# 2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup

The 2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup was the seventh edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, an international first-class cricket tournament between leading associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament took place during 2015 to 2017. It ran in parallel with the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship, but with slightly different teams. As Ireland and Afghanistan had qualified for the ICC One Day International Championship ranking qualification process, they were replaced by Kenya and Nepal in the limited over event; however they continued to play the four-day event.
As a result of changes to the structure of international cricket announced by the ICC in January 2014, the winner of the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup (and following editions of the tournament) were originally scheduled to play four five-day matches against the bottom ranked Test nation (two home and two away matches), an event known as the 2018 ICC Test Challenge. Should the winner of the Intercontinental Cup go on to win the ICC Test Challenge, they would have become the 11th Test nation.
However, in February 2017 following an ICC Board meeting, changes were agreed in principle to expand the number of Test nations to twelve. Both Afghanistan and Ireland were likely to be granted Test status before the proposed 2018 ICC Test Challenge. In June 2017, the ICC awarded both Afghanistan and Ireland Full Member status, making them eligible to play Test match cricket. As a result, the planned Test Challenge was scrapped.
Afghanistan won the competition, after beating the United Arab Emirates by 10 wickets in their final game. They finished with 121 points, with Ireland as runners-up on 109 points. Rashid Khan, man of the match for Afghanistan in the final fixture, said that winning the Intercontinental Cup was "good preparation for Test cricket for us".

## Teams

The following are the 8 teams participating in the competition based on the results from 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship, 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two.
* Ireland (1st in 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship)
* Afghanistan (2nd in 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship)
* Scotland (1st in 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier)
* United Arab Emirates (2nd in 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier)
* Hong Kong (3rd in 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier)
* Papua New Guinea (4th in 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier)
* Netherlands (1st in 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two)
* Namibia (2nd in 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two)

## Preparations

Of the eight teams participating in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup, only Papua New Guinea has never played a first-class match before. Afghanistan, Ireland, Namibia, Scotland, The Netherlands and the UAE had all appeared before in the previous Intercontinental Cup of 2011–2013, while Hong Kong had last appeared in the 2005 Intercontinental Cup and last played in an international multi-day cricket tournament in late 2006 at the 2006/07 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament.
Though never having played a first-class match, Papua New Guinea (PNG) have played two-day cricket in the South Australian Premier League in 2013 and 2014. Though finishing at the bottom of the league in both seasons, the experience seems to have hardened the team as they convincingly beat Hong Kong in a three-day match in Australia and one of PNG's openers admitted that participation in the league had been critical to exposing the players to multi-day cricket.
* 11–13 November 2014 Scorecard
* Papua New Guinea won by 133 runs Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville Umpires: Alu Kapa (PNG) and Nigel Morrison (Van)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.

## Fixtures

The breakdown of fixtures is as follows:
| Round | Window | Home team | Away team | Result |
| 1 | May – June 2015 | Namibia | Hong Kong | Namibia by 114 runs |
| 1 | May – June 2015 | Ireland | United Arab Emirates | Ireland by an innings and 26 runs |
| 1 | May – June 2015 | Scotland | Afghanistan | Match drawn |
| 1 | May – June 2015 | Netherlands | Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinea by 5 wickets |
| 2 | September – November 2015 | Netherlands | Scotland | Netherlands by 44 runs |
| 2 | September – November 2015 | Namibia | Ireland | Ireland by an innings and 107 runs |
| 2 | September – November 2015 | United Arab Emirates | Hong Kong | Hong Kong by 276 runs |
| 2 | September – November 2015 | Afghanistan | Papua New Guinea | Afghanistan by 201 runs |
| 3 | January – April 2016 | Hong Kong | Scotland | No result |
| 3 | January – April 2016 | United Arab Emirates | Netherlands | Netherlands by 4 wickets |
| 3 | January – April 2016 | Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Ireland by 145 runs |
| 3 | January – April 2016 | Afghanistan | Namibia | Afghanistan by an innings and 36 runs |
| 4 | July – October 2016 | Netherlands | Afghanistan | Afghanistan by an innings and 36 runs |
| 4 | July – October 2016 | Scotland | United Arab Emirates | Match drawn |
| 4 | July – October 2016 | Ireland | Hong Kong | Ireland by 70 runs |
| 4 | July – October 2016 | Papua New Guinea | Namibia | Papua New Guinea by 199 runs |
| 5 | February – June 2017 | Hong Kong | Netherlands | Match drawn |
| 5 | February – June 2017 | Afghanistan | Ireland | Afghanistan by an innings and 172 runs |
| 5 | February – June 2017 | United Arab Emirates | Papua New Guinea | United Arab Emirates by 9 wickets |
| 5 | February – June 2017 | Scotland | Namibia | Match drawn |
| 6 | August – October 2017 | Ireland | Netherlands | Match drawn |
| 6 | August – October 2017 | Namibia | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates by 34 runs |
| 6 | August – October 2017 | Papua New Guinea | Scotland | Match drawn |
| 6 | August – October 2017 | Hong Kong | Afghanistan | Afghanistan by an innings and 173 runs |
| 7 Simultaneous Round | November – December 2017 | Afghanistan | United Arab Emirates | Afghanistan by 10 wickets |
| 7 Simultaneous Round | November – December 2017 | Ireland | Scotland | Ireland by 203 runs |
| 7 Simultaneous Round | November – December 2017 | Hong Kong | Papua New Guinea | Hong Kong by an innings and 29 runs |
| 7 Simultaneous Round | November – December 2017 | Namibia | Netherlands | Netherlands by 231 runs |

