Afghanistan’s WC semi-final dream lives on

Afghanistan’s ICC Cricket World Cup campaign got even better with their clinical seven-wicket win over former World Cup champions Sri Lanka in Pune on Monday.

This was their third win, having earlier defeated defending champions England and 1992 winner Pakistan. They now sit in fifth place on the points table as they continue their quest for a place in the last four.

For Jonathan Trott, this is the result of "creating a culture of excellence" within the group - a culture that demands tough net sessions to make them comfortable in match situations.

“It's about creating a culture, training with the players, to feel like they can grow and develop their technique, but also the mental side of the game,” said Trott, the former English cricketer.

“As we know, cricket is such a mental game. So, I try to create with the other coaches all the time, how can we make the practice better or tougher for them, so that when it comes to playing the game, it feels similar."

“How can we recreate the pressure of a match? And there are times where you need to take your foot off a little bit and build the confidence, but it's again, I always feel if you walk out of a tough net having played really well, that gives you more confidence than somebody throwing you a few half volleys or a few cut shots,” he explained at the post-match media conference.

Despite losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a four-ball duck in the very first over of their run-chase, Afghanistan planned their chase meticulously as they reached the target with 28 balls to spare underscoring the strides they have made in white-ball cricket over the last couple of years. With three games left - against The Netherlands, South Africa and Australia -the chances of making it to the last four looks tougher. But Trott's men have impressed many with their never-say-die attitude on the field.

“There's such an amount of talent, and just given a bit of structure or given a bit of a game plan, understanding what makes them better players,” Trott said.

“And so, when it comes to match day, it’s not just, sort of, rock up and it's left to luck. It's sort of, no, I'm here and I'm in good form and I'm ready to play and I deserve to score runs. And I think, hopefully, we've seen that and the guys can take this from this tournament and take it also into the next,” he explained.

Just as they did in the Pakistan game, where they chased down 282 with an over to spare, Afghanistan timed their chase to perfection and reached the target with ample balls to spare in pursuit of 242.

To achieve this, Trott breaks down the target and displays it in the player dug-out for them to follow when chasing targets. This, he says, motivates players as it keeps them in touch with where they want to be in a particular phase of the match.

“There's a bit more focus with regards to breaking it down into smaller targets. But sometimes, certainly like in the Pakistan game, chasing 280 and starting on 0, it's a long way away. But if you break it down, it seems a lot more manageable,” he said.

“So it's those sorts of things, little things, you know, motivating the players and keeping them in touch with where we want to be. And it's also a feel-good factor. If you know you're on the right track, it's also a nice feeling, as well. But for batting first, obviously, you see how you go. You know, in most games there's over 300 as your average. So, we don't want to limit the guys on what they can do batting first. We want them to assess the conditions and make sure we go out there and get as many as we can. It just worked out that we chased today," he added.

Trott admitted that, despite the strides they have made in the tournament, there’s still room for improvement in departments of the game.

“I hope that they realise the strides they've made in these matches but also there's still extra room to be done with bat, ball, and in the field. There's still three games to go. But we'll certainly enjoy tonight's victory against a very good Sri Lankan side who recently won the T20 Asia Cup. They were in the final of the Asia Cup. So, we are really happy and we move on to Lucknow."

Even though Afghan batters have done well in the tournament, they are yet to score a century and Trott said that this was the target he has set for his charges. “Nobody has got a hundred so far yet, so that’s the next challenge. Someone accepts responsibility and bats for a longer period of time and makes sure we get a hundred.”

“You see, a lot of hundreds are scored in the tournament. That’s the next frontier, the next barrier. Gurbaz has scored a few hundreds recently. Ibrahim has. The middle order is in form, 3-4-5-6, as well. That’s the next challenge and I have got no doubt that the players will be able to do it in the future. Hopefully, it starts with the next game.” (Champika Fernando in Pune)