By James Fitzgerald

THE International Cricket Council’s first class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, gets underway next month with heavy-hitters such as Ireland chasing prize money for the first time.

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Ireland start the defence of their title against Kenya next Friday knowing that the ICC have pledged a total of almost £160,000 for the Associate and Affiliate teams in this four-day format, with more than £60,000 for the winners and about £25,000 for the runners-up.

The tournament begins in Scotland as the 2005 champions take on the 2006-07 finalists Canada at Mannofield in Aberdeen on July 2-5. When that match is over, Scotland and Canada will play a two-ODI series at the same venue. Canada then head to Holland for two ODIs on July 11 and 12 at VRA Amstelveen, near Amsterdam, and they face the Dutch in an ICC Intercontinental Cup match at VOC Rotterdam on July 15-18.

Ireland will host Kenya on July 3-6 at Eglinton in the island’s north-west, and there will then be a three-ODI series at Clontarf in Dublin on July 9, 11 and 12. Ireland travel to Aberdeen to take on Scotland in an Intercontinental Cup (Aug 17-20) and ODI series (Aug 22 and 23), continuing a rivalry between the two countries that has flourished since 1888.

The ICC global development manager Matthew Kennedy said: "The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception five years ago, and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

"This competition has played a crucial role in the leading Associates’ development as team units and in challenging and improving the skills of both established and emerging individual players at these national levels. It has surely contributed significantly to some of their successes in recent years against Full Members in the shorter forms of the game.

"Currently Ireland are top of the pile having won the title on the previous three , but I know the other teams will be keen to end that domination and so it won’t be easy for them to retain the trophy.

"The addition of prize money this year is another way in which the ICC Intercontinental Cup is being enhanced and is a sign of our commitment to our Associate and Affiliate Members," added Kennedy.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket that gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

This year’s format will include seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Holland, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), and a new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield, will involve four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.

Associate team fixtures so far confirmed

July

2-5 Scotland v Canada (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Aberdeen

3-6 Ireland v Kenya (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Eglinton, Derry

7 Scotland v Canada (ODI), Aberdeen

8 Scotland v Canada (ODI), Aberdeen

9 Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin

11 Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin

11 Holland v Canada (ODI), VRA Amstelveen

12 Holland v Canada (ODI), VRA Amstelveen

12 Ireland v Kenya (ODI), Clontarf, Dublin

15-18 Holland v Canada (ICC Intercontinental Cup), VOC Rotterdam

August

17-20 Scotland v Ireland (ICC Intercontinental Cup), Aberdeen

22 Scotland v Ireland (ODI), Aberdeen

23 Scotland v Ireland (ODI), Aberdeen

27 Ireland v England (ODI), Stormont, Belfast

28 Scotland v Australia (ODI), Grange, Edinburgh

More fixtures to be announced