The format for the knockout stage of next year's ICC Trophy is still unresolved following last week's meeting of the Associate members in London.

While the four preliminary round groupings of six are more or less settled, the Associates' Competition Committee has been given the role of devising an acceptable format for the knockout stage.

For the first time, the Associate countries have been split into two divisions of 12 based on rankings from the last ICC Trophy in Malaysia in 1997.

The top teams from 1997 will compete in Division One which in turn is comprised of two groups of six, Groups A & B.

Group A                 Group B
Scotland                Ireland
Netherlands             Denmark
Canada                  Hong Kong
United Arab Emirates    Bermuda
Fiji                    United States
Singapore               Papua-New Guinea

Division Two contains the remainder of the field from 1997 plus ICC Trophy debutantes, France, Uganda, Nepal and Germany. It will also comprise two groups of six, Groups C & D.

Group C                 Group D
France                  Namibia
Uganda                  West Africa
Malaysia                Gibraltar
East Africa             Italy
Argentina               Nepal
Israel                  Germany

One proposal heard at the meeting, which some feel may still be adopted as the model for the finals is this:

• The top three place getters from Groups A & B automatically proceed to the next stage
• The fourth-place getters in Groups A & B play off against the winners of Groups C & D for the opportunity to proceed to the next stage
• The next stage consists of two groups of four
• The winners of the two groups in that stage meet in the final of the ICC Trophy
• The runners-up meet to decide the third qualifier from the ICC Trophy for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa

A potential flaw is that the format prevents the second place getter in the groups at the final stage and in Groups C & D from having a second chance.

This format does not allow for in any imbalance in the strength of the groupings, especially in Groups C and D, where the two strongest teams may be drawn in the one group.

This may all become irrelevant as there is continued speculation that several countries will not be able to attend Toronto, 2001, due to financial reasons.

And of course, the above groupings are subject to change even with a full attendance.