A number of important Associate and Affiliate dates have been confirmed by the ICC this past week.

The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier will take place in the United Arab Emirates from February 9-13, 2010. This eight-team event featuring Associate and Affiliate sides vying for the two places on offer at the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the West Indies will be played entirely at Dubai Sports City.

September sees the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers take place in Canada. The event runs from September 1 to 13 in Toronto with 10 teams competing for the six remaining places for the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand from January 16-30, 2010.

The ICC World Cricket League Division 6 (WCL Div.6) will be held in Singapore from August 29 to September 5 with teams from Singapore, Guernsey, Malaysia, Bahrain, Botswana and Norway battling it out in one group across three venues: Kalang, Singapore CC and Indian Association. The top two teams from WCL Div. 6 will win promotion to Division 5.

WCL Div. 5 has been confirmed to be hosted by Nepal from February 20-27, 2010. The teams include host Nepal, Fiji, Jersey, USA and the two qualifiers from WCL Div. 6.

Hong Kong beat Thailand to win the inaugural Asian Cricket Council’s women’s Twenty20 in Kuala Lumpar.

Hong Kong posted 106 for 4, thanks to a late charge engineered by Connie Wong, who made 23 off 21 balls. In reply, Thailand were always slightly behind the asking rate, and were left needing 17 off the final two overs and six off the last ball. Ishitaa Gidwani kept things interesting by bowling a wide, but she followed with a dot ball to secure the win.

Nepal thrashed China by 73 runs, bowling them out for 30, to win the third-place play-off.

Nepal's Under-19 Women beat Singapore today in a bowl-out, continuing their winning spree in the ACC Women's T-20 tournament in Malaysia. nepalnews.com has the full story.

Kathmandu have reached the final of the Springwood National T20 tournament with their fourth win in as many matches, beating Biratnagar by eight wickets. Nepalcricket.com has more.

	Man-of-the-Match Aimal Wafa is lifted from the field after Afghanistan's win © ACC

Nepal batted on winning the toss, but while the first two overs produced 23 runs, two wickets fell and thereafter the innings struggled for any momentum. Only Prithu Baskota looked to take the attack to the bowlers, hammering three sixes on his way to 81. Some late hitting helped Nepal to 186 for 8, with 73 coming off the last ten overs after they had been 113 for 6.

Afghanistan also wobbled early on, and at 54 for 3 in the 16th over, Nepal appeared to be back on track. But Man of the Match Aimal Wafa (61*) and Asgher Hotak (478) came together at 84 for 4 and not only consolidated but also kept up with the required rate, adding an unbeaten 106 for the fifth wicket to see their side home.

There was less drama in the other semi-final where Hong Kong beat Qatar by 23 runs, despite only making 161 themselves.

Nepal, the odds-on favourites who have dominated recent Asian Cricket Council Under-19 tournaments, were brought down to earth with a bump by Hong Kong who sent them crashing to a 36-run defeat. The result means both teams go through to the semi-finals.

Irfan Ahmed was the star of the show for Hong Kong, thumping 103 off 101 balls in a score of 193 for 7. Nepal struggled from the off and were bowled out for 157, Irfan Ahmed making the Man-of-the-Match adjudication a formality with 3 for 72 while Shakeel Haq took 4 for 17.
In the other Group A match, Singapore beat Saudi Arabia by 39 runs.

With Afghanistan already through from Group B, the other place was between UAE and Qatar, and it was Qatar who went through, bowling Bhutan out for 69 and coasting to a nine-wicket win - UAE’s 130-run defeat of Oman wasn’t enough.

Afghanistan will play a shell-shocked Nepal, while Hong Kong meet Qatar

Nepal, the odds-on favourites who have dominated recent Asian Cricket Council Under-19 tournaments, were brought down to earth with a bump by Hong Kong who sent them crashing to a 36-run defeat. The result means both teams go through to the semi-finals.

