2015 ICC World Cup Qualifier Previews- Day 1

This is the first day of a tournament which is expected to be very exciting. There are 4 games on day 1

1. NETHERLANDS vs UGANDA
Netherlands have not been in the best of forms in the warmups having lost both the games comprehensively. They would be worried about their form but this match gives them a perfect opportunity to recoup and gain their momentum.
Uganda on the other hand would be confident after their win over Canada. Incidentally Canada have defeated Netherlands in the Warmups too and this fact would be giving them confidence to prove the critics wrong

Verdict:- Overall Netherlands and very high on experience and have better set of players than Uganda and should take the game easily

2. KENYA vs PNG
Last time these teams met, PNG took the game in the World T20 Qualifiers. PNG would be finding confidence  in this and would be confident to take the game. Kenya on the other hand have a new captain who at junior levels was a successful captain and would be hoping to repeat the magic. PNG are loaded with young talent and know these conditions better than Kenya, while Kenya would be hoping their experience to take them through in the game
Verdict:- It surely will be a closely fought game but I expect PNG to take it away

3. NEPAL vs UAE
These teams know each other very well and they know this game is crucial to set the tone for the tournament. Both the teams are high on confidence based on the recent success in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. UAE have an advantage of having more experience having played the WCL Championship and barely missing on World Cup Qualification. For Nepal this tournament is to prove a point that they are ready to join the big boys. The game will be a test of wits.
Verdict:- It will again a very close game and very hardly fought. I expect in the end Nepal to come out as the better team

4. SCOTLAND vs HONG KONG
Scotland are one of the favorites of the tournament. They have a solid lineup with good batting and bowling which are well adapted for the conditions. HK on the other side are a young and dynamic side raring to go ahead. However HK would have to overcome the loss of key player Munir Dar. Overall Scotland would have a massive advantage but don't be surprised if HK produce a shocker
Verdict:- Scotland are massive favorites and should easily take the game

My Interview with Cricketlok.com

I extend my heartiest apprecitation of Birat Raya to give me chance to express my views in my first of Interviews. I am copy pasting the same interview from cricketlok.com. The interview can be found at the link given below

http://www.cricketlok.com/definitely-expect-nepal-play-world-cup-3/

“I definitely expect Nepal to play the World Cup”

 

 

 

Jashanpreet Singh Gill a keen follower of Associate cricket and Admin of the famous facebook page  ”Associate and Affiliate cricket” is talking with Birat Raya about the upcoming World Cup Qualifier, Nepal chances on it and future of Nepali cricket.
As a keen follower of Associate cricket, how you are watching this World cup Qualifiers (WCQ) ?
To me this would be the most important WCQ which will decide the future of game in years to come. On one hand we have the traditional nations like Canada, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland fighting for their spots and on other hand we have upcoming nations like Nepal, PNG and UAE very determined to replace them. So to me this is an ultra-important tournament and I will follow each minute of it.
So what kind of result you want from the tournament?
From my heart I would want Nepal and PNG to qualify for the World Cup and if there are 2 more ODI spots (Which ICC is yet to confirm) then I would want Kenya and Scotland to take those spots. But my head also says that replacing Netherlands, UAE and Canada will not be that easy.
Why Nepal & PNG?
Nepal and PNG because it will be good for the game, If I see all the 10 nations then Nepal is hands on ahead of others in Interest of the game. The Playing XI on the ground not only represent the ambition of mere 11 guys but nation as a whole, who would not want such dedicated fan base to be added to the game.PNG also have a big support like Nepal only difference is they are a much smaller in size hence we listen far less comparatively, But the passion is in no way less.
As a supporter of Nepal in this Qualifier, do u think Nepal deserve the place on main tournament?
Well they surely deserve a spot, there is no doubt about it. In fact back in 2012 I have placed bets with my friends that Nepal will be playing in 2015 WC and I see no reason to get back on my bet. But it will not be easy though, they will have to overcome the pace and Bounce which I feel their batsman struggle against. Although they have found 1 young bowler in World T20 Qualifier but still pace attack remains an area of big concern. Having said that I have full belief in the coach and am sure he will carry them to World Cup.
Our senior team is playing for the first time in NZ & the kind of condition. Compared to other teams, it is going to be more difficult for Nepal. Isn’t it?
Well in 2008 Nepal did very well in similar condition in Jersey except for the loss in Semi Finals against Afghanistan. So I feel it is more of a mental block. As a seam bowler you don’t need to be the quickest but should be able to exploit the conditions. Similarly in batting you don’t need to hit every ball .So overall the challenge for Nepal will be to adapt mentally and have the belief, Rest will follow.
So what should be the strategy of Team Nepal in the tournament?
The Basic requirement is to play the natural game. Nepal traditionally has always been better in ODI compared to T20′s and they should not forget that. Beside that the critical factor would be batting. Batsman should concentrate more on rotating strike and should realize that this is not Subcontinent where you need big score of 250+, even a score of 180+ can be a defendable. I am hoping that the batsman will be prepared to face the bouncers and if they succeed on that then nothing else should trouble them. In bowling Spinners will play a crucial role, they are the strength of the team and should find confidence from that. Pace department should focus on swing and bowling in right areas. At the end of the day everything comes down to the basics and team should concentrate on that.
Nepal has been drawn together with Canada, UAE, Hong Kong and
Scotland in group stage, how do you predict the order at the end of it?
Scotland are the team to beat. We must realize that the result here will also be carried forward to Super Six and Netherlands and Scotland are the biggest challengers for that World Cup Spot and the conditions are also on favour of European teams. Beside that I don’t think UAE, HK and Canada will give much trouble. The game against Scotland will decide if Nepal reaches world cup or falls short.
So you are expecting Nepal to play the world cup, can u explain how?
Yes I definitely expect Nepal to play the World Cup. As I already told you that I think Nepal will defeat UAE, Canada and HK at the group Stage and from the other group I expect Netherlands, Kenya and PNG to reach Super Six. Here again I expect Nepal to overcome Kenya and PNG. The critical matches will be against Scots and Dutch. And I am hoping that Nepal will defeat one of them to secure the 2nd place on the tournament.
You are making it so easy.
Well if I have the belief behind the team, it will sound easy and all big things in life are completed in small steps. Hence here too things should be taken on a match by match basis not a tournament as a whole which makes it pretty simple.
Key Performer for Nepal in the tournament?
Well from batting prospective I expect Paras Khadka to be the mainstay and hope Sharad Veshwakar will continue his good form from UAE. Basant Regmi will be critical in bowling and his type of bowling suits the condition. I am also very impressed with Avinash Karn, he has a very good action and will be amazing in New Zealand condition. His left arm action coupled with swing can be deadly like Zaheer Khan used to be for India.
You are the admin of famous page AAC and you have lots of fan in Nepal who follows your information for associate news. Since when you started following Nepali cricket closely & how is the reaction of Nepali fans with you?
Well I always have liked cricket and wants it to be the number one game in the world. I followed Associate Cricket since 1996 when UAE, Netherlands and Kenya played that world cup. Then for many years I was in touch with Associate Cricket through news and internet. Finally in 2011 a friend from Afghanistan asked me to be co-admin of the page Associate and Affiliate Cricket and since then I haven’t looked back. I came in contact with Nepal cricket through Cricket.com.np in 2010 and since have been following Nepali Cricket very closely. In fact the biggest chunk of followers on my page is from Nepal. Nepali fans are passionate and want their team to do well and a place in 2015 World Cup watching their team play against the likes of India, Australia would finally do justice to them. Hence this tournament becomes even more critical for Nepal.
How do you define the behavior of Nepali fans? We are rated on of the worst by international Critics.
Well that is true, they are presently not the best behaved fans but the fans also mature with time. On the other side we should understand that when the country has been suffering from so much in past few years- Coup, Communist Threat, an indecisive Constituent Assembly then sports represents a big hope and passions are bound to flow. However with things getting better and over the time fans will mature. Passionate fans are never bad for the game.
We talked lots of positive stuffs, what if we neither qualify for world cup nor get an ODI status?
Well that will be very bad for the game. As much as I think the game is doing well in the country, CAN have not done a very good job. Not getting World Cup Spot is still understandable but not gaining an ODI status would be highly demoralizing for the team. Nepal known to be Associate Chokers in past can again go back to the old ways and then it will take another 4 or 5 years to get the team back to this level. This could be nightmare for the development of the game in the country.
You are following Nepali cricket closely since 2010, how do you rate the progress and what are things you want to see in future?
Well the rate of progress has been good but the area that concerns me the most is domestic set-up. If CAN wants the team to challenge the likes of Afghanistan and Bangladesh in future they must work on domestic set up. By domestic set up, I mean a Multi-Day Domestic Tournament besides the regular ODI and T20 competition. And it is time for Players to be centrally contracted. Finally a stadium, we have been hearing about Mulpani since 2008 and its 2014 now and still seem no sign of completion. Internationally if Nepal keep doing the goods and get ODI status, team will get good exposure through the tournaments like Inter Continental Cup. So it is the domestic scene where I want to see some action.
We don’t have good infrastructure and if we get ODI status in this situation how will it affect?
That is why I said Mulpani is critical. If Nepal gets an ODI status then they will have to finish it otherwise they will be forced to play the matches abroad which will not be good for the fans and for the development of game. This is for the sleepy administrators at CAN to understand.
Your message for Nepali cricket fans before WCQ?
“Hope for the best and be prepared for the Worst” is the motto that should be applied in walks of life. They should be hopeful of good performance but just in case they miss out still respect the team. They are giving their best on limited resource.

