Tony Munro

Coming into the 2009-10 CSA Provincial Three-Day Challenge, Namibia coach Johan Rudolph's main priority was that the batsmen score hundreds and spend time at the crease. And after just three games, they have exceeded Rudolph's expectations.

"Last season we scored only two hundreds in the competition," said Rudolph. "This season, the players have bettered the statistic in the first three matches, scoring three hundreds (Raymond van Schoor 141, Sarel Burger 125 not out and Craig Williams 123) and one player scoring three nineties (Gerhard Rudolph's 98, 96 & 92)."

There was further excitement for Rudolph as three hundreds were scored in the opening round of the Namibian domestic MTC 50-over Premier League. "Youngsters scored three hundreds last weekend and if we can get this culture going and do away with high risk cricket in our club setup, I believe we will be on the right track," Rudolph said.

Namibia's next game will be against Boland, starting on Thursday at home in Windhoek, and Rudolph believes it will be a tough test. "Boland will have a very strong team with most of their players playing for University of Stellenboch," Rudolph said. "Uwe Birchenstock and Henno Jordaan are two very good batsman."

Namibia will also play a one-day game against Boland on Sunday, and Rudolph said he was keen that the team perfected the key ingredient in the short format. "They just need to apply the basics in batting, bowling and fielding in pressure situations. Players need to know what is their role in the team and then also to play according to the set gameplan. We don't have superstars in the current squad so its vital for the team to perform as a unit."

Uganda will travel to Dubai in February to play the United Arab Emirates and later host Namibia in August in their ICC Intercontinental Shield campaign. Uganda started well with a win in Bermuda, and are early favourites to reach the final.

And Uganda have hired a South African coach, Fayyaaz Mohiudeen, as a temporary replacement for Ebrahim Mohammed who is back home attending a course.

Cricket Namibia has announced a three-year extension to its sponsorship deal with MTC which is believed to be worth around N$2.5 million (US$340,000) a year.

The partnership, which has already been running for six years, “has lifted the standard and profile of the game in Namibia through ever increasing numbers of players participating in cricket throughout the country,” said board president Francois Erasmus.

The sponsorship covers the costs of the national team’s participation in the South African competitions as well as the grass roots cricket, infrastructure development, national leagues, and payments to senior players and management.

Laurie Peters, Namibia’s chief executive, has called the ICC’s decision to restructure the Intercontinental Cup as “disappointing” and said that it will have a negative affect on cricket in the country.

Continue reading "Namibia anger as ICC dumps them from cup"

Zimbabwe Cricket has told Cricinfo that it is working with the ICC on proposals that it enters a team into the 2009-10 Intercontinental Cup. The tournament features the leading eight Associates who play each other in four-day first-class matches spread over more than a year, with the top two playing-off in a final at a neutral venue.

The idea that Zimbabwe, who have been suspended from Test cricket since 2005, participate in the competition was one of the proposals put forward to the ICC to enable their cricketers to prepare for an eventual return to the Test arena. A ZC spokesman said that the board were “in principle agreeable” and it was sorting out the “finer details” with the ICC.

Continue reading "Intercontinental Cup could include Zimbabwe"

Uganda and Sierra Leone booked their places in the Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournament later this year after finishing first and second in the Africa Under-19 Championship in Zambia. They will join Afghanistan, Hong Kong and the top two teams from the Americas, East Asia-Pacific and Europe regions in a play-off, from which the top five teams from that tournament will join the ten ICC Full Members and hosts Kenya in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup.

Continue reading "Uganda and Sierra Leone win through"

Sierra Leone continue to surprise opponents and followers of the Africa Under-19 Championship in topping the table. After the fifth day they are joint-first with Namibia on eight points, but with a superior net run-rate, thanks to another win over Zambia by 85 runs. Chasing 177 Zambia were skittled for 91 with Ibrahim Kabia picking up 3 for 8. Elsewhere, Namibia thrashed Nigeria by ten wickets while Kenya – who are in a disappointing fourth position – beat Tanzania by 19 runs. Uganda pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win over Botswana when they rather underestimated their target of 114, losing nine wickets – three of them to Waseem Tajbhai. Their last pair saw them across the line, however, with overs (if not nerves) to spare.

