Not have the ICC cut the number of Associates at the next World Cup from six to four at the behest of the hosts, but the Asian Cricket Council hopes that two of those slots will be taken by Asian counties.

"India beating Australia is very good for cricket in Asia and will encourage nations like Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, China and Afghanistan," Ashraful Huq, a former secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, told AFP. "I watched both the finals in Australia and was amazed how the young Indian team paid the Australians back, both on and off the field."

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A five-day cricket tournament is being held in Lashkargah in the southern Helmand province in Afghanistan.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

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Afghanistan cricket has been boosted by their success in last November’s ACC Twenty20 Cup where they finished joint winners. More than US$23,000 was donated by the president and local businesses and in addition US$40,000 was given by Afghans in Kuwait, where the tournament was played. The government also promised to give land to each member of the victorious squad. More significantly, the education minister has pledged to build a ground in Kabul for school cricket.

Taj Malik, the Afghanistan Cricket Federations's secretary general, said: "There are so many other awards, medals, cash prizes, gifts , free mobile phones, watches, certificates, it was very useful for Afghan cricket. Now cricket is flying high in Afghanistan."

	Singapore's captain Rezza Gaznavi receives the ACC Under-15 Elite Cup © ACC

The Asian Cricket Council had taken drastic action on Saturday and kicked out hosts and defending champions Nepal as well as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Thailand after its medical board reported that all the squads from those countries contained players over the stipulated age limit. Sunday's semi-finals - Nepal v Singapore and Afghanistan v Hong Kong - were scrapped.

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	© The Daily Telegraph

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.

Bolstered by that success, the Afghan Cricket Federation is moving to gain entry to the next ICC World Twenty20.

Subtleties of guile and tactic have yet to take hold in the Afghan game, which seems to appeal more to the famously warlike Afghan temperament. Defensive shots are regarded with disdain.

"This is like being in Helmand," muttered an onlooker at the training session, ducking for cover as a ball winged overhead with the trajectory of a tracer bullet, the first in a sustained bombardment.

Shahzada Masood, Afgahnistan’s cricket chief, has told Reuters that if his country had half the facilities available to other teams then nobody would be able to beat them.

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Matthew Fleming: heading an MCC task-force © Getty Images

Matthew Fleming, the former Kent and England allrounder, will travel to Afghanistan this week to try to identify ways in which Marylebone Cricket Club can help to further develop the sport in the region.

Fleming, who sits on the main MCC Committee, is being sent by the club to investigate how MCC can strengthen its links with cricket in Afghanistan in accordance with its worldwide remit to help promote the game.

The MCC-Afghanistan relationship began with an historic fixture between the two sides in Mumbai in March 2006, where an MCC team led by former England captain, Mike Gatting, were thrashed by 179 runs. Two members of that successful Afghan team - Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi - subsequently spent time at Lord's as MCC Young Cricketers. In 2007, Hassan - a fast bowler - made history when he became the first Afghan cricketer to play at Lord's, for MCC against Europe.

Speaking ahead of his trip, Fleming said: "Having enjoyed playing cricket for England in Pakistan and Bangladesh, I know the passion that exists for cricket in the region. I'm looking forward to seeing for myself how cricket in Afghanistan is developing, and how MCC can help with this process.

"With my experience in the Armed Forces [he served as an officer in the Royal Green Jackets], I am all too aware of the effects a conflict has on a country's people. If the sport can help to become a positive, motivating factor for the increasingly cricket-loving population of Afghanistan, that can only be a good thing."


MCC's secretary & chief executive, Keith Bradshaw, said: "Developing cricket worldwide is a core remit of MCC, and it's one we take very seriously. Matthew is the perfect ambassador for us to send out to Afghanistan. With his knowledge of the region, and of course his cricketing experience, he'll be able to investigate the ways in which the club can demonstrably help to develop cricket in the country."

Fleming's visit to Afghanistan has been co-ordinated by Nick Lockwood, Counter Narcotics and Rule of Law, at the British Embassy in Kabul. The four-day trip will culminate on Sunday, November 18, with a visit to the National Training Camp at the Afghanistan National Cricket Academy.

The sport's popularity in Afghanistan has surged since many of the refugees who fled from the country in the early 1980s, after the Soviet invasion, started to return from Pakistan - where they saw the game and started to play and follow it.

Afghanistan and Oman tied the final of the ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait.

