International cricket in 2005

This article discusses International cricket in the 2005 season. For the purposes of this article the 2005 cricket season is taken to be the whole of the English cricket season, plus those series defined to belong to the 2005 season by Cricinfo. It is a period that saw Test matches between Bangladesh and England, Australia and England, Pakistan and West Indies, and finally West Indies and Sri Lanka. There were also two major ODI tournaments, the NatWest Series and the Indian Oil Cup, an African XI took on an Asian XI for a three-match series deserted by the crowds, and the Australian women played Tests against England.

ICC Championship tables in May 2005

At 19 May 2005, when the final matches of the 2004-05 season were concluded, these were the official ICC Championship tables (as quoted on news sources Cricinfo and Rediff):

ICC Test Championship Table				ICC ODI Championship Table
Pos	Nation	Points		Pos	Nation	Points
1	Australia	132		1	Australia	140
2	England	110		2	Sri Lanka	117
3	India	107		3	New Zealand	116
4	Pakistan	102		4	South Africa	112
5	Sri Lanka	100		5	Pakistan	110
6	South Africa	100		6	England	103
7	New Zealand	97		7	West Indies	98
8	West Indies	73		8	India	97
9	Zimbabwe	41		9	Zimbabwe	50
10	Bangladesh	6		10	Kenya	26
				11	Bangladesh	11

Pakistanis in the West Indies

See also: Pakistanis in West Indies in 2005

Pakistan toured West Indies for three ODIs and two Tests in May and June 2005. West Indies were a team trying to restore confidence after being whitewashed in ODIs and losing 0–3 in a 4-Test home series against South Africa, while Pakistan came off a relatively successful tour of India where they won the ODI series 4–2 and drew the Tests. Pakistan got off to a great warm-up by beating the Antigua & Barbuda President's XI by 248 runs at Antigua and continued with a 59-run win in a low-scoring first match at St Vincent. The West Indian fans were to be disappointed again, as their team slumped to two successive losses in the ODIs at Gros Islet - losing the series 0–3, meaning that their home ODI record this year reads no wins, eight losses. They recuperated in the Tests, however, giving Pakistan eight and a half days of good, competitive cricket before imploding with the bat in the final innings to lose the second Test and thus having to settle with a drawn series, 1–1.

Pakistanis in West Indies 2005. Test match length: 5 days. Test series result: Drawn 1–1. ODI series result: Pakistan won 3–0.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
One-Day International Series
ODI 2246	18 May 2005	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Amos Vale	Pakistan by 59 runs
ODI 2247	21 May 2005	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Beausejour	Pakistan by 40 runs
ODI 2248	22 May 2005	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Younis Khan	Beausejour	Pakistan by 22 runs
Test Match Series
Test 1752	26,27,28,29 May 2005	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Younis Khan	Kensington Oval	West Indies by 276 runs
Test 1754	3,4,5,6,7 June 2005	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Sabina Park	Pakistan by 136 runs

Bangladeshis in England

See also: Bangladeshis in England in 2005

The Bangladeshi cricket team toured England for the first time in 2005. Bangladesh had just come off their first ever Test series win, which was against Zimbabwe, but were still rooted to the bottom of the ICC Test Championship table. England, under Michael Vaughan's leadership, had moved to second in the Test table.

The Bangladeshis started their tour with first-class warm-up games against the British Universities, Sussex and Northamptonshire. They then played two Tests, and were humiliated by an innings in both of them, with neither game reaching lunch on the third day. In four Test innings, they only reached 200 in one of them - the last, where a rearguard effort yielded 326 runs, their eighth-highest innings in Test cricket so far. They also played six matches in the NatWest Series - see below for a fuller treatment of that competition.

Bangladeshis in England 2005. Test match length: 5 days. Test series result: England won 2–0.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
Test Match Series
Test 1751	26,27,28 May 2005	Michael Vaughan	Habibul Bashar	Lord's	England by inns&261 runs
Test 1753	3,4,5 June 2005	Michael Vaughan	Habibul Bashar	Riverside	England by inns&27 runs

Australians in England

See also: Australians in England in 2005

Andrew Strauss (with bat) is caught by Michael Clarke during the Fourth Test

Australia arrived in England in June, and were welcomed by losing a Twenty20 international by 100 runs. They recovered, however, to tie the NatWest Series tournament, after finishing second in the group stage of the three-team tournament (see below). In the NatWest Challenge, the 2-team ODI tournament immediately following the Series, Australia went one down in the first match but came back with two big victories chasing a target. Ricky Ponting made a century in the second ODI and Adam Gilchrist in the third. Australia were favourites going into the Test series (The Ashes), but they had been upset in the ODI series, and some thought their confidence was not perfect. However, after being bowled out for 190 by a good spell of fast bowling by Steve Harmison who took five for 43, the Australians dominated the rest of the match. Glenn McGrath ripped the English batting line-up to shreds as they crashed to 155, and after Australia's second innings England were set a world-record 420 to win. They whimpered to 180, and Australian commentators were once again talking about a 5–0 victory.