---- Points table ----
1. Sierra Leone (8 points, NRR: 1.03)
2. Namibia (8, 0.87)
3. Uganda (6, -0.56)
4. Kenya (6, 0.10)
5. Zambia (4, -0.12)
6. Botswana (4, -0.44)
7. Tanzania (2, -0.39)
8. Nigeria (0, -2.02)

As the dust settles on the ICC World Cup Qualifiers – aside from Sunday’s rather pointless play-offs – we highlight what each team comes away from South Africa with.

Qualification for the 2011 World Cup
Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands

ODI status for four years
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland

Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, UAE

ICC World Cricket League Division 1
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland

ICC World Cricket League Division 2
Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda, UAE

ICC World Cricket League Division 3
Denmark, Oman

ICC High Performance Programme grant funding 2009 and 2010
Afghanistan, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, UAE, Uganda

Six weeks before the start of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, Namibia have been dealt a major blow after two of their leading players declared themselves unavailable for selection.

The tournament not only decides which four Associates will qualify for the 2011 World Cup, but also which six countries will have full ODI status for the next four years. Namibia are considered one of the most likely of those countries without one-day status at the moment to break through in South Africa in April. But they will have to do so without Kola Burger and Stefan Swanepoel.

Swanepoel cited work commitments as his reason for opting out, but the absence of Burger is not as clear, with rumours circulating that he had fallen out with the board. It is reported that he has refused to play since being dropped in January.

Zimbabwe will help out Namibia with much-needed preparation for April’s ICC World Cup Qualifiers by sending their A side there at the end of this month.

Zimbabwe A will play the full Namibia side in three one-day matches between February 28 and March 4 in Windhoek. A single Twenty20 could also be slotted on the whistle-stop tour.

The ICC World Cup Qualifiers get underway on April 1 in South Africa. Apart from giving Namibia a helping hand the Zimbabweans are also looking at exposing their second-string cricketers to increased competitive games in a bid to widen their selection pool.

Namibia have named a 26-man training squad to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa next April. The top four sides from the 12-team event will earn a place at the 2011 World Cup in Asia.

Openers Riaan Walters and Stefan Swanepoel, who both last played for Namibia nearly two years ago, are brought back into the fold and exciting youngster Raymond van Schoor, who missed most of last season due to school commitments, is handed an opportunity.

Sean Silver, Pikkie Ya France, Hendrik Marx and Ewald Steenkamp are also tipped to be part of the future.

Squad JB Burger, Raymond van Schoor, ST Ackermann, Stefan Swanepoel, Sarel Burger, Riaan Walters, Louis Burger, Craig Williams, Gerrie Snyman, Bjorn Kotze, Deon Kotze, Tobie Verwey, Nicolaas Scholtz, Bernard Scholtz, Louis Klazinga, Kola Burger, LP van der Westhuizen, Wilbur Slabber, Andrew Louw, Hendrik Marx, Ian van Zyl, Sean Silver, Pikkie Ya France, Ewald Steenkamp, Martin van Niekerk and Pieter Rossouw.

The chief executive of Namibia Cricket, Laurie Pieters, has blamed Namibia's inferior professional setup for their defeat against Ireland in the final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup on Sunday.

"We are obviously disappointed that we did not win the cup because that was our intention," Pieters told Namibia Sport, "but the fact that Namibia is not in the ICC's High Performance programme had a lot to do with it."

The top six Associate member countries each received US$350,000 over the past year under the ICC's High Performance programme. A small sum in the grand scheme of things but, for Associate cricket, this amounts to relative riches. Namibia, on the other hand - who are ranked in the top ten of Associates - only received US$50,000 from the ICC over the past year.

Click here to read the full story

By Tony Munro

Western Province 146 for 3 (Ramoo 46*, Klazinga 2-28)
beat Namibia145 (S Burger 63, Schalkwyk 5-30) by seven wickets

Scorecard

Namibia lost their opening game of the South African Amateur Provincial One-Day Challenge match against Western Province by seven wickets in Windhoek, a day after beating the same opposition by 301 runs in their four-day match.

