Tony Munro

Malaysia captain Suhan Kumar Alagaratnam has credited his team's youthful exhuberance for its sem-final placing at the ACC Trophy in Kuwait last week. It was Malaysia's first semi-final appearance since 2002.

"With an average age of 23 we were clearly the underdogs from the start and just allowed us to play with more freedom," said skipper Suhan Kumar Alagaratnam, himself aged 23.

Coming off just knocking United Arab Emirates out of the tournament, his team were completely unfazed when Nepal set a stiff target to get into the final. "We did not for once thought that we had lost after giving 271 runs and was 2-6 when I walked in and the camp was always chirpy till the last over and everyone of us believed that we can do it."

Alagaratnam and experienced all-rounder, Suresh Navaratnam knew what needed to be done. "The wicket was flat and if we batted out our overs we would come close - when Suresh joined me at the crease we told each other that one of us [must] bat through and make a ton if we were to be a chance but tough luck we lost by 8 runs."

Navaratnam hit a feisty 115 from 103 which included six fours and three sixes to propel Malaysia close to the second major upset in two days after the giant-killing effort the day before to dispose of UAE.

A product of the Malaysia Cricket Association youth system, Alagaratnam added the mix of youngsters with veterans such as Navaratnam and Rakesh Madhavan was a catalyst for the improvement. "The difference this time around that I have seen is the team is well blended with raw young talent and experience."

Alagaratnam said Navaratnam had been determined to bounce back from World Cricket League Division Six tournament where he was not at his best. "He was struggling with a few injuries and he took a break which did him all the good and worked on his game very hard. Suresh has always played well for us and we are very grateful to have a player like him. His form on this tour has been amazing both with the bat and ball. With all his experience I always think he is always informative - he's an inspiration to all the youngsters in the team and is a great team man. As a young captain I'm still learning a lot from the legend."

Malaysia finished off their tournament with a seven run loss to Hong Kong in the third/fourth place play-off. That other veteran in the Malaysian team, Rakesh Madhavan, displayed some exuberance of his own in smashing 129 from 137 deliveries, including four sixes and nine fours. Malaysia didn't win the tournament but it was a confidence booster according to Alagaratnam. "Now that we know we can beat teams like them its the question of maintaining a certain standard and keep playing good cricket like the other strong cricketing nation."

Tony Munro

Afghanistan has vindicated its raging favouritism for the ACC Trophy Elite title with an emphatic 95-run win over Nepal in the final in Kuwait City on Friday.

A mainly pro-Afghanistan crowd of about 5,000 cheered, banged drums and looked on as the two most passionately supported non-Test countries in Asia contested a final where the ball was dominant over the bat.

All-rounder Binod Das in for Mahaboob Alam was the only change for Nepal, while Afghanistan fielded the same team which beat Hong Kong in the semi-final.

After being sent in on a good batting track which suggested 250 was a par score, Afghanistan started slowly against tight Nepal bowling and fielding. Afghanistan were in early trouble when Noor Ali attempted a suicidal single to Gyanendra Malla who scored with a direct hit. Noor Ali run out for 5 - Afghanistan 1 for 14 after 5.4 overs. Two balls later Afghanistan were 2 for 14 when Mohammad Shahzad was caught behind to a length ball from Das. A period of consolidation followed as Karim Sadiq and captain Nowroz Mangal put on 25 runs in six overs before Nowroz was out. A shot off his legs was mistimed and Anil Mandal took a diving catch at leg - Afghanistan 3-39 and Nepal clearly on top.

Two partnerships then swung the game slightly back to Afghanistan. Karim Sadiq had been there since the start and combined with Mirwais Ashraf (59) for the fourth wicket before Ashraf was caught going for his third six. Afghanistan were 4 for 98 after 25 overs with the game evenly poised. A partnership of 97 in 103 balls between Raees Ahmadzai and Mohammad Nabi at least put Afghanistan in a position where they could look at providing their much vaunted bowlers with something to defend. Afghanistan's 224 all-out was slightly less than expected but a decent reward for a good Nepalese effort in the field. Binod Das's return of 3 for 35 off eight overs was an accurate reflection of good bowling. At this stage, the minority Nepalese contingent in the crowd had reason to feel confident.

