Afghan Cricket Association is excited to announce it’s first indoor soft-ball tournament ” ACA Indoor tournament” is scheduled to take place on Saturday the 15th of February 2020 from 1pm to 6pm.

It will be two round competition between 4 teams and each team will consist of 6 players (one sub player allowed). In the 1st round each team will play three games (round robin) and top two teams will go to the 2nd round (final) to battle for the trophy.

*Awards*?–
?Winner and Runners up the trophy
?Man of the match (final)
?Best bowler
?Best batsman

MIDDLESEX CRICKET AND AFGHAN CRICKET FOUNDATION LAUNCH EXCITING PARTNERSHIP TO ENGAGE AFGHAN COMMUNITIES IN 2019
Middlesex Cricket is today delighted to announce the launch of an exciting new partnership between the club and the Afghan Cricket Foundation (ACF) which will see the two organisations working hand in hand on several projects over the coming year to engage the Afghan community within and around London.

In the year when eighteen-year -old Afghan cricketing superstar Mujeeb ur Rahman will represent Middlesex in the Vitality Blast, what better time to join forces to try and engage UK resident cricket loving Afghans with one of the countries most respected county sides at the games most historic ground, Lord’s.

With over 100,000 Afghans currently living in the capital, the ACF and Middlesex will be running several engagement projects to bring the Afghan community together at Lord’s this summer, including launching a special membership promotion available exclusively through the ACF website.

Anyone purchasing the special membership offer through the ACF will also be invited to attend a unique event held at Lord’s later this summer, when they’ll get to meet Mujeeb in person, whilst enjoying hospitality at the finest venue in cricket.

Middlesex Cricket will also be playing a major part in helping to improve the standard of Afghan cricket within the capital – making their Finchley Indoor School facility regularly available to the ACF and providing professional coaching to improve players’ skills.

To crown the year, Middlesex Cricket will also be providing a representative side to take on the ACF  team after their annual cricket competition – with dates and venue still to be confirmed.

Speaking of the innovative new partnership, Middlesex Cricket’s Chief Operating Officer Rob Lynch, commented:

“We are delighted to have formed this partnership with the ACF and are really looking forward to working with them and to welcoming the Afghan community to Lord’s over the summer months ahead.

“With such a vibrant cricket loving Afghan population living in London, this partnership makes huge sense on so many levels, and with Mujeeb on board this year with Middlesex, we’re hoping to achieve great things in the Vitality Blast.

“It promises to be an exciting summer for Afghans in the capital.”

Bashir Gharwal, Chairman of the ACF commented:

“Founded not long ago, on 1st June 2016, we are proud of where ACF has reached. From only 6 teams in the first year, we now have 15 teams in different cities across the UK participating in our annual events.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Middlesex Cricket and we would like to thank the club for signing the Afghan mystery spinner Mujeeb – this will further strengthen the cricketing relationship between the two great nations which is one of our prime aims. It is also an excellent opportunity for our players and members to get professional training and showcase their talent on bigger stages.”

About the ACF

Afghan Cricket Foundation serves as the talent-hunt hub for UK based Afghans and acts as the centre of gravity for Afghan teams and clubs in the UK. They have previously collaborated with MCC during Afghanistan National Team’s first ever appearance at Lord’s, and Wormsley CC during the Afghanistan XI exhibition match against the Sir Paul Getty XI.

What is the best thing that has happened to Afghanistan in the last 2 decades? Afghanistan’s cricket unprecedented growth is as good an answer as any. Afghanistan is yet to play at home in the foreseeable future, owing to the security situation in their country but that has not stopped Afghanistan Cricket Team grow to an unprecedented level in the year 2018 and keep their fans entertained around the globe.

The year 2018 has been a year full of extraordinary achievements for Afghanistan in Cricket Field.  With their test debut against India, Afghanistan started the year with their T20 rankings at no 9 and finishing the year with no 8 as well as maintaining their ODI team rankings at no 10. This has been a result of some outstanding cricket that started with their 4-1 ODI series win against Zimbabwe in February 2017 that set them perfectly for their world cup qualifying tournament.

Afghanistan didn’t make it easy for themselves in the qualifier tournament. They lost their opening three qualifying games and World Cup qualification seemed a dream too far for the Asian minnows But they refused to give up, made the impossible seem possible and won rest of their matches to keep themselves in contention and qualified for the World Cup 2019. Afghanistan continued their success by white washing Bangladesh in T20 series by 3-0 in June 2018 and then finishing their year with a T20 and ODI Series wins against Ireland in June 2018 making them the only Country to have stayed unbeaten in ODI and T20 series cups in the year 2018.