Namibia were brought crashing down to earth as Western Province eased home to their target of 146 with 13 overs to spare. The home team's innings never really got going once Gurshwin Rabie removed the openers with only eight on the board; Jan-Berrie Burger was dismissed for a duck off the third ball and Louis van der Westhuizen was caught behind for 1.

While Sarel Burger held firm, scoring 63 from 73 balls, including nine fours, all around him floundered. Gerrie Snyman and Tobias Verwey were the innings’ joint second-highest scorers with 18.

Verwey gave the innings a late flourish with four fours in his 15 ball-innings to remain unbeaten when Namibia were bowled with 16 overs unused. Shadley van Schalkwyk did the damage for Western Province taking 5 for 30 from eight overs.

Despite a brief hiccup when Louis Klazinga nabbed two wickets in four overs, Western Province got home comfortably, with South Africa Under-19 batsman Romano Ramoo smashing 46 from 51 balls.

By Tony Munro

Namibia 328 for 9 (Snyman 84, LJ Burger 125) and 287 for 8 (AJ Burger 79, T.Verwey 72) beat Western Province 168 (KB Burger 5-69, SF Burger 4-22) and 146 (KB Burger 5-47) by 301 runs

Namibia, boosted by a ten-wicket haul from medium-pacer Kola Burger, have opened their 2008-09 South African Amateur three-day campaign with an emphatic 301-run win over Western Province in Windhoek.

Burger nabbed 5 for 47 in the second innings to complete a haul of 10 for116 in the match as Western Province succumbed for 146 while chasing the target of 447.

After establishing a 160-run lead in the first innings, Namibia scored at 5.12 runs per over on the second day and declared at 287 for 8.

Deon Kotze was bowled off the second ball of Namibia’s second innings before the Burgers, Jan-Barrie and Sarel, added 106 for the second wicket.

Looking to set a target quickly, wicketkeeper Tobias Verwey and captain Louis Burger, put on 69 runs in 10.4 overs for the seventh wicket. Verwey smashed 72 from 58 balls including three sixes and seven fours.

Kola Burger took four top-order Western Province wickets and Martin Walters' 75 was the only innings of substance in his team's 146.

Namibia are due to start their South African Amateur limited-overs season against the same opposition on Sunday. Their next opponents are North West, who they will meet in Potchefstroom for a three-day game on October 23 followed by a one-day game on October 26.

Namibia will then play Ireland in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Port Elizabeth from October 30 to November 3.

Tony Munro

Namibia will be looking for quick wickets to capitalise on a century from captain Louis Burger when play resumes today in their three-day South African Amateur competition match against Western Province in Windhoek.

Western Province were 82 for 2 replying to Namibia's 328 for 9 declared, at stumps of the first day. The home team recovered from an awkward 57 for 4 before Gerrie Snyman (84) and Burger (125) combined in a fifth-wicket partnership of 136.

Burger said Namibia would need to bowl well as the pitch conditions had become more favourable to the batsmen. "The new ball was doing quite a bit yesterday, but the pitch flattened out nicely."

The only change to the Namibia team which lost their Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland was the inclusion of legspinner Gerrit Randolph for allrounder Bjorn Kotze who is unavailable due to work commitments.

Kotze will play in the one-day match which follows the three-day game.

Namibia play Ireland again in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Port Elizabeth starting on October 31.

Louis Burger, the Namibia captain, chose to see the brighter side of a dispiriting eight-run defeat to Ireland in their Intercontinental Cup match in Windhoek on Saturday.

Read the full piece on Cricinfo

Tony Munro

This weekend Namibia plays Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup. It’s Namibia's last qualifying match while Ireland has another against Kenya after this. Cricinfo spoke to the captain, Louis Burger.

Well, it’s your last chance to cement a place in the final and your opponents, Ireland, have a game in hand. Nothing like a bit of pressure to bring out the best out of the team, is it?

