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Overview

The Afghanistan team’s growth will get a boost when they play their second major international tournament over the next few weeks. Their matches against Pakistan and Australia earlier this year drew a lot of interest among cricket fans despite the contrasting calibre of both teams. But away from the mystique attached to a cricket team from a troubled land, and the live television coverage, they are a team that is simply a work in progress at a competition to which they bring an unmistakable spirit.Like other top Associate and Affiliate nations, Afghanistan’s enthusiasm for the game hasn’t been satiated by participation in the Intercontinental Cup and the World Cricket League Championships. After completing qualification for the Sri Lanka event, they were invited to take part in the Port-of-Spain Twenty20 tournament. They ended up as champions, winning $50,000 ahead of Bangladesh (playing as BCB XI), Barbados and the hosts Trinidad & Tobago. But these competitions are still a world away from the cauldron of the World Twenty20s where they have to get everything right against India and England, their group stage opponents.As can be expected from a team that relies on raw skill, Afghanistan have plenty of batsmen who take the aerial route. Mohammad Shahzad will get things rolling alongside the young Javed Ahmadi. Karim Sadiq, captain Nawroz Mangal and Asghar Stanikzai make up the middle-order, with all three capable of attack. Mohammad Nabi is the star big-hitter and has been recently used up the order to further their attacking ambitions.They missed fast bowler Hamid Hassan for eight months this year but his return as the team’s leading bowler would help the likes of Dawlat Zadran and Izatullah Dawlatzai who carried the attack in the interim, with left-arm pacer Shapoor Zadran also helping out. Samiullah Shenwari’s leg-breaks and the off-spin of Nabi bring variation but against the big hitters of England and India, the spinners’ eight overs would be heavily tested.Afghanistan should give their group A opponents, as strong as they maybe, reasons to worry. After all, England knows all too well what it’s like to lose to one of the smaller teams in the opening game of this competition.

Key player

Mohammad Nabi can hit the ball out of a stadium, as Xavier Doherty would know so well. Despite the big-hitting ability, he is still regarded mainly as an offspinner. He has form on his side though, having won the Man-of-the-Series award in the Trinidad tournament. And if the four sixes against Australia is any evidence – three belted down the ground and one high over midwicket – he could be a threat to a few reputed bowlers.

Surprise package

Though Hassan would roar in with the new ball, with or without the head-band, as the team’s most recognisable player, Mohammad Shahzad’s aggressive start with the bat could make him the headliner. He is the team’s leading scorer in ODIs and T20Is, with more than 1000 runs which includes three hundreds and six half-centuries. The 24-year-old Shahzad also doubles up as Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper.

Weakness

Afghanistan are still relatively an inexperienced side and are yet to get enough exposure at the highest level. They might have improved as a team, their batsman and bowlers have all the basic skills, but they lack the experience which other teams fall back on in times of distress.

World T20 history

Afghanistan began playing ODIs in 2009 and the next year they secured a berth in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. They were expectedly knocked out from the preliminary stages after losing to India by seven wickets and South Africa by 58 runs, though they did restrict the latter to a score below the 150-mark. They made it to this tournament through a long qualifying campaign held in the United Arab Emirates in March this year.

Recent form

Afghanistan has had a quiet build-up to the World Twenty20s after confirming participation in this tournament. They were beaten by Australia by 60 runs but it didn’t break their spirit. They won two games in the Trinidad tournament and also defeated Sri Lanka A in their first practice game in Colombo. They however lost to West Indies by eight wickets on Monday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Gulam Bodi scored a vital half-century for Lions•AFP

