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Afghanistan fast bowler Dawlat Ahmadzai said victory over Bermuda had given his team confidence that they could qualify for the World Cup.

Ahmadzai, who learnt to play cricket with a homemade bat and tennis ball at a refugee camp, said the win had been easier than expected.

"Today was a comfortable win by Afghanistan. This is a big victory because Bermuda were one of the international teams at the World Cup.

"The boys are encouraged because they know they can play against the ODI teams. That was a big confidence boost for us."

The Afghans are heroes in their homeland where cricket has replaced soccer as the national sport in the past few years.

And 24-year-old Ahmadzai, who bowled an immaculate opening spell taking one for five from five overs, believes it is only a matter of time before they become a respected force on the world stage.

"Cricket is really going on in Afghanistan. We have great talent in cricket and now everyone is playing. In the next ten years we will be a one-day team playing against the big nations.

"If we don't make it this time we will make it next time."

Ahmadzai said he had come from humble beginnings.

"I had nothing, I made my own bat to play cricket and we played with a tennis ball. My friends said I was too fast with a tennis ball and encouraged me to go far with cricket."

But he said things had changed in his home country with ICC funding and the public passion for cricket fuelling a resurgence in the game.

"Now we have a coach who played Test cricket for Pakistan, we have a doctor, a physio, sponsors. We played a lot of practice matches and put in a lot of hard work for these qualifying rounds."

Ahmadzai added that there was still plenty of work to do before the Afghans could say they had qualified.

"We are trying to be in the Super Eight at the moment. We are not there yet. This is a great start for us but we have many more games to play."

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