All eyes on CWC League 2 as Nepal’s fixtures against Canada, Oman out

Kathmandu, Sept. 10: The tri-series in February between host Nepal, Namibia and the Netherlands marked the beginning of the ICC CWC League 2 (2024-2027) cycle of 24 tri-series between eight teams. In the first tri-series, played in a double round-robin format, Nepal could only register a single win at the TU International Cricket Ground, which was in the first encounter against the Dutch.

Thus, with one win in four matches, Nepal, with two points, is positioned seventh in the points table. The Himalayan country, with a promising show at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, now has the chance to climb the table as the fixtures for the tri-series between Nepal, Canada and Oman in the North American continent have been set.

It is the second tri-series of the League for Nepal and Oman and the third for host Canada. Canada played two tri-series against the UAE and Scotland in March and against the Netherlands and the USA in August.

Canada did not lose a single of the four matches in the tri-series against Scotland and the UAE, but they did not win a single match against the Netherlands and the USA. Canada has four wins in eight matches and is in the third position in the table with eight points. The Dutch and the Scottish sides are the top two with 12 and 9 points from eight and seven matches respectively. One match between Scotland and the UAE was not played in their tri-series including Canada.

Based on the points of eight teams in 24 tri-series, the Top 4 will progress to the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers. 

Nepal, with 11 wins in the final 12 matches in ICC CWC League 2’s inaugural edition (2019-2023), had secured a place in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers; meaning, Nepal did not have a proper start in the previous edition that pressured the squad to fight for a win in every match during the final phase.

“We did not get the start we wanted in the previous League cycle. We do not want to go through such pressure again; therefore, we want to keep winning from the beginning this time,” Nepal’s skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel said during the press conference before the Nepal-Namibia-Netherlands tri-series started in February.

As per the ICC, the tri-series between Nepal, Canada and Oman starts on September 16. On the same day, the tri-series between Namibia, the USA and the UAE also begins as host Namibia faces the USA. 

The match between Namibia and the USA kicks off sooner than the confrontation between host Canada and Nepal on the same day. Nepal then faces Oman on September 18 and Canada vs Oman on September 20 marks the end of the first round. In the second round, Nepal faces Canada and Oman on September 22 and 24 respectively; Canada vs Oman on September 26 marks the end of the tri-series.

Nepal’s preparation

In the first week of September, Nepal’s 19-member squad could not play two of the three practice One Day (OD) matches with Sri Lanka’s Development Squad due to unfavourable weather. The team, without skipper Paudel and leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, lost the only OD played last Friday. 

The tour of Sri Lanka was a preparation for the CWC League 2 tri-series with Canada and Oman. Nepal, with a busy schedule in T20 cricket until the World Cup in June, has not had a chance to play across the 50-over format.

The low target of 160 against SL’s Development Squad in the third OD showed that the team was still struggling with the batting. 

On the other hand, Canada has been active in ODIs. They played the CWC League 2 tri-series with the USA and the Netherlands followed by a friendly tri-series between the same teams throughout August. 

With around a week remaining for the team to train properly, Nepal is expected to raise the curtains for an excellent showdown of cricket in Canada. Nepal’s squad is receiving a farewell for the tournament on Tuesday as they will travel to Canada and train there before the tri-series begins. 

Canada is hosting the tri-series at Maple Leaf North-West Ground (A) in King City, Ontario.

Squad

Rohit Paudel (Skipper), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Sah, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Arjun Saud, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Rijan Dhakal, Lalit Rajbanshi, Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane and Dev Khanal (travelling reserve)