. Obtaining UK visa cost me USD 80,000 for the team. We dont have a UK High Commission in Afghanistan. We need to travel to India and obtain visas. Going there, staying there, it took us 21 days to obtain UK visa to make this tour possible. Playing Scotland and Ireland is costing us more than USD 350,

Leroy Houston cannot quite believe he could make his Australia Test debut on Saturday -- almost 11 years after the last time he represented the Wallabies.Bath favourite Houston thought his chances of international rugby had deserted him, before winning a seat on Australias bench for Saturdays Rugby Championship clash with Argentina at Twickenham.The 29-year-old last wore his countrys green and gold when Australia A thrashed the French Barbarians 42-12 in Bordeaux in November 2005.Three standout years at Bath have put Houston back on the Wallabies radar, with the bullish flanker joining the Queensland Reds for next season.Asked if he ever gave up hope on his Australia dream, Houston said: Yeah of course. I was just playing rugby -- I didnt think Id ever get back into the Wallabies.But the chance has come around and Im very happy to take it. I cant put it into words, emotions are running high. Now the thing is to try to keep calm and just prepare the right mental space to play against the Pumas.Knock on wood Ill be able to come off the bench and hopefully get that debut. I didnt think Id be involved at all this year.Then-Australia boss Eddie Jones took an extended Wallabies squad on the 2005 Europe tour in bid to boost long-term resources. Houston impressed against the French Barbarians, but was unable to force his way into the Wallabies set-up in the long-run.Stints in France and then with Bath have forced another step towards the Test arena however, with Houston itching for the chance to grace the Twickenham field this weekend.Houston left Bath at the end of last term only to return on a loan deal that expires at the end of the month. The likeable loose-forward admitted he has been relieved to end his time at The Recreation Ground on favourable terms.Back in 2005 I was just star-struck to be honest, looking up to players like Stephen Larkham and George Smith. I was really, really shy. I didnt speak too much because I couldnt believe I was with those guys, getting to train and play with them.The last time I was at Twickenham with the Wallabies I was a spectator, on that 2005 tour. The English anthem gave me goosebumps. I love Bath, the supporters there are great. So its been emotional; going back there was awesome.This time I get to say goodbye, and also look to the future and playing for the Reds. I wanted to give back to the supporters. I left on short-notice with them, and they are such a great supporting base that I felt like I left on a bit of a bad note.They gave me the opportunity to come back until the end of October and finish up hopefully on a high note.Stephen Moore was a substitute in that powerful 2005 victory over the French Barbarians the last time Houston graced a Wallabies shirt. Australias current captain hailed Houstons 11-year odyssey as proof it is never too late to force a Test debut.I remember Leroy had a really strong game against the French Barbarians, and that was my first Wallabies tour, said Moore. Its amazing to see that after all that time he now gets his chance for a possible Wallabies debut.Hes taken the chance to play club rugby in the northern hemisphere and been able to prove his quality. Of course hes coming back to play at the Reds next year but its a good indication that no matter what you do there can always be an opportunity if you want it.Cheap Air Max 97 Blue China . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Nike Air Max 97 On Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/ . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Cheap Air Max 97 Green China . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Cheap Air Max 97 All White China . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit.Afghanistans attempts to gain more ODI fixtures leading into the September 2017 cut-off for 2019 World Cup qualification is likely to gather steam with a proposal in the works to secure annual bilateral matches against India and teams touring India beginning next year.If we sign the MOU which we sent to India, potentially Afghanistan Cricket Board will be in a better position than where we are right now, scheduling ODIs with India and scheduling ODIs with teams traveling to India on an annual basis, ACB chief executive Shafiq Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo. But still it will be bilateral ties. If a traveling team to India wants to play us in India, it is totally up to them.Stanikzai said the draft had been presented to BCCI president Anurag Thakur in May and further discussions had during the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh. The BCCI officials have not yet commented on the proposal.With Afghanistan shifting their home ground from Sharjah to Greater Noida, outside Delhi, Stanikzai said Afghanistan were well placed, geographically and rankings wise for fixtures against India and sides touring India in the same way Ireland had secured more ODIs against teams touring England.Since induction into the FTP, a larger challenge arose for Afghanistan, Stanikzai said. A is arranging fixtures with Full Members and B is funding it and finding funds to accommodate your needs. The expectation of the Afghanistan people has grown immensely. Afghanistan Cricket Board is under tremendous amount of pressure by not having fixtures with Full Members. Comparatively, Ireland has obtained 14 [11] fixtures with Full Members.The advantage Ireland has is geographical and teams traveling to England getting quality cricket against Ireland … but Afghanistan is a totally different story… For us, being in the FTP, yeah the window has opened but the challenges are much greater.A strategic plan unveiled recently by the ACB set targets for Afghanistan to be a top-six ODI team by 2019 and a top-three team in both T20Is and ODIs by 2025. Stanikzai was confident it could be achieved, considering Afghanistans rapid growth on and off the field. He, however, said the gains would be stunted, if there werent enough fixtures against Full Members.ddddddddddddThe biggest challenge for us for the time being is the competition structure or the fixtures for Afghanistan to compete against Full Members, Stanikzai said. Thats somewhere we are lacking and somewhere we need the support from ICC, or maybe Full Member boards should realise they need to make this great game more globalised and take it into the Associate world.Afghanistan team is rapidly growing and the flow that Afghanistan national team currently is in is quite brilliant. If we dont get any fixtures - we dont have any confirmed fixtures after our Holland game for the rest of the year - so we are in danger of losing the flow, the momentum we have gained so far in the last nine to 12 months.Stanikzai hoped that the problem would be fixed if the proposed 13-team ODI league was ratified. In particular, he believed a guaranteed set of 36 fixtures would open up big sponsorship opportunities. He said that tours like Afghanistans current trip to both Scotland and Ireland eat up a large chunk of resources, which could be offset if Afghanistan had more teams to market and compete against.Afghanistan needs to be considered in a very exceptional case, Stanikzai said. Obtaining UK visa cost me USD 80,000 for the team. We dont have a UK High Commission in Afghanistan. We need to travel to India and obtain visas. Going there, staying there, it took us 21 days to obtain UK visa to make this tour possible. Playing Scotland and Ireland is costing us more than USD 350,000.If we are to host a Full Member, we are able to cover 80-90% of the costs but if we are traveling to play any other Full Member and they are asking us to cover our own passage, it is an extra burden on us. So things need to balanced. Either we need to be in a regular competition, which this 13-member ODI league will help us quite drastically and prosper quite hugely, and the Test league is also another good prospect for us. ' ' '