Teams from five continents prepare to meet in Italy next month as the truly global nature of international cricket is illustrated once again with the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 (WCL Div. 4).
Teams from Nepal, USA, Italy, Cayman Islands, Argentina and Tanzania will converge on Bologna to compete in the fourth step of the World Cricket League as they push ultimately towards inclusion in the next ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (CWCQ) which is scheduled for 2013.
The top four finishers of the ICC CWCQ 2013 win themselves a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be staged in Australia and New Zealand.
The top two sides at WCL Div. 4, which will be played from 14 to 21 August in Bologna, will win promotion to the WCL Div. 3 to be staged in Hong Kong in January 2011.
The sides are to be hosted on three grounds for the tournament – Pianora, Medicina and Bologna.
The full schedule for WCL Div. 4 is as follows:
12 August – Team arrivals
13 August – Practice
14 August – USA v Nepal (Pianora); Italy v Cayman Islands (Medicina); Tanzania v Argentina (Bologna)
15 August – Italy v Nepal (Pianora); Argentina v Cayman Islands (Medicina); USA v Tanzania (Bologna)
16 August – Rest/Reserve Day
17 August – Italy v Argentina (Pianora); Nepal v Tanzania (Medicina); USA v Cayman Islands (Bologna)
18 August – Cayman Islands v Tanzania (Pianora); Italy v USA (Medicina); Nepal v Argentina (Bologna)
19 August – Rest/Reserve Day
20 August – USA v Argentina (Pianora); Cayman Islands v Nepal (Medicina); Tanzania v Italy (Bologna)
21 August – Final (Pianora); third/fourth play-off (Medicina); fifth/sixth play-off (Bologna)