June 2013 - World Cup Cricket

Paras Khadka facilitated with Demak DTM 150

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<span style="font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Agni Incorporated Pvt. Ltd. on Tuesday facilitated Nepalese cricket team skipper Paras Khadka with a dyanmic Demak bike DTM 150, for his remarkable contribution in making a historic landmark in Nepalese cricket history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Khadka has brought glory, name, fame, trophies and recognition to the country. His captaincy that has a quality leadership, motivation, team spirit has given excellent results for Nepal in a global arena.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“We are proud to show our deepest appreciation to Khadka for his brilliant performance in national and international matches”, said the company. “We hope the victorious momentum keeps going in the upcoming ICC Cricket World cup qualifier 2014 in New Zealand as well. Our best wishes are always with him and Nepal cricket team.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Paras, skipper of Nepalese Cricket team and now a Brand Ambassador of Demak bike said, “Its a great honour to be acknowledged for your performance. I thank Agni Incorporated for giving me this honour. Nepalese team has tough challenges in coming matches, and we assure for the best performance. We will invariably live up to the trust of Nepalese people.”</span></div>
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Paras Khadka facilitated with Demak DTM 150

Agni Incorporated Pvt. Ltd. on Tuesday facilitated Nepalese cricket team skipper Paras Khadka with a dyanmic Demak bike DTM 150, for his...

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Cricket captures public’s heart

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The aftermath of civil war and chronic political instability have given Nepalis little to cheer about in recent years, but the nation’s cricketers have emerged as a surprise source of inspiration.</div>
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In a country where sporting achievement has often taken a back seat to the realities of poverty and conflict, Nepal’s fastest–growing game attracted sell-out crowds all last week as fans cheered the team in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Cup.</div>
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The National Stadium at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, which has no seating and an unofficial capacity of 8,000, saw daily crowds of 10,000, with many fans perched on walls and the roofs of cars to watch the action.</div>
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Only a few years ago, even the biggest matches attracted just a handful of spectators.</div>
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“The crowds always inspire us to put in our best performance,” Nepal’s 25-year-old captain Paras Khadka said.</div>
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“There is a bright future for Nepal in cricket because we have been able to play well at international level. The numbers of Nepali fans have significantly increased and they want us to qualify for the World Cup,” Khadka said.</div>
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Nepal bowed out of the ACC Twenty20 Cup to eventual winners Afghanistan in the semi-finals on Friday, but their strong showing ensured them a berth in the qualifiers for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka.</div>
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The success marked a milestone in the development of the national cricket side, which started just 15 years ago.</div>
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In a country where most people live on less than US$1.25 a day and half of all under-fives have chronic malnutrition, sport provides a popular diversion.</div>
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While soccer has traditionally been the biggest sport, the buzz in the coffee shops of Kathmandu has been all about cricket, with jubilant Nepalis talking up the team’s chances in the tournament, which ended on Sunday.</div>
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“I am a die-hard fan of cricket and love to cheer for the Nepali team. The team always shows spirit and performs passionately,” said student Nirjana Sharma, 23, who was among thousands who saw Nepal in action on Friday.</div>
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Despite their team not making it to the final, about 4,000 Nepalis roared on every wicket on Sunday as Afghanistan pipped Hong Kong by eight runs.</div>
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Niranjan Rajbanshi, of the Nepal Sports Journalist Forum, acknowledges that cricket has a long way to go until it is as popular as in neighboring India.</div>
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However, look further afield and Nepal holds its own, he says.</div>
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“I have been to cricket grounds all around Asia and you don’t see the crowds in other countries that you get here,” he said.</div>
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Cricket spread worldwide through the British Empire, but Nepal, which was never occupied by Britain, came to the game in the 1920s when it was introduced by the ruling Rana dynasty.</div>
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It remained a sport for the aristocracy in Nepal until improvements in communications and transport in the 1980s meant it could be played seriously outside Kathmandu.</div>
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Interest began to develop and the national side played for the first time in the 1996 ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur.</div>
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However, the 10-year Maoist armed insurgency which began that same year saw the deaths of 16,000 Nepalis, crippled the country’s education system and impeded the development of sports.</div>
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After a peace deal was signed in 2006, cricket has made rapid progress, with the media carrying extensive reports on major tournaments and crowds for major matches rivaling those seen in some Test-playing nations.</div>
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Cricket captures public’s heart

The aftermath of civil war and chronic political instability have given Nepalis little to cheer about in recent years, but the nation’s ...

