2005 Afro-Asian Cup
Encyclopedia
The Afro-Asia Cup was a cricket
competition played for the first time in 2005 and which is intended to run for at least three years. The idea was to raise money for the Asian Cricket Council and the African Cricket Association, and the whole venture was given a massive boost when the ICC, somewhat controversially, agreed to give the series of one-day matches full ODI status.
The inaugural competition was a series of three one day match
es played between an Asian XI and an African XI. Controversially, the games have been awarded official One Day International status. The teams were selected by former Test match
players rather than by national selectors.
The ICC expected that there would be a strong competitive tender for television rights. However, the main television broadcasters, ESPN/Star
and Ten Sports
, declined to bid. The rights were eventually bought by Nimbus Sports for the 2005 competition and the next two competitions in the following years.
There was much controversy over the final squad lists: many of the leading players were either unavailable for selection, withdrew from participating or chose to fulfil commitments with domestic teams.
The 2005 tournament was closely fought. Africa won the first match by just two runs, while Asia won the second by 18 runs to set up a series decider. However, after Africa had been bowled out for 106, the Asian innings
was curtailed by rain, and the match eventually declared a no result. Thus, the series was tied 1–1 and the trophy shared.
, Zimbabwe
and Kenya
. As the first match clashed with Zimbabwe's Test match against New Zealand
, the Zimbabweans did not play in the first game. Justin Ontong was available for selection for the first game instead. Graeme Smith still had two matches of a four-match suspension to serve, and so was unavailable for the first two games.
, India
, Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh
. With the exception of Bangladesh (whose selector had previously only played in the ICC Trophy
), each country had one ex-Test cricket
er as a selector: Majid Khan (Pakistan), Ravi Shastri
(India), Graeme Labrooy
(Sri Lanka) and Shafiq Ul-Haque (Bangladesh). There was controversy surrounding the omission of Indian captain
Sourav Ganguly
from the Asian side, leading to Ganguly criticising the selection panel and process; although there were reports that the selection panel decided unanimously against including Ganguly, and that any suggestion that he should have been included would have led to Majid Khan and Ravi Shastri
walking out.
announced that he would be playing for English county
side Warwickshire
and was unavailable for selection for the African side. Injuries also ravaged the tournament, as four players pulled out a week before the matches were due to start, whilst other big names - including Sachin Tendulkar
- were not even available for selection due to injury.
In front of a crowd of about 1,000 people at Centurion
- usually figures more associated with domestic cricket matches - Africa won the first of three ODIs. The African side included ten South Africans and two Kenyans - and one of the Kenyans was substituted for a South African without getting the chance to bat. Zaheer Khan
made early breakthroughs as Africa collapsed to 57 for 5 - Justin Ontong
and Steve Tikolo
both dismissed for ducks - but Ashwell Prince
and Mark Boucher
set Africa back on the right track with an 86-run partnership. Prince finished on 78 not out
as he ran out of partners to bat with, Africa eventually being dismissed for 198. Asia, however, lost wickets at regular intervals, but a 24-run ninth-wicket partnership between Zaheer Khan
and Shoaib Akhtar
looked to turn it Asia's way. Asia needed to eke out five runs for the last wicket, with twenty-two balls to spare, but Ashish Nehra
was bowled
by a straight delivery from ODI debutant Dale Steyn
, and Asia finished two runs short of victory.
Asia XI rebounded at Kingsmead to square the series with one match to play. Good contributions from the entire top order - the top six hit one six each, Shahid Afridi
getting out the next ball but all the others at least passing 30 - saw Asia XI to 267 for 7, with the two Sri Lankans
Kumar Sangakkara
and Mahela Jayawardene
making half-centuries. Kenya
n Thomas Odoyo was statistically the best bowler for the African XI, with three wickets for 45, making him tied best wicket-taker for the African XI so far in the series. Indeed, the Kenyan contingent of the African side performed well, with Steve Tikolo
making a run-a-ball 43 from number seven - but AB de Villiers used up 67 balls for making his 39, the African XI had to suffer three run out
s, and in the end two wickets from Zaheer Khan
wrapped up the African innings - 18 runs short of victory.
