Afghanistan batsman Samiullah Shenwari and his team-mates are a group of overjoyed cricketers after winning their first ever World Cup match, in a hard fought victory against Scotland at the University Oval in Dunedin on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ireland needed 36 runs off 30 balls with four wickets remaining. They squeaked past a spirited United Arab Emirates team by two wickets, with four balls to spare.
Two head-to-head matches between Associates in two days have produced superbly compelling contests, each filled with tension and drama.
Just take a look at how the Afghanistan chase progressed against Scotland. Chasing a modest 211, Afghanistan started well and got to 85/2 in 18 overs. At that point, they were well on par with run-rate and had wickets in hand. Fast forward to the 24th over and Afghanistan found themselves at 97/7, and were seemingly out of the match. But Shenwari, kept calm and carried on, scoring a well-composed innings of 96 runs from 147 balls, ensuring that his team made 42 runs in their last five overs to take them over the line, with one wicket and three balls to spare. No successful chasing team in a World Cup match had gone on to win a match after a collapse where they lost five wickets for 12 or fewer runs.
UAE rising
A day before that, Shaiman Anwar scored the first-ever World Cup century for United Arab Emirates to lead his team to 278. Here again, Ireland lost wickets at regular intervals, with their run-rate slowing down after each one of them. But a brilliant blitz by Kevin O’Brien and wicketkeeper Gary Wilson helped take their team to victory – their second in this World Cup. Earlier, they chased down 305 runs to defeat a formidable West Indian team.
The performance by these so called minnows, as the four Associate member teams in the World Cup are called, just goes to show how much more exciting a World Cup is with their inclusion. They provide the occasional upset against one of the top 8 teams and even though matches between themselves are played in front of empty stands, they produce exciting cricket. On current form, these Associates might just be better prepared than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. They play with passion and, being underdogs, don't fear losing. The kind of experience they get from the World Cup is invaluable as most of them don’t get play any of the top eight teams during the four years in between. Perhaps this is what explains why the cricketing fans were visibly upset when the International Cricket Council announced that the next edition in 2019 to be played in England would be shortened to a 10-team a side affair.
A recently started petition on Change.org has already garnered 11,000 plus signatures. Petitioner Nick Sharland writes:
Sharland makes a valid point. For instance, plans have been considered to expand the Football World Cup from the current 32 teams to 40, or even 48 teams. The idea behind this is to expand the fan base of the sport, as more viewers would thus get to see their country play on the biggest stage. And, of course, the smaller teams gain experience that they would not get otherwise. Lastly, if Associate Members get to play in the World Cup, it results in keener competition among the smaller countries who try even harder to qualify.
Notable victories
Similarly, the Cricket World Cup can do with keeping it at 14 teams. Kenya made the semi-finals of the 2003 edition and Ireland made the Super Eight stage during the 2007 edition. The Afghanistan team have gone from playing in Division Five and having no grounds in 2006, to championship runners up in 2013, and now their first World Cup victory.
If the ICC wants to keep the Afghanistan team on the ascent, then they have to give them more matches against established teams. One way to do this is in the World Cup group stages. Who knows, Afghanistan might just be the next team (after Ireland in 2015?) to reach the quarter-final stage or further.
For Afghanistan, a war-ravaged nation that took up the sport only 15 years ago, the improvement is remarkable. If we want other such cases, we must support a 14-team World Cup and not hamper development by reducing the number of teams.
Afghanistan's presence in the World Cup also helps it outside the cricketing stadiums. Dr Noor Muhammad, a former chief executive of the Afghan Cricket Board, told Scroll,
“Ten years ago there was nothing. Now in the street, in the schools, everywhere there is just cricket”, Shenwari told the media after their remarkable victory against Scotland.
On Wednesday, Ireland needed 36 runs off 30 balls with four wickets remaining. They squeaked past a spirited United Arab Emirates team by two wickets, with four balls to spare.
Two head-to-head matches between Associates in two days have produced superbly compelling contests, each filled with tension and drama.
