Jonathan Trott on Afghanistan to reach T20 WC 2024 Super-8: Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said it was a good feeling to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the men’s T20 World Cup, but stressed the reality that they “haven’t won anything yet”. Afghanistan defeated Papua New Guinea by seven wickets for their third straight win in Group C, also ensuring their first appearance in the knockout stages of the competition. This also meant that Afghanistan knocked out the 2021 T20 World Cup runners-up New Zealand from the tournament.
“We still have one game left, an important group game (in St Lucia on Monday), and that will be a good measure of where we are against a powerful West Indies team, who did well last night (against New Zealand). A fantastic game. So, it’s good to win tonight and qualify like this.” “It’s a good feeling to come to the World Cup and win three, but there’s also the feeling and the reality that we haven’t won anything yet. We’ve just got through the group stage and we’ve got some important cricket matches coming up. Gotta do it,” Trott said in the post-match press conference.
Left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqui is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 12 wickets in three matches at an average of 3.50 and an economy of 3.70. His spell of 3-16 was instrumental in Afghanistan’s win over Papua New Guinea. “He’s been really good. I think he’s very dangerous when he gets going with his line and pace and swing. I still think he can bowl better because of his talent. I still But he still seems to have better bowling: that’s him. Genius.”
“Working with our bowling coach Hamid Hasan and obviously DJ Bravo for this tournament, we’ve seen him stand up and put in some real match-winning performances or man-of-the-match performances.” “But a lot of other bowlers also bowled well. So, I’m glad everyone supported them today. It’s not just about one bowler and it’s exciting for St. Lucia going forward,” Trott said. When asked about Bravo’s impact as a bowling consultant for Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup,
Trott said, “Well, DJ is very well respected, but like all the other coaches, he has a great way of working.” His knowledge of the game, how much T20 cricket he’s played, the number of teams and the conditions and obviously the knowledge of the locals here, how they’re going to play, it’s all huge.” “So, I spoke to somebody, I obviously Having played against them and now it’s great to spend some time with them and it’s really good to have them with us. He not only works with the bowlers but also with the batsmen, but he was a very good all-rounder wasn’t he? So, there is a lot of experience that can be leveraged and we are happy to secure their services.”
For the first time in this tournament, Afghanistan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were dismissed without a 100-run partnership. This meant that other batsmen were tested and all-rounder Gulbuddin Naib scored an unbeaten 49 off 36 balls. He also got good help from Azmatullah Umarzai (13) and Mohammad Nabi (16 not out) to chase down 96 runs in 15.1 overs. “The openers have played really well, but today was a reminder of how volatile cricket can be when you relax a bit or don’t focus on the pitch or the conditions or the basics. Let’s deliver.”
“So, I’m happy that they got some time on the field and then Gulbadin, Nabi and Azmat will go into the next few matches with that confidence. So, it’s a bit of a dilemma if you like. You want everyone to have a good final trip.” Be aware of the phases, but you also want everyone to make runs at the same time,” concluded Trott.