However, England came back. They dominated the first three days of the second Test, leaving themselves to take two wickets for 107 runs on the final day - Australia eked out 104 of them before Harmison took the vital wicket, levelling the series. A DVD of this match was later released, entitled The Greatest Test, which adequately described the feelings in the cricketing community about the match. The third Test was almost as closely fought, and despite one day being rained off, England set Australia 423 to win in a day and 10 overs. However, this time Australia survived, thanks to captain Ricky Ponting scoring Australia's first century of the series with 156. There was no such luck for the Australians at Trent Bridge in the fourth Test, however, as the Australians surrendered a 259-run lead on first innings, and despite an injury to fast bowler Simon Jones, who had taken five wickets in the first innings, England prevailed to take a three-wicket victory and ensure at least a drawn series.

England went into the final Test at The Oval needing a draw to win the Ashes, as a drawn series would give them to their previous holders. They got it, thanks to rain, dropped catches from Australia, and centuries from Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen. England batted first, and Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick set the pace with a good opening partnership. Strauss just batted on, making 129 and boosting the England total to 373, but the Australian opening batsmen - who had struggled earlier on in the series - fought back now with 185 runs for the first wicket. The English weather once again plagued the Australian batsmen, raining off almost half of the second and third day's play, and on the fourth day, light conditions were poor. Australia had to bat on, however, to put pressure on the English, and Andrew Flintoff and Matthew Hoggard could plough through Australia's batsmen. The men in baggy green lost their last nine wickets for 103 and their last five wickets for just 11 runs. Kevin Pietersen finished off the match with a stunning maiden Test hundred to ensure that Australia would only get to face four balls in their second innings. The match was drawn, and Vaughan finally got to lift the small urn in front of a delighted Barmy Army, 16 years and 29 days after David Gower had given it away to Aussies in 1989.

Australians in England 2005. Test match length: 5 days. Test series result: England won 2–1. ODI series result: Australia won 2–1. One-off Twenty20 International: England won.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
Twenty20 International
T20I 2	13 Jun 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Rose Bowl	England by 100 runs
One-Day International Series (NatWest Challenge)
ODI 2259	7 Jul 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Headingley	England by 9 wkts
ODI 2260	10 Jul 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Lord's	Australia by 7 wkts
ODI 2261	12 Jul 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	The Oval	Australia by 8 wkts
Test Match Series (The Ashes)
Test 1756	21,22,23,24 Jul 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Lord's	Australia by 239 runs
Test 1758	4,5,6,7 Aug 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Edgbaston	England by 2 runs
Test 1760	11,12,13,14,15 Aug 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Old Trafford	DRAW
Test 1762	25,26,27,28 Aug 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	Trent Bridge	England by 3 wkts
Test 1763	8,9,10,11,12 Sep 2005	Michael Vaughan	Ricky Ponting	The Oval	DRAW

NatWest Series

See also: One Day Internationals in England in 2005#NatWest Series

Andrew Strauss batting for England during the tournament

A number of surprises came in this year's NatWest Series, as Australia were unsettled and failed to win the ODI tournament they were expected to walk home with. The nadir came in the first match at Sophia Gardens, when Australia were unsettled by Bangladesh - at the time ranked eleventh and last in ICC's ODI Championship table. Australia had to wait till their third match to get a win, by which time England had already recorded three victories. Following that match, though, Australia won three of four matches, with the fourth match with England being rained off as a no-result. Thus, England and Australia went into the final, exactly as expected. However, despite England crumbling to 33 for 5 in chase of 197 to win, a rearguard action saw them come back to need three runs off the last ball to win. They got two leg byes and tied the match, and thus the trophy was shared.

NatWest Series 2005. Teams: England, Australia and Bangladesh. Match length: 50 overs a side. Winners: Trophy tied between England and Australia.