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It's Time For A New Stadium

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The 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</div>
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The stadium along with TU ground combined can be used for conducting fantastic domestic tournaments and a fantastic exposure to even domestic teams.</div>
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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.</div>
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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</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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It's Time For A New Stadium

The 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 t...

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Cricket History

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Beginnings</h3>
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Cricket was introduced to Nepal by the rulingÂ Rana dynastyÂ when they returned from studies inÂ EnglandÂ in the 1920s, though the game was kept very much for themselves and the other elite. TheÂ Cricket Association of NepalÂ was formed in 1946 to promote cricket amongst the aristocracy.<span id="cite_ref-EWC_2-2" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-EWC-2" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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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 toÂ KathmanduÂ until the 1980s.<span id="cite_ref-EWC_2-3" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-EWC-2" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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ICC membership</h3>
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Improvements to the communication and transport infrastructures in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980sÂ and Nepal became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 1988.Â A major development programme was begun in the early 1990s, with regional and district tournaments established and cricket being promoted in schools.<span id="cite_ref-EWC_2-5" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-EWC-2" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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The 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.Â Nepal became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in 1996,Â which was the year the national side played for the first time, in theÂ ACC TrophyÂ inÂ Kuala Lumpur, in which Nepal finished fourth out of six teams in their first round group, beatingÂ BruneiÂ andÂ Japan.<span id="cite_ref-ACC96_4-0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-ACC96-4" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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The facilities in Nepal had improved enough by 1998 to allow them to host that year’s ACC Trophy at grounds inÂ LalitpurÂ andÂ KirtipurÂ (atÂ Tribhuvan University) and Kathmandu.Â Nepal themselves were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win.<span id="cite_ref-ACC98_6-0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-ACC98-6" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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21st century</h3>
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In 2000, Nepal’s youth development policy began to pay off when theÂ Nepal Under-19 teamÂ finished eighth in theÂ Under-19 World Cup.Â The senior side had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the ACC Trophy before losing toÂ Hong KongÂ atÂ Sharjah.Â They competed in theÂ ICC TrophyÂ for the first and, to date, only time the following year. In the tournament inÂ Ontario, they beatÂ GermanyÂ andÂ Gibraltar, but a loss to eventual runners-upÂ NamibiaÂ prevented them from progressing past the first round.<span id="cite_ref-ICCT01_3-1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-ICCT01-3" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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In 2002, Nepal were runners-up to theÂ UAEÂ in the ACC Trophy inÂ SingaporeÂ and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily againstÂ BhutanÂ and theÂ Maldives. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005.<span id="cite_ref-EWC_2-7" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-EWC-2" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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Nepal playedÂ first-class cricketÂ for the first time in 2004, playing in theÂ ICC Intercontinental CupÂ against the UAE andÂ Malaysia. They beat Malaysia, but drew with the UAE, failing to reach the semi-final stage.Â They finished third in theÂ ACC Fast Track Nations TournamentÂ during 2004, which qualified them for theÂ 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup,Â and finished 5th in the ACC Trophy, which qualified them for theÂ repÃªchage tournamentÂ of theÂ 2005 ICC Trophy.Â They finished third in this tournament after beatingÂ QatarÂ in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy inÂ Ireland.Â 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.Â They were runners-up to the UAE in the 2005 ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament.<span id="cite_ref-ACCFTNT05_15-0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-ACCFTNT05-15" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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InÂ 2006 ACC Trophy,Nepal came against Myanmar, where Myanmar were bowled out for just 10 off 12.1 overs after losing the toss and being sent in; no batsman scored more than one, the innings included five ducks, and extras top scored with five (three leg byes and two wides). 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.</div>
