Cricket World Cup: Rambo ready to rumble

Hamid Hassan, Cricket World Cup cult hero, lays in wait for the Black Caps in Napier. Photo / Duncan Brown

The Black Caps continue their World Cup campaign today, playing Afghanistan in Napier. Matthew Theunissen talks to the war torn country's cult hero.

Sporting cult hero Hamid Hassan, dubbed the Rambo of world cricket, is out to take First Blood against the Black Caps.

The larger-than-life 27-year-old cricketer will spearhead Afghanistan's bowling attack against Brendon McCullum's men at McLean Park today.

"Right now it's my style - painting my face and putting a flag on my headband." Photo / Getty

Hassan has become a cricketing hero because of his on-field brilliance and appearance, sporting facepaint and a bandanna featuring his country's colours.

Many have likened him to Rambo, the movie character played by his favourite actor Sylvester Stallone. "[Cricket-watchers] give me some names - Rambo, and somebody said Charlie Sheen," he said.

"Right now it's my style - painting my face and putting a flag on my headband. I'm just saying to myself, 'You're playing for your country and you're very lucky so you should do something good for your country. It's given you everything - name, honour, fame - now it's your turn. You can give something for your country back'.

"That's why I put flags on my face and I feel very proud."

Hassan goes into today's game as the 15th-best bowler in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, having snared seven wickets at an impressive average of 29.71.

Like so many of his team-mates, he overcame huge adversity to make it to the World Cup. As a 6-year-old, he and his family had to leave their home in Jalalabad to escape the country's impending civil war. For 15 years they lived as refugees in neighbouring Pakistan, where Hassan developed a love of cricket.

"I always played cricket at home and was breaking windows and lights so [my parents] were always complaining." Photo / Getty

His family disapproved of his ambitions to play cricket for his home country, so he used to practise in secret. "I always played cricket at home and was breaking windows and lights so they were always complaining," he said. "Nobody liked cricket - even my dad was against cricket."

His family would have preferred him to become something respectable like a doctor, "but Allah had something different for me, so I became a cricketer".

Hassan became the first Afghan bowler to take 50 One Day International wickets, the seventh quickest bowler to achieve the feat in just 26 matches. And he put the Black Caps on notice on the eve of today's game, where he is raring to unleash his 145km/h-plus deliveries at the World Cup high-flyers.

"We have a good confidence," he said. "Let's see the result at the end of the day. "They're champions and we hope we do not make the same mistakes we made in our last game [against Australia]. We will focus and concentrate and hopefully show some good cricket."

Hassan attempts his now-famous cartwheel after dismissing Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara in Dunedin. Photo / Getty

And if he manages to skittle some of the fancied Black Caps, watch out for his trademark celebrations, which include cartwheels and fist pumps.

Hassan and his team-mates are celebrities in Afghanistan and he said it was an honour to bring joy to his country so torn by years of war.

The team's first World Cup victory was against Scotland last month.

"We are ambassadors for our country and we want to show the world that Afghanistan is not like people recognise it by terrorists and these things. We want them to know that we have a lot of talent as well."