Nepal started their innings comfortably enough reaching 16 after three overs. Paceman Mirwais Ashraf who had bowled several wides, had Mahesh Chhettri caught behind for 4 from 15 balls. Two overs later Anil Mandil (5 from 11 balls) was caught at slip to a delivery from Mirwais Ashraf - Nepal 18 for 2 after 5.5 overs and in need of a big partnership. The experienced Shakti Gauchan and Malla tried to consolidate when Gauchan (6 from 23) was induced into giving Nabi at slip a catch off Shahpour Zadran. Nepal were now 28 for 3 and the asking rate was increasing. Skipper Paras Khadka joined Malla and the pair steadily took the score 49 for 3. Malla in particular was batting well in what was obviously a pivotal partnership. Nabi, who has made a habit of playing the game-breaker for Afghanistan, had Khadka caught on his crease for a patient 11 from 30 balls. Sharad Vesawkar and Malla put on 25 off 24 balls when disaster struck. Attempting a quick single, Afghan 'keeper Mohammad Shahzad's throw to to the bowler beat Malla and Nepal were 74 for 5 from 23.3 overs. Although Vesawkar rallied with Das and Sanjam Regmi to add 40 late runs, it was inevitable the mainly Afghan crowd of around 5000 would be celebrating their first ACC Trophy Elite title. Nepal was all-out for 140 from 40 overs. Raees Ahmadzai won the Man-of-the-Match award for his crucial 52 from 64 balls as Afghanistan won by 96 runs.

At the Unity ground next door, Hong Kong held off a determined Malaysia to win the third/fourth place play-off match.

Batting first after winning the toss fifties for Roy Lamsam, Ilyas Gul and Nizakat Khan helped Hong Kong recover from 4 for 2 to post 251 from the 50 overs. It was a tumultuous start for Hong Kong, losing Nasir Hameed and Hussain Butt within the first five overs. A 110-run third wicket partnership steadied the ship with Lamsam patiently working his way to 50 off 114 balls. He eventually fell to Hassan Ghulam but the relief was short lives for Malaysia as Khan came in and smashed an unbeaten 72 from 46 balls. Gul was run out for 72 but some lusty hitting from Najeeb Amar carried the total past 250.

Malaysia had done well to restrict Hong Kong to a manageable score and they looked in total control when the openers put on 77 for the first wicket. Faris Almas stroked the ball nicely on his way to 42 but his wicket, off the bowling of Amar, ushered a mini-collapse as Malaysia slipped to 103 for 3. Rakesh Madhavan was still going sublimely and found useful support from Suresh Navaratnam (22) and Shafiq Sharif (24) on his way to 129 off 137 balls, but it wasn’t quite enough as they finished seven runs short.

Tony Munro

The pain of missing the semi-finals of the ACC Trophy Elite for the first time has been compounded for United Arab Emirates following their 34-run loss in the fifth-sixth place play-off against Oman in Kuwait on Thursday.

Sent in by Oman, the Emiratis put in a spirited batting display, hitting 265 runs in 48.3 overs, thanks chiefly due to captain Khurram Khan's 90 from 71 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes. Khan combined with another veteran, Arshad Ali, (35) in a run-a-ball third-wicket partnership of 98, after UAE were 21 for 2. Further contributions from Saqib Ali (32), Fayyaz Ahmed (21 off 19 balls) and a late flurry from Shoaib Sarwar (30 from 16 including three sixes) lifted UAE to a useful total. Slow left-arm bowler, Tariq Hussain was Oman's main wicket-taker, returning 3 for 50.

Omani openers, Hemin Desai and Deep Trivedi, possibly mindful of the threat of a reduction in overs, gave their team a positive start. Although both openers were dismissed, Oman were 52 after just 6.5 overs. Man-of-the-match, Vaibhav Wategaonkar (65 not out in 76 balls) combined with Adnan Ilyas (49) and Sultan Ahmed (19 not out) to continue the attack to reach 193 for 3 when rain intervened. With a resumption not being impossible, Oman won the match by 34 runs thanks to Duckworth/Lewis calculations.

The tournament concludes today with the final between Afghanistan and Nepal, as well as the third place play-off between Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Tony Munro

Malaysia has caused the boil-over of the 2010 ACC Trophy Elite tournament in Kuwait by knocking out tradtional heavyweight United Arab Emirates (UAE) on net run-rate to snare a semi-final berth. It will be the first ACC Trophy since 1998 without UAE in the final, let alone the semi-finals – ironically 1998 was the last time Malaysia was a finalist.