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In March 2006, Nepal played Namibia inÂ WindhoekÂ in a play-off match to decide the final team in theÂ 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Needing to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day.Â Later in the year, they toured Pakistan, playing against the Pakistan Cricket AcademyÂ before playing in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing toÂ AfghanistanÂ in a play-off.Â They won the firstÂ ACC Premier LeagueÂ in 2006.Â They most recently played in theÂ ACC Twenty20 CupÂ in Kuwait, where they finished fourth in their first round group.<span id="cite_ref-ACCT2007_20-0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-ACCT2007-20" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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In May 2008, Nepal travelled toÂ JerseyÂ to play inÂ Division FiveÂ of theÂ World Cricket League. Although Nepal topped Group A after the group qualifying matches, they lost their semi-final toÂ AfghanistanÂ and finished third overall after defeating theÂ USAÂ in a playoff. With only the top two from this tournament qualifying forÂ Division FourÂ inÂ TanzaniaÂ later in the year, Nepal missed out on the chance to take their 2011 World Cup dream any further.<span id="cite_ref-21" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span id="cite_ref-AsiaWC_22-0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_national_cricket_team#cite_note-AsiaWC-22" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s; border: 0px; color: #004276; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></a></span></div>
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Nepal won their first major tournament beating USA in the final ofÂ World Cricket League Division FiveÂ held at Kathmandu in February 2010.They then came 3rd inÂ 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four,thus remaining forÂ 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four.</div>
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While inÂ 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division FourÂ Subhash Khakural and Anil Mandal both scored over 100 runs. Subhash Khakural scoring 115 of 142 Balls against United States and Anil Mandal scored 113 in 134 balls against Denmark.In that match Nepal won all the five matches and got five man of the match award along with Basanta Regmi grabbed the player of the tournament. Nepal being the winner of theÂ 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division FourÂ Nepal progress to division third and the division third will be held later in March 2013.</div>
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After a thrilling tied final in Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE on 12 October 2012, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates shared theÂ 2012 ACC Trophy Elite. This is Nepal’s greatest achievement till date in cricket. Saqib Ali led UAE’s recovery from 24 for 3 to help them post 241, a target that looked in Nepal’s sight after their 94-run opening stand. However, they kept losing wickets consistently, and eventually needed 12 off the last over with just two wickets in hand. Shakti Gauchan, who had taken three wickets earlier, 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.</div>
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The Winners of Trophy Nepal and UAE along with 3rd Ranked Afghanistan will play an ACC Emerging Nation tournament with “A” teams of the 4 test nations- Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka along with the hosts Singapore. This tournament will be held around Juneâ€“July 2013. Many expected the finalists to be playing in the Asia Cup but as per ACC till 2014 the tournament will remain as 4 nation closed shop because of the busy schedule of the Test Nations.</div>
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Nepal also competed inÂ 2013 ACC Twenty20 CupÂ held at home-grounds inÂ KirtipurÂ andÂ Lalitpur. Nepal easily marched towards the final of the tournament with high class performance from CaptainÂ Paras KhadkaÂ and the team, thrashing UAE by 6 wickets in 19.1 overs before restricting them to 133/9 in the Semi-finals held atÂ Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground,Â Kirtipur. Nepal had earlier qualified forÂ 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, reaching the Semi-final of the tournament, to be organized in UAE in October 2013. Nepal playedÂ AfghanistanÂ in the final on 3 April 2013, which Nepal had to satisfy with a runners-up status after losing to an ODI status Afghan team by 7 wickets with 13 balls to spare for the target of 136 runs. Nepali cricket team was supported by a huge fan following throughout this tournament with average turnout of more than 11,000 crowds (more than 20,000 in Semi-final and final)during their matches while hundreds of thousands watching live in Television, which could possibly be the largest fan followers of cricket beside the Test playing nations. Nepal won theÂ 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division ThreeÂ held in Bermuda and promoted toÂ 2014 Cricket World Cup QualifierÂ which will to be held in New Zealand on January 2014.</div>
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Cricket History

Beginnings Cricket was introduced to Nepal by the rulingÂ Rana dynastyÂ when they returned from studies inÂ EnglandÂ in the 1920s, tho...

