ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

of the improvement in the standard of that country’s cricket. The Netherlands has two and Scotland three. One player, Eoin Morgan of Ireland, has gone on to represent England internationally in Tests, one-day and twenty20 matches. On a more positive note, it can be argued that a tournament that produces players of that calibre must inherently be of first-class standard. The limited availability of players has also had a positive effect in providing the opportunity for others to gain experience. The need to select from a wider range of players than might otherwise be the case has encouraged the Associate countries to look more closely at the structures of their domestic cricket. In addition, there are those cricketers who have previously played first-class cricket in various Full-Member countries but who now represent countries like Scotland, Canada, Bermuda and the United Arab Emirates. Opinion may differ on whether their presence helps raise those teams to first-class status or whether these are players who are close to retirement and no longer performing effectively at first-class level. Sixteen countries have participated in the five tournaments held to date but six of these have taken part only once. Ireland have won the Intercontinental Cup three times and Scotland and Afghanistan once each. Namibia won the Intercontinental Shield in its only year. Changes in the relative levels of success or otherwise of each country can be examined through their Proficiency Index for each year of the tournament. The index is determined by calculating (a) the average runs scored per wicket lost (i.e. the total number of runs divided by the number of dismissals) and (b) the average runs conceded per wicket gained (i.e. the total number of runs scored by the opposition divided by the number of wickets taken). The index is simply (a) divided by (b); this is then multiplied by 100 to give a percentage value. High values of the index indicate that a country scores a large number of runs per wicket lost and concedes relatively few runs per wicket taken; low values indicate the converse. For a given competition, a very high value, say above 150%, shows that a particular country dominated, and a very low value, say below 75%, that a country was outclassed. Competitions with no very high or very low values show that the teams were very well-matched. Data on the average runs scored per wicket lost and the average runs conceded per wicket taken indicate the strengths and weaknesses of each country. Countries scoring over 30 runs per wicket lost can be classed as strong in batting and those conceding fewer than 25 runs per wicket taken as strong in bowling. Countries scoring fewer than 20 runs per wicket lost or conceding over 30 runs per wicket taken may be considered weak in batting and bowling respectively. Proficiency index by year for the ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield Country 2004 2005 2006-07 2007-08 2009-10 Afghanistan 131.31 Bermuda 61.18 141.43 79.41 67.00 39.32 Canada 140.29 124.48 84.98 78.18 73.18 Cayman Islands 40.91 Hong Kong 85.27 Ireland 121.49 182.85 213.76 226.38 114.82 Kenya 69.29 68.39 93.02 108.92 94.98 Malaysia 83.65 Namibia 93.84 90.61 98.40 113.54 158.82 Nepal 123.57 230.01 Netherlands 58.93 87.87 115.18 70.46 73.02 Scotland 211.74 100.60 118.57 130.23 88.56 Uganda 74.19 77.41 87.23 United Arab Emirates 112.10 55.05 48.90 78.71 124.15 USA 99.30 Zimbabwe XI 144.56 Values in italics are for the Intercontinental Shield 8 Introduction