Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) dropped former captain Binod Das and named preliminary 18-member national squad on Tuesday for the upcoming ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE on March.
The CAN has called in Paresh Lohani in the preliminary squad. Continue reading
Nepali girls will play Chinese girls in the opening match of the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship in Kuwait on February 3.
According to the provisional fixture published by Asian Cricket Council (ACC), defending champions Nepal faces Malaysia on February 4, UAE on February 5 and Thailand on February 7. Continue reading
India-Australia series is more focused on a few things: Can Sachin Tendulkar score his 100th century? Can Australian captain Michael Clarke lead the Australian team well enough? Can Team India win a series in Australia?
Clarke has shown his maturity after 2-0 lead in the series. His dominating knock of 329 not out, his surprising declaration and the wins has made him a hero in Australia. Continue reading
Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) scheduled a tour to India for the national squad later this month as a preparation for the ICC World T20 Global Qualifiers.
CAN, instead of four two-day cricket matches as proposed by coach Pubudu Dassanayake, opted for a trip to India during which the national squad will undergo training and play practice matches. Continue reading
Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Sunday announced 18-member preliminary squad for the closed-camp training to prepare for the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Women’s Cricket Tournament.
The players were selected by the selection committee headed by Bijaya Kumar Sharma analyzing their performance during the National U-19 Woman Cricket Tournament held in Kathmandu. Continue reading
Janakpur won the inaugural National U-19 Woman Cricket Tournament beating Bhairahawa by 6 wickets in the final at the TU Cricket Ground.
Batting first Bhairahawa scored 66 for 8 wickets in allotted 20 overs. Janakpur needed 14.3 overs to overcome the target in the loss of four wickets. Continue reading
Despite having a record partnership of 107 runs for the first wicket, Baitadi failed to qualify for the final of the Women´s U-19 National Cricket Tournament on TU Cricket Ground.
Puja Bhatta and Dropati Kunwar shared the record partnership but Baitadi lost the match by three runs against Bhairahawa chasing the target of 125 runs. Continue reading
Baitadi and Nepalgunj confirmed their berths in the semifinals of the Women´s U-19 National Cricket Tournament as the Group runner-ups.
Baitadi beat Birgunj by 29 runs in the match played at IOE Ground. Baitadi opted to bat first and scored 105 runs losing nine wickets. Continue reading
Indu Berma put yet another all-round performance as Bhairahawa crushed Nepalgunj by 46 runs at the IOE Ground and confirmed a place in the semifinal of the Women’s U-19 National Cricket Tournament.
Janakpur also qualified for the semifinal beating Birgunj by 45 runs at the TU Ground.
At IOE, Bhairahawa scored 125 for 9 wickets batting first. Prarikchhya Bashyal topscored with 29 in 42 balls while Indu got quickfire 28 off just 20 balls in a knock that included 5 fours. Ekta Gurung contributed with 14 off 16.
Mamata Chaudhary and Anu KC got three wickets each for Nepalgunj.
In reply, Indu claimed 4 wickets for 17 runs as Nepalgunj were bowled out for 79 in 13.4 overs. Aksha Gurung and Sudha Thapa assisted with 2 wickets each. Samjhana Sharma and Kamala Budathoki topscored for losing side getting 9 runs each.
In earlier match, host Kathmandu beat Pokhara by 78 runs.
Kathmandu's Shilu Rijal during her 4 wicket haul. Photo by Kaushal Adhikari
Batting first, Kathmandu scored 128 for 2 with Sangita Gauchan and captain Shradda Aryal topscoring for the team. Sangita remained unbeaten on 38 off 44 balls while Shradda got 36 off 43 balls. Shilu Rijal con-tributed with 15 runs. All three of them hit 3 fours each. Cristine Tamang scored 13.
For Pokhara Prabha Nepali and Arya Aryal claimed a wicket each.
Player of the match Shilu then grabbed 4 wickets for 10 runs while Karuna Lama grabbed 3 wickets for 7 runs to bowl out Pokhara for 50 runs in 13.4 overs. Sumina Maharjan assisted with 2 wickets and Shradda claimed a wicket.
