Now if the Taliban can only be hit for six...

Who says there's little progress? I'll be they weren't playing cricket at the time of the three Anglo-Afghan wars:

Afghan cricket team aims for world cup glory

Taj Malik has more to worry about than rain stopping play or the wicket his team will have to bat on.

The charismatic coach of the Afghan cricket team has been threatened by a suicide bomber for not picking a particular player, while his brother and one of his star bowlers bear the scars of bullet wounds from years of war.

But Mr Malik, 32, and his players say that nothing will stop them achieving their dream of getting to the Cricket World Cup in 2011...

Afghanistan has had an international team only since the Taleban were ousted in 2001 but the potential is amazing. In 2006 the Afghans beat the MCC by 202 runs, getting the former England captain Mike Gatting out for a duck. Hamed Hassan, their fastest bowler, and team-mate Mohammed Nabi, 24, were recruited later by the MCC for several matches.

Talk about "Out of the Ashes". More, from the Asian Cricket Council:

Afghanistan are the rising stars of Asian cricket. Already with a global following, they play with dash and panache, care only for winning and consider every match played to be a matter of national honour. Since becoming ACC members their progress has been rapid and had it not been for tactical naïveté and an ability to countenance anything else but big hits against spinners, it would be they and not Hong Kong who would be in the next Asia Cup...

More on hitting for six (second para). And don't forget the Kabul Golf Club--nor the Afghan Sports Federation.