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The 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup gets underway on October 27, a ten-team tournament held in Kuwait.

Hong Kong Cricket's website, which Cricinfo hosts, will have more once the tournament gets underway.

	Cricketers play in front of a crashed aeroplane © BBC

The BBC have an in-depth report on cricket in Afghanistan where the sport's popularity continues to thrive, in spite of the lack of money available for pitches, grounds and so forth.

No wonder many boys begin playing only to discover that it is difficult to make a living from the game.

"We have lost a lot of boys because of lack of money. Still there is no let-up in enthusiasm," says Taj Malik, the coach of the national team.

Cricket is now being played in 28 of the country's 34 provinces, up from four provinces during Taleban rule. There are some 12,000 registered cricketers playing at various levels.

At this rate, cricket, say experts, is on its way to overtaking football and buzkashi - a sport in which competitors on horseback drag a dead calf over a scoreline - as the most popular sport in the country.

Read the full article.

Nepal have qualified for next year's Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia after defeating a spirited Afghanistan side by 48 runs in the final of the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Elite Cup at the Kinrara Oval. Nepal successfully defended a modest of 172 to bowl out Afghanistan, who lost their last four wickets for three runs in 11 balls.

The tournament also served as the Asian qualifier and by virtue of winning it, Nepal joined Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific region), Ireland (from the Europe region), Bermuda (from the Americas region), the ICC's 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia at the 16-team World Cup to be played from February 17 to March 2, 2008.

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Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008.

The ICC’s decision follows a recent visit to the island by a development team to inspect the country’s suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

Continue reading "Jersey to host WCL Division Five tournament"

Seven bowlers each from Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal and the UAE will be sent to the MRF Pace Foundation, run by Dennis Lillee, ahead of the 2007 and 2008 World Cricket League.

"It is the ACC's intention that these teams do well in the World Cricket League and the MRF camp in Chennai is to prepare the five qualifiers for World Cup qualification. An invitation was extended to the Malaysian Under-19 squad to train at MRF as they have pre-qualified for the 2008 U-19 World Cup next February and can benefit from the opportunity to train from this year," says ACC Development Manager Sultan Rana.

Afghanistan and Norway might be in the lower echelons of the World Cricket League (WCL), but that isn't stopping either country aiming big. They want to play in the 2011 World Cup.

Is this a pipe dream or a genuine belief that, in four years' time, they will be able to compete with Full Member nations? Before they can even think about the World Cup, promotion from Division Five is a must. Read the full story at Cricinfo.

What are your thoughts? Does cricket need any more fledgling nations? Should the ICC increase funding to these minor nations? Leave your feedback in the comments below.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

Continue reading "A long way from home"

Bangladesh intends including cricket as a new event when it hosts the 11th South Asian Games in 2008. Eight nations - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - are expected to participate in the biennial meeting.

Continue reading "Bangladesh want cricket in 2008 South Asian Games"

According to CricketEurope, the ICC will expand the World Cricket League to five divisions:

The leading five European nations have already won places in the first three divisions: World Cup qualifiers Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland in Division 1 (which will take place in Kenya in January-February next year), Denmark in Division 2 (planned for Namibia in November 2007), and Italy in Division 3 (planned to take place in the USA in summer 2007).

But with an eight-team Division 5 tournament now planned for the first half of 2008, five places in which are assigned to the next ranked country in each region, Norway are guaranteed a slot, along with Afghanistan, Argentina, Botswana and the Cook Islands.

The three remaining places will be allocated by the ICC Development Committee when it meets in December, and those allocations will be based on the rankings of the next group of countries. This means that Jersey, runners-up to Norway in this year’s European Second Division tournament, and possibly even Germany, who finished third, will be competing with The Bahamas, Panama, Nepal, Singapore, Mozambique, Zambia and Japan for those last three positions.

Read the full story at cricketeurope.net

	The Afghanistan flag prepares to be raised at Sandhurst © Andrew Miller

This was a match-up that few could have envisaged. The future leaders of the British Army, many of whom could soon be serving in Afghanistan itself as the military operation in Helmand is stepped up, versus the pioneers of a sport learned in exile in Pakistan and carried back home with enthusiasm after the fall of the Taliban regime.

It was never a close contest, but in the spirit of past tussles between the two nations, neither side gave an inch until the final run had been scored, whereupon the Last Post was sounded and the Academy's standard was lowered from the flag-pole outside the pavilion.

