Banke in Nepal is all set to get its own cricket ground with Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announcing to fund the building of cricket field in Kohalpur.

Cricket Association of Nepal spokesman Binod Mainali said that they had been planning to build cricket ground for the past six years and everyone is delighted with the ACC´s announcement to fund the project.

Banke has produced a number of national and international players for the nation. The players of Banke practice cricket on the premises of Mangal Prasad School.

The ACC has also supported construction of cricket grounds in Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Mulpani and Jhapa. Mainali informed that the first phase amount will be invested in building iron fence and a small cottage for guards.

Pre-tournament favourites Afghanistan will open their ACC Twenty20 Cup campaign with a tough match against Hong Kong on December 3, according to fixtures announced by the Asian Cricket Council.

Group A consists of Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman, Kuwait and Maldives, while Group B features the fancied Nepal side along with Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Bhutan and Saudi Arabia.

The tournament forms part of the qualifying process for ICC World Twenty20 2012 in Sri Lanka. The top three teams from this competition, in addition to Afghanistan who have pre-qualified, join the Associate teams with ODI in the 16-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be played in the UAE in early 2012.

The other regional teams in the qualifier will come from Europe (2), Africa (2), Americas (2) and East Asia - Pacific (1).

Click here for the full schedule

The appeal of cricket in Nepal has been underlined by the news that national broadcaster Nepal Television has renewed its deal to cover all the country’s international matches.

The three-year contract, which is only worth US$8000pa, gives the broadcaster the right to cover all matches organised by the Nepal board.

It means that Nepal remains the only Associate in Asia to offer national matches on free-to-air television.

Cricket in Nepal remains a major sport, with the media carrying extensive reports on major tournament. Crowds for major matches rival those seen in Full member countries.

Paras Khadka - Nepal captain

I think we had an awesome day today – our bowlers were superb and our fielding was out of this world. We bowled in the right areas and that gave us the ‘zip’ we need. We’re confident but cricket is a funny game and we can’t take any team lightly and so after tomorrow’s rest day, we have to continue being focused on winning every game.

Amrit Bhattarai bowled a very good spell and l think everyone of my bowlers performed for me today and our fielding was just on target.

I found batting difficult particularly because the pitch was very bouncy and with the high winds as well it wasn't easy! I think as a side we played one too many rash shots which meant players got out cheaply but in the end we got the victory and that’s all that matters in this campaign.

I have to make a special mention in here to the Nepalese fans that showed up from Rome and Milan to show their support for the side. It’s quite incredible to think that 100 or so people will travel all the way to Bologna to see us take on Italy and it was a great impetus for us to do well and make Nepal proud.

I’m looking forward to a rest day tomorrow and lying by the pool... and maybe doing a bit of planning for our match against Tanzania. Thanks also to everyone who has commented on the blog it’s great to see all your messages of support.

Beach cricket, Nepal style © Alan Curr

Alan Curr

Beach cricket is not something many associate with a landlocked country, but at the Riverside Springs Resort, Nepal this weekend that is just what happened.

It is the second competition of its kind this year, following on from the inaugural event in 2009. In that first edition there were eight teams competing, while this year 34 teams played over the two weekends.

This is a sure sign that cricket in Nepal is growing and comes immediately after the national side won the World Cricket League Division 5 on home turf in February, and followed that up with a runners-up spot in the Asian Cricket Council Championship last month.

The event is the brainchild of former international Aamir Akhtar and his Shangri-La Cricket Academy. Aamir said: “People in this country are passionate about the game, but they rarely get a chance to play in any kind of competitive environment.

“We are delighted with the success so far but wish to make it bigger and better. This year we had celebrity actress Namrata Shrestha as an ambassador which adds great glamour and gives an extra incentive for the boys to perform!”

The slogan for Beach Cricket is 'Serious Fun' and I was amazed at just how seriously many people took the five-a-side competition, played over five overs. There was plenty of diving in the outfield and long bowling run-ups, along with the odd thrown bat after a dismissal.

Winning captain Monish Shrestha from SBI Bank said that is was the kind of competitive cricket he had missed since he finished playing seriously seven years ago, and would very keen to come back next year.

One man who will definitely be back next year is Sandip Kalfe who has taken part in all three competitions and said: “I just love cricket, I would do this every weekend if I could.”