Group Stage
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
ODI 2249	16 Jun 2005	ENG	Michael Vaughan	BAN	Habibul Bashar	The Oval	England by 10 wkts
ODI 2250	18 Jun 2005	AUS	Ricky Ponting	BAN	Habibul Bashar	Sophia Gardens	Bangladesh by 5 wkts
ODI 2251	19 Jun 2005	ENG	Michael Vaughan	AUS	Ricky Ponting	Bristol	England by 3 wkts
ODI 2252	21 Jun 2005	ENG	Michael Vaughan	BAN	Habibul Bashar	Trent Bridge	England by 168 runs
ODI 2253	23 Jun 2005	ENG	Marcus Trescothick	AUS	Ricky Ponting	Riverside Ground	Australia by 57 runs
ODI 2254	25 Jun 2005	AUS	Ricky Ponting	BAN	Habibul Bashar	Old Trafford	Australia by 10 wkts
ODI 2255	26 Jun 2005	ENG	Marcus Trescothick	BAN	Habibul Bashar	Headingley	England by 168 runs
ODI 2256	28 Jun 2005	ENG	Michael Vaughan	AUS	Ricky Ponting	Edgbaston	NO RESULT
ODI 2257	30 Jun 2005	AUS	Ricky Ponting	BAN	Habibul Bashar	St Lawrence Ground	Australia by 6 wkts

Final Group Stage Table
Team	M	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
England	6	4	1	1	26	+1.38
Australia	6	3	2	1	22	+0.89
Bangladesh	6	1	5	0	6	-2.01

Final
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
ODI 2258	2 Jul 2005	ENG	Michael Vaughan	AUS	Ricky Ponting	Lord's	TIED

West Indies A in Sri Lanka

See also: West Indies A in Sri Lanka in 2005

West Indies A, a representative side of the West Indies picked from players that would not be in the international team, played against Sri Lanka A in June and July, playing three unofficial four-day "Tests" and five unofficial "ODIs", with first class and List A status respectively. The plans for the tour were only confirmed in mid-June as a result of a dispute over sponsorship between the West Indies Cricket Board and its players. The row continued between the Board and the senior West Indian players, though, which led to the Board asking all West Indies A players whether they would make themselves available for the Test tour immediately following the A tour. On 28 June it was announced that they had unanimously declined the request. However, that unanimous agreement vanished in the coming days, and several players were called up from the A squad to the main squad - resulting in the A squad needing more players. Twenty players eventually turned out for the West Indies A squad. As for the cricket, both the first-class and one-day series were alive until the very last match. West Indies A took a 57-run victory in the first "Test" match, taking the last five wickets of that game for three runs, but crashed to a humbling innings defeat in the second. Sri Lanka A won the series 2–1 thanks to a four-wicket win in the last match. In the one-dayers, West Indies could have forced a drawn series if they had managed to win the last game, but Sri Lanka's bowling undid them and they lost the series 3–1.

West Indies A tour of Sri Lanka A in 2005. First-class match length: 4 days. First-class series result: Sri Lanka A won 2–1. One-day series result: Sri Lanka A won 3–1.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
First Class Series
FC 1	23,24,25,26 Jun 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Dambulla	WI A by 57 runs
FC 2	29,30 Jun, 1 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Colts CCG, Colombo	SRI A by inns&16 runs
FC 3	7,8,9,10 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	P Saravanamuttu Stadium	SRI A by 4 wkts
One-Day Series
OD 1	13 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Nondescripts CCG, Colombo	TIE
OD 2	14 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Colombo CCG	SRI A by 15 runs
OD 3	16 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Tyronne Fernando Stadium	SRI A by 7 wkts
OD 4	18 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Tyronne Fernando Stadium	WI A by 8 wkts
OD 5	19 Jul 2005	Russel Arnold	Daren Ganga	Nondescripts CCG, Colombo	SRI A by 72 runs

ICC Trophy

See also: 2005 ICC Trophy

The 2005 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Ireland between 1 July and 13 July. It was an international one-day tournament played over 50 overs per side between 12 associate members of the International Cricket Council. It came with the prize of a place in the 2007 cricket World Cup (and together with it a share of USD 2,500,000 for future development) for the five top-ranked teams, and with the prize of official One Day International status from 1 January 2006 (until the 2009 ICC Trophy) for the five top-ranked teams other than Kenya. Kenya have already been given official one-day status till the 2009 Trophy.

On 7 July, Ireland, Bermuda, Scotland and Canada qualified for the semi-finals. With that, they also won places in the 2007 cricket World Cup and, from 1 January 2006, official One Day International status. On 11 July the Netherlands also achieved this by beating the UAE to finish fifth. Scotland won the tournament, beating Ireland in the final.

Dutch batsman Bas Zuiderent was named as Player of the Tournament, following his 474 runs in seven matches.

