It is hard to ignore the burden this match carries with it; England have their hopes dashed of reaching the quarter-final stage after their subpar performance against South Africa in their opener.
Poor fielding and an offensive performance past its prime highlighted this tepid performance, prompting early tournament exit. They must improve dramatically if they want to avoid this fate in the Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Standings.
| Match # | Date | Format | Venue | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 Feb 2025 | ODI | Lahore (ICC Champions Trophy) | Afghanistan | won by 8 runs (Cricbuzz) |
| 2 | 15 Oct 2023 | ODI | Delhi (World Cup) | Afghanistan | won by 69 runs (Sky Sports) |
| 3 | 18 Jun 2019 | ODI | Manchester (World Cup) | England | won by 150 runs (myKhel) |
| 4 | 22 Oct 2022 | T20I | Perth (T20 World Cup) | England | won by 5 wickets (myKhel) |
| 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
ODI
Afghanistan national cricket team represents their nation internationally limited-overs (ODI) cricket. An Associate Member of the International Cricket Council, they have competed in four ODIs to date – winning two of them!
Furthermore, Afghanistan was host nation for 2014 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier Qualifier Qualifier as a host country.
Kabul Cricket Team, established in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. They compete in multiple regional and global tournaments such as ACC T20 Cup and Asian Games, boasting an ardent fan base who admire the skills and athleticism displayed by its players.
Afghanistan was granted full ODI membership by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2016. They joined Ireland as Test-playing nations that year and in September and October toured Bangladesh for three ODI matches; marking Afghanistan’s inaugural full series against a Test nation.
Even though their one-day international record has been poor, India’s team has made steady improvements.
Fielding skills have improved and they have earned a reputation as tough opponents at home games. Expectations are high that India will do well both on defense and offense during their upcoming match against England.
Afghanistan and England played in their latest One-Day International (ODI) on 28 February 2019; England came away victorious by seven wickets, marking their second win in this competition. Afghanistan were led by captain Asghar Stanikzai’s impressive 104 off 101 balls score;
England top order also performed well, particularly Joe Root who displayed impressive hitting skills.
Root was in fine form early in his innings, hitting several sixes at will and nearly making century before being caught by Rahmanullah Gurbaz off Omar Khan and eventually falling short by one wicket.
England were unable to match Root’s total in 20 overs; eventually finishing on 185/6 total runs scored.
In March 2013, their first two One Day Internationals against Scotland in the UAE were won and qualified them for 2015 ICC World Cup as runners-up of World Cricket League Championship.
T20
Afghanistan cricket team comprises five regions: Amo in the north (centering around Balkh), Spin Ghar in the east (centered on Nangarhar), Band-e-Amir at Kabul’s center of country, Mis Ainak south and southwest of Khost and Boost north and northwest of Kandahar – each having their own captain and coach to compete across all traditional formats of the game including Test Matches.
One Day Internationals and Twenty20 matches at their Sharjah National Stadium home stadium in United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan has made remarkable advances in T20 cricket despite only joining as an associate member since 2001. T20 matches feature up to 25 matches per tournament; this allows teams to build confidence and gain skills more rapidly than in traditional forms of the game.
Afghanistan’s team have won multiple tournaments since playing T20 tournaments began; including winning several World Cup tournaments themselves such as 2024.
The Taliban prohibited women’s sports and restricted some men’s, while leaving cricket untouched. Perhaps because the Taliban enjoyed playing themselves or were concerned about public outrage if it was banned;
Afghanistan has become a hub of cricket talent with young players eager to hone their craft and develop their abilities; many even leave home to pursue careers in cricket.
Afghanistan Cricket Team made history when they hosted their inaugural ODI against Pakistan – the inaugural meeting between an affiliate nation and a Test-playing nation – before beating Zimbabwe in a four-match ODI series, marking the inaugural full series between an affiliate nation and full member.
Afghanistan took part in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, where they defeated Hong Kong and Scotland to advance to the Super 10 stage, but lost against India and England during group play.
At the tournament, they displayed an energy and flair that impressed their ardent fans. Even though they were pitted in an extremely competitive group containing heavyweights New Zealand and West Indies as well as unknown minnows like Papua New Guinea and Uganda, they managed to hold onto fans. Unfortunately they did not advance past group stage; nevertheless they showed promise for future.
Tests
Afghanistan national cricket team is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), holding Test, One-Day International and Twenty20I status with Test cricket being its specialty.
Cricket was initially popular among Afghan refugees living in Pakistan during war years before returning home and becoming part of Afghan culture and society at large – as evidenced by many young Afghans making names in world cricket and earning international tournament participation (ACC World Cup qualifiers and World Twenty20 Qualifier tournaments among them).
Afghanistan have participated in multiple ICC tournaments including these – test cricket will come home again!
Afghanistan was awarded full membership by the International Cricket Council as an important step toward political and security stability since Soviet occupation ended in the late 1980s. Afghanistan Cricket Board acts as its governing body of cricket and includes five regions:
Amo (centered on Balkh), Spin Ghar in the east, Band-e-Amir in the center, Mis Ainak in the south/southwest/boost in the west with each region having a representative team playing all three major cricket formats.
In June 2017, Afghanistan cricket team made its inaugural tour to West Indies – their inaugural bilateral series against a full member country – for their inaugural bilateral series. Four ODI matches ended 1-1 while both T20I matches were won by Afghanistan by an overwhelming score of 3-0.
Afghanistan next participated in the ICC World Twenty20 hosted in Sri Lanka. They won their opening match against India, electing to field, but were quickly bowled out for just 136 runs in just 19.3 overs. Afghanistan were then defeated by England in their second group-stage match and failed to advance past Super Eights stage.
Afghanistan national cricket team has shown remarkable strides since improving their overall performance across all formats.
Notably, T20Is and Tests now rank 10th for them respectively compared with 11th place overall in ODIs and Tests respectively. While still far behind some of the more established teams around the world, its rise has been remarkable given Afghanistan’s troubled history.
ICC World Cup
Afghanistan made their World Cup debut in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. Their inaugural match ended in an upset against Bangladesh with a 105-run loss, but Afghanistan rebounded well to finish second in World Cricket League Championship and qualify as an Associate team for further competitions.
Afghanistan cricket team continues to increase in strength and capabilities despite security concerns in Afghanistan, according to ACB plans for 2019.
They aim to reach top six for both ODIs and T20Is by 2019. In addition, work is underway towards becoming an official Test nation; with their first Test scheduled to occur sometime around 2022.
Afghanistan cricket team traveled to United Arab Emirates in December 2016 for three Twenty20 Internationals against full members of ICC other than Zimbabwe – winning all three series convincingly 3-0.
On 22 June 2017 the International Cricket Council granted Afghanistan full membership, giving it access to play ODI and T20I matches against full member teams for the first time ever as an associate nation – making Afghanistan part of an elite group of twelve Test-playing nations.
Afghanistan have played several warm-up matches ahead of their ODI series against England. Their most recent warm-up game took place in Fatullah and resulted in a win against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI by 66 runs; marking the first time any side from outside of Asia’s top eight has won such an event.
Afghanistan wear a blue kit with splashes of green, red and black for limited-overs cricket matches; for test matches they wear cricket whites; while on the field players don a baggy red cap or sun hat bearing the ACB logo and display various sponsor-related logos such as Puma, Emirates or Oman Air logos as well as their national flag displayed prominently on front.
