| Afghanistan | |
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| ICC membership granted | 2001 |
| ICC member status | Affiliate member with ODI status |
| ICC development region | Asia |
| World Cricket League division | One |
| ACC Trophy division | Elite |
| Captain | Nowroz Mangal |
| Coach | Kabir Khan |
| First recorded match | 15 October 2001 v Nowshehra at Gymkhana Ground, Peshawar, Pakistan |
| One Day Internationals | |
| ODI matches played | 3 |
| ODI wins/losses | 2/1 |
| First class cricket | |
| First class matches played | 2 |
| First class wins/losses | 1/0 |
| List A cricket | |
| List A matches played | 12 |
| List A wins/losses | 7/5 |
| ICC World Cup Qualifier | |
| Appearances | 1 (First in 2009) |
| Best result | 5th (2009) |
| As of 1 September 2009 | |
The Afghanistan national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Afghanistan in international cricket matches. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid 19th century, but it is only in recent years that the national team has become successful. The Afghanistan Cricket Federation was formed in 1995 and became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001[1] and a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) since 2003.[2]
The national team, formed in 2001,[1] has played in the 2009 World Cup Qualifier[3] after rising rapidly through the World Cricket League, starting in Division Five in May 2008.[4]. The Team failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, but did earn ODI status until 2013. This makes them the first affiliate nation in the history of Cricket to gain ODI status. They play in the Elite division of the ACC Trophy.[2]
Contents |
History
In the 1990s, cricket became popular amongst the Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, and the Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed there in 1995. They continued to play cricket on their return to their home country.[1] Like all sports, cricket was originally banned by the Taliban, but cricket became an exception in 2000 and the Afghanistan Cricket Federation was elected as an affiliate member of the ICC the following year.[5]
The national team was invited to play in the second tier of Pakistani domestic cricket the same year,[1] and the tour brought international media attention to Afghan cricket when the US-led invasion of the country began whilst the team was in Pakistan. The team lost three and drew two of the five matches on the tour.[5]
They played in two Pakistani tournaments in 2003, winning their first match that year. They began playing in Asian regional tournaments in 2004, finishing sixth in their first ACC Trophy. More success began in 2006 when they were runners-up to Bahrain in the Middle East Cup and beat an MCC side featuring former England captain Mike Gatting by 171 runs in Mumbai. Gatting was dismissed for a duck.[5]
They toured England in the summer of 2006, winning six out of seven matches. Three of their wins came against the second XIs of Essex, Glamorgan and Leicestershire.[2] They finished third in the ACC Trophy that year, beating Nepal in a play-off match.[5]
They won their first tournament in 2007, sharing the ACC Twenty20 Cup with Oman after the two tied in the final.[5] They began their qualifying campaign for the 2011 World Cup in Jersey in 2008, winning Division Five of the World Cricket League.[4] They finished third in the ACC Trophy Elite tournament the same year,[2] and won a second consecutive WCL tournament, Division Four in Tanzania later in the year.[2]
In January 2009, Afghanistan progressed to the 2009 World Cup Qualifier by winning Division Three of the World Cricket League in Buenos Aires, topping the table on net run rate ahead of Uganda and Papua New Guinea.[3]
In the 2011 Cricket World Cup qualifying tournament, Afghanistan failed to progress to the World Cup, but earned ODI status for 4 years. Their first ODI was against Scotland in the 5th place play off, having previously beaten the Scots earlier in the tournament; Afghanistan went on to win by 89 runs.
In the Intercontinental Cup Afghanistan played their debut international first-class match against Zimbabwe XI in a four day match in Mutare, Zimbabwe. During the match which was drawn Afghan batsman Noor Ali scored centuries in both his innings, making him only the fourth player to do so on their first-class debut. Later in August 2009 they played the Netherlands in same competition at the VRA Cricket Ground historically winning a low scoring match by one wicket.
Afghanistan took part in the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Afghanistan were drawn in Group A, a group which Afghanistan topped at the end of the group stages by wining all five of their matches. In the semi-finals the Afghans defeated Kuwait by 8 wickets. In the final they met the hosts, the United Arab Emirates who they defeated by 84 runs, with Mohammad Nabi scoring 73 runs and 4 wickets to earn the man of the match award. This victory meant Afghanistan qualified for the cricket tournament at the 2010 Asian Games.
