Beyond the Test World

Nepal brushed aside Hong Kong by 118 runs in their opening match of the ACC Trophy, at Unity. After the early loss of a wicket, Anil Mandal and Shakti Gauchan set the platform for a strong score with their 118-run partnership. Mandal was the more aggressive of the two, striking three sixes and eight fours in his 96-ball 72, while Gauchan contributed 65. Nadeem Ahmed and Moner Ahmed kept things tight after that, snaring eight wickets between them as Nepal finished with 236 for 7. Mehboob Alam’s opening burst ensured the chase never got going, and only Ilyas Gul offered any sort of resistance, with 27. Alam finished with 3 for 33 in his 7 overs, as Hong Kong stuttered to half of what Nepal managed.

Afghanistan continued their fine run of form in recent times, mauling Bhutan by the incredible margin of 393 runs at Hubara. Bhutan elected to field and were left to rue the decision as Afghanistan’s top three took their attack to the cleaners. Openers Karim Sadiq and Noor Ali Noori ran up a partnership of 218 in 25.1 overs, in the process bringing up fine hundreds, before Muhammad Asghar exploded with an 83-ball 151, including nine sixes, to lift the score to 471 for 5. Bhutan was out of the game even before they had the opportunity to bat, but Hamid Hassan ensured that they went home with nothing positive to take from the game. His spell of 6 for 18 shot Bhutan out for 78, and if not for Kumar Subba’s sedate 41, they would have lost by an even bigger margin.

In the only close finish of the day, Kuwait outlasted Singapore by three runs at KEC. Kuwait were lifted to 252 thanks to contributions of 45 from Hisham Mirza, 50 from Lasantha Dimuthu and a quickfire 68 from Saad Khalid. Dharmichand Mulewa finished with three wickets, while Buddhika Mendis, Narender Reddy and Saad Janjua picked two apiece. Singapore’s chase was anchored by Munish Arora’s sparkling 90 off 103 balls, but he had little support from the rest of the top order as Muhammad Amin helped himself to four wickets. Arora perished well short of the target and Singapore seemed out of the game, with the last wicket requiring to make 59 off 43 balls. Thanks to Janjua’s cameo at number nine, they almost pulled it off, but in the end they fell just short of the target. Janjua was unbeaten on 49 off 38 balls, and number eleven Shoib Razak finished with 16 off 19, but it was not enough to get Singapore a win.

In what must be one of the most enjoyable developments in cricket outside the top flight, a fortnight ago an exhibition match took place between the Uganda Cricket Association chairman Dr Kato Sebbaale's XI and a touring Cricket Without Boundaries side, the Nomads, in which the principal seam bowler in both innings was a woman.

"Look, McKenzie's bowling," went the cry, and my thoughts turned to memories of Neil McKenzie of Australia coming in and giving it real bite. But no, this McKenzie is a she and she had the new ball in her hand. She bowled four-off and, quite unfazed, bagged the first wicket. Another young colleague, a lively fielder, was playing on the same side, and when the Nomads came in to bat they too had a female quickie to cope with.

So far it is next door in Kenya that women's cricket has taken a sharp stride forwards with the bringing in of a ladies' team into the men's league structure, albeit with their [male] coach turning out for them. They struggle a bit, but it is doing them oodles of good.

In Uganda, that stage has not yet been reached, but it is being thought about. After several years of lording it over their East African neighbours, the Ugandan ladies caught a cold in December when they lost to the Kenyans in a women's tournament in Nairobi.

Cricket Canada has announced its squad for the upcoming tour of Jamaica. The tour starts on 8 April with a match against Jamaica and concludes on 13 April with a ODI against the West Indies.

Parth Desai makes his first appearance in a Canadian senior squad, while Henry Osinde returns to the side after serving out his suspension due to disciplinary reasons.

Canada squad Ashish Bagai (Captain), Rizwan Cheema -(Vice Captain), Harvir Baidwan, Trevin Bastiampillai, Umar Bhatti, Khurram Chohan, Jawad Dawood, Parth Desai, Sunil Dhaniram, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Zubin Surkari

Non-Test cricket's celebrity team of the last few years, Afghanistan, start their quest for a first ACC Trophy in Kuwait on Wednesday as favourites, ahead of defending champions, Hong Kong and traditional tournament heavyweights, UAE.

