Nepal cricket receives major boost from the MCC; To play at Lord's in 2016

Nepal Cricket Team

Come 2016, and Nepal will follow the likes of subcontinental neighbors India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan in playing at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, reports ESPNcricinfo. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), against whom Nepal will be playing, have also confirmed their tour of Nepal slated for later this year, in November, after the devastating earthquake had almost led to its cancellation.

The date for the 2016 match against an MCC XI will be announced later this year along with the schedule of events and matches which are to be held at the Mecca of Cricket in the next calendar year. However, the website also reported that the match will be played sometime in the month of July next year.

The Nepal-MCC fixture will also be one of the many events marking the 200 years of relations between the United Kingdom and Nepal. The MCC’s tour of Nepal has been slotted for November 12th-24th which will be preceded by an inspection trip to Nepal by John Stephenson, the MCC’s head of cricket, whose green signal would be imperative for the tour to happen in the first place.

This has not been the first time the MCC has worked towards the betterment of the sport in Nepal. There have been several instances in the past when the MCC have helped in developing Nepal’s youth and molding them into potential international cricketers.

Earlier this year, Paras Khadka, the captain of the Nepal Cricket Team was selected in the MCC team playing the Emirates T20 event in Dubai. The 23-year-old duo Rajesh Pulami Magar and Naresh Budhayer who are now internationally capped for Nepal, have been products of MCC’s Young cricketer’s programme.

The MCC have also said that there are plans to extend this to be a more regular exchange of young players to aid Nepal's development in cricket.