ICC World Cricket League Championship
The hosts chase down 110 runs in just 13.5 overs
Kami picks up the only wicket to fall
KATHMANDU, AUG 02 - Nepal lost to Scotland by nine wickets in their second match of the ICC World Cricket League Championship in a game that resumed on Saturday following a rain interruption a day before in Ayr, Scotland.
Nepal had made 167 all out in 49.1 overs after they were put to bat first on Friday under overcast conditions. The match was closed to be halted before the Scots had replied after rain washed out almost three hours on Friday. However, skies cleared out briefly and the hosts surged to 15-0 in 1.4 overs in chase of a revised target of 110 in 22 overs. But rain returned again with the match to be continued on Saturday’s reserve day.
Scotland were left with 95 to win from 20.2 overs and the Nepali camp hoped they would take advantage of the morning conditions. But the Scots stepped in and played as it was only about completing the formalities racing to 111-1 in 13.5 overs. The only bright spot for Nepal in the day was Sompal Kami’s dismissal of opener Kyle Coetzer (seven).
Another opener George Munsey and Matthew Cross shared a fluent 91-run stand for the third wicket for a successful chase. Cross was particularly aggressive smashing four boundaries and two sixes on his way to making 51 off 37. Munsey made 40 off 41 with five fours and two sixes. Avinash Karn, Basanta Regmi and Shakti Gauchan were the other three bowlers used by skipper Paras Khadka.
Coach Pubudu Dassanayake said his team didn’t fight enough in the match. “The condition was pretty tough when we batted yesterday (on Friday) but our batsmen didn’t fight back. And we bowled poorly too today,” Dassanayake told the Post from Edinburgh.
The result saw Scotland surge to the second in the WCLC points table after the completion of the first round. Nepal meanwhile are second from the bottom in the eight-team event. The Netherlands, who had also won their both first round matches (against Papua New Guinea) lead the table with four points and better run rate.
Nepal, who had lost the first game by a slim margin of three runs, will welcome PNG in the second round that will be played from September-November. United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Namibia and Kenya are other four teams in the WCLC - an 18-month tournament for the Associated and Affiliate ICC teams. The top six teams after the completion of the tournament will make it to the 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
Nepali team now returns on Monday from its disastrous tour of Europe that began with a 3-1 crushing from the Netherlands in a bilateral series. Nepal then finished at the bottom in their group of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers where they not only missed out on a second consecutive spot in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 but also relinquished their Twenty20 International status.
Dassanayake said it was one of the forgetful tours for Nepal. “It was one of the tours that no matter how hard we tried, it didn’t work,” Dassanayake added.
Nepal are now left with only the WCLC as a competitive tournament and the coach wants domestic structure set up in a perfect way.
“I don’t want to make any excuses but the background of the domestic structure we have in Nepal have been effecting our performance. We need a proper six-month domestic cricket structure to meet this standard of cricket,” said the coach.
0 Comments