hopeful of at least equalling their one win in last year's Americas Division Three tournament, thanks to a training schedule which is aimed at increasing their players’ agility in areas such as running between wickets.

There is further information about the Belize and Brazil squads here.

Draw:

Friday, October 9 - Chile v Peru, Belize v Brazil

Saturday, October 10 - Chile v Brazil, Belize v Peru

Monday, October 12 - Chile v Belize, Peru v Brazil


Chile: Simon Chalders (Capt.), Guy Hooper, Michael Meade, Ian Walker, James Scarborough, Stephen Foot, Kamran Zeb, Joseph Williams, Tristan Bradbrook, John Fecci, Pablo Meijias, Christian Hesketh, Christian Eyzaguirre, Thomas Dawes

Peru: Miles Buesst (Capt.), Harry Hildebrand, Chris Abbott, Julian Walter, Anthony Sanford, Simon Walter, John Bell, Manoj Rana, Nadeem Ansari, Dinesh Ekanayake, Hans de Wit, Chris Hodgson, Michael Soulsby.

Tony Munro

Brazil warmed up for the World Cricket League Americas Division Three tournament starting in Santiago on Friday with a 3-0 one-day series win over Mexico in São Paulo last weekend. Brazil won the first two matches fairly easily, but the dead rubber was more even, Mexico falling just 16 runs short.

In the first match, Brazil captain Matt Featherstone showed good form ahead of the Americas Division Three tournament in Santiago, Chile, hitting an unbeaten 100. The former Kent Cricket Board player received solid support from Greigor Caisley (56) and Rubab Ulisam (52 not out). Spinners Travis McNaught (4-3 in the second game) and Viren Nirula (six wickets in the third match) also bowled well in the series for Brazil.

There are six Brazilian nationals in the squad to play in Santiago, among them Henrique Dolabella, an allrounder who became interested in cricket while living in England for several years and played a few seasons of club cricket.

Leading the Brazilian attack will be Ravi Chanchlani, the leading wicket-taker in the 2008 event, while the Miziara brothers, Alexandre and Daniel, can both wield a heavy bat and send down some useful off-spin.

Brazil: Matt Featherstone (Captain), Norman Baldwin, Vincent Bastick, Greigor Caisley, Henrique Dolabella, Rudyard Hartmann, Rubabul Islam, Chaudhari Vishnubhai Kantilal, Guilherme Lefevre, Alexandre Miziara, Daniel Miziara, Chanchlani Ravindrakumar Pahilajrai, Deodat Randolph, Fasih Uddin

Meanwhile, Belize has retained the bulk of the side which finished third in last year's WCL Americas Division 3 tournament. Dirk Sutherland remains at the helm of a squad which includes 11 players who also appeared in the 2008 tournament.

Belize's only tournament experience since then was at the Central American Championships in April where they finished third after losing to Panama and Mexico. The tournament does not have official ICC status and it is not known whether the Belize squad was near full-strength.

Belize: Dirk Sutherland (Capt.), Kenroy Roca, Percy Flowers, Warren Anthony, Conway Young, Dorian Gabb, Kene Broaster, Howell Gillett, Winston Flowers, Mykett Anthony, Robert Casasola, Lloyd Casasola, Jermaine Pook, Joseph Gillett.

Tony Munro

Chile began their preparations for the World Cricket League Americas Division 3 tournament next month with a seven-wicket loss to an Argentina Under-25 team in a Twenty20 game in Santiago on Friday.

The bright spots for Chile were the performances of national U-19 players Cristian Eyzaguirre and Tristan Bradbrook - Eyzaguirre took one of the three Argentinian wickets to fall, while Bradbrook hit a useful 21.

Bowling had been identified as a potential weakness for the hosts and this was the case as the visitors struck 150, and losing just three wickets in its 20 overs. Alejo Tisera (46), Carlos Gibson (38) and David Mauro (29) were the main contributors for Argentina A.

In reply, Chile managed 127 for 7 with captain Simon Shalders (27), Hector Fuenzalida (24), Bradbrook (21) and Kamram Zeb (18) chipping in.

