12 Dec 2013

Afghanistan set for historic Zimbabwe tour

5:58 am on 12 December 2013

The Afghanistan men's cricket team will travel to Zimbabwe next month, marking the fast-improving side's first international series tour hosted by a full member of the ICC.

The series starts at the end of January and is part of the team's development programme ahead of the World Cup in 2015.

Afghanistan have established themselves as one of the best associate sides in the ICC by qualifying for their third successive World Twenty20, to be held in Bangladesh next year.

They have also qualified for the first time for the 50-over World Cup, to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2015.

On Sunday in Sharjah, they lost to neighbouring giants Pakistan on the last ball in the first-ever Twenty20 international between the two countries.

They played their first ODI against a full-member country against the same opposition at the same venue last year in February.