Cornwood CC are delighted to secure run machine Jay Bista for their 2023 campaign.
Jay Bista is an absolute run machine who moved to play for Uttarakhand in 2020/21, following 63 matches for Mumbai dating back to his debut in November 2015.
He has starred for his new State across the three formats, namely Ranji Trophy (FC – 224 runs at44.80), Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20 – 217 runs at 54.25), and Vijay Hazare Trophy (List A – 344 runs at 57.33).
Prior to his move, Bista represented the powerhouse Mumbai side, playing alongside some superstars of the game.
During his 5 seasons with Mumbai, he was a stand-out performer, playing over 60 matches. He impressed across all formats, hitting 4 Ranji Trophy centuries amongst 1,486 runs at 33.02 in first-class, alongside 449 runs at 34.53 and 685 runs at 34.25 in List A and T20 matches, respectively.
Whilst known for his batting, Bista has proved a useful bowler too, with 24 wickets to his name including career-best figures of 5-16 in first-class cricket.
Bista, who hails from Dhangadhi in Nepal, was the first person of Nepalese origin to play for Mumbai. He represented Mumbai through the age groups and has made quite a name for himself in recent years. After being dropped from the Ranji Trophy squad for apparently churning out underwhelming performances, he scored century after century for Mumbai Under-23 at the Col C. K. Nayudu Trophy. His tally of 1,081 runs (at 108.10 with 5 centuries) – the highest in the tournament – propelled the team to win the prestigious trophy.
A week later, he was rightfully rewarded with a place in Mumbai’s Irani Cup squad. There, he carted Rest of India’s Jaydev Unadkat, Krishna Das, Ankit Rajpoot, Stuart Binny, and Jayant Yadav — in the presence of chief selector Sandeep Patil — to all corners of the Brabourne Stadium to conjure a 90-ball 104, inclusive of 15 fours and a six. He also scored a breezy 38 in the second innings.
Four days later, and at the same venue, Bista almost floored the England team with his fearless stroke play. Turning out for a Mumbai Cricket Association XI also comprising — funnily enough — four English players in James Vince, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, and David Willey against, a strong English side, Bista scored an enterprising 51 (37 balls, 5×4, 2×6), battering the likes of Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett to all parts.
The following season (2017/18), Bista enjoyed his most prolific Ranji Trophy campaign to date, scoring 2 centuries amongst 332 runs at 55.33, then followed up with 443 runs at 34.07 in 2018/19. The run machine has also impressed in the shorter formats, albeit has yet to gain the attention of IPL sides, thus enabling him to play abroad in recent seasons.
He was a stand-out in the Netherlands, initially in the Topklasse for H.V. & C.V. Quick, before a short stint in the Hoofdklasse for Hermes DVS in 2021. During his 2-seasons with Quick, he was amongst the leading run-scorers in both the 2018 (863 runs at 47.94) and 2019 (625 runs at 44.64) seasons respectively, not to mention his fair share of wickets.
On his brief return in 2021, he was exceptional, topping the Hoofdklasse run charts (399) in his 3 innings – a few runs above second-placed Indian batting star Nikhil Gangta who batted in 8 innings. After a rough dismissal to start his Hermes campaign, he finished with undefeated scores of 220* and 168.
In 2022, he spent a season plying his trade in the Devon Premier League for Cornwood. He was the league’s dominant professional, topping the ECB Premier Division run charts with 1,088 runs at 90.67 with 5 breathtaking centuries (110, 182*, 127*, 142*, 151). He proved to be a very useful all-rounder in the league too accounting for 21 wickets at 23.86.
Given his success, the club was swift to re-sign their Indian star for a stint Devon League stint in 2023.
