Sharjah Stadium in focus again.

SHARJAH Sharjah Cricket Club vice chairman Waleed Bukhatir believed the one-day international between Afghanistan and Australia will further add to the charm of the world famous Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

"Sharjah Cricket Stadium is a household name here and we do expect to host more such international games in the near future," said Bukatir.

The historic venue, which is already in the Guinness Book of World Records for hosting the maximum number of One-day Internationals, will be hosting the 205 ODI on August 25.

"We are grateful to Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of ECB, for all his initiatives in supporting cricket," he added.

It will be a big day for Afghanistan who will be playing top-ranked Australia for the first time. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been the home ground for the Afghanistan national team for ODIs and first-class matches for the past four years, and the staging of this new match is a reflection on the Emirates Cricket Board's drive to help develop cricket in South Asia's new cricket power.

"Afghanistan has a national team that is definitely on the rise and we can put our hand out. I think it's the responsibility of every cricket-loving country to develop the game and to reach out to a country in need," said Bukhatir.

"We will continue to support cricket in Afghanistan and hope their matches against top teams in the world will go a long way in honing the competitive edge of a team which has unified the nation in unprecedented fashion.

Afghanistan played their first ODI against a Test playing nation when Pakistan agreed to play them at the same venue earlier this year just before the Sri Lanka series. An unbelievable crowd packed to the capacity had gathered and interestingly cheering the Afghanistan in full force as they put up a brave fight in a losing cause.

"The ICC Development Programme and Cricket Australia deserves to be applauded for strongly supporting emerging associate member countries in developing their skills," Bukatir added.

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