Official Cricket Thread Part 302

[Axver]

Oh my fucking god they did what?!

Yeah I better hunt out a replay of this.

[cobl04]

Disbelief.

[Vlad n U 2]

Originally Posted by Axver

Good fucking luck chasing that, England.

Originally Posted by cobl04

God, England being shit in this tournament gives me such strong joy.

Imagine we're all expecting them to flop but then they do this.

[Axver]

Really want to see an Afghan fairytale tonight.

Had a few friends around earlier and one of them brought with her some Afghan biscuits that she baked. A good omen, right?

[Vlad n U 2]

Hell yeah to Shahzad hitting Abbott for 22 in an over. Shame he just got out. That was great.

[Axver]

Gutted to see Shahzad get bowled. What an exciting batsman. Still can't believe how far Afghanistan have come - even two years ago I would not have believed this. Hope they prove to be more than a Kenya (which has its own sad context, but you know).

Also I can't believe Noor Ali has been out there so long and faced so few balls! Shahzad owned the strike.

[Vlad n U 2]

Cricket is very big in Afghanistan from all reports, and even amidst the turmoil there new cricket stadiums have been built. If they're doing this well in the situation they're in, I don't think there's a limit to what they can achieve, but they must be given matches against the likes of the Windies and Sri Lanka soon. They're already too good for Zimbabwe in the shorter formats.

[Axver]

The ICC need to learn how to fucking grow the game. 15 years ago you'd have expected Zimbabwe and Kenya to be on the same level as Bangladesh are today. Now Zimbabwe has its own domestic context, but there's no excuse for the lack of oversight that has led to Kenya's implosion. Likewise, Ireland should now have Test status and the Netherlands should be getting a lot more games than they are. And, as you say, same for Afghanistan. They are surging and need to be given every chance possible.

Why not make it that every team that plays Pakistan in the UAE plays a warm-up game against Afghanistan? They'd come on in leaps and bounds surely.

[Vlad n U 2]

That would be a good move. Beating Zimbabwe regularly has really helped them along.
They don't even lose to Scotland these days.

They're still going at about 10 an over against a top team. Can't underestimate this effort!

[Axver]

I seriously can't believe this. Love seeing Afghanistan give this a red hot go and I hope they push this fine. I did intend to get an early morning tomorrow, but fuck it, I need to see the end of this game.

I'm relieved Morris completely missed that catch opportunity thanks to the sun.

[Axver]

Oh damnit, there goes Gulbadin Naib.

[Vlad n U 2]

He used to be an amateur bodybuilder I think. This was in the Afghan cricket documentary I linked here sometime in the past.

[Axver]

With the last couple of wickets, I fear this is getting beyond Afghanistan. Sure they pulled off a last-wicket stunner last year in the ODI World Cup against Scotland, but South Africa are on another level entirely.

[cobl04]

What happened with KEnya..?

[Axver]

Originally Posted by cobl04

What happened with KEnya..?

They made the 2003 semi-final and then imploded through poor internal management and a total failure of the ICC to do anything about it other than watch the ship sink.

Kenya should fucking be a Test country by now. Instead they're now well below even the best associates. Afghanistan or Ireland would cream them if they met today.

[Vlad n U 2]

They didn't really bother to develop the sport at the grassroots level either.

[cobl04]

The ICC don't give a minute fuck about the Associates. This Wt20 pre-qualifiers is nothing more than lip service. It's a damn shame.

[Vlad n U 2]

At some point it's going to become ridiculously inconvenient for them the way Afghanistan are gradually improving.

[cobl04]

I don't think so, because Afghanistan don't have any leverage, and the ICC are beholden to India, Australia and England, so they will just continue to give lip service to them.

[Axver]

Yeah if even Ireland hasn't fucking embarrassed them into action, what will? Afghanistan knocking off all of the big three in ODI series? Got to have the damn series booked first.