Nepal national cricket team

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Nepal
Flag of Nepal
Flag of Nepal
ICC membership granted 1988
ICC member status Associate member
ICC development region Asia
Captain Binod Das
World Cricket League division Five
ACC Trophy division Champions
First recorded match 6 September 1996 v Bangladesh at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ICC Trophy
Appearances 1 (First in 2001)
Best result First round, 2001
First class cricket
First class matches played 4
First class wins/losses 2/0
As of 19 January 2008

The Nepal national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Nepal in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1996, having previously been an affiliate member since 1988.[1]

They have been participating in international matches since 1996, including every ACC Trophy tournament,[2] the 2001 ICC Trophy[3] and two ICC Intercontinental Cups.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

Cricket was introduced to Nepal by the ruling Rana dynasty when they returned from studies in England and India in the 1920s, though the game was kept very much for themselves and the other elite. The Cricket Association of Nepal was formed in 1946 to promote cricket amongst the aristocracy.[2]

When King Tribhuvan overthrew the Rana family in 1951, cricket began to spread to the rest of the population. A team of Nepali players visited India in 1954, and in 1961 the Cricket Association of Nepal became part of the National Sports Council, to attempt to promote cricket in the whole of Nepal, though this tended to be limited to Kathmandu until the 1980s.[2]

[edit] ICC membership

Improvements to the communication and transport infrastructures in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s[2] and Nepal became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 1988.[1] A major development programme was begun in the early 1990s, with regional and district tournaments established and cricket being promoted in schools.[2]

The interest in cricket increased quickly, and demand to play was such that teams in tournaments had to be restricted until more facilities were built in the mid 1990s.[2] Nepal became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in 1996,[1] which was the year the national side played for the first time, in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, in which Nepal finished fourth out of six teams in their first round group, beating Brunei and Japan.[4]

The facilities in Nepal had improved enough by 1998 to allow them to host that year's ACC Trophy at grounds in Lalitpur, Kirtipur (at Tribhuvan University) and Kathmandu.[5] Nepal themselves were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win.[6]

[edit] 21st century

In 2000, Nepal's youth development policy began to pay off when the Nepal Under-19 team finished eighth in the Under-19 World Cup.[7] The senior side had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the ACC Trophy before losing to Hong Kong at Sharjah.[8] They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first and, to date, only time the following year. In the tournament in Ontario, they beat Germany and Gibraltar, but a loss to eventual runners-up Namibia prevented them from progressing past the first round.[3]

In 2002, Nepal were runners-up to the UAE in the ACC Trophy in Singapore[9] and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily against Bhutan and the Maldives. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005.[2]

Nepal played first-class cricket for the first time in 2004, playing in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the UAE and Malaysia. They beat Malaysia, but drew with the UAE, failing to reach the semi-final stage.[10] They finished third in the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament during 2004, which qualified them for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup,[11] and finished 5th in the ACC Trophy, which qualified them for the repêchage tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy.[12] They finished third in this tournament after beating Qatar in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland.[13] They beat the UAE and drew with Hong Kong in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, but missed out on qualification for the semi-finals by half a point.[14] They were runners-up to the UAE in the 2005 ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament.[15]

In March 2006, Nepal played Namibia in Windhoek in a play-off match to decide the final team in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Needing to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day.[16] Later in the year, they toured Pakistan, playing against the Pakistan Cricket Academy[17] before playing in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing to Afghanistan in a play-off.[18] They won the first ACC Premier League in 2006.[19] They most recently played in the ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait, where they finished fourth in their first round group.[20]

[edit] Tournament History

[edit] Intercontinental Cup

[edit] ICC Trophy

  • 1979 to 1986 inclusive: Not eligible - Not an ICC member[1]
  • 1990: Not eligible - ICC affiliate member[1]
  • 1994: Not eligible - ICC affiliate member[1]
  • 1997: Did not participate[22]
  • 2001: First round[3]
  • 2005: Did not qualify[13]

[edit] ACC Premier League

[edit] ACC Trophy

  • 1996: First round[4]
  • 1998: First round[6]
  • 2000: Semi Finals[8]
  • 2002: Runners up[9]
  • 2004: 5th place[12]
  • 2006: 4th place[18]

