Tricky wicket

By Claire Stewart
April 5 2014 - 4:00am
Pitched battle: Boys play cricket on a hazy winter's morning in Kabul. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
Pitched battle: Boys play cricket on a hazy winter's morning in Kabul. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
Close watch: A policeman watches over the crowd at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan "A" match in Jalalabad. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
Close watch: A policeman watches over the crowd at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan "A" match in Jalalabad. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
New boundaries: Fans cheer on the Afghan team. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
New boundaries: Fans cheer on the Afghan team. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
On side: Samiullah Shenwari at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan "A" match in Jalalabad. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
On side: Samiullah Shenwari at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan "A" match in Jalalabad. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
League of their own: The Afghan Women's Cricket team trains on a snow-covered Kabul Cricket Stadium in Afghanistan's capital. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi
League of their own: The Afghan Women's Cricket team trains on a snow-covered Kabul Cricket Stadium in Afghanistan's capital. Photo: Andrew Quilty/Oculi

It's raining carrots in the Afghan national cricket team's minibus as it ferries players from morning training to their once-grand hotel in Jalalabad. A bowler in the front seat cops a half-chewed carrot to the side of his head. A couple of players roll their eyes indulgently and stare out the dirty windows as more carrots sail through the air. It seems boys will be boys, even in places like Afghanistan.

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