ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

Qualifying in 2009 which, Namibia, fielding a young side, failed to do. They therefore entered the Intercontinental Shield in which they demonstrated their ability by winning it. This did not mean immediate promotion, however, because the qualifying requirements changed again. To play in the Intercontinental Cup, Namibia now needed to be one of the two teams chosen by the ICC from the top four finishers in the World Cricket League Division 2 in April 2011. Namibia’s players must feel that there is a conspiracy to prevent them from taking part in the top Associate first-class competition. Everytime they pass one hurdle, a new one is placed in their way. However, they met the one required to participate in the Intercontinental Cup in 2011-13. NEPAL Played Won Drawn Lost Won on first inns Lost on first inns Cup 4 2 1 1 0 Qualifier 1 0 0 1 0 Highest team total 287-7 dec v United Arab Emirates Kirtipur 2005 Lowest team total 198 v Malaysia Kirtipur 2005 143 (Q) v Namibia Windhoek 2006 Highest individual total 89 S.Vesawkar v United Arab Emirates Kirtipur 2005 Best bowling analysis 6-29 B.K.Das v Hong Kong Kirtipur 2005 Best wicketkeeping 3 c M.Katuwal v United Arab Emirates Sharjah 2004 3 c (Q) M.Katuwal v Namibia Windhoek 2006 Q = Performances in the qualifying match in 2006 (not first-class) Nepal were perhaps the unluckiest of the countries in the first two years of the competition. They were unbeaten in all their matches, won 50% of them and, were it not for the weather preventing the match against Hong Kong being played to a finish, would have won the Asia Group in 2005. Against this, they were fortunate to play three out of their four matches at home in weather conditions which favoured their pace bowlers. Overall, they possessed one of the best all-round bowling attacks in the competition. Binod Das (right arm) and Mehaboob Alam (left arm) created difficulties for many batsmen, particularly when the pitch produced lift and the atmosphere encouraged swing. Although lacking an aggressive third seamer, they had a versatile spin attack with off breaks from Sanjam Regmi, slow left arm from Basanta Regmi and leg breaks from Raj Kumar Pradhan and Shakti Gauchan. Das was by far the most successful bowler with a strike rate of 29.78 and a return of five or more wickets in an innings on three occasions. Nepal were let down by their batting which rarely gave the bowlers a sufficiently high total to defend. No batsman scored a century and only Gauchan and Sharad Vesawkar passed fifty twice. Batting tactics seemed to comprise either staying in a long time but with a low strike rate or having a high strike rate and getting out very quickly. Compared with many other teams in the competition, Nepal’s was relatively young and inexperienced. Out of the nineteen players used, sixteen were born in 1980 or later. All of Nepal’s players were born in the country. NETHERLANDS Played Won Drawn Lost Won on first inns Lost on first inns No result 20 4 2 2 2 10 Highest team total 474 v Kenya Nairobi 2006 Lowest team total 107 v Namibia Windhoek 2008 276 Countries