ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

30.66 to 22.96. After two years of the regional group system it was clear that it failed to ensure that the best teams reached the semi-finals. Standards in the Asia and Africa Groups were lower than those in America and Europe. The United Arab Emirates reached the semi-finals in spite of scoring an average of only 18.98 runs per wicket and conceding 34.47. For Kenya, another semi-finalist, the respective figures were 26.41 and 38.61. The performances of both these countries were inferior to Scotland and The Netherlands, figures given above, and to Canada at 25.11 and 20.18 respectively. The Cayman Islands were the weakest team in the competition, averaging only 16.32 runs per wicket with the bat and conceding 39.91 with the ball. 49 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2005