Peshawar to host tournament for Afghanistan cricketers

[Tiger444]

Rashid Latif, the Afghanistan coach, hopes a tournament arranged in Pakistan's border city of Peshawar will unearth new talent for his side. The tournament will feature six teams named after provinces in Afghanistan, with each team featuring three players from the national side.

Afghanistan have become the fastest-rising Associate team after refugees escaping years of war fled to Pakistan and discovered a love for cricket. "We are playing a tournament of three-day matches in Peshawar followed by a Twenty20 and then a one-day tournament, and I hope these events will help us find more players," Latif told AFP.

Latif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, took over as Afghanistan coach last year and helped them win the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup, before guiding them to a shock win over Pakistan in the Asian Games Twenty20 semi-finals.

In recent years Afghanistan has leapt up to Division One in the World Cricket League, which gave them one-day status, and they have since qualified for the World Twenty20 held in the West Indies last year. Latif hopes that the new tournament will help secure the progress the country has made.

"We have also included the Afghanistan Under-19 team so that they can prepare for the qualifying round of the junior World Cup," Latif said.

Afghanistan's Under-19 team won an Asian qualifying event in the UAE earlier this year and stands a good chance of qualifying for the Under-19 World Cup in Australia next year.

Ahmed Taqseem, who is on the Afghanistan Cricket Board's technical committee, felt the facilities available in Pakistan will help the Afghanistan side develop.

"The facilities provided in Peshawar are world-class so playing here will give our players a chance to improve and this is a great help from Pakistan," he said. "We realise that in order to improve at an international level we need to strengthen our domestic setup and we are endeavouring to do that."

Cricketing relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are strong, with a six-member delegation from the Afghanistan Cricket Board meeting PCB chairman Ijaz Butt on Friday. Butt pledged that Pakistan would provide any support needed to develop Afghanistan cricket and appointed Amir Nawab as a coordinator for Afghanistan.

Source: Cricinfo

Great news for Afghan cricket. It should help them a lot.

[bujhee kom]

Very good news! Best of luck to Afghan cricket.

[Tiger444]

Afghanistan to play series against Pakistan A

Afghanistan will play three 50-over matches against Pakistan A this summer, and have invited Pakistan A to come to Afghanistan and play the inaugural match at the international stadium in Nangarhar. Afghanistan's players will also be taking part in a domestic competition in Peshawar. The 50-over games against Pakistan A will be played in Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi.

"Afghanistan will send its national team to Pakistan in July and play the Pakistan A team, and hopefully this will benefit our team," Naseem Ullah Danish, chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, told AFP. "We have also invited the Pakistan A team to Afghanistan for the inaugural match in Nangarhar where we have almost completed an international stadium."

There has not been any international cricket played in Pakistan since the Lahore attacks on Sri Lanka's cricketers and support staff. Danish, however, said Afghanistan had no concerns about security. "Security is not an issue and by playing in Pakistan we want to send out a positive message to the world and hope that teams come to Pakistan and play here."

Afghanistan played Pakistan in the Asian Games in China in November last year, and pulled off an upset, albeit against a second-string Pakistan side.

Cricket relations between the two countries are strengthening after a six-member delegation from the Afghanistan Cricket Board, including Danish, met PCB chairman Ijaz Butt on Friday. Butt pledged that Pakistan would provide any support needed to develop Afghanistan cricket and appointed Amir Nawab as a coordinator for Afghanistan.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/afghanis...ry/513222.html

This is really great news that Pakistan is helping them out so much. It will help them out a lot.