Irfan Ahmed was the star of the show for Hong Kong, thumping 103 off 101 balls in a score of 193 for 7. Nepal struggled from the off and were bowled out for 157, Irfan Ahmed making the Man-of-the-Match adjudication a formality with 3 for 72 while Shakeel Haq took 4 for 17.
In the other Group A match, Singapore beat Saudi Arabia by 39 runs.

With Afghanistan already through from Group B, the other place was between UAE and Qatar, and it was Qatar who went through, bowling Bhutan out for 69 and coasting to a nine-wicket win - UAE’s 130-run defeat of Oman wasn’t enough.

Afghanistan will play a shell-shocked Nepal, while Hong Kong meet Qatar

Nepal and Afghanistan made it two wins out of two on the second day of the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup in Kuwait.

Nepal’s win was against Malaysia, one of the pre-tournament favourites, and it extended their winning run against them to seven matches. Malaysia batted on winning the toss and scored 203, built around 90 from Keithan. Gyanendra Malla, Nepal’s captain, made 86 not out as they passed the target with six wickets in hand.

Afghanistan dismissed Oman for 188 (their last five wickets fell for 20) and then cruised to an eight-wicket win as Iqbal Maliki (86)and Noor ul Haq (79) put on 157 for the first wicket.

Hong Kong opened their account with a four-wicket win over Singapore who they bowled out for 124, aided by no fewer than five run-outs. Jamie Atkinson, who made his first-class debut for Durham UCCE earlier this month, hit 61 to spearhead the chase.

Pre-tournament favourites Malaysia and Nepal cruised to easy wins on the opening day of the ten-team ACC Under-19 Elite Cup in Kuwait. Afghanistan, whose senior side were the success story of the recent ICC World Cup Qualifiers, also got off to a flying start, but there was a surprise defeat for UAE.

Malaysia eased to a five-wicket win with more than ten overs to spare over Singapore after bowling them out for 183, Prem Dadlani providing the bulk of Singapore’s run with 96.

Nepal had more trouble in beating Saudi Arabia, and they had Amrit Bhattarai to thank as his 82 helped them to 233 after they had slipped to 76 for 7. That was too much for the Saudis who were bowled out for 96.

Afghanistan thrashed Bhutan by eight wickets after bowling them out for 63, ambling home in 13 overs.

UAE were bundled to a two-wicket defeat by Qatar after being bowled out for 164.

The Asian Cricket Council has announced its rankings for non Test-playing countries and Singapore have emerged as the leading side with Nepal and UAE second and third.

The rankings were based on two years’ performances in various levels of competition, including Under -15, U-17, U-19 and ACC Trophy events.

Click here for the full rankings.

Nepal beat Malaysia by ten wickets in front of 8000 spectators to win the ACC Under-17 Elite Cup.

Malaysia were always second best in front of a passionate home crowd and were bowled out for 124 in 37.1 overs. Nepal cruised to victory in 23.3 overs, Sagar Pun scoring 65 and Aakash Pariyar 53.

Organisers have been delighted with excellent crowds throughout the competition, and strict checking of all teams ensured there were none of the embarrassing rows over the age of players which have marred recent events.

That spared Nepal, who, it is reported, had 16 of their original 30-man squad outside the stipulated age qualifications.

Malaysia beat Qatar by 55 runs to reach the final of the ACC Under-17 Elite Cup, where they will take on home side Nepal who beat UAE by 21 runs. Click here for a full report.

Unbeaten half-centuries from Gyanendra Malla (76 not out) and Sharad Vesawkar (51 not out), and their 126-run stand, took Nepal to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Qatar at the Royal Military College ground. Choosing to bat, Qatar began slowly, making just 46 in the first 15 overs. Their captain, Omer Taj, made 48 off 77 balls, but did not receive much support from the middle order. Rusharat Ali, the wicketkeeper, struck an unbeaten 40 as Qatar were eventually bowled out for 171. Shakti Gauchan, a legspinner, and seamer Basata Negmi took three wickets each. A double-strike from Abbas Khan gave Nepal early jitters as they fell to 46 for 3, but Malla and Vesawkar combined to dash Qatar's hopes.

