ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

(Namibia) was the most successful bowler with 23 wickets in the tournament. The next highest was 12 by Amjad Javed (United Arab Emirates) and Franco Nsubuga (Uganda). The best individual bowling was seven for 38 by Kola Burger (Namibia), the performance that caused the downfall of the Emirates on the first day of the final. There were seven occurrences of five wickets in an innings, two of these by Klazinga. Namibia averaged more runs per wicket (44.63) than the United Arab Emirates (34.64), reflecting their greater depth in batting compared to the reliance of the Emirates on a few players in their top order. Surprisingly, the Emirates conceded fewer runs per wicket than Namibia (27.90 as against 28.10), largely a result of weak batting displays by their opponents in matches against Bermuda and Uganda. The Emirates conceded four totals over 300 compared to three by Namibia. Uganda occupied third place in both average runs scored per wicket (26.65) and runs conceded per wicket (30.55). Bermuda’s record was dire. Their batsmen averaged a mere 16.91 runs per wicket whilst their bowlers conceded 43.00. The decision of the ICC to end the Intercontinental Shield after one tournament was based on restoring the Intercontinental Cup to eight teams. This, in effect, made the Shield redundant unless it was to be enlarged and reconstituted as a “second division”. Whilst this would provide the opportunity for more countries to experience four-day cricket, it would require making more money available to cover the travel and other expenses of the players, officials, as well as the costs of staging the matches for countries which are either below first-class standard or marginally first-class at best. 224 ICC Intercontinental Shield 2009-10