Kenya and Ireland in final showdown for ICC Intercontinental Cup

After 14 matches involving 12 teams in four different regions over a six-month period, just two sides - Ireland and Kenya - are left as the battle for the ICC Intercontinental Cup reaches a climax in Windhoek, Namibia.

Starting on Thursday 27 October, the two sides will go head-to-head in a three-day final to decide which of them has the right to call itself the best first-class nation outside the Test arena.

And whichever one of them comes out on top it will have the honour of lifting the trophy for the first time, following on from Scotland's effort in becoming the inaugural winners in 2004.

Both sides have shown impressive form coming into the final and both will feel they have what it takes to collect the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

Kenya will probably go into the match as slight favourites because of their extra experience with the spine of the side the same as the one that reached the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Southern Africa in 2003.

They can boast some impressive form coming into the final as, in the past two weeks, they have hammered Zimbabwe A in three matches during a short tour there before their batsmen did the same to Bermuda's bowlers on the first day of the semi-final.

Captain Steve Tikolo hit a career-best 220 that day, his second hundred of the competition after the 149 he made against Uganda, and Hitesh Modi weighed in with an unbeaten 98.

Together they made Bermuda's attack, hitherto effective in the competition, look impotent and that will be a concern to the Ireland side ahead of the final.

However Kenya's batsmen were not alone in scoring heavily in the semi-finals as Ireland's batsmen took full toll of a weakened United Arab Emirates bowling line-up.

Eoin Morgan - who has broken off his attendance of the ICC Winter Training Camp in Pretoria to play - Jeremy Bray and Niall O'Brien all scored hundreds to effectively bat the Asia group winners out of contention.

Ireland also boasts an attack with plenty of first-class experience so their players are unlikely to be overawed by the experience of playing in a final.

They are captained by former New South Wales fast bowler Trent Johnston, who took 5-33 against the UAE, and also have Adrian McCoubrey, who played first-class cricket for English county side Essex.

They were without off-spinner Andrew White for the semi-final as he recovered from a bout of `flu and he may come into the selection equation for the final.

The toss could be one factor that goes a long way to determining the outcome of this final. Ireland and Kenya both got through their semi-finals by batting first and scoring heavily, something that allowed them to dominate their respective games. Both sides could well look for a similar approach on Thursday.

Kenya, in particular, may welcome the chance to bat first to give their bowlers a chance to recover after a punishing schedule that has included that whistle-stop tour to Zimbabwe.

For both line-ups the match is the chance to get their hands on some silverware but it means so much more than that to everyone connected with the two countries.

For Kenya nothing but victory will do. They believe they are the best side outside the current crop of Test nations and the only way to prove it is to win this event.

That belief was emphasised by captain Tikolo when he said: "With no disrespect to the other countries taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, Kenya is ranked top among the Associate countries. That underlines the importance for us to do well."

For Ireland, success would cap off a fantastic year that has seen them qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time.

They did that by reaching the final of the ICC Trophy in July where they lost out to Scotland so this represents another chance to get their hands on a trophy.

Captain Johnston underlined the significance of the ICC Intercontinental Cup when he said: "It is extremely important to us as a developing nation.

"We mainly play 50-over cricket and the chance to play the longer version of the game has the guys very excited.

"Ireland has another chance to lift a major trophy and with Scotland winning it last year, it would be nice to keep the trophy in Europe."

KENYA: Steve Tikolo (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Kalpesh Patel, Ragheb Aga, Lameck Onyango, Collins Obuya, Mohammed Sheikh, Peter Ongondo, Martin Suji, Hitesh Modi, Tony Suji; manager - Davinder Bharij; coach - Mudassar Nazar; physio - Bernard Ondeng

ROAD TO THE FINAL - KENYA (Africa group qualifiers)

22 - 24 April, Kampala: Kenya 321 (Tikolo 149, Modi 56) & 116 (Tikolo 54) beat Uganda 168 (Odoyo 5-34) & 108 (Onyango 6-21) by 161 runs

3 - 5 June, Windkoek: Kenya 300-6 declared (Tikolo 86, Ouma 63, C.Obuya 53) & 282-9 declared (M.Suji 72*, K.Otieno 56) drew with Namibia 335-9 declared and 68-5.

Semi-final: 23 - 25 October, Windhoek: Kenya 403 for 6 and 282 for 4 (Suji 103*) drew with Bermuda 346 for 9 (Smith 126*, Romaine 56)

IRELAND: Trent Johnston (captain), Conor Armstrong, Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Peter Gillespie, Dominick Joyce, Kyle McCallan, Adrian McCoubrey, Paul Mooney, Eoin Morgan, Niall O'Brien, Greg Thompson, Andrew White; manager - Roy Torrens; coach - Adrian Birrell; physiotherapist - Iain Knox

ROAD TO THE FINAL - IRELAND (Europe group qualifiers)

13 - 15 August, Aberdeen: Ireland 172 & 196 (D Joyce 61) beat Scotland 234-9 declared (English 66) & 131 by three runs.

23 - 25 August, Belfast: Ireland 407-4 declared (Bray 135, Botha 97, D Joyce 54, Molins 53, Gillespie 50*) drew with the Netherlands 204-6 (ten Doeschate 84).

Semi-final: 23 - 25 October, Windhoek: Ireland 350 for 7 dec and 444 for 4 dec (Bray 190, O'Brien 176) drew with UAE 189 and 227 for 8 (Ali 59, Saleem 68, McCallan 3-32)

Final:

Wanderers Sports Club, 27, 28 & 29 October - Umpires: Tony Hill and Russell Tiffin (both members of the Emirates International Panel)

The points system

The side with the highest number of points at the end of the match shall be the winners. Points are claimed in both the first and second innings as follows:

• 14 points for a win, plus any bonus points gained (see below)
• A tie will see each side get 7 points as well as any bonus points they have accumulated
• Batting points (first innings): 0.5 for every 25 runs scored
• Batting points (second innings): 0.5 for every 25 runs scored to a maximum of 4 points
• Bowling points (both innings): 0.5 for every wicket up to a maximum of 5 points

NB: Each side's first innings cannot exceed 90 overs

If the match is abandoned or both sides finish level on points the trophy will be shared

The trophy