• Mike Selvey: Finn shows he can stand the pace at Cricket World Cup
• Afghanistan record famous victory over Scotland
• South Africa’s De Villiers blasts 162 as West Indies are crushed
Made to feel like unwelcome guests by the pre-tournament words of the ICC chief executive, Dave Richardson, the associate nations have, in fact, been the life and soul of the party so far. Following on from Ireland’s defeat of West Indies and their epic last-over victory against the United Arab Emirates came the delight that was Afghanistan versus Scotland, where a historic first World Cup win was up for grabs for both sides. The Afghans, who have only played international cricket since 2001, became the first team batting second to recover from a collapse of five wickets for 12 runs – they were 97-7 at one stage, needing another 114 runs - and still emerge victorious. Does the drama of these contests not belong on the biggest stage of all? Or should they be played out at a low-key qualifying tournament, such is the plan ahead of the 10-team edition slated for 2019? We saw the current format (not perfect, but at least inclusive) given a stay of execution four years ago when Ireland left England red-faced in Bangalore. Whether the delights of Shaiman Anwar’s first ever World Cup century by a UAE batsman, Ireland’s fourth entry into the list of top 10 World Cup run chases or the nerve-shredding 19-run 10th-wicket stand between Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran prompts another rethink remains to be seen. If not, we are going to miss them.
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source Sport | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1ARtNgt
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