And the first two matches are been and done!
I listened to a bit of both, and saw some of the second, so my review will be based off things I experienced, and things I read and heard from others.
Note - for ease I am going to put the team who batted first in first position
Game One: Canada 194/5 v 197/3 USA Winners - USA WIN
This game was due to start 01:30 my time, so I expected to be asleep. but I was awake to hear the national anthems being sung, the 6 minute delay in the game's comencement, and the first 6 or 7 overs of Canada's innings.
They got off to a flier! Well, a steady start. Only 1 wicket down in the opening six over power play, where fielding postions are restricted to encourage shots to the boundary.
I then fell asleep and when I surfaced again USA had just lost a second wicket and were 42 for 2 in the 6th over.
Andrew Gous and Aaron Jones then took matters in hand and USA bludgeoned their way to victory with 14 balls of the innings remaining. It's fair to say Canada are USA's bunny's on this ground.
Two great innings which produced twenty-one 6's, with ten of those coming from Jones! This was a great way to get the tournament started and, from the radio, the opening fireworks sounded spectacular.
Game Two: Papua New Guinea 136/8 v 137/5 West Indies - West Indies WIN
When Papua New Guinea ended the power play 3 wickets down for only 34 runs it was clear they would not post a huge total. Huge kudos has to go to Sese Bau who scored a steady 50 from 43 balls to provide some glue through the middle of the innings. He can be rightly proud of his knock.
But 136 was never going to be a safe target and the only real question would be how long the West Indies took to reel it in.
They will be disappointed with using all but six balls of their allotted innings. This was a great chance to pile on a large total in the Net Run Rate column, which may wind up being important come the dog days of the group stage. That being said, a win is better than a potential win.
A short rain spell possibly allowed PNG to review the lbw they declined to appeal in the 4th over. Television replays indicate Alei Nao had Nicholas Pooran bang to rights. Getting two quick wickets would surely have put the wind up the joint hosts. As it was, when the game recommenced, PNG lacked the incision they'd previously displayed.
Without being convincing West Indies drawled their way to victory. They will hope for better to come.
| Boundary Totals | 4's | 6's | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can v USA | 30 | 21 | 51 |
| WI v PNG | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| Tournament | 56 | 28 | 84 |
Up next are two games which could easily prove to be compelling. Oman v Namibia & Sri Lanka v South Africa should be two matches of teams at similar levels.
Check back tomorrow for reviews & updated boundary totals.
text by stuartcturnbull. graphic by Mir Rammez Raja & edited by stuartcturnbull via postermywall