“Winning the Middlesex Premier League, after 14 years of playing in it, was most definitively one of the proudest moments of my cricketing life to date. Especially given I had played with a large proportion of the squad since the beginning of my cricketing life, aged 9. It was a joy to play with so many immensely talented cricketers who not only competed very hard on the field but are also are great friends off the pitch.
To cap off a terrific year of cricket for me personally, I was selected to represent the MCC on tour to Nepal. This year was the first of 3 years in the MCC’s new “legacy” tour programme, with the MCC sending a touring team to Nepal for 3 years running (alternating yearly between a men’s and a women’s team) with a view to help to build the sport in the country as quickly as possible. Needless to say it was a great honour for me to be selected, especially given the quality of the squad that was selected. 12 of the 13 players were current or ex First Class cricketers, with two players with International honours, Tom Westley (England & Essex) and Yasir Arafat (Pakistan & Surrey, Sussex and Kent). The strength of the squad selected was partly due to the fact that Nepal are one of the top emerging cricket nations, and bordering India, this is hardly surprising. They have two national stars, Sandeep Lamichhane (a 19 year old legspinner, who has been picked up in the IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred and many other T20 tournaments globally) and Paras Khadka (ex-captain and national hero).
The seriousness of the trip dawned on me as we came out of the terminal at Kathmandu International Airport, where 40 media persons were waiting to catch a first glimpse of the squad and get initial interviews with some of the stars we had on show. The tour most certainly did not disappoint, with the culmination being two matches against the full national side, a 3 day First Class match and a T20. The support for cricket in the country was clear at both of these matches, with at least 4,000 spectators at the ground each day and with c.10,000 at the T20. The atmosphere at the T20 was like nothing I have ever experienced (except for at Harrow St. Mary’s on the final day of the season) and a day that I will always remember. The fans were as enthusiastic as Luke Hollman after taking a prize wicket.
It was a great privilege for me to be selected for this tour and given the attention that the touring party had both on and off the field, it was a huge success, helping to spread the gospel of cricket and build the Nepalese cricket community. “

The cover pic is of Vanders fielding in front of a huge crowd.

Here is the MCC team - Vanders is on front row first from the right -

A match in progress with Nepal batting-

Here is a pic of one of the grounds with Himalayian peaks in the background.

Below is the MCC's report on the Tour matches. Good to hear that Vanders hit a fifty -

"MCC played six matches on the tour: two 50-over matches, a three-day first-class match, and three T20 games.

The first-class match against Nepal – the country’s first for fourteen years – was an occasion that attracted crowds in their thousands to the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Kathmandu.

MCC made a strong first-innings total of 364 with half-centuries from Will Rhodes, Yasir Arafat, Will Vanderspar and Miles Hammond, before three wickets apiece for Arafat and Alex Thomson helped dismiss Nepal for 153.

With such an imposing lead, MCC were able to declare their second innings on 181 for 6 before bowling Nepal out for 184 – Warwickshire’s Oliver Hannon-Dalby taking career-best figures of 5 for 11.

MCC had earlier recorded a win and a loss, respectively, against Nepal Under-19s and the full national side in the opening 50-over matches of the tour. A further Kathmandu fixture resulted in a 113-run T20 victory over a side of both full Nepal and Under-19 players.

The squad then moved to Pokhara and played two further T20 matches to conclude the trip. MCC defeated a Pokhara Invitational XI by 42 runs and a Chief Minister’s XI by just four runs in a thrilling affair. Arafat starred with the bat in both matches, hitting 39 and 56 not out respectively, whilst Ed Young took six wickets for only 28 runs across the two matches."