1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy
 |
|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | One-Day International |
| Tournament format(s) | Knockout |
| Host(s) |
 Bangladesh
|
| Champions |
 South Africa (1st title) |
| Participants | 9 |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Player of the series |
Jacques Kallis
|
| Most runs |
 Philo Wallace (221) |
| Most wickets |
Jacques Kallis (8) |
| Official website | ICC-Cricinfo Tournament website |
The 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy (officially known as Wills International Cup) was a One Day International cricket tournament held in Bangladesh. It was the first tournament apart from the World Cups to involve all test playing nations. New Zealand defeated Zimbabwe in a pre-quarter final match to qualify for the main knockout stage. Future editions of this tournament are now known as the ICC Champions Trophy. South Africa defeated the West Indies in the final to win the event. This tournament was inaugurated on the basis of FIFA Confiderations Cup where the best teams from their respected confederations compete against each other but in this case the top teams in the ICC ODI Championship compete with each other.
The ICC conceived the idea of a short cricket tournament to raise funds for the development of the game in non-test playing countries. The tournament, later dubbed as the mini-World Cup as it involved all of the full members of the ICC, was planned as a knock-out tournament so that it was short and did not reduce the value and importance of the World Cup.
The ICC decided to award the tournament to Bangladesh to promote the game in that nation. Bangladesh did not participate as they were not a test playing nation at that time, despite winning the 1997 ICC Trophy and qualifying for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. One of the worst ever floods of the region threatened to ruin the tournament. However, the tournament eventually went ahead and the Bangladesh Cricket Board promised to donate 10% of the gate money to the Prime Minister's Fund for flood relief.
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