It’s very encouraging that there are people working hard to get others playing the game in Nepal. While the standard was patchy, there were a few current internationals on show and the commitment and enthusiasm was a delight to behold. Long may it continue.

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

A new country will have its name added to the list of ACC Trophy Elite winners when Afghanistan plays Nepal in the final on Friday.

Afghanistan comfortably beat defending champions Hong Kong by five wickets in one semi-final while Nepal held off a brave chase by Malaysia to win by eight runs in the other.

Mohammad Nabi maintained his reputation as Afghanistan's best player to earn the Man-of-the-Match award taking 3 for 35 and then contributing 35 not out in another good all-round performance.

Nabi ended the innings of Hong Kong's top scorer, Hussein Butt (63) to help restrict Hong Kong to 205 all-out in 48.1 overs. Butt had smashed three sixes and four fours in his 113-ball innings. Butt's removal at 152 for 5 in the 40th over stymied his team's momentum which was further slowed when Nabi dismissed Moner Ahmed (18 off 17 including a four and a six).

Afghanistan began their chase of 206 in rollicking fashion scoring at six runs an over, although were precariously placed when captain Nowroz Mangal was bowled by Moner Ahmed for 1. The Afghans were 4 for 89 after 13.1 overs, and in need of a stabilising partnership. This came when Asghar Stanekzai combined with Raees Ahmadzai (38) to put on 81 runs for the fifth wicket. Irfan Ahmed provided late hope for Hong Kong when he took a return catch from Ahmadzai, but this only brought Nabi to the crease. Stanekzai played a key innings for Afghanistan, compiling an unbeaten 55 from 93 balls, including three fours and a six.

Malaysia all-rounder, Suresh Navaratnam, almost pulled off another match-winning performance as he scored 115 as his side fell just eight runs short in the other semi-final against Nepal. Navaratnam took vital wickets in his team's win over United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. As he passed his century it seemed he may play a similar role, this time with the bat, but Malaysia was all-out with two balls remaining. It was seemingly the second unlikely comeback in two days after Nepal amassed 271 for six in their 50 overs. Nepal's total was based around an unbeaten 97 from Sharad Vesawkar with help from Gyanendra Malla (49) and Shakti Gauchan (52).

Friday's final should attract considerable interest, featuring the two teams with the most passionate suuporters in Asian non-Test cricket.

In the play-off for seventh and eighth place, event hosts Kuwait celebrated their last game of the tournament with a comfortable 10 wicket win over Bhutan.

Perhaps wanting to protect their bowlers from conceding another record score, Bhutan opted to bat after winning the toss. The Bhutanese battled hard to survive 41.4 overs to reach 132 all out. Left-hander Sonam Tobgay (48) top-scored for Bhutan while Tshering Tashi made 32. Slow left arm bowler Muhammad Javed was the pick of the Kuwaiti bowlers, taking 3 for 31.

The fact batting is the stronger of the Bhutanese disciplines was evidenced when Kuwait needed just 11.5 overs to overtake Bhutan's total. Kuwait opener Khalid Hussain smashed 83 not out and captain Hisham Mirza an unbeaten 38 to give Kuwait a 10 wicket victory with 139 balls to spare. Both teams can now rest up until December when they are due to play in the World Cricket League Division Eight tournament, also in Kuwait.

The ACC Trophy continues on Thursday when United Arab Emirates and Oman meet in the play-off for fifth and sixth places.

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.

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.

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.

The ICC has dismissed criticism it was too slow to react to the crowd trouble which marred the match between Nepal and USA in Kirtipur in the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 tournament.

The ICC was roundly attacked for its seemingly slow response, not announcing an investigation until two days after the end of the tournament, but it has told Cricinfo the process was started in the immediate aftermath of the game. The next stage is the findings of the investigation will be delivered to the board who will deliberate what to do when they meet in Dubai in April.

The ICC is in a difficult position. If it fails to act then there is a danger it sets a precedent for crowds to disrupt matches if doing so will benefit their side. Against that, it will not want to
stamp down to heavily on a country where cricket has really taken hold.

Click here for the full article.

The ICC has agreed to demands from Singapore that it look into events surrounding the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 match between Nepal and USA in Kirtipur which was marred by serious crowd trouble.

