Associates
Tim Wigmore takes a look at the problems facing Nepal
Cricket has a tantalising future in the country and, by dint of the huge numbers playing, there’s potential for the team to improve dramatically
Earlier this summer, Nepal came to Lord’s. They were playing the MCC, a match that was nothing more than a warm-up before their World Cricket League Championship fixture in the Netherlands.
Yet more than 5,000 came to Lord’s for the match, almost all of them cheering boisterously for Nepal. The day was a small symbol of the huge enthusiasm for cricket in the Himalayan republic.
The MCC was impressed and surprised by such a good crowd, and is looking to invite Nepal again soon – perhaps not just to play the MCC, but to play against an international team.
“It was amazing and shows what’s possible,” says John Stephenson, the MCC head of cricket. “We’re looking at introducing a few more of those types of games here. They really create a lot of interest.”
Nepal can justifiably claim to be among the most cricket-crazy nations in the world, surpassing several Full Members in their zeal for the game.
In April 2015, 10,000 Nepalese fans crammed in to watch a tribute match to Phillip Hughes, a game that was also broadcast on television throughout Nepal.
Crowds in excess of 6,000 are regular for domestic matches involving national team stars. Paras Khadka, the national team captain, is ubiquitous on TV chat shows and a genuine celebrity, a man whose national profile is more Wayne Rooney than Alastair Cook
The roots of the nation’s infatuation with cricket primarily comes from geography.
Nepal borders India on three sides, and as radio permeated the country from the Seventies, broadcasts of international matches became common; in the Nineties, the influence of TV spread, too, and the 1996 and 1999 World Cups were keenly watched in Nepal.
Today, there are more than 400 clubs in the country, and there are believed to be 50,000 U16s playing regular cricket in Nepal.
Yet all this enthusiasm has not translated into results, not by a long way. Nepal’s only ever appearance at an ICC global event was in the first round of the 2014 World T20, when they performed admirably to defeat Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
But their performance in the qualifiers for the 2015 World Cup was ignominious; their performance in the qualifying for this year’s World T20 was even more disappointing; Nepal lost four of their five games, including to Jersey, and were bowled out for 53 by Ireland and 93 for Papua New Guinea.
All the support for the team back home seemed not an asset but a burden.
As so often, rotten administration is at the root of Nepal’s problems. The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), was suspended by the ICC earlier this year, because it was deemed unfit to run the game in the country, after interference from the national government in the game and the absence of free and fair elections in the game.
The board has wasted years squabbling, rather than build an infrastructure to match Nepal’s enthusiasm for the game. There is still no domestic system worthy of the name, impeding the development of players and making it hard for selectors to gauge who the best players are, and so pick the best possible national squad.
“Some of the associates, if you give a bat to a 10-year-old kid you have to really explain what to do with that. If you give a kid a bat in Nepal they’ll play a drive – they know the game, it’s burning in them to play cricket but there’s no opportunities, there’s no grounds, there’s not really a structure,” lamented Pubudu Dassanayake, Nepal’s former coach, when we spoke last year.
“Nepal has the potential to grow up into a top quality cricketing nation. That is why there is frustration. I hope the mindsets of people will change. Nepal easily can be another Bangladesh.”
If such ambitions sound outlandish, consider what Nepal have achieved at U19 level. Nepal have defeated five Test nations in the U19 World Cup, including South Africa in both the 2004 and 2006 tournaments.
Earlier this year, Nepal beat New Zealand and thrashed Ireland by eight wickets en route to finishing eighth in the tournament, above three competing Test nations.
“A group of talented kids can play well against another group of talented kids,” Tim Anderson, the ICC’s head of global development, has said.
“It’s the systems and structures – be that playing, administrative and governance or high performance – that are going to take a group of talented kids and turn them into a force on the international stage against men.
“It’s very difficult when you take the next step to compete against the best in the world if you don’t have the whole package.”
In other words, raw talent and enthusiasm can help a team thrive in the U19 World Cup, but good administration and pathways for players are necessary for a country to take the next step.
Now Nepalese cricket is at a fascinating juncture. While the team remains inconsistent, there are signs that the national side is improving.
In April, Nepal defeated Namibia in both their matches in the World Cricket League Championship.
Last month, Nepal responded to being bowled out for 94 in their first game
against that Dutch – that tendency to selfimplode again – by beating Netherlands by 19 runs in Amstelveen.
Considering that Nepal were playing away to the leaders of the WCLC, and had just been thrashed, the victory was one of the most impressive in the country’s cricketing history.
The ICC is certainly aware of the potential in Nepal; indeed, other nations often gripe that Nepal get special treatment.
Six years ago, a crowd riot in Kathmandu, during a Nepal match in the World Cricket League, delayed a Nepalese match in a way that benefited the hosts, who were subsequently promoted by 0.004 on net run rate.
In the World Cricket League Division 2 tournament at the start of 2015, Nepal were the only team who knew that the top four teams, rather than merely the top two, would be promoted to the World Cricket League Championship.
When the Cricket Association of Nepal was suspended by the ICC this April, the ICC retained Bhawana Ghimire, Nepal’s impressive CEO, to oversee cricket operations.
The republic is still hampered by a lack of opportunities – the side has a desolate fixture list – but needs to perform better on the pitch to earn these.
But if Nepal can match the enthusiasm of their players with enlightened administration, the sport has a tantalising future in the country, and, by dint of the huge numbers playing for the game, the potential for the team to improve dramatically.
Should they do so, Nepal are likely to be rewarded with more fixtures - unfairly, some other associates who have out-performed them for years will gripe. A Test match in Kathmandu is a way away yet.
But the relish for cricket in Nepal, allied to the ICC’s emphasis on aiding teams with commercial, as well as cricketing, potential, means that, besides Afghanistan and Ireland, Nepal might have more than any other associate nation to be hopeful of in the next decade.