The ICC 6 Nations Challenge was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

tournament played every two years between 2000 and 2004. It was a tournament involving the best associate members of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

, who were joined in the first two tournaments by A teams from Zimbabwe (2000+2002) and Sri Lanka (2002 only). Its place has been taken in the international cricket calendar by the

ICC World Cricket League Championship The ICC World Cricket League Championship was the top division of the World Cricket League (WCL). It formed the qualification process for the Cricket World Cup. The WCL Championship was originally known as World Cricket League Division One, and wa ...

(initially known as World Cricket League Division One), which performs the same function.

2000 Tournament

The 2000 tournament was played in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, the hosts being represented by Zimbabwe A. They were joined by

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, and four European teams;

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was then known as the ICC Emerging Nations tournament, and was won by Kenya.

2002 Tournament

The 2002 tournament was held in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

in April. Its purpose was to prepare the four associate teams for the

2003 Cricket World Cup The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the ...

. To this end, those four teams (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Kenya,

and the Netherlands) were joined by A teams from Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. The tournament was again won by Kenya, who beat Sri Lanka A in the final.

Points Table

Final

The final between Sri Lanka A and Kenya was played on 14 April 2002. Kenya won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 211.

Jehan Mubarak Jehan Mubarak ( ta, ஜெகன் முபாரக்; born 10 January 1981) is an American-born former professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. Per ...

top scored with 82, and Steve Tikolo was the pick of the Kenyan bowlers with 3/29. Kenya lost seven wickets in pursuit of their target, but still reached it in the 48th over for the three wicket win. The Final was Umpired by Rudi Koertzen of South Africa and Zimbabwean Duncan Frost with Jeff Luck of Namibia serving as 3rd Umpire.

2004 Tournament

The 2004 tournament was held in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

. It served as a qualification tournament for the

2004 ICC Champions Trophy The 2004 ICC Champions Trophy was held in England in September 2004. Twelve teams competed in 15 matches spread over 16 days at three venues: Edgbaston, The Rose Bowl and The Oval. The nations competing included the ten Test nations, Kenya (ODI ...

. With Kenya busy on a tour of the West Indies, the top five teams from the 2001 ICC Trophy (Canada, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland and the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

were joined by the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The USA went on to win the tournament and qualify for the Champions Trophy. It was a close tournament, with five teams all winning three games and losing two, the USA topped the table on net run rate by a tiny margin of 0.028.

References

External links

Cricket Archive page on 2000 tournament

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319061124/http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/NAMIB/2001-02_NAMIB_ICC_Six_Nations_Challenge_2001-02.html , date=2012-03-19

One Day International cricket competitions Six Nations Challenge Recurring sporting events established in 2000 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2004 Biennial sporting events