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Bangladesh spoiled Afghanistans Cricket World Cup debut on Wednesday in Canberra, Australia, winning by 105 runs. But for a while, the newcomers looked feisty.

Heres the Associated Press:

Afghanistan thrilled thousands of flag-waving expatriates at Manuka Oval earlier in the day by making a promising start to its debut match in the 50-over tournament, taking four early wickets and then rallying after Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim combined for a 114-run partnership to bowl Bangladesh, which won the toss, out for 267.

But Afghanistan was never in the match in reply, failing to hit its first boundary until the 10th over and requiring an unlikely nine runs per over with 15 overs to go. It was all out for 162 runs in 42.5 overs.

That Afghanistan even reached crickets grandest stage is something of a story itself, as USA Today explained last week:

Cricket in Afghanistan had no organized structure to speak of a decade ago, the majority of its national team grew up in refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan, rockets fly overhead at training sessions and arranging visas for players to travel to international competitions involves a jungle of red tape.

Their challenge has been to hone the huge appetite and passion for the sport that is prevalent in Afghan society into tangible success, all while negotiating the logistical hurdles of a country that still has huge security issues and widespread instability.

It is a war torn country, Anderson told Australias Courier Mail newspaper. War is ever-present.

While in Kabul, [foreign-born coaches Andy Moles and Peter Anderson] are restricted to their hotel rooms for most of their non-training hours, have a permanent security detail and pass up to eight checkpoints per day on the way to and from practice sessions.

Many of Afghanistans players grew up in Pakistani refugee camps. The team scored a win over Afghanistan at the 2014 Asia Cup, but Bangladesh was without two of its top players.

Read the rest here:
Cricket World Cup 2015 results: Bangladesh tops newcomer Afghanistan