SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017 SPORTS From refugee camps to Lord’s, dizzying rise of Afghan cricket KHURASAN REFUGEE CAMP: The in camps outside Pakistan’s border city Wahid, who missed out on a spot in survive by supplying poultry in one Afghan national player told me manicured emerald pitch at Lord’s in of Peshawar, where they have been the national team but now coaches Peshawar, he says. They worried that he had to borrow money to reach London, where Afghanistan played for exposed to the cricketing fever that refugees, says his contemporaries in about how to afford kit but played here... and then he could only afford a the first time ever Tuesday, is a world has gripped their neighbouring nation the camps learned to play with tennis every day, Shah recalls. “They had 10-rupee (10-cent) packet of biscuits a away from the border refugee camps since Britain colonised the sub-conti- balls. The best of them would go on to extreme eagerness-more than our day on which to survive.” Asghar Khan, where the country found its love for nent centuries ago. “We learned crick- join academies in Peshawar, where players-and that was the reason for a coach and twice the president of the cricket. et here and we took this cricket with they encountered the hard cricket ball their success.” Peshawar district cricket association, In dusty Pakistani camps like us to Afghanistan, and now for the first time. Faridullah Shah, a remembers Afghan players as “the Khurasan, young barefoot cricketers Afghanistan has a team which plays coach with the Pakistan Cricket Board, SURVIVING ON BISCUITS beauty of tournaments here”. have no pitch, no kit, no wickets, no on a world level and the entire world remembers the fierce determination At the Islamia Cricket Academy, He rattles off a list of names, from helmets, no gloves and no shade-only has recognised it,” 35-year-old Abdul of the Afghan players who reached selector Qazi Shafiq, a former first Mohammad Nabi-whom Khan praises the hunger that helped catapult Wahid, a refugee from Kunar province, the academies. “They used to work as class player, agrees. “Afghans are quick for his “long, long sixes”-up to Asghar Afghanistan into the elite group of tells AFP. labourers until the afternoon and were learners-if you pinpoint a mistake, he Stanikzai, captain of the Afghan crick- Test nations last month. He and a generation of Afghans later playing cricket here... The team of understands ... then he will work hard et team. All learned in Peshawar, Khan Millions of Afghans fleeing war spent years cheering for the Pakistani Afghan players was named the ‘Team on that,” Shafiq says. says, with many like Shapoor Zadran have sought refuge for nearly 40 years team before daring to dream of more. of Chickens’” as many were trying to “I will not mention his name but beginning in the refugee camps.—AFP Cremer’s strikes rattle Sri Lanka on Day 2 COLOMBO: Zimbabwe skipper Graeme including captain Dinesh Chandimal falling Cremer claimed three wickets to dent Sri to his opposite number after a well-made Lanka’s first innings reply on the second 55. Chandimal’s wicket ended a 96-run day of the one-off Test in Colombo yester- stand for the fourth wicket with Angelo day. Cremer’s leg-spin and two crucial run Mathews (41), who quit the captaincy this outs left Sri Lanka reeling at 293-7 at week after Sri Lanka’s loss in the one-day stumps. Asela Gunaratne (24) and Rangana series against Zimbabwe. Herath (5) were at the crease with the hosts Cremer, who had got Kusal Mendis still trailing Zimbabwe by 63 runs. caught behind for 11 before tea, struck Gunaratne, who came down the batting twice in the final session of play to put the order at number eight after sustaining a hosts in trouble at 238-6. Dilruwan Perera, hamstring injury while fielding, put up stur- who made a gritty 33 with 2 fours and as dy resistence in the final few overs of the many sixes, was run out after hesitating on day. “The wicket has got drier and the leg- a single with his hamstrung partner spinner (Cremer) is taking lot of turn. We Gunaratne. Another unlucky run out early have to bat well and we need to make sure in the innings saw the back of opening that we get to 350,” said Herath, who had batsman Upul Tharanga, who gave Sri taken five wickets to help dismiss Lanka a solid start with his brisk 71. Zimbabwe for 356. “We had a good start, Tharanga fell short of his crease while back- but they fought back well. We are