2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland. Teams: Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, UAE, Uganda, USA. Trophy winners: Scotland

Group A
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
ICCT 421	1 Jul 2005	Denmark ]	Carsten Pedersen	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	Muckamore	Denmark by 28 runs
ICCT 422	1 Jul 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	Bermuda	Clay Smith	Stormont, Belfast	Ireland by 97 runs
ICCT 425	1 Jul 2005	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	United States	Richard Staple	Downpatrick	United Arab Emirates by 55 runs
ICCT 426	2 Jul 2005	Bermuda	Janeiro Tucker	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	Lisburn	Bermuda by 30 runs
ICCT 428	2 Jul 2005	Denmark	Carsten Pedersen	United States	Richard Staple	Armagh	Denmark by 96 runs
ICCT 429	2 Jul 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	Comber	Ireland by 127 runs
ICCT 432	4 Jul 2005	Bermuda	Janeiro Tucker	Denmark	Carsten Pedersen	Greenisland	Bermuda by 93 runs
ICCT 434	4 Jul 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	Stormont, Belfast	Ireland by 2 wkts
ICCT 437	4 Jul 2005	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	United States	Richard Staple	Lurgan	Uganda by 6 wkts
ICCT 438	5 Jul 2005	Bermuda	Janeiro Tucker	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	Comber	NO RESULT
ICCT 439	5 Jul 2005	Denmark	Carsten Pedersen	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	Bangor	NO RESULT
ICCT 437a	5 Jul 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	United States	Richard Staple	Waringstown	ABANDONED
ICCT 443	7 Jul 2005	Bermuda	Janeiro Tucker	United States	Richard Staple	Waringstown	Bermuda by 113 runs
ICCT 445	7 Jul 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	Denmark	Carsten Pedersen	Bangor	Ireland by 73 runs
ICCT 448	7 Jul 2005	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	Lurgan	United Arab Emirates by 63 runs

Final Table - Group A
Team	M	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
Ireland	5	4	0	1	9	+1.49
Bermuda	5	3	1	1	7	+0.70
United Arab Emirates	5	2	2	1	5	+0.43
Denmark	5	2	2	1	5	-0.21
Uganda	5	1	3	1	3	-1.05
United States	5	0	4	1	1	-1.39

Group B
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
ICCT 420	1 Jul 2005	Canada	John Davison	Namibia	Deon Kotze	Belfast	Canada by 2 runs
ICCT 423	1 Jul 2005	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	Belfast	Netherlands by 9 wkts
ICCT 424	1 Jul 2005	Oman	Azhar Ali	Scotland	Craig Wright	Belfast	Scotland by 6 wkts
ICCT 427	2 Jul 2005	Canada	John Davison	Scotland	Craig Wright	Bangor	Scotland by 7 wkts
ICCT 430	2 Jul 2005	Namibia	Deon Kotze	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	Belfast	NAM by 96 runs
ICCT 431	2 Jul 2005	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	Oman	Azhar Ali	Carrickfergus	Netherlands by 258 runs
ICCT 433	4 Jul 2005	Canada	John Davison	Oman	Azhar Ali	Muckamore	Canada by 2 wkts
ICCT 435	4 Jul 2005	Namibia	Deon Kotze	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	Belfast	Netherlands by 6 wkts
ICCT 436	4 Jul 2005	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	Scotland	Craig Wright	Belfast	Scotland by 5 wkts
ICCT 440	5 Jul 2005	Canada	John Davison	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	Eglinton	Canada by 2 wkts
ICCT 441	5 Jul 2005	Namibia	Deon Kotze	Scotland	Craig Wright	Limavady	Scotland by 27 runs
ICCT 442	5 Jul 2005	Oman	Azhar Ali	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	Drummond	Papua New Guinea by 93 runs
ICCT 444	7 Jul 2005	Canada	John Davison	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	Downpatrick	Canada by 160 runs
ICCT 446	7 Jul 2005	Namibia	Deon Kotze	Oman	Azhar Ali	Comber	Namibia by 6 wkts
ICCT 447	7 Jul 2005	Scotland	Craig Wright	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	Stormont, Belfast	Scotland by 98 runs

Final Table - Group B
Team	M	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
Scotland	5	5	0	0	10	+2.07
Canada	5	4	1	0	8	+0.79
Netherlands	5	2	2	1	5	+0.43
Namibia	5	2	3	0	4	+0.31
Papua New Guinea	5	1	4	0	2	-2.20
Oman	5	0	5	0	0	-2.59

