Surprisingly there are some cricket tragics here in Nepal. Nepalese are new comers to cricket. I’m not sure where it comes from because Nepal has never been colonised and they will proudly tell you this when they get a chance. Yet there is an extraordinary enthusiasm for the sport from somewhere. They are having great success on the world stage, evidenced recently by reaching the quarter finals of the under 19 one-day World Cup. I chatted with a guy who loves the game and knows more Australin cricketers than I do, including bin test players. And not just a knowledge of the current game, he can give statistics from games years ago. He knows the players I grew up with, not just Australian ones but around the world. He’s favorite team is the current New Zealand side and his excited about Brendon NcCallum’s final test series against Australia. He asks me about my favorite cricketers and I talk of the West Indies of old. He knows them all. We talk about Phil Hughes who was tragically killed by a freak ball in Australia. He even knows the name of the bowler, I don’t . He tells me that Hughes’s bat is now on the top of Mount Everest. Interesting I thought, but how much stuff must be up there!
He is no fan of any Indian players, which doesn’t surprise me at all. There is so much animosity against India here. But I suppose Nepals interest in cricket must have come from India, where else? Anyway it’s exciting to see the game growing here.
Didn’t do a great deal today except pack and prepare for Pokhara and my trek to Annapurna Base Camp.
angusmccoll 