Former champion Scotland faces Canada in ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 curtain-raiser in Aberdeen on Thursday

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Dubai, 30 June 2009

The International Cricket Council’s first-class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, kicks off on Thursday when Scotland hosts Canada at Citylets Mannofield, Aberdeen in a repeat of the 2004 final which the former won by an innings and 84 runs in Sharjah.

In that inaugural final, Scotland opener Gavin Hamilton, who will not play in this year’s Intercontinental Cup, had scored a brilliant 115 in a low-scoring match in which Canada could manage only 110 and 93 in reply to Scotland’s 287-8 declared.

The two sides then met for the second and, until now, only other previous time in the four-day format at Maple-Leaf North East Ground, King City where Scotland again defeated Canada by an innings and 165 runs in the 2007-08 event. Douglas Lockhart stroked a classy 151 that propelled Scotland to 374, setting the stage for Dewald Nel (7-70) and Ross Lyons (7-42) to bowl out the Canadians for 79 and 130.

However, Canada secured an important and satisfying victory over Scotland earlier this April in an ODI in Benoni when it won its crucial ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier game by 148 runs. While Canada went on to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the Asian subcontinent by finishing second in the 12-team contest, Scotland finished sixth, missing out on a place at the ICC’s flagship event, but retaining its ODI status until 2013 and earning automatic qualification for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10.

Scotland has made eight changes to the side that participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in England last month. Hamilton will only be available this year for Scotland’s ODIs and wicketkeeper Colin Smith has retired at the age of 36 after playing 27 ODIs, eight T20Is and 10 first-class matches.

Others to miss the Aberdeen action are Kyle Coetzer, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Glenn Rogers, Craig Wright and John Blain. They have been replaced in the 12-man squad by wicketkeeper Simon Smith, left-handed batsman Qasim Sheikh, wrist-spinner Moneeb Iqbal and an uncapped 19-year-old all-rounder Ewan Chalmers.

Scotland head coach Peter Steindl, reflecting on his new-look side, said: “With these selections, we are starting to look ahead over the next four years and, broadly speaking, we are seeking to give the younger generation as much experience as we can.

“We believe that some cricketers are more suited to the longer form of the game, while some flourish in the one-day variety. With more and more top-quality youngsters pushing for places in the national squads, those squads may show more differences as time goes on. It’s up to the players to make their case on the field.”

Fast bowler Gordon Drummond, who will be Scotland’s third captain this year after Ryan Watson and Gavin Hamilton, said: “This is an exciting time for Scottish cricket and I am delighted to have been asked to take responsibility for the ICC Intercontinental Cup squad, where we need players who are in for the long haul.

“The matches against Canada and Ireland will certainly be a test to be savoured. The players, I’m sure, will rise to the occasion.”

Drummond said his side was ready to put behind the disappointments of this year and move on. “The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a fresh tournament with a new format but some of our players have been playing for Scotland Lions and switching from Twenty20 mode to four-day cricket mode should not be a problem for them.

“We don’t need to do anything different except stick to basics and show discipline in our performance. We have a talented side and I think we should be able to do that.

“We are in a rebuilding phase and the absence of some key players, including Gavin (Hamilton), Kyle (Coetzer), Colin (Smith) and Dewald (Nel) will provide a good opportunity to the youngster to step in, take the responsibility and show their mettle.”

Drummond, who has played two first-class matches, said his side would be approaching the tournament with a positive approach. “We have not set any long term goals for ourselves. We will take every match as it comes and we would like to win as many matches as possible,” he said.

“I was part of the side that defeated Canada in 2007 and though it was slightly under-strength, we know how they play in the four-day format and what we need to do against them to collect maximum points.

“We want to make a positive and winning start to the tournament. This match will be special for me as well as it will be my first match as captain which is a huge honour. To take over from someone like Gavin Hamilton is an honour and I’ll try to carry on all his good work,” said Drummond.

Canada has made six changes to the side that reached the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in South Africa in April. Zameer Zahir, Trevin Bastiampillai, Shaheeb Keshvani, Abdool Samad and Ashif Mulla have replaced Balaji Dorakanti, Eion Katchay, Ian Billcliff, John Davison and Arvindan Kandappah while Umar Bhatti will lead the side in the absence of Ashish Bagai who is not available due to work commitments.

Canada has played 17 ICC Intercontinental Cup matches out of which it has won five, lost nine and drawn three. Besides being the losing finalist to Scotland in the inaugural event in 2004, it also reached the final of the 2006 tournament where it lost to Ireland by an innings and 115 runs at the Grace Road, Leicester.

The 2007-08 ICC Intercontinental Cup was not a event to remember for Canada as it lost five of the seven matches. Its only victory came against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it won by an innings and 22 runs while it losses were against the Netherlands (45 runs), Scotland (by an innings and 165 runs), Kenya (nine wickets), Namibia (eight wickets) and Bermuda (106 runs).

The four-day match will be umpired by Brian Jerling and Enamul Hoque-Moni from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires.

