| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Format | First-class cricket |
| First edition | 2004 |
| Latest edition | 2015–17 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin andknockout |
| Number of teams | Varies (Highest 14) (Recently 8) |
| Current champion |  Afghanistan (2nd title) |
| Most successful |  Ireland (4 titles) |
| Most runs |  Steve Tikolo (1,918)[1] |
| Most wickets | Trent Johnston (81)[2] |
| Tournaments |
|---|
| Part of a series on the |
| International cricket competitions |
|---|
 |
Regional bodies |
| ICC Competitions |
| Men's |
| Women's |
| Multi-sport competitions |
| Regional competitions |
Africa |
Americas
|
Asia
|
East-Asia Pacific |
Other |
| Note:Defunct competitions are listed in italics. |
TheICC Intercontinental Cup was a first-classcricket tournament organised by theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) as part of its cricket development programme. It was designed to allowAssociate Members of the ICC the chance to playfirst-class cricket matches over four days against teams of similar skill in a competition environment and prepare them for eventual promotion toTest cricket status. First run in 2004, two of the most successful teams in the history of the tournament,Ireland andAfghanistan were promoted toFull Member and Test status, in 2017.
In October 2018, the ICC issued a media release asking for an expression of interest from teams which had competed in previous editions of the tournament.[3] However, since no further news regarding a new edition have emerged since then, the future of the tournament appeared uncertain.[4][5] In April 2021, the ICC looked at the possibility of multi-day matches between Associate Members withOne Day International (ODI) status, andTest teams that were not part of theICC World Test Championship.[6]
The inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup was completed on 22 November 2004 when Scotland won the title inSharjah, United Arab Emirates.[7] Scotland beat Canada by an innings and 84 runs in the final. The competition included 12 teams, divided by geographical region into four groups of three. Each team played the other two teams in its group once each. The top team in each group then progresses to the semi-finals, and the winners of those to the final. In order to encourage competitive play and avoid deadlocks, a point system including bonus points was used.
Hong Kong came in to replace Malaysia, and theCayman Islands replaced the United States who were ejected from the competition by the ICC because of then ongoing political problems within cricket in the US.[8] The points system was also modified so that teams could score unlimited batting points in the first innings and a maximum of 4 points in the second innings.
The tournament was won byIreland who defeatedKenya in the final.[9]
The tournament was cut from 12 to eight teams, with Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands and Uganda losing the right to participate, while Namibia knocked out Nepal in a play off for the eighth place. The match length was extended from three to four days, and each team was scheduled to play at least three matches. The teams were divided into two groups of four, with each team playing the other once and the top two teams qualifying for the final, and the points system has also been changed: 14 points are now awarded for a win, and six for a first-innings lead. Due to preparations for the2007 World Cup and the longer tournament, the final was played in May 2007, where Ireland defeated Canada to defend their title.
The 2007–08 tournament was played as a singleround-robin league of eight teams, so that each team played seven matches.[10] The teams ranked first and second at the end of the pool stage contested the final.
Namibia topped the pool stage but faced a defeat in the final against Ireland in late October in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Ireland secured their third consecutive Intercontinental Cup victory by remaining unbeaten throughout the competition. They sealed the title by winning three successive crucial away matches in Africa, defeating Namibia twice and Kenya in between.
The 2009–10 tournament was expanded to two divisions and 11 teams.[11] Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Canada, Kenya, and Afghanistan played in the top division, joined by Zimbabwe A. Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates, Namibia, Bermuda and Uganda played in theIntercontinental Shield.Afghanistan won their first title, beating Scotland in the final.
In December 2010, the ICC announced that the 2011–13 tournament would revert to the 8 team, single division format of the 2007–08 season and that the Intercontinental Shield would be scrapped. The sixth staging of the Cup ran from June 2011 to October 2013. and included the top six associate and affiliate teams with One Day International status (ICC World Cricket League Division 1); Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland. The remaining two places were allotted to UAE and Namibia who finished in the top two of the ICC Intercontinental Shield and ICC World Cricket League Division 2.[12] Later the ICC Development Committee decided to select the 3rd and 4th placed teams from theICC World Cricket League Division 2 (Bermuda and Uganda) and two qualifiers to proceed fromWCL Division 3 (Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea) bringing the total to 12 teams.[13] A50-over tournament was run alongside the re-expanded Intercontinental Cup.[12]
The final of the 2011-13 competition was held in December 2013 between Ireland and Afghanistan, with Ireland winning their 4th Intercontinental Cup title.
