Zimbabwe cricketers refuse to return after Kabul bomb blast [Update Post #8]

[hadi123]

Zimbabwe Cricket have asked their players involved in the ongoing Shpageeza Cricket League in Afghanistan to return home immediately after a suicide bomber killed three people near one of the gates of the Kabul International Stadium on Wednesday (September 13).

The domestic Twenty20 league, which was originally scheduled to be played in July, finally kicked off on Monday, but the unfortunate security situation in the country seems to have returned to haunt the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) attempts of opening up the gates to international cricket in the country.

The recent attack took place at the outer perimeter of the stadium when Boost Defenders and MIS Ainak Knights were taking each other on in the second match of the day.

“The blast happened during a match between Amo Sharks and Kabul Eagles in which Hamilton Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami, Solomon Mire and Richard Ngarava played. They were part of nine players that were supposed to ply their trade in the T20 league,” read a release from ZC. “The other players are Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams.”

No players, match officials or dignitaries were hurt in the assault, but Darlington Majonga, the ZC spokesperson, confirmed to The Herald that they have had a chat with their Afghan counterparts and asked for all Zimbabwean players to be put on the first plane out of Kabul on Thursday.

“Following today’s events, Zimbabwe Cricket has ordered that all Zimbabwean players who are in Afghanistan should be put on the first plane out of Kabul so that they return home and we have communicated that with our counterparts in that country,’’ said Majonga.

The match was interrupted for a brief period till security men ensured everything was under control. Play resumed shortly, but it triggered a lot of fear amongst the public and some players taking part.

Mohammad Salim Rasouli, the Health Ministry official in Kabul, said that three people were confirmed dead, while at least 12 people, including two children, were wounded in the blast.

“Although we have been given assurance that the players are safe, we have decided against taking any chances and that is why we need all our players back home as soon as possible,” said Majonga. “We believe that efforts are now being made by our Afghan counterparts to ensure that our players get on the first plane and fly back home.’’

Earlier, the tournament was postponed because of a ghastly bomb blast near the German Embassy in Kabul on May 31 that claimed 90 lives and caused over 400 injuries in the capital.

The ACB blamed a Pakistan-based terror unit for the attack and chose to cut down all ties with the Pakistan Cricket Board. In response, the PCB decided to withdraw all their players from the tournament, taking a lot of sheen away from the competition.

All six teams in the tournament are scheduled to play each other in a total of 15 league matches, with the top four sides battling it out in two qualifiers and an eliminator on the road to the final, which is planned for September 22.

http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-...om-afghan-t20-league-after-kabul-blast/269163

 

[hadi123]

FORMER test cricketer Dean Jones feared for his life when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the gates of cricket stadium in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The attacker detonated the bomb after he was stopped at a security checkpoint by police.

Jones was inside the commentary booth when he heard the bomb go off.

“I saw the blast go off. It shook us out of our seats,” he told 3AW.

“The shockwaves went right throughout the grandstands and the windows ... all the players hit the ground while the game was still on.”

“I threw my microphone into the window and I just grabbed my bag and I was ready to run, to get out of there,” he said.

Jones was told he had to stay inside the stadium while they carried out safety procedures.

Jones said the players decided to finish the game after the attack.

“We could be in England, and they’ve had terrorist attacks there, but they’ve stayed on,” he said.

Three people were killed in the attack including a policeman and wounding five others, police said.

No one in the stadium was harmed.

Jones said the president and minister of Syria were giving the cricket team ‘presidential treatment’ style security.

“I feel very safe at the hotel and the ground. It’s just to and from the grounds for us and the players and everyone that has been a major concern,” he said.

“It’s been a bit spooky going to and from the ground I can assure you.”

The team has been escorted from the ground in convoy of six or seven bomb and bulletproof Toyota SUVs with “two inch thick glass around them”

Jones said he was staying in Kabul for at least another week.

The SITE monitoring group said the Islamic State’s local Khorasan province affiliate had claimed the attack — the latest in a series of deadly assaults in the city.

“The security forces by sacrificing themselves have prevented the attacker from reaching the crowd (inside the stadium) and creating a catastrophe,” police spokesman Basir Mujahid told AFP.

Two of the wounded were police officers.

Several ambulances were seen speeding away from the scene, apparently taking the injured to hospital, an AFP reporter said.

Scores of police blocked the road leading to the stadium where the sixth match of the Shpageeza Cricket League, a domestic T20 tournament, between the Boost Defenders and Mis Ainak Knights was under way.

A handful of foreign players are also taking part in the competition which started Monday.

South African batsman Cameron Delport, who is playing for the Defenders, expressed his sorrow for the victims of the explosion on Twitter.

“Sad to hear about the Bomb Blast during our game outside the stadium. Thank god we are all safe, Condolences to the people that passed away,” he wrote.