 

2015 World Cup Qualifier: Preview Group A

This World Cup qualifier would probably be one of the most interesting and critical for the game of cricket. On one side we have traditional teams like Netherlands, Scotland, Canada and Kenya fighting hard for their spots, a resurgent UAE and Namibia fighting to claim back their glory days and upcoming and emerging nations of Nepal and PNG dedicated and fighting to replace these nations. This will without doubt be a very hard fought tournament with deciding the 2 finalist is a very difficult task. It will not be unlikely that experts can pick two teams and in the end those teams end up in bottom 5.

The fight for the 2 spots will be a tough one. Picking 2 teams is very difficult

In the World Cup Qualifier the teams are divided into 2 groups of 5 teams each. From these groups 3 teams will go into Super Six. In Super Six the 3 teams from each group will carry the points of matches against the 2 teams from the group. Finally from Super Six the top 2 teams will go into finals and reach the World Cup.

GROUP A
Teams:- Canada, Hong Kong, Nepal, Scotland & United Arab Emirates

ICC Seeding
1. UAE
2. Scotland
3. Canada
4. Hong Kong
5. Nepal

PREVIEWS
1. UAE
UAE have been very impressive lately especially in the 2011-13 ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP. They just missed out on qualification and came third in the tournament. They also proved themselves again when they qualified for the 2014 World Twenty20. Their batting is top class along with their deadly spinners.
 

Shaiman Anwar will be the key player UAE will be relying upon

However in NZ they would have to overcome many challenges to keep up the performances.The are an aging team and the fast bowlers are not fast enough. This could be their Achilles heal.

Key Player:- Shaiman Anwar

Expected Verdict:- Should make it into the Super Sixes

2. Scotland
They are the hot favorites for the tournament. They would be most equipped to deal with the situation as the conditions in NZ are almost similar to conditions in Scotland. They have a solid batting line up lead by players like Calum MacLeod, Kyle Coetzer. The pace battery is equally impressive with a young line up consisting of Safyaan Sharif, Gourdon Goudie.

No team can ignore Calum MacLeod who is in super form

Key Player:- Calum MacLeod

Expected Verdict:- Winner or Runners Up

3. Canada
Canada are a team which have seen a great downfall. They finished a poor 12th out of 16 teams in World T20 Qualifer. On top of that they had a major loss when their ace captain Ashish Bagai announced his retirement after being troubled by politics going on in Cricket Canada. However even with the reduced line up they are not a team to be ignored. They are known to make a comeback in critical tournament when it is a matter of life or death for them. They still have some good batsman like Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar who can single-handily destroy any bowling lineup on their day. They also have some decent bowlers like Harvir Baidwan. However overall Canada would have to put a super effort and brilliantly lead to make a come back

Gunasekara:- He has a good technique and destroy any lineup on any day

Key Player:- Ruvindu Gunasekera

Expected Verdict:- Not expected to make it to Super Sixes

4. Hong Kong
They have been a surprise package for many especially when they made it into 2014 World Twenty20, but few people know that they are a young team and unlike the names suggest it is a team that has been built from junior levels. They have some technically some very good players in both bowling and batting. The team is a good mixture of youth and experience. 

