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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
June 28, 2000
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:
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.

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