ICC Status: Affiliate member Number of players: Unknown Number of clubs: Unknown Address of governing body: Afghanistan Cricket Federation, PO Box 970, Kabul, Afghanistan
Afghanistan profile
2004 Wisden Almanack review
The boom in Afghan cricket – which began when the first refugees returned
from their camps in Pakistan after the fall of the Taliban government –
continued in 2003. There are now more than 2,500 players and leagues spread
across 16 of the country’s 21 provinces. Nearly all the players are Afghan
with almost no expat participation except from the British forces team. The
British Embassy, with support from several counties and sponsors, handed
over a large quantity of kit, and the ECB donated six Kwik cricket sets which
are now used on a regular basis in schools in Kabul. A new limited-over
contest, the Olympia Lube Oil tournament, was held in May. It featured the
first use of coloured clothing and white balls in Afghanistan: Khost beat 13
other teams to win a hard-fought competition. And in June, Afghanistan were
made Associate Members of the Asia Cricket Council. The senior Afghan
squad made several visits to Pakistan during the year, with mixed but
encouraging results. Afghan government support for the development of
cricket continues at all levels, and the president’s advisor on tribal affairs,
Shah Zada Masood, was elected as president of the cricket federation.
Problems remain: for instance, Khost, near the Pakistan border, is a very
keen cricketing province but is still troubled by fighting between Al-Qaeda
and Coalition forces. However, cricket is helping provide hope in Afghanistan.
Allah Dad Noori, the founder of the Afghanistan Cricket Federation, was
playing one day in Kabul when a young man walked by carrying an AK47,
watched for a while before being invited to join in. Afterwards, he asked if
he could play next time. When he returned he was without the rifle. “Where’s
your AK47?” asked Noori. “Oh, I don’t need that,” the youth replied. “I’m
playing cricket!” The aim of the ACF is to get all the men of Afghanistan
to choose cricket instead of guns. Khalil Khan and Andrew Banks