Irfan Ahmed:- He is both deadly with bat and bowl and is a one man army

Despite all the goodies the team is yet to prove itself in ODI and that too in conditions of NZ. The absence of expierenced player Munir Dar will also hurt them a lot. It will be challenging for the team

 Key Player:- Irfan Ahmed

Expected Verdict:-  Not expected to make it to Super Sixes

5. Nepal
They are a resurgent team filled with the belief that they should be playing with better of the teams. They surprised many with their performance in World T20 Qualifier where they came third. Lead by a tactical coach and cool captain the team is hoping to make history. Paras Khadka is the traditional batting powerhouse of the team but players like Sharad Vekaswar have shown their worth in World T20 Qualifier. Basant Regmi is a brilliant all rounder who has impressed many and the conditions in NZ surely support his spin style. They have a young pace lineup consisting of Avinash Karn and Sompal Kami who can be a real surprise package
Having said all that the batting still suffers against quality fast bowling and to prove themselves they will have to overcome this weakness. The pace department has also been traditionally below par and this time even though they have potential but it is a young and inexperienced lineup.  

Paras Khadka: He is Mr Dependable for the team who can contribute both with Bat and Bowl

 Key Player:- Paras Khadka

Expected Verdict:- Though most critics have rated them lowly but I will give them a chance to make into Super Sixes. Whether they will make into Finals will depend upon two game for them- against Scotland and Netherlands

So overall this will be a keenly contested group and the predictions made now can be easily thrown out of window. That is the level of competition. It will be an interesting tournament and really looking forward to it.  

Review of ACC Emerging - Nepal

To start with the announcement that ACC Emerging would be a biennial tournament is a welcome decision. It will give the emerging Associate teams of Asia a very good exposure against good teams. Ideally the teams could have been part of Asia Cup, but it's better to have one bird in hand than two in the bush.

For the Nepal team it was perhaps the first time when they faced such a quality opposition. It should be perhaps a reflection of the opposition they will have to face regularly if they hope to get ODI status. But unfortunately they were placed in a oddly formed group of death. I do not know how ACC formed these groups. As per me the groups based on seeding should have been

Group A:- Ind U23, Bd U23, Afg, Sp
Group B:- SL U23, Pak U23, UAE, Nep

Anyhow Nepal had perhaps all the 3 top teams in it's group and a very big challenge to overcome. To start with they put up a very spirited performance against Afghanistan and perhaps dominated for 90% of the match but in the end sadly lost by 3 runs. It was the experience and temperament gained with it that lost them that match. The loss took such a toll that they were pretty much thrashed in the next 2 matches.

So what are the positives and negatives that the tournament offered. For the positives perhaps it is the exposure that team gained. Till now the team has been playing the likes of teams in Div 5 to Div 3 with weak teams like Mozambique to stronger ones like USA. But even the likes of USA and Uganda are no match to quality of India or Pakistan U23. This exposure will give each player an aspect to reflect upon and work on it. The coach can also make players work harder reflecting them on their weaknesses.
Secondly some individual good performances by Paras, Basant, Sagar & Subash would give a boost to morale of these players and give them confidence for upcoming matches. These were after all performances against some very quality sides.
Thirdly the overall tour of Sri Lanka and Singapore was able to give the coach the time and matches to experiment some younger players and different combination. The presence of quality opposition were the real test of the players

However the Negatives far outweigh the Positives. Firstly in the whole tournament reflected how the team lost it's self confidence. After the first match which did not go in their way, afterwards the team seemed to have lost morale and could not regain it in rest of the tournament. The big tournament is infact half mind games. You have the lows and then you have to bounce back. Except of few individual the team effort looked missing
Secondly the team failed in all aspects. Batting was a bigger let down as it failed in all 3 matches. Bowling also was pretty ordinary against the test teams. With such performances Nepal cannot hope to challenge the likes of Netherlands or Scotland it faces in future.
Finally it should be a realization of difference in the level between it and top teams which needs to be plugged for future. The team surely needs to work all areas especially building partnerships and rotating strikes & fast strike bowling.

So the next question comes what should be the future coarse. Is all the hope lost. No not at all. The team surely has the potential to be playing both 2014 World T20 and 2015 World Cup. However for that to happen the team needs to have a structure plan

1. The coach needs to work hard on the mental strength of the team which will help them to keep cool in the matches and also if required bounce back in tournament. As the level of competition will be much harder the bounce back will require much harder mental strength than what it was required in ICC WCL Div 3. If need be some experts can take some sessions with the team. This is an area which is usually ignored but very crucial.

2. Batting is the area that the team will have to work upon. For that if CAN can get some batting experts for two months, 1 month before T20 qualifier and 1 month before WCQ will be greatly helpful. The team has potential as shown by Paras, Subash and Sagar, but it would be building partnerships, running between wickets, working on technique that are more crucial than individual brilliance that is the need of the hour.

3. Pace Bowling is the Achilles heel of Nepal. The WCQ is in NZ and WC is also in Aus and NZ. In these places without a good pace strike bowling is huge disadvantage. Nepal's traditional strength of spinners can be easily blunted there. The young pacers of Sawad and Karn have shown some hope but much more needs to be done. These 2 along with the veteran Binod Das need to be given bigger exposure. They can be perhaps sent to NZ or Eng for some advanced training and getting acclimatized to the conditions there.

4. More quality exposure is key. The team got a good exposure in SL and Singapore. Now it will get back and work on the various opportunities. However to evaluate the progress the team is making CAN should ensure that they get to play quality team. For Dubai, a tour of Sri Lanka against similar oppositions they played this time would greatly help. If not there similar practice matches in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh would also do. If CAN is not able to arrange the same a 5 Match series against Afghanistan in UAE would perhaps a win win situation where both board can earn some revenue and good practice.

5. Finally there needs to be a special focus on WCQ in NZ. This tournament will be make of break for Nepali cricket. A good performance here will get Nepal ODI Status, more funding, a chance to play matches against test teams. play multi day matches in Intercontinental Cup. Hence this is the tournament. For the WCQ in NZ, CAN would have to get more proactive and get the team to play in similar conditions which can be NZ itself or Eng, Scot, Ire, Neth or Canada. These all are costly places but it would mean high risk but high returns.

These are some crucial times for Nepali Cricket. A good effort by the team, coach and board will be a game changer for the sport in the country or it can be a chance missed which everybody may be forced to woo for many years. Nepal does not need news like it has be fined by ICC but rather some proactive work by CAN who should wake-up from their sleep and finally contribute to the game in the country. 