In the wake of changes announced by ICC following its revamp in January 2014 when India, Australia and England Cricket Boards gained more control it was declared that the next winner of the Intercontinental Cup would get an opportunity to play 4 tests (2 home and 2 away) against the bottom ranked test nation and if the associate nation wins that series they would then gain Test status until the next Intercontinental Cup.[14] However, with Ireland and Afghanistan gaining test status in June 2017 the Test challenge was not held.[15][16][17]Ireland,Afghanistan,Scotland,United Arab Emirates,Hong Kong,PNG,The Netherlands andNamibia qualified based on the results from2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship,2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two. It ran in parallel with the2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship but with slightly different teams. AsIreland andAfghanistan had qualified for the ICCOne-Day International Championship ranking qualification process, they were replaced byKenya andNepal in the limited over event; however they continued to play the four-day event. Afghanistan won the tournament after defeating UAE during the final round.[18]
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 |  Scotland |  Canada |
| 2005 | Ireland | Kenya |
| 2006–07 | Ireland | Canada |
| 2007–08 | Ireland |  Namibia |
| 2009–10 |  Afghanistan | Scotland |
| 2011–13 | Ireland | Afghanistan |
| 2015–17 | Afghanistan | Ireland |
| TBD |
An overview of the teams' performances in every Intercontinental Cup:
| Team | 2004 | 2005 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2009–10 | 2011–13 | 2015–17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | |||||||
| Kenya | SF | RU | GS | 3rd | 5th | 7th | DNC |
| Namibia | GS | GS | GS | RU | 8th | 5th | 8th |
 Uganda | GS | GS | DNC | DNC | 10th | DNC | DNC |
 Zimbabwe XI | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 3rd | DNC | DNC |
| Americas | |||||||
 Bermuda | GS | SF | GS | 8th | 11th | DNC | DNC |
| Canada | RU | GS | RU | 7th | 7th | 6th | DNC |
 Cayman Islands | DNC | GS | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC |
 United States | GS | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC |
| Asia | |||||||
| Afghanistan | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | W | RU | W |
 Hong Kong | DNC | GS | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 4th |
 Malaysia | GS | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC |
 Nepal | GS | GS | PO | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC |
 United Arab Emirates | SF | SF | GS | 6th | 9th | 4th | 5th |
| East Asia - Pacific | |||||||
 Papua New Guinea | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 7th |
| Europe | |||||||
| Ireland | GS | W | W | W | 4th | W | RU |
 Netherlands | GS | GS | GS | 5th | 6th | 8th | 3rd |
| Scotland | W | GS | GS | 4th | RU | 3rd | 6th |
The abandoned match between Scotland and Kenya in 2008, the forfeited match between Zimbabwe and Scotland in 2010 and the abandoned match between Hong Kong and Scotland in 2016 are not included. Complete up to the end of 2017.[19]
| Team | TP | TW | M | W | L | D | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 7 | 4 | 39 | 25 | 3 | 11 | 64.1% |
| Scotland | 7 | 1 | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 33.3% |
| Netherlands | 7 | 33 | 7 | 16 | 10 | 21.2% | |
| Namibia | 6 | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 44.1% | |
| Kenya | 6 | 28 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 32.1% | |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 | 34 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 26.5% | |
| Canada | 6 | 29 | 6 | 18 | 5 | 20.7% | |
| Bermuda | 4 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 16.7% | |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 2 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 77.3% |
| Nepal | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40.0% | |
| Uganda | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 28.6% | |
| Hong Kong | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 25.0% | |
| Zimbabwe XI | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60.0% | |
| United States | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% | |
| Papua New Guinea | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 28.6% | |
| Malaysia | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Cayman Islands | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
Key: TP/TW=Tournaments participated/won, M=Matches played, W/L/D=wins/losses/draws, Win%=percentage of games won.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Namibia | United Arab Emirates |
In 2009 a second competition, the Intercontinental Shield, was introduced for the four teams placing 7th through 10th in the 2009 World Cup Qualifier. The matches are also first-class and the rules and points system are the same as for the Intercontinental Cup. The current teams in the Intercontinental Shield are Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and United Arab Emirates. In December 2010 after the end of the Intercontinental Shield the ICC announced that it would be scrapping the Shield competition and returning to the 8 team Intercontinental Cup format of the 2007–08 season.[13]
Complete up to the 2010 final between the UAE and Namibia.
| Team | TP | TW | M | W | L | D | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Namibia | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.0% |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 62.5% | |
| Uganda | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50.0% | |
| Bermuda | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
Key: TP/TW=Tournaments participated/won, M=Matches played, W/L/D=wins/losses/draws, Win%=percentage of games won, a draw counts as half of a win.
