The next three days, September 17 to 19, are poised to be crucial for the future Nepali cricket.
The next three days, September 17 to 19, are poised to be crucial for the future Nepali cricket. Cricket fans would be keenly following two three-day matches – Nepal versus Singapore in Singapore and United Arab Emirates (UAE) versus Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
Ironically, it would be the match without Nepal that would be more crucial. The result of that ICC InterContinental Cup fixture would decide the Asian semifinalist who will meet Canada. UAE are in the must-win situation. If the match ends as drawn or Malaysia wins without picking too many bonus points, Nepal would enter the semifinal arena that already have Scotland and Canada.
Nepal have 42 points whereas UAE have 18 and Malaysia 9.5. Without a win, a team can pick a maximum of 22 points from one game while a win yields 14 more. Each 25 runs up to 300 runs and each wicket counts for half-a-point. Nepal drew with UAE at their home and defeated Malaysia convincingly by nine wickets in Kathmandu.
The semifinals of the International Cricket Council (ICC) event, all matches of which have the first-class status, would attract the attention of global cricket officials. And four competing nations would be the best from four continents – Asia, Americas, Africa and Europe.
Nepal-Singapore fixture is the second match of the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament, modeled after the ICC InterContinental Cup to improve the cricket of non-Test playing nations. UAE had already registered a seven-wicket win against Singapore in the inaugural match in May. The tournament would give competitive matches for the five best non-Test playing nations of Asia – Nepal, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Singapore would count as the weakest of all these, so Nepal would not face a daunting task at their home – the Kallang Cricket Ground. Only hot and humid environment would give a challenge – but Nepal had always performed better in Singapore. The senior teams of Nepal and Singapore had never met each other so both the teams will be playing against the unknown opponents. However, at Under-19 level, Nepal had two wins in three matches, one of which was abandoned.