1997 ICC Trophy

1997 ICC Trophy
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	Limited overs cricket
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)	Malaysia
Champions	Bangladesh (1stth title)
Participants	12
Man of the Series	Maurice Odumbe
Most runs	Maurice Odumbe (493)
Most wickets	Aasif Karim (19); Asim Khan (19)
	← 1994 2001 →

The Carlsberg 1997 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in March/April 1997. It was the qualification tournament for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Kenya, and for the first time, Bangladesh and Scotland all Qualified.

First round [edit]

The first round took the form of a group stage, with four groups, two of six teams and two of five teams. The top two teams from each group went through to the second round, whilst the remaining 14 teams took part in play-offs for the final standings.

Second round [edit]

The second round was also a group stage, this time with two groups of four. The top two teams went through to the semi final stage, whilst the third placed teams played off for fifth place, and the fourth placed teams played off for 7th place.

Semi finals [edit]

The first semi final, between Ireland and Kenya was won by the Kenyans by just seven runs. Maurice Odumbe won the man of the match award for his 67 runs in Kenya's innings. The second semi final was won by Bangladesh, who beat Scotland by 72 runs.

3rd place play off [edit]

In the 3rd place play off, Scotland batted first, and scored 187 in 45 overs after rain delayed the start. Mike Smith top scored for Scotland with 49. The Duckworth-Lewis method set Ireland's target at 192 runs, but the Irish were bowled out for 141, Keith Sheridan taking 4/34 with his left arm spin. Scotland thus qualified for the 1999 World Cup.

Final [edit]

The final between Kenya and Bangladesh was also affected by rain and was played over two days. Kenya batted first and scored 241/8 from their 50 overs, Steve Tikolo top scoring with 147. The Bangladesh target was set at 166 from 25 overs by the Duckworth-Lewis method, a target they reached with the last ball of the match. They were not able to defend their title, as they were elected to Test status in 2000. This would also be Kenya's last appearance in the ICC Trophy being allocated ODI status in 2000, though they returned in the successor tournament, the ICC World Cup Qualifier in 2009.