For Pokhara, Only Prabha scored in double-digit getting 11 off 15 balls.
At TU Ground, Janakpur outplayed Birgunj to move to the semifinals. Batting first, Janakpur scored 120 for 5 wickets with Anuradha Chaudhary and Shanti Chaudhary getting runs for the team. Player of the match Anuradha scored 45 off 50 balls with 6 fours and Shanti got 38 off 41 with four boundaries.
Rojina Aryal claimed 2 wickets for Birgunj. Subhadra Adhikari, Puja Giri and Nirmala Pakuwal each got a wicket.
Birgunj were bowled out for 75 in last over. Preety Thapa (18 off 25 balls) was the top scorer while other notable contributors were Rabina Ghimire (10) and Manisha Chaulagain (9). Laxmi Chaudhary led the bowl-ing with 3 for 15 as Mamata Chaudhary, Kabita Gautam and Anuradha each claimed a wicket.
In another match, Baitadi handed over Biratnagar their second defeat registering a 12-run victory. Batting first, Baitadi scored 95 for 5 wickets with player of the match Dropati Kunwar scoring 44 runs of 60 balls and Manisha Sodari getting 21.
Rubina Chhetri bowled well to claim 4 wickets giving away just 6 runs in 4 overs.
Sabina Shrestha got 35 off 55 balls for Biratnagar but no other batswomen contributed for the total as the team was restricted to 83 for 9 wickets. Chetana Bohara grabbed two wickets while Puja Bhatta, Roshani Chand and Anjali Chand each got a wicket.
On Friday, Birgunj meets Baitadi at IOE Ground and Kathmandu plays Nepalgunj at TU Ground in second matches of the day. The winners of both these matches will qualify to the semifinals.
Early in the morning, Bhairahawa will play Pokhara at TU Ground and Janakpur plays Biratnagar at IOE.
Woman’s U-19 National Cricket Tournament
AT TU GROUND
Janakpur 120/5 (Anuradha 45, Shanti 38, Rojina 2/24) beat Birgunj 75 in 19.5 over (Preety18, Laxmi 3/15) by 45 runs & enters semifinal.
Baitadi 95/5 (Dropati 44, Manisha 21, Rubina 4/6) beat Biratnagar 83/9 (Sabina 35, Chetana 2/16) by 12 runs.
AT IOE GROUND
Bhairahawa 125/9 in 20 overs (Pratikchhya Bashyal 29, Indu Berma 28, Mamata Chaudhary 3w, Anu KC 3w) beat Nepalgunj 79 all out in 13.4 overs (Indu Berma 4/17) by 46 runs and entered the semifinal.
Kathmandu 128/2 (Sangita Gauchan 38*, Shradda Aryal 36*, Shilu Rijal 15) beat Pokhara 50 all out in 13.4 ov (Shilu Rijal 4/10, Karuna Lama 3w) by 78 runs.
Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Birgunj and Janakpur registered victories on the inaugural day of the First Women’s Under-19 Twenty20 Cricket Tournament. Continue reading
Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced the fixture for inaugural Women’s Under-19 National Cricket Tournament beginning December 28.
All eight cricket development regions will participate in the league-cum-knockout tournament to be hosted by Kathmandu. The top two teams from two groups will meet in the semifinals and the final will be played on January 1, 2012 at the TU Cricket Ground. Continue reading
(PS: The write-up originally appeared in The Kathmandu Post, on 24th December, 2011)
Not much is expected from Nepali team after ACC T20 Cup. Team’s batting was always a weak link, now bad bowling and fielding have put a question mark over Nepal’s T20 playing style. Many have started saying selection for T20 World Cup is daydream for Nepal.
Coach Pubudu Dassanayake has confidence that Nepal could qualify for the T20 World Cup, if everything goes according to the plan. “Despite criticism of our performance at ACC T20, I don’t think we played all that bad,” he said. “If you look at the average score at the TU Ground, we were not far behind.”