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Martin Jones Vision For World Cricket

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<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">World cricket seems to be a rather dystopian place at the moment. So much of cricket seems to have moved away from the  realms of logic to far shakier ground. </span><a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2012/06/why-ireland-deserve-test-status.html" style="background-color: white; color: #72bc11; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">International cricket is a closed shop</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">, and is being pushed into a cold corner by the might of the money flaunting Premier Leagues.  There seems to be so much wrong in cricket at the moment, or at least so much that I think could be improved, that I felt compelled to write an article on it all.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGZIs4MCG8wAID1rYEsUTRaVileebTGak_-emzfDzv6gj-fQnDJKPuqXjMQ8CYDbu-6fHFMzkLXU2hxFfEJWGr3JKahyphenhyphenc73S6hRXPiaJrOjsglNGLuCBHawYTEYFwDeL2Qbp5UiUfgAo/s1600/239976184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGZIs4MCG8wAID1rYEsUTRaVileebTGak_-emzfDzv6gj-fQnDJKPuqXjMQ8CYDbu-6fHFMzkLXU2hxFfEJWGr3JKahyphenhyphenc73S6hRXPiaJrOjsglNGLuCBHawYTEYFwDeL2Qbp5UiUfgAo/s320/239976184.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">     T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">he Banglasesh-Zimbabwe Test series produced good, fighting cricket, but what did it really count for?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">Regarding Test cricket, I think I explained </span><a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/04/ireland-and-a-world-test-championship.html" style="background-color: white; color: #72bc11; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">what I believe should be done</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;"> pretty well: eleven Test nations, including Ireland, have to play each other once in a three-match WTC Test series. This gives them all a minimum of thirty Test matches, while they are perfectly entitled to organise more matches outside of the WTC program. Points can be earned with </span><a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/05/points-systems-a-tale-of-a-simple-game-made-complex.html" style="background-color: white; color: #72bc11; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">three for a Test win, two for a tie, one for a draw and none for losing</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">. There would also be one bonus point awarded if a team whitewashed their opposition over the three games.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">We now have a simple, easy to understand ranking system. The system would also reward attacking cricket; with only one point in a draw, there is no benefit in preparing </span><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-bangladesh-2013/engine/match/602472.html" style="background-color: white; color: #72bc11; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">flat tracks</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">. It would also add context to series like Bangladesh against Zimbabwe, where good, sometimes thrilling cricket was played out for the bottom places in the rankings. How would it do that? With relegation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">Not straight relegation, but a system where the top team from the Intercontinental Cup gets a three-match play-off series, on home turf if possible, against the last place finisher in the WTC. These three matches would have Test status and would run concurrently with the WTC Finals. The WTC Finals would involve the top four teams, playing semi-finals and a final to decide the World Test Champions. This would all happen over a four-year cycle.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">In the lower reaches, the Intercontinental Cup would have nine teams, who each play each other once in a four-day first-class match. They would end up playing eight first-class fixtures, although they are perfectly entitled to </span><a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/04/practice-makes-perfect.html" style="background-color: white; color: #72bc11; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">arrange more cricket for themselves outside the program</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">Ideally, the bottom side from the Intercontinental Cup would be relegated into the Intercontinental Shield, which would be an eight-team knockout tournament on neutral turf, such as the UAE. This last level would be most problematic, as there is a slight shortage of high-quality international teams, but if it was for the eight highest placed teams on the WCL ladder not in the Intercontinental Cup, that would make sense.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;">India and Sri Lanka seem to feature in about a million bilateral ODIs. They are not alone.</span></div>
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<a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/04/o-d-mise.html" style="background-color: white; color: #72bc11; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ODI cricket is suffering from an identity crisis</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> caused by constant tinkering and being over-played. By the time you've learnt the latest lot of regulations, October comes around and  they've all changed again; usually to become more complex. Shane Warne made a good point on the commentary for the Champions' Trophy: the regulations are now so detailed and intricate that there is little place for freedom and creativity on the part of captains. He would rather see ODIs completely de-regulated, and freedom handed back to the captain to do what he wants. This would play into the hands of a more creative captain, like Brendon McCullum, although whether it would improve one-day cricket remains to be seen.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">Whether or not Shane Warne's idea is the answer or not, the ICC desperately need to pick one format and run with it. Stop tinkering. That applies both to the World Cup and the format itself. The World Cup has not remained unchanged since the second edition way back in 1979. It is set to shift to move to a ten-team tournament by 2019, with a qualifying system that excludes Associates quite comprehensively. The ICC will point out that it is more meritocratic and will produce a higher standard of cricket. I frankly do not care. I don't want to see the Netherlands, Scotland, Afghanistan and the rest all shut out of playing in the World Cup. Where would we see upsets, giant-killings? If Ireland get Test status, then that means that one of the Full Members would also miss out on the World Cup. Guaranteed. As I've said previously, the ICC has forgotten one of the two words in the tournament's name, and it isn't "Cup".</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">My final issue is with the lack of context for ODI cricket. Sri Lanka, in the last two years, have played 56 ODIs. That's more than double the total played by South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. What is the point? Who actually cares about all these series, and why do they have to be five and seven matches long? Surely a more intense, condensed series, like the Champions Trophy, like the Asia Cup, but also like the three-game series that often go to the wire, would benefit the game more?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;">I really do love the World Twenty20 though.</span></div>
