Some national teams play cricket to win trophies, or even a tiny urn.
Afghanistan Cricket Board chief Hamid Shinwari has a much greater goal in mind – peace.
On Saturday night, Afghanistan will play only their second one-day international against a full-member ICC team when they host Australia in Sharjah.
It’s a dream come true to be playing against the four-time world champions, but to bring Michael Clarke’s side to Afghanistan would be something else again.
“Cricket is more than a game for Afghanistan. It brings hope to the country,” Shinwari said in Sharjah this week.
“We want to improve in the game. We have the capacity to compete with any nation,” he added boldly of a side that have qualified for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
“Our team is doing well at international level. You can see that we are doing better than some of the full members and we have the capacity to do even better.
“It’s a hurdle for an affiliate member not to be playing against full members and we thank Australia for this opportunity.”
Shinwari said the Afghanistan government had funded two international stadiums in Kabul and Jalalabad and was planning to establish three more in the next two years.
He has appealed to cricket powerhouses like Australia and England to lend greater technical assistance.
“The support of the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) and the ICC (International Cricket Council) is very helpful in developing the game in Afghanistan but we expect more from the world because cricket is more than a game in Afghanistan,” Shinwari said.
“Cricket gives hope to millions of people in our country and we want to improve in this game.
“Cricket is a game that attracts every walk of life in Afghanistan. It will be a good contribution to peace-building in the country,” he said.
Afghanistan captain and off spinner Nawroz Mangal says it’s great exposure for his team to play against Australia.
“We are expecting to put up a good show against Australia and hopefully to win this game,” he said.
“The Sharjah wicket, it is our home ground so that will be a plus for us.
“This will be a huge moment for every single one of us, playing against the mighty Australians.
“We are just new to the scene so hopefully we can put up a good show.
“We have dreams to play against such teams we grew up watching on TV.
“To have such events back home and to bring big teams back into Afghanistan, this would be a dream come true for us.”
Just four years ago, war-torn Afghanistan first played in the ICC World Cricket League in Jersey in Division Five. Their rivals included Norway, Japan and Germany.
“Afghanistan is one of the success stories of ICC’s Development Program,” ICC global development manager Tim Anderson told AAP.
“It’s been terrific to see how the Afghanistan cricket community has overcome a number of obvious challenges in being able to achieve such outstanding results on the field, and extraordinary growth off it. Cricket is now the most popular sport in Afghanistan.
“We are confident Afghanistan’s rise will continue.”
Afghanistan played an ODI against Pakistan in February 2012, losing by seven wickets in Sharjah.
“I like the idea that the minor nations are now getting an opportunity to come in and play against the bigger boys. That is great for cricket,” said acting Australian head coach Steve Rixon.