Afghanistan witnessed the first ever professional cricket match

The latest full member entries, Afghanistan witnessed the first ever match on home soil on Thursday that enters into the official records. The commencing of the domestic 50-over competition, the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament saw the first ever professional cricket game played in Afghanistan as the tournament holds the List A status.

Afghanistan, who were awarded the full member status on June 22, 2017, along with Ireland, received the first-class and List A status for their domestic competitions in February only. The 50-over tournament which began on August 10, 2017 (Thursday) was the first one to be played after getting the official status.

The first day of the tournament witnessed two matches played at Khost at the same time. The first match was played between Band-e-Amir Region and Speen Ghar Region. The Speen Ghar elected to bowl first after winning the toss and restricted the Band-e-Amir for just 194. In reply, they were bowled out in just 23.1 overs and scored 134 runs to fall 60 short of the Band-e-Amir’s total.

In another game, Amo Region took on the Mis Ainak Region. Amo Region won the toss and elected to bat first. They posted 263/9 in their 50 overs with help of a 76 from Ghamai Zadran, the only player to score a fifty across both the games played in the day. Amo side won the game by a comfortable 128-run margin by bowling out Mis Ainak to just 135.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has shown a keen interest in conducting domestic competitions for the past few years. The regional 4-day tournament began in 2014 with 5 regional sides – Amo, Band-e-Amir, Boost, Mis Ainak and Speen Ghar. In 2016, the tournament was extended to six teams with joining of Kabul Green. The board also organizes the domestic T20 competition, named Shpageeza Cricket League.

Afghanistan side never hosting an International fixture also seen them not hosting a match with professional cricket status all these years as they played their home games at the Noida ground in India.