The inaugural Afro-Asian Cup ended on a fitting note, with honours evenly shared by Asia and Africa. While the three-match series had its enthralling moments, whether the tournament itself, considered in most cricketing circles as a largely Asian (by that, read Indian) enterprise meant to cater largely to an Asian audience, was a success, was debatable. With sparse crowds comprising mostly Asians and an ambivalent television audience, it remains to be seen if the profits accruing from such an amalgamation of cricketing giants from two continents will contribute to the development of cricket in less developed nations, which was the initial objective.

That it was an uneven contest was obvious, given that an African XI led by Graeme Smith would comprise mostly South African players, in view of the fact that Kenya has struggled for adequate exposure and Zimbabwe has been struggling. The Test series with New Zealand ended only on 17th August, the date of the first match, which meant that the frontline Zimbabwe players were available only for the second and third games. For such a side to compete against an ensemble that includes names like Muttiah Muralitharan, Virender Sehwag, Abdul Razzaq, Yousuf Youhana, Anil Kumble and Inzamam-ul Haq, was an arduous task.

Shaun Pollock's role as stand-in skipper for the first two matches proved to be an eventful one. Africa pulled off a shock win in the first game. The batting rallied around Ashwell Prince, who scored a priceless seventy-eight at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. However, Asia were set a modest target of 199. But they found themselves floundering at ninety six for six after a belligerent start from Sehwag and Sangakkara. The innings was stabilized with a fifty-run association between Razzaq and Anil Kumble. Shoaib Akhtar struck some lusty blows and exchanged road grins with Zaheer Khan. But the job was left undone, as African Supersub Justin Kemp kept his cool in the final stages, thus complementing the bowling efforts of Pollock and Kallis earlier in the innings. Dale Steyn bowled Ashish Nehra in the dying moments and Africa pulled off a remarkable two-run victory.

This unexpected reverse spurred Asia to come back strongly in the second fixture at Durban. Despite a feisty partnership between all-rounders Shaun Pollock and Heath Streak after an enterprising stand between Kemp and Steve Tikolo, Africa fell short of a challenging target of 268 by seventeen runs. The Asian innings was powered by Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both of whom scored half-centuries.

The third and final match got off to a delayed start due to rain. Reduced to a forty-eight overs-a-side affair, Africa XI were reeling fifty-four for seven after Graeme Smith's decision to bat first backfired in seamer-friendly conditions that Zaheer and Shoaib exploited to the hilt. Pollock was Africa's saving grace with a spirited unbeaten knock of forty-four, thereby setting Asia XI a target of 107. Two quick strikes by the African bowlers with only eight runs on the board opened up the match, before the skies opened.

The series proved to be a blessing in disguise for more than a few players, and for more than one reason. The much-hyped bombastic opening combination of Shahid Afridi and Sehwag did not take off. But the official status of the series gave Graeme Smith an opportunity to serve out the four-match ban imposed on him for slow over-rates against the West Indies, thus enabling him to be available for the first couple of games of South Africa's next series. Shoaib Akhtar's commitment has been questioned in recent times, and his fiery bowling would have delighted his Pakistan and Asia captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. Zaheer Khan was flat in the tri-series in Sri Lanka, but he was a revelation in South Africa as he ran in with a purpose and made the ball talk. In fact, he was named Man of the Series.

There were several thrilling moments in the three matches, and the organizers will hope that the second instalment of the series, which will be played in Asia, will produce plenty of those with scores of enthusiastic spectators watching.