Gulam Bodi said at the half-way stage that his team, Lions, may have fallen around 15 short of their desired total but a spirited performance with the ball in favourable conditions was too much, even for a power-packed Delhi Daredevils batting line-up. Following up on Bodi’s half-century and Neil McKenzie’s death-over surge, Lions’ Chris Morris bowled an outstanding spell and, backed ably by his spinners, helped knock out the only remaining IPL team from the Champions League. In doing so, Lions also kept alive the possibility of an all-South African finale in this diverse franchise tournament.Lions managed a fighting 139 but Daredevils would have felt justified in their decision to bowl first in overcast conditions amid plenty of breeze. Their bowlers found swing, movement and good bounce, and the assistance lasted through the game. But Daredevils had the batsmen to counter that and they’d infused their line-up with more power up the order, with regular captain Mahela Jayawardene, surprisingly, sitting out again to make way for David Warner in the opening slot. Warner did attack, but briefly, and the early departure of Daredevils’ openers was key in Lions being able to keep the pressure on.They were helped by Virender Sehwag, who fell first ball trying to loft Sohail Tanvir over mid-on only to be caught, though Warner and Kevin Pietersen staged a counterattack. Both targeted Dirk Nannes, who was squeezed through extra cover for two boundaries from Warner and thrashed down the ground by Pietersen. But Morris, brought on first change, with his high-arm action, accuracy, minimal but unsettling movement and encouraging bounce tightened one end up. The bounce accounted for Warner, who top-edged a catch back to the bowler while attempting to jab one on the leg side, and that began a phase of stagnation.It coincided with the introduction of spin, and Unmukt Chand found it difficult to get a move-on. While Morris was probing away at one end, Aaron Phangiso and Jean Symes, both left-arm spinners, gave little away, slowing it up often as the batsman found it hard to connect desirably when often swinging across the line. Overs six to ten yielded just 17 runs, Chand tied down at one end before he went down holing out to long-on, desperately seeking a lift. Instead of Ross Taylor, out came Irfan Pathan and his promotion failed. Nannes returned in the 14th over, attacking Taylor at No. 6 with a slip and the captain followed that over, as Nannes reacted swiftly to his right to pluck a one-handed catch.Miscalculation was the feature of Daredevils’ game, as Pathan’s promotion followed the decision to send in Pawan Negi ahead of Ajit Agarkar. This, despite Agarkar’s spunky batting that helped his team beat Perth Scorchers in their previous completed game. Pietersen, stranded at one end, lost five of his partners in one over after another before there was too much for him alone to achieve. With 48 needed off 24, he perished in the sixth over after the collapse began, dismissed fittingly by Morris who had begun the choke with his miserly spell. With Pietersen’s fall, Daredevils’ fate was sealed.Bodi and McKenzie played influential roles after their team was put in. Bodi, the in-form batsman, was scratchy to begin with. His initial movement across gave him a hard time against the bounce from Morne Morkel and swing from Pathan.The innings was set back by a wicket-maiden from birthday boy Umesh Yadav and Daredevils had edged ahead with Lions 63 for 3 at the end of the 11th over. In the interim, Bodi had started to get going, playing to his strengths against Pietersen’s slow ones by lofting them past extra cover. He swung against Negi with the turn to launch him over deep square leg and built a solid association with the experienced McKenzie, who stayed on till the end. The pair ran well, McKenzie scored boundaries on both sides of the wicket, even pulled Morkel for six, in a stand worth 59 in 44 balls.Though the attempted surge in the final overs was curtailed by Yadav’s discipline, some indiscipline in the field earned Lions crucial runs. Yadav himself dropped a straightforward catch, so did Pietersen, and McKenzie squeezed as much as he could out of those two reprieves, eking out 46 off the last five. It proved more than sufficient.

The last five Tests at the Bourda have produced seven centuries and no bowler has taken five wickets in an innings. So it was again on Friday when Carl Hooper won the toss and, unsurprisingly, chose to take first use of thebest batting pitch in the Caribbean.Jamaican opener Chris Gayle top scored with 81 but, on a day when the West Indies should have all but played the tourists out of the match, he setthe tone of a “nearly” day by falling for 81 with the home team frittered away a good start to reach 232-7 at stumps.Marlon Samuels (40) and Brian Lara (47) know better than anyone that they failed to capitalise in superb batting conditions but enormous credit must also go to South Africa after their fightback from 165-2.Shaun Pollock was sharp enough as captain to abandon the typical South African “three slips, gulley and short leg” policy inside the first hour ofplay. To describe the strip as a featherbed would probably be unkind tofeather beds.Pollock removed his third slip and placed him at short extra cover. The slower ball followed almost immediately and Wavell Hinds (13) was conned into driving it straight to Nicky Boje to end an opening stand of 43. It was outstanding captaincy, and bowling.Gayle and Samuels then added 88 for the second wicket and, at times, the words of Sir Vivian Richards the day before – “the West Indies lacks batsmen of real class” – seemed harsh. Gayle used his feet to drive left-arm spinner Nicky Boje for a pair of straight boundaries from successive balls and Samuels, a year younger than Gayle at just 20, seemed utterly at home in the hot seat at number three.As South Africa tightened the noose with defensive fields and mercilessly accurate bowling, however, Samuels tried to break the deadlock by whipping Boje through the covers. The ball turned past the leading edge to hit middle and off stumps.At 165-2 the crowd of around 7 000 people started dreaming of the gloryyears. The two biggest stands at the Bourda are named after Rohan Kanhai andClive Lloyd, afterall. But Gayle finally lashed at Jacques Kallis’ umpteenthdelivery wide outside off stump and the faintest edge was taken by MarkBoucher making the SA ‘keeper the fastest ever to 150 dismissals in his 38thTest.Lara, too, lost patience and he evidently hated himself for it after launching Lance Klusener high, and then higher, to mid off where Allan Donald took a gutsy, vital catch. Klusener’s medium paced off-cutters did an outstanding job for his country and his analysis, for once, did him some justice.Ramnaresh Sarwan became hopelessly bogged down against Klusener spending 39 deliveries scratching around on four before stealing a single to the sarcastic applause of his home crowd. Donald returned to the attack and put him out of his misery with a fine yorker. It was euthenasia.Ridley Jacobs missed a shin high full toss next ball and suddenly the home side were in disarray. Carl Hooper tried his best to sheep-dog the tailenders into some kind of order but Klusener skidded another delivery from Nixon Mclean’s bat onto the stumps and the Windies and well and truly blown what should have been a dominant day.

