ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 QUALIFYING TABLE Played Won Lost Drawn Abandoned First inns Total lead points Namibia 7 6 1 0 0 4 108 Ireland 7 5 0 2 0 5 106 Kenya 7 4 2 0 1 5 96 Scotland 7 3 1 2 1 4 82 Netherlands 7 3 4 0 0 1 48 United Arab Emirates 7 1 5 1 0 2 29 Canada 7 1 5 1 0 2 29 Bermuda 7 1 6 0 0 2 26 The Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Ireland and Canada records include 3 points for a draw in which more than eight hours play were lost to bad weather. Scoring system: Win = 14 points. Tie = 7 points. First-innings lead = 6 points. Tie on first innings = 3 points. Draw in a match in which eight or more hours’ play is lost to the weather = 3 points. Draw in a match in which less than eight hours’ play is lost to the weather = 0 points. Match abandoned =10 points. FINAL Ireland beat Namibia by nine wickets In this, the fourth competition, the eight teams from the third competition were retained, but the group system was rejected in favour of an all-play-all league. The top two teams in the league contested the final. The new arrangement meant that each team played seven league matches with either three or four games at home and the balance away. One of Kenya’s home matches was moved to the United Arab Emirates because of security concerns in Nairobi, following post-election riots, and Bermuda played only two matches at home because it was not until the spring of 2008 that the facilities in Hamilton were approved by the ICC as suitable for international cricket. The points system was unchanged but was not without controversy, largely as a result of the weather in northern Europe in August 2008. Ireland and Scotland played simultaneous home matches against Canada and Kenya respectively. The Scottish game at Titwood, Glasgow, was abandoned without a ball being bowled and both teams gained 10 points. In contrast, Ireland and Canada managed 141 overs between them but, because more than eight hours of play was lost to the weather, both sides received only three points in a drawn game. The award of seven extra points for doing nothing but sit in the pavilion seemed particularly unjust. It also made Ireland’s task of defending the trophy much harder and, in some ways, they were very lucky to do so. It all depended on Ireland’s performance in their last two league games. They had to work hard and were perhaps fortunate to beat Namibia by a mere eight runs after conceding first-innings lead. They went on to gain an innings victory over Kenya but the latter were only 20 minutes short of holding out for the draw which, if they had achieved it, would have allowed them to progress to the final instead of Ireland. The other finalists, Namibia, were the surprise of the competition. Given their performance in previous years, no one would have predicted them winning six of their seven matches. That they did so was a tribute to their bowlers and to one outstanding batting display. The final was closely contested for two days but eventually the experience of the Irish players proved decisive. The competition was characterised by a surprisingly large number of mismatches. Eight games were won by an innings and five by more than 100 runs; a further four were won by either eight or nine wickets. This means that in 58% of the matches there was a marked difference in standard between the two teams. Bermuda were involved in six of these matches, which perhaps brought into question whether they truly deserved the ranking of ‘first-class’. However, in several of these, Bermuda fought closely for two days but their players were unable to sustain the 113