Adam Hollioake thought he had seen it all in a sporting career that has covered everything from leading England to a one-day trophy, to a professional bout in mixed martial arts.

But that was before he took on a coaching role in Afghanistan's Shpageeza Cricket League, and found himself confronting the reality of daily life in Kabul. Last Wednesday, a bomb outside the Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground was detonated during a game between Hollioake’s Boost Defenders team and MIS Ainak Knights. Three people were killed, including the bomber, and 12 wounded. Several overseas players left soon after, but Hollioake insisted he wanted to stay.

"I decided not to walk out on the job until the job is done," he told the Daily Telegraph, from his temporary home in Afghanistan's capital city. "Also the people here have so much passion for cricket. Your first fear coming to this part of the world is security but I just did not want to walk out on them just because that would be an easy decision to make."

Hollioake is not ignoring the danger that goes hand-in-hand with life in a country still piecing itself back together after a ruinous period of civil war, but security has been stepped up after personal promises were made to the players by the country's president.