ADAM Hollioake has never walked away from a challenge but even the former England ODI skipper could have been forgiven for turning his back on Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League last week.
Hollioake’s Boost Defenders team were playing the MIS Ainak Knights at the Alokozay Kabul ICC Ground last Wednesday when a suicide bomber detonated a device that killed three and wounded 12 others.
Sitting pitchside, Hollioake initially thought the blast was a firecracker. The players were then told a gas explosion had caused the explosion.
When the news finally broke that it was a suicide attack, Hollioake and the Boost Defenders’ overseas contingent were left with a tough choice – should they stay or walk away?
Hollioake made a characteristically brave call.
“The bomb went off probably 75 to 100 metres away from where I was sitting,” he tells The Cricket Paper from his hotel room in Kabul. “I could feel the force, I’m not sure whether it was the aftershock but it vibrated through my whole body. It was a substantial blast.
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Denne historien er fra September 22,2017-utgaven av The Cricket Paper.
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