Knock-Out Stages
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result	Type of match
Semi-Finals
ICCT 449	9 Jul 2005	Bermuda	Clay Smith	Scotland	Craig Wright	The Hills, Dublin	Scotland by 6 wkts
ICCT 450	9 Jul 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	Canada	John Davison	Clontarf, Dublin	Ireland by 4 wkts
5th Place Semi-Finals
ICCT 451	9 Jul 2005	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	Denmark	Carsten Pedersen	North County Dublin	Netherlands by 89 runs
ICCT 452	9 Jul 2005	Namibia	Deon Kotze	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	Malahide	United Arab Emirates by 4 wkts
9th Place Semi-Finals
ICCT 453	9 Jul 2005	Oman	Azhar Ali	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	Rathmines	Oman by 6 runs
ICCT 454	9 Jul 2005	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	United States	Richard Staple	Merrion	United States by 8 wkts
Placement Matches
ICCT 455	11 Jul 2005	Bermuda	Clay Smith	Canada	John Davison	Malahide	Canada by 5 wkts	3rd Place Play-off
ICCT 457	11 Jul 2005	Netherlands	Luuk van Troost	United Arab Emirates	Khuram Khan	Clontarf, Dublin	Netherlands by 145 runs	5th Place Play-off
ICCT 456	11 Jul 2005	Denmark	Carsten Pedersen	Namibia	Deon Kotze	The Hills, Dublin	Namibia by 103 runs	7th Place Play-off
ICCT 458	11 Jul 2005	Oman	Azhar Ali	United States	Richard Staple	North County Dublin	Oman by 3 wkts	9th Place Play-off
ICCT 459	11 Jul 2005	Papua New Guinea	Rarua Dikana	United States	Richard Staple	Merrion	United States by 8 wkts	11th Place Play-off
ICCT 460	13 Jul 2005	Ireland	Kyle McCallan	Scotland	Craig Wright	Clontarf, Dublin	Scotland by 47 runs	Final

Note: All national codes used are IOC codes, except for Scotland (SCO) who do not compete in the Olympics.

Bangladesh A in England

See also: Bangladesh A in England in 2005

Bangladesh A toured England in July and August 2005 for first class and List A cricket matches against English domestic teams. The Bangladesh A side, which was supposed to represent the players just below the eleven in the national team of Bangladesh, in fact included as many as nine internationals. Despite that, the team struggled in the first class matches, where they drew two and lost three matches, and only looked like having a chance of winning in the last match against Kent. The one-day series went slightly better, with Bangladesh A winning two, losing one and abandoning a fourth, but for a second string national team against mainly second elevens from English domestic cricket, it must have been disappointing for the Bangladeshi selectors that only Tushar Imran performed - scoring a total of 614 runs in 11 innings in all cricket on tour. Tushar got called up to the tour of Sri Lanka as a result, along with Syed Rasel, who took ten wickets in the final first-class match against Kent.

West Indians in Sri Lanka

See also: West Indians in Sri Lanka in 2005

West Indies cricket team toured Sri Lanka for two Test matches and a ODI tri-series, the Indian Oil Cup (see below), in July and August 2005. West Indies were severely depleted owing to a contract dispute, which led to players like Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Corey Collymore refusing to play. Thus, Sri Lanka went into the series as even more overwhelming favourites, their strong game at home and West Indies' poor form - with only one Test win in the last ten attempts. And they confirmed their favourite status, winning both Tests in rather emphatic style, although their batting showed worrying weaknesses against West Indian bowlers who bowled with more heart than talent at times. Muttiah Muralitharan, however, took 17 wickets in the two Tests, devastating the West Indian batsmen and playing a major part in the eventual Sri Lankan victory.

West Indians in Sri Lanka in 2005. Test match length: 5 days. Test series result: Sri Lanka won 2–0.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
Test Match Series
Test 1755	13,14,15,16 Jul 2005	Marvan Atapattu	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	SSC Ground, Colombo	Sri Lanka by 6 wkts
Test 1756	22,23,24,25 Jul 2005	Marvan Atapattu	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy	Sri Lanka by 240 runs

Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka

See also: Indian Oil Cup 2005

The Indian Oil Cup 2005 took place in Sri Lanka in July and August 2005, between the hosts Sri Lanka, India and West Indies. Sri Lanka were second in the ICC ODI Championship before this tournament, and fulfilled their position as favourites with an 18-run victory over India in the final. Their last ODI tournament defeat at home was a 2–3 series loss to Australia, in February 2003. India, meanwhile, continued on their disappointing run, as that side has now only won one tournament since March 2004 - a 2–1 defeat of Bangladesh, which could be seen as a disappointment as well, as the Bangladeshis had not won an ODI against a full member of the ICC, excepting Zimbabwe, since 1999. They're seventh in the ODI tables, one place ahead of the West Indies, who were in the middle of a contract dispute - meaning that they were not fielding their strongest side. However, there were a number of positive performances - the bowlers more often than not impressed, and Dinesh Ramdin showed himself as a wicketkeeper for the future. However, a 7-run loss in the final match against India saw them knocked out of the final. Sri Lanka only lost one match in the tournament, a pointless fixture from their point of view against West Indies.