Squads (to be selected from):

Scotland: Gordon Drummond (captain), Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts, Jan Stander, Neil McCallum, Simon Smith, Qasim Sheikh, Moneeb Iqbal, Majid Haq, Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Ewan Chalmers.

Canada: Umar Bhatti (captain), Zameer Zahir, Havir Baidwan, Geoff Barnett, Trevin Bastiampillai, Sandeep Jvoti, Sunil Dhaniram, Shaheeb Keshvani, Khurram Chauhan, Ashif Mulla, Henry Osinde, Qaiser Ali, Rizwan Cheema, Abdool Samad.

Umpires: Brian Jerling and Enamul Hoque-Moni

Distribution of points:

14 = for an outright win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
7 = for an outright tie
6 = first innings lead (retained irrespective of the outright result)
3 each = for a first innings tie
10 each = if a match is abandoned without a ball being bowled
7 each = in a match with more than 10 hours lost due to interruptions, plus any points scored in the first innings
20 = for forfeiting match, plus additional penalty the Events Technical Committee may like to impose

About ICC Intercontinental Cup

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception five years ago. The ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

There will be a total of US$250,000 in prize money for the Associate and Affiliate teams taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 with US$100,000 for the winners and US$40,000 for the runners-up.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

This year’s format will include seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), while a new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield will involve four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.

Schedule of the remaining matches will be announced in due course.

1 July – announcement of squads and preview of Ireland v Kenya match
3 July – match report/scorecard day one, Ireland v Kenya match
4 July – match report/scorecard day two, Ireland v Kenya match
5 July – match report/scorecard day three, Ireland v Kenya match
6 July – match report/scorecard day four/round-up, Ireland v Kenya match

2 July – match report/scorecard day one, Scotland v Canada match
3 July – match report/scorecard day two, Scotland v Canada match
4 July – match report/scorecard day three, Scotland v Canada match
5 July – match report/scorecard day four/round-up, Scotland v Canada match

13 July – announcement of squads and preview of Netherlands v Canada match
15 July – match report/scorecard day one, Netherlands v Canada match
16 July – match report/scorecard day two, Netherlands v Canada match
17 July – match report/scorecard day three, Netherlands v Canada match
18 July – match report/scorecard day four/round-up, Netherlands v Canada match

15 July – announcement of squads and preview of Scotland v Ireland match
17 July – match report/scorecard day one, Scotland v Ireland match
18 July – match report/scorecard day two, Scotland v Ireland match
19 July – match report/scorecard day three, Scotland v Ireland match
20 July – match report/scorecard day four/round-up, Scotland v Ireland match

ICC announces umpire and referee appointments for upcoming Test and ODI series in Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Dubai, 29 June 2009

The ICC today announced details of umpire and match referee appointments for upcoming Test and ODI series in Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies.

Alan Hurst of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees will lead the playing control team in Sri Lanka where Sri Lanka and Pakistan will go head to head in first of three Tests from this Saturday which will be followed by a five-ODI and single T20I series.

The Galle Test will be umpired by Daryl Harper and Ian Gould of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. Harper will be joined by Simon Taufel, also from the elite panel, for the second Test at P.Sara Oval in Colombo from 12 July while Taufel and Gould will stand in the third and final Test at Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo on 20 July.

Steve Davis, also from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, will stand in the entire ODI series which starts in Dambulla from 30 July along with local appointments while the 12 August T20I in Colombo, which will wrap-up Pakistan’s six-week tour, will be umpired by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) appointees.

Meanwhile, England will be hosting Australia in the much-awaited five-Test Ashes series. The match referee’s responsibilities will be shared between Jeff Crowe and Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees with Crowe overseeing the first three Tests of the series before handing over to Madugalle for the last two Tests.

Billy Doctrove and Aleem Dar, both from the elite panel, will be in charge of the first Test starting at Cardiff from 8 July while Doctrove will be joined by Rudi Koertzen, also from the elite panel, for the second Test at Lord’s. Koertzen and Dar will stand in the third Test in Birmingham on 30 July.

Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf, both from the elite panel, will team up for the fourth and fifth Tests at Leeds and The Oval.

In the Caribbean, the West Indies will be hosting Bangladesh in a two-Test, three-ODI and one T20I series. The Test series will be overseen by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees with Tony Hill and Asoka de Silva, both from the elite panel, as umpires.

Pycroft will then hand over to Roshan Mahanama from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees who will be the match referee for the ODI series, to be umpired by Hill along with local appointments, and the 2 August T20I which will be umpired by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) appointees.

Appointments for future matches and series will be announced in due course.