Just take a look at how the Afghanistan chase progressed against Scotland. Chasing a modest 211, Afghanistan started well and got to 85/2 in 18 overs. At that point, they were well on par with run-rate and had wickets in hand. Fast forward to the 24th over and Afghanistan found themselves at 97/7, and were seemingly out of the match. But Shenwari, kept calm and carried on, scoring a well-composed innings of 96 runs from 147 balls, ensuring that his team made 42 runs in their last five overs to take them over the line, with one wicket and three balls to spare. No successful chasing team in a World Cup match had gone on to win a match after a collapse where they lost five wickets for 12 or fewer runs.
UAE rising
A day before that, Shaiman Anwar scored the first-ever World Cup century for United Arab Emirates to lead his team to 278. Here again, Ireland lost wickets at regular intervals, with their run-rate slowing down after each one of them. But a brilliant blitz by Kevin O’Brien and wicketkeeper Gary Wilson helped take their team to victory – their second in this World Cup. Earlier, they chased down 305 runs to defeat a formidable West Indian team.
The performance by these so called minnows, as the four Associate member teams in the World Cup are called, just goes to show how much more exciting a World Cup is with their inclusion. They provide the occasional upset against one of the top 8 teams and even though matches between themselves are played in front of empty stands, they produce exciting cricket. On current form, these Associates might just be better prepared than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. They play with passion and, being underdogs, don't fear losing. The kind of experience they get from the World Cup is invaluable as most of them don’t get play any of the top eight teams during the four years in between. Perhaps this is what explains why the cricketing fans were visibly upset when the International Cricket Council announced that the next edition in 2019 to be played in England would be shortened to a 10-team a side affair.
A recently started petition on Change.org has already garnered 11,000 plus signatures. Petitioner Nick Sharland writes:
“No other global sport is seeking to contract its show-piece event, and neither should cricket. The decision to reduce the 2019 and 2023 World Cups to ten teams threatens not only the development of cricket in top associate nations like Afghanistan and Ireland, but the growth of cricket into a truly global sport. This should be the ICC's greatest ambition, and a ten-team World Cup would shatter that dream. The decision must be reversed”.
Sharland makes a valid point. For instance, plans have been considered to expand the Football World Cup from the current 32 teams to 40, or even 48 teams. The idea behind this is to expand the fan base of the sport, as more viewers would thus get to see their country play on the biggest stage. And, of course, the smaller teams gain experience that they would not get otherwise. Lastly, if Associate Members get to play in the World Cup, it results in keener competition among the smaller countries who try even harder to qualify.
Notable victories
Similarly, the Cricket World Cup can do with keeping it at 14 teams. Kenya made the semi-finals of the 2003 edition and Ireland made the Super Eight stage during the 2007 edition. The Afghanistan team have gone from playing in Division Five and having no grounds in 2006, to championship runners up in 2013, and now their first World Cup victory.
Afghanistan's cricket team in 2006 with less facilities & no grounds from div 5 2008 upto worldcup 2015 #BlueTigers : pic.twitter.com/1ATHfzGdic
— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 26, 2015If the ICC wants to keep the Afghanistan team on the ascent, then they have to give them more matches against established teams. One way to do this is in the World Cup group stages. Who knows, Afghanistan might just be the next team (after Ireland in 2015?) to reach the quarter-final stage or further.
For Afghanistan, a war-ravaged nation that took up the sport only 15 years ago, the improvement is remarkable. If we want other such cases, we must support a 14-team World Cup and not hamper development by reducing the number of teams.
Afghanistan's presence in the World Cup also helps it outside the cricketing stadiums. Dr Noor Muhammad, a former chief executive of the Afghan Cricket Board, told Scroll,
“it was the first time that both the Taliban side and our side were shooting, but not at each other. There was shooting in the air to celebrate the success of the Afghanistan national team”. Countries unite when their sporting team plays on the national stage and after today’s victory by Afghanistan, the celebrations will be going on for days".
“Ten years ago there was nothing. Now in the street, in the schools, everywhere there is just cricket”, Shenwari told the media after their remarkable victory against Scotland.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!