After Africa XI had been bowled out for a measly 106, rain poured down steadily on Kingsmead, and the umpires
eventually declared that play was not possible. The rain had already caused the start of the game to be delayed for two hours, before Shoaib Akhtar
and Zaheer Khan
unleashed their fast bowling on the African side. When Tatenda Taibu
departed for 10, the score was 51 for 7, and only good hitting and running from Shaun Pollock
, who hit 44 not out
, carried Africa past 100. Steve Tikolo
, the top-scorer from the last match, was intriguingly dropped. Then, Dale Steyn
and Shaun Pollock
ripped out the two Asian openers Virender Sehwag
and Shahid Afridi
, and, with the score eight for 2, the weather intervened. No further play was possible, and thus the two continents shared the title.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
competition played for the first time in 2005 and which is intended to run for at least three years. The idea was to raise money for the Asian Cricket Council and the African Cricket Association, and the whole venture was given a massive boost when the ICC, somewhat controversially, agreed to give the series of one-day matches full ODI status.
The inaugural competition was a series of three one day match
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
es played between an Asian XI and an African XI. Controversially, the games have been awarded official One Day International status. The teams were selected by former Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
players rather than by national selectors.
The ICC expected that there would be a strong competitive tender for television rights. However, the main television broadcasters, ESPN/Star
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and Ten Sports
TEN Sports
TEN SPORTS is a sports channel, widely broadcast in Asia. Its key programming includes Cricket, Football and sports-entertainment shows viz. WWE. Ten Sports was launched on April 1, 2002, and became the world's premier sports channel for South Asians, reaching over 55 million homes across the Arab...
, declined to bid. The rights were eventually bought by Nimbus Sports for the 2005 competition and the next two competitions in the following years.
There was much controversy over the final squad lists: many of the leading players were either unavailable for selection, withdrew from participating or chose to fulfil commitments with domestic teams.
The 2005 tournament was closely fought. Africa won the first match by just two runs, while Asia won the second by 18 runs to set up a series decider. However, after Africa had been bowled out for 106, the Asian innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
was curtailed by rain, and the match eventually declared a no result. Thus, the series was tied 1–1 and the trophy shared.
Squads
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- Note: Greyed out players withdrew from the competition.
African XI Squad
The African squad was selected from players from South AfricaSouth African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
and Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
. As the first match clashed with Zimbabwe's Test match against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, the Zimbabweans did not play in the first game. Justin Ontong was available for selection for the first game instead. Graeme Smith still had two matches of a four-match suspension to serve, and so was unavailable for the first two games.
Asian XI Squad
The Asian side was selected from players from PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
, India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
and Bangladesh
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
. With the exception of Bangladesh (whose selector had previously only played in the ICC Trophy
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...
), each country had one ex-Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er as a selector: Majid Khan (Pakistan), Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
(India), Graeme Labrooy
Graeme Labrooy
Graeme Fredrick Labrooy is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in 9 Tests and 44 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. A right-hand bat and right-arm fast medium bowler, Labrooy took 124 first class wickets at 33.56, however struggled in the international arena with averages in the mid-40s...
(Sri Lanka) and Shafiq Ul-Haque (Bangladesh). There was controversy surrounding the omission of Indian captain
Indian national cricket captains
This is a list of all cricketers who have captained Indian national cricket team at the international level. The list includes all Indian captains of men's, women's and youth cricket. India became a full member of the Imperial Cricket Conference on 31 May 1926...
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
from the Asian side, leading to Ganguly criticising the selection panel and process; although there were reports that the selection panel decided unanimously against including Ganguly, and that any suggestion that he should have been included would have led to Majid Khan and Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
walking out.
Criticism
The competition was considered to be missing a large number of the top players from each continent, for several underlying reasons. Pakistan made it clear that its players did not have to play if they did not want to, and leading South African bowler Makhaya NtiniMakhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is a former South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
announced that he would be playing for English county
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
side Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and was unavailable for selection for the African side. Injuries also ravaged the tournament, as four players pulled out a week before the matches were due to start, whilst other big names - including Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
- were not even available for selection due to injury.
