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Afghanistan
KP’s quest for form and Bangladeshi enthusiasm
By Rich Abbott Friday, 2 weeks ago, 2 Comments »
It’s the innings break at Chittagong, and for a dead-rubber against a team England have never lost to, the third and final ODI against Bangladesh has plenty to recommend it. Indeed, enough to persuade me to drag a duvet down to the living room at 3:00 this morning, though sadly that owes as much to a heady mixture of jet-lag and unemployment as it does possible on-pitch excitement.
Still, a potential eruption from mount Kieswetter, an ODI debut for Ajmal Shahzad, another chance for England’s pace-men to work out how to be threatening on the sub-continent and the continuation of Alastair Cook’s captaincy internship, awaited. Not to mention another chance to assess a certain number three batsman.
And so to the much-talked-about, uber-complicated, arguably-misunderstood, out-of-form elephant at the crease. Kevin Pietersen made a scratchy 22, before being pinned lbw by his chief poacher – a slow left-armer. He still hasn’t scored over 50 in an ODI since 2008, and this morning’s effort was not the corner-turn I’d hoped for as I stumbled out of bed to the news that England were batting first.
There will be calls for his head. But the opportunities left on this tour are few as it is, and cutting them further would be counter-productive. Providing he’s picked for the Tests, it’s possible that Pietersen only has three innings left this tour: a warm-up match and a couple of Test innings (batting twice is no guarantee in Tests against Bangladesh). Pietersen needs those innings, and if his recent form has hardly earned them, his first four years in an England shirt did.
A man who deserves a pat on the back, rather than an arm round the shoulder, is Craig Kieswetter. 107 in only his third ODI confirms many a suspicion about him. The contrasting travails of these two adopted Englishmen has added interest to a highly-watchable series, which on paper may have seemed anything but.
So too has the opposition. Allied to England’s unanswered questions was a final reason to disobey my body and heed my early alarm call: I like watching Bangladesh. Like many an Englishman, I’ve had a soft spot for them since 18th June 2005, and can’t help admiring the way that they’ve dealt with numerous setbacks and frequent defeat since then. They rattle through the overs at the rate everyone is supposed to, boast one of the world’s leading players, clearly enjoy what they’re doing and are getting pretty good at it. The home crowd is endearingly enthusiastic, to the point where they sometimes appear to be watching a different game. Local boy Tamim Iqbal raised the roof every time he so much as sneezed this morning.
I haven’t seen Afghanistan play cricket, so am in no position to comment on them, but it seems that they possess unbridled enthusiasm and no little skill. Despite gaping weaknesses, the same can be said of Bangladesh, and they’re getting better. The test for Afghanistan will be to see if, after a few inevitable thumpings at the top table of international cricket, they can maintain the same positive approach shown this series by Bangladesh.
2 Comments »Afghanistan chase down 494
By Will 1 month ago, 3 Comments »
Even I was beginning to wonder when the bubble would burst. It hasn’t yet. Afghanistan’s progress as a cricketing nation has reached a whole new, perhaps worrying, level after chasing down 494 to beat Canada. It is the ninth-highest fourth-innings run-chase in first-class history. If that’s too much to comprehend (or too many hyphenated words to stomach), just check out the bulletin to get your head around it all.
Have they finally peaked? And why do I ask? What is it about human nature that appeals for failure, modesty, mediocrity? Or is it my fear that if the bubble bursts, it’ll never re-inflate? Who knows. I’m beginning to think, though, that that doesn’t matter any longer. They’ve achieved enough already. And let’s be honest: this is not merely a sporting accomplishment but one that impacts on a fractured, oppressed society. At least, that’s one of the things I’m trying to write about for Sports Illustrated magazine – in newstands in a month, folks!
Anyway. I don’t want them to fail, but watching this side pole-vault their way past opposition is a little like watching someone try to sprint on an icy pavement: you can’t help wondering when they’re going to fall flat on their backsides. But, flippin’ heck, it’s fun.
3 Comments »Afghanistan conquer USA
By Will 1 month ago, No Comments; be the first!
Admittedly, I hold what might be described as a vested interest in Afghanistan cricket. I met them in South Africa last year and watched them qualify, but I wasn’t the only writer or observer who was instantly struck by their talent and determination. Much of this freedom of expression on the pitch was reflected by their past, a story now romanticised and in danger of becoming cliched if spoken about too often (by me, most likely), but until that time comes, we can enjoy watching them play and win. And win, and win.
They’re owning the current tournament. Today, in a match written in the minds of cynical sub-editors the world over, they took on the USA and thrashed their pants off.
The current group of players are decent and fearless, born into a generation of war and oppression. They’re using cricket as their chance to prove Afghanistan is more than simply a flattened nation of plight and famine and dictatorship and blood. What, though, will happen when the money from the ICC arrives into the hands of a hotch-potch, inexperienced and – let’s be honest – possibly unsafe hands of their administration? Corruption is endemic in the country. It would be a miracle if the sleepy sport of cricket avoided that particular bombshell.
Let’s enjoy them winning while we can because, with the almost non-existant facilities they have, it’s becoming more and more remarkable that they continue to achieve so much from so little.
