Panama remained undefeated with an easy 111-run win over Brazil on the second day of the Pepsi ICC Americas Division 2 at Windsor Park. Panama elected to bat and after losing their openers on 26, the captain Irfan Tarajia and Soyab Chohan added some stability with a stand of 56. Rajesh Ahir then smashed 79 off 69 balls, with good support from Munaf Kachhalia (41) as Panama posted 291. Rudyard Hartmann had another good day with the ball capturing 3 for 57 while Ravindra Chanchlani took 3 for 36.

Brazil got off to a good start, with their openers Greigor Caisley (49) and Guilherme Lefèvre (28) adding 73. Deodat Randolph top scored with an unbeaten 64 at No.4, but the rest failed to reach double figures as Brazil was dismissed for 180 in the 39th over. Nilesh Bhakta was Panama's best bowler with 3 for 26.

In the other match at Haynes Oval, Suriname breezed past Turks & Caicos Islands with a 109-run victory. Suriname wicketkeeper Anthony Seeraj top scored with an unbeaten 49 to guide them to 263. While there were no large scores, eight batsmen reached double figures.

Turks & Caicos lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 154 in the 35th over. Opener Errion Charles smashed ten fours in his 70, the top score of the innings. Terbhawan Ranjit captured 6 for 41 in 7.2 overs and not surprisingly, was named the Man of the Match for his efforts.

The third day of the tournament will see Brazil playing Suriname at the Haynes Oval, while Turks & Caicos takes on the home side Bahamas at Windsor Park.

Panama 291 (Tarajiya 47, R Ahir 79, Kachhalia 41, Chanchlani 3-36, Hartmann 3-57, Islam 2-69) beat Brazil 180 (Caisley 49, Lefevre 28, Randolph 64*, Bhakta 3-26, Chohan 1-13, Kachhalia 1-14, Vhora 1-18) by 111 runs

Suriname 263 (Sewanan 35, Patrick 30, Gokoel 31, Seeraj 49*, Doughty 2-20, Saunders 2-29, Gilbert 2-53, Brown 2-59) beat Turks & Caicos Islands 154 (Charles 70; Ranjit 6-41, Dudnath 2-22, Gokoel 1-30, Baker 1-42)

On November 22, the Delicious Dishes sponsored Jamaica All Stars battled K's Tires Guyana Jaguars. After winning the toss and deciding to bat, The Jamaica All Stars could only secure a meager 121 runs all out off 26 overs. The Guyana Jaguars' bowling attack was enhanced by
Beesham Bhagwandash. In what seemed to be a disastrous start for the Jaguars after losing early valuable wickets, their hopes were resurrected by the superb performance of veteran and former member of the police team Terrence Thomas. Final score –Jam .All Stars 121 all out from 26 overs and Guyana Jaguars 122 for 6 off 19.1 overs.

On November 23 , the Atlas Electrical Jam Turk team faced off with last season's champion, the St. Lucian Hitters, sponsored by the TCI Bank. The final score Jam Turk -209 for 8 off 30 overs and St. Lucian Hitters 184 all out off 27 overs.
Guyana Jaguars winning

A comfortable 58 by Carlton Benjamin and an unbeaten 50 not out from Glen Campbell was
enough to propel the Atlas Electrical sponsored Jam Turk team to their second consecutive win when they beat the Masters by 104 runs on Saturday November 29. Final score – Jam Turk-229 for 4 and Masters 125 all out.

The November 30 match was dubbed the game of the season in so far as spectators and players alike had to hold their breath as they watched an exciting competitive game between new comers Seven Stars and the Police in the fifth game of the season. Final score Police 257 for 4 off 30 overs and Seven Stars in reply -231 all out off 27.5 overs. The Police won by 26 runs.

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.

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.