Nepal’s
position at the top of the ACC rankings rests firmly on its
overwhelmingly consistent performance at all levels of competition.
At age-group level, they simply clean up. Wins in recent U-19 World
Cups against Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa have been based
on disciplined, error-free cricket and they showed in their
thrilling last-wicket victory over New Zealand in the 2006 event
that they possess boundless desire for success.
Sri Lanka’s legendary batsman Roy Dias who took over as coach in
2001 has been the architect of Nepal’s triumphs and he has moulded a
nation high on enthusiasm and short of experience into a fine
competitive force. No greater evidence of his ability to maximise
the skills of his charges can be seen than by the performance of the
U-15 team in the 2006 ACC Elite Cup. Only two of the Nepal squad had
ever played any form of competitive cricket before reaching Malaysia
to play the event, two weeks later they had won it. The opposition
wasn’t bad, far from it. It was just that Nepal did the basics and
then just a little bit more, very well thanks to all that their
coach had inspired them to learn.
The one level they have yet to master is that of the seniors,
where they have so far found the seasoned talents of a full-strength
UAE just that little bit too much for them. But they’re pushing,
they’re certainly pushing and the battle between them and the UAE
should be fascinating in the years ahead. A regime change at the Cricket Association of Nepal has led to
the adoption of a more professional approach to development. Greater
sponsorship and more focussed domestic competitions have been the
result. Work has already started on a national Academy, felt to be
vital given the extremes of Nepal’s weather for indoor practise,
which will be partly funded by the ACC |