LB: Yes, we play every game to win and Ireland will be no exception in this regard. They will be coming at us really hard as they also want a place in the final. The pressure is a bit relieved on our side seeing that we are virtually assured of a spot in the final unless Ireland and Kenya finish in an outright tie, which is very unlikely, and we have to gain no points in the Ireland game.

Namibia hadn't hit a ball in anger for about five months prior to the Bermuda match. How did you rate the performance and in which areas would you like to see improvement?

LB: To us it was the beginning of the season and our preparations for the Bermuda game was intense seeing that we wanted the 20 points to relieve the pressure of having to gain points in our last game to go to the final.

Having said that, I was happy with our performance. We didn’t really know what to expect of the wicket and weather but eventually everything worked out, and we managed to get full points even though the wicket turned a lot and had half a day of cricket rained off.

Obviously the World Cup qualifiers next year would be in the back of your mind, but why is winning the Intercontinental Cup important?

LB: It’s all about reaching goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the year. Our first goal was to get into the final, which we are almost sure of at this moment. The next goal is to win the final. Our last goal is to qualify for the next World Cup and with the World Cup Qualifiers just a few months away, I feel that this is already a real confidence booster. To win this competition will give us the confidence to go into any game knowing that we can beat whoever the opposition is.

After this, Namibia start their campaign against the amateur South African provincial teams. How important is playing in this competition and in what areas does it improve your cricket?

The two seasons prior to the previous World Cup qualifiers, we did not play in this competition. Previously we did and it was called the Bowl Competition back then. Even though this is an amateur competition the standard of cricket is high and it gives us the opportunity to play against really tough opposition. To play as much competitive cricket as possible makes you a better team and help you cope in tight situations as you have been there before playing in this kind of competition. The competition consists out of a three day game followed by a limited overs match which gives one the opportunity to play both forms of the game over 4 days.

Ireland won the last meeting between the teams. How much will that enter into team planning?

LB: I don’t think that really bothers us. Quite a few of our players didn’t go on that tour due to working commitments, and also, both teams have a few new players. So yes, we don’t really look at what happened two years ago. We’d rather focus on what lies ahead. We do know that Ireland are a decent team and that they will be coming hard and so will we. Hopefully it will be a great contest.

Andre Botha has scored three centuries in the 07-08 Cup for Ireland , including 150s against Scotland and Holland . Does the team know much about him? Have you got plan in place for him?:

LB:Yes I know Andre very well seeing that we played together in Griqualand West in South Africa . We are good friends and he is a very good cricketer and you can’t take that away from him. Cricket is an interesting game and no one can predict what’s going to happen on the day and hopefully (laughs) he won’t score too many runs against us.

You must be in charge of one of the most versatile teams at Associate level. Why is it that Namibian cricket produces so many allrounders?

LB:It’s difficult to say why but, yes, it is very nice to be leading a team with so many individually talented cricketers. We probably have four to five individuals who, on their day, can take the game away from the opposition. And to top it all, we blend together as a great team with great team spirit which feels like one big family.

On a lighter note, I suppose that with the great (flat) batting wickets in Namibia, all the bowlers coming here eventually convert themselves into batsmen, which makes them good all-rounders eventually.

What is Ireland's greatest asset as a team?

LB: They have had the opportunity to play competitive cricket over the past 2 years. The World Cup, ODIs and so forth.

Tony Munro

Cricket Namibia has named a squad of 13, with some changes from the team that beat Bermuda by 103 runs earlier this month, for its crucial Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland scheduled for October 3-6 in Windhoek, Namibia.

Offbreak bowler Wilbur Slabber replaces Bernard Scholtz while opening batsman Raymond van Schoor is unavailable due to end of year examinations.

Namibia squad:

JB Burger, Deon Kotze, Sarel Burger, Louis Burger (capt), Gerrie Snyman, Bjorn Kotze, Craig Williams, Tobias Verwey (wk), Nicholaas Scholtz, Kola Burger, Louis Klazinga, LP van der Westhuizen, Wilbur Slabber

Namibia have named their squad to face Bermuda in the Intercontinental Cup on September 3.