Despite being sent in on a damp pitch at the Selangor Turf Club, Nepal trumped Hong Kong by 44 runs. Measured forties from Paresh Lohani and Sharad Vesawkar, and a more cavalier 81 from Paras Khadka lifted them to 245. They were helped along by a couple of dropped catches and an over-attacking field. Early blows from medium-pacer Binod Das left Hong Kong stuttering at 35 for 3. Their top scorer was Butt Hussain, who crawled to 52 off 123 balls, but with none of his team-mates crossing 25, Hong Kong slumped to a loss.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Continue reading "Future bright beyond the Test world"

Cricinfo has learned that the Afro-Asia Cup, which was reported to have been quietly sidelined after the 2007 event in Bangalore, has been revived.

Plans had been discussed whereby the existing Asia Cup, which takes place in Pakistan next month, would be supplemented with an African Cup. The winners of the two tournaments would then play off in an Afro-Asia final.

However, the packed international schedule meant that it was too difficult to find room for the African competition in 2008 and so a competition using the old three-ODI format will be held in Kenya during 2009.

Although the event has raised valuable funds for the African Cricket Association and the Asian Cricket Council, it has been less than a hit with audiences and has struggled to find a niche in the calendar. Despite the best intentions of the two associations, the weight of cricket means that it is still by no means certain to proceed.

The ICC has suspended Sagar Khadka and Rahul Biswokarm, two Nepal spin bowlers, for possessing illegal actions.

The two spinners from Region No 4 Bhairahawa were part of the Nepali team that reached the plate final of the Youth World Cup held in Malaysia in February. As one of the key players of the team, Rahul took 10 wickets and scored 51 runs in six matches while Sagar took two wickets and scored 47 runs in as many matches.

“I have not been informed about this,” Rahul, considered a player for watch, said over telephone. “I don’t think my bowling action is suspicious and if there is any shortcoming, I can improve on that.”

nepalcricket.com has the full story.

Raju Basnet has become the first bowler to take 50 wickets in Nepal's domestic national league. Nepalcricket.com has the full story.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

NepalCricket.com has an interesting report on women's cricket in the region, complete with photos. Have a look here.

Nepal have been boosted with a $A20,000 grant to promote cricket at the grass-roots level by the Australian government. “We will support school programs, women and disabled, like deaf and blind cricketers,” Binaya Raj Pandey, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) told NepalCricket.com. “I hope that the support from the Australia continues.”

The Australian Ambassador to Nepal Graeme Lade said that he hoped that both grants would prove useful in advancing sporting capabilities in Nepal, especially in the areas of cricket and sport for people with disabilities. He also hoped that successful outcomes from these grants might hopefully lead to further grants.

The Australian government has been running the Sports Outreach Program, administered by the Australian Sports Commission, for a number of years, but until last year, it had essentially targeted Commonwealth countries.

Last year, the program was expanded beyond to include other countries, including Nepal.

Read the full story at their site.

Nepal have announced a 15-man squad for next month's Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. Roy Luke Dias, the coach, will be assisted by Jagat Tamata (assistant coach) and Tarakmani Dixit as the team manager.

Squad
Paras Khadka (capt), Gyanendra Malla (vice-captain), Mahesh Kumar Chhetri, Raj Shrestha, Amrit Bhatterai, Avay Rana, Aakash Kumar Gupta, Sagar Khadka, Antim Thapa, Rom Shrestha, Chandra Saud, Rahul Kumar BK, Anil Kumar Mandal, Pushpa Thapa and Subash Pradhan (reserves: Sunam Gautam, Santosh Baral and Nirmal Simangaida)

	Singapore's captain Rezza Gaznavi receives the ACC Under-15 Elite Cup © ACC

The Asian Cricket Council had taken drastic action on Saturday and kicked out hosts and defending champions Nepal as well as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Thailand after its medical board reported that all the squads from those countries contained players over the stipulated age limit. Sunday's semi-finals - Nepal v Singapore and Afghanistan v Hong Kong - were scrapped.