Tournament history
World Cricket League
- 2008
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- Division Five winners[4]
- Division Four winners[2]
- 2009
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- Division Three winners[3]
ACC Trophy
- 1996–2002: Not eligible, not an ACC member.[2]
- 2004: 6th place[5]
- 2006: 3rd place[5]
- 2008: 3rd place (Elite)[2]
ACC Twenty20 Cup
- 2007: Joint winners with Oman[5]
- 2009: Winner
Middle East Cup
- 2006: Runners-up[5]
ICC World Cup Qualifier
- 2009: 5th place
The future
They also qualified for the ICC Intercontinental Cup and ICC Twenty Qualifier to be held in the future. The team has also stated its desire to play Pakistan and Australia in the near future.[6]
Players
Current squad
- The following table lists the players in Afghanistan's squads for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier[7] and the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup:
| Name | Age | Batting Style | Bowling Style | ODI matches | FC matches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| Nowroz Mangal | 24 | RHB | OB | 3 | 2 | Captain |
| Raees Ahmadzai | 25 | RHB | OB | 3 | 2 | |
| Samiullah Shinwari | 21 | RHB | LB | 3 | 2 | |
| Noor Ali | 21 | RHB | RMF | 3 | 2 | |
| Asghar Stanikzai | 22 | RHB | RMF | 3 | 2 | |
| Shabir Noori | Unknown | RHB | ||||
| All-rounders | ||||||
| Mohammad Nabi | 24 | RHB | OB | 3 | 2 | |
| Obaidullah Kunari | Unknown | RHB | RMF | |||
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| Mohammad Shahzad | 24 | RHB | 2 | 2 | ||
| Shafiqullah Shafaq | 20 | RHB | 1 | |||
| Karim Khan | 26 | RHB | OB | 1 | Regular off break bowler | |
| Badshah Hussain | Unknown | RHB | ||||
| Bowlers | ||||||
| Hameed Hasan | 22 | RHB | RF | 3 | 2 | |
| Hasti Gul | 25 | RHB | RMF | 2 | ||
| Dawlat Ahmadzai | 25 | RHB | RFM | 1 | 1 | |
| Khaleqdaad Noori | 25 | RHB | RFM | 1 | ||
| Shapoor Zadran | 24 | LHB | LFM | 2 | 2 | |
| Mirwais Ashraf | 21 | RHB | RFM | 1 | 1 | |
| Nasratullah Nasrat | 25 | LHB | SLO | |||
Records
One-day International
- Highest team total: 295/8 v Scotland, 19 April 2009 at Benoni, South Africa[8]
- Highest individual innings: 110, Mohammad Shehzad v Netherlands, 1 September 2009 at VRA Cricket Ground, Netherlands[9]
- Best innings bowling: 4/24, Shapoor Zadran v Netherlands, 30 August 2009 at VRA Cricket Ground, Netherlands[10]
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Most ODI runs for Afghanistan[11]
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Most ODI wickets for Afghanistan[12]
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First-class
- Highest team total: 427 v Zimbabwe XI, 16 August 2009 at Mutare, Zimbabwe[13]
- Highest individual innings: 130, Noor Ali v Zimbabwe XI, 16 August at Mutare, Zimbabwe[14]
- Best innings bowling: 4/24, Mirwais Ashraf v Netherlands, 30 August 2009 at VRA Cricket Ground, Netherlands[15]
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Most first-class runs for Afghanistan[16]
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Most first-class wickets for Afghanistan[17]
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References
- ^ a b c d Encyclopedia of World Cricket by Roy Morgan, Sportsbooks Publishing, Page 15
- ^ a b c d e f g h Profile of Afghanistan at the ACC website
- ^ a b c Afghanistan and Uganda seal place in ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, ICC Media Release, 31 January 2009
- ^ a b c WCL Division Five Official Site
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Timeline of Afghanistan cricket at CricketEurope
- ^ [1] at The Sunday Times sport
- ^ Afghanistan squad, Cricinfo.com Retrieved on 1 May 2009.
- ^ Afghanistan highest totals in ODI cricket at Cricinfo
- ^ Individual high scores in an innings for Afghanistan in ODI cricket at Cricinfo
- ^ Most wickets in an innings for Afghanistan in ODI cricket at Cricinfo
- ^ "Afghanistan ODI Career Bowling". Cricinfo. http://stats.cricinfo.com/afghanistan/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=2;id=40;type=team.
- ^ "Afghanistan ODI Career Bowling". Cricinfo. http://http://stats.cricinfo.com/afghanistan/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?class=2;id=40;type=team.
- ^ Afghanistan highest totals in first-class cricket at Cricinfo
- ^ Individual high scores in an innings for Afghanistan in first-class cricket at Cricinfo
- ^ Most wickets in an innings for Afghanistan in first-class cricket at Cricinfo
- ^ "Afghanistan first-class career batting". Cricinfo. http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=4;id=40;type=team.
- ^ "Afghanistan first-class career bowling". Cricinfo. http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?class=4;id=40;type=team.
See also
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