Bert Sutcliffe’s remarkable cricket career is to be remembered in a biography being prepared by Dunedin author Rod Nye.Sutcliffe had been working with Nye in the months before his death on Friday in South Auckland and in their last phone conversation, about a month before Sutcliffe’s death, Sutcliffe impressed on Nye that he should take his time over the book and not rush it.Nye wrote the autobiography of Sutcliffe’s fellow 1949 left-hander Martin Donnelly, which filled a much needed gap in New Zealand’s cricket literature and which has been rounded in recent years by autobiographies of Walter Hadlee, Merv Wallace and John Reid.Nye has been ill himself recently but expects to have his book on Sutcliffe finished within two years.”I don’t want to rush it, I want to do it properly,” Nye said from Dunedin today.”While it would have been nice to have had a book out now, Bert’s reputation and memories of him will still make a future book of interest to readers,” he said.Nye had some extensive interviews with Sutcliffe in Auckland and there has been a family contact as Bert’s son Gary always stays with the Nyes when visiting Dunedin.”Bert’s brother Mervyn has written me letters with some wonderful material as well.”There’s a lot material I’ll be coming up with that hasn’t been seen in print before,” he said.The Sutcliffe connection has made the researching of the book a true labour of love for Nye who recalled he and his brother watching Sutcliffe bat at Carisbrook as youths.”And we would go into his shop at Sutcliffe and Cederwall just to look at him. We’d never buy anything. He was a good bloke about that,” Nye said.The earlier days of Sutcliffe’s career were included in two earlier books about him, the Bert Sutcliffe Book for Boys and his autobiography Between Overs which was published before his return to international cricket in 1964/65.