Click here for the full story.

Nepal's Under-15s are readying themselves for the start of their national tournament which gets underway on Monday.

Schedule
Oct 29 - Bhairahawa vs Nepalgunj
Oct 30 - Birgunj vs Nepalgunj
Oct 31 - Birgunj vs Bhairahawa
Nov 1 - Biratnagar vs Baitadi
Nov 2 - Biratnagar vs Kathmandu
Nov 3 - Kathmandu vs Baitadi

[via]

A few of you have contacted us to ask how the inaugural ACC Twenty20 Cup is getting along. We're struggling to find actual scorecards, but can tell you that Nepal have beaten Malaysia in the opening round.

Nepal recovered from 84/6 to accumulate 121/9 in 20 overs –thanks to 38-run seventh wicket stand by Basant Regmi and captain Binod Das. Malaysia was bowled out for 100 runs in 18.5 overs.

A full report is available at Nepal's enthusiastically updated website. According to the Kuwait Cricket Association's site, Nepal were today beaten by Qatar.

Do get in touch if you have any photos to share.

Nepal beat Malaysia in the opening match of the ACC 20-20 Cup cricket tournament, winning by 21 runs. Nepal made 122 for 9 after being sent in, with Basanta Regmi topscoring. He made 33.

He was also in the wickets, taking three to help dismiss Malaysia for 101. Rahul BK also took three, while Mehboob Alam grabbed two. Nepal's next match is against Qatar on Sunday.

The NepalCricket.com blog has a brief report on the country's domestic Twenty20 competition which began this season.

Domestic Twenty20 just started with 4 diffrent teams competing. Almost all national and domestic stars are involved. the match seems to have got good sponsors and a bit carbon print from the ICC WorldCup just finished at South Africa. The organisers must be aiming to cash on the World Cup fever. Whatever, the organisers may have thought, it will definately gonna have positive impact on our players for the ASIAN Twenty20 begining later this month.

NEPAL LIONS, KATHMANDU TIGERS, SHANGRILA SHARKS and CORPORATE GAINTS….. all seems promising. NEPAL LION and KATHMANDU TIGERS will definately be on the finals, it should be a take away for them. I predict the established stars will shine and rise again on this series, with few upcoming stars.

The 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup gets underway on October 27, a ten-team tournament held in Kuwait.

Hong Kong Cricket's website, which Cricinfo hosts, will have more once the tournament gets underway.

The Nepal Under-19s have returned home to a heroes welcome after winning the Asian Cricket Council U-19 tournament and earning their place in the U-19 World Cup next February.

Nepal have qualified for next year's Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia after defeating a spirited Afghanistan side by 48 runs in the final of the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Elite Cup at the Kinrara Oval. Nepal successfully defended a modest of 172 to bowl out Afghanistan, who lost their last four wickets for three runs in 11 balls.

The tournament also served as the Asian qualifier and by virtue of winning it, Nepal joined Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific region), Ireland (from the Europe region), Bermuda (from the Americas region), the ICC's 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia at the 16-team World Cup to be played from February 17 to March 2, 2008.

Read the full report

The official site of the Asian Cricket Council carries an interview with Binaya Raj Pandey, the president of the Cricket Association of Nepal. Since he took over in September 2006, things have started happening and major sponsorships have been announced, domestic cricket has been revamped and work has started on a new training centre for national cricketers.

We can play in the Asia Cup and the World Cup. We can win senior finals. Right now we are semi-finalists in things like the ACC Trophy. Our U-19s have beaten four Test-countries at U-19 World Cups.

