Afghanistan will never forget this World Cup. After enduring a winless 2029 edition – Afghanistan have three wins under their belt this edition and in with a real chance to make the last four. They lost their campaign opener to Bangladesh last month and then fizzled out against India in Delhi, but after that, they turned around their fortunes and how.
So what happened after a couple of losses?
Who better to explain than the team’s head coach Jonathan Trott? Afghanistan’s journey in the ODI World Cup 2023 is no less than an interesting movie script and the coach has so far directed it impressively. The three victories have not only spurred the team but have also led to unending celebrations back home.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
Trott himself has been quite a journeyman. Born in South Africa, became the bedrock of England’s batting lineup drawing comparisons with the greats the game has seen and now has moved coaching. The 42-year-old is leaving no stone unturned to put Afghanistan at the top of the world.
During the pre-match presser on the eve of the Netherlands fixture, Trott said he hasn’t done anything extraordinary because as per him, the Afghan players have naturally evolved into a top-notch team. They have sharpened their skills in the shortest format and just brushed them in the ODIs.
“I think it’s a case more of just being better all-around and thinking more about your all-around game. Afghanistan [players] naturally grow up playing a lot more T20 cricket format than any other format, so the skills for T20 are there. It’s about adding to that sort of base of T20 skills,” Trott said.
Netherlands vs Afghanistan Live Update, World Cup 2023:
“As you see 50 over cricket is a long time and you have to be able to, I think, ride the sort of ebbs, and flows of a game.
“So, wanting and trying to enable batters and give them the game and help them grow the game so they can have both facets of the game. Pressure, soaking it up, rotation of strike, and obviously accelerating and boundary hitting,” he added.
Walking the talk
Being very close to the semi-finals, Afghanistan aren’t going to take anything lightly at the moment. Just saying about it won’t get them results but playing good cricket will, and that’s the only plan against the Netherlands.
“Well, we’re not going to make the semis by just talking about it. We have to play good cricket. So as long as we play good cricket, we’ll give ourselves the best chance of being able to do that. So that starts tomorrow and how well we start tomorrow is going to be crucial and how well we finish,” Trott said.
T20 vs ODI – The Tricky Mind Game
Afghanistan’s next challenge are the plucky Dutch. The Netherlands aren’t too worried about the Afghan spin threat as Collin Ackerman said the spinners – Rashid Khan & Co – are more lethal in T20Is but the 50-over format is a different ballgame.
Cricketnext asked Trott about his take on the statement and he said, “I think our spinners are ranked quite highly in ODI cricket as well as well as T20, so I’m not quite sure what that sort of comment is.”
“I don’t think it’s a case of just talent, it’s a case of experience, assessing the conditions like our spinners do, communicating that, what length as well that spinners should bowl, having that.
“So, it’s not just about the format, it’s about the moment and the occasion as well.”
“A lot goes into the melting pot to make a good spinner, certainly in T20 cricket but also in ODI cricket where generally spinners are going to bowl with only four fielders out and that’s a skill in itself to be able to do that as a finger spinner and as a wrist spinner to have the control as a wrist spinner but also the experience and the skill is just a normal finger spinner with no mystery,” he added.
Learning new things every day
Trott has had coaching stints with England and Scotland but his time with Afghanistan that too in a big tournament like the World Cup is a different turf to explore. Their cricket is an amalgamation of their culture and the hardships they have gone through in a country where survival is taxing. But with time, Trott too is learning new things and enjoying every bit of it.
“Well, I think the key thing for me is just learning, understanding the game from a different point of view, a different culture, a different way of thinking about it compared to how the game is spoken about, thought about and coached in England or perhaps growing up in South Africa and having another complete culture in a different country’s way of thinking about cricket and trying to adapt to that but also add to it and make it as good as possible. That’s been the biggest learning for me and the thing that I enjoy doing the most,” Trott said.
Comments
0 comment