It is usually the British who leave cricket behind. In Afghanistan, though, it was the Russians. When the Russian army invaded, Afghan refugees fled to Pakistan where the Afghanistan Cricket Federation was formed in 1995.
The team, which has become a symbol of Afghan unity after the long war, has just finished its first tour of duty in the World Cup. This morning England concluded their less than triumphant World Cup with a nine wicket win over Afghanistan. A few hours later British war dead in Afghanistan were honoured in a moving ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral. The commemoration of the fallen was a reminder of the sacrifice young servicemen and women make when politics fails. To see Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan’s captain, who grew up in a refugee camp, leading his team out to play England was a reminder that, as Orwell once said, sport is war minus the shooting.
In 2000, the Taliban exempted cricket from their ban on sport because modest cricket whites were thought to comply with a strict interpretation of Islam. Afghanistan has since made its way through the ranks of cricket rapidly. There is a long way to go. Afghanistan is still a country torn by conflict which means the team plays its home games in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
Cricket can be a unifying force. The multilingual, multi-religious society of India is bound by the idea of democracy and a love of cricket. The West Indies hardly exists as an idea apart from its cricket team. Though cricket began in Afghanistan in Pashtun areas, it is spreading. When Afghanistan qualified for the World Cup, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks joined the celebration.
The match between England and Afghanistan will not be especially important in the history of cricket. It is, though, a landmark in the history of Afghanistan.