Indian Oil Cup 2005. Teams: Sri Lanka, India, West Indies. Match length: 50 overs a side. Winners: Sri Lanka.

Group Stage
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
ODI 2262	30 Jul 2005	Sri Lanka	Marvan Atapattu	India	Rahul Dravid	Dambulla	Sri Lanka by 3 wkts
ODI 2263	31 Jul 2005	West Indies	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	India	Rahul Dravid	Dambulla	India by 6 wkts
ODI 2264	2 Aug 2005	Sri Lanka	Marvan Atapattu	West Indies	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	Dambulla	Sri Lanka by 50 runs
ODI 2265	3 Aug 2005	Sri Lanka	Marvan Atapattu	India	Rahul Dravid	Dambulla	Sri Lanka by 4 wkts
ODI 2266	6 Aug 2005	Sri Lanka	Mahela Jayawardene	West Indies	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	R Premadasa Stadium	West Indies by 33 runs
ODI 2267	7 Aug 2005	West Indies	Sylvester Joseph	India	Rahul Dravid	R Premadasa Stadium	India by 7 runs

Final Group Stage Table
Team	M	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
Sri Lanka	4	3	1	0	17	+0.19
India	4	2	2	0	13	+0.26
West Indies	4	1	3	0	6	-0.46

Final
No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
ODI 2268	9 Aug 2005	Sri Lanka	Marvan Atapattu	India	Rahul Dravid	R Premadasa Stadium	Sri Lanka by 18 runs

Sri Lanka Under-19s in England

See also: Sri Lanka Under-19s in England in 2005

Sri Lanka Under-19s toured England in July and August 2005. They played three "One Day Internationals" and three "Tests" against the England Under-19 side. However, these matches, despite being internationals, did not have first class status. The England Under-19s were completely dominant, winning two of three ODIs and three Tests, and the third of the ODIs was declared a no result due to rain. The Sri Lankans performed well in patches, but never consistently, too often relying on the one big partnership to carry them to respectable scores. Meanwhile, England had many stand-out players, but skipper Varun Chopra - who made three fifties and was never dismissed for anything below 27 - and all-rounders Tom Smith and Moeen Ali stood out in the Test series. Fast bowler Stuart Broad also impressed in the four matches he played, taking 9 ODI wickets at a bowling average of 8.00, and five Test wickets at an average of 11.60. However, his absence during the last two Tests did not stop England.

Sri Lanka youth tour of England in 2005. U–19 Test match length: 4 days. U–19 Test series result: England U-19 won 3–0. U–19 ODI series result: England U–19 won 2–0.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
U-19 One-Day International Series
OD 1	26 Jul 2005	Varun Chopra	Angelo Mathews	New Road	ENG U19 by 8 wkts
OD 2	28 Jul 2005	Varun Chopra	Angelo Mathews	Old Trafford	NO RESULT
OD 3	29 Jul 2005	Varun Chopra	Angelo Mathews	Old Trafford	ENG U19 by 7 wkts
Under-19 Test Series
Test 1	3,4,5,6 Aug 2005	Varun Chopra	Angelo Mathews	Shenley, Hertfordshire	ENG U19 by 220 runs
Test 2	9,10,11,12 Aug 2005	Varun Chopra	Angelo Mathews	Scarborough	ENG U19 by 183 runs
Test 3	15,16,17 Aug 2005	Varun Chopra	Angelo Mathews	Headingley	ENG U19 by 179 runs

Australian Women in Europe

See also: Australian Women in England in 2005

The Australian women's cricket team are touring England in August and September 2005. They are due to play the fifth of five one-day internationals, and one Twenty20 International, and have finished the two Test matches in the series. They also played one One Day International against Ireland, which they won easily. They won two of the three first ODIs before the second Test, and were also looking to win the third, but a good last over from Katherine Brunt, yielding only four runs, gave England victory. Brunt was also the heroine of the second Test, where she took nine wickets in the match and made 52 in England's first Test win over the Australians since December 1984. It also gave England their first series win in the Women's Ashes since 1963, as the first of the two Tests was drawn. Buoyed by their Test success, England went on to beat Australia in the ODIs three days later, to set up a series decider on 1 September 2005 — which Australia took by four runs after Kirsten Pike held a catch off Clare Connor's bat, resulting in England being all out with four balls potentially remaining of the innings.

