(As published in The Sportstar, December 25, 1999 issue)
If you fancy a game of cricket in the foothills of the Himalayas, then Nepal is the place for you. Yes, the fascinating Kingdom of Nepal is now one of the fastest growing cricket nations in the world.
With three cable TV stations beaming cricket into Nepal, almost on the daily basis, it is no surprise really that the game is prospering.
When I was there recently on a 12-day fact finding and coaching assignment for the ICC, I had the choice of watching live Test Cricket from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Australia on the same day. I could watch 13 hours of almost continuous cricket and view a delayed telecast after another six hours.
These telecasts and an enthusiastic push by the Cricket Association of Nepal have seen an enormous growth in cricket in the last few years. Cricket was believed to have been introduced to Nepal by the Royal Family who brought it to their country after studying in India and England.
Cricket enjoyed a boom after the War and the Cricket Association was formed in 1946. While the game struggled in the 1960s and 70s, it is now booming and is rivaling football in popularity.
The 1998 Asian Cricket Council trophy was successfully staged there in 1998 and recently the Nepal Under-19 team qualified in Singapore to play in the 2000 under-19 World Cup.
While most of the cricket used to be played in the capital, Kathmandu, it is one being played in country cities and towns.
Most of the development had been occurring, not surprisingly, areas close to the India Border with regular fixtures being played across the Border.
Like in Australia, most of the talented youngsters are coming form the country and of the 20 youths I coached in the under-19 camps, only two were from Kathmandu.
Nepal’s qualification for the under-19 World Cup had aroused great interest and the Government is now allocating areas o be developed as cricket grounds.
Most of the cricket is played on the turf or clay with a coir matting cover. The quality is poor and I have recommended that they instead have concrete pitches in as many places as possible. This will give then a low cost ideal surface with the material available locally.
In Kathmandu, they do have a magnificent Oval with the pitch and the outfield as good as in most Test playing centres in India and Pakistan.
It is located ideally with high terraces on three sides of the ground. Plans have already been drawn up for a new pavilion, obviously on the lined of the pavilion at Lord’s.
It is here where the Nepal Cricket Association hopes to stage International matches. They contend – it has been done in Sharjah and Toronto – that International one-day fixtures can be staged anywhere as ling as you have TV coverage.
They hope to link Kathmandu and Pokhara, a tourist town resting in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas, in promoting international cricket. Both are ideal venues with good quality and an attractive allure for tourists.
Pokhara is only 35 minutes flying time away from Kathmandu and the government has already promised an ideal site for the development of at least two cricket grounds, one of which the local Cricket Association envisages as an international venue.
Certainly this venue, if developed properly, could rival the Adelaide Oval, the Newlands in Cape Town and the one in Trinidad as having the best backdrop in cricket.
When I was there in December, the day temperature was an ideal 25 to 26, with snow still covering the tops of all the mountains, I have little doubt it would provide not only the magnificent stadium but a brilliant playing surface with the most precious of all commodities available only 300 metres away from a spectacular river gorge.
I have no doubt that Pokhara would produce the most stunning TV shots of any ground in the world. But the grounds are not be the only criteria when judging an emerging cricket nation.
Talent is also vitally important. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. The Nepalese style of cricket is very similar to that of the neighbors, India. Most of the youths are slight in build, but have great timing when batting.
I was thrilled to see they had four bowlers who could swing the new ball, a rare commodity those days and possessed three excellent left hand finger spinners. No right hand spinners of note, which was unusual.
They have picked their heroes from every nation in the world. Like youths everywhere, they have copied the hair style, the fashion and the mannerisms of their heroes. Obviously, Tendulkar is the king with most of them.
Nepal is not the easiest place to develop cricket with about two thirds of the country covered by the mountains, they have a good airline system covering most centres but road travel is very slow.
Calcutta is only a 60 minute flight away, but it is a-day-and-a-half trip by bus with 6 hours being taken to get through the mountains.
It is to India, and of course to the ICC, whom Nepal is turning to for its assistance. India, the closest and perhaps the richest cricket board in the world, has the capacity to help enormously.
Obviously money would be a big help, but assistance with an interchange of tours, coaching and providing training in umpiring is also vital.
Nepal, a rugged and proud nation, needs help badly, but still wants to retain its own national identity. I salute them for writing into their constitution that only Nepalese nationals can play for the country.