No Comments »Afghanistan: Showing the Taliban
By Will last year, at the end of May, No Comments; be the first!
I confess an interest in Afghanistan. When I was growing up, I read devoured any books about war, and inevitably lots about the Soviet invasion and the Mujahideen. The Taliban’s medieval militancy fascinated me too, and last year I skipped through Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, an extraordinary tale that I can’t recommend highly enough. Meeting and interviewing the Afghanistan cricket team in South Africa brought some cracking tales, too, from a bunch of players desperate to prove their country aren’t just full of suicide bombers.
So, I’m always interested reading about war-torn countries from the front line, and Reuters’ blog is just about the best going for in-depth, occasionally quirky insights from all walks of life, but especially Afghanistan and Iraq. Their photographers are slap, bang in the thick of it – it’s required reading for anyone vaguely interested in photography and journalism.
Their latest is by Masum Ghar in Kandahar Province, whose final photo is a corker:
Cricket camp in Afghanistan
By Will last year, at the start of May, 2 Comments »
As you may or may not have read, I recently interviewed Matthew Fleming on the eve of his MCC-affiliated trip to Afghanistan to unveil new pitches, as well as provide equipment to rural villages. Leslie Knott, who is the producer of a film called Out of the Ashes covering Afghanistan’s rise, has been in regular touch with some fabulous photos from the camp, and I thought you’d like to see them below.
All photos are copyright Leslie Knott 2009. If you want to link to them or purchase others, please contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Leslie. Kindly don’t lift them straight from the blog
MCC at heart of Afghanistan’s future
By Will last year, at the end of April, 1 Comment »
In another life, Matthew Fleming might have embarked on a trip to Afghanistan waylaid with bivvy bags and ponches rather than pads, stumps and a weighty remit from cricket’s oldest establishment.
MCC at heart of Afghanistan’s future – Read the rest of the piece at Cricinfo.
1 Comment »Not here for now
By Will last year, mid-April, No Comments; be the first!
I’m out in South Africa, in case you hadn’t noticed, covering the World Cup Qualifiers, so all my stuff can be read at Cricinfo. All sorts of gubbins. An interview with Richard Done, an Afghanistan refugee, Colin Wells (remember him?) and other bits. Shan’t be blogging at all until early May, or possibly longer.
No Comments »Afghanistan into World Cup Qualifiers
By Will last year, at the start of February, 5 Comments »
Well, they’ve bloody done it. Afghanistan have won the World Cricket League Division 3, thus (as all Corridor readers know too well) permitting them entry into the Qualifiers in South Africa. It’s the final hurdle to participating in the 2011 World Cup.
I mentioned last week a piece in The Times by Tim Albone previewing the tournament and the Afghans. What I forgot to mention is that he’s making a documentary all about them. The trailer – 10 whole minutes in fact – deserves your attention.
5 Comments »Afghanistan’s story of inspiration
By Will last year, at the end of January, 11 Comments »
I wrote a piece previewing the World Cricket League Division 3 this week. What? Well, it’s a crucial tournament which gets underway today in Argentina; the top two proceed to the World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa and, if they win that, they’ll be in the 2011 World Cup. The focus is on Afghanistan, their story of a war-torn country suddenly moving up the cricketing ladder being both an unlikely romantic tale and one of blind hope and desire. So keep an eye on our reports, player diaries and so on.
The Times’ Tim Albone has an enjoyable piece on the Afghans too:
11 Comments »If the game in England is smooth grass wickets, in Peshawar it’s broken concrete and rutted, dusty pitches. The dirt tracks that dissected the camp were furrowed and many of the houses little more than mud huts. But the camp was, at its height in the Eighties and Nineties, a mini-city. More than that, it was a state in exile. Beside the mud huts, where the poor lived, stood the palatial houses of Afghan tribal chiefs and the elite. Kacha Gari gave the children of Afghanistan opportunities their homeland couldn’t provide. They could go to school, they could walk around freely without having to worry about bombing raids or violence. And they could play cricket.
“When the Red troops came we emigrated to Pakistan,” says Hasti Gul. “Now, thank God, we are sitting in our country and we are representatives of our country. We thought we would never come back.”
Prince Harry at war
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of February, 3 Comments »
What does it say about the modern world that Prince Harry can lead a “relatively normal life” as a soldier in Afghanistan, arguably more normal than his life in this country? Judging by the interview he gave to the BBC yesterday, his few weeks out there were probably the highlight of his life so far. Just let him get on with it; all this nonsense about him being a sitting target for the Taliban is ridiculous. He’s not strolling the wadis on his own. He’s part of the army and attached to the Gurkhas.
On the other hand, Mick Smith – whose always enjoyable blog often gives snippets of defence news that might otherwise slip by unnoticed – suggests we might have made Harry a marked man for the rest of his life. Isn’t he already? If the Taliban or an Islamic extremist in the UK wanted to take a pot shot at him, they could – regardless of his involvement in Afghanistan. He and the Royals are sitting ducks every day of their lives, so why not just let them try and lead a normal life – even if that is at war?
3 Comments »