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Sports correspondent & historian with |
Early season cricket attention shines on the unlikely venue of Noida near Delhi in India, where the Black Caps are engaged in a historic one-off test match with Afghanistan.
In years to come, it is likely that local cricket followers will scratch their head in wonderment, when they scan the Bay Oval website honours board and find an Afghanistan century.
The emergence of Afghanistan as a serious cricket playing nation was confirmed at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the Afghan side made the tournament semi-finals.
An 84 run win over the Black Caps, early in the tournament in the West Indies and the USA, made cricket fans worldwide sit up and take notice team from the Middle East.
The Afghanistan cricket story was one of overcoming the odds of complete upheaval in their home nation.
Their first entrance onto the big stage came in 2014, when they booked a berth in the 50-over 2015 World Cup through the 2011-13 ICC World Cricket League.
In order to get a heads-up on the World Cup wickets and outfield, before the tournament, Afghanistan embarked on a trip to Australia and New Zealand, in September and October 2014.
The New Zealand leg of the trip, saw two one-day games apiece, against NZC Major Association teams, in Auckland and Northern Districts, at the Bay Oval.
My recollection of the encounters was chilly weather and just a handful of spectators braving the conditions.
The opening match on October 2, 2014, saw Auckland absolutely thrash the international visitors, in compiling 314 for the loss of nine wickets then bowling Afghanistanout for 137.
Auckland opener, Anaru Kitchen, will long remember his visit to the Bay Oval as he belted148 runs to earn a place on the Bay Oval ICC Miscellaneous Games honours board.
Looking back, one could consider that the Auckland professional cricket team then made a serious misjudgment of the strength of Afghanistan, in game two.
Auckland declared at 201/5 with five overs remaining in their allocated overs.
Then, 17-year-old Usman Ghani strode to the wicket with a steely intent in his eyes.
Some 112 balls later, he was dismissed for 107 in a innings that included eight 4s and five 6s.
Nawroz Mangal, was equally defiant in belting 77 not out, as Afghanistan cruised to victory in the 31st over for the loss of a solitary wicket.
Afghanistan continued their Bay Oval visit, against Northern Districts, with a five wicket loss and then chasing down 207/9, in their last game in the Western Bay of Plenty.
Usman Ghani would go on to become one of the mainstays of the Afghanistan cricket team in the next decade with over 1200 runs in 51 ODI and T20i matches with a best of 118.
However, he is currently lost to the game at just 27 years of age, after choosing to take a break from international cricket due to issues with the Afghanistan Cricket Board.
In years to come the Afghanistan century on the Bay Oval honours board will stand out like a beacon of mystery.
