Why Nepal's cricketers can beat anyone on their day and still miss the big tournaments

The country's players have beaten full-member sides in short-format cricket and fill their home ground. Yet appearances at global tournaments remain rare. [1]

The reason is structural. A handful of places are available to the forty-odd associate members, decided by regional qualifiers where one bad afternoon ends a two-year cycle.

What would change it

More fixtures against stronger opposition, a domestic first-class structure and a settled coaching set-up are the usual prescriptions, and all of them cost money the board does not have. [2]