Cayman Islands skipper Pearson Best is hopeful that his side can secure a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in April.

'We are very excited about the week and hope we have a realistic chance of coming in the first two and we have worked very hard for this,' said 45-year-old Best, who made a brilliant century against Argentina at the ICC Americas Division 1 event last year.

The Cayman Islands struggled with the hot Buenos Aires sunshine in a warm-up game against Afghanistan, which it lost by 105 runs, but Best is hopeful that his side will recover from some injury problems.

'It was very hot and a couple of the guys had cramps but we will be back to full strength for Saturday,' said Best.

Despite this setback, the Cayman Islands' skipper is hopeful that his side can record an opening day victory against Papua New Guinea on Saturday.

'We are not treating anybody lightly and we will play as tough as we can,' said Best.

'It is always good to start with a win and we are looking forward to playing Papua New Guinea and I am hopeful we can come out on top in this game.'