ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

Grounds Thirty-eight grounds have been used in the five Intercontinental Cup and the one Intercontinental Shield competitions. Of the 99 matches, 17% have been staged in the United Arab Emirates which has been the venue for two Cup finals and one Shield final, as well as a neutral venue when security problems have prevented countries playing matches at home. Other favoured grounds are the Wanderers Sports Club in Windhoek and the Gymkhana Club in Nairobi, mainly because these are the preferred venues for home matches in Namibia and Kenya respectively. In contrast, Ireland and The Netherlands have used the Intercontinental Cup to take first-class cricket to several different venues rather than centralise on one or two locations, including, in some years, deciding to play in South Africa rather than in their own country to avoid clashes with English county competitions. This has meant that not only are those players contracted to county sides available but also the matches are less likely to be affected by wet weather. Somewhat surprisingly, Scotland have played their home matches at Aberdeen and Ayr rather than using the facilities at the Grange Cricket Club, Edinburgh or the Clydesdale Cricket Club, Titwood Sports Ground, Glasgow (the one fixture scheduled for Titwood was rained off), the more usual grounds for their home fixtures. They have thereby taken first-class cricket to the north-east and south-west of the country. Overall, the competition has provided the opportunity for cricket fans in the top Associate and Affiliate countries to witness first-class cricket. Only 8% of the matches have taken place in Full-Member countries and these include the three home matches of Zimbabwe when they competed in the 2009-10 tournament. In the summaries below, the number of matches in the Intercontinental Cup and Intercontinental Shield staged at each ground is listed, followed by brief information about the venue and the dates of the first first-class (FC), List A and Main Twenty20 (T20) matches played there; these are followed by the date of the first important match of Associate/Affiliate international or near equivalent standing if this is earlier than any of the previous dates. Matches Venue 11 Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek, Namibia Tünschel, Pioneerspark, Windhoek, Namibia. Home of Wanderers Sports Club. Altitude: approx. 1,700 m. First matches: FC (2004); List A (2002); T20 (2010). First important match: Namibia v Zimbabwe Board XI (1996). Venue for virtually all of Namibia’s home matches. 10 Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Second Industrial Street, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Built under the patronage of Sheikh Abdul Rehman Bukhatir who obtained an interest in cricket when attending the BVS Parsi School in Karachi, the stadium was opened in 1981. Capacity: 27,000. Floodlights. First matches: Tests (2002); FC (2002); List A (1984); T20 (2010). After several matches investigated in the match-fixing allegations in the late 1990s were linked to Sharjah, interest by the Full-Member countries in using the facilities declined even though nothing was proved; the Indian government banned their team from playing there in 2001. Now the temporary "home" ground of Afghanistan. 9 Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi, Kenya Forest Road, Nairobi, Kenya. Home of the Nairobi Gymkhana (a private club). Capacity 7,000. Altitude: approx. 1,680 m. First matches: FC (1974); List A (1996); T20 (2007). First important match was Officials v Settlers (1936). Present-day venue for most of Kenya’s home international matches. 7 Mannofield Park, Aberdeen, Scotland Morningside Road, Aberdeen AB10 7EB, United Kingdom. Home of Aberdeenshire Cricket Club, founded in 1857. Known as Citylets Mannofield for international fixtures. Capacity: 6,000. First matches: FC (1930), List A (1983). 5 National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda 50 Frog Lane, Devonshire, DV01 Bermuda. Floodlights. First matches: FC (1972); List A: (2009); T20 (2010). First important match: E.W.Swanton’s XI v Bermuda (1956). Despite being the venue for most of Bermuda’s home matches and the match against New Zealand staged there in 1972 being awarded first-class status, the ICC judged the facilities below the standards required for international cricket. After considerable upgrading, the ground was approved by the ICC in 2010. 315