ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2006-07 QUALIFYING PLAY-OFF Namibia beat Nepal on first innings QUALIFYING TABLES GROUP A Played Won Lost Drawn First inns Total lead points Ireland 3 2 0 1 2 43 Scotland 3 1 0 2 2 35 Namibia 3 1 2 0 0 20 United Arab Emirates 3 0 2 1 0 0 The Ireland and Scotland records include 3 points for a draw in which more than eight hours play were lost to the weather. GROUP B Played Won Lost Drawn First inns Total lead points Canada 3 2 1 0 0 40 Netherlands 3 1 0 2 1 26 Kenya 3 0 1 2 1 9 Bermuda 3 0 1 2 1 9 The Kenya and Bermuda records include 3 points for a draw in which more than eight hours play were lost to the 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 fewer than eight hours’ play is lost to the weather = 0 points. FINAL Ireland beat Canada by an innings and 115 runs Four changes were made for the 2006-07 competition. First, the regional groupings were abandoned to ensure that the top Associate teams participated, regardless of their geographical location. It was no longer necessary for every cricket region to be represented or for the number of countries from any one region to be limited. This increased the likelihood that the two strongest sides would contest the final, even if they both came from the same region. Secondly, the number of participating countries was reduced from twelve to eight. Thirdly, the duration of the matches was increased from three to four days, bringing it more in line with first-class cricket world-wide. This change also meant that a result was more likely, even in matches affected by the weather. Fourthly, the points system was altered to do away with the bonus points which had so encouraged some captains to concentrate on gaining batting or bowling points, instead of trying to win matches. The 14 points available for a win could now be increased to 20 by gaining a first-innings lead. Points were also awarded in matches where eight or more hours of play was lost due to the weather. The selection of countries was based on a combination of rankings in multi-day and one-day cricket produced by the ICC. Although Nepal were ranked ninth by this method, they were in the top eight on the multi-day ranking, so a decision was taken to give them a chance of qualifying. Their opponents were Namibia, overall in seventh rank, rather than The Netherlands who ranked eighth because the ICC felt that Dutch participation in the competition was helpful to their preparation for the 2007 World Cup. To qualify, Nepal had to beat Namibia; a draw would not do. Namibia were given home advantage. The eight teams were organised into two groups of four, the teams in each group meeting each other once and with each team intended to have at least one home match. The winners of the two groups met in the final. Arrangements were more complicated because the ICC ruled that Bermuda’s facilities did not meet the standards for first-class cricket and they therefore had to 81