The 14-man squad contains a mixture of experience and youth, and they draft in the debutant Bernard Scholtz, who represented his country in February's Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. Scholtz, the younger brother of Nicholaas and a slow left-arm spinner, took six wickets at 28.33.

Bermuda are propping up the ICC Intercontinental Cup on 26 points and face an in-form Namibia who are second in the competition, trailing Kenya by 14 points with a game in hand.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Continue reading "Future bright beyond the Test world"

Associate Member Bermuda picked up two prizes in the ICC Development Program Annual awards, making them the winners in this year’s competition. They were awarded the Best Overall Cricket Development Program and the Photo of the year titled “It’s a Catch”.

Continue reading "Bermuda's development recognised by the ICC"

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

As revealed by Cricinfo last month, the 2011 World Cup will be shortened and the main victims of the change will be the Associate countries who will have their numbers cut from six to four.

"It is a move we both feared and expected and it's not great news for the Associates," Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the Irish Cricket Union, told Cricinfo. "Neither is it a great vote of confidence in the ICC's own High Performance Programme.

Click here to tell us what you think of this? Is it the start of the gradual elimination of smaller countries from the World Cup or a necessary and welcome move?

	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.

Click here for more

UAE underlined their ambition to take part in the 2011 World Cup by winning the World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia, defeating Oman in the final. Denmark and Namibia also booked their place in the 2009 Qualifer, but Uganda and Argentina finished in the bottom two and were relegated back to Division Three.

Click here for Cricinfo’s full coverage of the tournament.

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.

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.

The ICC has said that there are no plans to extend the number of Associate members who will gain ODI status.

On a visit to Uganda, Cassim Suliman, the CEO of the African Cricket Association, was reported as saying that he would push for more countries to be added to the six Associates that currently have one-day status. But an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo: "There is no intention at this stage to increase the number of teams playing ODIs.

Click here for the full story.

Botswana produced the shock of the Africa Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers when they Uganda by 27 runs to reach the semi-finals in Benoni on Monday.

Botswana's unexpected victory eliminated Tanzania from the semi-final on net run-rate after the duo along with Uganda ended up at four points each from three matches. In Wednesday's semi-finals, Uganda meets Namibia while Kenya faces Botswana. Kenya topped Pool One after conjuring up a four-wicket victory over Zambia while Namibia finished second after defeating Ghana by 172 runs, courtesy of an unbeaten century by Sean Silver.

In the Botswana-Uganda match, Botswana scored 192 for 8 after being put into bat with contributions from Karan Kapoor (54) and Nadeem Tajbhay (36) while Emmanuel Nakaana bagged 3 for 45. In turn, Uganda was dismissed for 165 in 44 overs after losing their last seven wickets for 54.

Tanzania, in their last match, carved out a 153-run victory over Nigeria. Athumani Kakonzi (70) and Seif Abdul (68) put on 123 for the second wicket to set the platform for Tanzania's 296 in 49.5 overs. Nigeria, in its target chase, were bowled out for 143.

Silver scored 101 to inspire Namibia to a 172-run victory over Ghana and featured in a 117-run second wicket partnership with Tiaan Louw (62) as Namibia scored 287 for 6. Ghana were dismissed for 115 with Elandre Oosthuizen taking 4 for 39 and Louis Petrus van der Westhuizen claiming 3 for 13.

Spinners Rakep Patel and Rohit Vekaria shared six wickets to help Kenya beat Zamibia by four wickets. Patel took 3 for 16 and Vekaria bagged 3 for 17 as Zambia were spun out for 152. Kenya achieved victory in 34.1 overs for the loss of six wickets.

The winner of the Africa Under-19 Qualifiers join Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific Region), Ireland (from the Europe Region) and Bermuda (from the Americas Region), the ICC's 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia at the 16-team U-19 World Cup from February 17 to March 2 2008 in Malaysia.

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.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

Continue reading "A long way from home"

Namibia might have failed to qualify for the 2007 World Cup, but the Under-19 side's preparations for their own version of the tournament, which takes place in Sri Lanka in February, are well underway.