Bermuda will host their first international match in four years when they play Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup after the National Sports Centre ground received ICC approval.

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	Arshad Ali, the former UAE captain, struck 185 in UAE's win over Bermuda last year © Eddie Norfolk

UAE might be languishing at second from bottom in the 2007-08 Intercontinental Cup, but they remain confident of reversing their fortunes ahead of their match against Namibia on Wednesday.

In three matches, they have only won one match - an excellent 138-run win over Bermuda last November. And it was this win which inspired UAE, and their captain, Saqib Ali, to believe in themselves. UAE were dismissed for a lowly 143, conceding a first-innings deficit of 168, but fought back brilliantly on days three and four to win by 138 runs.

"It was an unbelievable win for us," Saqib said. "That victory really gave us the belief that we can do well in this competition. I think we have what it takes. We have plenty of experience with people like Khurram Khan and Arshad Ali and there is a good feeling in the squad."

In spite of their bullishness, UAE's preparations for Wednesday's match have been far from ideal, with heavy rains sweeping the region. "Also it is a new pitch at Sharjah Stadium," Saqib said, "so we don't really know how it is going to play."

Saqib took over the reins from Arshadfor the Bermuda match, and the new-found freedom paid immediate dividends for Arshad whose mammoth 185 set-up UAE's matchwinning 449.

"I decided that I wanted to play as just an ordinary player, not captain," Arshad said. "It is easier for me that way and since I gave up the captaincy I have been doing very well, scoring runs and taking wickets."

Namibia, meanwhile, come into the match following an impressive eight-wicket win over Canada in October. Their win was set-up by a fine 163 from Bjorn Kotze, but neither his brother, Deon, or Louis Klazinga, who took 6 for 82 in the match, have made the trip. UAE, though, will not be underestimating Namibia.

"We are wary of Namibia. We know they have a good side with plenty of experience and lots of batting," Saqib said. "It will be very interesting. I am looking forward to it."

Concern is growing that the civil unrest in Kenya might put the Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia at the end of the month in doubt. It has already delayed Kenya's preparations for the match against UAE in Sharjah.

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The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, which will take place in Belfast at the start of August, is the highlight of the Associates schedule for 2008 which was announced by the ICC today.

The three-day Qualifier will feature the six leading Associates - Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland - with the winners going through to the ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009. The two successful teams will also stand to gain US$250,000 each for qualifying.

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Tony Cozier is, rightly, one of the most respected journalists in the game. His work to cover and promote cricket in the Caribbean has been unstinting for almost four decades. And yet even the best writers have off days, and his attack on the way that the ICC funds the Intercontinental Cup, the first-class competition for the Associates, is one of those.

Continue reading "ICC must go on funding cricket's expansion"

Tony Cozier, the veteran Caribbean journalist and broadcaster, has launched a scathing attack on the way the ICC funds global cricket outside the Test-playing countries.

Writing in his column which is syndicated throughout the Caribbean, Cozier was angry at the way that established regions, such as West Indies, were not allocated more money instead of so much being spent by the ICC on Associate competitions.

“Certainly there is no ICC venture more illogical or costly than the one dubbed the Inter-Continental Cup,” he wrote. “It is an annual tournament, described by the ICC as its ‘flagship first-class competition’, comprising round-robin, four-day matches between its second tier members, those one below Test status. These are countries where the game has always been based on amateur, weekend, one-day club cricket. They play no four-day domestic matches and almost certainly never will.

“Yet the ICC doles out heaven knows how much cash every year to fly them, and their own entourage of officials, across the world and to house and feed them at venues as scattered as Aberdeen, Dublin, Namibia, Toronto, Sharjah and Windhoek.

“Canada were unable to raise their strongest team for the African tour because many of their best players simply could not get time off from their jobs. The same problem affects others, rendering the tournament even less relevant.”

The ICC maintains that the competition enables players from Associate countries to gain more experience in the longer form of the game.

Bermuda batsman Lionel Cann has been sent home from the tour of Africa and the Middle East after the Bermuda Cricket Board chose to increase his suspension for showing dissent when he was given out lbw against Kenya on Saturday.

Cann took his time leaving the crease after being given out for a golden duck then hit a trash can with his bat as he left the field. The ICC has already dealt with the offence - handing him a two-match suspension from one-day-internationals after finding him guilty of showing "serious dissent at an umpire's decision". That ruling had meant Cann would have been eligible for the two four-day Intercontinental Cup games against Kenya and the UAE.

But the BCB announced that they had upped his suspension. In a short statement the executive voard announced its decision that Cann should play no further part in the tour and revealed it was making arrangements for him to fly home as soon as possible.

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Namibia have beaten Canada by eight wickets in their Intercontinental Cup match at Windhoek. Click here for the bulletin and leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Bermuda's confidence has been hit by the absence of their leading batsman, David Hemp © Getty Images

Their squad is severely depleted and inexperienced and they have just been humiliated in two warm-up one-dayers against Denmark. But according to Gus Logie, the Bermuda coach, his side are embarking on a new era with confidence.

Logie's men take on Netherlands in their Intercontinental Cup match on Monday with only four surviving players from their disastrous World Cup campaign in the Caribbean earlier this year: Irvine Romaine, Stephen Outerbridge, Dwayne Leverock, the crowds' favourite, and Lionel Cann.

Continue reading "Bermuda embark on new era"

The best things in life are free, or so they say. The Intercontinental Cup final may not be the best thing ever - particularly where Derbyshire and Northamptonshire are concerned, as they won't release their Irish players - but there is no charge for entry for what promises to be a quality contest.

In an era where the cost of sports tickets is ever-spiralling, the opportunity to see two of the best Associates, who are World Cup qualifiers to boot, is not to be sniffed at. You may have to make it to Leicester for the privilege (the game was originally scheduled for Chelmsford in Essex) but Grace Road is an intimate ground which could reward the spectators who come to see if Ireland can retain their title against Canada.

Continue reading "Smiling Irish eye cup prize"

If you are in Leicester this week, then head down to Grace Road to catch the Intercontinental Cup final – for free. That’s right. It’s your chance to see Canada (including John Davison) take on the reigning champions and World Cup heroes Ireland. The four-day match kicks off on Tuesday 22.

The fixtures for the first half of the 2007-08 Intercontinental Cup have been released by the ICC.

The tournament undergoes a change of format once again, with the group stages scrapped and a round-robin system introduced. This will mean that the eight participants play seven matches after the two-year span of the competition.

The event kicks off on June 28 when Canada, who meet Ireland in the final of the 2006-07 tournament at Leicester between May 22 and 25, meet Netherlands in Toronto.

Scotland play back-to-back matches against Ireland and Netherlands at the start of August, while Bermuda will be in Europe to take on the same opponents at the end of the month.

The schedule shows that Bermuda are the busiest country in 2007 with four matches, all away from home. In addition to their European trip, they play Kenya in Nairobi at the start of November and from there go straight to the meet UAE.

Namibia, on the other hand, have only one game inked in, while Kenya have two.

Henry Osinde will replace Ashish Patel in Canada's squad for the Intercontinental Cup final against Ireland next month. Patel could not get time off work according to the CCA website.

The ICC has announced that the final of the Intercontinental Cup between Canada and Ireland will be held at Grace Road, Leicester between May 22 and 25.

The County Ground at Chelmsford had originally been earmarked to stage the game, but negotiations between Essex and the ICC broke down earlier in the month.