Two 50-over matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday, also in Santiago. Chile play Belize, Brazil and Peru in the WCL Division 3 tournament from October 9-12 in Santiago.

Michael Meade

The last few months in Chilean cricket have been quite busy with the ICC Centennial beach cricket tournament in Vina del Mar followed by three touring sides (Honourable Artillery Company CC, Falkland CC & Hollywood Goldien Oldies ) as well as the beginning of the second half of Chile's domestic competition, the Metropolitan Cup.

The Chilean youth development program that started in 2002 is finally starting to reflect on the national team. The Chile squad for South American Championships (SAC) in Sao Paulo includes four Chileans.

Christian Eyzaguirre and Thomas Dawes are both products of the youth development program and we are excited to see them make their debut at the SAC. Tristan Bradbrook and Pablo Mejias learnt their cricket in Australia and will also be making their debuts. Eyzaguirre, Dawes and Bradbrook are all members of Chile’s Under-19 squad which is planning on participating in the ICC Americas U-19 tournament later this year. This will be the first time that Chile will compete at the U-19 level.

The rest of the team consists of four players from last year’s Americas World Cricket League Division 3 squad as well as a pair of expats that were short of their seven year residence requirements in Chile but do have Chilean wives. The squad also welcomes back former national captain Stuart Nelson. Current captain Simon Shalders will not be traveling to Sao Paulo as he and his wife Tatiana await the arrival of their child who is due the same week as the tournament.

The national squad has been training on Friday evenings at the Casa Roja after the U-19 squad training.

Meanwhile, three coaches from Viña del Mar, Villa Alemana and Santiago have travelled to participate in the first coach exchange programme to be organised between the Chilean (ACC) and Argentine Cricket Associations (ACA).

Cristobal Castillo, Francisco Torrejon and Cristian Barrales were chosen as Chile's first representatives on this programme, as all three will be working with local government bodies to provide coaching for municipal schools as of April.

The programme, which is part funded by both the ACC and the ACA, has the coaches involved in education courses conducted by ACA Development Manager Billy MacDermott in the mornings, before working with local coaches in schools and clubs around Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the afternoons. The coaches will also attend nets sessions with local senior clubs as well as playing in Argentina's national Second Division competition.

In total, the programme will run for 10 days and will conclude with the coaches being awarded ACA certificates in coaching, umpiring and scoring, all of which will go a long way in ensuring that the ACC continues to provide quality coaching for its young players.

The ACC would like to thank MacDermott, Gary Savage and Grant Dugmore for helping to organise the programme and look forward to organising similar programmes throughout the year.

On Sunday November 23, the Chilean Cricket Association organised the first National Under-15’s Trios Tournament, which was held at The Grange School, Santiago.

Eight teams from Santiago, Viña del Mar and Chillán competed throughout the morning in a cup and plate competition, with Viña del Mar taking top honours. In the plate final, Chillán ‘A’ edged Santiago ‘B’ . The day also saw the inaugural Timothy W. Messner Cup as The Regions took
on Santiago at U-15 level in a twenty over encounter.

The Regions batted first and made a patient 79 all out. In reply, a clearly pumped Regional bowling unit bowled as a pack and ran amok with a batting line up that, on paper, should have easily chased down the total. Santiago collapsed for 19 all out.

The cup was named in honour of the ‘Godfather’ of Chilean cricket development and former ICC Volunteer of the Year, Tim Messner, who moves back to his native Australia in early 2009 having set in motion one of South America’s most exciting development programs.

Michael Meade

What promises to be a busy 2008-09 Chilean season kicked off on October 5, with the traditional season opening friendly between the President's XI and the Grange XI.

The President XI's, mainly thanks to 69 from Dawie van der Merwe, compiled 159 from their 26.2 overs before skittling the Grange XI for 127.

While the six team Metropolitan Cup will form the basis of the Chilean domestic season Cricket Chile officials are pleased that the work of national development officer, Patricio Caamaño (in the 5th region, Valparaiso), has paid off.