Read Andrew's report of the day here.

An Afghanistan side is preparing for a seven-match tour of the UK which starts on June 11 and takes in several county 2nd XIs. Taj Malik, the coach, was keen to point out that the trip was about more than PR.

"The Afghanistan team will not be a joke. Our players have completed a 15-day training camp. They are ready to compete. All the Afghans in London are very keen and are waiting for the team."

The Afghanistan Cricket Foundation was only set up in 1995 in part as an effort to persuade young men involved in the civil war raging at the time to "pick up the ball and put down the gun," said one of the founders, Allah Dad Noori.

"When I saw the situation of my country, all the suffering, I thought, 'What can I do?'. At first they were not interested in the game but slowly, slowly you catch the monkey. I have seen people leave fighting and come and play cricket."

Afghanistan will tour England, playing Essex, Glamorgan and Leicestershire 2nd XIs during their 18-day trip which kicks-off on June 11.

"This year is very important for our cricket,” Taj Malik Alam, their coach, told the BBC. "I think it will be a turning point and if we win all the matches then we can get the attention of the international cricket community. We have a long way to go but we really want to participate in the World Cup and become one of the best teams in the world."

MCC is recruiting two young cricketers from Afghanistan. Their talent was spotted when they played key roles in steering their country to its 171-run victory over the Club in the historic MCC v Afghanistan match, played in late March, in Mumbai.

Mohammed Nabi hit an undefeated century – 116 not out – against the MCC attack, while Hamid Hassan impressed MCC’s batsmen (who included Mike Gatting) with the skill, aggression and pace of his bowling. Mohammed and Hamid will join MCC in mid-season and then play for the Club in another landmark match – the first-ever MCC v. Europe match – in the Netherlands in June.

They will subsequently join the ranks of the MCC Young Cricketers at Lord’s and receive expert guidance from the Club’s coaching staff, which is headed by Clive Radley

Mumbai was the setting for some memorable scenes on Wednesday and there was another notable occasion today. Hafti Gulabid, a fast bowler from Jalalabad, claimed the prize wicket of Mike Gatting for a duck as an ">Afghanistan side won their first ever match against MCC. Gatting took it all in his stride.

"I got a decent ball. This isn't a game you just go out and play. If you don't have practice you don't do as well as you should."

Cricket in Kabul © AFP

The Pajhwok Afjhan News reports that the lack of proper playing areas, and pitches, is the main impediment for the promotion of cricket in Afghanistan. This problem is dramatically highlighted in the picture on the right (click here to see the full-size version, and here for another photo), where a group of cricket fans can be seen playing a game on a concrete wasteland, in front of a destroyed helicopter.

The newspaper continues:

This was observed by Iqbal Sikandar, official of the Asian Cricket Federation, in an interview with Pajhwok Afghan News the other day.

He said Afghanistan had a lot of talent and if certain problems faced by the players were addressed, they would be able to join the international level games in the coming 10 years.

He said his stay in Afghanistan was meant to review the situation and find areas where the Asian Cricket Federation could help in promotion of the game here.

Expressing surprise over the promotion of cricket in Afghanistan, Sikandar said he never presumed such a development. He said cricket is the most popular game in Afghanistan.

He said in order to promote the game, there must be an international standard playground. But it is a pity that there was not even a simple ground in Afghanistan, he added.

Cricket in Kabul © AFP

One day in August 2001, during an inter-provincial tournament in Kabul, the Taliban's vice and virtue police turned up at a game in their 4x4 pick-up vehicles and some other cars surrounded the ground. We had forgotten to go to prayer. All the players and spectators were dispersed. Some people were arrested, including two players. They were imprisoned for about a week and missed the rest of the matches.

On another occasion, the then president of the Afghanistan Olympic Committee, Maulawi Qalamuddin, told us that the Taliban Grand Council wanted to ban cricket, which they considered to be an American game. We managed to convince the Taliban that cricket was not American and that it was in fact very similar to thope danda.

Cricket in Afghanistan is on the up. Though the fundamentalist Taliban banned all sports during its seven-year rule, more that 300 cricket clubs have sprung up all over the country during the last three years with the return of democracy.

President Hamid Karzai is a great cricket fan and watches the game whenever he finds time. He has promised a Toyota vehicle each to the team members if they are able to beat Pakistan. But our most cherished dream is to play against India