After UAE chose to bat, allrounder Suresh Navaratnam proved to be the catalyst for the upset, taking four for 29 from his 10 overs, including UAE openers Arshad Ali and Indika Sampath. Navaratnam's haul helped reduce the UAE to 7 for 70 before vital late-order runs from Salman Farooq (40), Shadeep Silva (20) and Shoaib Sanwar (13) lifted the final total to 152 from 40 overs.

The South East Asians knew they needed to not only win, but do so quickly to squeeze into the semi-finals on net run-rate. Their reply, though, was in early trouble at 2-13 when openers Rakesh Madhavan (0) and Damith Warusavithana (1) departed within the first five overs. Ahmad Faiz (43 from 51) and captain Suhan Kumar fought back in robust fashion, putting on 77 in 12.5 overs to position Malaysia favourably. Kumar earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his run-a-ball 65, which included a six and six fours. A middle-order callapse saw Malaysia skid from 2 for 70 to 6 for 106. Kumar then combined with Hassan Ghulam who made an unbeaten 20 from 17 balls to lift Malaysia to 7 for 132 and within sight of victory before Kumar was bowled. Paceman Qasim Zubair was UAE's chief wicket-taker (2-36). Malaysia scraped home by two wickets and will now play Nepal in its semi-final on Wednesday.

Defending champions Hong Kong put it past Oman to enter the semi-finals in a match that was reduced to 39 overs per side, after a wet outfield delayed the start. Hong Kong won the toss and sent Oman in. Opener Hemin Desai continued his wretched tournament, dismissed in the first over for six. Deep Trivedi and Vibhav Wategaonkar put on the biggest stand of the Oman innings, worth 46 in 11 overs. Moner Ahmed stifled the hopes of the middle order, taking 4 for 19 as Oman managed 168 for 9. Hong Kong's reply was just as cumbersome, at one stage faltering at 106 for 5, needing 63 off 12 overs. Nizakat Khan came to the rescue, striking 57 from 72 balls, including three fours and three sixes. Aided by Waqas Barkat (16 from 12), Hong Kong secured their semi-final berth, to face Afghanistan on Wednesday.

The last match was a useful hit-out for Nepal against Kuwait, who were already out of semi-final contention. Kuwait was dismissed for 120 in 42 overs, with no top-order batsman reaching 20. Saud Iqbal showed some staying power in compiling 26 from 48 balls to top-score for the hosts. Binod Das took 3-24 to ensure Kuwait never got going. Openers Mahesh Chettri (63) and Anil Mandal (33) put on 80 for the first wicket as Nepal galloped home, reaching the target of 121 in quick time.

Adnan Ilyas’s unbeaten 82 helped Oman ease to a comfortable victory over Kuwait at Unity, ensuring Oman hold on to their No. 2 position in Group B. Deep Trividi (4 for 36) led a solid bowling effort from Oman, which halted any hopes of the Kuwait batsmen making the most of a series of good starts. Six passed 20 but Khalid Butt’s dashing 55 was the only score half-century of the innings. At 176 for 7, Kuwait were struggling to post a competitive total but a 47-run eighth-wicket stand between Muhammad Javed and Muhammad Akhudzada helped lift the total 247. Oman were reduced to 72 for 3 in reply but 111-run partnership between Ilyas and captain Sultan Ahmed carried Oman towards touching distance of the target. Ahmed made 52 at almost a run a ball before he fell to Saud Iqbal and Aamir Khaleem and Ilyas ensured there was no slip up and Oman cantered home by five wickets.

Nadeem Ahmed starred with 5 for 35 to help Hong Kong beat Singapore in their bottom-of-the-table match at Hubara. In a day dominated by the bowlers, Hong Kong slipped to a perilous 118 for 8 after 33 overs. It was left to Moner Ahmed and Nadeem to rescue Hong Kong with a crucial 52-run stand. Moner ran well between the wickets during his run-a-ball 44 while Nadeem was content to hang around, making a patient 28 from 43 balls. When they fell in quick succession to the impressive Narender Reddy (4 for 28) Hong Kong were bowled out for 194, 22 balls short of their 50-over quota. What looked a below-par total proved to be enough as Singapore’s batsmen were unable to build on the good work done by their bowlers. Munish Arora did his best to anchor the innings with a patient 52 but regular wickets kept falling as Nadeem completed an excellent all-round game to take his side to a 45-run victory.