One of the benefits of this work is the new field at the St. Peter’s School. Beginning in February, three teams in the 5th region will contest the first ever Freddy Brown Cup. Freddy Brown went to St. Peters school before moving back to England.

Viña del Mar CC, Renaca CC and Con Con CC will play three rounds of Twenty20 cricket at St. Peters School on Saturdays followed by Metropolitan Cup matches as the Viña del Mar XI will be hosting the other five teams from Santiago on Sundays. The Viña del Mar XI is a select team from the 5th region teams. Development in this region has been very satisfying for the ACC as Viña del Mar CC and Renaca CC are almost 100% Chilean with only one or two ex-pats.

Meanwhile, a motley collection of visiting teams will give the summer an international feel.

Titan CC, an over-50s team from Canada, arrives next month, followed by a British navy frigate in early December which will dock in Valparaiso for a game.

English club side Stoic CC will stop off in Buenos Aires in January to play the Argentine national team as a warm-up for the World Cricket League Division Three tournament, prior to touching down in Santiago for two matches.

Next up is the Honorable Artillery Company CC, also from England, which will visit in February.

Chile's preparations for the South American Championships in Sao Pao Paulo, Brazil at Easter will peak when they are joined by Hampshire Seniors, Falkland CC and Hollywood Golden Oldies for a quadrangular in March.

Falkland CC tour to South America is part reciprocal, as they hosted the Falkland Islands cricket team earlier this year.

Michael Meade is the president of Chile Cricket. For more information on cricket in Chile, go to http://www.cricketchile.cl/

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising beyond the Test world.

Chilean National Development Officer, Patricio Caamano, is currently finalising plans to run
a high performance program throughout the winter months for the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-19 national team squads. It will be the first time that Chile has run such a program and is expected to see a vast improvement by the Chilean junior squads in international competition for the 2008-09 season.

The academy will be based at Chile’s principal training facility, Las Casa Roja, and will see the three squads working on batting, bowling, fielding, fitness and tactics. The academy will run from June to September.

From the ICC Americas newsletter

The 2007-08 season got off to a good start with six teams now competing for the Metropolitan Cup after the addition of newcomers Estacion Central. La Reina CC currently lie in first position after a strong showing with 4 wins out of 5. More youth have come into the matches in the form of native born Chileans. The second half of the season is about to kick off with Santiago CC and Las Condes CC snapping at La Reina’s heels.

The Chilean Condors played host to touring side Craigengower from Hong Kong in January. It was a golden opportunity for the captain of the national selection (Simon Shalders) and President of the ACC (Guy Hooper) to do some talent scouting for the ICC Americas Division 3 Championship. Craigengower put up a brave fight but the Chilean team was far too strong and in form to ever feel threatened by the tourists.

They say every good book or movie should have a dynamic beginning, a solid middle to keep your interest and a surprise and thrilling ending. If the 2008 Americas Division 3 was a movie or book it had the perfect script.

The beginning, days 1 & 2, saw Chile upsetting the two co-favourites on consecutive days beating Belize and Turks & Caicos. The Chile captain, Simon Shalders, with a brilliant century (104) was the hero on the first day. He was back again on day two but this time in a supporting role (69) as he watched countryman Paul Wollocombe take the spotlight with another century (104). Chiles’s third match was against newcomer Peru and it was no surprise going into the rest day. Their perfect record of 3-0 had them comfortably in front, with only struggling Brazil in the path to Division 2. Meanwhile Belize and Turks & Caicos could only try to keep pace and hope for a miracle.

That miracle happened on day 4 when Brazil, led by the skipper Matt Featherstone (152 from 109 balls) posted a massive score of 359 for 6 in their 50 overs.

Chile knew all was at stake and gave it a valiant try again. Led by Shalders (80) the Chileans fell short of capturing the crown by 37 runs. This surprising loss opened up the gates for Belize and Turks & Caicos and set up the most exciting finish ever at an Americas Region tournament.