Jones also took to Twitter to update fans of his safety.

Hundreds of spectators could be heard from outside the stadium as firefighters washed down the road where the bomber had blown himself to bits.

Afghanistan Cricket Board spokesman Farid Hotak told AFP the match was briefly interrupted and “all players and cricket board officials are safe”.

Cricket was banned in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule but the sport has seen a stunning revival in recent years, with the country granted Test playing status.

The last major attack in Kabul happened on August 29 when a suicide bomber blew himself up.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...ialSF&utm_source=HeraldSun&utm_medium=Twitter

 

[Firebreaker]

Some of Zim players are still playing in the league

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Lets face the facts here.

This country is not and likely never will be safe for foreign cricketers to play. Its just reckless even pretending otherwise when bombs occur so frequently

 

[troodon]

Lets face the facts here.

This country is not and likely never will be safe for foreign cricketers to play. Its just reckless even pretending otherwise when bombs occur so frequently

Ireland is extremely safe. Too bad, the weather ruins it every time.

 

[troodon]

So much talent in Afg. Yet cricket cannot happen there.

 

[Specialisttailender]

Why is this not on news ? And why does it only has few replies ? We are talking about a bomb going off outside the stadium while international players are inside playing. If he would have gotten inside, we would have had dead cricketers and many more dead people. Poor coverage of this incident.

 

[pak.cricket]

Zimbabwe cricketers refuse to come back home

NINE local cricketers who are playing in the Shpageeza Twenty20 Cricket League in Kabul, Afghanistan have refused to return home as they believe that they are safe in the war torn Asian country.

Zimbabwe Cricket announced last Wednesday that they had asked all local players to immediately return home from Afghanistan after a suicide bomb blast outside a stadium where some of them were playing a match.

The order from ZC fell on deaf ears despite the national governing body having been the one which issued the players with the No Objection Certificates which allowed them to play in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan league started on 11 September and concludes on Friday. Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Sikandar Raza, Vusumuzi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura, Richard Ngarava, Ryan Burl, Richmond Mutumbami and Tendai Chisoro are the Zimbabwe cricketers in Afghanistan.

ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani yesterday said they were powerless to act because some of the local cricketers in Afghanistan are not contracted. He indicated that the Sports and Recreation have been alerted from the beginning when the players went to
Afghanistan.

With the players adamant that they are safe, ZC have asked the Afghanistan Government to write to their Zimbabwean counterparts to guarantee the safety of the cricketers.

“The SRC does not govern movement of individuals, they only govern national teams. SRC is fully aware of what is happening. On our part as the governing body we have informed the SRC. Players such as Vusi Sibanda and Elton Chigumbura are not contracted. We can’t tell people who are out of contract to come back; we can’t deny cricketers an opportunity to earn a living because we have no power over players with no contracts. We have asked the Afghanistan Government to write to our Government which has
the power to tell its citizens to come back home,’’ Mukuhlani said. — @Mdawini_29

http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/zim-cricketers-refuse-to-come-back-home/

 

[mmkextreme_1]

Unbelievable, they must have really assured them that the security is full proof.

And the money has to be good.

 

[aloo paratha]

Unbelievable, they must have really assured them that the security is full proof.

And the money has to be good.

Heard that the blast was pretty far from the stadium.

Isn't money an issue for Zimbabwean cricketers? I'm sure the money is not a lot for most cricketers standards but it's different for Zimbabwe as they're cricketers get paid very little

 

[Slog]

Heard that the blast was pretty far from the stadium.

Isn't money an issue for Zimbabwean cricketers? I'm sure the money is not a lot for most cricketers standards but it's different for Zimbabwe as they're cricketers get paid very little

What I was shocked about was that quite a few Saffer players were there as well and ones who have played internationals

 

[Major]

Just goes on to show how money plays a part. Even the pakistan tour, players could pretend how they were helping a country but they were getting a good pay cheque at the end.

 

[King-Misbah]

Just goes on to show how money plays a part. Even the pakistan tour, players could pretend how they were helping a country but they were getting a good pay cheque at the end.

A lot of the players seemed geniune and did not need the pay cheque.

 

[Abdullah719]

The thread is about Zimbabwe cricketers playing in Afghanistan.

Irrelevant posts moved to relevant thread.

 

[hadi123]

Fair enough. It is likely the security will be increased even more following the blast but I hope it doesn't lead to a dispute between the Zimbabwe board and the Zimbabwe players

 

[Abdullah719]

Adam Hollioake: 'I felt the noise of the bomb blast through my whole body'

Adam Hollioake thought he had seen everything in a sporting career that has covered everything from leading England to a one-day trophy, to a professional bout in mixed martial arts.

