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

Saudi Arabia pulled off a massive upset with a five-wicket win over Hong Kong on the third day of the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup in Kuwait. There were also wins for Qatar and UAE.

Hong Kong crashed to 89 for 7 after winning the toss, but an eighth-wicket stand of 137 between Waqas Barkat (84) and Aizaz Khan (66) appeared to have got them out of jail and they finished on 241. The Saudis lost early wickets but then Abdul Salam (68) and Hasan Bukhari (57*) added 118 for the fifth wicket before Salam was run out. While Bukhari kept his end up, Waqas Khalid thumped 40 from 29 balls to the Saudi Arabia home with 25 balls to spare.

UAE bounced back from their opening-day loss to beat Bhutan, but again they were well below par as they squeezed to a three-wicket win. Qatar had no problems seeing off Oman, bowling them out for 107 and then easing to a seven-wicket victory with almost 20 overs in hand.

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.

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"

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.

The Asian Cricket Council reports that Qatar’s win in the Under-15 Challenge Cup in December has led to a boom in interest in cricket. Qatar’s prime minister was quoted as saying that the government is actively promoting sports activities in the country and promised to provide a cricket ground with facilities to the Qatar Cricket Association.

"Work on the cricket stadium will begin soon,” the secretary general of the Qatar Olympic Council said. “It’s the dream of the Emir of Qatar to provide recreational facilities for all communities based here in Qatar. As cricket is loved by Asians, it is one way of returning back the services rendered by the Asian countries in developing Qatar.”

A new chapter for women’s cricket in Qatar beckons. Read the full story in the Gulf Times.

The Qatar Cricket Association is putting together plans to field an Under-19 girls' side for the tournament in Malaysia next year. The board has already met to discuss plans and, according to one newspaper, the response was good.

Aruna de Silva, the QCA's head of women's cricket development, told the Gulf Times: “Everyone at the meeting was positive about the idea of promoting cricket among girls studying in schools in Qatar. The QCA is willing to support girls' cricket in schools with whatever help possible.”

If all goes according to plan, the association hopes that the girls will also be able to take part in
the Under-19 tournament in China in 2010.

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.

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.