Aftab Habib
Encyclopedia
Aftab Habib is an English
cricket
er. He has been appointed the coach of Afghanistan national cricket team on September 2011. He is a stylish batsman, but his bowling is almost non-existent.
Habib made his first-class
debut in 1992, playing once for Middlesex
, but was quickly let go and it was 1995 before he played another first-class game, for his new county, Leicestershire
. Although he made 174 not out against Oxford University
that year it was 1996 before Habib established himself in the first team. He played a few games for New Zealand
side Canterbury
in the 1997/98 Shell Cup one-day
competition, but made only 83 runs in his five innings.
He averaged
56 in 1998 and was chosen by England
the following year, but was quickly found out by the New Zealand
bowlers and dropped after two Tests
. He did, however, have the consolation of passing 1000 runs for the first time that season. After the 2001 season Habib left for Essex
, but had an indifferent three seasons with the club and was released. He struggled to find another county, and at one point it looked as though his career might be at an end, but somewhat surprisingly he returned to Leicestershire for the 2005 season. Habib was released by Leicestershire at the end of 2006 season, in 2007 he has appeared for Berkshire
.
Habib's cousin Zahid Sadiq played seven matches for Surrey
and one for Derbyshire
between 1988 and 1990.
Habib was formerly the Hong Kong National Coach, having been appointed on a three year contract, including Hong Kong's appearance in the 2008 Asia Cup
in Pakistan
and has worked as Women’s and Girls’ Cricket Development Officer for the Buckinghamshire Cricket Board. He is currently the coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
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...
er. He has been appointed the coach of Afghanistan national cricket team on September 2011. He is a stylish batsman, but his bowling is almost non-existent.
Habib made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut in 1992, playing once for Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, but was quickly let go and it was 1995 before he played another first-class game, for his new county, Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
. Although he made 174 not out against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
that year it was 1996 before Habib established himself in the first team. He played a few games for New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
side Canterbury
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...
in the 1997/98 Shell Cup one-day
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...
competition, but made only 83 runs in his five innings.
He averaged
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
56 in 1998 and was chosen by England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
the following year, but was quickly found out by the 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...
bowlers and dropped after two Tests
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...
. He did, however, have the consolation of passing 1000 runs for the first time that season. After the 2001 season Habib left for Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
, but had an indifferent three seasons with the club and was released. He struggled to find another county, and at one point it looked as though his career might be at an end, but somewhat surprisingly he returned to Leicestershire for the 2005 season. Habib was released by Leicestershire at the end of 2006 season, in 2007 he has appeared for Berkshire
Berkshire County Cricket Club
Berkshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Berkshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy....
.
Habib's cousin Zahid Sadiq played seven matches for Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and one for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
between 1988 and 1990.
Habib was formerly the Hong Kong National Coach, having been appointed on a three year contract, including Hong Kong's appearance in the 2008 Asia Cup
2008 Asia Cup
Cricket's 2008 Asia Cup took place in Pakistan in June 2008. The six teams which took part in the tournament were Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UAE. This was the first Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan; previously political tensions between India and Pakistan did not permit...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and has worked as Women’s and Girls’ Cricket Development Officer for the Buckinghamshire Cricket Board. He is currently the coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team.