The 16-team format used for the 2007 World Cup proved to be short-lived, as the tournament reverted to a two-group structure of 14 teams (as was the case in 2003, but with quarterfinals instead of the Super Six) for the next two editions. In this final part of our series on Associates at the […]
Read More Specials – Associate nations at the World Cup, Part 5Afghan off-spinner Mujeeb Zadran became the youngest bowler to take an ODI five-wicket haul last week, when he took 5/50 in his team’s series-clinching ten-wicket win against Zimbabwe at Sharjah at the age of 16 years and 325 days. In the process, he broke the long-standing record held by Waqar Younis. Here is a […]
Read More Record Book – The youngest players to take five wickets in an ODINewly-elevated full member nation Afghanistan ended their last ICC Intercontinental Cup as deserving champions, finishing unbeaten with 121 points, 12 clear of Ireland, their fellow new entrants into Test cricket. Here is a look back at a few key numbers from the tournament, which began in May 2015 and spanned over 30 months. Afghanistan’s […]
Read More Record Book – Numbers from the Intercontinental CupEven as the ICC continued with its blinkered outlook towards the non-Test playing nations, there were plenty of encouraging signs throughout 2015 that underlined the rising stock of Associate cricket. The World Cup saw a string of exciting performances from the four Associate teams involved, with Ireland producing their best display at the […]
Read More Review – Associate cricket’s best moments from 2015With the utterly callous decision of reducing the number of teams to just ten in the 2019 World Cup finalised, it is now or never for the Associate nations to show what they are capable of. It is time for them to give a performance so strong that it mortifies the ICC and sparks […]
Read More VIEWPOINT – Time to get our World Cup backThe final of the sixth edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, the premier first-class tournament for non-Test nations, will be fittingly played between the two best Associate teams, namely Ireland and Afghanistan. The current tournament started in June 2011 and the defending champions are the Afghans, who defeated Scotland in the final of the […]
Read More IN FOCUS – ICC Intercontinental Cup final : PreviewIn what has to be the most sensational rise by a cricket team, Afghanistan’s national side has managed to qualify for the 2015 World Cup just fourteen years after becoming an ICC member and seven years after starting in the World Cricket League Division Five. Remarkably, most of these cricketers learnt the game […]
Read More IN FOCUS – The Afghan fairy-tale continues