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And now for a bit of a confession: I love Twenty20 Internationals. I think they're a fantastic spectacle, seeing two nations fight it out in an intense environment. I love the World Twenty20, too. Even if it moves to a slightly expanded structure with 16 teams, it will be a great spectacle. It's short, sharp, and exciting.<br /><br />What I don't love so much are the Twenty20 rankings. They are at best transient and at worst inaccurate. When Bangladesh beat Ireland (or rather, edged past by the skin of their teeth) in three Twenty20s last year, they shot up the rankings. For edging past Ireland. While Ireland are a good side, beating them doesn't entitle you to a top-five berth in the rankings. Especially when you move on through Europe and collect two defeats from the Associates there. At the end of the day, winning the biennial World Twenty20 must enough for a team to say that they are the World Champions? Who needs rankings?</div>
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For the most part, domestic cricket should remain untouched.</blockquote>
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Domestic cricket is always the responsibility of that nation's board. There are, though, (as always) a few things that I think have been overlooked in the quest of making a nation's domestic season more appealing than the next country.  Firstly, <a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/05/points-systems-a-tale-of-a-simple-game-made-complex.html" style="color: #72bc11; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">as I've said previously</a>, the points systems are ridiculous. I won't go into detail here, but would advise the relevant boards to follow the KISS rule.<br /><br />I would also like to see more Associate nations being included in the domestic structures of the Full Members. <a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/04/practice-makes-perfect.html" style="color: #72bc11; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Namibia have been included in the Provincial Series</a>, but they are the exception, not the rule. Canada have been elbowed out of the West Indian season, and the Netherlands and Scotland are to bid farewell to county cricket at the end of this season, too. I think the following changes might be in order:<br /><ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Include Nepal in the Ranji Trophy. It would also make for a split into four regional groups of seven teams, which is good for the knockout stages at the end of the tournament.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">If the Netherlands and Scotland can't find a place in county cricket, hopefully they will find a home in the <a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/category/interpros/1.html" style="color: #72bc11; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Interpros</a>. This would make for a five-team structure, too, which would benefit the Irish teams.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Kenya could be included in the Logan Cup and other Zimbabwean competitions.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Canada could be the eight team in the Regional Super50 in the West Indies.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Afghanistan to play in the Pakistani competitions. I believe this one is already set to happen.</li>
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<br />Smaller teams could also find their way into smaller competitions. Denmark for the Minor Counties, perhaps, or PNG for the Futures League.<br /><br />My final idea for domestic cricket, which I think would benefit the game as a whole, would be the creation of Premier League licences. This way, cricket boards have to apply for a Premier League licence to run a Twenty20 franchise competition. This would mean that Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies would all need Premier League licences, as would Australia and (possibly) Zimbabwe for their competitions. A Premier League licence would mean:<br /><ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">That the league has a one-month window in which to organise its matches.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">No other Premier Leagues will run in this one month window.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/files/theme/bullet.png?825325); background-position: 0px 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style: none !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The league must comply to stringent, independent, anti-corruption inspections every season.</li>
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<br />Twenty20 competitions like the old Caribbean T20, the Friends Life T20, HRV Cup and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy would not need Premier League licences, which would mean that they could run whenever they like in the year, but could also end up clashing with a Premier League. As a result, it would be sensible for some of these competitions to get Licences as well. International, first-class and List A cricket would all carry on as normal through the window.</div>
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Pretty much all of the ideas here are aimed towards two goals: to make cricket fairer and more appealing.</blockquote>
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The final item on my lengthy wish-list is for a <a href="http://poppingcrease.weebly.com/1/post/2013/06/what-if-wales-go-it-alone.html" style="color: #72bc11; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Welsh cricket team</a>. It won't happen because the coffers would take such a big hit, but if it did, I could see Wales being a weighty Associate. They would, I expect, give Scotland and the Netherlands a good game, possibly even a good beating. It's a pity that the chances of a European Quadrangular ODI tournament is an impossibility - it would be a fantastic thing for cricket on the continent.<br /><br />These ideas are wide-ranging, and pretty much all unlikely to happen. Money is a stumbling block that many of them would not overcome. However, if they did, then they would all help to create a cricketing environment where it is possible to progress from the very bottom to the very top, and where the spectator get full value for money. All cricket would have some kind of context, and, I believe, cricket as a whole would be healthier for it.</div>
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Martin Jones Vision For World Cricket

