Zambia 214 (50 overs) beat Mozambique 194 (49 overs) by 20 runs

Zambia have booked themselves a place in the World Cricket League Division Eight tournament in Kuwait in December. This came after their 20 run win over Mozambique in Benoni, South Africa on the last day of the tournament on Thursday to win the Africa Division Two tournament.

Zambia won the toss and elected to bat. They set a defendable target, posting 214 in their allotted 50 overs. The foundation of the Zambian innings was set by Salvas Palel with a gutsy 69 off 84 balls and Sharif Yousuf who struck a breezy 64 from just 51 balls.

Mozambique made a game attempt at chasing down the Zambian total, with allrounder Mohammed Zulpicus smashing 77 off 67 balls. However, there wasn't enough support and Zambia emerged winners by 20 runs.

Ghana 194 (48.5 overs) beat Sierra Leone 127 (39.3 overs) by 65 runs

The all-West African clash between Ghana and Sierra Leone would have pleased the development-minded featuring two young fully indigenous teams Ghana elected to bat and eked out a painstaking 194 all out. Sierra Leone pursued the target purposefully, but losing early wickets slowed their progress. Captain Lansana Lamin's 45 from 57 gave some hope, but four wickets to Ghana's Lawrence Ateak broke Sierra Leone's innings and Ghana won by 65 runs.

Swaziland 70 for 1 (8.1 overs) beat Malawi 69 (20 overs) by nine wickets

Swaziland ensured Malawi's brief stay in Division Two ended swiftly but painfully with an emphatic nine wicket win. The match lasted 28.1 overs, as Malawi was dismissed for 69 in 20 overs, and then Swaziland needed just 49 balls to pass the Malawian total. Estean Sauerman was the destroyer taking eight Malawian wickets.

Zambia asserted itself as a threat in the Africa Division Two tournament in Benoni, South Africa, with a resounding 114-run win over Malawi on Tuesday.

On another wet and damp Benoni day, Swaziland won the other match played, beating Sierra Leone by 30 runs after their target was adjusted after input from Messrs Duckworth & Lewis. Originally a reserve day in the tournament, the two matches played were originally postponed from Sunday. The weather saw both matches reduced to 46 overs each.

Zambia continued their good run of form with a comprehensive win over Malawi. After being sent in, Zambia found themselves in early trouble slipping to 10 for 2 before a third-wicket partnership for 64 runs saw Abib Patel (24) and Marcus Pieterse (34) restore a degree of respectability to the Zambian innings.

Imraan Patel's unbeaten 55 saw the Zambian innings close at 189 all out in the 46th over. Muzikir Khan shorn with the ball for Malawi with a sparkling return of four wickets for 31 runs in his allotted nine overs. Zambia coach Peter Kirsten described Imraan's innings as "a gem."
In the run chase, Malawi found themselves in early trouble at 17 for 4 in the 12th over but
middle order batsmen Muzikir Khan steadied things with 33. Godfrey Kandela was the
destroyer for Zambia, returning three wickets for 15 runs in nine overs. Kandela's spell
prevented the Malawian innings from team establishing any sort of foundation and
were bowled out for 75 runs.

Kirsten added “I am very pleased with the team's performance today, they showed a lot of grit in very trying conditions to set the target of 189.”

In the other postponed match, Swaziland won the toss and put Sierra Leone in to bat
Ibrahim Mansaray top scored for Sierra Leone with 40 off 95 balls. They struggled
to reach 134 all out in their 36th over. Saif Habib was the best Swaziland bowler with three wickets for 22 runs from five overs.

With rain threatening, Swaziland began their innings in aggressive fashion. Opener
Naeem Gull smashed a brisk unbeaten 42 from 57 balls. The policy was rewarded when the umpires called the match off due to rain and Swaziland was awarded the match after Duckworth/Lewis adjustments to win by 30 runs.

Malawi v. Zambia
Zambia 189 for 10 after 45.5 overs
Malawi 75 for 10 after 34 overs
Zambia won by 114 runs

Swaziland v Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone 134 for 10 after 36 overs
Swaziland 84 for 3 after 20 overs
Swaziland won by 30 runs (D/L method)

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising beyond the Test world.