After reaching the semi-finals of ACC T20 Cup, Nepal qualified for the T20 World Cup qualifiers, that will be played during March 13-24 in UAE. According to the schedule, Nepal is pitted alnog with Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Canada, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Bermuda and Denmark in the group stage. Other group has Ireland, Scotland, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Oman, Italy and USA.
Afghanistan, Netherlands and Canada are teams with ODI status. Bermuda played in the 2007 World Cup. Nepal was defeated by PNG in previous two meetings. And this would be the first time Nepal faces Netherlands, Canada, Bermuda and Denmark. If past performances at T20 is viewed, Nepal looks the weakest team in the World Cup Qualiers.
After the draw was made public, former Sri Lankan cricketer Dassanayake is excited. “This is a very good draw. Both groups are similar. There’s nothing to complain.” Dassanayake said. “I like the structure of the tournament. It gives every team equal opportunity. Now we have to take some steps.”
Top 3 teams from both groups will compete for semi-final playoff, where top teams from both groups play in semis. The winner will directly be qualified to play the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. The loser of semi-final will play in the playoff again. Two teams from the tournament go to the World Cup.
Dassanayake, who has taken Canada to the World Cup already, has a plan. “There has to be two-day tournament in January. Following national T20 championship, the selected players should taken to India or Sri Lanka for 7-8 practice matches. After that, if we can go to Dubai a week before the tournament and have some practice matches, we can do something,” He says, “It is a difficult challenge, not impossible. We have to play well.”
This is his plan for next 3 months for Nepali cricket. “If ODI status is a goal, tournament in UAE is Nepal’s test and Nepal has to perform like an ODI team,” he said, reiterating his commitment to change the cricket structure in the country, “In the 3-month plan, I have not only included 15 players, but entire cricket structure of Nepal.”
For that, Dassanayake is in search of a fast bowler. He has procured a ‘speed gun’ through his wife, who came to Nepal on Thursday. “A tearaway fast bowler make a lot of difference. He doesn’t need a lot of experience. With sheer pace, he can take the opening batsmen on backfoot and does not let them dominate.”
It was pace, which accounted for Nepal’s 9-wicket capitulation against Afghanistan, after winning against Hong Kong in a tense final over by a single wicket. Dassanayake takes another meeting with fellow Asian teams in 3 months as an opportunity. “Meeting Afghanistan in Sharjah is an opportunity. Wehave good possibility, because it is a batting wicket. It does not help the bowlers. We have to bowl according to that plan.”
The Nepal coach is impressed with Hong Kong’s performance in Kathmandu. “Hong Kong batting relied a lot on Irfan Ahmed and Munir Dar, but they played like a team. That’s what I am looking for, in Nepali team. Netherlands has Ryan ten Doeschate and Tom Cooper. Doeschate has IPL experience. Both need to be tied down. Bermuda, PNG and Denmark are also good teams.”
Dassanayake is also excited about match against Canada. “I’ve already received some emails from Canada. I am also waiting for the game.” He has already captained Canada. “If we compare player to player, Nepal is ahead. But they are Division 1 team, and get money from ICC. Since they are ODI team, they play a lot, also in Carribean domestic circuit. That ways, we need to catch up with them.”
[The write-up originally appeared in Nagarik (Nepali) national Daily on 23rd December, 2011]
Dear Mr. Angbuhang,
Congratulations for becoming the first elected president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). Continue reading
Team Australia has announced its squad to face India in the awaited Boxing day clash against India.
Speculations and discussions are seen and heard everywhere from newspapers to people traveling on train, buses and coffee shop, coz its summer and cricket fever is on here at the Aussie land.
I was at Canberra to watch the practice match between Cricket Australia Chairman’s 11 and India. I was impressed with Cowan’s batting technique and the way he played against Abhimanyu Mithun , Umesh yadav and yes, Zaheer Khan. He is surely a key player for Australia this time. But again if he fails then there is a fear that he might lose his spot just like Philip Hughes did, after failing against the Kiwis.