Day five, the final chapter, and it was all about run rate with Belize playing TCI. In an extraordinary turn of events, three teams – TCI, Belize and Chile - all stood a chance of winning the championship off the final ball of the match. TCI batted first and made 196, Belize were 192 for 9 with one ball to go. Chile had completed the tournament with 12 points, Belize and TCI had 8 and there was 4 on the line for a victory. The latter two had better run rates than Chile.

A six (or 5 runs) on the final delivery would have given Belize the Championship. A four would have given Chile the championship - anything less and TCI would be crowned. Howell Gillett (no rabbit) was on 62 facing the final delivery from TCI skipper Ralph Doughty. (Who wrote this script?). On the final delivery, Gillett’s desperate swing did not make proper contact and resulted in one run being scored and a Turks & Caicos Championship.

Final Table
1st Turks & Caicos Islands
2nd Chile
3rd Belize
4th Peru
5th Brazil

Simon Shalders (Chile) took both Best Batsman and Player-of-the-Tournament awards.

Taken from the ICC Americas regional newsletter for February 2008

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

Chile maintained their unbeaten record with a 54-run win over neighbours Peru on the third day of the ICC Americas Division 3 tournament in Argentina. Chile were pressed all the way and at 68 for 6 appeared to be on course for a low score. But Tim Messner (57) and Kamran Zeb (41) added 75 runs for the ninth wicket as Chile climbed to 203 all out. Peru had troubles of their own as they slumped to 5 for 4, and despite a sixth-wicket stand of 62 between Ahmed Nadeem (53) and D. Lakdal (49) they were bowled out for 149 in 38 overs. In the other game Brazil slid to their third loss in as many days as they were bowled out for 169, a total Turks and Caicos Islands passed for the loss of five wickets.

Chile now have three wins from three games and need to beat Brazil in their final game on Friday to win the tournament.

Remaining matches

Friday 15 February - Belize v Peru, Brazil v Chile

Saturday 16 February - Belize v Turks & Caicos Islands, Brazil v Peru,

Chile dominated the first two days of the ICC Americas Division 3 tournament in Argentina, beating pre-tournament favourites Belize by 26 runs on the opening day after posting 271 for 6, with their captain Simon Shalders leading the way with an 84-ball 104. In the day’s other game, Peru, only admitted to ICC membership in 2007, went down to an eight-wicket defeat to Turks & Caicos Islands combination, whose veteran captain Ralph Doughty took 4 for 18 in 9.2 overs.

On the second day Chile powered to an eight-wicket win over Turks and Caicos Islands. Turks and Caicos were bowled out for 252, with Donvan Mathews’ 68 the top score. Chile's Paul Woolocombe lead the chase with an unbeaten 104 with captain Simon Shalders scoring 69. In the other match Belize beat Brazil by 138 runs, bowling out the Brazilians for 55.

Delegates from Chile’s cricket playing schools, along with development staff, met in Santiago on December 28, 2007 to review the year’s activities and plan ahead for the next 12 months. Eight delegates representing a total of twelve schools attended the meeting – the first of its kind in Chile. High on the agenda was a review of the inaugural Homework Club School Cricket League, which was launched last September in an attempt to encourage more children to take the step up from softball to hardball cricket. The initiative was applauded by the nine participating schools, with plans to increase the number of fixtures next year and the possibility of starting in August 2008. Several other hardball tournaments were scheduled for March to May as Chile prepares to send Under-19, Under-15 and Under-13 sides on international tours over the coming months. However, the most important detail to come from the meeting was the delegation’s decision to make 2008 the year to focus on the Spirit of Cricket and ensuring that all children have fun playing cricket and want to keep coming back. With over 2,000 children involved in Chile’s development program and an excellent development staff headed by NDO David Mauro, 2008 promises to be another good year for Chilean cricket.

From ICC Americas’ regional newsletter

Michael Meade reports on a busy start to the season in Chile

The Homework Club School Cricket League
The first game of The Homework Club School Cricket League took place toward the end of October, with Lincoln International Academy and The International Country School playing at the Craighouse School ground. In total, 18 games will be played until November, with nine schools competing.

