Kathmandu - Nepal, Netherlands and Namibia begin a crucial ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series at Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd in Utrecht on July 21, with all six ODIs carrying weight in the 2027 World Cup qualification race.
The series starts with Nepal facing Namibia on Tuesday. Nepal will then play Netherlands on July 23 and July 29, while their second match against Namibia is scheduled for July 27. Namibia and Netherlands meet on July 25 and July 31.
Netherlands enter the home series in the strongest position among the three teams. They sit third in the League 2 table with 32 points from 28 matches, one point ahead of fourth-placed Oman. A strong home leg could move them closer to Scotland and make their top-four position more secure.
Nepal are fifth with 24 points from 28 matches, level on points with Canada but ahead on net run rate. Namibia are seventh with 22 points from 28 matches. For both Nepal and Namibia, the Utrecht series is a direct chance to cut the gap on Oman and Netherlands.
The top four teams in League 2 will progress to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, while the bottom four will have to go through the Qualifier Play-off route. That makes this series especially important for Nepal, who have eight matches left in the cycle and still need a strong finish to break into the top four.
Nepal arrive in the Netherlands after a productive preparation tour in Jersey. They defeated Jersey by 81 runs in the first one-day match, with Kushal Bhurtel scoring 105 and Hemant Dhami taking four wickets. Nepal then won the second match by eight runs via DLS, where Ishan Pandey scored 90 and Kushal added 51.
Kushal's form will be central to Nepal's hopes. Rohit Paudel leads the 15-member squad, with Dipendra Singh Airee as vice-captain. The squad also includes Aasif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki, Ishan Pandey, Aarif Sheikh, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav, Arjun Kumal and Binod Bhandari.
Namibia also come into the series with preparation behind them. The Eagles beat Vidarbha in a five-match build-up series in India, with Jan Frylinck, Nicol Loftie-Eaton and Louren Steenkamp among the players in form. Gerhard Erasmus will captain Namibia, with Jan Frylinck, Michael van Lingen, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz and Zane Green forming the senior core.
Netherlands have named Scott Edwards as captain, with Bas de Leede, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Tim Pringle and Vikramjit Singh among the key names. The Dutch have home advantage and a squad built around experience, spin variety and seam depth.
ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series Fixtures
July 21: Nepal vs Namibia - 14:45 NST
July 23: Netherlands vs Nepal - 14:45 NST
July 25: Namibia vs Netherlands - 14:45 NST
July 27: Namibia vs Nepal - 14:45 NST
July 29: Nepal vs Netherlands - 14:45 NST
July 31: Netherlands vs Namibia - 14:45 NST