World cricket seems to be a rather dystopian place at the moment. So much of cricket seems to have moved away from the realms of logic to ...

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Nepal receives grant for World Cup preparations

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<span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px;">KATHMANDU, June 6:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced to provide a high performance grant to Nepal to make preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">As per the 2013 ICC Development Funding Policy, Nepal will receive $175,000. ICC will distribute the amount to its affiliate and associate member nations within rank nine to 12, while the top eight ranked affiliate and associate member nations will get $ 350,000. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">"We should invest this grant in the preparation for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers," said Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) President Tanka Aangbuhang. The qualifiers is scheduled to be held in New Zealand in January 2014.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Nepal became the 11th ranked affiliate and associate nation after winning the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 held in Bermuda last month. Winning the tournament, Nepal had secured promotion to Division 2.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">ICC has been providing $300,000 every year to Nepal in grant. Besides, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) provides $60,000 every year for office expenditure. ACC also provides additional financial support if it saves significant amount from Asia Cup.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">CAN President Aangbuhang said the high performance grant has given CAN a huge relief. "With this grant, we can at least plan a training program for our national side," said Aangbuhang. "Meanwhile, we are expecting support from the government and are preparing a detailed program for the World Cup Qualifiers," he added. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">According to Aangbuhang, CAN could use the grant also to send players for foreign training. "We are sending Binod Bhandari and Pradeep Airee to Sri Lanka to play club cricket there. Meanwhile, we are also planning some tours for the national squad to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. We are also planning to call some foreign teams and experts here," said Aangbuhang.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Bhandari and Airee will play for Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club in the Sri Lankan U-23 Club Cricket League. Last year, pacer Amrit Bhattarai and Chandra Sawad had played the league.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Nepal could reach the World Cup if it finishes the World Cup Qualifiers on the top two positions. If Nepal finishes the qualifiers within top four, Nepal would get One-Day status.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Nepal is also competing in the World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in November this year. The top six teams among the participating 16 teams of the T20 Qualifiers would reach to the World T20.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nepal receives grant for World Cup preparations

KATHMANDU, June 6: International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced to provide a high performance grant to Nepal to make preparations for ...