Australia women tour of Ireland in 2005. Women's ODI series result: Australia won 1–0.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
WODI 537a	29 Jul 2005	Heather Whelan	Belinda Clark	Leinster	ABANDONED
WODI 538	31 Jul 2005	Heather Whelan	Belinda Clark	Dublin	Australia by 240 runs
WODI 539a	1 Aug 2005	Heather Whelan	Belinda Clark	Trinity College, Dublin	ABANDONED

Australia women tour of England in 2005. Women's Test match length: 4 days. Women's Test series result: England won 1–0. Women's ODI series result: Australia won 3–2. Women's Twenty20 International: Australia won 1–0.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
Women's Test Match Series
WTest 124	9,10,11,12 Aug 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Hove	DRAW
WTest 125	24,25,26,27 Aug 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	New Road	England by 6 wkts
Women's One-Day International Series
WODI 540	15 Aug 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Cheltenham College	Australia by 12 runs
WODI 541	19 Aug 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Kidderminster	Australia by 65 runs
WODI 542	21 Aug 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Stratford-upon-Avon	England by 2 runs
WODI 543	30 Aug 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Taunton	England by 4 wkts
WODI 544	1 Sep 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Taunton	Australia by 4 runs
Women's Twenty20 International Series
WT20I 2	2 Sep 2005	Clare Connor	Belinda Clark	Taunton	Australia by 7 wkts

Afro-Asian Cup

See also: 2005 Afro-Asian Cup

The Afro-Asian Cup was a cricket competition played for the first time 2005. It was a three-ODI series between an Asian XI and an African XI. Controversially, the games were awarded One Day International status. The Cup will run for at least three years. The teams were selected by former Test match players rather than by national selectors, a move that has also given rise to controversy.

It was wrongly expected by the ICC that there would be a strong competitive tender for television rights. However, the main TV players, such as ESPN, declined to bid. Pakistan made it clear that its players did not have to play if they did not want to, and leading South African bowler Makhaya Ntini announced that he would be playing for English county side Warwickshire and so was not available for selection for the African side. Injuries also rampaged the tournament, as four players pulled out a week before the matches were due to start. [1]

As for the tournament itself, it was closely fought. Africa won the first match by just two runs, while Asia won the second by 18 runs to set up a series decider. However, after Africa had been bowled out for 106, the Asian innings was curtailed by rain, and the match eventually declared a no result. Thus, the series was tied 1–1.

Afro-Asian Cup 2005. Match length: 50 overs per side. Series result: Drawn 1–1.

No.	Date	Home captain	Away captain	Venue	Result
ODI 2269	17 Aug 2005	Shaun Pollock	Inzamam-ul-Haq	SuperSport Park	AFR by 2 runs
ODI 2270	20 Aug 2005	Shaun Pollock	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Kingsmead	ASI by 17 runs
ODI 2271	21 Aug 2005	Graeme Smith	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Kingsmead	NO RESULT

ICC Intercontinental Cup

See also: 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup

The 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup is a first class tournament for 12 nations from Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. The nations participating do not have status as Test nations. All the games are scheduled for three days. Scotland won the first tournament in 2004.

The teams played each other team in each of the four groups once. The winners of each group progressed to a semi-final from 23 to 25 October, and then a final from 27 to 29 October, to be hosted in Namibia. In the African group, both Kenya and Namibia beat Uganda, setting up a virtual group final between Kenya and Namibia in early June. The match was drawn, but Kenya scored more points because they scored more runs in the match, enabling them to qualify by a margin of 2.5 points.

In Asia, it was almost as tight, Nepal trailing UAE by 21.5 points before the final match between the two sides - having had one match with Hong Kong severely curtailed by rain. The Nepalis were dominant, winning by 172 runs, yet UAE qualified as Nepal could only limit the points difference to 21. Europe's matches were also stopped by rain, but at least the team with the best win-loss ratio qualified, Ireland scraping through with a three-run victory over Scotland in Aberdeen, while Bermuda continued on their fine ICC Trophy run, winning both matches of the Americas group to qualify for the semi-finals ahead of Canada. United States was forced out of the tournament due to internal political conflicts.

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2005. Match length: 3 days. Teams: Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Scotland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates.

