Afghanistan Makes History in Cricket World Cup, Despite Debut Loss to Bangladesh

Image from the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match from Manuka, Oval. Image By Rezwan

February 18 was a historic day for Afghanistan, as its national cricket team took on Bangladesh at Manuka Oval Stadium in Canberra, Australia, for the country's first ever game in a Cricket World Cup.

Even though Bangladesh showed off its experience and talent, beating Afghanistan by 105 runs in a quite one-sided game, it was clear the country had come a long way. Afghanistan learned the game from neighbouring Pakistan, where countless Afghans fled following the 1979 Soviet invasion of their homeland, and cricket is now the most popular game there.

Bangladesh is also comparatively new to the World Cup. It played its first World Cup game in 1999.

Ahead of the game Afghanistan was pumped up from its victory over Bangladesh at the last Asia Cup in 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. However, the conditions in Australia were much different. The pitch at Manuka Oval offered more by way of pace and bounce than that Asia Cup surface.

Huge crowd queueing up for the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match on Feb. 18, 2015. Image by Rezwan

Despite the loss, Afghanistan thrilled its supporters as its bowlers kept up the pressure on Bangladeshi batsmen in the first 25 overs with a low run rate and took four wickets. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim combined for a 114-run 5th wicket partnership and Bangladesh posted a total of 267. Afghanistan was not up to par in reply as it was reduced to three wickets with only three runs in the first three overs. The team never quite recovered and was all out for 162 runs in 42.5 overs.

Canberra is home to a small population of Bangladeshis maybe 7,000 to 8,000 strong. However, many Bangladeshis from Sydney and Melbourne came to the Australian capital to watch the game. The official match crowd was 10,972, out of which Bangladeshis were more than 9,000, transforming the stadium into a little Bangladesh.

Here are some pictures from the crowd:

Bangladeshi supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)

Afghan Supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)

Bangladeshi supporters wore the green-and-red team jerseys, the same colors as the Bangladeshi flag. Image by Rezwan

Afghani supporters were also colourful. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)

Twitter hashtags #cwc15 and #BanvsAfg were trending on that day as many were talking about the game.

The big game for @BCBtigers! Players to Watch from both sides. @Sah75official and @MohammadNabi007. #BANvAFG #CWC15 pic.twitter.com/SSHG8ohdh9

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) February 17, 2015

Love for my team! #RiseOfTheTigers @BCBtigers #CWC15 @ICC #Bangladesh I wish you ALL the very best! pic.twitter.com/mnCPOXHprY

— Raihan Jamil (@RainSoakedPoet) February 17, 2015

OUT! Afghanistan slump to 3 for 3 and Bangladesh are rampant in Canberra! http://t.co/d5nJSzn4DX #BanvAfg #cwc15 pic.twitter.com/uByBF03x4f

— ICC (@ICC) February 18, 2015

Plenty to smile about for @BCBtigers fans! AFG 3-19 (9) without a boundary: http://t.co/QTLwYsUiOw #cwc15 #BANvAFG pic.twitter.com/V6q8fRS2Vs

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) February 18, 2015

The fun and festivities continue here at Manuka Oval SCORES #cwc15 #BANvsAFG http://t.co/8mVzyfEOfx https://t.co/803jJwryxu

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 18, 2015

Safe to say these fans are pretty happy with @BCBtigers who are closing in on victory at Manuka #cwc15 #BANvsAFG https://t.co/8XdssYsHTt

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 18, 2015

.@BCBtigers and @ACBofficials players shake hands at the end of a historic match #cwc15 #BANvsAFG pic.twitter.com/lAtH8X8lhD

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 18, 2015

A tweet by the US Embassy in Kabul declaring victory for Afghanistan before the end of the game generated a lot of buzz. It was retweeted more than 300 times and favourited more than 100 times:

Aww, another US body @USEmbassyKabul living in denial as usual. Nbd. #BANvsAFG pic.twitter.com/o0QZjmwfH1

— Samira Sadeque (@Samideque) February 18, 2015

Afghanistan v Bangladesh: Americans declare victory in Kabul too early... again http://t.co/GlTEEoTFWS

— AfghanNews (@AfghanNews24) February 18, 2015

The embassy acknowledged their "premature posting" in another tweet, but maintained their excitement about Afghanistan's participation at the World Cup.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.

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There's a Good Chance Your World Cup Jersey Was Made in Bangladesh

80% of the workforce in readymade garments sector are women.
 Image by Shafiqul Alam. Copyright Demotix (22/6/2014)

Bangladesh ranks low among the world's football teams and didn't qualify to play in the FIFA World Cup this year, but the populous country is still an important player in Brazil -- much of the apparel worn by fans and some of the players' jerseys bear the "Made in Bangladesh" label.

Garment manufacturers, already the country's largest export earners, have earned at least 500 million US dollars in export orders to sew fan World Cup jerseys of most of the players of the 16 participating teams, including Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Iran, France, England, Switzerland, Belgium, Chili and Germany. The sales are expected to boost the industry's growth.