Felicitation vs Real Ground Work?

Recently the biggest fan club in Nepal got together and conducted a felicitation program for the Nepal Cricketers. They were able to get some leading movie stars of Nepali cinema and got a good coverage in Media also. All the players were present along with the successful coach. The Fan Club was really happy in conducting the event.
The though that comes to my mind immediately is should this be the top priority for Nepali cricket or does it lies somewhere else. The Nepal team has been very successful in recent years winning Div 4, then ACC Trophy, Qualifying for World T20 Qualifier and Div 3(Though with hand of god in it), and many hope that they will make it to both 2014 World T20 as well as 2015 World Cup getting the ODI status. Since the time they have started winning they have been showered with the gift. This is where I see the south Asian mentality starting to kick in, not with honoring the players after all they are a talented bunch but with the issue of short term measures

Can Nepal afford to be bound by short term measures or thinking long term is the key?

At present the biggest worry for me is the youth that is on offer for Nepal. Many writer have earlier pointed out that this time Nepal U-19 came with the worst ever performance finishing 4th in the tournament losing to Afghanistan, UAE & Malaysia. At U-16 level Nepal also lost to Malaysia. It is the first time in many years that a player from U-19 team could not make it into the line up of the senior team. These are very serious issues. Nepal at junior levels was supposed to be unbeatable few years ago. Baring Afghanistan, where there is real passion for game any other youth team in Asia beating Nepal is a very serious issue. The pressure will be felt few years down the line when the Pipeline of players would finish

Nepal presently would have issue of resources and NCFC creditably has been able to garner resources from fans spread across the world. However the money collected should be spent judiciously on long term projects. I would go by a Chinese saying "Give a fish to hungry man and he eats today. Teach the hungry man how to fish and he eats for life". This summarizes the point of investing in long term.

This picture says a thousand words

The first thing that comes into my mind is various equipment that the present and future set of players would require. There are many training equipment or gym equipment that coach would have in his wishlist. Taking right people into loop such equipment would keep benefit players for many years. This is the place where Nepal team needs most support and a help here is the real help

Secondly the other area which needs big attention is the school cricket. I am sure that many students would be watching or playing cricket. A School Tournament in Kathmandu and some other bigger cities would help the upcoming players in these schools to showcase their talent. The best of the talent across the schools could then be given a chance in front of the coach. We all know that Nepal team is in big need of some good pacers. Talent identified here could have been trained for future for benefit of the team

Finally in future it would be beneficial to arrange to send many players across the world for advanced sports training. These players after being trained can pass some tips to other players and whole team gains from the experience.

I am not criticizing the Nepal Cricket Fan Club here, in my view they are the most genuine fans here who do many selfless acts for Nepali cricket. But as a genuine fan of Nepal & Associate Cricket it is my duty to criticize certain actions and guide it towards what according to me would be betterment of Cricket in the country.

Lets hope that we soon see Nepal team playing in the top cricket tournament and showing the huge potential it has in it. These certainly would be some of the most exciting times for Nepali cricket but we should not get carried away by it and keep an eye for future.

The new fans and the burden of expectations.

Fans are always a pleasure in sports. The dynamism of sports is driven by fans itself because they instill energy in the sports and more importantly money to keep the sport alive. Cricket also has it's share of fans.  India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies and to some extent in teams like Australia, England (Remember Barmy Army) are the teams with the solid fan base behind them and their opinion cannot be ignored. Perhaps Indian team would be the team with 1.2 Billion as the largest number of fans behind a team.

Cricket in Associate world is not as lucky as most test teams. Most of the multinational tournaments happen in front of empty grounds. But this is not the case everywhere. A typical match in Nepal, Afghanistan will get ten of thousands of people to the ground. It would get an decent gathering at places like Ireland or Scotland.

Here in Associate in the country of highest mountains, the fans have started a commendable task as big as everest itself. The fans were always active here. Infact when I started following Associate Cricket it was a website dedicated to Nepal cricket ( A real rare at that time) that got my interest. Then the fans had the biggest cricket group and fan pages on facebook, discussing about Nepal cricket and did not discard the support even at tough times like when the team got stuck in Div 4. They all had a belief ( Still have the Belief) that team is meant for something higher and would soon be joining the big boys.

Then this year came div 4 and the team had a cent percent record here and returned to streets filled with fans. This is the time when few die hard fans came together to form a fan club. One of them my real good friend (Birat Raya) along with others went from post to poll to get an official nod for the fans club and was successful. This I believe after present coach Pubudu is the most important development for Nepal Cricket

Fans Club around the world play an important role. In some sports the member of fan clubs are part of board of teams to represent the fan's point of view while making decisions and also get teams to identify talent from Grass root levels.

The Nepal Cricket Fan Club (NCFC) is already getting resounding support. As a first step they got an electronic scoreboard installed in the ground. Then in this week came an important landmark "Hamrocricket.com" their exclusive fan club page. I liked the name when about a year ago when Birat bounced it off to me.

Nepal has a huge fan base

However these are just small steps in the long journey the club needs to go for. I would list down few steps the club should aspire as part of their journey

1. Written Constitution and a Democratic Institution
An important part of a young organisation is defining a constitution that clearly helps it define the vision, mission and the path that will be taken by the organisation. Defining a constitution also ensures that it builds in transparency and trust of the fans who will be pinning their hopes on the club

Being democratic is another part of being transparent. However a person may love a thing but it is the critics that makes the best out of him. The Iranian King loved the country and wanted to make it a superpower but still was thrown out in a revolution because there was no democracy to let off the steam. An election will keep bringing in new set of people who will bring in new ideas

2. Permanent Face- Salaried Employs
In any successful country or company there are always a permanent face and a new face that keep coming. Like in democratic countries the Politicians are the new face and Bureaucrats are the permanent face. This helps in bringing the stable face for organisation. Even in private companies in sales they have their employs at location as new faces and distributors as the constant faces.
I am jumping the gun but when things get stabilized then NCFC should definitely have some central and regional salaried representatives.