| Team | Total | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namibia | 630/7 | Kenya | 2012 |
| Bermuda | 620 | Netherlands | 2006 |
| Namibia | 609 | Uganda | 2010 |
| Zimbabwe XI | 590 | Ireland | 2010 |
| Ireland | 589/7 | UAE | 2013 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
| Team | Total | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bermuda | 56 | UAE | 2010 |
| Ireland | 69 | Namibia | 2008 |
| Ireland | 75 | Kenya | 2012 |
| UAE | 76 | Nepal | 2005 |
| Canada | 79 | Scotland | 2008 |
| UAE | Namibia | 2010 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
| Team | Margin | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | innings and 228 runs | UAE | 2007 |
| Namibia | innings and 185 runs | Bermuda | 2010 |
| Afghanistan | innings and 173 runs | Hong Kong | 2017 |
| Afghanistan | innings and 172 runs | Ireland | 2017 |
| Ireland | innings and 170 runs | UAE | 2007 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
| Team | Margin | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 279 runs | Netherlands | 2013 |
| Hong Kong | 276 runs | United Arab Emirates | 2015 |
| United Arab Emirates | 266 runs | Kenya | 2011 |
| Kenya | 247 runs | Canada | 2009 |
| Netherlands | 231 runs | Namibia | 2017 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
| Team | Margin | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namibia | 10 wickets | Uganda | 2010 |
| Afghanistan | Namibia | 2013 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 2017 | ||
| 9 wickets | Canada | 2011 | |
| Canada | Bermuda | 2006 | |
| Ireland | United Arab Emirates | 2008 | |
| Namibia | |||
| Kenya | Canada | 2007 | |
| Nepal | Malaysia | 2004 | |
| United Arab Emirates | Bermuda | 2010 | |
| Namibia | 2013 | ||
| Papua New Guinea | 2017 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 22 March 2018.
| Player | Team | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | Avg | Highest | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Tikolo | Kenya | 2004–2010 | 19 | 32 | 1,918 | 63.93 | 220 | 6 | 7 |
| Arshad Ali | UAE | 2004–2013 | 24 | 46 | 1,756 | 39.90 | 185 | 4 | 9 |
| William Porterfield | Ireland | 2006–2017 | 24 | 39 | 1,743 | 47.10 | 186 | 5 | 8 |
| Khurram Khan | UAE | 2004–2015 | 24 | 43 | 1,730 | 43.25 | 121* | 4 | 10 |
| Saqib Ali | UAE | 2006–2015 | 18 | 34 | 1,620 | 54.00 | 195 | 6 | 6 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 27 October 2015.
| Player | Score | Team | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan ten Doeschate | 259* | Netherlands | Canada | 2006 |
| David Hemp | 247* | Bermuda | Netherlands | 2006 |
| Ed Joyce | 231 | Ireland | UAE | 2015 |
| Gerrie Snyman | 230 | Namibia | Kenya | 2008 |
| Steve Tikolo | 220 | Kenya | Bermuda | 2005 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
| No. | Runs | Players | For | Against | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 374 | Raymond van Schoor &Ewald Steenkamp | Namibia | Bermuda | 2010 |
| 2nd | 326 | William Porterfield &Ed Joyce | Ireland | Namibia | 2015 |
| 3rd | 360 | Eoin Morgan &Andre Botha | Ireland | UAE | 2007 |
| 4th | 267 | Steve Tikolo &Hitesh Modi | Kenya | Ireland | 2005 |
| 5th | 214* | Kevin O'Brien &Andrew White | Ireland | Kenya | 2008 |
| 6th | 288* | Ben Cooper &Pieter Seelaar | Netherlands | Hong Kong | 2017 |
| 7th | 219 | David Hemp &Saleem Mukuddem | Bermuda | Netherlands | 2006 |
| 8th | 161 | Vusi Sibanda &Regis Chakabva | Zimbabwe XI | Kenya | 2009 |
| 9th | 180 | Sunil Dhaniram &Kevin Sandher | Canada | UAE | 2007 |
| 10th | 71 | Khurram Chohan &Hiral Patel | Canada | Afghanistan | 2010 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 22 March 2018.
| Player | Team | Span | Mat | Overs | Wkts | Avg | Best | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Johnston | Ireland | 2004–2013 | 25 | 577.1 | 91 | 16.35 | 6/23 | 3 | 0 |
| Umar Bhatti | Canada | 2004–2010 | 18 | 491.0 | 78 | 20.56 | 8/40 | 7 | 2 |
| Hiren Varaiya | Kenya | 2006–2013 | 18 | 566.4 | 77 | 21.66 | 6/22 | 7 | 2 |
| Louis Klazinga | Namibia | 2006–2013 | 18 | 491.4 | 74 | 21.14 | 5/20 | 3 | 0 |
| Dwayne Leverock | Bermuda | 2004–2008 | 15 | 685.5 | 71 | 26.47 | 7/57 | 6 | 2 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
| Player | Figures | Team | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Asad | 9/74 | UAE | Nepal | 2004 |
| John Davison | 9/76 | Canada | United States | 2004 |
| Ian van Zyl | 8/34 | Namibia | Ireland | 2006 |
| Umar Bhatti | 8/40 | Canada | Bermuda | 2005 |
| John Davison | 8/61 | Canada | United States | 2004 |
Source:ESPNcricinfo. Last updated 3 June 2015.