Bangladesh has also manufactured the Brazilian national team's jerseys. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) decided that "Made in Bangladesh" would be written at the lower part of the jersey to pay tribute to the victims of 2013 Rana Plaza collapse that killed more than 1,100 people and Tazreen Garments fire which killed more than a 100 people, according to media reports.

Karima Haque at football news site Side Tackle congratulated Bangladesh for its work:

We [...] commend and salute the thousands of pairs of hands that has made this praiseworthy feat possible. They have, and they will, make Bangladesh proud in the foreseeable future.

Tanvir Ahmed, a Liverpool Football Club fan in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, tweeted:

I really feel proud when I realize all Brazil jersey are made in #Bangladesh this year. Really proud!!!

— Tanvir Rahman (@pritomtanvir) June 12, 2014

The World Cup apparel is not only popular in countries participating in the tournament, but also at home in Bangladesh, a country of about 160 million people. Football is a favorite sport here. Official team jerseys from Nike, Adidas and Puma are available but costly, so many fans prefer to buy unofficial jerseys from roadside stands or shops.

Football fans in Dhaka seen wearing their favorite team jerseys.
 Images by Reaz Sumon. Copyright Demotix (05/06/2014)

Football fans on the Dhaka University campus.
Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (12/06/2014)

Bangladeshi football fans are buying flags and jerseys of the countries
they support. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (10/06/2014).

Football fans buy jerseys of their favorite teams
Image by Md. Asaduzzaman Pramanik. Copyright Demotix (19/5/2014)

The gear is proving to be a boon for business. A Bangladeshi garments manufacturer and popular actor M. A. Jalil Ananta explained in an interview in a local newspaper about the economics of the export:

We are exporting Polo brand football shirts at 9 US dollars a piece. Usually the price of this merchandise is 6.30-7.00 US dollars. But due to high demand for the jerseys, the manufacturers supplying them are getting an extra 2 dollars. So our foreign currency income has increased. We are profiting both ways: 1) we can be involved in the World Cup and 2) earn increased profit margins. This also boosts Bangladesh's reputation.

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This Street in Bangladesh Has a Colorful World Cup Celebration to Rival Brazil

Image by S. M. Mobasser Hussain. Used with permission.

What was before an ordinary lane in the Bangladeshi capital's historic neighborhood Old Dhaka is now a vibrant strip of street art celebrating the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

A group of about 200 volunteers transformed the street in less than 24 hours as part of The World Cup Goal-E, a collaboration by youth organization One Degree Initiative and advertising agency Zanala Bangladesh, to spread enthusiasm for the World Cup. Goal-E sounds like goli (lane), which is a common feature in Old Dhaka.

Bangladesh didn't qualify to play in the 2014 tournament, but the country's football fans have caught World Cup fever nonetheless. Many are cheering for either Argentina or Brazil.

World Cup Goal-E documented the effort, which included a flashmob dance, in a YouTube video:



The project's Facebook page has several photos of the transformation as well:

Flashmob at KoltaBazar. Image by Dipu Malakar.
The World Cup Goal-E. Used with permission.

Image by Sabhanaz Rashid Diya. Used with permission.

Painting the walls. Image by Simu Naser. Used with permission

The painting drew a crowd. Image by S. M. Mobasser Hussain.
The World Cup Goal-E. Used with permission

Image by S. M. Mobasser Hussain. Used with permission.

Image by S. M. Mobasser Hussain. Used with permission.

Global Voices spoke with Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, one of the organizers and a blogger, writer, photographer and youth activist:

Global Voices (GV): What inspired World Cup Goal-E?

Sabhanaz Rashid Diya (SRD): The whole world is celebrating football World Cup in many ways. We've grown up seeing flags of Brazil and Argentina at rooftops during the World Cups, we've heard of brawls and fights over who's a more deserving champion. But why not do something different? The beautiful graffiti in many parts of the world inspired us to paint a lane in old Dhaka.

We also wanted this street to be a tourist destination, a new way of identifying with Dhaka. As one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in the world, it had enough potential to become a tourist spot as well. We are lauded as some of the happiest, most hospitable people in the world, so why not make our streets as welcoming, as exotic as well?

We want to recreate the concept of tourism and make people realise it isn't limited to natural havens, but can also be discovered and created by the common people. World Cup Goal-E stands proudly as an example of that.

GV: Why was this particular Old Dhaka goli chosen?

SRD: We chose the goli in Old Dhaka because it resonates the social culture common to South Asian countries. Everyone knows everyone, the younger populations, in spite of having their own independent families, still greet the elders with lowered heads, and children grow up as everyone's kids in the community.

When we were pitching the idea, the community at Kolta Bazar embraced it the most and participated very enthusiastically.

The streets of Old Dhaka also have architectural value, so it only made more sense to do it there, given the World Cup Goal-E is also somewhat an art and design initiative as well.