Singapore argue that Nepal only qualified for the final and so gained promotion as a result of the disruption. Until the stoppage, Singapore looked set to edge them out on net run-rate, but, so they argue, the revised target agreed by the ICC technical committee altered the equation in Nepal’s favour and they edged through by 0.0035.

The ICC, who dismissed initial complaints, belatedly decided to look into the complaint, which centres on the decisions of the technical committee. Nevertheless, it seems bewildering an immediate investigation was not launched into the riot itself.

It may help Singapore’s efforts that Imran Khwaja, chairman of the Singapore Cricket Association, is one the ICC executive committee, although insider said there was little chance of the ICC reversing the technical committee’s decision. “They will do what they always do in this kind of situation – nothing.”

An editorial in the Straits Times, was highly critical of the ICC. “Nepali fans are known to run riot when their team are losing. But is it Singapore’s fault that security measures at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kathmandu were inadequate to stop around 5,000 of them from throwing stones and invading the ground for nearly an hour? The ICC’s silence is deafening.”

The round-robin match was delayed for around 45 minutes after sections of the 12,000-strong crowd started to throw rocks and debris onto the outfield. Trouble had been brewing for some time as USA cruised towards an easy victory over the hosts, and riot police were already in situ when things got nasty.

While most people headed at speed for the exits and the teams fled from the field, a hard core of spectators continued to hurl anything they could grab hold of onto the playing area. Some reports suggested tear gas was fired into the stands.

Eventually order was restored, and as police cleared the rubbish from the outfield using wheelbarrows, the ICC technical committee deliberated as to whether to continue the game or abandon it and award the win to the USA. In the end, a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of seven from 14 overs was agreed on and the match ended quickly and in relative calm.

Paras Khadka

I think today was the biggest achievement for Nepal cricket in the history of the game here. We’ve never won a tournament as a senior team and to win here and qualify for Division 4 is huge.

I was taken aback when USA decided to bat after they won the toss but after they had set a platform they were 150-odd for 2, then Rahul came on and completely changed the match. I think he bowled well to the field, and I think we took our best series of wickets during the Powerplay. I think perhaps the USA tried to slog the ball too much.

Today’s crowd was fantastic and their support really motivated us to do well. After yesterday where some individuals in the crowd had been a disappointment in their behaviour today’s set an example of what true Nepalese cricket fans should be.

We just had a crazy bus drive back from the ground – we get a police escort and the streets were lined with fans cheering and waving Nepalese flags – it’s something I never expected. I think tonight we’re definitely going to have a bit of a party! I think a team dinner is in order and then we’ll go out and celebrate the trophy and promotion.

This week has been an exciting one for me as captain and one that has made me proud to play for Nepal. The team has always had the talent but this time we’ve managed to break the jinx of not quite making it all the way. This is the first time the senior team has won and it feels really great.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my thoughts this week and hopefully I’ll be back on here again when we head to Division 4 in Italy this summer.

Paras Khadka

It was good to be back where belonged today at the ground we always train at TU. We knew that today’s match was important and now Friday’s is going to be even more important to win as the top three in the table are so close.

I am confident in the boys and the way we’ve been playing that we can defeat the USA and continue on the path that we’ve been travelling on during this tournament. I think Fiji were an okay but Sharad’s century was the making of today.

Sharad’s one of our main batsmen so having him in fine form is important for us and to have score his maiden senior century today was brilliant and I am proud of him as captain.

I know I keep talking about the crowd but today it was huge but it’s such a great motivation for us to have them there and chanting our names and giving us such great support and I hope they will continue to do so all the way through to the final day.

We’ve got a rest day tomorrow and I think we’ll have a relaxed day, maybe watch a movie – we’re definitely not going swimming this time, it is way too cold and I think we might all catch pneumonia!

Friday’s going to be a big game – I don’t feel we need a specific game plan, our spirit and determination is pushing us to succeed and I hope we can continue to make our fans and Nepal proud.

Paras Khadka

It feels good to score runs when the team needed it today and it’s nice to get the man of the match again, but the credit should really go to the bowlers and not to me. I’m sharing a room with Basanta and at the moment I’m one ahead of him on the Man of the Match awards, so maybe we’ve got a lucky room number, I’d be quite happy if we keep winning the awards and the matches through till Saturday!

