Nepal and Thailand have been pitted in Group A along with Singapore, Qatar, Bhutan and Iran for the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Championship 2009. The event which serves as qualifying event for the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010 is scheduled for July 3 to 11 in Malaysia.
Other participants Malaysia, Hong Kong, UAE, China, Kuwait and Oman are placed in Group B.
Nepal will play their inaugural match on July 3 against Iran. They will take on Singapore, Qatar, Bhutan and Thailand on July 4, July 5, July 7 and July 8, respectively. Two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
The top three teams will join Asian giants India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh along with hosts China which has been awarded automatic qualification in the Asian Games.
Nepal has yet to qualify in team event of the Asian Games. Nepal’s last two participation in women’s cricket have been fruitful as it finished runners-up behind Bangladesh in 2007 ACC Women’s Cup and won the U-19 defeating Thailand in 2008.
According to Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), players will be selected based on their performance in the recently concluded T20 of the Fifth National Games and that the training will begin on first week of June.
The schedule
| Schedule: | |
| July 3 | Malaysia v Oman at Kinrara Oval Bhutan v Qatar at Kinrara Oval Singapore v Thailand at Selangor Turf Club China v Kuwait at Selangor Turf Club Iran v Nepal at Bayuemas Oval Hong Kong v UAE at Bayuemas Oval |
| July 4 | Malaysia v UAE at Kinrara Oval China v Hong Kong at Kinrara Oval Nepal v Singapore at Selangor Turf Club Bhutan v Iran at Selangor Turf Club Qatar v Thailand at Bayuemas Oval Kuwait v Oman at Bayuemas Oval |
| July 5 | Nepal v Qatar at Kinrara Oval Iran v Singapore at Kinrara Oval China v Malaysia at Selangor Turf Club Oman v UAE at Selangor Turf Club Bhutan v Thailand at Bayuemas Oval Hong Kong v Kuwait at Bayuemas Oval |
| July 7 | Iran v Thailand at Kinrara Oval Hong Kong v Oman at Kinrara Oval Kuwait v Malaysia at Selangor Turf Club China v UAE at Selangor Turf Club Bhutan v Nepal at Bayuemas Oval Qatar v Singapore at Bayuemas Oval |
| July 8 | Nepal v Thailand at Kinrara Oval Kuwait v UAE at Kinrara Oval Hong Kong v Malaysia at Selangor Turf Club Iran v Qatar at Selangor Turf Club Bhutan v Singapore at Bayuemas Oval China v Oman at Bayuemas Oval |
| July 10 | 11th/12th Place Playoff (A6 v B6) at Kinrara Oval 7th/8th Place Playoff (A4 v B4) at Kinrara Oval Semi-Final 1 (A1 v B2) at Selangor Turf Club 5th/6th Place Playoff (A3 v B3) at Selangor Turf Club Semi-Final 2 (A2 v B1) at Bayuemas Oval 9th/10th Place Playoff (A5 v B5) at Bayuemas Oval |
| July 11 | 3rd/4th Place Playoff (Loser SF1& 2) at Kinrara Oval FINAL at Kinrara Oval |