Nepal Cricket History

The Nepal national cricket team is the team that represents Nepal in international cricket. They have been an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council since 1996, having previously been an Affiliate Member since 1988. On 28 June 2014 the ICCawarded T20I status to Nepal, who took part and performed exceptionally well in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.

They have been participating in international matches since 1996, including every ACC Trophy and ACC Twenty20 Cup tournaments. Nepal also participated in ICC World Cup Qualifier in 2001 and 2014, ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004 and 2005, Asian Games in 2010, and ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in 2012 and 2013. Nepal reached their maiden ICC global event with a nail-biting five-wicket victory off the last ball against Hong Kong in the quarter-final of the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier on 27 November 2013.

Unlike many other full members, associates, and affiliates, where teams are largely made up of expatriates, Nepal's national team comprises indigenous players who have usually come through the ranks playing age-group cricket.

History

Beginnings

Cricket was introduced to Nepal by the ruling Rana dynasty when they returned from studies in England in the 1920s, though the game was kept very much for themselves and the other elite. The Cricket Association of Nepal was formed in 1946 to promote cricket among the aristocracy.^[4]

When Nepali people overthrew the Rana family in 1951, cricket began to spread to the rest of the population. In 1961 the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) became part of the National Sports Council, to attempt to promote cricket in the whole of Nepal, though this tended to be limited to Kathmandu until the 1980s.^[4]

ICC membership

Improvements to the communication and transport infrastructures in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s^[4] and Nepal became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1988.^[1] A major development programme was begun in the early 1990s, with regional and district tournaments established and cricket being promoted in schools.^[4]

Interest in cricket increased quickly, and demand to play was such that teams in tournaments had to be restricted until more facilities were built in the mid-1990s.^[4] Nepal became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1996,^[1] which was the year the national side played for the first time, in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, in which Nepal finished fourth out of six teams in their first round group, beating Brunei and Japan.

The facilities in Nepal had improved enough by 1998 to allow them to host that year's ACC Trophy at grounds in Lalitpur and Kirtipur (at Tribhuvan University) and Kathmandu.^[5]Nepal themselves were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win.

21st century

2000 - 2009

In 2000, Nepal's youth development policy began to pay off when the Nepal Under-19 cricket team finished eighth in the Under-19 World Cup. The senior side had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the 2000 ACC Trophy before losing to Hong Kong at Sharjah.^[6] They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first time the following year. In the tournament in Ontario, they beat Germany and Gibraltar, but a loss to eventual runners-up Namibia prevented them from progressing past the first round.^[7]

Nepal were runners-up to the UAE in the 2002 ACC Trophy in Singapore^[8] and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily against Bhutan and the Maldives. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005.^[4]

Nepal played first-class cricket for the first time in 2004, playing in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the UAE and Malaysia. They beat Malaysia, but drew with the UAE, failing to reach the semi-final stage.^[9] They finished third in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament during 2004, which qualified them for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup,^[10] and finished 5th in the 2004 ACC Trophy, which qualified them for the repêchage tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy.^[11] They finished third in this tournament after beating Qatar in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland.^[12] They beat the UAE and drew with Hong Kong in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, but missed out on qualification for the semi-finals by half a point.^[13] They were runners-up to the UAE in the 2005 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament.^[14]

In the 2006 ACC Trophy, Nepal bowled Myanmar out for just 10 off 12.1 overs^[15] after Nepal won the toss and sent Myanmar in; no batsman scored more than one, the innings included five ducks, and extras top scored with five (three leg byes and two wides). In reply Nepal hit three off the first ball, followed by three wides that went for five, and then hit another three from the second legitimate delivery to win by ten wickets. Some critics called it the greatest mismatch in the history of international cricket and the score of 10 is the lowest in any level of men's international cricket.