When we reached the ground this morning there was an incredible fog, you couldn’t even see someone five feet in front of you so the umpires decided to reduce the match to 47 overs a piece. Having won the toss we decided to field first and we wanted to use the conditions to our advantage.

Our fast bowlers made a good start and then the spinners did it for us again. Basanta Regmi took four today and Sanjam Regmi took three and then Rahul took two – which I was really happy with. The spinners were turning it fair and square and the Bahrain guys couldn’t read it. Once we took early wickets we just continued to dominate and saw them all out in the 43rd over.

We had another great crowd of supporters at the Army Ground which spurs me and the guys on to win for Nepal. I really enjoy it when they come down and show their support for the country. I think the crowds will keep coming so I don’t want us to disappoint them along the way so need to maintain the quality of cricket that we are playing now.

I think Bahrain like to slog the ball and putting them into bat first made it harder for them especially as they struggled to face our spinners and I’m content that our plan worked out for us.

As I’ve said of the other teams, I don’t think Fiji can be underestimated tomorrow – they pushed Singapore today, so we have to continue with the attitude that the game is anyone’s to win and we have to respect every opponent. I would like the boys to keep focused.

Paras Khadka

Wow what a match – it went really down to the wire today. I think I maybe underestimated Singapore’s batting capacity but we proved our abilities out there in front of another great supporting crowd.

When we were around 80 for 5 I really felt that Sarad [Vesawkar] and Basant [Regmi] consolidated very well, I think when our batsmen got set they started to play some big silly shots that cost them and we need to concentrate more to the end and we all need to bat our way through the innings with confidence and not get out cheaply.

I think Singapore bowled very well in their first 20 overs and we just stuck it out as we saw that the ball was seaming about a bit. I’m not sure if they perhaps misread the pitch at Engineering and it’s a place we know a bit better.

For us right now we’re concentrating on our games and we’ve got a fair few games to go and we can’t take anything lightly and we have to keep playing our way through to the final. I think we played really hard today and it paid dividends.

Tomorrow’s a rest day – I think we might go for a morning pool session, provided the water is warm but I might check the weather in the morning to see if it’s going to be cold! If we don’t go for a swim I think we’ll just relax together as a team at the hotel and prepare ourselves for our next match which is against Bahrain.

Although Bahrain lost today in what I think tight game, we can’t take any opposition lightly as cricket is a game that can be anyone’s on its day. We’ll make sure we continue to play well and in the right spirit.

Paras Khadka, Nepal

Last night we had the opening ceremony for the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 here in Nepal and what was really great was that the prime minister of Nepal came to open the event and it was great to hear him speak so positively of cricket and his hopes for Nepal in the tournament.

Today has been good but I feel, as a side, we need to improve our intensity and show a bit more energy and we could do wonders. I am not saying that I am not happy with our win over Jersey – we batted and bowled well but there are always ways to improve our game.

I didn’t expect to have such a big crowd at the game as the Army Ground is a fair distance outside Kathmandu but to have over 1000 people there cheering our names, every four, and giving us support was fantastic. We normally get good crowds in Nepal and it’s something that we live for as players to hear our nation’s people cheering us on.

Looking ahead to tomorrow – we know Singapore as a side but we played them at Twenty20 and this is a different format. You have to take every opponent seriously and Singapore are definitely a good side since they qualified as Division 6 winners and we just have to take each game as it comes and give it our all.

Finally to win the Man of the Match today was a good a feeling. I always wanted to lead by example and I would like us to consistently get the runs and wickets - and if I lead the way I hope my team will follow and we will continue to be a side to reckoned with.

Tony Munro

Nepal will be without two of its best batsmen, Paresh Lohani and Sharad Vesawkar, when it hosts the World Cricket League Division Five tournament next month.

Lohani, the 29-year-old opener, has made himself unavailable, while Vesawkar, a 21 year-old middle-order batsman, has been omitted due to what sources have described as ‘poor health and form’.

“I cannot attend the closed-camp training due to my personal reasons and I don’t think it’s fair to contend for a position in the national team without training,” Lohani was quoted in the Cricket Nepal website.

