The 2001 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Ontario, Canada in 2001. It was the Cricket World Cup qualification tournament for the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Three spots in the World Cup were on offer and the Netherlands, host nation Canada and for the first time, Namibia qualified. Scotland failed to qualify after losing in the 3rd place play-off and finishing fourth. The Netherlands won the final against Namibia.
By then, Bangladesh had been promoted to full Test and ODI status and did not take part in this competition. Kenya had also gained full ODI status, so both countries qualified for the 2003 Cricket World Cup automatically.
The first round group stage saw a unique two division format, designed to eliminate the mismatches that had blighted previous ICC Trophy tournaments. Each division had two groups of six teams, making 24 teams in total.
However, Italy withdrew before the tournament started to protest Joe Scuderi being ruled ineligible despite being an Italian citizen. West Africa also withdrew, leaving one of the Division Two groups with just four teams, after Canadian immigration officials refused the West African team entry into the country due to concerns the players, especially from Sierra Leone, would stay in Canada illegally after the tournament.[1]
The top three teams from the first round Division One groups went through to the Super League stage, whilst the fourth place team in each group played off against the winners of the Division Two groups.