First ODI
In front of a crowd of about 1,000 people at Centurion
Centurion, Gauteng
Centurion is an area with 279,430 inhabitants in Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand . Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it is now part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality...
- usually figures more associated with domestic cricket matches - Africa won the first of three ODIs. The African side included ten South Africans and two Kenyans - and one of the Kenyans was substituted for a South African without getting the chance to bat. Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
made early breakthroughs as Africa collapsed to 57 for 5 - Justin Ontong
Justin Ontong
Justin Lee Ontong is a South African cricketer, who currently plays domestic cricket for the Cape Cobras. He has played two Tests, 26 One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals as an all-rounder.-Cricket career:...
and Steve Tikolo
Steve Tikolo
- Career :He is a right-handed middle order batsman and part time right-arm medium pace bowler. He bowls quite effective offspin in the shorter form of the game. Tikolo has previously represented Border in South African domestic cricket and has also spent time playing in England and Bangladesh...
both dismissed for ducks - but Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Gavin Prince is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. A left-handed middle order batsman, he has a high-batted stance and is strong through the offside. He is noted for his gritty style of batting and also for being an athletic fielder in the covers...
and Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
set Africa back on the right track with an 86-run partnership. Prince finished on 78 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
as he ran out of partners to bat with, Africa eventually being dismissed for 198. Asia, however, lost wickets at regular intervals, but a 24-run ninth-wicket partnership between Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
and Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
looked to turn it Asia's way. Asia needed to eke out five runs for the last wicket, with twenty-two balls to spare, but Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra is an Indian cricketer who has represented India at the international level since 1999.Nehra started playing first-class cricket for his hometown, Delhi, in the 1997/1998 season and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1999 and his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare...
was bowled
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
by a straight delivery from ODI debutant Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn
Dale Willem Steyn is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras...
, and Asia finished two runs short of victory.
Second ODI
Asia XI rebounded at Kingsmead to square the series with one match to play. Good contributions from the entire top order - the top six hit one six each, Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi , popularly known as Shahid Afridi , is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2011, Afridi played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals, and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani national team...
getting out the next ball but all the others at least passing 30 - saw Asia XI to 267 for 7, with the two Sri Lankans
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
and Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
making half-centuries. Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
n Thomas Odoyo was statistically the best bowler for the African XI, with three wickets for 45, making him tied best wicket-taker for the African XI so far in the series. Indeed, the Kenyan contingent of the African side performed well, with Steve Tikolo
Steve Tikolo
- Career :He is a right-handed middle order batsman and part time right-arm medium pace bowler. He bowls quite effective offspin in the shorter form of the game. Tikolo has previously represented Border in South African domestic cricket and has also spent time playing in England and Bangladesh...
making a run-a-ball 43 from number seven - but AB de Villiers used up 67 balls for making his 39, the African XI had to suffer three run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
s, and in the end two wickets from Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
wrapped up the African innings - 18 runs short of victory.
Third ODI
After Africa XI had been bowled out for a measly 106, rain poured down steadily on Kingsmead, and the umpires
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
eventually declared that play was not possible. The rain had already caused the start of the game to be delayed for two hours, before Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
and Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
unleashed their fast bowling on the African side. When Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka....
departed for 10, the score was 51 for 7, and only good hitting and running from Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
, who hit 44 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
, carried Africa past 100. Steve Tikolo
Steve Tikolo
- Career :He is a right-handed middle order batsman and part time right-arm medium pace bowler. He bowls quite effective offspin in the shorter form of the game. Tikolo has previously represented Border in South African domestic cricket and has also spent time playing in England and Bangladesh...
, the top-scorer from the last match, was intriguingly dropped. Then, Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn
Dale Willem Steyn is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras...
and Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
ripped out the two Asian openers Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
and Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi , popularly known as Shahid Afridi , is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2011, Afridi played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals, and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani national team...
, and, with the score eight for 2, the weather intervened. No further play was possible, and thus the two continents shared the title.