'Weary' Afghanistan put positive spin on scheduling

The Afghanistan squad could be forgiven for looking a little bleary-eyed as they ran around the outfield at McLean Park and it would have been no surprise if they weren't quite sure what the time was.

In the space of a week they have criss-crossed a continent, racking up 10,000kms in the air, traveling from Dunedin to Perth after playing Scotland and back again to Napier following the thrashing by Australia. They were grateful to be in the big seats up front, but the coach Andy Moles did not shy away from the fact that it has been a tough schedule.

"It's not ideal. We were in Dunedin and it would have been much better and easier for us to come straight here then go to Perth," Moles said. "I'm sure there are elements we aren't aware of to squeeze the fixtures in. We are being positive, we managed to get to the front of plane which was nice and we got some rest. We are not using it as an excuse.

"It's true to say we are bit weary. We've tried to put a positive spin on it; the guys have seen a new part of the world so for their development as human beings it's been a good thing. I think every side is feeling a little weary. We've had a bit of a jaunt but we all ready for tomorrow."

Following the 5500km flight from Perth, Afghanistan have had a low-key build-up to the match against New Zealand. They did not train on Friday and had just a very light session on Saturday. Having not "got out of the blocks with the bat" against Bangladesh, as Moles termed it, they then pushed Sri Lanka very close in Dunedin before the historic one-wicket against Scotland.

Despite the overwhelming 275-run reversal against Australia, where they felt the full force of David Warner, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, Moles is confident that his charges will be able to find reserves of energy for the final two contests, which include another skip back across the Tasman to face England in Sydney.

"The thing about these Afghans is that they are very passionate and very proud - their history shows that," Moles, who coached New Zealand for an 11-month period in 2008 and 2009, said. "They will want to show everyone, they are in the shop window. They want to make sure we compete. It didn't happen in Australia, and we know we are in a very tough examination against New Zealand but as a group we are putting our best foot forward."

The match at the WACA Ground was an eye-opening experience for all involved. For the first 10 overs, which included Dawlat Zadran removing Aaron Finch cheaply, it was closely fought but then the chasm appeared between the sides.

"It was a good experience to play against Australia in their conditions," the wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai said. "We enjoyed the match but we had a bad day. But I can say when our team has a bad game the next game we come back strongly and we will try our best against New Zealand.

"We had not faced 150kph bowlers before and we faced Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson so we learned a lot. When we go home we will work hard on our game to get used to the pace and hope we get more chances against the big teams."

There are discussions in progress to make those chances a reality. Afghanistan, along with Ireland, are now a full part of the one-day rankings but that is unlikely to generate a mass of fixtures, certainly from the more influential Full Members. Echoing the thoughts of William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, who wants his side to benefit from teams who tour England, Moles wants greater consideration given to including Afghanistan when teams visit the UAE.

"We're realistic, we're very rarely going to get standalone tours but it'd be nice if we could add on to a series somewhere and make it a tri-series where we could pick up the opportunity to compete against some of the better sides," he said. "If we can present ourselves as good preparation ahead of a Test series or ahead of a ODI series by coming and playing us in some cricket then it's excellent for us and I think it'll be a huge benefit to any of the sides heading into the UAE."