Cricket in Afghanistan

[pal]

Upended cardboard boxes or chiselled masonry are used for wickets, balls are often made from bundles of elastic bands and the bats have seen better days, but as the sun sets over Kabul, a field next to the Afghan national stadium is alive with what is becoming an Afghan national obsession.

Formerly the scene of public executions during the era of Taliban government, the only bullets flying today are off the bats of Afghanistan's fanatical young cricketers.

Cricket has seized the popular imagination in Afghanistan since 2001, a country where the game was unknown until waves of refugees fleeing 30 years of fighting picked it up in camps along the Pakistan border.

Earlier this month Afghanistan's fledgling national side came from nowhere to win the Asia Cricket Council's Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait.

The best part:

"Unity in this country can come about through sport," said Shahazada Masood, the head of the Afghan Cricket Federation.

"After all the fighting everything has started again from zero. If we had half the facilities and equipment of other nations we could beat Pakistan, we could beat Australia, we could beat England."

"Not England," interrupted Taj Malik Alam, the national coach, diplomatically. "England are our friends."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/23/wafghan123.xml

 

[Pakistani Army]

That is very nice to hear. I hope they be one of the teams in the 2011 World Cup.

 

[Dare]

yea they just need the financial support and some equipment to be delivered.

 

[angryangy]

It's funny, I can always find a ball lying around, but never any rubber bands.

 

[ivanvdm15]

i don't think they'll be ready to play in the next world cup to develop cricket takes alot of work , coaches , equipment stores , and schools will have to start and play cricket and then the players themselve will need some time to devolop their game.

 

[smssia0112]

i don't think they'll be ready to play in the next world cup to develop cricket takes alot of work , coaches , equipment stores , and schools will have to start and play cricket and then the players themselve will need some time to devolop their game.

Yeah they'd be pretty far away in terms of playing standards, plus they are currently in the 5th division of the ICC World Cricket League, so they need to be promoted to division 3 (which means they have to finish 1st or 2nd in division 5 next year, then do the same the following year in division 3) in the next two tournaments, to qualify for the World Cup qualification.

Obviously this is a very difficult task.

 

[SciD]

Afganistan needs more support to be established as a nation rather than as a cricket nation. Maybe in 2020 we can hope for a good competing side from Afganistan, but untill then its nice to say good thins but cricket is not a sport which will get developed in 3-4 years, it takes time for a country to adopt any new sport.

 

[khan31]

I really hope that they do persist with cricket and work hard. Who knows, they may win a world cup in the near future! Well, seeing as that is my country of origin I might be able to join their national team. I'm sure I'll fit in. I might even take some gear over for some of the lads to use.

 

[Sureshot]

I wish them all the luck, the country has always had unrest for most of the current populations life. I loved the comment on England at the end.

 

[usy]

lol, the last comment..

 

[Cricketdude]

I wish them all my luck on beating Australia

 

[jordox]

Meh.. don't really care to be brutally honest. I mean, what Afghanistan are doing with their cricket interests me very little.

 

[Cricketdude]

I think all the Afganistanians cricket guys should move to pakistan if they want to play cricket

 

[usy]

How about not? Pakistan already is holding one of worlds most refugee populations. From Afghanistan.

I'll also add, Afghanistan’s president, is so anti Pakistan. Believe me or not.

 

[King Cricket]

They may qualify for the 2019 World CuP