“It’s all part of the game these days,” South African captain Shaun Pollockreflected as he answered questions on the rapid turnaround – in attitude andfocus – required of his players as they turn from test match cricket to one-day internationals within the space of just three days.It is a philosophical approach which will serve the South Africans well as they prepare for seven matches on six seperate islands against the West Indies over the next three weeks. It has already been close to two months since the bulk of the touring party set off for the Caribbean, and although new arrival Jonty Rhodes buzzes about like a bee in a honeypot, South Africa’s ability to raise their game and stir themselves for battle as home backons will be crucial to their chances in the series.”It’s actually quite enjoyable to be on a tour now,” Rhodes said as the players relaxed at a sponsor’s function on Thursday night. “The guys are already talking about going home and I’ve just arrived, so I’ve got to be careful that I’m not too enthusiastic when I know the guys have been here for a long time. I’ve got to try and temper my enthusiasm a bit so I don’t start irritating them with my over-zestfulness!”After their victory in the test series and with their recent one-day record (one defeat in twelve matches) South Africa will start the series as favourites. They will bat down to number nine at least, probably to ten. Their bowling options will be plentiful and all of quality. And since readmission they have looked to set the standard in the field.Encouragingly too, Lance Klusener is beginning to suggest that his rhythm and timing are on their way back after a miserable time with the bat in the Test series. His unbeaten 42 in the six-wicket defeat of Jamaica in a warm-up game on Wednesday was ominous in its power and efficiency.Another stand-out performer in that match and a name which is almost certain to be heard a great deal more in future is 21-year-old Justin Ontong. The all-rounder from the small and unpretentious Boland province north of Cape Town is certain to see game-time in the series and after his 2-38 from ten overs and a positive 12 not out – including a straight driven six to win the match – as South Africa chased a low total, he may even be drafted straight into the starting eleven for his first cap at Sabina Park on Saturday.Ontong is a genuine all-rounder. He recently scored his maiden first-class century in South African domestic competition, bowls a Tendulkar-esque mixed bag of leg-breaks and off-spin and as you would expect from a young South African, is a dynamo in the field. He is young and inexperienced, but exactly the kind of player South Africa would like to see established in the side by the time of the 2003 World Cup.Whether he does get the nod or not will depend to a large degree on what spin options the South African selectors want to take into the first game. Paul Adams has been kept on tour after both Nicky Boje and his replacement Goolam Bodi were sidelined by injury, but he is not considered a one-day specialist.Klusener has also been described as “our version of a spinner” by captain Shaun Pollock, although the fact that he bowled off his full run-up and gained substantantial movement through the air against the Jamaicans (he took 5-23 from ten overs) would suggest he will not be asked to bowl his off-cutters.Despite his poor run with the bat, opener Gary Kirsten is still too important a member of the one-day team to lose out quite yet, but the claims of Boeta Dippenaar will be hard to ignore if the left-hander fails to find some runs early in the series. Otherwise, the top six should have a familiar look to it.The team below would leave Justin Kemp, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel onthe outside looking in as well. Any side which can afford to leave out thatkind of talent is going to be hard to beat.South Africa (possible): Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Justin Ontong, Roger Telemachus, Allan Donald.

The first National Cricket Academy (NCA)and Pakistan Junior Academy(PJA) were formally launched in a simple ceremony at the GaddafiStadium on Monday.Inthe NCA, 22 cricketers will learn the finer points of the game whilefor the Junior Academy 24 players have been selected. Former Testplayer Mohammad Ijaz Butt inaugurated the academies.Mohsin Kamal and Ali Zia are on the coaching panel of the NCA whilethe Junior Academy will be looked after by the former Test batsmenHaroon Rasheed and Azhar Khan.Later the chief coach Mudassar NazartoldDawnthattwo sessionswill beheld daily. In the morning, the first session will be conducted from5.30am to 10.30pm in which the boys would do physical exercises,swimming at the Shape Club, weight training and period for theimprovement of the communicative skills of the boys. In the secondsession the net practice will be held for four days in a week from4.30pm to 6.30pm. For the remaining three days, different options hadbeen selected for the evening session, included inviting a former Testcricketer or a Test umpire who will deliver their expert comments andlectures with the help of video films.Nurseries for boys at Lahore and Karachi.The Pakistan Cricket Board director Brig. Munawar AhmadRana said thattwo nurseries for boys, ages between 7-12 years would be developed atLahore and Karachi soon. He said that those academies were beingsponsored by a multi-national food company.Following are attending the academies:National Academy Lahore:SalmanButt,Toufeeq Umar (Lahore), ImranNazir(Muridke),HasanRaza(Karachi),Misbahul Haq(Mianwali),QaiserAbbas (Muridke), AsimKamal (Karachi), Naveed Latif (Sargodha),Faisal Naveed(Sialkot),Humayun Farhat, Kamran Akmal (Lahore),Shoaib Malik(Sialkot), Azhar Ali(Lahore), Yasir Arafat(Rawalpindi), ShabbirAhmad(Khanewal),KahshifRaza(Sheikhupura),Faisal Afridi(Sargodha), Irfan Fazil(Lahore), Zahid Saeed(Sialkot), NajafShah (Rawalpindi), Danish Kenaria(Karachi),AqeelAhmad (Faisalabad). Juniors Academy, Lahore.KhalidLatif(Karachi), Atiq-ur-Rehman(Gujranwala),Faisal Khan(Sialkot),Shahid Yousaf (Sialkot), Aftab Ahmad(Karachi),SalmanQadir(Lahore),Asim Munir(Gujranwala),AzamHusain (Karachi), AdnanAkmal (Lahore), Kashif Mahmood (Lahore),Farooq Babar (Faisalabad),Junaid Zia, Talal Zia (Rawalpindi),MohammadKhalil(Lahore),MansoorAmjad(Sialkot), Shakeel-ur-Rehman(Peshawar),Adnan Raza, Raza Ali Dar, Zulqarnain Haider,Kamran Sajid(Lahore), Ali Raza (Muridke), Ali Ahmad (Dera GhaziKhan), Nadeem Javed(Sheikhupura), Kamran Ali (Peshawar).