Bhutan subsided to their third heavy defeat in a row as Malaysia romped home by 10-wickets at KEC. After UAE and Afghanistan butchered Bhutan’s bowlers in the first two games, Bhutan opted to bat first when they won the toss. However, Ghulam’s 4 for 18 and Shahgul’s 3 for 15 halted any hopes of a competitive total as Bhutan collapsed to 68 all out. Their bowlers promptly picked up from where they left off and Damidh savaged six fours and three sixes on his way to a man-of-the-match earning 53 not out as Malaysia reached the target in 38 balls.

Hamid Hasan’s five-wicket haul triggered a late-innings collapse that derailed Malaysia’s chase, as Afghanistan sneaked home by one run at Hubara. Afghanistan’s top order laid a strong foundation after they won the toss, but the rest of the batsmen could not drive home the advantage. Karim Sadiq started well with a run-a-ball 46, and Asghar Stanikzai lent good support to lift the score to 82 for 2, and later 117 for 3, in good time. Thereafter, the lower order lost the plot and it was left to Raees Ahmadzai to hold things together with a 59-ball 64, as Afghanistan posted 236 for 9. Malaysia’s captain Suhan Kumar anchored the chase with 61, and significant contributions from the top order, barring opener Rakesh Madhavan, put their side on course, at 219 for 4. Hasan then took over, as three wickets fell without the addition of a run. Malaysia pressed the panic button, and sensing an opportunity, Afghanistan closed in on the kill. A ten-run stand for the final wicket nearly achieved the impossible, before Nowroz Mangal removed number 11 Sharulnizam Yusof to give Afghanistan victory by the slimmest of margins.

Nepal’s openers made short work of Singapore’s score of 216, to take their team to a comfortable seven-wicket win. Singapore’s batsmen failed to capitalize on their starts after winning the toss, as the top four all fell for scores between 30 and 40. Nepal turned in a tidy bowling effort to stifle the progress, and the lower order responded by falling to a spate of run outs, five in all. Mahesh Chettri and Anil Mandal got the chase off to a solid start, adding 135 in 26.5 overs. Mandal was the more adventurous of the two, hitting seven fours and a six in his 93-ball 83. Chettri made 87 off 111 balls, and the only sore point for Nepal was that neither opener could reach three figures, as the target was reached in the 44th over.

Saqib Ali took charge of UAE’s chase against Afghanistan and scored a brisk 93 to steer his side to a tense two-wicket victory. Chasing 218 to win, UAE lost their first wicket on 0 and, by the 20th over, had slipped to 62 for 4. Saqib held up one end but support was thin at the other. However, he inched UAE closer to the target, striking six fours and two sixes, and was unbeaten when the winning runs were struck off the first ball of the 50th over. Shahpoor Zadran bowled an excellent spell of 3 for 28 but had been given too little to defend by his batsmen. Afghanistan’s innings had slumped from 41 for 0 to 57 for 4 by the 16th over and it needed half-centuries from Raees Ahmadzai and Samiullah Shinwari to 217 for 7. UAE used as many as eight bowlers of which Shadeep Silva was the best, returning figures of 3 for 29 in nine overs.

Nepal’s bowlers set up a facile win against Oman by restricting them to 169 for 9 in their 50 overs. Oman lost their first wicket with no score on the board and were crippled by losses at regular intervals thereafter. Vaibhav Wategaonkar top-scored with 56 but only three other batsmen got into double figures. Rahul Vishvakarma was Nepal’s most successful bowler, taking 3 for 32, while Shakti Gauchan claimed 2 for 23 in nine overs. There was no stand-out performance in Nepal’s innings but all of their top-order batsmen made useful contributions to ensure victory. The platform was laid by openers Mahesh Chettri, who scored 35, and Anil Mandal, who top-scored with 39, and the target was eventually reached in the 39th over with six wickets in hand. Aamir Ali picked up 3 for 48 for Oman but his effort was in vain.

Hussain Butt’s unbeaten half-century steered Hong Kong to a six-wicket victory against Kuwait. Chasing a target of 203, Hong Kong lost an early wicket – Roy Lamsam lbw for 5 – but Butt joined Nasir Hammed for a steadying 61-run stand for the second wicket. Hameed for 40 and the batsmen who followed him gave Butt useful support as he compiled 82 off 117 balls with eight fours and a six. Hong Kong reached the target off the penultimate ball of the 44th over. In their innings, Kuwait had reached 35 for 0 after winning the toss before losing their way. Three wickets fell for three runs and Ilyas Gul cut through the middle order, taking 4 for 33, to restrict the hosts to 202 for 9 in 49.5 overs. Lasantha Dimuthu scored 51 but received little support from his team-mates.