But that was before he took on a coaching role in Afghanistan's Shpageeza Cricket League, and found himself confronting the reality of daily life in Kabul. Last Wednesday, a bomb outside the Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground was detonated during a game between Hollioake’s Boost Defenders team and MIS Ainak Knights. Three people were killed, including the bomber, and 12 wounded. Several overseas players left soon after, but Hollioake insisted he wanted to stay.

"I decided not to walk out on the job until the job is done," he told the Daily Telegraph, from his temporary home in Afghanistan's capital city. "Also the people here have so much passion for cricket. Your first fear coming to this part of the world is security but I just did not want to walk out on them just because that would be an easy decision to make."

Hollioake is not ignoring the danger that goes hand-in-hand with life in a country still piecing itself back together after a ruinous period of civil war, but security has been stepped up after personal promises were made to the players by the country's president.

Even so, his account of the day of the explosion is still shocking. "When I heard the bang I thought it might be an incredibly loud firecracker going off but the noise after was so deep and rumbling and kept going on for such a long time that I felt it going through my whole body," he recalled.

“Straight away I thought: ‘Whoa, what was that?’ I could see the guys sprinting off the pitch. We could see where the bomb had gone off. I would say it was 75-100 metres from the changing room. You could see all the windows had been blown out. At first we were told it was a gas canister. But it became clear it was something else.

“Quite a few players went home. I weighed up a lot of things. I have quite a bit of experience in security so I waited to see what arrangements would be made going forward. I was not going to make a rushed decision and go home but by the same token I was not going to make a rash decision and stay just to try and be brave or make a stand.

"I was satisfied the security was going to be OK. Roads are now cleared and we have armoured vehicles, the path to the ground is safe and so is the ground and they have made a two-kilometre exclusion zone with checkpoints around the ground.”

As Hollioake says, "you can’t fight a bullet or a bomb", and he had to set emotion aside before deciding to stay in Kabul.

“I am not trying to be a hero here. The heroes are the security people who lost their lives. I am just processing information and felt there was no reason to not finish my job. I wanted to know the facts and make a rational decision. I was satisfied the people here were going to provide security and I was satisfied with their plans.”

That stoicism is hardly surprising. The inhabitants of the cosseted world of professional sport may often lack perspective, but that could not be said of Hollioake, who lost his younger brother and fellow England international Ben in a car crash in 2002, and saw his family's property business in Australia go bust in 2010.

Hollioake is a fighter, blessed with a steel-clad spirit. It helped him lead Surrey to three county championship titles between 1999 and 2002, England to success at the Sharjah Trophy in 1997 - their last 50-over tournament success - and then try his hand at MMA as a light heavyweight fighter. His one fight, in 2012, ended as a draw.

Now he has made a point of embracing life in Afghanistan, Test cricket’s newest outpost. The Shpageeza (it means Sixer in Pashtun) Cricket League is in its fifth season but with Afghanistan’s rise on the global stage its profile has grown this year. There are overseas players from West Indies, Zimbabwe and South Africa this time as well as foreign coaches like Hollioake, Dean Jones and Andy Moles. Until Jones approached him, Hollioake, 46, did not even know there was a Twenty20 league In Afghanistan. Now he is in the thick of it, living and breathing a colourful tournament.

“The passion of these people is unrivalled anywhere I have been," he said. "They are fanatical about their cricket. There is nothing worse than apathy and these people feel strongly about whatever it is they do. Sometimes that can be intimidating for people from other parts of the world who are not like that but I find it fascinating and exciting.

“Coming here has been an eye opener. I have been to Pakistan, India and Port Morseby (Papua New Guinea) and I have faced all sorts of different challenges so I was keen to come here for a number of reasons. One to see the place but secondly broaden my coaching knowledge.

"I would be lying if I said it had not been interesting. It is a passionate place. It probably mirrors my personality. There is not much middle ground with me and I am comfortable with the ups and downs here. I wanted experience in coaching but the idea was to come here and have life experiences too. It is what life is about.”

The star of the league is Rashid Khan, the 19-year-old who is one of the world’s leading leg spinners. He became the youngest bowler to take 100 Twenty20 wickets last week having become the first Afghani to play in the IPL. He has just signed for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash. Hollioake describes him as “world-class” and thinks there is enough talent in Afghanistan to compete on the world stage. “When these guys make their international debut they will be a tough side to beat in these types of conditions.”

Hollioake’s team have reached the knock out stages which start tomorrow and the country is expected to come to a standstill for Friday’s final. After that his next job is with the Lions in Australia this winter. With so many Twenty20 leagues around the world, there are more opportunities these days for coaching and Hollioake may have found his purpose. “My fighting is over. I want to help other people compete instead,” he said. Kabul is a fitting place to do just that.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2017/09/18/adam-hollioake-felt-noise-bomb-blast-whole-body/