Nepal to play MCC XI at the Lord's in London in July

Nepal's national cricket team is set to play against one of the famous clubs in the cricket world, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) XI at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, considered to be the 'Home of Cricket' on 19th July 2016. The two teams will meet on the same day the England vs Pakistan Investec summer test match concludes on the same pitch.

This will be Nepal's first appearance at the Lord’s as well as the first time an MCC team meets Nepal in the UK soil. MCC is set to pick a strong team for the match, which will be announced in due course.

MCC toured Nepal on November 2015 and the Club continues to enjoy a strong relationship with Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). Nepal captain Paras Khadka played for MCC in the Emirates T20 tournament in Dubai in 2015.

John Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket, said: “We are delighted that Nepal will be playing at Lord’s in July, and we very much look forward to welcoming their players and supporters – both Nepal and UK-based – to the Home of Cricket."

" We saw during our November tour that there are a lot of talented cricketers in the Nepal team, so I will be selecting a strong MCC team which will hopefully provide a very entertaining spectacle for everyone.", he added.  

MCC has an excellent working relationship with Cricket Association Nepal (CAN) and this fixture will only enhance that.” MCC will also be providing live ball-by-ball commentary on the match at www.lords.org.

The match is part of the celebration of 200 years between UK and Nepal bilateral relation, initiated by Cricket Association of Nepal and supported by Embassy of Nepal, London and Foreign Commonwealth office, UK.

Foreign Commonwealth Office, London has put this event in a priority list and will be featuring the event as a part of the bicentenary celebration. Many VIPS are likely to attend the event from both countries. 

Prashant Kunwar, who is an UK representative for CAN is bridging the links between Nepal cricket and MCC.

After participating in the decisive meeting, Kunwar said that the strong links between MCC and Nepal will help Nepal cricket to grow. "It’s significant event for British-Nepal community, and this will be a perfect platform and occasion to be part of this big celebration", he said. "On the other hand it is a great opportunity to contribute for the Nepal's earthquake rehabilitation purposes", he further said.

Most of the funds will go towards rebuilding the community in Nepal via Gurkha Welfare Trust and in building cricket infrastructure in Nepal by MCC.

Nepali Embassy in London is working with many Nepali communities in the UK to ensure that there is an excellent attendance from both the Nepali diaspora in the UK and the local community.

"Our focus is make this event a great success and we are working on it ", acting Nepalese ambassador to the UK Tej Bahadur Chhetri said.

CEO of CAN, Bhawana Ghimire remarked this as a huge opportunity for Nepal to play at Lord's, the 'Home of Cricket'. She said this will help boost the morale of the players. She urged all the Nepalese community residing in UK to come and support the team and the event.

British Gurkhas will be part of this event and will perform pipes and drums during the game.