The William Jordan Trophy.What is it? Who was he? Who holds it?Three fair questions because the William Jordan Trophy is one of the more anonymous trophies on the New Zealand sports scene.What is it?It is the trophy contested whenever New Zealand and England meet in a cricket Test series in New Zealand.It was first contested in 1955, an inauspicious occasion when New Zealand were dismissed for 26 in the second Test at Eden Park.New Zealand has only won the trophy once, in 1984, in the famous Test at Lancaster Park where England were twice dismissed for less than 100 runs as New Zealand claimed an innings victory.Who was he?Sir William Jordan was an Englishman who migrated to New Zealand in 1904. By 1907 he was the first secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party. He became MP for Manukau in 1921, a seat he held until 1935 when Labour gained office for the first time.For his efforts he was made High Commissioner to Britain in 1936, and he held the position until 1951. He died in 1979, aged 80 years.In his role as High Commissioner he was highly supportive of both the 1937 and 1949 New Zealand cricket teams on their tours of Britain, along with many other New Zealand sports teams and servicemen during the Second World War.

With the first home game of the season, against Glamorgan on Tuesday, just a couple of days away, the builders at the County Ground are busy putting the finishing touches to the various improvements that have taken place over the winter months.The walls in St James Street are now complete and the metal railings at the top are in place. In the gaps between the walls where there are vertical rails, and dragon logos will be in place before Tuesday. The new turnstile entrances are also in place, along with the gateposts waiting for the Jack White Gates to be re-hung.At the Priory Road entrance to the ground, new brick walls have been built, along with a new turnstile building, and new stone gate pillars and metal gateposts have been put in position. The entrance will be finished off with the new Sir Viv Richards gates, which will be officially opened by the great man himself on Sunday May 12th, the club’s Golden Jubilee Day.Peter Robinson, the Ground Safety Officer told me: "Apart from completing all of the re-surfacing work and one or two other small jobs, all of the rest of the work around the ground will be completed before the game against Glamorgan on April 30th."He added with a smile on his face: "Of course what we don’t want is for the Sky lorry to come into the ground on Monday and knock the Viv Richards gates down before they are officially opened!"

Pakistan’s ‘big four’ are likely to miss the first two days of the training camp starting at the Gaddafi Stadium from Wednesday.Skipper Waqar Younis, pacemen Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, and pinch-hitter Shahid Afridi, who are in England, are scheduled to return Thursday morning.The four cricketers had gone to England last week to take part in a festival match for Lashings Cricket Club.Sources said the arrival of the four players had been delayed because of non-availability of flights.The camp is being set up to prepare the team for next month’s three-match Super Challenge-II series against Australia to be played on June 12, 15 and 19.Our Correspondent from Lahore adds: The groundsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium were making hectic efforts to make venue available for Pakistan’s training camp scheduled to start Wednesday.Monday’s heavy downpour has left the pitch in a pool of water and to rub salt to wound, the windstorm disrupted the power supply that left the electronic machinery ineffective.Power supply could not be restored until Wednesday afternoon.

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis said there was not much difference betweenPakistan and Australia as far as indoor cricket was concerned. However,Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar underlined the need of indoor practiceessential for his team before it embarked on the Australian tour. Hehowever, lamented that no such facility was available in the country.The first two of the three One-day Internationals are scheduled to beplayed indoors at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, on June 12 and 15. Thefinal game will take place at the Gabba in Brisbane on June 19.The Pakistan squad departs for Australia Wednesday.While talking to journalists at Gaddafi Stadium after the second day ofthe national training camp Thursday, Waqar said before next month’smatches the Australians had only played three matches against SouthAfrica in the indoor stadium about two years ago.The captain said that he was in no position to explain the differencebetween indoor and outdoor cricket, since he had not played indoors evenonce.Waqar along with Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi joined thecamp Thursday after arriving from England.Mudassar said that Pakistan, however, would get two or three dayspractice at the indoor stadium in Melbourne.The captain and coach agreed that the unavailability of all-rounderAbdul Razzaq and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq would not be felt much.Their absence would provide excellent opportunity to Azhar Mahmood andShoaib Malik to prove their mettle, they opined.