Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai has presented an argument in favor of the proposal for two-tier Test cricket, saying the side deserves the opportunity to play Tests through their solid performances in the ICCs Intercontinental Cup first-class multi-day competition for Associates.We think that we are ready to play Test cricket and we have proven that, Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. Since we entered into the Intercontinental Cup arena, we were beaten only once. That was in the [2013] Intercontinental Cup final where we got beaten by Ireland but thats the only loss we have in a four-day game or multi-day game.Afghanistan are currently in second place behind Ireland on the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup table after four rounds, with three wins and a rain-marred draw against Scotland. Afghanistans overall record in the first-class competition is outstanding with 14 wins, one loss and four draws. Right from their debut in the competition - a high-scoring draw in which they claimed first-innings points against a Zimbabwe XI in 2009 - they have made an effort to demonstrate their versatility rather than be pigeonholed as a limited-overs specialist outfit.Nowhere was that more evident than in their victory against a then elite Canada outfit in 2010, who at the time were preparing to play their third successive ICC World Cup. Set a target of 494 to win in the fourth innings, Afghanistan recorded the ninth-best successful chase in first-class cricket history spearheaded by Mohammad Shahzads unbeaten 214. That win propelled them to a maiden Intercontinental Cup title later that year with a win over Scotland in the final. That victory also broke Irelands streak of three successive titles.Overall, Afghanistan have scored 400 or more in an innings six times and batted for more than 100 overs in an innings on 11 occasions in the Intercontinental Cup, showing their versatility. They have also shown adaptability to foreign conditions, notching victories in Scotland, Kenya, Canada, Namibia and twice in the Netherlands.Three of Afghanistans last six Intercontinental Cup wins have come by an innings margin, while the other three were by margins of ten wickets, eight wickets and 201 runs. Stanikzai says there is not much more for them to prove against Associate-level competition in multi-day cricket and they are eager for a chance to show their skills in a Test scenario.We have a real good package for every single format of the game, he said. If you have a look at the Afghanistan cricket team, we have almost a different squad for every single format. We have T20 specialists, we have ODI specialists, we have multi-day players, specialists not just in batting but in bowling as well. So we are carrying a different bunch of players in every single format we are playing.Stanikzais point is backed up by the fact that core players from their limited-overs squad - bowlers Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran and Rashid Khan, and batsmen Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Najibullah Zadran and Gulbadin Naib - were all absent from Afghanistans starting XI in their most recent Intercontinental Cup win over Netherlands. Afghanistan also has a domestic four-day competition since 2014, which features teams from five regions, although this has not yet been assigned first-class status.It means the talent is huge in Afghanistan and things have shaped up quite nicely and we have improved quite rapidly in the cricketing world, Stanikzai said. Afghanistan is a team that is ready to play Test cricket. We are just looking forward for this [two-tier] proposal to get passed by the ICC board. My stance and Afghanistan Cricket Boards stance is quite clear that we need more opportunities. 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Europe should be favourites for the Ryder Cup -- but have found a winning formula by portraying themselves as underdogs.That is the opinion of one of golfs foremost performance psychologists, Dr. Bob Rotella, as the build-up to next weeks contest at Hazeltine intensifies.Europe have won the last three matches and six of the last seven, despite facing United States teams laden with players ranked among the highest in the world.And once again the US are the most heavily backed, with home advantage, more top-20 players and fewer rookies all perceived to be factors in their favour.But, as Rotella points out, that can count for little if the team ethos is not correct.For some reason we keep individual records of players achievements in the Ryder Cup, but all that really matters is did the team win, Rotella told the Press Association.If you go undefeated as an individual and your team loses, nobody cares. If you lose all your matches and your team win, it doesnt matter. You have to get guys to forget about their individual records.Europe have dominated it but every time Europe somehow manage to be presented as if they are the underdogs and America are supposed to win. I dont know where the logic in that comes from.So, I am sure Europe will continue to try to convince everybody they are the underdogs, even though they have won a bunch of them, and I am sure America will try to figure out a way to take the pressure off themselves and convince people that Europe should win.In this regard the role of the captain is crucial and Rotella expects Europes Darren Clarke and US counterpart Davis Love to be thorough in their approach.Rotella knows the pair well as they are among scores of players he has worked with in more than three decades in elite golf. The American has helped deliver more than 80 major titles to players across the mens, womens and senior tours, with Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Graeme MMcDowell among the beneficiaries.ddddddddddddRotella, speaking as part of a promotion for Standard Life Investments, said: I have known Darren and Davis for years and am very close friends with both of them.Each of them will be trying to do everything possible to help their team win and it involves getting themselves in a great state of mind, getting themselves to believe in their teams, and then getting the team to believe in their leadership.That is ultimately what it is about and then we spend a lot of time just getting the head in the right place to play. A lot of these Ryder Cups are won by teams that cope the best.It is in this facet that the Americans often seem to have come unstuck, notably at Gleneagles two years ago when their failed quest culminated in a public row between captain Tom Watson and senior player Phil Mickelson.Rotella hopes the Americans respond to that scarring experience and deliver a more positive performance this time.He said: Was it something the captain failed to do or did the team just not buy into what he was trying to get them to do? The bottom line is it doesnt matter if you want to blame individuals or the captain - both sides all have to buy in.It certainly appeared that Paul McGinley and his team did a lot better job of buying in last time. He did an unbelievable job.I dont think anyone knows everything that went wrong with the US but it sure looked like they didnt get done what they needed to get done in terms of being a team. That is the kind of stuff that tends to happen when you lose a bunch of competitions in a row.I think it is a lot easier to get people to buy in when youve won but, on the other hand, I think with this American team, they have lost so many in recent years I think they are probably going to bond very closely. ' ' '