Stuart Law: ‘There will be people in Nepal thinking we can go and win the World Cup - it's a free hit'

Australian coach has overseen a golden start to his new job as coach of arguably world cricket’s most entertaining side

Nepal celebrate winning the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Muscat. Photo: ICC

In seven months at the helm of one of world cricket’s rising forces, Stuart Law has got pretty much everything right. Other than two things.

First, there is his plan to rid Nepal of the nickname “The Cardiac Kids”. He is well intentioned, and there has been signs they might be working out how to dispassionately put teams away when they have them at their mercy.

Evidence: when they beat West Indies by 90 runs in Sharjah last month, to clinch their first bilateral series win against a Test-playing nation. It does not come much more ruthless than that.

But then they reverted to type at the T20 World Cup Qualifier which followed in Muscat, taking last-over thrillers against the UAE and Qatar to help ease their path to India and Sri Lanka. Which was, of course, way more fun than winning them the other way.

Secondly, there is his attempt to dampen expectations. He cautioned against people expecting them to beat the West Indies ahead of that series, pointing out it was more about prep for the qualifier which followed.

But they went and dominated the first two games of that, taking the series in rapid time.

So now when he says people should be wary about expecting too much from Nepal at the T20 World Cup, people might question: why?

It is difficult not to get excited when Nepal have won 10 games out of 12 in the T20 international format. That included a three-match series against the West Indies, with one of the two losses coming in the dead rubber third match. It also includes wins against top associate sides like Scotland, Netherlands, the UAE and Oman.

During that streak, they have made a strong case for them delivering on one of Law’s targets: to be regarded as the best fielding side in the world.

That was shown chiefly by Dipendra Singh Airee’s extraordinary, record-demolishing run of direct hits in five successive matches.

It was also evidenced by Gulshan Jha’s magnificent catches to turn the series against the West Indies.

Still, though, Law is still pleading for some perspective. “I think we’ve got to have realistic expectations,” he said.

“There’ll be people in Nepal thinking, ‘Right, we can go on and win the World Cup.’ Now, that’s everyone’s dream, of course. But it may be a bridge too far right now to compete and beat teams like India and Australia.

“We go there [to the T20 World Cup in February], and it’s a free hit. Every team we play, they’re going to be under more pressure to beat us and they’re going to be wary of us.

“Every game we go into, we’ll be the underdog. I love that term. It just means there should be no pressure. We just go and play a game of cricket, play the way we want to play and don’t get sucked into playing the opposition’s way.

“And if we play well enough on the day, you never know. T20 cricket in particular, is a very funny game. You can win or lose in one or two overs.

“So, if we’re good enough for long enough, there’s every chance we could cause an upset.”

During their sequence of wins, there were two moments which provided a clue to the reasons behind Nepal’s excellence in the field.

Each was less spectacular than Airee’s run outs, or Jha’s catches, and have no acknowledgement in any scorebook.

Nepal's supporters turned out in large numbers in Muscat. Photo: ICC

In the thrashing of the West Indies in Sharjah, Jha took two brilliant catches, but also tried for a third. It was a lost cause which he would not accept. He dived forward, and could have ended up with a face-full of cricket ball, and a few missing teeth. He did not take the catch, but it spoke of an unyielding commitment.

Almost the identical thing happened in the final game of the qualifier, when qualification, and even victory against Samoa, was as good as sealed. Sundeep Jora tried to make something of a lost cause, like Jha had done against the West Indies. And he was only a fielding substitute at the time.

“I’m OK if people make mistakes by having a go,” Law said. “It’s when they sit back and wait for it and then they make a mistake that’s when you think, ‘OK, we’ve got problems there.’

“I want them to be aggressive in everything they do, whether they’re batting, bowling, or fielding. But there’s also a time you’ve got to use your smarts as well and make intelligent decisions.”

Which brings Law to his perennial aim: calming down the Cardiac Kids. Last-ball finishes, like the one against the UAE in Muscat, will always happen. But so long as the players are clear-minded and cool under pressure, he will be satisfied.

“What has really changed for me in the group is how calm we are now in the dressing room,” Law said.

“Before when we were going well, they were really up and boisterous. And then we were losing wickets or getting hit, we were very, very quiet, but now we’re very even.

“And the more even you are, the calmer you are, the better decisions you make.”