One of the feel good sports stories of the year for me is the contesting of the International Cricket (ICC) Council's Intercontinental Cup.The cup is a cricket tournament organized by the ICC as part of international development of the game all over the world. It is designed to allow Associate Members of the ICC the chance to play first-class cricket matches against teams of similar skill in a competition environment and prepare them for eventual promotion to Test cricket status.While the Cup has been dominated by Ireland the last three years, this year the final will be contested by Scotland and Afghanistan, of all places. In fact, Afghanistan were the top qualifiers and are a really good team. In a country torn apart by fighting for many years, this is a miracle. Scotland know the magnitude of their challenge in Dubai, where the final will be fought, as they were defeated by 229 runs by the Afghan team in Ayr last month. It looks like sports will triumph again over adversity. I hope it can bring that battle ravaged country a few smiles, even if I do have a dram or two of Scottish blood running through my veins.
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