Ceremony at Youth Asia Cup 2001 Photo © ICC

Despite global events having affected many sports programmes in the current climate of fear, this did not prevent the commencement of the Youth Asia Cup 2001 in Nepal. Deemed a great success by the participants and keen observers alike the tournament kicked off on the 11th October in Kathmandu, Nepal. The eight participating countries were Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore and the hosts Nepal.

The opening ceremony was held in the lush surroundings of Hotel Soaltee and inaugurated by the Honourable Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports, Mr Amod P. Upadhaya amid a plethora of distinguished dignitaries which included Ambassadors, members of the National Sports Council, Olympic Committee, and representatives from various sports bodies and sponsors.

Once all the hoopla from the opening ceremony had died down it was time for the spectators to witness how far cricket in Asia had really developed. They were not to be disappointed as the group games unveiled an assortment of high class talent and competitive spirit. The inconsistencies of many of the teams also made for interesting viewing for neutral fans though it must have induced a fair semblance of stress lines for fans of these teams.

Supporters during Youth Asia Cup 2001 Photo © ICC

Nepal justified there tag as favourites by remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament and going on to lift the Youth Asia Cup by beating Malaysia in the final by 7 wickets in front of a 12,000 noisy partisan crowd. Chasing Malaysia's meagre 139 total on a wicket which afforded some lateral movement, Nepal lost 3 early wickets but held their nerve and were led home by a well compiled and unbeaten 70 from Kanishka Chugai.

However, the real star of the final and the tournament was the left arm orthodox spinner, Lakpa Lama who was rewarded with the man of the match and man of the series awards for his consistent efforts. Displaying magnificent variation and control of flight aligned with generous spin, Lama completely mesmerised the Malaysian batsmen, as he has throughout the tournament, and finished with 5-20 in 9.5 overs. Lama looks to be a good long-term prospect for Nepal and on this showing will be an important component of the Nepalese team at the next ICC Trophy. If Nepal is to consolidate this victory and attempt to qualify for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, youngster like Lama, Chaugai and Das may well be integral to this dream.

However, in the meantime there is the small matter of the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in February 2002, which has brought automatic qualification with the victory and should provide a test of how far Nepal have come.

Crowds at Youth Asia Cup 2001 Photo © ICC

Lack of experience, rather than that of talent, hindered Malaysia in the final. However, such invaluable exposure in similar tournaments will only help to strengthen Malaysian cricket and boost the team's prospects in future competition. The emergence pf players such as Peter Chung, who took 2-35 in the final and allrounder Subramani Gopinath underlines the natural talent the Malaysians are starting to develop as the gospel of cricket spreads in the country. The closely fought contests and burgeoning talent on display is indicative of the growing strength of Asian cricket at the junior level.

This also highlighted the fundamental success of the ICC Development Program in the development of grass-roots cricket in the Asian region. This was underlined by the enthusiastic reception and attendances all the teams received, which says much for Nepalese hospitality, from spectators.

Local media coverage was intense with the final telecast live by Nepali TV Network and various newspapers providing extensive coverage of the games. All in all, the organisers in Nepal did a grand job and needed to be congratulated in showing the rest of the world the way forward.

© ICC