Out of the Ashes

"There are a lot of problems in the world" says Taj Malik, then coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team at the start of the documentary Out Of The Ashes. "But the solution to them all is cricket". And there it is. Barely four minutes of this film have elapsed and I am completely in love with Afghan cricket.

As much a travelogue as it is about cricket, the contrasts between the sweeping majesty of the Afghan mountains and the quaintness of Jersey where the team travel to on the first step in an attempt to qualify for the 2011 World Cup is played out with some beautiful cinematography. The Afghan officials' first encounter with a British pedestrian crossing serves to add to the 'fish out of water' narrative, a narrative that is quite apt. As they learn on the cricket field, so they learn more about the world. For some, it is too much - too much of a culture shock, too long away from home. Needless to say, Jersey's beaches are not a patch on the mountain vistas of home for the president of the Afghan Cricket Board.

After success in Jersey, suddenly things are a lot more serious. Taj is ousted as coach in favour of former Pakistan Test player Kabir Khan, much to the chagrin of Taj's brothers who are still on the team who are in Tanzania for another tournament. With a more professional set-up, including an ICC-funded physio, they win again and it's on to Argentina for the final step in qualifying.

We catch up with Taj in between times, coaching in a dustbowl back in Afghanistan and checking online updates for his former charges' progress in Buenos Aries; the pathos writ large across the screen. The team return from Argentina as winners and are given a heroes welcome, Taj there to greet his brothers and friends.

Ultimately, it's not to be. The final qualifier is against a vastly more experienced Canadian side and they're too strong for the Afghans, but their run through to this stage earns them ODI status which the team celebrate as much as if they'd lifted the trophy in Mumbai. We end, however, with the side at the World T20 in St Lucia, facing up to the might of India and Taj is back as assistant coach, nicely bookending the film.

This is a lovingly crafted piece of work. There's obvious affection for Afghanistan, for cricket and for the film's 'hero' Taj in equal measure. But the enduring image is that of Hasti Gul picking up the man of the match award in the final in Jersey and getting his victory V symbol the wrong way round in Geoffrey Boycott's. He's done what we've all wanted to do and if Afghanistan achieve nothing else in world cricket - although with the foundation laid down during the making of this film, that seems unlikely - they've flipped Boycott off and that's not nothing.