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Bermuda’s success in qualifying for the World Cup in June sent the island into fits of ecstasy and unprecedented euphoria.

But could it be that while most of us have been caught up in World Cup fever and anxiously await 2007 we have overlooked the importance of the InterContinental Cup campaign?

After all, the competition affords countries that normally would not play a three-day match the opportunity to play first class cricket.

It also provides non-Test playing nations with a realistic chance of winning an international tournament unlike more glamorous and glitzy affairs such as the World Cup where they only tend to make up the numbers.

The International Cricket Council recognize that first class cricket helps to develop players by encouraging batsmen to bat longer, bowlers to bowl longer but most importantly increases their understanding of the game of cricket.

The tournament is all part of the ICC’s development programme to enable High Performance countries to play cricket at a higher level and be more competitive.

While the ICC stops short of promising that these countries will be fast-tracked for Test cricket it does envisage the winners playing against the bottom-ranked Test-playing side as a guide for the future of the High Performance programme.

Bermuda’s first ICC Trophy captain Gladstone ‘Sad’ Brown believes the InterContinental Cup is important primarily because it elevates our cricket to first class status.

“We don’t play first class matches in Bermuda but this is an international tournament, which provides Bermuda with the opportunity to do so and in the process gain recognition.

“Many of us think of Cup Match as the end all and be all, but you will never find Cup Match mentioned in Wisden because it is not a first-class match.

“While the InterContinental Cup can be viewed as part and parcel of our World Cup preparation, we should not look at it simply in that light, it is a very important competition in it’s own right.”

Former Bermuda opening batsman and wicketkeeper Dennis Wainwright feels that the InterContinental Cup is absolutely crucial to the development of our cricket.

“I’ve always been a supporter of the longer version of the game because I feel the 50 over game doesn’t help to develop our cricketers particularly our bowlers.

“A bowler can’t really develop if he is restricted to 10 overs; he needs time to work out batsmen.

“Quite often in limited overs the younger batsmen end up batting in the middle or lower order and don’t get a chance to play themselves in.

Wainwright said: “The three-day game will give them this opportunity.”[[In-content Ad]]

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