3. Nominal Paid Membership
There is a saying "There are no free lunches in the world". NCFC surely needs loads of members but it should keep a nominal fee for membership. I am not saying something like Rs 1000 a month but it might be token like Rs 100/year
Why because it will bring in 2 benefits- Firstly it would bring in seriousness of members who would now have stakes in the organisation and would force it to be accountable and secondly it would bring in a source of income for NCFC

4. Conducting Regional Tournaments
This would be the real and most important contribution to cricket. NCFC should have conduct these tournaments across the country where it will make teams from the rural to come out and unearth the raw talent. Then they could identify the potential talent and bring them into contact with coaches and selectors to unearth the best of them. I always believe that Nepal Cricket team does not represent the best XI. According to me there surely are many players who will be better than some in the team
We must remember that Pakistan team always brought in pacers who belonged to poor families and did not know English. There were the most lethal lot. India came out much stronger when players from smaller cities started coming in like the present captain Dhoni

5. Supporting the players for specialized training
Although this is the job of CAN, but we know that finances can be a constraint for CAN. Here NCFC can really step up and contribute. It has already done the support like it already did for sending 2 players to Sri Lanka.  


Personally I am very positive for NCFC as I know some of the die hard Nepal cricket lovers like Birat Raya, Anna Bhola have taken the realm of the organisation. I am really hopeful and hope that Nepal team would be joining the big boys and the Rhino Army would be supporting their team in T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. 

Club + Domestic League way forward for Nepal and Afghanistan

South Asia is the power hub of cricket and in South Asia two nations Nepal & Afghanistan are really rising very quickly. These 2 nations if go the right way can surely join the likes of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or New Zealand soon.

Afghanistan has already established itself to be a top Associate / Affiliate Cricket Nation, which has rapidly progressed from Div 5 to Div 1 within a span of 4 years. Nepal also if going the present way can soon be seen playing the 2015 World Cup and getting an ODI status.

These 2 Associate unlike most Associate have a population crazy about cricket but like most of the associates the both countries are reliant on a small pool of players. Over that the playing XI depends on few stars to take them to victory. This is a very dangerous situation. When these stars fade away then the team can go in a downward spiral.

This was the case with Kenya who had got a good set of talented players in their ranks but without a domestic structure the replacements never came and now we all know in what state Kenya is.

Having known that a domestic structure is very important the question comes on the aspect of funding. Both Afghanistan Cricket Board and Cricket Association of Nepal are not rich enough or have funding like Test Nations to for a full comprehensive domestic structure. So how do we overcome the 2 dimensionally opposite issues

Typical village in Afghanistan & Nepal. Majority of population in these countries live in villages and essential for strong cricket team.

 To look for the answer we need to understand the demographics & geographical factors of both the countries which are quite similar in many aspects. Both the countries are mostly hilly regions with major cities located in broad valleys. Both the countries consist mostly of villages spread across the country with a few major cities. Afghanistan has cities spread out across the country while Nepal has it concentrated towards the Central and Eastern Parts.The Village is a very strongly knit unit in both the countries, where it is like a family and is headed by a Sarpanch in Nepal and a village elder in Afghanistan.

In such a scenario the to have a spread across the country it is very important to have players from the villages. India increased massively in strength when players from smaller cities started to come (Like the Captain Dhoni) against older days when most of the players came from bigger cities. India also has majority of Population in rural areas, and involving them surely is helping

Right Burkhashi in Afghanistan and Left Elephant polo in Nepal. Village level tournaments are already been organized in both the countries.

 Hence to reach the villages we need a club structure. By Club I do mean not a club like in England where some old folks are sitting drinking beer playing cards and watching a cricket match, with gentlemen claps. A club is a simply a team which can be formed by a village or some locality in the towns. It is not a concept which is something very new. It already happens in both the countries where the villages come together and play in some sort of tournaments. In Afghanistan Burkhashi the national game is a example of the same, while in Nepal, Elephant Polo or local soccer matches or volleyball matches keep happening

The Point is about making such tournament more structured and monitoring them in an efficient way. To start with such tournaments can easily be financed. Firstly to start with to register a club a nominal annual fee can be charged. When we have such a local club tournament a minor entry fee can be can be charged from each team. Then secondly local sponsors can be roped in. The local tournament normally have local sponsors and these need not be the exotic ones like Pepsi etc but can be a local business, who would want the tournament to be named after his late Father or some big shop or some local business. It is a great point to maximize the reach in local areas.

Hence the local club tournaments can not only be made self sustainable but rather can earn some small profits out of them. However based on local tournament you can unearth some good players but will not be able to give them good exposure. For that a Domestic Set up is essential

The Domestic Set up should be based out of provinces or major cities. These countries ideally should not have more than 6 to 8 teams in the domestic set up. These can be regions like West, North etc or Based around major cities. Each domestic set up should have a catchment areas in which all the local clubs will be registered to it. Hence the domestic team say a Kabul or Kathmandu may have clubs from the city and the surrounding villages. It will choose its player roster from these clubs. For Financing it will have some income from clubs, conducting tournament and then would receive certain funding from ACB or CAN. This would help it in paying some money to the domestic players who then would give more time for the domestic tournaments.

The Domestic tournament can be conducted with 2 day, 1 day and T20 matches spread around the playing season and ensuring that it is played on the weekly off days. The team play half of the matches in it's home ground and would travel for rest of it's matches. This would mean that people can work on weekdays and play cricket on weekly off days throughout the year rather than playing for 2 weeks and not playing for rest of year. This continuity would definitely improvement fitness and mental ability of the players

This Club + Domestic structure ensure that a good set of some 90 to 160 Players will be playing some quality cricket at domestic level, earning a small money from it while maintaining their regular lives and jobs. The Clubs would help in providing a constant stream of talent for the teams and a good player has a fair chance of making it into the national team

All these things might look very easy but it would definitely need a lot of effort from the boards and definitely dedication. If the system is implemented soon the quality of team can definitely improve many fold and we may see these teams challenging the best. Let's hope for it and see it happening soon.

High time for Central Contracts & Stadium

This article comes at a time when the Nepal fans are very happy with a great win the team got in ICC World Cricket League Division 4. The fans now are confident that the team has a good shot for 2015 World Cup.

While the team has done greatly and very nicely guided with the dynamic coach Pubudu, it must be noted that the team performance has not been due to some great work done by Nepal Cricket Authorities but rather than the passion of the players and some extra curricular activities led from the front by the Coach. The Coach got the Captain Paras to play regular Club Cricket in Canada. He got Shakti Gochan a trial in an IPL team, while 2 young players got a chance to play in Sri Lanka. These got players much some required exposure and regular match practice.