Vesawkar was the only player not retained from the squad which finished fifth at the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 tournament in the United Arab Emirates after scoring 11 runs in his three innings.

The WCL Division Five will be played from February 20 to 27 and feature Fiji, Bahrain, Jersey, Nepal, Singapore and United States.

Nepal squad: Paras Khadka (capt.), Gyanendra Malla (vice-capt.), Binod Kumar Das,
Dipendra Chaudhary, Shakti Prasad Gauchan, Mahaboob Alam, Basant Regmi, Mahesh Kumar Chhetri, Naresh Bahadur Budhaayer, Binod Bhandari, Sanjam Regmi, Amrit Bhattarai, Anil Kumar Mandal, Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma.

Afghanistan and India's Under-21 sides have withdrawn from the South Asian Games cricket tournament. The decisions mean only three Test teams remain - Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - along with two others - Maldives and Nepal. They will play a round-robin competition with the top two teams playing off. The tournament starts on January 31 and run to February 7.

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.

Tony Munro

Nepal’s new captain, Paras Khadka, believes his country’s players must be given more opportunities against stronger opposition if Nepalese cricket is to improve.

"We must improve our domestic structure - there is so much talent but this talent drains out due to lack of exposure.... I want to see our players pitted against better teams and better opponents," Khadka said.

National team players are scattered throughout at least 16 regional leagues across Nepal, with the annual inter-district competition being the only time they are tested.

Khadka, only 22, leads his national team today (Sunday) for the first time, in the ACC Twenty20 tournament game against Malaysia in Sharjah.

Khadka says he enjoys captaincy as it helps him perform. "I like to lead from the front - it's about taking responsibility, setting a benchmark for others to follow...captaincy comes with great expectations and if I can muster up enough courage in all of the players to go in the field and showcase their talent I would be honestly obliged."

And it's perhaps fitting that Khadka makes his captaincy debut in cricket's newest version. "Twenty20 is a fast-paced game, everything happens in a second. It's about taking the quick decision, hopefully have a little luck and then hope for things to fall by your side...it’s an exciting format and I do enjoy it."

He agreed Nepal had fallen in vital matches and called on the side's leading players needed to deliver when it matters.

"We as players play very well in league games but the odd semi-final is when we haven't had any luck, plus as a team too we haven't performed with outstanding contributions during big games. We hope to break the jinx this time.”

Nepal's remaining matches in Group B are: Monday (November 23) v Kuwait, Tuesday (November 24) v Oman, Thursday (November 26) v Qatar & Saturday (November 28) v Bahrain. The finals are on Saturday (November 29) and Sunday (November 30).

Tony Munro

Allrounder Paras Khadka will be leading Nepal in the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup to be held in the UAE from November 22-30. In a move, which had been widely anticipated, the 22-year-old replaced Binod Das as captain, ending the latter's four-year tenure.

Khadka, who bats in the middle order and bowls medium pace, was elevated to Nepal's senior team in 2004 after playing a key role in the Under-19 team's successes in the World Cups. He has played 30 international matches for the senior team, scoring 630 runs at 30 and has taken 27 wickets at 16.44.

Nepal's successes at the Under-19 level and the promise of emerging talent led to expectations from the senior team led by Das. However, they were not met, as Nepal lost the semi-finals of several major tournaments last year, including the World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey and the ACC Trophy in Malaysia.

The team is currently in Delhi playing local selections and they will then depart for the UAE on November 20. Nepal's first match of the tournament is against Malaysia on November 22. They have been placed in Group B - arguably the weaker of the two groups - which also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Group A features Afghanistan, who came fifth at the World Cup Qualifiers this year, reigning ACC Trophy Elite champions Hong Kong, Elite finalists, UAE, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and China.

Nepal will again be coached by former Sri Lanka batsman, Roy Dias.

Squad: Paras Khadka (capt), Binod Das, Dipendra Chaudhary, Paresh Lohani, Sharad Vesawkar, Gyanendra Malla, Shakti Gauchan, Basant Regmi, Amrit Bhattarai, Binod Bhandari, Mahaboob Alam, Naresh Bahadur Budhaayer, Mahesh Kumar Chhetri, Sanjam Regmi; Roy Dias (coach), Manjur Alam Khan (team official), Naresh Kumar Shrestha (manager).