[edit] Records

[edit] Overall

  • Highest team score: 397/8 against Bhutan, Kathmandu, 2003[2]
  • Highest individual score: 108 by Mahaboob Alam against Malaysia, Kathmandu, 2005[2]
  • Best innings bowling: 10/12 by Mahaboob Alam against Mozambique, Jersey, 2008,Record best at asscciate/affiliate level,only 3rd time in world cricket [2]

[edit] ICC Trophy

[edit] Players

Nepal's squad at the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup was as follows:[26]

[edit] The future

In May 2008, Nepal will travel to Jersey to play in Division Five of the World Cricket League. The top two in this tournament will qualify for Division Four in Tanzania later in the year.[27][28] They will also play in the ACC Trophy at some point in the year.[18]

Their top eight finish in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup will mean that they will play in the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup, which will serve as a qualifier for the cricket tournament at the 2010 Asian Games.[29] They may also take part in Division Three of the World Cricket League and the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, depending on their results in 2008.[28]

[edit] 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five

[edit] Squad

Nepal
Name Born Batting Style Bowling Style
Binod Kumar Das (c) Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Paras Khadka Flag of Nepal Nepal Right Handed Batsmen Right-Arm Medium-Fast
Paresh Prasad Lohani Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Shakti Prasad Gauchan Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Mahaboob Alam Flag of Nepal Rajbiraj, Nepal Left Handed Batsmen Left-Arm Medium-Pace
Sanjam Regmi Flag of Nepal Kalaiya, Nepal Right Handed Batsmen Right-Arm Off-Spin
Sharad Vesawkar Flag of Nepal Nepal Right Handed Batsmen Right-Arm Medium-Pace
Dipendra Chaudhary Flag of Nepal Banauli-Saptari, Nepal Right Handed Batsmen Right-Arm Medium-Pace
Gyanendra Malla Flag of Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Mahesh Kumar Chhetri Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Raj Kumar Pradhan Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Amrit Bhattarai Flag of Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Basant Regmi Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Dhirendra Bahadur Left/Right Handed Batsmen ???
Roy Dias Coach Tanka Prasad Paneru Manager

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Nepal at CricketArchive
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Encyclopedia of World Cricket by Roy Morgan, Sports Books Publishing, 2007
  3. ^ a b c 2001 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  4. ^ a b 1996 ACC Trophy at CricketEurope
  5. ^ 1998 ACC Trophy at CricketArchive
  6. ^ a b 1998 ACC Trophy Points Table at CricketArchive
  7. ^ 2000 Under-19 World Cup at CricketEurope
  8. ^ a b Scorecard of Hong Kong v Nepal, 21 November 2000 at CricketArchive
  9. ^ a b Scorecard of Nepal v UAE, 21 July 2002 at CricketArchive
  10. ^ a b 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
  11. ^ a b 2004 ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament at the Asian Cricket Council website
  12. ^ a b 2004 ACC Trophy at official website of the 2005 ICC Trophy
  13. ^ a b Scorecard of Nepal v Qatar, 27 February 2005 at CricketArchive
  14. ^ a b 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
  15. ^ a b 2005 ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament points table at official ACC website
  16. ^ a b Scorecard of Namibia v Nepal, 23 March 2006 at CricketArchive
  17. ^ Nepal in Pakistan 2006/07 at CricketArchive
  18. ^ a b c Scorecard of Afghanistan v Nepal, 25 August 2006 at CricketArchive
  19. ^ a b 2006 ACC Premier League points table at ACC official website
  20. ^ 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup at CricketEurope
  21. ^ 2007/08 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
  22. ^ 1997 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  23. ^ Nepal Totals of 150 and More in an Innings in the ICC Trophy at CricketArchive
  24. ^ Individual Scores of 50 and More in an Innings for Nepal in the ICC Trophy at CricketArchive
  25. ^ Four or More Wickets in an Innings for Nepal in the ICC Trophy at CricketArchive
  26. ^ Nepal squad for the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup at official ACC website
  27. ^ ECC newsletter January 2008
  28. ^ a b Asia's way to the 2011 World Cup
  29. ^ Message form the Chief Executive of the Asian Cricket Council



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