The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) women’s team are heading to Nepal on the 21st of October where they are scheduled to play 6 games which include a game against an International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 Squad selected from Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Qatar and hosts Nepal, as part of the ICC Asia U19 Women’s Cricket Scholarship Programme.
MCC’s fifth and final tour of 2022 will see the side play 6 matches during the tour of Nepal. In Kathmandu, they will play a 40-over match and a T20 match against a team with a mix of players from the full Nepalese national side and their Under-19 squad. Matches will be played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground and the Mulpani Ground.
The tour then moves north-west to Pokhara, the side there is scheduled to play a further 4 (alternative, T20 and 40-over) fixtures against sides put together by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). All four games will be held at the Pokhara Rangashala Ground. The second leg of the tour will involve several coaching sessions, as the squad look to inspire local youngsters and schoolchildren in playing the game. The Club will be working closely with MCC Foundation (MCCF) Cricket Without Boundaries and the CAN to deliver these sessions.
Jamie Cox, Director of Cricket Operations at MCC, said, “Our overseas touring programme continues to be an important segment of the Club’s Cricket Strategy, and after the challenges of the pandemic it has been particularly pleasing for us to visit five countries this year.
“Being able to send a women’s squad to Nepal highlights the Club’s commitment to our women’s playing programme, which aims to increase playing opportunities for our female Members both at home and abroad. It is also fantastic for us to be able to support the great work that the MCC Foundation has been undertaking in Nepal over a number of years.”
Nepal women’s team last played a game during the Asian Cricket Council Women’s T20 Championship mid this year where they registered 3 straight wins against Bhutan, Kuwait and Bahrain before suffering their lone defeat in the tournament to Hong Kong. The side’s last game in the tournament didn’t have an outcome, due to rain.
MCC Women last played a couple of T20I games against Pakistan on the 27th of July at the Dorridge Cricket Club, but failed to register a win. It only was a few days earlier, that the side made their first visit to Ireland where the MCC women played a couple of white-ball matches against Ireland Women’s Select XI and Leinster President’s XI.
MCC’s SQUAD FOR NEPAL TOUR :
Jennie Kitzinger(C), Abbie Whybrow, Shweta Chaudhuri, Sarah Cray, Jolene Foster, Isabelle Gurney, Elysa Hubbard, Amanda Potgieter, Rachael Potter, Ria Raval, Mia Rogers and Sophie McLelland
Claire Taylor (Player/Manager), Saba Nasim (Assistant Player Manager) and Marilyn Smith (Player scorer)
SCHEDULE :
| DATE | MATCH | FORMAT | VENUE |
| 24-Oct-2022 | MCC vs Nepal/ U-19 XI | 40-over | Mulpani Ground, Kathmandu |
| 25-Oct-2022 | MCC vs Nepal U-19 | Twenty20 | University International Cricket Ground, Kathmandu |
| 28-Oct-2022 | MCC vs Cricket Association of Nepal XI | Twenty20 | Pokhara Rangashala Ground |
| 29-Oct-2022 | MCC vs Cricket Association of Nepal XI | 40-over | Pokhara Rangashala Ground |
| 30-Oct-2022 | MCC vs Nepal/ U-19 XI | Twenty20 | Pokhara Rangashala Ground |
| 01-Nov-2022 | MCC vs Cricket Association of Nepal XI | 40-over | Pokhara Rangashala Ground |
Loves all things female cricket