Afghanistan handed funding boost

The ICC has pledged a further US$500,000-600,000 to the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (ACF) following the team's victory in Division 4 of the World Cricket League earlier this month.

"Based on the pledge, Afghanistan's cricket federation will receive between five to six hundred thousand dollars for the coming five years from the International Cricket Council," Allah Daad Noori, the head of the ACF, told Reuters.

Afghanistan's win in the World Cricket League handed them promotion to Division 3, with the competition getting underway in Argentina from January. And in spite of their increasing ability as an affiliate nation, the facilities in the country are very poor, with very few grass pitches, and practice sessions often limited to dusty outfields.

However, their dream of reaching the 2011 World Cup - to be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - remains very much alive.