My focus was specially on Zaheer’s fitness and form , because for team India Zaheer is the key bowler. Zaheer looked a different bowler this time, he was not at his best, may be because it was just a practice match for which he is not giving his hundred percent. Among the spinners who replaced Harbhajhan Singh, R. Ashwin was at his best. His form and confidence could be seen. Pragyan Ojha seemed an OK bowler to me that day. Other seamers Mithun and Yadhav were spot on.
The Boxing Day Test will be a different type of match this time compared to previous clashes between these two teams. Team India looks balanced but their bowling attack could be a worry for them. Zaheer is back and Ishant struggled in the first practice match. When we look at the batting line-up, it is one of the best line-up in the world. With Gambhir and Shehwag opening the batting , Dravid , Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman after that, and MS Dhoni to follow, it should be a treat to watch. How VVS will bat against Australia will be worth watching. He has always made runs against Australia. Sachin Tendulkar could be in a bit of pressure as he seemed in previous matches against West Indies, in search of his 100th test century.
Team Australia has announced a balanced side for the first test. Beside Cowan and Warner, selectors are expecting a good knock from former captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. They both failed against New Zealand recently. Ponting and Hussey have always made runs against India and that could be the main reason why they were picked. These two will surely be watched this time. Shaun Marsh has replaced Usman Khwaja. Khwaja struggled a lot against the Kiwi attack. When we look at the bowing attack James Pattinson will be the key bowler this time, his pace and the short ball could create a big problem for the Indian batsmen. Ben Hilfenhaus is back in the team because of his ability to swing the ball in the Australian condition. They will be bowling to one of the most experienced batsman of world cricket today and which will be a worth to watch. Beside these players, Aussie captain Michael Clark’s decision on and off the field will be watched keenly because experts still say he is ‘not a captain material’.
(Sudin Pokharel is currently in Sydney, Australia and is a contributing writer for Cricket Nepal.)
Nepal’s cricket teams will compete in at least 8 cricket tournaments in 2012. No Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments will be hosted by Nepal. Continue reading
Nepal, Hong Kong and Afghanistan are grouped together in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to be held in UAE from March 13 to 24, 2012.
The three Asian nations are placed together in Group A alongside Netherslands, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Bermuda and Denmark.
Group B of the Global Qualifiers consists of Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Uganda, Oman, Italy and USA. The top two teams from the tournament will qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka in September, 2012.
Nepal will play its first match against Hong Kong at GCA2 Academy Oval Ground on March 13. Then it will meet Denmark (March 14, Dubai Sports City Stadium), PNG (March 15, Sharjah Cricket Stadium), Afghanistan (March 16, Sharjah Cricket Stadium), Bermuda (March 18, Sheikh Zayed Stadium), Nethersland (March 19, GCA1 Academy Oval) and Canada (March 20, Sharjah Cricket Stadium) during the league round.
After league round, the playoffs will be held.
Groupings
Group A: Afghanistan, Nethersland, Canada, PNG, Hong Kong, Bermuda, Denmark, Nepal
Group B: Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Uganda, Oman, Ital and USA
Nepal’s fixture
| Date | Match | Venue |
| March 13 | Nepal vs Hong Kong | GCA2 Academy Oval |
| March 14 | Nepal vs Denmark | Dubai Sports City Stadium |
| March 15 | Nepal vs PNG | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
| March 16 | Nepal vs Afghanistan | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
| March 18 | Nepal vs Bermuda | Sheikh Zayed Stadium |
| March 19 | Nepal vs Nethersland | GCA1 Academy Oval |
| March 20 | Nepal vs Canada | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
Newly elected president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), Tanka Aangbuhang, said that a committee will be formed for amending the CAN statute soon after the executive committee gets its full size.
The general assembly of CAN that concluded in Chitwan on Sunday elected a 17-member executive committee and 14 others are set to be nominated either by the president or by the executive committee. Continue reading
Maoist leader Tanka Angbuhang is elected as the president of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) unopposed in the first ever election in CAN’s 64-year long history.
