2010 ACC Trophy Elite
The 2010 ACC Trophy Elite was a cricket tournament in Kuwait, taking place between March 31 and April 9, 2010. It gives Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international one-day cricket and also helps forms an essential part of regional rankings. The tournament was won by Afghanistan, who defeated Nepal by 95 runs in the final on April 9.
| Administrator(s) | Asian Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | 50 overs per side |
| Tournament format(s) | Round robin with playoffs |
| Host(s) |  Kuwait |
| Champions |  Afghanistan (1st title) |
| Participants | 10 teams |
| Matches played | 21/21 |
| Most runs |  Saqib Ali (267) |
| Most wickets |  Nadeem Ahmed (17) |
| Official website | Tournament home |
Teams
After the 2006 ACC Trophy it was decided to split the tournament into two divisions. The placement of teams in the divisions was based on their final positions in the last ACC Trophy. The top ten teams went on to take part in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and the remaining teams were placed in a lower division, the 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge. Bottom two teams were relegated from 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and top two teams from 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge were promoted. The teams that made it into the Trophy Elite were:
Squads
| Afghanistan |
 Bahrain |
 Bhutan |
Hong Kong |
Kuwait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
 Malaysia |
 Nepal |
 Oman |
 Singapore |
United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Group stages
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nepal |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.592 |
| 2 | Hong Kong |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | −0.030 |
| 3 | Oman |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −0.049 |
| 4 | Kuwait |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −0.852 |
| 5 | Singapore |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −0.789 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afghanistan |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2.600 |
| 2 | Malaysia |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2.512 |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2.392 |
| 4 | Bhutan |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −8.498 |
| 5 | Bahrain[lower-alpha 1] |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes:
- Bahrain were forced to withdraw from the tournament after being unable to field a team due to visa problems.
4 April 2010 (scorecard) |
v |
||
Damber Gurung 10 (19) Ghulam Mustafa 4/18 (7.3 overs) |
Damith Warusavithana 53* (21) |
Play-offs
9th place play-off
7th place play-off
5th place play-off
3rd place play-off
Final
Final Placings
| Pos | Team | Relegation |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Afghanistan | |
| 2nd | Nepal | |
| 3rd | Hong Kong | |
| 4th | Malaysia | |
| 5th | United Arab Emirates | |
| 6th | Oman | |
| 7th | Kuwait | |
| 8th | Bhutan |
Qualified for WCL82012 |
| 9th | Singapore | Relegated to ACC Trophy Challenge Division |
| 10th | Bahrain |
Statistics
| Most runs[1] | Most wickets[2] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saqib Ali | 267 | Nadeem Ahmed | 17 |
| Karim Sadiq | 261 | Hameed Hasan | 16 |
| Asghar Afghan | 253 | Munir Dar | 11 |
| Vaibbhav Wategaonkar | 238 | Suresh Navaratnam | 10 |
| Anil Mandal | 236 | Sharul Nizam | 9 |
Controversy
The tournament was beset with players struggling to get visas to gain access to Kuwait. Bahrain were forced to withdraw from the tournament as they were unable to field a team after a large number of their players were refused visas.
Mohammad Nabi, the Afghanistan all-rounder was refused as visa, as was Hong Kong captain Najeeb Amar. Both were later able to gain entry to Kuwait and take part in the later stages of the tournament.
The Cricket Association of Nepal President Binay Raj Pandey has said his board intends to raise the issue at the next meeting of the Asian Cricket Council after Nepal vice-captain Gyanendra Malla had been refused entry to the country. In response to this, Pandey intends to ask the ACC not to host future tournaments in countries where obtaining a visa is difficult.[3]