## Points table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | D | A | FI | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Afghanistan | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 121 | 2.187 |
| 2 | Ireland | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 109 | 1.369 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 72 | 0.958 |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 59 | 0.915 |
| 5 | United Arab Emirates | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 0.816 |
| 6 | Scotland | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 46 | 0.840 |
| 7 | Papua New Guinea | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 0.806 |
| 8 | Namibia | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 0.672 |
* Win – 14 points
* Tie – 7 points
* Draw (if more than 10 hours of play lost) – 7 points (otherwise 3 points)
* Abandoned without a ball bowled – 10 points
* First Innings lead (independent of final result) – 6 points (3 points each in case of a first innings tie)

## Matches
### Round 1

The fixtures for round one were announced on 5 May 2015.
* 10–13 May 2015 Scorecard
* Namibia won by 114 runs Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (SA) and Wynand Louw (Nam) Player of the match: Xander Pitchers (Nam)
* Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.
* Babar Hayat, Ehsan Nawaz, Haseeb Amjad, Roy Lamsam, Nizakat Khan, Skhawat Ali, Tanwir Afzal and Waqas Barkat (all Hong Kong) made their first-class debuts.
* 2–5 June 2015 Scorecard
* Ireland won by an innings and 26 runs Malahide Cricket Club Ground, Malahide Umpires: Mark Hawthorne (Ire) and Chettithody Shamshuddin (Ind) Player of the match: Ed Joyce (Ire)
* United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to field.
* The start on day 1 was delayed by rain.
* Ed Joyce's score of 231 is the highest by an Ireland player in multi-day cricket and was the first double century scored by an Irish player on home soil.
* 2–5 June 2015 Scorecard
* Match drawn New Williamfield, Stirling Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Allan Haggo (Sco) Player of the match: Samiullah Shinwari (Afg)
* Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on day 1 due to rain. A wet outfield delayed the start of day 2 until 2pm. Rain delayed the start of day 3 until 2:50pm. Rain delayed the start of day 4 until after tea.
* Andrew Umeed (Sco) made his first-class debut.
* 16–19 June 2015 Scorecard
* Papua New Guinea won by 5 wickets VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Sarika Prasad (Sin) Player of the match: Assad Vala (PNG)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to field.
* Max O'Dowd (Ned), Charles Amini, Mahuru Dai, Willie Gavera, Vani Morea, Loa Nou, John Reva, Lega Siaka, Tony Ura, Assad Vala, Norman Vanua and Jack Vare (all PNG) made their first-class debuts.
* This was Papua New Guinea's maiden first-class match.

