USA, Canada pick up easy wins

Bermuda beat Argentina by three wickets in a close match on the opening day of the ICC Americas Region Division One Twenty20 in Lauderhill, Florida. The win was fashioned by opener Lionel Cann, who scored an unbeaten 55 chasing a target of 94, and got his side home with three balls to spare. The winning runs came with a six, Cann's third of the innings. He did not receive much support in the chase, with none of his team-mates getting into double figures and the middle order struggling against offspinner Esteban MacDermott, who almost derailed the chase with figures of 3 for 9. Earlier, Argentina - after choosing to bat - limped to 93 for 8 in their 20, the only sizeable contribution coming from Gary Savage who was run out for 38. Opening bowler Malachi Jones was Bermuda's most successful, picking up three top-order wickets in a miserly spell.

In a match that was shortened due to lightning strikes, USA defeated Suriname by 50 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis method. A lightning strike delayed the game, after which it was shortened to 13 overs-a-side. When a second lightning bolt struck in the 12th over of the Suriname chase to end the game, the D/L par score was 108, while the visitors had managed only 58 for 6. A half-century from USA opener Gowkaran Roopnarine backed up his team's decision to bat. The rest of the top order delivered as well, hitting quickfire cameos to push the total to an imposing 124 for 2. The Suriname chase lacked momentum all through and the batsmen ran poorly, with four of the top six being run out as the USA bowlers strangled the innings.

Canada began with a comprehensive 64-run win against Cayman Islands, thanks largely to legspinner Zahid Hussain who produced figures of 4 for 7 with Canada defending 131. Canada's total was built on several cameos. Opener Khushroo Wadia top-scored with 40. Offspinner Alessandro Morris was the only Cayman Islands bowler to have much of an effect, taking 3 for 21 in three overs. Pearson Best scored a steady 21 in the chase, but received no support as his side slumped to 66 for 7 in their 20.