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.

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.

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

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

Afghanistan, Oman and UAE emerged as the frontrunners after the third day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

The match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong was expected to be one of the matches of the tournament, but Hong Kong, coming into the match on the back of successive defeats, again failed to impress. Afghanistan raced to 222 for 5 thanks to half centuries from Mohammed Shahzad (74 from 46 balls) and Mohammed Nabi (65 from 31) and Hong Kong almost gave up from the off as they meandered to 102 for 9.

Oman beat another disappointing side, Nepal, by 12 runs in a low-scoring game. Oman scraped 112 for 9 in their 20 overs, Dipendra Chaudhry turning in 4 for 19, but Nepal’s batsmen again failed as they were bowled out for 100.

Saudi Arabia and UAE went into their clash with 100% records, but Saudi Arabia struggled after a poor start and only managed 101 for 6, a score which never looked enough as UAE romped to a nine-wicket win in a little over half their overs. Mohammed Iqbal feasted on some average bowling to score 71 from 37 balls.

In a battle of the expats at Sharjah, Qatar edged past Bahrain by three runs in a game which went down to the last delivery. Bahrain needed four to win but Haroon Naseer was dismissed going for glory.

China were again outclassed as they went down by 132 runs to Singapore, limping to 93 for 7 when set a target of 226. Chetan Suryawanshi recorded the tournament’s second hundred, hammering a brutal 102 from 38 balls

Kuwait also eased to a straightforward win, beating Malaysia by 97 runs after bowling them out for 112.

The highly-fancied Nepal were taken to a bowl-out before they squeezed past over 2007 semi-finalists Kuwait, while Afghanistan, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE also registered wins on the second day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

Nepal dismissed Kuwait for 123 in 19.1 overs, Dependra Choudhari the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 11. Mahaboob Alam (32 from 33) appeared to have set Nepal on the way bit the middle order failed and it took a last-ball six from Binod Bhandari to send the game into a bowl-out. Nepal won that 3-2.

Oman were taken all the way by Qatar who scored an impressive 178 for 8, an innings built around a 38-ball 62 from Tamoor Sajjad. Oman lost early wickets but Adnan Ilyas (75 from 40) got the innings back on course and in the end they won by five wickets with nine balls in hand.

UAE managed 137 for 9 against Hong Kong but that proved too much, Hong Kong being restricted to 110 for 9 to slump to their second defeat in a row.

Afganistan dismissed Singapore for 96 in their allotted overs and then knocked off the runs in 12.4 overs to secure an eight-wicket win.

China, who continue to be fawned over by many at the top of the game, again failed in the middle as they struggled to 100 for 7 chasing Saudi Arabia’s 155 for 6.

Malaysia hit the highest total of the day, their 218 for 4 proving far too much for Bahrain who crashed to an 84-run defeat after managing 134 for 9.

The ICC Development Committee has confirmed that the ICC World Cricket League Division 8 will take place in Kuwait.

For the tournament to be held in late 2010, the eight teams will be split into two groups of four, with the finalists gaining promotion to Division 7. Incidentally, the tournament will also be a qualification pathway to the 2015 World Cup.

In addition to Suriname and Gibraltar, the two relegated sides from the World Cricket League Division 7 tournament played in May 2009 in Guernsey, all regions will be represented by one additional team, apart from Asia, who have been allocated two berths based on the strength of the teams' performances in recent ICC World Cricket League events.

The ICC East Asia-Pacific region has already completed its qualifying tournament for the event – the ICC EAP Trophy - with Vanuatu being the top-ranked team outside the World Cricket League rankings, and they will be represent the region in Kuwait.

There are only two Asian countries - Kuwait and Bhutan - participating in the ACC Trophy Elite, who are already part of the ICC World Cricket League structure, and they will be Asia’s representatives at the event.

The other qualifying sides will be determined according to the results of the ICC Africa Division 2, the ICC Americas Division 2 and the ICC European Division 2 tournaments, all of which will be held in the first half of 2010.

Kuwait currently has four turf grounds and has successfully hosted a number of ACC tournaments, including the ACC Under-19 Trophy Elite earlier this year.

Kuwait Cricket is aiming to attract more women cricketers and is holding selection trials at Kuwait Entertainment City cricket ground on May 9 starting at 7.00am. The intention is to enable a team to be sent to the Asian Twenty20 tournament in Malaysia between July 1 and 13.

A restructuring will see the Kuwait Cricket Association become Kuwait Cricket. The move is part of a streamlining of the board’s structure

Kuwait's No. 9, Mohammad Ahsan, scored an unbeaten 91 and added 96 runs with last man Saad Khaliq, who stuck it out for 32 balls to score a run, to take them to an astonishing one-wicket win over Singapore at the Kinrara Academy Oval. Singapore had relied on half-centuries from Chetan Suryawanshi (65 off 68) and Monish Arora (62 off 124), and some generous bowling from Kuwait's bowlers, who conceded 32 extras, to post 237 for 9. Kuwait stuttered to 70 for 5, but a 64-run stand between Hisham Mirza (47) and Mohammad Javed kept them in the hunt. Singapore then grabbed four wickets for eight runs to leave then just a wicket away from victory. But the late-order heroics from Ahsan, who smashed seven sixes and eight fours, took Kuwait to an unlikely triumph.

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.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising 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.

Singapore won the ACC U-15 Elite Cup 2007 last week, beating Kuwait by four wickets in the final played in Bhaktapur.

Kuwait made 121 for 7 in 40 overs after choosing to bat first. Apporv Sanjay Gaur notched 43 while Sarangdev Krishnan took two wickets. In reply, Singapore were down to 17 for 4 at one stage but patient batting from Mohit Kulkarki (24), Man of the Match Prasheen Param (30*) and Usman Manazir (26*) took them to victory in the 35th over.

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

Singapore defeated Kuwait by six wickets to win the ACC Under-15 Elite Cup in Bhaktapur, Nepal. It was, however, a slightly hollow victory, as eight of the ten competing sides had earlier been disqualified for fielding over-age players, and so Singapore and Kuwait contested the final as they were the only teams remaining in the competition.

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.

Ray Mali, the acting president of the ICC, is to visit Kuwait to watch the semi-finals and final of the inaugural Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup.

Other prominent figures in Asian cricket will be join Mali, including Jayantha Dharmadasa – ACC’s president - Dr. Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Major General Sina Ibn Jamali, president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

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.