OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE

The Associates' year of living dangerously

by Bertus de Jong • Published on

Calum Macleod's 140 not out helped Scotland beat England in the one-off ODI in Edinburgh. © Getty

The year ahead looks set to be a busy one for Associates cricket, with five regional T20 World Cup qualifying finals still to play and the Global Qualifier itself slated for late October, in addition to the new Cricket World Cup Challenge League set to kick off after the long-running World Cricket League concludes with the final Division 2 in Namibia in March. The first few weeks of 2019 look comparatively quiet, however. The ACC Western Regional T20, which starts next week in Oman, will see Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain contest the first competitive mens' internationals of the year, with Nepal's six-match T20 and ODI tour to the UAE getting underway a week later.

Off the field the USA's long-awaited return to the ICC fold is the year's first major (if entirely expected) development, whilst Canada's announcement of 18 Global T20-funded full-time contracts for Canadian cricketers signals a remarkable (if unorthodox) step toward professionalisation, but outside of North America it's been a quiet start to the year so far. So before the Associates' 2019 starts up in earnest we've a chance to take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of what has been a remarkable year outside the full member circle, and the incidents and accidents that defined the fortunes of the game's lesser nations in 2018.

The ascension of Afghanistan and Ireland

Though they are Associates no longer, Ireland and Afghanistan stepping out onto the Test stage last year was nonetheless a significant moment for Associate fans. The first countries to gain to Full Membership and be welcomed into the Test-playing fold in almost two decades, the debutants were cheered on by their former peers across the world. There fortunes were rather mixed, Ireland giving a creditable account of themselves as Kevin O'Brien's second-innings century and Tim Murtagh's menace with the new ball briefly threatened to turn the tables on Pakistan at Malahide, whilst Afghanistan were rolled inside of two days by India in a one-sided affair in Bengaluru. But even absent a fairy-tale first win, the ascension of the Irish and Afghans will give heart to those hoping to follow in their footsteps. A trap-door has been opened in cricket's metaphorical glass ceiling, although with the de-funding of the Intercontinental Cup the ladder that Afghanistan and Ireland climbed is looking rather rickety.

The USA's resurgence

There was never much doubt about which two teams would progress the North American WT20 Sub-Regional Qualifier at Raleigh, North Carolina, but the tussle between Canada and a resurgent United States side to top the table provided two of most exciting games of the year. Their first encounter saw Canada come out on top in a Super Over following a dramatic tie, the second saw Steven Taylor smash 22 off Junaid Siddiqui's final over, hitting back-to-back sixes to take the USA home with a ball to spare. The game was dramatic enough in and of itself, but the most remarkable thing about it was that it was watched around the world. USA Cricket, the States' board-in-waiting, streamed it live on their website, having received last-minute clearance to do so from the ICC. The video feed's availability simultaneously evidenced three changes likely to prove transformative in US cricket and beyond, namely the new board's apparent competence, their close collaboration with Dubai, and finally the relaxation of the ICC's long-standing ban on live streaming at Associate tournaments. The re-emergence of the United States after decades of maladministration is itself likely to prove one of the most important developments of the year, and the Americans would go on to achieve their best ever result in the World Cricket League a few weeks later, finishing runners-up to Oman at Division 3 in Muscat, qualifying for Division 2 and taking a step closer to ODI status.

UAE spoil Zimbabwe's party

The World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe went almost perfectly to plan for the hosts, putting to shame those who doubted their capacity to stage such a major tournament, or whether anyone would show up to watch when they did. Harare Sports Club was at full capacity as the hosts took on the UAE in their final match, looking to seal a place at the World Cup in what ZC Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani apparently regarded as a "foregone conclusion." Rameez Shahzad and Mohammad Naveed put paid to that notion. Shahzad's 59 from 60 set the platform, Naveed's 22 off 10 got the UAE to a challenging 235 before the rain came. Chasing a revised 230 target after the interruption, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza got Zimbabwe close, but both would fall before the end and Craig Ervine could find no answers to Naveed's pinpoint yorkers at the death. Three runs was the margin that saw Zimbabwe fall short and the Emirates claim their first win over a full member. The win underscored the return of Rohan Mustafa's side to the Associate top flight after a difficult period of rebuilding, while Zimbabwe collapsed into immediate recriminations and infighting that cost the jobs of captain Graeme Cremer as well as Heath Streak and practically his entire staff. Local administrators and media were scornful both of the Zimbabwean team and their opponents (who were repeatedly and inaccurately dismissed as "amateurs" in the local press) failing to see the real lesson of the tournament, namely how far the gap between top Associates and lesser Full Members has closed.

Borren bows out

There was no such public blame-slinging back in the Netherlands after the Dutch had a similarly disappointing tournament, but they too would lose their captain in the aftermath. After twelve years in Orange and almost a decade at the helm, iconic Netherlands skipper Peter Borren felt compelled to step down, with Pieter Seelaar taking the reins as the Dutch prepare for their coming campaign in the CWC ODI Super League. Still just 34, the Dutch will doubtless miss Borren on the field for his occasional match-winning turns with bat and ball, but above all his canny and innovative captaincy. An "absolute devious tactical genius" in the words of Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer, the Dutch under Borren looked years ahead of the global game, especially in terms of the tactical transformation of the shortest format. Though the Netherlands' opponents will perhaps be glad to see the back of him, the wider game will miss an outspoken and unflagging advocate for the Associate cause.