Afghanistan also showcased their commitment, energy and passion on cricket ground in their appearance at Asia cup. They made history and truly won the title “The King of Upsets” by reaching the Asia cup super four stages for fist time. It wasn’t as though they somehow luckily reached this stage but they did it in style by comfortably beating Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and of course tying with India, the unbeaten current champions of Asia cup.

If there was one team that entertained the spectators with every single match, It would be Afghanistan as also perfectly described by Waqar Younis “For me Afghanistan is a Champion Team of this tournament.. They have won Hearts of the millions around the World.. Hats off to the Afghan boys”. With their back breaking spin bowling attack and impressive performances in batting, It filled Afghans at home with joy.

Individual players of Afghanistan have been the ambassadors across the world and have won millions of hearts across the globe. They have shined in every league and have won a special place for their spectators across the world. Rashid Khan was once again picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad at IPL along with Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ul Rahman. They were also considered in the BPL, Caribbean Premier League and Big Bash for their regular appearances. Thanks to Rashid Khan the leg spinner his team Adelaide Strikers managed to proceed to the final and won the tournament for first time since the league started. With his impressive bowling and batting Rashid Khan topped the table by taking the most (18) wickets in the tournament.

As a result of their continuous wins for Afghanistan and appearances in International Leagues Rashid Khan jumped from his 4th position in Oct 2017 to being ranked as the No1 T20 bowler. Rashid Khan also continues to surprise us all by skipping his ODI rankings from no 9 to the 2nd best ODI bowler. To make the impossible seemed possible Rashid Khan also shocked the world by becoming the No1 ODI All rounder followed by Muhammad Nabi  for the year ending 2018.

Mohammad Nabi also brought some changes to his ranking thanks to his incredible bowling backed with much needed runs with the bat making him the 2nd Best T20 all rounder and maintaining his 2nd position as an ODI all rounder.

With such outstanding individual and team efforts Afghanistan also hosted their first International Cricket League in their home ground Sharjah Cricket Stadium October 2018. Afghanistan Cricket Board managed to achieve some of their goals and objectives but more than that, This was an opportunity for the younger generation to enhance their skills against top cricketers around the world. With their senior players shining at the top of the rankings backed up by the young energy Afghanistan now feels confident to upset some of the top 10 teams in their appearance of ODI world cup 2019.

While the Nation Afghanistan goes through some tragic events on a daily basis, Afghanistan Cricket team has certainly been a source of happiness and joy for many Afghans living abroad or in Afghanistan.

Cricket is sometimes referred to as the hardest game to understand but it’s not as complicated as you might think. Cricket is quite similar to baseball but the rules are completely different. This guide will give a better insight about the game of cricket and how it’s played.

The Equipment’s (main gear used to play the game): 

For hard-ball cricket, you’ll need equipment’s such:

• Bat
• Ball
• Helmet
• Stumps
• Bails
• Pads
• Gloves
• Spikes (Cricket Shoes)

Hard ball cricket is for professional and club levels cricketers which cannot be played without the appropriate gear due to safety reasons.

If you’re playing a casual game of soft-ball cricket, all you need is comfortable clothing, energy and enthusiasm! Even if it’s you and your mate in the yard, you can still indulge a game.

Different Formats (international cricket)

• Twenty20 (T20) overs: is the shortest format of cricket played on international level. Each team is allowed to play 20 overs max, one bowler can bowl a maximum of 4 overs in T20s.
• One Day International (ODI): ODI is also limited overs format, the maximum number of overs one side can bat/bowl is 50 overs. One bowler can bowl a maximum of 10 overs.
• Test game: test is considered the highest standard of cricket, it is the longest format and can last for as long as five days.