### Round 2

The fixtures for round two were announced in August 2015.
* 8–11 September 2015 Scorecard
* Netherlands won by 44 runs Sportpark Westvliet, The Hague Umpires: Peter Nero (WI) and Chettithody Shamshuddin (Ind)
* Scotland won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on day 1 due to a wet outfield.
* Rahil Ahmed and Ben Cooper (both Ned) made their first-class debuts.
* 24–27 October 2015 Scorecard
* Ireland won by an innings and 107 runs Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (SA) and Wynand Louw (Nam) Player of the match: Ed Joyce (Ire)
* Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.
* 11–14 November 2015 Scorecard
* Hong Kong won by 276 runs ICC Academy Ground, Dubai Umpires: Vineet Kulkarni (Ind) and Sarika Prasad (Sin) Player of the match: Babar Hayat (Hong Kong)
* Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat.
* Aizaz Khan, Anshuman Rath, Christopher Carter, Kinchit Shah (Hong Kong); Yodhin Punja, Qais Farooq, Raja Adeel and Laxman Sreekumar (United Arab Emirates) all made their first-class debuts.
* 21–24 November 2015 Scorecard
* Afghanistan won by 201 runs Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Umpires: Buddhi Pradhan (Nep) and Raveendra Wimalasiri (SL) Player of the match: Asghar Stanikzai (Afg)
* Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
* Zahir Khan (Afg), Sese Bau and Chad Soper (PNG) all made their first-class debuts.

### Round 3

The fixtures for round three were announced in December 2015.
* 21–24 January 2016 Scorecard
* Match abandoned Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok Umpires: Vineet Kulkarni (Ind) and Buddhi Pradhan (Nep)
* No toss.
* No play was possible due to a wet outfield and waterlogged ground with the match abandoned without a ball bowled.
* 21–24 January 2016 Scorecard
* Netherlands won by 4 wickets Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi Umpires: C. K. Nandan (Ind) and Sarika Prasad (Sin)
* United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to bat.
* Farhan Ahmed, Mohammad Shahzad, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Kaleem, Qadeer Ahmed and Saqlain Haider (United Arab Emirates) all made their first-class debuts.
* This was the first away win for the Netherlands in the Intercontinental Cup since they beat the UAE in January 2008.
* 31 January–3 February 2016 Scorecard
* Ireland won by 145 runs Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville Umpires: Vineet Kulkarni (Ind) and Buddhi Pradhan (Nep)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to field.
* 21 overs were lost on day 1 due to bad light and rain.
* Niall O'Brien (Ire) took his 50th dismissal in Intercontinental Cup matches.
* 10–13 April 2016 Scorecard
* Afghanistan won by an innings and 36 runs Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida Umpires: Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) and Sharfuddoula (Ban) Player of the match: Mohammad Shahzad (Afg)
* Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.

### Round 4

The fixtures for round four were announced in April 2016.
* 29 July–1 August 2016 Scorecard
* Afghanistan won by an innings and 36 runs Sportpark Westvliet, Voorburg Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Pim van Liemt (Ned)
* Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field.
* Shane Snater (Ned) and Ihsanullah (Afg) both made their first-class debuts.
* Dawlat Zadran (Afg) took career-best match figures of 7/77.
* 9–12 August 2016 Scorecard
* Match drawn Cambusdoon New Ground, Ayr Umpires: Alex Dowdalls (Sco) and Mark Hawthorne (Ire)
* Scotland won the toss and elected to field.
* Play was delayed on day 1 until 3pm due to a wet outfield.
* On day 2 only seven overs of play were possible with play being abandoned for the day due to rain.
* No play was possible on day 3 and day 4 due to rain.
* Mark Watt and Chris Sole (Sco); Mohammed Qasim (UAE) all made their first-class debuts.
* 30 August–2 September 2016 Scorecard
* Ireland won by 70 runs Stormont, Belfast Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Mark Hawthorne (Ire)
* Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
* Ehsan Khan, Ninad Shah, Tanveer Ahmed, Waqas Khan (HK) all made their first-class debuts.
* Nizakat Khan (HK) scored his maiden first-class century.
* 16–19 October 2016 Scorecard
* Papua New Guinea won by 199 runs Amini Park, Port Moresby Umpires: Chris Brown (NZ) and Lakani Oala (PNG)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.
* Dogodo Bau (Papua New Guinea) made his first-class debut.
* This was Papua New Guinea's first Intercontinental Cup match played at home.

