How low do you have to be in the sport’s hierarchy to be ranked beneath countries such as Fiji, Tanzania and Italy? The answer is the ICC World Cricket League fifth division, that stages an eight-day tournament in Jersey today featuring such little known cricketing nations as Afghanistan, Japan, Germany and Vanuatu.

For the 12 nations taking part, this low-key tournament in the Channel Islands is as big as the World Cup. In fact, there is a slender chance that one of these teams could be at the next World Cup in 2011. The top two teams in Jersey qualify for the fourth division of the World Cricket League, to be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in October, and so on up the list until the top four associate or affiliate nations qualify next year for the World Cup.

There are 101 member countries in the ICC, which has been funding a development programme since 1997. Last year the sport’s world governing body created its World Cricket League programme to give the minnow nations proper competition.

Cricket in Afghanistan was suppressed by the Taleban and played in only four of the country’s 34 provinces. In 1997, players in Kabul were beaten and arrested by the Taleban’s “vice and virtue squad” for competing during a designated time for prayers.

After the Taleban were routed in 2001, the country was admitted to the ICC and has received various goodwill touring teams, grabbing the attention two years ago when an MCC side, captained by Mike Gatting, were beaten by 171 runs.

There are more than 12,000 cricketers in Afghanistan. Last November the team finished joint first in the Asia Cricket Council’s Twenty20 Cup, which has led to more money and increased interest in the sport from the Afghan Government.

“After all the turbulent times after the invasion by Russia, I consider it as the dawn of a new era,” Norooz Khan Mangal, a batsman, said. “It will introduce the new and moderate Afghanistan to the world. We are travelling to Jersey with the objective to win the tournament. But at the same time we would like to make more friends and try to learn good things from the other participants.”

There are two grass pitches at the National Cricket Academy in Kabul and Afghanistan have been warming up for the World Cricket League by playing in Pakistan, where they won 13 out of their 14 40-over matches. “We learnt how to pace and calculate our innings and also how to bowl in certain situations,” Mangal said.

The country produces good fast bowlers, Mangal added. “Hamid Has-san regularly bowls at 140km/h [87mph] while Dawlat Ahamdzai, Has-ti Gul Abed and Ahamd Shah Ahmadi have lots of potential,” he said.

The 2011 World Cup starts today in Jersey for the following nations: Afghanistan, Bahamas, Botswana, Germany, Japan, Jersey, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Singapore, United States, Vanuatu.

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