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2019 World Cup qualifying format

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A recent article on Yahoo Cricket, apparently based on a leaked ICC document, gave readers the first look at the proposed system of qualification for the ten team 2019 Cricket World Cup, to be held in England. The proposal can be summarized as follows:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 50px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Eight teams will qualify automatically for the World Cup, these being the top 8 teams on the ICC ODI rankings in April 2018, subject to certain criteria.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 50px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The ODI ranking table will be limited to 12 teams. Teams 9-12 will play in the World Cup Qualifier.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 50px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two teams from the World Cricket League Championship will play in the World Cup Qualifier, joined by two further teams from the World Cricket League pathway.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 50px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two teams from this qualifier will play in the World Cup itself.</li>
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However this article raises more questions than it answers.</div>
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To start with – the limiting of the ODI rankings to 12 teams. Will this be the current top 12 – the full members plus Ireland and the Netherlands? And also, as I’ve written in the past, why use rankings? Why not just the top 8 teams from the 2015 World Cup? Perhaps because that might lead to the “wrong” top 8.</div>
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The ICC will point out that they commissioned an investigation into whether rankings were suitable to use for qualification to tournaments, but that investigation was carried out by David Kendix who can hardly be considered independent given that he devised the rankings in the first place.</div>
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There is also another potential problem with the rankings, in that it is possible for teams to essentially “game the system” to ensure that they remain towards the top of the rankings. A team in the top 8 would lose more ranking points if they lose against a team outside the top 8, so they can just avoid playing those teams where possible in order to minimise their risk. This will make it very hard for the top 8 to be anything other than the current “big 8″ full members.</div>
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And what of those specific criteria? The article mentions a minimum number of ODIs to be played over a four year period, but what other criteria will be in place? Will one of those criteria be having to be a full member, meaning that if, say, Ireland make it into the top 8 they won’t be allowed to automatically qualify from the rankings?</div>
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The article also doesn’t mention much about how the World Cricket League will feed into the qualifier. It seems that the top two associates will no longer play in the World Cricket League Championship, but how many teams will play in that tournament? It may continue to be 8, but then that also raises questions about the future of the Intercontinental Cup – will the two associates on the main ODI ranking table play in it, and if so, how will it fit in with the scheduling of the World Cricket League Championship, given that some teams will not be playing in both competitions? Could the Intercontinental Cup be scrapped altogether?</div>
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The article talks about promotion and relegation to and from the main ODI ranking table, but will certain criteria need to be met for that? It’s entirely possible that full members will not be allowed to be relegated.</div>
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There is also the question about how many teams will have ODI status. Will it just be the two associates on the main ranking table, will it also be all the teams on the WCLC table, or will it be just the top six associates and affiliates, as at present? This will of course lead to more of the current silly situation where matches in the WCLC will have different status depending on which teams are playing in them.</div>
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How will the other two teams in the qualifier, that come from the World Cricket League pathway, qualify for said qualifier? Will it be similar to the current situation where the remainder of the WCLC teams will be joined by four teams from whatever the next WCL divisions are in a sort of qualifier for the qualifier?</div>
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And of those two associates on the main ODI ranking table – will they be part of the future tours programme, ensuring they get enough matches against the full members to give them a chance of meeting the minimum number of ODIs? Or will they have to pick at the scraps as they do at the moment?</div>
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Whilst on the surface this may appear to be a more meritocratic qualification system, the concerns detailed above mean that the appearance of meritocracy is mere illusion, a pseudo-meritocracy. It’s like giving someone a ladder that starts six feet from the ground.</div>
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And why on earth should eight teams get automatic entry into a ten team World Cup in the first place? Eight automatic entrants would be too much for a 16 team tournament – for a ten team tournament it’s approaching insanity.</div>
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But at least the media will get their short and sweet ten team World Cup they’ve been longing for, right? Well no. The article reveals that the tournament will be one group of ten followed by semi-finals and a final – 48 games in all, to take place over six weeks. This is just three games less than the 16 team 2007 World Cup. It’s almost as if the presence of all these teams had nothing to do with the tournament taking so long.</div>
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And of course the point remains that a ten team World Cup is grossly unfair, for reasons that I and others have gone into many times on this website and others. Cricket seems determined to stick to the same old teams playing each other again and again, expansion be damned.</div>
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In 1975, the World Cup had 8 teams in it, out of 20 ICC members, a 40% participation rate. In 2019, less than 10% of ICC members will play in the World Cup. That should be a damning indictment on the ICC. But they probably don’t even care.</div>
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2019 World Cup qualifying format

A recent article on Yahoo Cricket, apparently based on a leaked ICC document, gave readers the first look at the proposed system of qu...

