ICC announces World Cricket League schedule

Dubai, Mar 22 : The ICC on Monday announced the schedule of the six-team ICC World Cricket League Division 1 (WCL Div.1) 2010, which will be hosted by Koninklije Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB) in the Netherlands from 1 to 10 July.

Besides the host nation, defending champion Ireland, Kenya, Canada, Afghanistan and Scotland will take part in the tournament which showcases the best ODI cricketers from the Associate and Affiliate Members.

The tournament will also provide Kenya, Ireland, the Netherlands and Canada an ideal platform and a perfect opportunity to assess their progress as they continue to prepare for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 which will be staged in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from 19 February to 2 April.

Host Kenya won the inaugural ICC WCL Div.1 in Nairobi in January 2007 when it defeated Scotland in the final by eight wickets. Ireland, which went on to make the Super Eight stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, lost four matches in the Kenya event after a number of thrilling finishes.

But the experience Ireland gained in Nairobi helped it a couple of months later when it produced its best performance in a global event to date, defeating Full Members Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as tying with Zimbabwe in the West Indies.

Ireland bounced back after the disappointment in the inaugural event when it added the ICC World Cricket League title to its growing collection after defeating Canada by nine wickets in the 2009 final. The tournament, which was staged in South Africa last year, incorporated Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 2 sides and also served as the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy).

A total of 18 matches will be played in this year's tournament that will be staged on a single-league format with the top two sides qualifying for the final and the other four teams squaring-off in the play-off matches on the last day of the tournament.

ICC World Cricket League Division 1
The Netherlands

Seeding (based on teams' standing in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009): 1-Ireland, 2-Canada, 3-Netherlands, 4-Kenya, 5-Afghanistan, 6-Scotland.

Tournament schedule (venues tbc)
Thursday 1 July - Netherlands v Scotland, Canada v Afghanistan, Ireland v Kenya
Saturday 3 July - Canada v Scotland, Ireland v Afghanistan, Netherlands v Kenya
Monday 5 July - Kenya v Afghanistan, Netherlands v Canada, Ireland v Scotland
Wednesday 7 July - Ireland v Canada, Kenya v Scotland, Netherlands v Afghanistan
Friday 9 July - Netherlands v Ireland, Afghanistan v Scotland, Canada v Kenya
Saturday 10 July - Final, third-fourth position play-off, fifth-sixth position play-off