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.

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.

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.

Jersey has been an Affiliate Member of the ICC since June 2005 and as such is one of the more recent additions to the ICC’s Development Program. Selection to host this global event is recognition of the successful developments that the Jersey Cricket Board (JCB) has achieved over the past two years since gaining membership.

The largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey is located off the north coast of France and has a population of around 90,000 people. Approximately 3,500 participate in the game in Jersey. There are six grounds with turf squares on the island, which play host to a league structure made up of more than 40 teams competing across two weekend divisions, three evening league divisions and two indoor league divisions. There are also a further 47 teams that compete at junior level.

Chris Minty, JCB’s director of cricket, said: “This is tremendous, not only for Jersey cricket, but also for Jersey. We are looking forward to the challenges that this will present and will be doing all we can to ensure it is a successful tournament.”

Keith Dennis, chairman of the JCB, commented: “We feel very proud and honoured that the ICC has awarded this big tournament to Jersey and it's a tribute to the structure we have in place here and, of course, our facilities, together with support from our local government and sponsors. This has created the opportunity to be in a position to host such a tournament and we are looking forward to it.”

The WCL Divison 5 is scheduled to take place sometime in May or June of 2008, but the exact date is yet to be confirmed. Originally planned to be an eight-team event, a recent decision at the ICC Development Committee meeting earlier this month opted to expand the league to include 12 teams - Botswana, USA, Afghanistan, Norway, Nepal, Singapore, Jersey, Mozambique, Bahamas, Germany and two teams yet to qualify from the East-Asia Pacific region.

The WCL is made up of five divisions with the Europe region contributing eight teams to the overall event: Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland (Division 1), Denmark (Division 2), Italy (Division 3), Norway, Jersey and Germany (Division 5).

ICC Regional Development Manager for Europe Richard Holdsworth said: “Jersey’s excellent facilities and administration will ensure this is a memorable event for those countries participating. This will do the game of cricket a tremendous service in Jersey.”

The top two teams from the Division 5 tournament will progress to WCL Division 4 which is a six-team round-robin event to be staged in late 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

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.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

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.

"We have four test playing nations among us. So we could easily include the cricket in the SA Games," Ishtiaq Ahmed, a senior official of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, told Reuters. "We understand it will be difficult for the test playing nations to send a full-strength side in the SA Games. In that case we would happily accept age-level teams," he said.

The events will be finalised at a meeting of representatives from participating nations in Dhaka next February. "As the host, we primarily underlined 15 disciplines including cricket for the meet," Ishtiaq explained.

Cricket was last included at a major international tournament in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpar. It also featured in the Olympics once, when a side from Britain beat France in Paris in 1900.

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.

"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.

"Our players are not exposed to other types of conditions - they only go abroad when they have to play in a tournament."

You would think the country's geography would make it virtually impossible to play the sport to any degree of competence - but such is the interest, many Nepalese make light of this.

Akhtar believes an opportunity exists to tap into this potential but knows economic realities will hinder that.

"I have seen boys playing near base camps in the Himalayas. Traditionally it was played in the region near the border with India, which is where I am from, but it is spreading all over the country.

One day we will get one-day international status - but don't expect anything instant

Aamir Akhtar

"We have a National Academy due to be completed within two years and when we hosted the Asian Cricket Council U-19 Championship in Kathmandu in February, 25-30,000 people were turning up to watch matches against Malaysia, Singapore and the UAE.

"Just imagine what would happen if we were playing India or Pakistan? We should also be looking to host triangular series between the India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka A teams and then eventually have senior teams over for one-day internationals.

"We need to commercialise cricket more. If we can't bring investors in we should get our companies to employ players to give them job security so they dedicate themselves to playing for their country."

If strides can be made, Akhtar believes Nepal's playing conditions - "a mixture of the subcontinent and England" - are the ideal breeding ground for county and international standard players.

"With the mountains and altitude, the ball swings and seams even in the summer. If Nepalese players came here they would do well," he added.

"At the moment that looks unlikely for the next 10-15 years. We are not at that level yet but I have no doubt the potential is there for them to play here eventually.

"They are among the best natural athletes in South Asia and one day we will get one-day international status - but don't expect anything instant."

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.