No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
Group Stages (team on left is home team)
African Group
ICCIC 16	22,23,24 Apr 2005	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	Kenya	Steve Tikolo	Kampala	Kenya by 161 runs
ICCIC 20	13,14,15 May 2005	Uganda	Joel Olwenyi	Namibia	Deon Kotze	Kampala	Namibia by 3 wkts
ICCIC 21	3,4,5 Jun 2005	[[Namibia	Deon Kotze	Kenya	Steve Tikolo	Windhoek	DRAW
Asian Group
ICCIC 17	24,25,26 Apr 2005	United Arab Emirates	Mohammad Tauqir	Hong Kong	Tim Smart	Sharjah	United Arab Emirates by 7 wkts
ICCIC 18	30 Apr, 1,2 May 2005	Nepal	Binod Das	Hong Kong	Tim Smart	Kathmandu	DRAW
ICCIC 19	7,8,9 May 2005	Nepal	Binod Das	United Arab Emirates	Mohammad Tauqir	Kathmandu	Nepal won by 172 runs
European Group
ICCIC 22	29,30,31 Jul 2005	Netherlands	Jeroen Smits	Scotland	Craig Wright	Utrecht	DRAW
ICCIC 23	13,14,15 Aug 2005	Scotland	Craig Wright	Ireland	Jason Molins	Aberdeen	Ireland by 3 runs
ICCIC 24	23,24,25 Aug 2005	Ireland	Jason Molins	Netherlands	Bas Zuiderent	Stormont, Belfast	DRAW
North American Group
ICCIC 25	23,24,25 Aug 2005	Canada	Pubudu Dassanayake	Bermuda	Clay Smith	Toronto	Bermuda by 48 runs
ICCIC 26	27,28,29 Aug 2005	Bermuda	Clay Smith	Cayman Islands	Ryan Bovell	Toronto	Bermuda by inns&105 runs
ICCIC 27	31 Aug, 1,2 Sep 2005	Canada	Pubudu Dassanayake	Cayman Islands	Ryan Bovell	Toronto	Canada by 120 runs

Group Tables
Africa	P	W	D	L	Pts		Asia	P	W	D	L	Pts
Kenya	2	1	1	0	49		United Arab Emirates	2	1	0	1	41
Namibia	2	1	1	0	46.5		Nepal	2	1	1	0	40.5
Uganda	2	0	0	2	32		Hong Kong	2	0	1	1	18
Europe	P	W	D	L	Pts		America	P	W	D	L	Pts
Ireland	2	1	1	0	41		Bermuda	2	2	0	0	62
Scotland	2	0	1	1	21		Canada	2	1	0	1	50
Netherlands	2	0	2	0	11.5		Cayman Islands	2	0	0	2	23

No.	Date	Team 1	Captain	Team 2	Captain	Venue	Result
Semi-Finals
ICCIC 28	23,24,25 Oct 2005	Bermuda	Clay Smith	Kenya	Steve Tikolo	United Ground, Windhoek	DRAW, Kenya win on points
ICCIC 29	23,24,25 Oct 2005	Ireland	Trent Johnston	United Arab Emirates	Arshad Ali	Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek	DRAW, Ireland win on points
Final
ICCIC 30	27,28,29 Oct 2005	Kenya	Steve Tikolo	Ireland	Trent Johnston	Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek	Ireland by 6 wkts

ICC Championship Tables in September 2005

With the conclusion of the Test season on 12 September and the ODI season on 9 August, the official ICC Championship tables were as shown below. Many teams had changed positions owing to the cut-off system used, where results between 1 August 2002 and 1 August 2003 counted for the May rankings but not for the September rankings.

ICC Test Championship Table at 12 September				ICC ODI Championship Table at 9 August
Pos (chg)	Nation	Points (chg)		Pos (chg)	Nation	Points (chg)
1 (0)	Australia	127 (-5)		1 (0)	Australia	136 (-4)
2 (0)	England	119 (+9)		2 (0)	Sri Lanka	121 (+4)
3 (0)	India	111 (+4)		3 (+2)	Pakistan	116 (+6)
4 (+2)	South Africa	100 (0)		4 (-1)	New Zealand	116 (0)
5 (+2)	New Zealand	100 (+3)		5 (-1)	South Africa	111 (-1)
6 (-1)	Sri Lanka	98 (-2)		6 (0)	England	109 (+6)
7 (-3)	Pakistan	95 (-7)		7 (+1)	India	95 (-2)
8 (0)	West Indies	74 (+1)		8 (-1)	West Indies	91 (-7)
9 (0)	Zimbabwe	28 (-13)		9 (0)	Zimbabwe	46 (-4)
10 (0)	Bangladesh	6 (0)		10 (+1)	Bangladesh	15 (+9)

These tables include two Test matches between New Zealand and Zimbabwe classified under the 2005-06 season which were played between 9 August and 12 September 2005. Kenya were no longer ranked because they only played 2 ODIs in the ranking period.

References

• The Cricinfo Archives 2005
• Cricinfo - ICC Intercontinental Cup 2005
• CricketArchive
• ICC Trophy 2005 - official site powered by CricketEurope
• International Cricket Council