Porterfield to captain Intercontinental Cup XI

Ireland captain William Porterfield was picked as captain of the ICC's team of the tournament for the group stage of the Intercontinental Cup. The team includes five players from Afghanistan and Scotland, the tournament finalists, and was selected by a panel of experts named by the coaches and captains of the seven participants.

"This was by no means an easy task this year with so many teams providing worthy candidates for the team of the tournament," said the ICC's high-performance manager Richard Done, who chaired the panel. "Afghanistan feature heavily in the side, unsurprisingly, since they have had a good tournament so far."

The team - which will be presented with specially struck medals - comprises players from six countries with four of the XI from Afghanistan. Three are from Ireland and there are two players from Kenya and one each from Netherlands, Zimbabwe and Scotland.

To be nominated, players must have appeared in at least three out of his team's six Intercontinental Cup round-robin matches. The coaches and captains were also asked to nominate a captain from the players they picked.

The ICC also announced the team of the tournament for the group stage of the ICC Intercontinental Shield. Eight players from UAE and Namibia - the finalists - feature in the team, and UAE captain Khurram Khan will be captaining the XI.

"The majority of the team is made up of the two finalists, Namibia and UAE, which is a reflection of the hard work the players have put in throughout the Intercontinental Shield," Done said. "This is the tournament's first year and we've seen good progress from all the four teams involved in the event. The sides' skills have improved continuously with the regular games and playing the four-day format."

The XI - picked along the same lines as the Cup side - also includes three players from Uganda and one from Bermuda. To be nominated, players must have appeared in at least two out of his team's three ICC Intercontinental Shield 2009-10 round-robin matches.

ICC Intercontinental Cup XI: William Porterfield (Ireland, capt), Noor Ali (Afghanistan), Steve Tikolo (Kenya), Vusi Sibanda (Zimbabwe XI), Andrew White (Ireland), Muhammad Shahzad (Afghanistan, wicketkeeper), Hamid Hassan (Afghanistan), Trent Johnston (Ireland), Nehemiah Odhiambo (Kenya), Mohammed Nabi (Afghanistan), Mohammed Haq (Scotland), 12th Man: Peter Borren (Netherlands)

ICC Intercontinental Shield XI: Arshad Ali (UAE), Raymond van Schoor (Namibia), Khurram Khan (UAE, captain), Craig Williams (Namibia), Ewald Steenkamp (Nambia),Lawrence Sematimba (wicketkeeper, Uganda), Louis Klazinga (Namibia), Amjad Javed (UAE), Dennis Tabby (Uganda), Fayyaz Ahmed (UAE), Frank Nsubuga (Uganda),12th Man: David Hemp (Bermuda)