GV: How can this celebration of football be replicated on other lesser known golis in Bangladesh?

SRD: Anyone, anywhere can recreate this. There are neighbourhoods and local markets (bazaar) in rural Bangladesh that proudly repaint their stores and houses to represent the football team they support.

So, if you were to ask me of a particular street, I'd say every street in Bangladesh is somewhat a smaller, yet equally integral and inspiring part of what happened at World Cup Goal-E. In fact, this particular Goal-E is inspired by the millions of football lovers in Bangladesh who go to great extents to show their passion.

Please do share the video so even if WE can't paint everything, someone else is inspired enough to do it themselves.

Image by Md. Mostafizur Rahman. Used with permission.

The post was first published in Global Voices.

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Germany slams Argentina 4:0 in Worldcup football quarterfinal

A picture tells a thousand words:



The result means literally:



And this make the team close to God to some fans:

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My desperate attempt to remove shadows from terrestrial broadcast of #worldcup received via indoor antenna.

Brazil Vs. Netherlands match.

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Cricket:- Twenty20 World Cup - South Africa vs West Indies match highlights

Yesterday was the curtain raiser of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. And what a exciting match was the South Africa vs West Indies one. I watched the match live via sopcast ( espn live stream at channel no. 10912) without trouble till about the last phase of the South African Innings. Then I had to switch to the BBC live audio broadcast. It was a feast of runs and butchery of bowlers by the batsmen.

Scott Wickstein aptly puts it:

I remember back in the day when going at 5 runs an over was a fair rate of knots. In this brave new world of Twenty-20, even 10 an over isn’t always enough, as the West Indies found out this morning. Pity Chris Gayle, who scored the first ever International century in this form of the game, 117 off 57, and still ended up on the losing side.

Well in case if you missed it don't forget to check the video of highlights of South Africa vs West Indies match. Especially Gayle's innings is a memorable one as one BBC commentator said its worth telling "we were there to witness this".

The Googly accuses the West Indies fielding for their defeat. They dropped crucial catches.

Today we have three matches. Stay tuned to these exciting games.

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Cricket: Twenty20 World Championship and the Bangladesh cricket team

Twenty20 is the shortest form of cricket consisting of twenty overs of play for each team which takes three hours to complete. It was introduced in UK in 2003 and gained popularity in recent years.

The ICC Twenty20 World Championship is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket and the inaugural tournament will be held in South Africa starting on September 11, 2007. It will feature 12 teams, including all 10 Test-playing countries, in a Thirteen-day event. The future tournaments will be hosted by England in 2009, Sri Lanka in 2012 and Bangladesh in 2014.

Cricket South Africa is providing cheap tickets to make the game accessible for people of all economic conditions. The cheapest tickets cost just R20 [£1.40] for those happy to sit on the grass banks during the group stage of matches (reports Yahoo). Check out here for last minute tickets.

Here are few necessary links:

* ICC World Twenty20 South Africa 2007 - official site

* ICC World Twenty20, 2007/08 match schedule

* Twenty20 World Cup - Information, News and discussions

* Cricinfo's coverage of the Twenty20 World Championship

* Twenty20 World Cup 2007 match results

* Twenty20 World Cup coverage in Bangla Cricket

* Cricket 20: the home of Twenty20 cricket

Now lets look at how Bangladesh will perform in this match. It will be a batsmen's game as the short time-frame of the format does not allow bowlers to contain and batsmen use unorthodox strokes to clear the boundary. Not only this is exciting for the spectators, this game is more open for lesser quality teams to cause an upset.

In the latest Twenty20 Quadrangular in Kenya involving Pakistan, Uganda and Kenya Bangladesh fared well. It only lost to Pakistan but not without fighting.

Hear Ian Chappell's analysis on Bangladesh's possibilities in Cricinfotalk. Bangladesh is in group A with South Africa and West Indies. He lauded Bangladesh's decision to include mostly young players in the team (the oldest is Abdur Razzak - 25 years). He comments that SA and WI are the two sides who has the tendency to go down to lesser sides and he won't be surprised if Bangladesh make it to the final 8 stage. Well I am also hoping that Bangladesh will make it to the next round and all they have to do is beat either one of WI and SA and maintain good run rate in the other game.

Tech Tags: Cricket ICC Twenty20+World+Championship Bangladesh South+Africa ICC+Twenty20+World+Cup+match+schedule ICC+Twenty20+World+Cup+results

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Today I am a Sri Lankan

After seven weeks and fifty matches the Cricket World Cup 2007 is ending today. Australia and Sri Lanka will meet their second final clash (first in 1996 which Sri Lanka had own).

Today I will be supporting Sri Lanka, one of the powerful cricketing nations in South Asia. I will be watching the game via internet.

Related links:

* Cricket World Cup 2007 TV, Radio and Internet Broadcasts: Live and highlights.

* Cricket Blogs and portals from South Asia.

* Cricket World Cup 2007, Live Links

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