Most people have had access to cricket through the TV and sports channels like ESPN, STAR, Ten Sports and even Doordarshan. So they do know a little bit about the game and how it’s played. But the stumbling block at this time is that there is a lack of cricket grounds. But once these are provided it will much easier for us to teach and train them.

	©nepalcricket.com

Bhairahawa scored 212 for 8 in their 50 overs - thanks to Dipesh Khatri’s half-century – and then bowled out Kathmandu for 118 runs in 40 overs to lift the trophy.

Click here for a full report

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) have announced the schedule for the brilliantly named Wai Wai Under-19 tournament, which gets underway on June 1. Full schedule available at NepalCricket.

Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008.

The ICC’s decision follows a recent visit to the island by a development team to inspect the country’s suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

Continue reading "Jersey to host WCL Division Five tournament"

Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008, the ICC confirmed on Tuesday.

The decision follows a recent visit to the island by an ICC Development team to inspect the country's suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

Seven bowlers each from Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal and the UAE will be sent to the MRF Pace Foundation, run by Dennis Lillee, ahead of the 2007 and 2008 World Cricket League.

"It is the ACC's intention that these teams do well in the World Cricket League and the MRF camp in Chennai is to prepare the five qualifiers for World Cup qualification. An invitation was extended to the Malaysian Under-19 squad to train at MRF as they have pre-qualified for the 2008 U-19 World Cup next February and can benefit from the opportunity to train from this year," says ACC Development Manager Sultan Rana.

Nepal have been recognised for their commitment to women’s cricket with an award for Best Women’s Cricket Initiative in the ICC Development Awards. Nepal will receive US$ 2,000 worth of Kookaburra equipment.

The nomination came after Nepal won the ACC Development Award for the same programme in February. Rebecca Alwaya won the Volunteer of the Year Award for her outstanding contribution to the game in Uganda.

Nepal are set to take part in the inaugural Asian Cricket Council women's cricket tournament, which is being held in Malaysia in July.

Nepal has won the Asian Cricket Council's Premier League after UAE failed to gather enough points from its last two games against Singapore and Malaysia to defend the title. NepalCricket.com has the full story.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

Continue reading "A long way from home"

Nepalcricket.com have a good, if dispiriting, round-up of Nepal's last year in cricket. Progress is undoubtedly being made, but they are yet to win the big matches.

Successful year with distasteful failures in the important matches, as always, remained the story of Nepali cricket in the year 2006.

Youth teams returning triumphant and senior teams performing well except in one or two important matches marked the year with hopes flying high in the cricket administration with the return of one of the most influential cricket administrators in power.

Read the lengthy report here.

Bangladesh intends including cricket as a new event when it hosts the 11th South Asian Games in 2008. Eight nations - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - are expected to participate in the biennial meeting.

Continue reading "Bangladesh want cricket in 2008 South Asian Games"

Nepal beat Bahrain yesterday to enter the semi-finals of the ACC Trophy owing to excellent innings from Gyanendra Malla (57) and Shakti Gauchan (49). The pair took Nepal to 200 for 9 from their 50 overs. Bahrain's response was led by A Majeed, who made a brisk 47, before Basant Regmi – who earned the Man-of-the-Match award – stifled their progress with three quick wickets. (scorecard)

Nepal now face UAE on Thursday at the Kinrara Ground.

Nepal celebrated their first ever win over Hong Kong on Saturday when they beat them by 87 runs to ensure a place in the quarter-finals of the ACC Trophy.

Nepal notched 211 for 7 in their 50 overs and then dismissed Hong Kong for a paltry 124. A full report can be read at NepalCricket (scorecard).

Kanishka Chaugai, one of Nepal's most exciting talents, is in doubt for the forthcoming ACC Trophy when it was revealed his college, in the USA, might not allow him the extra time off:

“I have requested the college to give me a week,” Kanishka said. “My term start on August 28 and I am expected to be at the college on August 20 for the freshmen orientation.” If the college rejects, Kanishka will fly on August 18.