Raza's lament

The cause of those countries excluded from the World Cup has had numerous champions, but few have ever spoken more movingly than Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza at the close of the World Cup Qualifier in March. Collecting his Player of the Tournament trophy, a visibly emotional Raza called the award a "painful reminder of crushed dreams" - not only those of Zimbabwe, but also their Associate "brother-countries" who were to be shut out of the sport's pinnacle event - some by the narrowest of margins, others by sheer capricious misfortune.

Scotland's tragedy

Chief among them were Scotland, who looked strong contenders for a top two finish heading into the super sixes, having gone unbeaten in the group stages. Andy Balbirnie dealt the first blow to their hopes, riding his luck to compile what would be a match-winning century after surviving an LBW appeal on one that convinced all but umpire Paul Wilson. The Scots were left facing a must-win scenario in their final match against the West Indies, and got a dream start, Safyaan Sharif nicking off Chris Gayle first ball, and going on to take 3-27 as the Scots knocked the Windies over for just 198. After stumbling at the start of the chase, losing openers Coetzer and Cross early, but Richie Berrington wrestled the momentum back, building determined partnerships with Calum Macleod and George Munsey to drag Scotland past the halfway point by the 30 over mark. They would be denied, however, by rain, the absence of DRS and an egregious LBW decision that saw Berrington given out on 33 when an Ashley Nurse offbreak that pitched outside off struck his pad outside the line of leg. When the rain arrived three overs later Scotland were five runs behind on DLS. With another wicket in hand they'd have been ahead and headed to the World Cup. By the time the World Cup roles around it will likely be forgotten how lucky the West Indies (and Afghanistan) are to be there, but the tournament will be the poorer for Scotland's absence.

Karan and Sandeep bring it home

The penultimate edition of World Cricket League Division 2 crammed a year's worth of memorable moments in the space of a fortnight, most of them involving Nepal pulling improbable wins out of the bag at the last second. Nonetheless it is surely the extraordinary 51-run last-wicket stand between Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane to claim a last-ball win over Canada and a place at the World Cup Qualifier that will stand proudest in posterity. With 51 needed off 47 balls when last man Lamichhane joined Karan at the crease Nepal looked dead and buried. KC was the architect of their resurrection, hitting an accelerating 31-ball 42, taking the game down to the last over and then Nepal though to Zimbabwe, and another step toward the ODI status they would claim there.

HK at the Asia Cup

2018 was a torrid year for Hong Kong, who at one point looked strong contenders to claim the 13th spot in the CWC Super League. They would lose their ODI status at the WC Qualifier in March and drop down to WCL Division 2, and in October they would see three players suspended over match-fixing allegations. Amidst the turmoil however they nonetheless enjoyed a turn on the global stage at the Asia Cup, winning admirers the world over as they gave India a scare in the group stages. After and exemplary display of death bowling from Kinchit Shah held India to an eminently chaseable 285, Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath's near-chanceless 174-run opening stand threatened what would surely have been the most extraordinary upset in the game's modern history. India would hold their nerve in the end, Rath and Khan first bogged down by spin and then falling in succession to herald a classic Hong Kong collapse, but for 30-odd overs they had their celebrated opponents on the ropes, and gave a glimpse of what fans will be missing at the mislabelled World Cup this year.

Nepal's first ODI win

High drama and nail-biting last ball wins characterised Nepal's campaign to secure ODI status, so it was fitting that such would be the nature of their first ever ODI victory. Still more fitting that Paras Khadka, Nepal's iconic captain, would be the man to seal it. The Netherlands played host to their regular rivals' first ODI tour, and the Dutch ran out comfortable winners in the first game of the two match series, exposing Nepal's old batting frailties to claim a 55-run victory. But Khadka's side came back hard in the second match, Sompal Kami's counter-attacking 61 off 46 from number 8 lifting them to a defensible 216-run total. Youngsters Lamichhane and Lalit Bhandari kept pegged the hosts back with regular wickets as the Dutch stumble toward the total, but it was the skipper himself who stepped up for the final over with the Netherlands' last wicket pair, Klaassen and van Meekeren, needing 6 runs to win. Khadka gave nothing away, and the pair could only scramble four runs off the first five balls to leave Nepal one in front with one to bowl. Looking for the slower yorker Khadka missed his length and Klaassen drove him firmly back for what looked a certain straight four, but luck and quick wits intervened. The ball clattered into the stumps at the non-strikers end and rolled back to Khadka's feet, without hesitation he scooped it up and uprooted the stump before wheeling away, arms aloft, into the history books.

Scotland's triumph

After the crushing disappointment of the World Cup Qualifier, Scotland bounced back and then some when they took on the Auld Enemy in front of a capacity home crowd at the Grange. England have been reluctant to make the trip north in recent years, their last trip to Scotland being back in 2014 for a rain-affected affair at Aberdeen, and one suspects their humiliation will have done little to cure them of their lack of neighbourliness. Kyle Coetzer and Matt Cross did their best to make the English bowlers feel unwelcome, plundering 103 runs from the first 13 overs, and when Coetzer finally holed out off Adil Rashid for 58 England's problems only got worse. A blistering unbeaten 140 from Calum MacLeod took Scotland to their highest ever total of 371-5, a figure that would proved six runs beyond what the number one ODI team in the world could manage in reply. Jonny Bairstow's 54-ball century from the top of the order looked set to spoil the party, but the Scottish attack stuck to their task and the wickets began to fall. Mark Watt especially was excellent, strangling the scoring to push up the asking rate and bagging three crucial scalps, but Sharif would be the hero in the end, and inswinging toe-crusher pinning last man Mark Wood dead in front with England six short to seal a historic win and spark the celebrations.

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