Bhutan suffered their second comprehensive defeat in as many matches as UAE beat them by an astonishing 437 runs. Once again it was the Bhutan bowlers who suffered with UAE racking up 510 for five in 50 overs. Saqib Ali thrashing 140 off 90 balls before retiring but there was no let up as Abdul Rehman smited five sixes in his 28-ball 75 to carry the total past the 500 mark. Understandably wilting under the onslaught the Bhutan bowlers sent down 30 wides with Barun Wakhley the main culprit, bowling 16 in his 10-over spell that cost 111. With the total long past anything reasonable the best Bhutan could hope for was to put up a decent fight and they managed to last 32.2 overs. Damber Gurung top scored with 25 but a regular trickle of wickets saw the match quickly reach its inevitable conclusion.

Awal Khan’s four wickets helped Oman complete an easy eight-wicket victory over Singapore at Hubara. Opting to bat first Singapore worked their way cautiously to 102-3 in 31 overs before subsiding to 173 all out 13 balls short of the 50-over quota. It didn’t look like enough for Singapore, despite an early wicket for Saad Janjua, who dismissed Hemin Desai in the first over of the innings. Vaibhav Wategaonkar ensured no slip-ups for Oman as he progressed smoothly past fifty and when he eventually fell to Dharmichand Mulewa, it was left to Adnan Ilyas to compile a 37-ball unbeaten 52 and guide Oman home.

Nepal brushed aside Hong Kong by 118 runs in their opening match of the ACC Trophy, at Unity. After the early loss of a wicket, Anil Mandal and Shakti Gauchan set the platform for a strong score with their 118-run partnership. Mandal was the more aggressive of the two, striking three sixes and eight fours in his 96-ball 72, while Gauchan contributed 65. Nadeem Ahmed and Moner Ahmed kept things tight after that, snaring eight wickets between them as Nepal finished with 236 for 7. Mehboob Alam’s opening burst ensured the chase never got going, and only Ilyas Gul offered any sort of resistance, with 27. Alam finished with 3 for 33 in his 7 overs, as Hong Kong stuttered to half of what Nepal managed.

Afghanistan continued their fine run of form in recent times, mauling Bhutan by the incredible margin of 393 runs at Hubara. Bhutan elected to field and were left to rue the decision as Afghanistan’s top three took their attack to the cleaners. Openers Karim Sadiq and Noor Ali Noori ran up a partnership of 218 in 25.1 overs, in the process bringing up fine hundreds, before Muhammad Asghar exploded with an 83-ball 151, including nine sixes, to lift the score to 471 for 5. Bhutan was out of the game even before they had the opportunity to bat, but Hamid Hassan ensured that they went home with nothing positive to take from the game. His spell of 6 for 18 shot Bhutan out for 78, and if not for Kumar Subba’s sedate 41, they would have lost by an even bigger margin.

In the only close finish of the day, Kuwait outlasted Singapore by three runs at KEC. Kuwait were lifted to 252 thanks to contributions of 45 from Hisham Mirza, 50 from Lasantha Dimuthu and a quickfire 68 from Saad Khalid. Dharmichand Mulewa finished with three wickets, while Buddhika Mendis, Narender Reddy and Saad Janjua picked two apiece. Singapore’s chase was anchored by Munish Arora’s sparkling 90 off 103 balls, but he had little support from the rest of the top order as Muhammad Amin helped himself to four wickets. Arora perished well short of the target and Singapore seemed out of the game, with the last wicket requiring to make 59 off 43 balls. Thanks to Janjua’s cameo at number nine, they almost pulled it off, but in the end they fell just short of the target. Janjua was unbeaten on 49 off 38 balls, and number eleven Shoib Razak finished with 16 off 19, but it was not enough to get Singapore a win.

Tony Munro

Non-Test cricket's celebrity team of the last few years, Afghanistan, start their quest for a first ACC Trophy in Kuwait on Wednesday as favourites, ahead of defending champions, Hong Kong and traditional tournament heavyweights, UAE.