While the coach has been doing great job the organizers are nowhere near to what they are supposed to do. When I started following Nepal Cricket the list of to do's for Nepal Cricket remain exactly same even after so many years. Well the things in Nepal have changed a lot. There is a working democracy now, the civil war is over and the confidence in country is much higher.

Out of the many to do lists, 2 clearly standout. If these are fulfilled it will address many of the problems plaguing Nepal Cricket. The first & very very important is the Central Contracts.

Central Contracts are the very core to a sports team. It means that the players would not have to worry on the financial aspect of life and just focus on Cricket. It would also mean that unlike what happened in the past when Nepal have lost loads of U-19 players because they simply did not see any future in cricket can be retained. The U19 players now can see a future in Cricket. It would also mean that many more upcoming players in country would think of Cricket as an option.  

However many people would say Central Contracts are simply not possible. There are no resources. Countries like Ireland who get much more money from ICC are not able to give central contracts to all the player, even though they have private sponsorships.

I would like to simply to point out that Ireland get around 0.6 M$ from ICC while Nepal gets around 0.1 M$, but the funds received from ACC are much higher than what Ireland receives from ICC Europe as around half the development funds go to ACC. Also the per capita PPP income of Ireland is $41000 as compared to Nepal's $1250 and a purchasing power of Dollar in Nepal is 2.5 times more than Ireland. This simply means that funding of Nepal puts in a much stronger position than that of Ireland. A average central contract in Nepal of 25000 Rs (294$) would be good enough to start with while this is simply not imaginable in Ireland.

So definitely Central Contracts is a possibility and CAN should extend the same immediately to 15-20 Players. Government gave players 300000 each after winning Div 4, well that is exactly what is the amount that is required for Central Contracts

The second most important thing is a Stadium. The benefits of a stadium are numerable. It would give the team a place to call their own where they can practice on quality ground. Secondly the coach is really pushing hard for a National Cricket Academy. The stadium definitely would mean National Cricket Academy up and running and would be producing players for future

Sharjah Stadium: A stadium which changed the fortune of UAE Cricket.

The stadium along with TU ground combined can be used for conducting fantastic domestic tournaments and a fantastic exposure to even domestic teams.

However the biggest benefit of a stadium is the International Exposure Nepal can get. I tried to work on some simple numbers. If CAN invites India A for a 20 day tour of 1 Four Day Match, 5 One Day & 2 T20 Matches, the total Cost which CAN would have to bear would be around 1.1 Crores. This includes cost of India A team travel, Stay, Food, Facilities and also the cost of Nepal team and officials. Now under normal circumstances CAN would bear all the costs. But if Nepal has a stadium and even if 10,000 People(Much less than what people turn out) come for each match buying 150 Rs tickets, this would cover all the costs and give CAN a profit. The private sponsorships & broadcasting rights would be additional to CAN.

This means CAN earns and Nepal team also get excellent exposure. The people would also see some quality cricket and would surely want to watch it. Then the stadium can be used to host International matches. Imagine if the stadium was already there then Nepal could have been the host location for Pakistan. For Pakistan it would be a much cheaper home ground than UAE and surely with good crowd support. This also brings in lots of tourism in Nepal which surely should get Nepal Government interested

The Stadium surely would not come cheap. A decent stadium would cost around 5 M$ (45 Crores). CAN may not have all the money but it surely got funds from ACC, it can rope in Nepal Government and rest can be in form of loans. As we have already seen a India A tour can be profitable to CAN if used properly, similar tours can be arranged and the loan to be paid off. It is all about thinking in an entrepreneurial way.

These are the 2 issues which addressed by CAN brings in loads of good for Nepal Cricket. It brings in full player focus, better exposure to team, chance to develop domestic cricket, opportunity to get more talent and tourism for the country. In 2 words "Complete Package". So the cricket lovers and fan in the country should really push hard for both the issues to be addressed. I would be waiting for these to happen soon.
 

10 Countries where ICC should invest in

Cricket has been rapidly expanding around the globe. There are now highest ever 106 members of ICC with another 10 ready to join. There are talks of getting it in Olympics and the IOC chief really wants that too happen

But there is another side. The ICC revenue's primarily comes from one country India. There are not many countries from where ICC earns much. Perhaps the other surplus countries for ICC are Australia, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh & South Africa.

The ICC works on a system where the profit it makes, is distributed amongst the 10 Test Nations and other 96 Associate/Affiliate Members in form of development money. This is in tune of approximately 7.5 M$/Yr to a Test Nation, 0.6-0.7 M$ to Top Associates, 0.4 to HPP Members, 0.1 to Associates and just 0.015 to Affiliate Members. This money is major source of income for almost all the 106 members baring a few named above. Without the aid the cricket in countries would simply collapse.

So this brings in a question, can ICC risk the present structure. In my opinion a big NO & for the following reason- All the eggs in one basket- India. If tomorrow another sport rivals Cricket in India it would directly impact the source of money for ICC and it could be disastrous.

So ICC is like a financial company who should want to hedge it's risk. So based on the factors of Sports Economy, present interest, History of game in all the countries, I have picked a list of 10 countries. Some countries presently are in good shape when it comes to cricket's standing in the country, but might not be very big countries. These countries are like low hanging fruits, where ICC should quickly work, and make the country self sustainable. Whatever little additional income these countries bring would mean ICC is earning and not spending in these countries
The second set of the countries would be where game might have some base, but if established there would bring ICC loads of revenue's

So let me share with you, the 10 countries where ICC should definitely invest for the future

1. Ireland
Obviously it is the first country which comes in mind. 2 successful World Cups, has made news both inside the country and outside. The win over England was covered on the front pages of all the newspapers. It is where ICC should invest in 2 ways, first is to get the team more matches with Test Nations which bring some revenue's and secondly a domestic structure.

2. Scotland
The Scots have really worked hard on the youth and many good players are coming in. Cricket has a strong tradition in the country and the future looks good. Like Ireland ICC needs to get them more matches. Also like the case of Rugby, where Wales, Scotland & Ireland have a combined domestic structure, ICC should work and establish a similar Structure for Scotland, Ireland & Netherlands and if need be extend it to Denmark & Wales.

