Afghanistan tells Pak let's play cricket

Despite facing an imminent attack from the United States, Afghanistan asked Pakistan on Wednesday for permission to take part in a cricket tournament it is hosting next month.

"They had made a request to us that they wanted to take part in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and we accepted it," a senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board of Control, Brigadier Munawwar Rana, said.

"Since they have confirmed their participation, we have included them," said Rana. "But whether they are able to take part in the competition physically, I think, depends entirely on the circumstances."

Afghanistan is facing a possible military strike from the United States and allies for refusing to hand over Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden, chief suspect in the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11.

Club teams in Pakistan have played numerous games against Afghan sides in the past, and have also lobbied to get Afghanistan affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council this year.

The game first took root in the mid-1880s as the British colonial influences in India leaked across the border.

It has never, however, rivaled the popularity of the national sport, buzkashi, in which teams of horseman vie for possession of a headless goat carcass, tearing it apart in the process. To the casual observer, it appears to have few rules.

Mail Cricket Editor