By Yadumani Gautam
Nepal nearly beat Hong Kong in the ACC Fast Track Country Tournament at Hong Kong Cricket Club ground before losing out the three-day match on the last day. We were in the door of a historic win but we couldn’t make it at last.
Hong Kong played brilliantly on third and final day of of the match. Nepal was in commanding position and dominated in the first and second day.
Looking back to recent Nepal’s performance in international matches, it seems that the team is unable to perform to the level. There is no doubt about the quality and technique for the players but team is lacking something, and due to that thing they are unable to produce a good result in a right time. As we look at recent matches, Nepal was one of the favorite in 5th ACC trophy in Malaysia. We started very well but at the Quarterfinal, we lost to Qatar, which was a biggest upset in the tournament and big set back for us. Although we played good cricket after that and qualified for the World Cup Qualifying Series Division II. Nepal also had the experience in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which is the first class cricket played by best teams among associate member of ICC. Nepal won match against Malaysia and drew against UAE, which was another achievement for the country. But UAE having better point qualified for the next round.
In the Fast Track Country Tournament, we didn’t play very well. Among the four matches, we lost two and draw two. Even thought we couldn’t win the match in ACC FTCT, we were able to gain more point then other country like Singapore and Malaysia. After playing four matches in the tournament we were in third position with 51.5 point after UAE and Hong Kong qualifying for the final. This helped us to qualify for the next ICC-Intercontinental tournament. This was one of the great achievements of the year.
This all show that we have improved under coach Roy Dais. The coach has given his every effort to team but its players who have to deliver on the ground. From this year’s experience we could say our team is playing good cricket but not to the level of expectation and satisfaction. They have more talent then they have shown till now. So we can say that they are not playing according to their ability. One of the weaknesses our team has shown is they are unable to perform up to their potential in a big and important match.
They lose their confident in an important game. Team comes under pressure in such matches. Now players are playing international match regularly so they should be prepared for any thought condition. They should build up habit of playing in any kind of pressure and situation.
Coming year we have very important international season. So, keeping this in mind, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has done one good thing by bringing 2005 domestic season earlier. New Birendra Memorial National League Cricket Tournament now will start December 11 at the TU Cricket Stadium. This will help all the players to have a good match practice. This will be a good platform for the new players to show their talent and make place in national team.
Next important tournament for us is World Cup Qualifying Series Division II, which is to be played in Malaysia in Feb. 2005. This venue will not be new for our team because we have already played few matches there. Nepal should win this tournament to keep a hope for 2007 World Cup. If Nepal wins this tournament then we will qualify for the ICC Trophy 2005, which is to be held on July in Ireland.
So, now our team should take this year’s performance as a wake up call and realize the importance of upcoming tournament and its right time to pull up their socks. This can take Nepal cricket to next high level, which is in a building process. We should think series by series. If we play good cricket and perform well there is a good opportunities for us to qualify to next world cup. If our team qualifies then this will be great for team and Nepali cricket. It will also be a great pride for country.
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