All other members of the 17-member committee were also elected unopposed in the first-ever election of CAN in its six-decade history. Continue reading
BY JASHANPREET SINGH GILL
When I heard the name of the new coach it told me everything that is expected from him. If we have a little knowledge of Sanskrit, then Dassanayake means Dassa (Ten) – Nayake (Heroes) which corresponds to creating 10 heroes (1 failure per match is human). This is what Nepal would be expecting from him. He needs to create 10 heroes who will guide Nepal to level of success never seen before.
Will Dassanayake deliver the Das Nayaks? Continue reading
Its summer here in Australia and Cricket lovers are all set to welcome the Boxing Day clash between two cricketing giants – India and Australia.
But before the clash of Titans on the turf, the war of views and opinions has started with experts flowing out their opinions on Twitter timeline. Continue reading
With a couple of days remaining to the first-ever election in the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the cricketing community gets busy and divided.
National Sports Council (NSC) had dissolved the CAN led by Binay Raj Pandey on October 26 and installed UCPN (Maoist) central committee member Tanka Aangbuhang as new chief with a mandate to formulate its statute and hold election within the 60 days. Continue reading
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is busy planning for the general assembly and first-ever organizational election in its more than 50 years of history. It will elect a big executive committee full with promises.
I believe the first agenda that the newly-elected committee should take up is the review of the ACC T20 Cup and Nepal´s performance. Continue reading
Coach Jagat Tamata and Binod Das will participate in the Level 3 of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Coaching Course to be held in Sri Lanka from December 15.
The two-week course being organized in collaboration with Cricket Australia will make Tamata and former national captain Das the highest accredited coaches in Nepal. The-then Nepal’s coach Roy Luke Dias had represented Nepal in the Level 3 course on 2009.
Tamata completed Level 1 in 2001 in Nepal and Level 2 in 2004 in Pakistan while Das had completed Level 1 in 2004 in Nepal and Level 2 in 2011 in Malaysia. Das was picked for Level 3 for his performance in the course in Malaysia earlier this year.
Both Tamata and Das are national players. Tamata was a part of the national team in 1996 ACC Trophy in Malaysia and Das still plays for the national team.
Das said that he has not decided what he will do after the course. “I will be in cricket and the course has given me the way to be a coach,” he said.
Tamata said that ACC has given them good opportunity and Cricket Association of Nepal has supported us. “If the association gives us chance we can handle national side,” Tamata said.
Under Tamata, Nepal’s Under-19 team qualified for the U-19 World Cup 2012.
Defending champions Afghanistan won the ACC T20 Cup, beating Hong Kong by 8 runs in the final played at Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kathmandu.
Batting first, Afghanistan posted a total of 125, losing all its wickets in the penultimate ball of the innings. Gulbodin Naib scored 57 off 50 balls, as Mohammed Nabi scored 24 quick runs towards the end. Despite Munir Dar’s 5 wickets, Afghanistan scored more than run a ball.
The chase was not going to be too easy, due to the presence of Hamid Hasan, who had only leaked a single boundary in the tournament so far. He bowled with pace and leaked one more, but snared 3 important wickets to earn his team victory and man of the match for himself. Hong Kong chase, despite accumulating at around the required run rate, fell 9 runs short. The regular fall of wickets did not help much. Skipper James Atkinson scored 35, but was often slow in batting.
Munir Dar, for his 11 wickets in the tournament, was named Man of the Tournament.
Brief Scorecard: Afghanistan 125 all out in 19.5 overs (G Naib 57, M Nabi 24, M Dar 5/23, N Ahmed 2/8) beat Hong Kong 117 all out in 19.2 overs (J Atkinson 35, W Barkat 22, C Kruger 17, H Hassan 3/12, D Zardan 2/21, M Nabi 2/21) by 8 runs and win the ACC Twenty20 Cup.
Cricket Nepal (cricket.com.np) provided live scores and commentary for the match. Click ‘Replay’ below to read the live commentaries.