Basics of the game:

• Cricket is a team sport played between two teams at a time, each team consists of 11 players.
• International/Club cricket is usually played at a proper cricket ground, the ground is normally a circular or oval shape covered by grass, surrounded by boundary marker and the pitch is placed in the middle of the ground.
• The order of a team’s batting or bowling is decided by tossing a coin. The captains that wins the toss decides whether his/her team is going to bat or field/bowl first.
• Both teams will have the chance to bat and field, there will be two batsmenof the batting side playing in pairs, and eleven Fielders of the opposition fielding to restrict the batting side to a low score or get them all out. Two out of the eleven fielders will have special roles, one bowling (throwing/releasing the ball after swinging the arm for at least one full revolution) and the second person doing wicket keeping (Wicket keeper), which means that he will have special protection (helmet, pads and gloves for safety reasons, as the ball is thrown at him with pace) and would stand behind the wickets/stumps.
• Stumps are normally spaced 22 yards apart. Stumps are three upright wooded posts place in the ground, two bails (small sticks) laid horizontally on top of the stumps.
• The batting side players will have to run between the stumps (22 yards distance) to score as many runs as they possibly can.
• A team can bat until they have completed the allowable over (depends on the format of the game, e.g. 20 0ver, 50 overs test) or, if ten of their 11 batsmen have been dismissed by the opposition.
• A batsman is declared out when he/she is bowled, caught, stumped, run-out, Leg Before Wicket (LBW), or hits the wicket (other ways could be when obstructing the field handled/ling the ball, timed out or hits the ball twice).
• One over is 6 balls/deliveries, bowled by the bowling/fielding side.
• When a bowler gets three back to back wickets (in three consecutive deliveries), it’s called hat-trick.
• When a bowler completes an over without conceding a run, it’s called maiden over.
• When a batsman scores 50 runs, its referred to as half-century or fifty.
• When a batsman scores 100 runs, it’s called century.
• The team with the highest score (runs) wins eventually.

Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the arrival of the British in the 19th century, however it wasn’t until the 1980s, after the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union, that the game really took grip. During Soviet Union war in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of young Afghans fled into Pakistan, where they were introduced to the game while in refugee camps along the country’s border. Passion for the game quickly spread, both in the camps and beyond.

Afghanistan cricket rose from the ashes of war, brought back by refugees, who had learnt to play in camps in Pakistan, using laundry sticks as makeshift bats and covering tennis balls with gaffer tape. The only game permitted by the Taliban, cricket has become Afghanistan’s fastest growing sport. In 1995, no one in Afghanistan knew what cricket was but by 2015, the national team was at the World Cup.  However, the first national trials were held in 2003. When they were invited to their first international tournament and in 2004, many players didn’t even have passports. Luckily, in 20 years Afghanistan’s cricketers had achieved what other teams take 50 years to do.

Most of cricketers avoid talking about their struggles in the refugee camps but instead they want to talk about cricket, especially the historic Test match. Yet, every time they go on to the field, they remind themselves of the difficult lives back home and vow to give their fellow Afghans reason to celebrate.

Over the last few years, the Afghanistan cricket team has gone from strength to strength. In 2013, they qualified for the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia. It was in 2015 that they won their first-ever series against a full member Zimbabwe and a year later, they beat the eventual champions, the West Indies, in the World T20. Over the last few years, their progress has been nothing short of meteoric: not only have they beaten Zimbabwe and Ireland, but they have also recorded a win against the West Indies on Caribbean shores; and they have whitewashed Bangladesh.

Awarded full member status alongside Ireland in June last year, Afghanistan is from today the world’s 12th Test-playing nation. Also, Afghanistan launched its very own T20 league, Afghanistan Premier League which will help to produce more world-class players and at a much faster pace.

Cricket has played a part in changing the country’s fortunes and has caught the public imagination because of the rise of the national team. It is giving people lot of happiness and pride. Domestic game is also getting better as it has produced a lot of good players such as Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.  They would not have emerged if there was a poor domestic structure. Both Rashid and Mujeeb have been performing exceptionally well and aspiring cricketers to look up to. And there are so many other talented youngsters who are waiting for a chance.

Of all the success stories created by Afghanistan’s extraordinary rise, none is more striking than that of Rashid Khan, a leg spinner who may be the most famous Afghan alive. Sides across the globe compete aggressively for his services; this year he became the youngest man ever to be ranked best bowler in the world. In a country where not long ago the mere act of playing cricket was taboo, Rashid Khan is the face of hope.

This unifying power of cricket is being used to transcend not just divisions as deep as the Taliban and the government the militants consider illegitimate, but also rivalries rooted in ethnic, tribal or clan differences. When the team had its crucial World Cup qualifier match, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks were all out on the streets dancing in celebration.

After attaining Test status in June 2017, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), has been continuously adding to its list of milestones and achievements. None comes better than its recent launch of its very own domestic T20 tournament, Afghanistan Premier League (APL).  Early part of August saw its approval by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the tournament was held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) between 5 and 21 October 2018. Five teams from different regions of Afghanistan competed against each other, with up to 40 overseas players, including cricketing stars: Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Shahid Afridi and many others. The tournament founded Balkh Legends, led by Mohammad Nabi, as the winners of its first-ever edition.

