ICC dismisses Intercontinental Cup rumours

The ICC has moved to clarify "sensationalist and emotional"reports in the media that the future of the Intercontinental Cup was in doubt.

Comments attributed to Richard Done, the ICC's high performance manager, suggesting there were serious question marks over the tournament were "taken out of context" a spokesman told ESPNcricinfo.

"There has not been a discussion to end the Intercontinental Cup and no reason to believe it will be discontinued in the near future. What Richard said was that the exact format for the next edition of the competition had not yet been finalised."

A decision on the format and schedule of the next tournament is likely to be made at a meeting of the ICC Development Committee in November. The ICC has always made clear that discussions relating to future events would only take place after the 2009-10 competition had been concluded.

ESPNcricinfo also understands that funding for the Intercontinental Cup and Intercontinental Shield have been included in the ICC's budget through to 2016. Furthermore, Done is a staunch advocate of exposing Associates to the longer form of the game.