The customary qualification for the Asia Cup is not on offer to the finalists, so the main interest may be whether the full-strength Afghans can continue their recent run of success. This includes qualification for next month's World Twenty20 which they earned by snaring the ACC Twenty20 Cup in November, and winning World Cricket League Divisional titles amongst others. Their immediate challenge is to overcome fellow Group B team UAE who have prepared with matches last week against English counties Durham and Sussex. The UAE squad includes seasoned veterans who helped maintained their unbeaten run from 2000 to 2008, captain Khurram Khan and all-rounder Arshad Ali.

Malaysia, with ACC veterans Suresh Navaratnam and Rakesh Madhavan, and Bahrain, may pull off a surprise, although a shock is unlikely from Bhutan which returns to the top level of Asian non-Test cricket thanks to finishing second in the ACC Trophy Challenge tournament ahead of teams such as Myanmar and China. They lost the final against Oman by 213 runs.

Oman lurks in Group A and are somewhat unpredictable. Packed with allrounders, they could conceivably win the tournament or crash out at the group stage. Group A has greater depth with Nepal and Hong Kong the favourites to qualify for the semi-finals. It is at that stage Nepal traditionally stumbles, and will be seeking their first berth in a final since 2002. Singapore captain Munish Arora told Cricinfo last week his team will be distracted from the job at hand in their match against Nepal on April 3. It will be the first time the teams have meet since a riot in a match in World Cricket League Division Five saw Nepal promoted ahead of Singapore. The debacle deprived Singapore of a second straight WCL tournament title, so they should be confident. Nepal has the late distraction of vice-captain Gyanendra Malla's denial of a visa to enter Kuwait. Should his situation not be sorted, a replacement player will be sent.

Hong Kong will be led by Najeeb Amar, who hit a ton in the 2008 ACC Trophy final against the UAE, and include rising star Irfan Ahmed and veteran Roy Lam Sam. Although there are several changes from the 2008 squad, all the key players are in this one. In a tough group, they should not be dismissed as contenders. Kuwait, as first time host, will be familiar with the grounds and players with lengthy ACC Trophy experience, including Khalid Butt. Potentially, they could decide who makes the semi-finals.

Tony Munro

Afghanistan arrived in Kuwait this week with a full-strength squad and strong favouritism for the ACC Trophy Elite starting on Wednesday.

Motivation won't be an issue as the Afghans look to add the title of Asia's best non-Test 50-over team to their ACC Twenty/20 Cup success won last November.

Last week they prepared with four games in eight days at a camp in Lahore. Two of those matches were against a Pakistan A side, winning one.

Afghanistan schedule in Group B is - March 31 v Bahrain, April 2 v UAE, April 3 v Malaysia, April 6 v Bhutan.

Afghanistan: Nowroz Mangal (Captain), Mohammad Nabi, Karim Sadiq, Raees Ahmadzai, Hamid Hassan, Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Shabir Noori, Nasatullah Nasrat
Coach - Kabir Khan.

A big year for the Kuwait national team and Kuwaiti cricket in general starts on Wednesday with the hosts' first match in Group A against Singapore.

The tournament is the first of two Kuwait will be playing in and hosting in 2010, with the World Cricket League Division Eight to be played in the Emirate in December.

Kuwait coach, Sameer Desai, said though, he didn't think home advantage in this tournament would be the bonus it used to be. "with so much international cricket being played now days I feel teams have developed greater adaptability to changing environments real quickly...." He also conceded, like in most Persian Gulf states, the Afghans would find plenty of support in Kuwait during the ACC Trophy. "Kuwait has a resident population comprising of multiple nationalities and quite a few teams might find unexpected support from the audience. You will be amazed how much support Afghanistan cricketers get in Kuwait and it often exceeds the support for our local team when we play against each other."

Desai said he expected captain Hasham Mirza and aggressive opener Khalid Butt were likely to be Kuwait's key batsmen. Butt hit centuries (117)against Afghanistan, then playing in its first ACC Trophy, and United Arab Emirates, (114) on successive days, in the 2004 tournament. Desai thought Under-19 captain and pace bowler Saad Khalid was another to watch.

Kuwait's first match in Group A is on March 31 vs Singapore followed by Hong Kong (April 2), Oman (April 4) and Nepal (April 6).

Kuwait: Hashim Mirza (Capt.), Khalid Butt, Lasantha Dimuthu, Saif Ullah, Muhammad Amin, Nikhil Kulkarni, Saud Iqbal, Muhammad Javed, Saad Khalid, Nalaka Dayan, Muhammad Murad, Muhammad Akhudzada, Khalid Yamin, Haroon Shahid
Coach - Sameer Desai