Sri Lanka
Series match referee: Alan Hurst
4-8 July: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (Test), Galle –Daryl Harper and Ian Gould
12-16 July: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (Test), Colombo (PSS) – Simon Taufel and Daryl Harper
20-24 July: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (Test), Colombo (SSC) – Simon Taufel and Ian Gould
30 July: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (ODI), Dambulla – Steve Davis and local appointment
1 August: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (ODI), Dambulla – Steve Davis and local appointment
3 August: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (ODI), Dambulla – Steve Davis and local appointment
7 August: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (ODI), Colombo – Steve Davis and local appointment
9 August: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (ODI), Colombo – Steve Davis and local appointment
12 August: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (T20I), Colombo – local appointments

England
Test series match referee: Jeff Crowe and Ranjan Madugalle
8-12 July: England v Australia (Test), Cardiff – Billy Doctrove and Aleem Dar, Jeff Crowe (referee)
16-20 July: England v Australia (Test), Lord’s – Billy Doctrove and Rudi Koertzen, Jeff Crowe (referee)
30 July-3 August: England v Australia (Test), Birmingham – Rudi Koertzen and Aleem Dar, Jeff Crowe (referee)
7-11 August: England v Australia (Test), Leeds – Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf, Ranjan Madugalle (referee)
20-24 August: England v Australia (Test), The Oval – Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf, Ranjan Madugalle (referee)

West Indies
Test series match referee: Andy Pycroft
9-13 July: West Indies v Bangladesh (Test), St Vincent – Tony Hill and Asoka de Silva
17-21 July: West Indies v Bangladesh (Test), Grenada – Tony Hill and Asoka de Silva

ODI and T20I match referee: Roshan Mahanama
26 July: West Indies v Bangladesh (ODI), Dominica – Tony Hill and local appointment
28 July: West Indies v Bangladesh (ODI), Dominica – Tony Hill and local appointment
31 July: West Indies v Bangladesh (ODI), St Kitts – Tony Hill and local appointment
2 August: West Indies v Bangladesh (T20I), St Kitts – local appointments

West Indies fined for slow over-rate against India at Kingston

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Dubai, 27 June 2009

The West Indies team has been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during its 20-run defeat against India in the first ODI of the four-match series at Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.

Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fines after Chris Gayle’s side was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of India innings when time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing over-rate penalties, players are fined five per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.

As such, Gayle was fined 20 per cent of his match fee while his players received 10-per-cent fines.

The offence is contrary to Section J of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to slow over-rates. For such offences, the decision of the ICC match referee is final and binding.

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 underway next month

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

London, 26 June 2009

The International Cricket Council’s first-class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, gets underway next month with many of the heavy-hitters from the competition in action.

The tournament begins in Scotland as the 2005 champion takes on the 2006-07 finalist Canada at Mannofield, Aberdeen from 2 to 5 July. When that match is over Scotland and Canada will play a two-ODI series at the same venue.

Canada will then head to the Netherlands for two ODIs on 11 and 12 July at VRA Amstelveen. Then Canada will face the Dutch in an ICC Intercontinental Cup match at VOC Rotterdam from 15 to 18 July.

Meanwhile, defending champion Ireland will host Kenya from 3 to 6 July at Eglinton in the island’s north-west. There will then be a three-ODI series at Clontarf, Dublin with those matches taking place on 9, 11 and 12 July.

Ireland will travel to Aberdeen to take on Scotland in an Intercontinental Cup (17-20 August) and ODI series (22 and 23 August), continuing a rivalry between the two teams that has flourished since 1888.

“The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception five years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule,” said ICC Global Development Manager Matthew Kennedy.

“This competition has played a crucial role in the leading Associates’ development as team units and in challenging and improving the skills of both established and emerging individual players at these national levels. It has surely contributed significantly to some of their successes in recent years against Full Members in the shorter forms of the game.

“Currently Ireland is top of the pile having won the title on the previous three occasions but I know the other teams will be keen to end that domination and so it won’t be easy for them to retain the trophy.

“The addition of prize money this year is another way in which the ICC Intercontinental Cup is being enhanced and is a sign of our commitment to our Associate and Affiliate Members,” said Mr Kennedy.

There will be a total of US$250,000 in prize money for the Associate and Affiliate teams taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup with US$100,000 for the winners and US$40,000 for the runners-up.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

This year’s format will include seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), while a new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield will involve four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.

Upcoming Associate team fixtures are:

2-5 Jul –Scotland v Canada (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Aberdeen
3-6 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Eglinton, Derry
7 Jul – Scotland v Canada (ODI), Aberdeen
8 Jul – Scotland v Canada (ODI), Aberdeen
9 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin
11 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin
11 Jul – Netherlands v Canada (ODI), VRA Amstelveen
12 Jul – Netherlands v Canada (ODI), VRA Amstelveen
12 Jul – Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin
15-18 Jul – Netherlands v Canada (ICC Intercontinental Cup), VOC Rotterdam
17-20 Aug – Scotland v Ireland (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Aberdeen
22 Aug – Scotland v Ireland (ODI), Aberdeen
23 Aug – Scotland v Ireland (ODI), Aberdeen
27 Aug – Ireland v England (ODI), Stormont, Belfast
28 Aug – Scotland v Australia (ODI), Grange, Edinburgh