still ing up to a straight drive by Chandimal as behind by 63 runs and we need to knock the ball grazed past the fingers of paceman off that deficit,” Herath told reporters. Donald Tiripano. Tiripano’s lucky fielding Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak believes the effort came after he got Zimbabwe’s first visitors are in a “nice position”, adding that breakthrough in Dimuth Karunaratne (25) in anything between 250 and 280 would be a his first over after lunch, ending an 84-run tough fourth-innings chase on this pitch. opening partnership. Earlier the Zimbabwe “Any sort of lead is going to be very innings lasted just 4.4 overs of the morning valuable on this track. It’s going to be an session, adding only 12 runs to their NOTTINGHAM: South Africa’s Chris Morris (R) celebrates taking the wicket of England’s Mark Wood (L) for 6 runs on the second day of the sec- interesting day’s play tomorrow. Hopefully overnight score. Batsman Craig Ervine top- ond Test match between England and South Africa at Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, central England yesterday. — AFP we can pick up those wickets quickly,” scored with 160. Left-arm spinner Herath Streak said. Top Sri Lankan batsmen fal- returned with an impressive 5-116, his 30th CRICKET tered against Cremer’s wily wrist spinners five-wicket haul in 81 Tests. — AFP SCOREBOARD Root falls as England COLOMBO: Scoreboard at stumps on the second day of the one-off Test between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Colombo yesterday: Zimbabwe 1st innings (overnight: 344-8; C. Gunaratne 7-0-28-2 (nb4) Ervine 151 not out, D. Tiripano collapse in second Test 24 not out) Sri Lanka 1st innings H. Masakadza c Mendis B Herath 19 D. Karunaratne c Masakadza b Tiripano 25 R. Chakabva b Herath 12 U. Tharanga run out (Tiripano) 71 NOTTINGHAM: South Africa captured the prize T. Musakanda c Dickwella b Kumara 6 K. Mendis c Chakabva b Cremer 11 wicket of England captain Joe Root as they seized SCOREBOARD C. Ervine c Perera b Kumara 160 D. Chandimal c Chakabva b Cremer 55 the initiative on the second day of the second Test S. Williams c Gunaratne b Perera 22 A. Mathews c Masakadza b Williams 41 at Trent Bridge yesterday. At tea, England were NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom: Scoreboard at the close of England’s first innings on the second day of the sec- S. Raza lbw b Herath 36 N. Dickwella b Cremer 6 ond Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge yesterday: P. Moor c Kumara b Gunaratne 19 184 for six in reply to South Africa’s first innings D. Perera run out 33 M. Waller b Herath 36 335 — still a deficit of 151 runs. Moeen Ali was 14 A. Gunaratne not out 24 South Africa 1st Innings (overnight: 309-6) England 1st Innings G. Cremer b Gunaratne 13 not out and Liam Dawson two not after Root, in R. Herath not out 5 D. Elgar c Dawson b Anderson 6 A. Cook c de Kock b Philander 3 D. Tiripano c Karunaratne b Herath 27 his second match as England captain, had fallen Extras (b8, lb10, w1, nb3) 22 H. Kuhn b Broad 34 K. Jennings c de Kock b Morkel 0 C. Mpofu not out 0 for a fine 78 on a day when batsmen on both sides H. Amla c Wood b Broad 78 G. Ballance b Philander 27 Total (7 wickets 83 overs) 293 Extras (w1, nb5) 6 struggled in the overcast conditions. Q. de Kock c Cook b Broad 68 J. Root c de Kock b Morkel 78 Still to bat: S. Lakmal, L. Kumara Total (all out, 94.4 overs) 356 South Africa were without fast bowler Kagiso F. du Plessis c Bairstow b Stokes 19 J. Bairstow b Maharaj 45 Fall of wickets: 1-84 (Karunaratne), 2-107 (Mendis), Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Chakabva), 2-38 (Masakadza), Rababa, suspended from this match after swearing T. Bavuma c Bairstow b Stokes 20 B. Stokes c de Kock b Maharaj 0 3-116 (Tharanga), 4-212 (Chandimal), 5-226 3-38 (Musakanda), 4-70 (Williams), 5-154 (Raza), 6- at Ben Stokes during England’s 211-run win in the V. Philander c Dawson b Anderson 54 M. Ali c du Plessis b Morris 18 195 (Moor), 7-260 (Waller), 8-282 (Cremer), 9-356 (Dickwella), 6-238 (Mathews), 7-274 (Perera) C. Morris c and b Anderson 36 L. Dawson c Amla b Maharaj 13 (Tiripano), 10-356 (Ervine) Bowling: Mpofu 11-2-41-0 (w1); Tiripano 10-1-38- first of the four-match series at Lord’s last week. But after Morne Morkel removed Root, left-arm K. Maharaj c Root b Anderson 0 S. Broad lbw b Morris 0 Bowling: Lakmal 14-1-58-0, Kumara 17.4-2-68-2 1; Raza 18-2-60-0; Cremer 30-3-100-3 (nb1); Waller M.