One Million Dollars Prize Money for ICC Knock-Out Trophy

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that a total of $1 million dollars is to be given away as prize money in the forthcoming ICC Knock-Out Tournament in Nairobi, Kenya (3 October - 15 October 2000). Prize money for the winning team exceeds that given in any other previous cricket competition in history.

A basic $20,000 will be guaranteed to each team taking part in the competition, with prize money rising dramatically with each win gained.

Winners of the qualifying rounds will each receive $30,000 while a further $40,000 will be claimed by teams winning the quarter-finals. Semi-final winners will receive another $50,000 and the winners of the final receive a final $250,000 bonus. It means that the eventual champions will receive a total of $340,000 in prize money, or $370,000 if they played in a qualifying match.

"These are substantial financial awards for the teams and we believe it will result in exciting and competitive cricket. In the final, the difference between winning and losing is $110,000, so there is much to play for," commented ICC Chief Executive, David Richards.

Prize money has more than doubled since the 1998 ICC Knock-Out Trophy in Bangladesh, when prize money totaled $400,000 and the winner received a maximum of $140,000. For the 1999 World Cup in England, total prize money was also £1 million, of which eventual champions Australia received $318,000.

The West Indies received £4,000 ($5,760) from winning the first World Cup in 1975, with runners-up Australia taking home £2,000 ($2,880). Losing semi-finalists, England and New Zealand, received £1,000 (£1,440) each.

The event The 2000 ICC Knock-Out Trophy represents the first event since the signing of an agreement with World Sports Group, worth $550m, to televise and market the ICC Knock-Out Trophy, ICC World Cup, Under 19 World Cup and ICC Trophy Tournament from 2000 - 2007. The schedule of games is as follows:

Match code Date    Match
Q1  Tuesday 3 October  India v Kenya
Q2  Wednesday 4 October  Sri Lanka v West Indies
Q3  Thursday 5 October  England v Bangladesh
Friday 6 October  Rest day / Official function
QF1  Saturday 7 October  Australia v Winners Q1
QF2  Sunday 8 October  Pakistan v Winners Q2
QF3  Monday 9 October  New Zealand v Zimbabwe
QF4  Tuesday 10 October  South Africa v Winners Q3
SF1  Wednesday 11 October         Winners QF2 v Winners QF3
Thursday 12 October  RESERVE DAY
SF2  Friday 13 October  Winners QF1 v Winners QF4
Saturday 14 October  RESERVE DAY
F  Sunday 15 October  Winners SF1 v Winners SF2
Monday 16 October  RESERVE DAY

Umpires for the 10-match event are: Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Darrell Hair (Australia), Dave Orchard (South Africa), David Shepherd (England), S Venkataraghavan (India) and Peter Willey (England). Match Referees are: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka), Raman Subba Row (England), and Cammie Smith (West Indies).

For further information, please contact Campbell Jamieson, ICC Event Manager on +44 20 7266 1818