Nepali cricket team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nepal | |
 |
|
| ICC membership granted | 1988 |
| ICC member status | Associate member |
| ICC development region | Asia |
| Captain | Binod Das |
| World Cricket League division | n/a |
| 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 10 September 2006 | |
The Nepali cricket team is the cricket team representing the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. It is run by the Cricket Association of Nepal, which was founded in 1946, became a member of the Asian Cricket Council in 1994 and was elected to associate membership of the International Cricket Council in 1996.
Contents |
[edit] History
Cricket came to Nepal in the early 20th century. The then-ruling Rana family studied in England and India where they learnt of the game. When they returned to Nepal, they established a cricket grounds near the royal palaces. The Cricket Association of Nepal now has 41 cricket grounds in 26 cities and towns. 5 of these are up to international standard. [citation needed]
Nepal gained affiliate membership of the ICC in 1988, and became an associate member in 1996. [1] They competed in the first ACC Trophy in 1996, and have competed in every such tournament since, their best result coming in 2002, when they finished as runners up to UAE. They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first, and to date only, time in the 2001 tournament, though they didn't progress beyond the first round.
Nepal have played in both years so far of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, finishing second in the Asian group both times. Nepal won one of the games, and drew the other, whereas the UAE won one and lost one. Although Nepal had the better Win/Loss record, the UAE topped the group through bonus points, a factor which led to the ICC reforming the competition from 2006. Nepal will have a qualification play off against Namibia to qualify for the 2006 tournament.
Nepali cricket took a giant stride forward in February 2006 when the Under-19 team beat New Zealand in the final of the Plate Championship of the ICC Under-19 World Cup[2]. One of the biggest stars of the tournament for Nepal was Kanishka Chaugain, for whom this was his third appearance in the tournament. He provided solid starts to Nepal and was regularly backed up by a patient middle order. Another encouraging aspect of the tournament was that of the Nepali bowlers, who managed to restrict Test sides like South Africa, New Zealand and England to modest totals. Many believe a stable political situation in Nepal and a modest increase in funding for cricket in the country can propel the national team to great heights.
[edit] Tournament History
[edit] World Cup
Nepal have never qualified for the Cricket World Cup.
[edit] Intercontinental Cup
[edit] ICC Trophy
- 1979 to 1986 inclusive: Not eligible - Not an ICC member
- 1990: Not eligible - ICC affiliate member
- 1994: Not eligible - ICC affiliate member
- 1997: Did not participate
- 2001: First round
- 2005: Did not qualify
[edit] ACC Premier League
- 2004: 3rd place
- 2005: Runners up
[edit] ACC Trophy
- 1996: First round
- 1998: First round
- 2000: Semi Finals
- 2002: Runners up
- 2004: 5th place
- 2006: 4th place
[edit] Cricket in 2006
In March, Nepal played Namibia to decide which team gets the final place in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup. They drew the game, which meant that Namibia qualified for the first round due to their higher ranking.
In August, Nepal competed in the ACC Trophy. After some comprehensive wins in the first round, they did not play as well in the play off stages, eventually finishing in fourth place. Throughout the year they will also compete in the 2006 ACC Premier League, playing 3-day matches against Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and UAE.
