A fine piece by Jarrod Kimber that superbly captures the passion that fires Afghanistan cricket- and perhaps is the missing ingredient in Canadian cricket.

“Before the game young kids hold a flag in the shadows of the former MCG scoreboard. Their job is to take it out onto the ground. A simple gesture that has been done many times in this World Cup. The Afghan crowd scream as their flag is taken onto the ground. A man wearing an Afghanistan shirt, with his face painted in his country’s colours, is quiet. Around him are flags and his colours. There is another man painted from his waist to his hair in Afghan colours. Others are in replica shirts, branded World Cup shirts, homemade Afghanistan flag shirts and traditional Afghan clothing. It is a typical cricket scene. But as that flag moves from under the old MCG scoreboard out onto the ground, the quiet man eyes start to well up. He’s crying. He’s smiling.”
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