Bullseye

A word on Andy Bull's coverage of the best story in town, Afghanistan at the World T20. It's been exemplary.

As for the future - well, if you love the game, put your hand in your pocket. A tenner goes a long way towards a cricket pitch.

NB: The Guardian's County Cricket Live blog, in which their old stagers sound off while the cricket goes on in the background, is the summer's cult classic, the journalistic equivalent of nurdling. You can almost hear the thermos flasks hiss...

Afghan Plan

England are in the midst of a five-year plan to become the number one Test team and win a major limited overs trophy. Five years? Hopelessly unambitious.

Twenty years ago, cricket in Afghanistan didn't exist. Ten years ago, it was banned by the Taliban. Until a few years ago, it was less popular than rugby on horseback with a sheep's carcass for a ball. 

Now Afghanistan are the twelfth best T20 team in the world. The players get a maximum of £200 per month, meaning that it would take them around three and a half years to earn enough to download Lalit Modi's tender form for new IPL teams. There will be an Afghani player in the IPL before then.

Life's not so bad for the team. They've been given laptops and parades, and posters line the streets of Kabul and Jalalabad. 'In the shops,' says all-rounder Raees Ahmadzai, 'whenever we buy something, we get another thing free...'

They beat Ireland to get to the World T20 and then a couple of days after that chased out 494 to win a four-day game against Canada. 

Their coach, Kabir Khan, told the Observer, 'During the cricket, the guns are put down'.

Now that's a plan.