Namibia to host ICC Intercontinental Cup

NAMIBIA will host the semi-finals and final of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup starting this Sunday at Wanderers and United.

The Namibian cricket side was knocked out of the tournament earlier this year. Namibia missed out on a place in the semi-finals when they lost to Kenya in May 2005.The three-day semi-final matches, from October 23 to 25, will be played by Bermuda, Ireland, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The draw, which took place at Lords Cricket Ground in England in June, pitted Asian Group winners the UAE against the qualifier from the European section, Ireland, while African champions Kenya face the Americas qualifier, Bermuda.The two semi-final winners will progress to the final, which will be played at Wanderers from October 27 to 29.The purpose of the ICC Intercontinental Cup is to give Associate members greater exposure to the longer form of the game and hopefully improve their playing standards.The format is intended to give batsmen the chance to learn how to build an innings and spend more time at the crease while, for bowlers, the longer game encourages them to get fitter and learn more skills as it requires them to dismiss players rather than simply prevent them from scoring.When this year’s tournament began, twelve teams started out on the road to Namibia.In the Africa group, Kenya faced Namibia in the qualifiers for the 2003 World Cup, and Uganda, where cricket is one of the fastest growing sports.The UAE came up against Nepal and Hong Kong in the Asia group while in Europe, Ireland went head-to-head with Scotland and the Netherlands.The Americas group saw Bermuda, which recently qualified for the ICC World Cup for the first time, pitted against Canada, qualifiers for two World Cups themselves, and the Cayman Islands, taking part in the tournament for the first time.The loser of the match between Bermuda and Kenya will engage the Namibian national team in a two-limited-overs match on October 28 and 29 at United.Namibia missed out on a place in the semi-finals when they lost to Kenya in May 2005.The three-day semi-final matches, from October 23 to 25, will be played by Bermuda, Ireland, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The draw, which took place at Lords Cricket Ground in England in June, pitted Asian Group winners the UAE against the qualifier from the European section, Ireland, while African champions Kenya face the Americas qualifier, Bermuda.The two semi-final winners will progress to the final, which will be played at Wanderers from October 27 to 29.The purpose of the ICC Intercontinental Cup is to give Associate members greater exposure to the longer form of the game and hopefully improve their playing standards.The format is intended to give batsmen the chance to learn how to build an innings and spend more time at the crease while, for bowlers, the longer game encourages them to get fitter and learn more skills as it requires them to dismiss players rather than simply prevent them from scoring.When this year’s tournament began, twelve teams started out on the road to Namibia.In the Africa group, Kenya faced Namibia in the qualifiers for the 2003 World Cup, and Uganda, where cricket is one of the fastest growing sports.The UAE came up against Nepal and Hong Kong in the Asia group while in Europe, Ireland went head-to-head with Scotland and the Netherlands.The Americas group saw Bermuda, which recently qualified for the ICC World Cup for the first time, pitted against Canada, qualifiers for two World Cups themselves, and the Cayman Islands, taking part in the tournament for the first time.The loser of the match between Bermuda and Kenya will engage the Namibian national team in a two-limited-overs match on October 28 and 29 at United.