All about five (1)

ICC Media Release

ICC Trophy 2005 logo The 11 teams with One-Day International status qualify automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007. The remaining five sides are drawn from the ICCâs 81 Associate and Affiliate member countries.

There is a five step process open to all of these ICC members:

Step one

The first step of the qualifying pathway to 2007 began with the ECC Affiliates tournament in Vienna, Austria in August 2003 less than six months after the previous ICC Cricket World Cup. Norway won the event to progress to the European Championships Division 2.

Step two

Moving in to 2004, victories in the Affiliates tournaments in Africa and the Americas booked Botswana and Bahamas their places in their final regional qualifying events. In Europe, Italy won the European Championships Division 2 in Belgium to secure a place in the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 event.

Step three

The final regional qualifying events in 2004 were the first chance for teams to secure a place in the ICC Trophy Ireland 2005.

The ACC Trophy in Malaysia in June 2004 saw United Arab Emirates and Oman, the only ICC Affiliate member still in contention, book their places in Ireland.

In the African event in Zambia in August 2004, Namibia and Uganda qualified for the ICC Trophy as winner and runner-up.

All four eligible teams at the European Championships in Holland in July 2004 ö Denmark, Holland Ireland, Scotland ö were already guaranteed places at the ICC Trophy but lost out on the regional title to an ECB England XI.

In the Americas in July 2004, hosts Bermuda qualified along with Canada and USA.

Finally, in the smaller East Asia-Pacific region the top two teams in Japan in May ö Papua New Guinea and Fiji ö claimed places at the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 event.

Step four

The ICC World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 event in Malaysia in February 2005 was a new event for the eight teams that had narrowly missed out on direct qualification for the ICC Trophy 2005 to contest for the final remaining place in Ireland. Papua New Guinea emerged as winners from a field comprising the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Italy, Kuwait, Nepal, Qatar and Zambia.

Step five

The final stage of the qualifying process sees 12 teams gather in Ireland for the eighth ICC Trophy from 1-13 July. The top five teams will qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007.