"You think you're fit?" the coaches told the Afghan players. "No, he's fit."

They are due to meet Johnson again on the fastest pitch on the planet next March, when Australia hosts Afghanistan in a World Cup pool game at the WACA Ground. They are in Perth as part of a tour of Australia and New Zealand designed to prepare them for the conditions they will confront at the global tournament, under the care of their English coach Andy Moles and their academy mentor, former Queensland wicketkeeper Peter Anderson.

Anderson has been aiming golf balls at their chests and heads to simulate the steep bounce of Australian pitches. He and Moles are trying to instil the discipline and fitness standards needed to turn Afghanistan from fairytale qualifier to consistent competitor on the world stage.

Moles, the former Warwickshire opening batsman who has also coached New Zealand, accepted the job even though his brother, a counter-terrorism specialist, advised against it. He initially moved to Kabul as batting coach but was thrust into the main role when head coach Kabir Khan quit just five months before Afghanistan's first appearance cricket's most prestigious global event. He knew the risks – the threat of bombings and kidnappings – but was seduced by what he describes as "just an immense challenge, on and off the field".

"It's going to be frustrating, but if we get it right I think it can be very rewarding, both for players and also for what I want to get out of the job," Moles said.

"A lot of people told me I shouldn't go ... You have to be smart about your preparations for the day. I don't go out at night at this stage, but hopefully after the [presidential] elections get sorted out it will be better."

Afghanistan might have drawn a series against Zimbabwe recently, but there is a long way to go if the country ranked No.11 in ODIs is to achieve its ambition. That is, defeat fellow qualifier Scotland, compete hard with Bangladesh and pull off the mother of all upsets against England or Australia in the group stage.

"We're just getting the players to understand the importance of fitness, also they are a bit naive in the way they think about certain situations in the game," Moles said.

"The biggest thing in associate cricket is they don't respond to pressure too well. The main countries come along with schoolboy bully type things, they let them know who is in charge. They're a bit quicker and faster, and there's no other way for it, as a group of players they are better than us, and they let us know and they play on it, mentally and physically. We have to understand that's going to happen, and enjoy the battle."

The team is captained by Mohammad Nabi, a quiet man born in a Peshawar refugee camp who is the side's star all-rounder and a hero in his homeland. Afghanistan's two best bowlers, quicks Hameed Hassan and Izatullah Dawlatzai, are battling knee and back injuries but should return before the World Cup, while fast swing bowler Dawlat Zadran has drawn comparisons with Waqar Younis.

Anderson coached Papua New Guinea for two years before he was enlisted to run the Afghanistan cricket academy and regards cricket as a force for peace in a country scarred by 30 years of war.

"That's always in the background," he said. "I won't lie, it's tough. It can be exhausting, both mentally and physically. But the people are wonderful ... I try to move around using common sense. I had heavy security in the beginning but I have actually dispensed with those guys, I thought the less attention the better."

He said Afghanistan cricket had "lived on raw talent" since the national team formed after the collapse of Taliban rule in 2001. "But we can't mix it with Test-playing countries on raw talent. They will fix you up pretty quickly. That is our biggest challenge."