Madhusudan Bhattarai was 89 years old. He used to come from Arbroath, a town 15 miles away, to watch the World Cup Cricket League-2 cricket match Nepal played against Netherlands and Scotland in Dundee. He did not miss the two practice matches played by Nepal against Scotland 'A'.

There is a wave of global franchise cricket. The influence of cheerleaders is distinct. But Bhattarai became a different attraction in Nepal's games at Fort Hill-based Forfarshire Cricket Club. Every time a Nepali player hits a four or a six or takes a wicket, he cheers the Nepali team by blowing a conch shell. 

When Nepal's match was going on at Fort Hill, if your attention was not focused on the game, the sound of Bhattarai's conch would have signaled Nepal's success. He is like a leader among the audience. Other Nepalese supporters are following his conch blowing. 

Spectators came from different parts of the UK to watch Nepal's match. Spectators came to Forthhill from England's London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh in Scotland to watch the game. Spectators from Ireland also came to watch the game. Scotland Cricket set the price for Division 2 matches at £20. Because of the Nepalese audience, Cricket Scotland collected a good source of income. 

Spectators could easily watch the game in the open field. But after Nepal won the first match against Scotland chasing 297 runs, the spectators entered the ground and carried the hero of the match, Karan KC. After that, Nepal Cricket Association and Scotland Cricket appealed to the spectators not to enter the field for the rest of the match. It is considered a crime to enter the stadium spectators. 

A fence was erected outside the boundary line after the first game. About 7-800 spectators came to the match on June 2 and 8, most of them were Nepalese. Now Nepal will play a triangular Twenty20 series against Scotland and Netherlands in Glasgow from Monday. Nepal will play their first match against Netherlands on Monday.

While Nepal was playing its first match against Scotland in League 2, Scotland Cricket posted a video on its social network of Nepalese spectators watching the match. One of the comments reads, "When there is cricket in Scotland, the stewards (security guards) are often making money without suffering." They were earning salary without working. At other times, their job was to simply walk around the field and wake up the sleeping elderly spectators after the match. However, Nepal's game kept them busy.'

According to that comment, the security personnel who were sleeping and eating stayed busy during Nepal's game. When there was no game in Nepal, their work stood like 'shalik'. 

Vinodvikas Simkha living in London does not miss watching the major matches played by Nepal in foreign lands. A team of 10 had arrived with him to watch a League 2 match in Dundee.

"As many as come here, there are fans who understand cricket, because many of them come from outside Dundee and they came here knowing cricket, how many people have driven all night to watch the morning game," says Simkhada, "If you say to me, when the Nepali cricket team comes here, we have got an excuse to watch Nepal's game." At other times, we had to go far away, now we have a chance to come closer and watch.'

He says that Nepali cricket has made Nepalis living abroad happy. Simkhada believes that the Nepali team will get the feeling of playing at home not only in Nepal but also in foreign countries. 

Vishal Gautam came to London two years ago. When he was in Nepal, he used to go to the ground to watch football and cricket. He says that wherever there is Nepali cricket, Nepali supporters will definitely come. He claims that the enthusiasm shown by the supporters in Dundee has also had a great impact on the results of Nepali cricket. 

'Since 2013, I have been watching all the matches of Nepal in Kathmandu, I did not miss any match. It was the first time I got a chance to watch Nepal's game in a foreign land," he says. "Watching Nepal's cricket in another country gives a different vibe. Nepali cricket makes you forget the stress of student life, work and busy life. Not only that, the Nepali team played very well this time, so it is more fun.' 

Sagar Bhandari, who has been doing restaurant business in this area for 17 years, believes that more Nepali spectators will attend the first match in Glasgow. "Dundee is a bit far and in the corner, there are many Nepalis in Glasgow," he said, "Many Nepalis here are related to the restaurant business. The restaurant tends to be busy on Saturdays and Sundays and Mondays are holidays. That's why I expect many spectators to attend the first game in Glasgow.'

'Cricket became an excuse to connect with the country'

Sheela Tripathi, Research Fellow, Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen

Nepali people living abroad need an excuse to connect with the country. Whether it is a film festival, an occasion where people from the music industry come or when the Nepali cricket team comes and plays. Those who come bring Nepal, the country. There is an emotional attachment to it. 

Lately, when Nepali cricket has become a national pride, the coming of that team here is more than a festival for the Nepalis living here. There is a community that understands the game itself, that makes the game flow. Coming of a cricket team would be a big issue for them. For those who have never seen and understood cricket, it became a way to connect with the nationalism of Nepal. 

The cricket team has worked to connect the Nepali community scattered in different cities in Scotland. Dundee is a small town. At other times a large congregation would not come to Dundee. Dundee had never seen such a large number of Nepali gatherings. There is a Nepali society called Nepal-Scotland Friendship Forum, it never reaches more than 150 to 200 members, while there were 5-700 Nepalese who watched the match as soon as they reached the field. 

Everyone in Dundee doesn't always get along. Many Nepalese visitors came from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and other places. That means welcoming outsiders has become a big issue for Dundee and Nepali society here. I feel that it has helped to connect the Nepalese community in other areas with the Nepali society here. 

Even if the Nepali team came here, if the performance was not up to that, the increased interest and enthusiasm towards the game would have decreased. This is our team, Nepali people here have been watching since the practice games played by Nepal that they should support it. Playing on top of that and doing well is more than expected. On top of that, the game became very high style, which made the fans even more enthusiastic. Only a person who knows the level of the player understands the game. For those who do not understand the game, they only count the fours and sixes, the game became very intense.