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ACC EMERGING TEAMS CUP 2013, SINGAPORE

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmESJkyGgq1eiuaxSminEMa9H2nleDY_lhn4JikNhfhIdKSBIfUjgyqFpw_1Y9vpAq6G8VziQLYDAeR9mXpa_OyCm0mT71qds0ZK3si6xTSMLsc4BdWd-Lox4cN1J2NFExxhIS1RkARE/s1600/logo_378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="42" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmESJkyGgq1eiuaxSminEMa9H2nleDY_lhn4JikNhfhIdKSBIfUjgyqFpw_1Y9vpAq6G8VziQLYDAeR9mXpa_OyCm0mT71qds0ZK3si6xTSMLsc4BdWd-Lox4cN1J2NFExxhIS1RkARE/s320/logo_378.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="70"><strong>Venues</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top" width="3%"><strong>:</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top">Kallang and Singapore Cricket Club, Singapore</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" valign="top" width="70"><strong>Dates</strong></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" valign="top"><strong>:</strong></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" valign="top">17th - 25th August 2013<br /><br />50 Overs A Side.</td></tr>
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<tr bgcolor="#316b00" class="style5" style="color: white; font-weight: bold;"><td align="center" valign="top" width="184"><br /></td><td align="center" valign="top" width="10"></td><td align="center" valign="top"><strong>GROUP A                                   GROUP B</strong><table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="color: black; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; width: 372px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" valign="top">India U-23</td><td align="center" valign="top"></td><td align="center" valign="top">Sri Lanka U-23</td></tr>
<tr><td align="center" valign="top">Pakistan U-23</td><td align="center" valign="top"></td><td align="center" valign="top">Bangladesh U-23</td></tr>
<tr><td align="center" valign="top">Afghanistan</td><td align="center" valign="top"></td><td align="center" valign="top">UAE</td></tr>
<tr><td align="center" valign="top">Nepal</td><td align="center" valign="top"></td><td align="center" valign="top">Singapore</td></tr>
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<tr bgcolor="#316b00" class="style5" style="color: white; font-weight: bold;"><td colspan="2"><strong>Schedule:</strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top" width="50">Sat, 17 Aug</td><td bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Singapore v Bangladesh U-23 at Kallang<br />Afghanistan v Nepal at SCC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="white" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Sun, 18 Aug</td><td bgcolor="white" valign="top">India U-23 v Pakistan U-23 at Kallang<br />Bangladesh U-23 v Sri Lanka U-23 at SCC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Mon, 19 Aug</td><td bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Singapore v UAE at Kallang<br />Afghanistan v Pakistan U-23 at SCC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="white" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Tue, 20 Aug</td><td bgcolor="white" valign="top">Sri Lanka U-23 v UAE at Kallang<br />India U-23 v Nepal at SCC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Wed, 21 Aug</td><td bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Singapore v Sri Lanka U-23 at Kallang<br />Nepal v Pakistan U-23</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="white" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Thu, 22 Aug</td><td bgcolor="white" valign="top">Afghanistan v India U-23 at Kallang<br />Bangladesh U-23 v UAE at SCC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Fri, 23 Aug</td><td bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">SF1: A1 v B2 at Kallang<br />SF2: A2 v B1 at SCC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="white" nowrap="nowrap" valign="top">Sun, 25 Aug</td><td bgcolor="white" valign="top"><strong>Final</strong>: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2<br /><br /></td></tr>
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ACC EMERGING TEAMS CUP 2013, SINGAPORE

Venues : Kallang and Singapore Cricket Club, Singapore Dates : 17th - 25th August 2013 50 Overs A Side. GROUP A ...

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