The customary qualification for the Asia Cup is not on offer to the finalists, so the main interest may be whether the full-strength Afghans can continue their recent run of success. This includes qualification for next month's World Twenty20 which they earned by snaring the ACC Twenty20 Cup in November, and winning World Cricket League Divisional titles amongst others. Their immediate challenge is to overcome fellow Group B team UAE who have prepared with matches last week against English counties Durham and Sussex. The UAE squad includes seasoned veterans who helped maintained their unbeaten run from 2000 to 2008, captain Khurram Khan and all-rounder Arshad Ali.

Malaysia, with ACC veterans Suresh Navaratnam and Rakesh Madhavan, and Bahrain, may pull off a surprise, although a shock is unlikely from Bhutan which returns to the top level of Asian non-Test cricket thanks to finishing second in the ACC Trophy Challenge tournament ahead of teams such as Myanmar and China. They lost the final against Oman by 213 runs.

Afghanistan arrived in Kuwait this week with a full-strength squad and strong favouritism for the ACC Trophy Elite starting on Wednesday.

Motivation won't be an issue as the Afghans look to add the title of Asia's best non-Test 50-over team to their ACC Twenty/20 Cup success won last November.

Last week they prepared with four games in eight days at a camp in Lahore. Two of those matches were against a Pakistan A side, winning one.

A team from Sydney is amongst the eight taking part in this weekend's annual Easter tournament in Suva, Fiji.

Friends United Sports Club will join seven representatives sides from across Fiji to conest the event, which will be played using the Twenty/20 format for the first time.

The return of Komo and Oneata from the Lau group of islands reflects the rejuvenation of the tournament, which has struggled in recent years to attract teams. Previously, it was common for teams from New Zealand and Australia to take part in the three-day event which traditionally is the biggest in Fijian cricket, as well as the Tongan national team.

Also returning are teams from Lautoka and Nadi, from the western side of the main island, Viti Levu.

Papua New Guinea paceman, Willie Gavera, will play the Scottish National League (SNL) season with Aberdeenshire. It is planned for the right-arm fast bowler to play in the SNL and then if necessary return for the Scottish Cup Final on September 4.

Gavera played grade cricket in Brisbane last Australian season with South Brisbane after spending the previous season with Wanderers club in Townsville in Queensland's North taking 30 wickets. He has been PNG's main strike bowler since debuting for the national team in 2008 and in January he represented the East Asia-Pacific composite team at the Australian Country Championships.

Malaysia’s coach, Rajiv Seth says his team is fortunate to be pooled with Asian Twenty20 Cup champion Afghanistan and 2008 ACC Trophy runner-up United Arab Emirates in Group B as a positive for the tournament which starts this Wednesday in Kuwait. "We are lucky to be pitched against the best because every match will be a final for our boys and that should bring the best out of them,” Seth said. “I feel our boys have it in them to surprise bigwigs like Afghanistan, UAE & Bahrain though we respect our opponents’ credentials."

Seth is pleased with his team’s "rich blend of youth and experience." The veterans in the side are allrounder and former captain, Suresh Navaratnam, who has played several seasons of grade cricket in Melbourne. He has represented Malaysia for over 10 years as has punishing left-hander opener, Rakesh Madhavan. "Generally, most of the side has been around for more than two to three years - Noorwira Rahim is the youngest of the lot and is a left-arm spin bowler who can bat reasonably well,” Seth said.

Malaysia has prepared for the tournament at the ACC High Performance program for the past eight weeks, concentrating on a combination of centre-wicket sessions and game-sense methods. Also joining Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan in Group B is Bhutan.

Singapore will be without key bowlers, Jackie Kumar and Riaz Hussien, due to work commitments, for the ACC Trophy Elite tournament starting in Kuwait on Wednesday.

Kumar, the 22-year old slow left-arm bowler, was Singapore's leading wicket-taker (11) at the World Cricket League Divison Five tournament in Nepal in February while allrounder Hussien, took seven wickets in his country's Division Six triumph last September.