### Round 5

The fixture between Afghanistan and Ireland was announced by Cricket Ireland in July 2016. The fixture between Hong Kong and the Netherlands was announced by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond in December 2016. Cricket Scotland confirmed the venue for their fixture in February 2017.
* 10–13 February 2017 Scorecard
* Match drawn Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok Umpires: Buddhi Pradhan (Nep) and Tabarak Dar (HK) Player of the match: Ben Cooper (Ned)
* Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
* Matt Stiller (HK) and Sikander Zulfiqar (Ned) both made their first-class debuts.
* Ben Cooper and Pieter Seelaar set a Dutch record for the highest partnership for any wicket in a first-class match (288).
* It was also the highest sixth-wicket partnership in the history of the Intercontinental Cup.
* 28–31 March 2017 Scorecard
* Afghanistan won by an innings and 172 runs Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida Umpires: Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) and C. K. Nandan (Ind) Player of the match: Asghar Stanikzai (Afg)
* Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
* Mohammad Nabi became Afghanistan's leading wicket-taker in the Intercontinental Cup.
* 7–10 April 2017 Scorecard
* United Arab Emirates won by 9 wickets Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Shozab Raza (Pak)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.
* Nosaina Pokana (PNG) and Imran Haider (UAE) both made their first-class debuts.
* Muhammad Usman, Saqlain Haider (both UAE) and Lega Siaka (PNG) all scored their maiden first-class centuries.
* 6–9 June 2017 Scorecard
* Match drawn Cambusdoon New Ground, Ayr Umpires: Allan Haggo (Sco) and Sharfuddoula (Ban)
* Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.
* No play was possible on days 1 and 3 due to rain. Rain prevented any play before lunch on day 4.

### Round 6

* 15–18 August 2017 Scorecard
* Match drawn Malahide Cricket Club Ground, Malahide Umpires: Mark Hawthorne (Ire) and Heath Kearns (Jer)
* Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
* Daniel ter Braak, Tobias Visee and Saqib Zulfiqar (Ned) all made their first-class debuts.
* Andrew Balbirnie (Ire) scored his maiden first-class century and his maiden first-class double century.
* Andrew Balbirnie became the third batsman for Ireland to score an international double century.
* 16–19 September 2017 Scorecard
* United Arab Emirates won by 34 runs Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek Umpires: Bongani Jele (SA) and Andrew Louw (Nam)
* United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to bat.
* Petrus Burger (Nam) and Chirag Suri (UAE) both made their first-class debuts.
* Adnan Mufti (UAE) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* 1–4 October 2017 Scorecard
* Match drawn Amini Park, Port Moresby Umpires: Alu Kapa (PNG) and Sam Nogajski (Aus)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.
* Damien Ravu (PNG) and Michael Leask (Sco) both made their first-class debuts.
* 20–23 October 2017 Scorecard
* Afghanistan won by an innings and 173 runs Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok Umpires: Sharfuddoula (Ban) and Tabarak Dar (HK) Player of the match: Rashid Khan (Afg)
* Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat.
* Haroon Arshad and Kyle Christie (HK) both made their first-class debuts.

### Round 7

The ICC announced the dates and venues for the final round of fixtures on 23 October 2017.
* 29 November–2 December 2017 Scorecard
* Hong Kong won by an innings and 29 runs Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Umpires: Nigel Duguid (WI) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) Player of the match: Babar Hayat (HK)
* Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.
* Cameron McAuslan (HK) and Kiplin Doriga (PNG) both made their first-class debuts.
* Babar Hayat (HK) became the first batsman for Hong Kong to score a double century in first-class cricket.
* 29 November–2 December 2017 Scorecard
* Afghanistan won by 10 wickets Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Umpires: Allan Haggo (Sco) and Ahsan Raza (Pak) Player of the match: Rashid Khan (Afg)
* United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to field.
* Amir Hayat (UAE) made his first-class debut.
* Ihsanullah and Rahmat Shah Zurmatai made the highest partnership for Afghanistan in first-class cricket, scoring 197 runs for the second wicket.
* Rohan Mustafa and Chirag Suri made the highest opening partnership for the United Arab Emirates in the Intercontinental Cup (146).
* 29 November–2 December 2017 Scorecard
* Netherlands won by 231 runs ICC Academy Ground 1, Dubai Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Sharfuddoula (Ban) Player of the match: Roelof van der Merwe (Ned)
* Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
* Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards and Ali Ahmed (Ned) all made their first-class debuts.
* 29 November–2 December 2017 Scorecard
* Ireland won by 203 runs Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Umpires: Huub Jansen (Ned) and Nitin Menon (Ind) Player of the match: Kevin O'Brien (Ire)
* Scotland won the toss and elected to field.
* Mitchell Rao (Sco) made his first-class debut.