So, how successful has this new venture been? And how does this success differ to that of other major domestic T20 tournaments? What are the future prospects of APL? These are some of the questions this article will aim to cover.

Champions—Balkh Legends celebrating their victory over Kabul Zwanan  Photo credits: Balkh Legends

Success stories from first edition of APL?

First edition of APL displayed blistering innings from Mohammad Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai and Chris Gayle. Hazratullah Zazai smashed away 6 sixes in an over, matching Yuvraj Singh’s record and became joint fastest to fifty landmark with 12 balls, which was previously held by Yuvraj and Chris Gayle. In the bowling arena, Isuru Tillakaratna, Sayed Shirzad and Qais Ahmed showcased their talent.

This edition of APL presented a great opportunity for emerging players to showcase their talent on a big stage, share dressing rooms with international players and build long-lasting experiences that will definitely shape their careers. APL has provided International exposure to players like Qais Ahmed, which has played a vital role in their selection into other major T20 leagues, such as IPL, BPL, and CPL.

APL has already generated a boost in love for the game of cricket in Afghanistan. With growing viewership and popularity of the tournament, APL will stimulate an abundance of economic activity across the country; creating jobs, joy and a message of peace that will resonate with the entire nation.

Differences with other major domestic T20 tournaments?

First edition of APL just like the playing stages of the third edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) was hosted in UAE. Although the final stages of APL attracted decent-sized crowds, playing stages lagged. This was expected for the first edition of APL as it was for the first edition of PSL. As APL matures, it will attract healthier crowds, which will further stimulate its growth as a domestic T20 tournament.

In contrast, other major T20 tournaments to name a few, IPL, CPL and BPL are hosted in their respective home countries, which allows them to attract houseful crowds. Of all the tournaments, IPL attracts the biggest of crowds and is partly why the India-based tournament has seen its valuation grow so fast since its inception, with a value of $6.3 billion in 2018, according to Duff & Phelps. Similarly, BPL also enjoys growing returns through sponsorship and broadcasting rights.

Future outlook for APL?

It has happened with every domestic T20 tournament that the journey from its launch has yielded a plethora of positives. Tournaments have: grown in value, attracted bigger and bigger crowds, blossomed new economic activities, created players and the list goes on.

APL is expected to undergo a similar transition from its first edition to its subsequent tournaments. However, to encourage its fan base, it must demonstrate ingenuity as the tournament matures. Although it’s quite early in the process, it must devise plans for bringing final stages of the tournament home, in the next 2-3 editions. This will certainly create a positive vibe in the streets of Kabul and will almost certainly attract people from rural areas of Afghanistan.

Inception of APL marks ACB’s latest step in advancing cricket in Afghanistan. ACB has consistently manifested its dedication towards increasing Afghanistan’s presence in world cricket. As a nation, Afghanistan supports their endeavours and efforts. It’s this unity that will once again drive this successful venture in the form of APL.

ONE day, EIGHT teams, EIGHT trophies, more than a DOZEN matches and TWO Winners! A great tournament and some spectacular and sensational performances by all the teams.

The day started with a recitation followed by the national anthem, giving each team, player and all participants the spirit to work hard and make the winning trophy theirs!

For Tape Ball tournament:

In the tape-ball tournament, Ahmadzai CC and Spinghar Zalmi,  won 2 matches each and both lost 1 match each in the group stages. Noshaq and Baghlan Super Kings were undefeated confirming their spot for the final. Congratulations to Baghlan SK on winning the tournament, reclaiming the cup this year against last last year’s winners!

Afghan Tigers and Kabul Eagles were through to the final as they both defeated Katawaz XI, Katawaz XI was unlucky to lose both of their matches in the group stage. It was a tough competition between the finalists to win the trophy, both teams displayed some exceptional performances but Afghan Tigers came out on top at the end and won this years title (Hard-ball).

ACF gives everyone an opportunity to show their talent and to achieve more. ‪We would like to thank everyone who gave us a helping hand at the #ACAannualCup, our volunteers came as early as 6/7am & tirelessly helped us until 9/10pm, we wholeheartedly thank you for giving us your precious time, it wouldn’t have been possible without you. We also thank everyone who played, visited and cheered their friends.