| 2005 Afro-asian Cup |
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The first Afro-Asian Cup in 2005 was a series of three One-day Cricket matches played between an Asian XI and an African XI . Controversially, the games have been awarded official One-day International status. The teams were selected by former Test Match players rather than by national selectors, a move that has also given rise to controversy. The ICC expected (wrongly, as it turned out) that there would be a strong competitive tender for Television Rights . However, the main television broadcsters, such as ESPN , declined to bid. Pakistan made it clear that its players did not have to play if they did not want to, and leading South African bowler Makhaya Ntini announced that he would be playing for English County side Warwickshire and was not available for selection for the African side. Injuries also rampaged the tournament, as four players pulled out a week before the matches were due to start. {Link without Title} The 2005 tournament was closely fought. Africa won the first match by just two runs, while Asia won the second by 18 runs to set up a series decider. However, after Africa had been bowled out for 106, the Asian Innings was curtailed by rain, and the match eventually declared a no result. Thus, the series was tied 1–1. ASIAN TEAM The Asian side was selected from players from Pakistan , India , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh . The selectors of the Asian side were required to select at least one player from each country, even though arguably no Bangladeshi players would make the side on merit. There was controversy surrounding the omission of Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly from the Asian side. The Asian side was as follows: AFRICAN TEAM The African squad was selected from players from South Africa , Zimbabwe and Kenya . Had the teams been chosen on merit, the team would have been the entire South African team, perhaps with the addition of Heath Streak , but the selectors were forced to pick some weaker players so that all three nations were represented. It has been suggested that the selectors chose some coloured South African cricketers in preference to white players. As the first match clashed with Zimbabwe's Test match against New Zealand , the Zimbabweans did not play in the first game. The African side is as follows: Ontong was only available for selection for the first game. Going into the tournament, Graeme Smith still had two matches of a four-match suspension to serve, and so was unavailable for the first two games. SCHEDULE All three matches were day/night games played in South Africa . The schedule is as follows:
MATCH DETAILS First ODI: Africa XI v Asia XI, 17 August ''Africa XI won by 2 runs'' In front of a crowd of about 1,000 people at Centurion - usually figures more associated with domestic cricket matches - Africa won the first of three ODIs. The African side included ten South Africans and two Kenyans - and one of the Kenyans was substituted for a South African without getting the chance to bat. Zaheer Khan made early breakthroughs as Africa collapsed to 57 for 5 - Justin Ontong and Steve Tikolo both dismissed for ducks - but Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher set Africa back on the right track with an 86-run partnership. Prince finished on 78 Not Out as he ran out of partners to bat with, Africa eventually being dismissed for 198. Asia, however, lost wickets at regular intervals, but a 24-run ninth-wicket partnership between Zaheer Khan and Shoaib Akhtar looked to turn it Asia's way. Asia needed to eke out five runs for the last wicket, with twenty-two balls to spare, but Ashish Nehra was Bowled by a straight delivery from ODI debutant Dale Steyn , and Asia finished two runs short of victory. External link: Cricinfo scorecard Second ODI: Africa XI v Asia XI, 20 August ''Asia XI won by 17 runs'' Asia XI rebounded at Kingsmead to square the series with one match to play. Good contributions from the entire top order - the top six hit one six each, Shahid Afridi getting out the next ball but all the others at least passing 30 - saw Asia XI to 267 for 7, with the two Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene making half-centuries. Kenya Thomas Odoyo was statistically the best bowler for the African XI, with three wickets for 45, making him tied best wicket-taker for the African XI so far in the series. Indeed, the Kenyan contingent of the African side performed well, with Steve Tikolo making a run-a-ball 43 from number seven - but AB De Villiers used up 67 balls for making his 39, the African XI had to suffer three Run Out s, and in the end two wickets from Zaheer Khan wrapped up the African innings - 18 runs short of victory. External link: Cricinfo scorecard Third ODI: Africa XI v Asia XI, 21 August ''No result'' In some ways, a no-result and a drawn series was a fitting finish to what had been an anticlimactic tournament. After Africa XI had been bowled out for a paltry 106, rain poured down steadily on Kingsmead, and the Umpires eventually declared that play was not possible. The rain had already caused the start of the game to be delayed for two hours, before Shoaib Akhtar and Zaheer Khan unleashed their fast bowling on the African side. When Tatenda Taibu departed for 10, the score was 51 for 7, and only good hitting and running from Shaun Pollock , who hit 44 Not Out , carried Africa past 100. Steve Tikolo , the top-scorer from the last match, was intriguingly dropped. Then, Dale Steyn and Shaun Pollock ripped out the two Asian openers Virender Sehwag and Shahid Afridi , and, with the score eight for 2, the weather intervened. No further play was possible, and thus the two continents shared the title. External link: Cricinfo scorecard EXTERNAL LINKS
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