The Afghanistan cricket team began a three-week playing tour of Australia yesterday to help them prepare for their first appearance at a one-day World Cup tournament.
Ranked 11th in ODIs, the results of matches against teams from Western Australia and Canberra, as well as in New Zealand against North Island-based teams, will not really matter — Afghanistan are here to experience conditions they will face in February and March next year, when the Cricket World Cup is hosted by both countries.
They are in Pool A, which includes four-time champion Australia, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Scotland.
Photo: AFP
Afghanistan are coached by Englishman Andy Moles, whose brother, an antiterrorism expert, advised him against taking the job in the war-torn country.
Moles is a former Warwickshire opening batsman who has also coached New Zealand. He initially moved to Kabul as batting coach, but took on the head job when Kabir Khan quit several weeks ago.
“It’s going to be frustrating, but if we get it right I think it can be very rewarding, both for players and also for what I want to get out of the job,” Moles told Fairfax Media over the weekend. “A lot of people told me I shouldn’t go... You have to be smart about your preparations for the day. I don’t go out at night at this stage, but hopefully after the [Afghan presidential] elections get sorted out it will be better.”
Afghanistan captain and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who was born in a Peshawar refugee camp, is the side’s star. He is also optimistic.
“This will be written in the history of Afghanistan, as we are the first-ever sports team in the country to qualify for a World Cup,” Nabi said in an International Cricket Council (ICC) statement.
“We have the capability to upset one or two teams. This will be the chance for Afghans who are based in Australia or New Zealand to come to the grounds and support their team,” he added.
The tour is part of the ICC’s High Performance Program for a team who only became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2001. Afghanistan has appeared in three consecutive ICC World Twenty20 tournaments since 2010.
After yesterday’s match against a WACA side in Perth, Afghanistan are to play again tomorrow in Perth before two matches in Canberra. They conclude their tour in Tauranga, New Zealand, where they are to play matches against Auckland and Northern Districts.
“We and the whole nation are looking forward to the tournament,” Nabi said. “All Afghans want that team to play well in the World Cup. Our main objective as a team will be to acclimatize ourselves with the local conditions and get maximum advantage out of the tour; we will be playing some tough state and provincial teams.”
Afghanistan are to open their World Cup campaign on Feb. 18 against Bangladesh in Canberra.
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