In March 2006, Nepal played Namibia in Windhoek in a play-off match to decide the final team in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Nepal needed to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, but the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day.^[16] Later in the year, they toured Pakistan, playing against the Pakistan Cricket Academy^[17]before playing in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing to Afghanistan in a play-off.^[18] They won the first ACC Premier League in 2006.^[19] They played in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait, where they finished fourth in their first round group.^[20]

In May 2008, Nepal traveled to Jersey to play in 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five of the World Cricket League. Although Nepal topped Group A after the group qualifying matches, they lost their semi-final to Afghanistan and finished third overall after defeating the USA in a playoff. With only the top two from this tournament qualifying for2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Tanzania later in the year, Nepal missed out on the chance to take their 2011 World Cup dream any further.^[21][22] Later, Nepal appeared in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and finished fourth after losing to UAE in the semi-final and to Afghanistan in the playoff for third place.

In November 2009, Nepal appeared in the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup and finished fifth after beating Singapore by 9 wickets in the playoff for fifth place.

2010 - present

Nepal won their first major tournament, beating USA in the final of 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five held at Kathmandu in February 2010. Nepal played very well in2010 ACC Trophy Elite, winning all the matches in group stage and beating Malaysia in the semi-final by 8 runs but lost the final against an ODI status Afghanistan team by 95 runs and finished runners-up. Nepal came third in 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, thus remaining in Division 4 for 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four. In November, Nepal appeared in 2010 Asian Games and lost against Sri Lanka in the quarter-final. It was the first match Nepal had played against a full member nation.

In December 2011, Nepal hosted the 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup and finished fourth, thus qualifying for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

In March 2012, Nepal appeared in 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and played Twenty20 matches for the first time. Nepal finished seventh in the tournament after defeatingKenya and Papua New Guinea in play-offs. In September, Nepal appeared in 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, where Subash Khakurel and Anil Mandal both scored century. Subash Khakurel scored 115 of 142 balls against United States and Anil Mandal scored 113 off 134 balls against Denmark. Nepal won all the five matches of the tournament and their players won five man of the match awards, along with Basanta Regmi being named the player of the tournament. Nepal progressed to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. After a thrilling tied final in Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE on 12 October 2012, Nepal and the UAE shared the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite. UAE posted 241, a target that looked in Nepal's sight after their 94-run opening stand. However, they lost wickets consistently, and eventually needed 12 off the last over with just two wickets in hand. Shakti Gauchan smacked Shadeep Silva's left-arm for a six, but could manage only one run off the last ball, hence ending a splendid final match in a tie.

Nepal competed in 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup held at home grounds in Kirtipur and Lalitpur. Nepal easily marched towards the final of the tournament with high class performance from their captain, Paras Khadka, and the team thrashed UAE by 6 wickets. Nepal had earlier qualified for 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, reaching the semi-final of the tournament. Nepal had to be satisfied with runners-up status after losing to an ODI status Afghanistan team by 7 wickets. The Nepali team was supported by a huge fan following throughout this tournament with an average turnout of more than 11,000 (more than 20,000 in the semi-final and final) during their matches while hundreds of thousands watched live on television – possibly the largest public support outside the Test-playing nations. Nepal won the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three held in Bermuda and qualified for the 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Nepal also played in 2013 ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where under-23 age level teams of the four Test nations – Bangladesh,India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka took part along with UAE, Afghanistan and the hosts Singapore. Nepal finished third in 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier held in UAE and qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, defeating Hong Kong off the last ball of the thrilling quarter-final. Thousands of Nepalese fans turned out at the stadiums throughout the tournament.

Nepal missed out on qualification for the 2015 World Cup, finishing ninth in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand in January when wicket-keeper and opening batsmanSubash Khakurel did not play any match due to fever, and all-rounder skipper Paras Khadka was affected by a side strain. Nepal were the best of the three associate teams on display in Group A of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. They comprehensively beat Hong Kong, held their own with the bat against Bangladesh and pulled off a strong win againstAfghanistan, their first since 2004 in any format against their old rivals. Nepal's bowlers did not bowl a single wide or no ball throughout the tournament. Nepal were also the only team to have not conceded 140 in an innings in the tournament.

T20I Status

On 28 June 2014, the ICC awarded T20I status to Nepal, who took part and performed exceptionally well in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.^[23] Nepal had already played three T20Imatches before gaining the status, as ICC had earlier announced that all the matches to be played in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 would have T20I status.