3. Canada
The game is now well known in the country thanks to the absolute cricket loving 1.4 Million South Asian out of a population of 4%. Just imagine even if another 10% of country starts following cricket it would mean a population more than New Zealand. The game has been making right noises. The World T20 will be broadcast live on a major sports channel. This country needs some focus from ICC and it can be a major revenue earning country for ICC

4. Afghanistan
War ravaged, Terrorism, Taliban. Perhaps not the country you might be thinking for ICC to invest in. But do you know, that it has been one of the fastest emerging team. The Afghans are naturally talented. This can be seen by some of the best talent of Fast Bowlers emerging from the country. It must be noted that the legendary Pakistani fast bowlers are from the same tribes as the Afghans.
War or no war, this country once this teams goes raring there is no stopping. ICC urgently needs to get them more exposure in matches with top nations and their A teams

5. Nepal
The country has one of the biggest following of the game. When the team recently won the ICC WCL Div 4, thousands of fans turned at the Airport to welcome the team. Whenever they play a match in Nepal, 15000 people turn in the stadium.

Such level of crowd support can not be met by many Test Nations. These are placed where ICC needs to work faster

The game is the no 1 game like the other South Asian nations. The biggest investment ICC needs in the country is in form of a Stadium and help them establish domestic structure. With these investment the country can soon join the likes of top nations soon.

6. USA
USA doesn't need any explanations. The biggest sports economy in the world. For Cricket surprisingly the second highest internet earnings come from USA after India!!! The game is presently not in a healthy state in the country because of a pathetic Cricket board whose only job looks to be clinging to power and eating whatever money they have. The ICC investment besides monetary should be to get USACA, their board in order and then things will just flow.

7. Kenya
They had shown promise. ICC did not focus on them and then they lost their way. The country surely has got talent. Their board is now taking some steps to improve the game, but like most associate they also need exposure to better teams.

8. Netherlands
Netherlands can be the gateway of the game into mainland Europe, presently it is limited to British Isles. Netherlands have a strong cricketing culture but ICC needs to help developing the game at junior level and as already discussed help establish a Euro Domestic league involving Scot & Ire. If the game picks here then it is bound to spread to Denmark, Belgium & France. So this country is like the gateway to mainland Europe

9. China
China is the future. It is the superpower of sports. If China takes the game that means 20% of humanity has taken the game and along with South Asia that means half of the world is there. Not only by number of people, China is full of money and ICC can earns loads from here. What does ICC need to do, well simple, get the games in Olympics. We all know once the game is in Olympics China will get everything in it. Besides that ICC surely need to create many Coaching centers and Coached around the country which is the best way to spread the game. ICC would have to invest atleast for 10 years before expecting any returns

10 Argentina
Surprised. Well do you know before the World War, the Argentina Cricket team was almost as powerful as say the Kiwis. They had the largest British Population outside Britain. The game has a long history and at once time the game was more popular than Football. But with ICC's insistence of making members from commonwealth and British expats leaving the country, led to decline of the game.
Now why Argentina, the answer is simple. Cricket has got it's strongholds in all continents except South America. Also Cricket is to make a strong in Hispanic countries. So Argentina is the doorway. If the game develops here, then it has a good chance of taking it to South and Central America.

The ICC surely is doing some work but it is more general in nature. ICC needs to pick up countries as project and close them for maximum impact and let's hope it happens soon.

Associate XI in U19 WC based on Performance

The U19 WC is almost over. The Associates could not make it to the next round but there have been some good associate performances. Specially there have been some players who have stood firm and challenged the opposite teams.

The Associate XI have been formed based on the Overall Performance of the players, the consistency they have been showing and the value of their contributions in the match. You will not players who had one match winning performance and in the rest of the tournament were not to be seen. After all if I was a selector I will look on the overall performances.

The Associate XI has 6 Batsman, 1 om whom can do part time Bowling, 1 All Rounder & 4 Specialist bowlers including 2 Fast Bowler & 2 Spinners.

1. Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan)

This batsman was the backbone for Afghanistan batting line up. With his 204 in the tournament including a solid 69 against a close game against NZ & a critical 83 in a very critical match against the Scots this was the batsman the team could depend upon. This young lad has already made International Debut and he would be the star to look in the future.Today we maybe seeing him in action against Australia in a ODI

2. Javed Ahmadi (Afghanistan)

This right hand batsman is the highest scorer for Associates in the tournament. He was specially effective against Scotland with a century & half century against them. He also tried to resist against Pakistan and was handy with the ball taking some wickets. Like his counterpart he has already played for Afghanistan and maybe we see him in action against Australia in the only ODI at Sharjah.

3. CN Kent (PNG)

This young all rounder was the backbone for PNG. He got it all both a century and a five wicket haul and contributed in almost all the matches either with his batting or bowling. Like the Afghanistan players above he is also a member of PNG senior squad. Hopefully in near future he would be able to take his team to higher levels.

4. RE McLean (Scotland)

He is a great find for Scotland for future. He was the second highest scorer for the Associates with 2 half centuries. He performed very well in the league stages with a 36, 59 & 67 against NZ, Pak & Afg and then a swanky 47 against regional rivals Ireland ensuring a successful chase taking Scots to victory and securing 11th position for them. Looking for this name in future.

5. TE Kane (Ireland)

The Ireland batting has really disappointing tournament with not a single good performance to their name. He was the backbone of his team batting and ensured he was there stubbornly and fighting from his side like his 78 against Scotland which took Ireland to a respectable score. He also chipped in with his bowling and took a single wicket in all but one match.

6. FRJ Coleman (Scotland)

He was the mainstay of Scottish batting in the league stage with scores of 65, 39 & 30 and along with his team mate McLean ensured taking the Scots to respectable scores.

7. SP Khakurel (Nepal)

A team whose batting failed almost every-time with 2 times in double digits, it was encouraging to find a batsman who was fighting it out. Like TE Kane, SP Kakurel was the backbone of Nepali batting. His 55 against England showed the class this batsman had performing against a quality opposition. Nepal over the years have lost a lot of U19 players and I hope this batsman is not lost.