Ghana beat Swaziland by five wickets to win the ICC World Cricket League Africa Region Division Three. At the moment we have no further details.

Ghana will play Swaziland in the final of the ICC World Cricket League Africa Region Division Three.

Ghana had the easiest match, thrashing Rwanda by eight wickets with more than 39 overs in hand. Rwanda were bowled out for 23 in 11.1 overs, but that represented a recovery after they found themselves 13 for 8. Abdul-Karim Sumaila (4 for 11) and Isaac Aboagye (6 for 9) bowled unchanged throughout, while extras (9) contributed more than any individual batsman. Ghana lost both their openers in easing home.

Swaziland had to work harder, and survived a mini collapse within sight of the finishing line, before overcoming Sierra Leone by four wickets with 20 overs to spare in the battle of the group winners. Sierra Leone managed 116 thanks to an eighth-wicket stand of 50 which bailed them out from 50 for 7. Joseph Wright (5 for 17) was the man who blew away the top order. Swaziland were wobbling on 27 for 3 but Wright (48) and Abdulazis Patel (35*) put on 73 for the fourth wicket, and strikes from Lansana Lamin (4 for 19) came too late.

Lesotho lost to a South African Invitation XI by seven wickets in the fifth-place play-off.

Click here for the tournament scorecards.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

Jersey became the 33rd country to be granted Associate membership at the ICC Annual Conference held last week at Lord's.

The decision comes after a successful 12 months for cricket on the island and makes Jersey the 11th European Associate Member joining the likes of Denmark, Ireland and Netherlands.

Cameroon, The Falkland Islands, Peru and Swaziland were awarded Affiliate membership, taking the total number of ICC members up to 101. Jersey was the only country to be granted Associate Membership.

The Falkland Islands were elected with only one dissenting voice. Argentina abstained in the week that marked the 25th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War.

The 2007 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was published this week, and in it Tony Munro takes a look at life beyond the Test world.

Four new countries – Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Tonga and Swaziland – are included in this year’s Cricket Round the World section. This takes the total of countries, regions and territories featured since the feature began in Wisden 1993 to 107.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

With regards to England, yes there have been quite a few non English-born players who have been picked for the side, but the game still has a massive stronghold in the country. The selection has been more about improving a solid side. And as for the ex-pats argument? Well, yes, but that's the crucial point. In the regions flagged the game was brought in but it was then embraced by the indigenous population and taken on as their own. This is exemplified no better than in CLR James's seminal work, Beyond A Boundary.

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Does it matter? Yes, because as the ICC looks to develop the game in as many places as possible, that means the financial cake has to be cut in ever thinner slices. The ICC needs to concentrate on a smaller number of countries where the chances of the game taking off. It is invidious that Uganda gets the same basic allowance as Belgium.

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

The Swaziland Under-17s travel to South Africa today for two matches, on Saturday and Sunday.

Swaziland Cricket Association (SCA) Chief Coach Sohail Khan, who is also the National Under 17 squad's Head Coach said he was confident that the team would raise the country's flag sky high in these friendly games. Khan has also been appointed by the SCA executive to accompany the team which is expected back home next Monday.

"We had enough time for preparations. I'm optimistic that we will do well and win. The players have been co-operative and supportive during our training sessions. They are all in good shape and were committed in all the exercises they have been engaged in," he said. He added that the squad will today converge at 12p.m at the Sizzlers Restuarant in Mbabane. The Under 17 team is made up of James Megenn (Captain), Harris Rashid (Vice Captain), John, Lutfo Dlamini, Brendan Linsey, Stephen Nodder, Thetho Sengwayo, Jason Weeve, Mangaliso, Adib Miri, Patrick Stewart, Shoaib Ahmed and Simon Bycott.

More at the Swazi Observer

The Swaziland Cricket Association has presented 35 ICC Basic Coaching Certificates to sports teachers who attended the coaching clinics held last month

The Swazi Observer reports that three local companies have been brought in as the new national shirt is unveilled.

“We want to create a friendly environment within the cricket family and we will also present our development programmes to the ICC official."