Cricket here we come — Afghanis

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zimfan1
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Cricket here we come — Afghanis

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Cricket here we come — Afghanis

By Wellington Toni

AFGHANISTAN is a country that is known for war — not that war is good — than its sporting prowess.


The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the centre of Asia.
It is variously designated as geographically located within Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. It is bordered by Iran in the south and west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.
Afghanistan is a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategic location, connecting South and Central Asia and the Middle East.
Because of this, the land has been a target of various invaders and conquerors, as well as a source from which local powers invaded surrounding regions to form their own empires.
Naturally, one would expect only that that failure called the Warriors would be playing such teams in football matches. Of late the Warriors having been having a penchant of playing the unknowns.
But brace yourselves for the Afghanis could be landing in Zimbabwe anytime for a game that you might not even think of: CRICKET.
There are some countries that you can never associate with certain sport — talking about soccer in India, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka is like talking about the Spanish Matadors in England and the US.
Just like talking about that farce called American football in England, Spain and France and even trying to introduce Indy-car racing in Europe. The US believes this type of racing is equivalent to Formulae One.
What a joke!
Yes, both Zimbabwe and the Afghanis are in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup and the two teams could clash as early as the end of July here in Zimbabwe.
It all started on 27 May, when Afghanistan cricket took a major step forwards with news that President Hamid Karzai has given the go-ahead for the creation of the country’s first national board.
Karzai made the announcement, as the establishment of a board was a requirement of funding from the ICC.
Cricket had previously fallen under the country’s government-funded National Olympic Committee (NOC), which regulates and manages all major sports in the country.
But cricket’s stakeholders have been openly critical of the way the sport was treated by the NOC, with particular concern at the lack of funding for a sport, which has put the country on the international map.
But no one, really, had followed their progress on the international scene and ZC must have been equally shocked that they were facing them in the same competition.
Lack of facilities means that Afghanistan are in effect a team in exile, although the substantial increase in payments from the ICC should help improve the infrastructure in a country which has no grass pitches. Despite that, the political situation inside Afghanistan makes it highly unlikely that there will be any significant home fixtures.
“This is breaking news for the sportsmen of Afghanistan,” the team’s secretary Taj Malook told AFP. “We will get our own budget and attract the international and government support we need. This has been much needed.”
Officially, Afghanistan remains an Affiliate member of the ICC, the third and lowest rung available. However, given it now has full one-day status, it is likely to be promoted to Associate in the near future.
The other countries in the competition are Scotland, the Netherlands, Canada, Ireland and Kenya.
But Zimbabwe will have to take the competition seriously because objections have already been raised by some ICC leading associations over the decision by ZC to field an A-team instead of a full strength squad.
Zimbabwe were included in the tournament as part of plans to help them return to the Test arena formulated following a fact-finding mission and report by Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies board. However, it was generally believed this meant they would field a full team in the competition.
“If the idea is this prepares them for Test cricket, then surely they should be made to field the players who are going to be in that Test side,” one associate chairman told Cricinfo. “An A team means that if they lose they can shrug and say, “well, it’s not our main side,” and yet if they win they can boast that even their second string squad is good enough.
At the ICC’s recent annual get together, both the Associates meeting and the chief executives’ committee separately tabled their concerns about this and pushed for Zimbabwe to be made to enter their best X1.
Senior ICC officials refused to force the issue, claiming that Hunte’s report did not compel Zimbabwe to enter a full-strength team. As a compromise, the side is likely to be known as Zimbabwe X1 rather than Zimbabwe A.
However, Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, told Cricinfo “even if it is a Zimbabwe XI it is a step in the right direction in terms of more games against Full Members or their A sides . . . I very much welcome their addition into the Intercontinental cup.
Zimbabwe has no huge pool of players and most of the players eyed for the August Bangladesh tour are easily identifiable — Prosper Utseya, Tatenda Taibu, Hamilton Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura, Chamu Chibhabha, Chris Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Tawanda Mupariwa, Ray Price, Sean Williams, among others and returnees Charles Coventry, Brendan Taylor and Mark Vermeulen.
The rest of the players will probably make the A team to face Afghanistan if the trip materialises. It would be an embarrassment, and a national tragedy, for ZC to try and give the youngsters an opportunity in the ICC, when the senior national needs more game time to prepare for a Test return. In fact, whoever came up with that idea knows he is putting the pride of the nation at stake, Canada, Kenya, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland have been in this competition for long, they can easily leave us with egg on the face.
http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/inside.aspx ... 3954&cat=5

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