Just 10 years ago, under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the Ghazi National Stadium in Kabul was the venue for public executions. In the next few months, it may be ready to host international cricket after the war-torn country became the latest addition to the International Cricket Council (ICC) one-day international (ODI) family.
The rise of Afghanistan in the sport has defied the world’s prejudices and their own limitations, to emerge as the Cinderella story of world cricket.
The Afghanis caused a stir in 2006 when they played an exhibition match in Mumbai against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Nobody expected them to win. In the first of many upsets, they convincingly beat the MCC by 190 runs. Mohammed Nabi scored 100, whereas one of the world’s finest batsmen, Mike Gatting, was dismissed for a duck. So began the dream journey.
A year ago, the country was playing in the fifth division of the World Cricket League (WCL) against fellow minnows in the sport such as Jersey, Nepal and Norway. They excelled and gained promotion to division three in Buenos Aires this year. Defeating the Cayman Islands by 82 runs to finish top of the division secured the Afghans a place in the 2011 World Cup qualifiers in South Africa.
Therein lay their greatest challenge. Despite defying the odds thus far to qualify for the World Cup, they would have to beat teams who had previously played in the event, such as Ireland, Canada, Kenya, Scotland, Holland and Namibia. Buoyed by the hero’s welcome they received after their third division victory and the prayers of the locals, they believed it was well within their sights.
When they entered the fifth division, then-coach Taj Malik vowed to take them to the World Cup, a lofty ambition for a country with only a few batting nets and one ‘ancient†bowling machine.
The lack of equipment has never been an impenetrable obstacle for the team. Most of the players are refugees, born in the northern state of Peshawar in Pakistan. They learnt to play cricket barefoot, in dusty refugee camps with makeshift balls. Raees Ahmadzai told Cricinfo.com: ‘We’d make cricket balls out of anything — cloth from a shirt, wrapping it round and round. And we’d cut trees and lay down bark for a wicket. We’d have two shoes for stumps, and if the ball went through the middle, you’d be out.â€
Ahmadzai became the tennis-ball cricket king of the Kacha Gari camp. He decided to pursue cricket on a full-time basis when he returned home.
Almost every member of the Afghan squad has a story similar to that of Ahmadzai. Hamid Hassan, the star bowler of the Afghan side, did not even wear spikes until 18 months ago. He bowled in flat shoes against the MCC in 2006. Even so, he impressed MCC president Robin Marlar, and soon found himself playing club cricket in England — complete with spikes.
Magnanimous rewards are not uncommon for the team. On winning the fourth division the Afghan Ministry of Haj awarded every member of the team with a trip to Mecca to complete the Muslim religious pilgrimage. The fairytale story of the Afghan cricket team has attracted much attention. A film crew has travelled with them for the past 15 months recording a documentary, Out of the Ashes, which tracks the team from Jersey to the World Cup qualifiers.
Although the romance of their rags-to-riches tale has won the hearts of the cricketing world, the team is not simply lapping up the fame. They see themselves as ambassadors for a country that carries a stigma of violence and unlawfulness. Hamid said: ‘We are not what people say, when they say we only fight. We — want to prove to the world Afghanistan is a country full of people like us.â€
That humility was evident during the three weeks the team spent in South Africa contesting the World Cup qualifiers. In victory and in defeat they would remember to observe their prayers as devout Muslims. Silently, they would line up at the side of the field, turn to Mecca and give thanks. After finishing fourth in their group, they narrowly qualified for the Super Eight of the competition, with the near-improbable task of winning all the matches to qualify for 2011.
That’s where the magic ended. They lost to Kenya, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, but it was their defeat by Canada that closed the door on their World Cup dreams. They can take some heart from the Super Eight, though, as they did beat eventual champions Ireland and defeated Scotland by 89 runs to finish fifth and earn the right to be recognised as an ICC ODI team for the next four years.
Gaining ODI status means money is sure to flow into the game in Afghanistan. They have previously survived on ICC funding and donations, but they can now search for a sponsor.
The board will look to expand, employ personnel such as a financial officer and media liaison, a website will be developed and a development programme will be started. The only question remaining is just how many international sides will be queuing up to play an ODI series in Afghanistan?