It is the first time that schools have competed in a formal hardball league, but all the signs point towards this being a successful initiative and providing an enviable base of junior cricketers, several of whom will go on to represent their country against Brazil and Argentina in 2008.

U-19 National Team
Following some excellent performances by Chilean junior players in this season’s opening fixtures, NDO David Mauro has decided to formalize a Chilean U19 national team. The squad of 20 players are currently training once a week, though this is expected to increase to three times a week as Chile look to take on neighbours Argentina in early 2008. It is hoped that this will be the first step towards Chile being included in future Americas U-19 tournaments.

Senior National Team
The Chilean senior national team are training twice a week in preparation for the Division Three Americas tournament to be held in February 2008. National Coach David Mauro has been putting the squad through their paces with fitness and fielding practice on Saturday mornings, whilst small groups of three to four players have been formed to concentrate on batting and bowling skills during the week.

Metropolitan Cup
The Metropolitan Cup, Chile’s premier domestic cricket competition, got underway this month and featured six teams for the first time. New sides Vina del Mar and Estacion Central played off against each other and ended up tying on 133 runs each – a great start to what promises to be the most exciting edition of the Metro Cup to date.

Coaching Seminar
Chile’s participant on the 2007 Americas Coaching Seminar, held in Lima, Peru, was Miguel Angel Hernandez, Coach of the Echaurren school team. He is expected to run courses for local PE teachers and schools over the next few months and is sure to be a great addition to the Chilean coaching staff.

Second Division Competition
Chile’s second division competition has been revamped for the 2007-08 season, with each of the four original Metropolitan Cup sides (Las Condes, La Dehese, La Reina and Santiago) fielding a 2nd XI. The four teams are made up mostly of Chilean born players, juniors and women cricketers and will be competing against one another over the next three months.

It is another huge step for the Chilean Cricket Association and provides a link between school and club cricket, with each club ‘adopting’ two to three schools from which to source players. Competition for places is strong, with the most talented juniors looking to impress their club captains and progress into the Metropolitan Cup sides.

Cricket Strong in the Regions
Cricket continues to thrive in the fifth and eighth regions of Chile, thanks to RDO Patricio Caamano’s tireless efforts. Three senior clubs will be participating in the inaugural Fifth Region Cup, with fixtures being played from now until December. The winners of this competition will play off against the winners of Santiago’s Second Division Competition. Three schools are also in training in the fifth Region, with a few young players involved in Vina del Mar’s senior teams. In the eighth Region, the rain has finally ceased and play can resume, with Escuela Los Heroes and Clegio San Vicente both hoping to make an appearance at The Grange Cricket Festival in November.

Courtesy ICC Americas

The strong MCC A side, which visited Papua New Guinea and New Zealand during the first half of March, returned home undefeated. The first four matches were close-fought contests. However, the final two matches of the tour, against an Otago Country XI and Auckland Emerging Players XI, were won by seven wickets and 57 runs respectively. The touring team consisted of six first-class cricketers, including England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones.

Later in March an MCC B tour to Brazil and Chile took place. The team played six matches, two against Brazil, followed by four against Chile.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

With regards to England, yes there have been quite a few non English-born players who have been picked for the side, but the game still has a massive stronghold in the country. The selection has been more about improving a solid side. And as for the ex-pats argument? Well, yes, but that's the crucial point. In the regions flagged the game was brought in but it was then embraced by the indigenous population and taken on as their own. This is exemplified no better than in CLR James's seminal work, Beyond A Boundary.

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Does it matter? Yes, because as the ICC looks to develop the game in as many places as possible, that means the financial cake has to be cut in ever thinner slices. The ICC needs to concentrate on a smaller number of countries where the chances of the game taking off. It is invidious that Uganda gets the same basic allowance as Belgium.

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

Tony Munro, Cricinfo's Beyond the Test World columnist, has written about Chile and their forthcoming preparations for the ICC tournament