8. GH Dockrell (Ireland)

This young spinner has impressed everybody in the 2011 WC making even the top batsman struggle against him. He had high hopes to overcome and surely he exceeded expectations with a whopping tournament highest 22 Maiden overs, an Economy 2.05, and an Average of 12.3. His 22 Maiden & 2.05 Economy is far better than even players from Test Nations which can be seen from figures like 10-6-10-1 against Aus (Who are in Finals), 10-3-22-4 against Nepal, 10-5-8-1 against Namibia, 10-4-22-1 against Scotland. He was also handy with the bat. He surely is class and I said earlier would love to see him playing Test Cricket for Ireland one day

9. RK Vishvakarma (Nepal)

He was the third highest wicket taker in the tournament (An he played 1 match less). Against PNG he simply ripped them apart. The figures 6.2-4-3-6 speaks volume of his class, an economy of 0.47 the second best in U19 WC history. Lets hope to see the player ripping apart opposition in the WCL Div 4 the next tournament Nepal is playing

10. RAJ Smith (Scotland)

He was the second highest wicket taker for Associates with 12 wickets in the tournament. He spearheaded Scottish bowling with his Medium Pace specially with his 3/34 against Kiwis & 4/45 against the Afghans. He surely is another great find for Scotland who are really focusing on the youth. Hopefully we would be seeing him trouble the likes of Kohli's in the future.

11. Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

Afghanistan has produced some great pace talents and Sayed Shirzad can be one of them. This speedster just knocked out the batsman at other end. His 4/34 against NZ & 3/33 against Scotland were clinical performances. Hopefully we can see him in action along with Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran soon


We should keep an track for all these players as many of them can turn out to be future stars for their country. Best of luck to all the players.

Associate Performer Squad Round 1- 2012 ICC U19 WC

The 2012 U19 is presently underway. The Associates teams sadly could not do very good. Each of the Associate team lost to the full members. Some of the matches specially of Scotland and Afghanistan have been close by overall the Associates were simply thrashed.


However said that there were few Associate Stars who showed their class. Given more exposure these players can turn out to be world class stars.

The performances of Associate players in round 1 would be of greater significance as these were against the stronger better side. The difference between Great and Good players is that Great player will show their mettle against a very good opposition while it may not be the case for Good players

The Associate Performers team is a list of 14 players who despite their teams performances performed well and showed their class

1. R.E. Mclean (Scotland)

3 Matches against quality opposition of Pak, NZ & Afg, this man was the backbone of batting with scores of 36, 59 & 67. He acted as the pivotal role in batting with a consistent performance and the team rallied around him. He surely is class and we hope to see him performing at the top level

2. FRJ Coleman (Scotland)

He was a second pivot of the Scottish Batting. As his teammate he was consistent in batting in all 3 matches with scores of 65, 39 & 30 bailing the team out in difficult conditions. Though the team has been losing causes we surely will look to his performances in the Plate rounds.

3. Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

This young gun from Afghanistan was the Highest Wicket taker in the Group Stage ending with impressive figures of 4/35 and 3/33 against NZ & Scot. He simply ripped apart the opposition without conceding many runs. If he continues this way he surely would be next Hamid Hassan for Afghanistan

4. CN Kent (PNG)

PNG were ripped apart in each match specially in Batting but this young all rounder resisted the opposition often missing company at other end ending with scores of 24, 39 & 27 against Zim, WI & Ind when the team never crossed 200. He also had a 5 wicket haul against Zimbabwe. Hopefully he would help PNG make into World Cup in near future.


5. CA Soper (PNG)

This young bowler was the PNG mainstay in the Bowling department and also chipping in batting at critical stages. He had a 5 wicket haul against 2 time champions India and restricting them to a score of just crossing 200. In the match against WI, where PNG just managed 100+ score his 23 was critical in PNG crossing 100.

6. GH Dockrell (Ireland)

Australia ripped apart England, Nepal and Ireland in the tournament but here was a person who simply ripped the Aussies. The Impressive figure of 10-6-10-1 tells how much Aussie's were scared of him and their simple strategy was "Avoid Dockrell". This young lad and captain of Ireland had already impressed everyone with his bowling in 2011 World Cup and was very critical in Irish Performances. Not only in bowling where his 4/22 broke the back of Nepal he chipped in with his batting at critical stages like his 26 against England





7. RAJ Smith (Scotland)

This bowler was impressive ending with 3/43 & 4/45 against NZ & Afg. He also hung around with a impressive 34 against Pakistan. The Scots have many young promising talent and he is one of them for the future.

8. RK Vishwakarma (Nepal)

This young lad has been the backbone and consistent performer for Nepal despite his team having a  disastrous outing. His bowling troubled the batsman with he ending with figures of 2/50, 2/31 & 3/63 against Aus, Ire & Eng was critical in getting much required breaks for Nepal. He was very critical with batting when Nepal struggled scoring 32 & 20 against Ire and Eng. If Nepal is to get more exposure in future, this young man is the real potential for them and hopefully will not be lost like many talent lost in past


9. TE Kane (Ireland)

This all rounder has critical knocks in batting where Ireland were struggling. When Ireland managed all 3 scores in 100's this man scored 28, 21 & 39 in the 3 matches and was able to take wickets too in every match. His 6.3-1-13-1 was critical in choking Nepal and winning the match for Ireland by 14 Runs. Hopefully we should continue to see him in green and not lost to England like so many players have been lost

10. Afsar Khan (Afghanistan)

This sturdy batsman was rock solid in his 42 & 44 against NZ & Scotland. He was also critical inn the fielding taking 5 catches some of which were very critical. Afghanistan should work on him and realize his full potential.

11. W van Vuuren

Namibia had one of the most terrible tournament where they were thrashed 3 times in all the matches but Vuuren was one of the handful performers for the team. His all round performance against SL helped team build some creditability with his 38 & 2/65. He also hung around with his 20 against BD

12. Yamin Ahmadzai (Afghanistan)

His 7 wickets in the Group Stage with a 4/35 against helped in forming a deadly pair with Sayed Shirzad. The rate at which the pace bowling talent is coming from Afghanistan is very heartening to see. He is surely a potential who can be seen soon playing for the Senior Side in near future


13. SP Khakurel (Nepal)

His 55 against England helped Nepal to end up with a decent score and not ending in 2 digits like against Australia. His 31 against Ireland was not enough to see the team through for a victory. If there is one person who is a bright spot in the Nepal batting in U19 WC this is the Guy. Would love to see him playing at senior level soon



14. Z Groenewald (Namibia)

He is one of the first player to come from the black community in the country where the game is dominated by the White people and it was heartening to see the game spreading in Namibia.  On top of that he was one of the 2 performers for his team who with his 6 wickets gave the team some tooth. His 26 & 19 against SA & BD were also fighting performances in though which were pretty much losing causes.

This team of 14 surely must be nurtured by ICC for the future. ICC could give them Scholarships or Central contracts and give them global exposure which would help them grow and help their teams to grow and perform at international stages. Best of luck to these stars.