The year of Afghanistan

Theirs was a story straight out of a fairytale, but 2011 for the Associates in general could be one spent in the dungeons, courtesy the Evil Queen, the ICC

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We look at how the leading Associates fared in a year in which they were dealt a major blow with the decision of the ICC to, in all likelihood, bar them from the inappropriately titled World Cup from 2015.

Afghanistan
The success story with no sign of running out of steam. Afghanistan showed their adaptability by winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup at the first time of asking, ending the Celtic dominance of the tournament. It was no fluke, either: they handed out heavy defeats to some of the better-funded and better-resourced Associates, and their remarkable effort in making 494 for 4 to beat Canada was the ninth highest fourth-innings run chase in first-class cricket. Victory in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers earned them a place alongside the big boys for the first time in the main event in the Caribbean, where they lost to India and South Africa but were far from disgraced. Third place in the World Cricket League Division One in the Netherlands was a creditable showing - and their two defeats came against Ireland and Scotland, sides with far more experience of European conditions - and overall seven wins from 13 ODIs in 2010 underlined Afghanistan were here to stay. In the background remain some uncertainties - one leading chief executive sniffily dismissed them as being no more than a "Pakistan A team" - and without playing major opposition in their own country it is hard to see how the game can be expanded. Despite that, they will be sorely missed at the World Cup as they would have drawn big crowds and probably were the best chance of providing the upset the turgid tournament format will be crying out for.
What 2011 holds Maintaining the success of recent years will be hard but there are no signs the momentum is slowing.