Out of The Ashes by Tim Albone Large Print - The Extraordiary rise and rise of the Afghanistan Cricket Team

by Timothy Albone

Cool Runnings meets Joseph O'Neill's Netherland in an inspiring and feel-good story of bravery and sporting success from a country so widely known for war and extremism. This is the true story of the Afghanistan cricket team and their extraordinary attempt to join the world's elite cricketing nations. That this devastated nation should be able to field a cricket team at all, let alone one as successful as this, is an unbelievable achievement. Seven years ago, in a country which does not have a real cricket pitch even today, there was no national team. But a group of young Afghan men, exiled by war, learnt to play in the smashed concrete of refugee camps, and have risen from obscurity to the groomed grass pitches of international cricket. With unlimited access, Tim Albone traveled alongside the team for the two years, charting the players' progress from refugees in Pakistan to the brink of international sporting stardom. Far from being bogged down in cricket jargon, this tale of a gang of dedicated, charismatic, occasionally exasperating young men seeking triumph out of disaster is one that will move and inspire everyone. Foreword by Mike Atherton.

Paperback

First published May 5, 2011

Reviews

[Tom Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

A remarkable story well told. It's a fairly light touch and rapid run through the history of Afghanistan cricket from Inception to reaching the T20 world cup. But it is warm hearted and sheds light on the team and coaches back stories. A lovely and or knowledge of cricket would certainly help enjoy this more.

[Sue Chant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming and uplifting.

[Andrew Straiton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story really enjoyed

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really want to rate this higher. It's a great story, nay even a truly extraordinary one in the realm of sporting tales, but I got the feeling that too often parts of the story are skipped over by just reeling off numbers and statistics. We get a decent background in some of the main players, but many others are skimmed over, and too often the genuine moments of interaction between alien cultures are reduced to Crocodile Dundee-style exchanges where we laugh at the backwoodsmen.

That all said, the focus of this project was a documentary, and the book was a secondary focus; the documentary is a lot more subtle in the areas where I have criticised the book. It is a good complement to the documentary, but not so great as standalone material (admittedly, again, never the aim of the author).

[Matt Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amazing story of the rise and rise of Afghanistan cricket. Against all odds they are becoming the best non-test playing nation and I'm sure it won't be long till they can safely compete with some of them as well.

[Melanie Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic true story - inspiring and a must read for anyone with an interest in cricket and/or Afghanistan. The film is superb.