“I would have loved to play in the ACC Trophy because it’s a very important event for Nepal,” the batsman said. Kanishka has been representing the country in various age-group and senior team since 2000.

Full story at nepalcricket.com

An interesting article at the BBC today profiling Nepali cricket. Paresh Soni interviews Aamir Akhtar, who has attracted interest from Surrey and he hopes to play for their 2nd XI side.

"Things have gone well and Surrey have shown some interest. If I keep performing and reach the standard required I might get a contract," the allrounder told BBC Sport. "I've done well in a couple of matches and been training with them at The Oval.

"Junior cricket in Nepal is booming but because of the lack of infrastructure, players in their late 20s - who are mostly uneducated and unemployed - leave the game because they can't find sponsorship," the left-arm paceman and middle-order batsman explained.

"We only have one stadium dedicated to cricket with a proper turf pitch, in Kathmandu. Everywhere else you have to play on matting and in stadia shared with other sports.

Continue reading "Nepal cricket on the up"

Nepal have announced their squad for the Intercontinental Cup playoff against Namibia, to be held in Windhoek from March 23-26.

Aamir Akhtar and U-19 hero Basant Regmi are two new faces in the national team while off-spinner Sanjam Regmi, U-19 vice captain Paras Khadka and pacer Avaya Rana missed the national squad. Paras chose to opt out of the team for his studies. All-rounder Aamir, who played for Nepal in 2000 U-19 Cricket World Cup has been playing professional cricket in England and Scotland.

Binod Das has been retained as captain while Shakti Gauchan made to the team despite eye injury sustained by a raising delivery from Dhirendra Chand during practice threatening his position. Dhirendra, opener Paresh Lohani, U-19 captain Kanishka Chaugai, leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan, Sharad Vesawkar, Gyanendra Malla, wicket-keeper Manoj Katuwal and Raju Basnet are all named for the team.

For more info, see Nepalcricket.com

The NepalCricket.com blog has an excellent photo of children playing cricket in the street, following a curfew which left the roads empty.

A photo of the Nepali team departing for the forthcoming Under-19 World Cup

According to this article, Nepalese football fans are turning their attention to cricket:

In coffee shops and other public places, Nepalis are buzzing about cricket, talking about recent matches and analyzing players and teams, perhaps more than about football.

Although it is not an easy sport to understand, that hasn't stopped Nepalis' curiosity

[via the Nepal Cricket blog]

There's an official Nepali Cricket blog which looks like it will be regularly updated. Let's hope so.

Having accepted an invitation from the Nepal tourist board, Sunil Gavaskar has praised the standard of Nepali cricket but says more exposure is needed if they are to prosper:

“There is a lot of talent and enthusiasm; and the crowd is the most encouraging thing,” said Gavaskar, who was shown a 20-minute highlight of the ACC U-19 Cup final. “But your team needs more exposure.”

He also said he felt ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘touched’ when he was offered a goodwill ambassadorship of Nepal, the country he praised as the best destination for relaxing holidays.

“When the Nepal Tourism Board CEO, Tek Bahadur Dangi, offered me the goodwill ambassadorship, I was overwhelmed because that offer has never come to me from the government of India,” Gavaskar said. “It’s touching. I can assure you all that if I could do that for NTB, I am most likely to do so.”

The Nepal's Under-19s side are to play Namibia and Scotland in Sri Lanka before the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2006. More here.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, and Malcolm Speed, the CEO, both praised Nepal's performance in Under-19 cricket and hoped that the country would translate the success in the senior level as well. Speed said:

The most impressing thing is that the semi-finals and the final of the ACC Under-19 Cup were watched by 15,000 to 20,000 spectators. Nepal's passion for cricket is very impressive and we will be telling these to other associate and affiliate countries as well.