The 2015-2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup came to a close on 02nd Dec, 2017 in UAE when Afghanistan won the trophy for the 2nd time and Ireland finished 2nd followed by Netherlands and Hong Kong. Afghanistan and Ireland now exit Intercontinental Cup as they were obliged to finish the current cycle after being awarded Test status in June 2017 by ICC.
The next cycle was expected to be from 2019-2021; however, ICC announced that they would be seeking expression of interest from Cricket Boards about their interest in playing the longer format of red-ball cricket, which aided Ireland and Afghanistan’s growth towards Test membership.
It will be a welcome return for Nepal in the red-ball format of the game, if it happens. Nepal last took part in the 2004-2005 edition of the tournament, which was played in the 3-day format. The crowd support will actually see filled out ground when Nepal play their home fixtures in the I-Cup tournament.
It needs to be seen how ICC wants to take forward the ICC Intercontinental Cup going forward as they expressed that if the tournament does take place, it will be on a cost-sharing basis between the Cricket Boards and themselves and till the time the outcome is notified to all cricketing circles, here’s a look at the top run-scorers and wicket-takers in I-Cup history so far.
In all likelihood, the final outcome on this matter might be announced in the 2019 Annual General Meeting. However, as of now, the probability of it happening looks bleak as the cost-sharing model wouldn’t be a financially viable option for the Boards.
Top Run Scorers in ICC Intercontinental Cup:
| ICC Intercontinental Cup – Most runs | ||||||||
| Player | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
| SO Tikolo (Kenya) | 19 | 32 | 2 | 1918 | 220 | 63.93 | 6 | 7 |
| Arshad Ali (UAE) | 24 | 46 | 2 | 1756 | 185 | 39.9 | 4 | 9 |
| WTS Porterfield (Ireland) | 24 | 39 | 2 | 1743 | 186 | 47.1 | 5 | 8 |
| G Snyman (Namibia) | 24 | 44 | 8 | 1733 | 230 | 48.13 | 2 | 10 |
| Khurram Khan (UAE) | 24 | 43 | 3 | 1730 | 121* | 43.25 | 4 | 10 |
| Saqib Ali (UAE) | 18 | 34 | 4 | 1620 | 195 | 54 | 6 | 6 |
| AR White (Ireland) | 26 | 36 | 9 | 1552 | 152* | 57.48 | 5 | 9 |
| Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan) | 19 | 32 | 5 | 1457 | 214* | 53.96 | 4 | 7 |
| NJ O’Brien (Ireland) | 18 | 28 | 2 | 1386 | 176 | 53.3 | 6 | 4 |
| KJ O’Brien (Ireland) | 30 | 43 | 7 | 1384 | 171* | 38.44 | 1 | 9 |
| AC Botha (Ireland) | 21 | 30 | 1 | 1352 | 186 | 46.62 | 5 | 3 |
| PW Borren (Netherlands) | 27 | 50 | 1 | 1331 | 109 | 27.16 | 2 | 5 |
| Asghar Stanikzai (Afghanistan) | 22 | 32 | 2 | 1327 | 145 | 44.23 | 5 | 2 |
| SF Burger (Namibia) | 28 | 50 | 3 | 1321 | 135 | 28.1 | 1 | 11 |
| RN ten Doeschate (Netherlands) | 8 | 12 | 3 | 1285 | 259* | 142.77 | 7 | 1 |
| CO Obuya (Kenya) | 23 | 39 | 4 | 1261 | 91* | 36.02 | 0 | 11 |
| MA Ouma (Kenya) | 22 | 40 | 1 | 1226 | 130 | 31.43 | 2 | 7 |
| S Dhaniram (Canada) | 20 | 37 | 8 | 1174 | 144 | 40.48 | 3 | 5 |
| CG Williams (Namibia) | 19 | 32 | 2 | 1166 | 140 | 38.86 | 4 | 4 |
| EC Joyce (Ireland) | 9 | 15 | 0 | 1024 | 231 | 68.26 | 3 | 3 |
| JP Bray (Ireland) | 12 | 19 | 0 | 998 | 190 | 52.52 | 3 | 4 |
| PR Stirling (Ireland) | 21 | 34 | 0 | 953 | 146 | 28.02 | 3 | 3 |
| GC Wilson (Ireland) | 22 | 34 | 2 | 938 | 95 | 29.31 | 0 | 6 |
| IH Romaine (Bermuda) | 17 | 31 | 1 | 932 | 111 | 31.06 | 2 | 4 |
| R van Schoor (Namibia) | 17 | 31 | 2 | 910 | 157 | 31.37 | 2 | 3 |
| DF Watts (Scotland) | 19 | 30 | 1 | 894 | 146 | 30.82 | 2 | 4 |
| TN de Grooth (Netherlands) | 20 | 35 | 1 | 892 | 196 | 26.23 | 1 | 5 |
| DL Hemp (Bermuda) | 7 | 13 | 4 | 861 | 247* | 95.66 | 2 | 5 |
| RR Watson (Scotland) | 15 | 22 | 0 | 843 | 167 | 38.31 | 2 | 4 |
| Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) | 20 | 29 | 3 | 841 | 117 | 32.34 | 2 | 3 |
| RD Berrington (Scotland) | 19 | 30 | 3 | 840 | 129 | 31.11 | 2 | 4 |
| Nawroz Mangal (Afghanistan) | 14 | 24 | 2 | 832 | 168 | 37.81 | 1 | 5 |
| A Bagai (Canada) | 14 | 26 | 2 | 812 | 93 | 33.83 | 0 | 6 |
| Qaiser Ali (Canada) | 14 | 25 | 2 | 784 | 174 | 34.08 | 1 | 5 |
| AR Cusack (Ireland) | 15 | 22 | 3 | 761 | 130 | 40.05 | 1 | 4 |
| SP Patil (UAE) | 10 | 17 | 2 | 758 | 94 | 50.53 | 0 | 7 |
| PM Seelaar (Netherlands) | 23 | 41 | 10 | 751 | 138* | 24.22 | 1 | 2 |
| TM Odoyo (Kenya) | 17 | 27 | 6 | 746 | 137 | 35.52 | 2 | 3 |
| DO Obuya (Kenya) | 12 | 22 | 0 | 733 | 115 | 33.31 | 1 | 6 |
| AJ Burger (Namibia) | 13 | 25 | 1 | 725 | 81 | 30.2 | 0 | 5 |
| NFI McCallum (Scotland) | 14 | 21 | 5 | 714 | 181 | 44.62 | 3 | 1 |
| Babar Hayat (Hong Kong) | 6 | 11 | 1 | 712 | 214* | 71.2 | 3 | 1 |
| CJ Smith (Bermuda) | 8 | 12 | 1 | 707 | 138 | 64.27 | 2 | 5 |
| SD Outerbridge (Bermuda) | 12 | 23 | 0 | 706 | 113 | 30.69 | 1 | 6 |
| A Vala (Papua New Guinea) | 7 | 14 | 3 | 700 | 144* | 63.63 | 3 | 3 |
| LJ Burger (Namibia) | 16 | 29 | 2 | 667 | 120 | 24.7 | 1 | 5 |
| ES Szwarczynski (Netherlands) | 18 | 30 | 1 | 664 | 93 | 22.89 | 0 | 5 |
| B Zuiderent (Netherlands) | 12 | 20 | 3 | 649 | 149* | 38.17 | 1 | 5 |
| EJG Morgan (Ex-Ireland) | 8 | 13 | 2 | 639 | 209* | 58.09 | 2 | 2 |
