Saturday, November 11, 2023

World Cup 2023: Afghanistan walk away after commendable campaign

India have quite easily been the best team at the Cricket World Cup so far. South Africa have been sensational to watch but have lacked the all-round effort especially when they’ve chased. Australia started poorly but have gathered steam. Reverse holds true for New Zealand. But if there’s one team that has overachieved given their resources, it is Afghanistan.

World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table

They didn’t get the result they were after in their final outing, versus South Africa, on Friday at the World Cup but it should not blemish what has been an outstanding campaign.

Nine matches played, four wins and five defeats for an almost certain sixth place finish – above the defending champions England, Bangladesh, 1996 winners Sri Lanka and Netherlands. It guarantees a 2025 Champions Trophy spot for them. It has been Afghanistan’s best-ever World Cup after sixth place finish in Pool A of the 2015 World Cup (one win in six matches) and bottom place of the 2019 edition (0 wins in nine matches).

The highlights of their performance at the 2023 World Cup will be: commanding wins over England and Pakistan; middle order batting collapse against Bangladesh; catches dropped against New Zealand and finally the reprieves handed to Glenn Maxwell which allowed Australia to get away. But if they were to look at things from a broader lens, there is plenty to be proud of from this campaign and opportunities to build on for the future.

Ibrahim Zadran (376 runs), Azmat Omarzai (353 runs at an average of 70.60), Rashid Khan (11 wickets) were the pick of the lot with Zadran slamming the country’s first World Cup century. Against South Africa, all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai fell just three runs short of becoming the second Afghan batter to score a World Cup century but he did finish as their second-highest run-scorer with the highest average.

Coming into the World Cup, Omarzai had played just 14 ODI matches for the Afghanistan national team. In his first outing at this level, he scored 62 runs against India to showcase the 23-year-old wasn’t rattled by the occasion. He would go on to score three fifties in total – as many as his teammates Rahmat Shah and Hashmat Shahidi – but perform more consistently. He picked up seven wickets along the way for a collective show.

“I’ve always been amazed at how he can time the ball,” Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s coach, said of Omarzai after South Africa contest. “We saw the other night – he hit Mitchell Starc over his head, or over mid-off even, for six. It was the same thing today, over mid-off. Very rarely do you see players who are able to time the ball, and to hear the sound the ball makes when it comes off his bat…”

Beyond the World Cup, it is a positive sign for Afghanistan cricket that it represents their depth. Omarzai was part of the 2018 U-19 World Cup team, which also included Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Naveen-ul-Haq and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and progressed to the semi-final. He now carries over from the from the stage set by Mohammad Nabi and Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Shahidi expressed pride with Afghanistan’s performance while still ruing the ‘what if’ that came with the loss against Australia. If they had held on to their chances, Maxwell wouldn’t have reached a double hundred and they may have continued their journey in India. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

“We gave a good message to the world in this tournament. We played big teams and we fought till the last moment. Australian game, it was in our hands, but it was shocking for us,” said Shahidi.

Trott, however, preferred to focus on the future with the current crop offering a way forward. “The next progression is to have more of a squad with regards to more players,” he said. “For the first time, we’ve really been able to select a side depending on the conditions, whereas before we’d have 11, and if we had one injury [it would be a problem]. Now you’re seeing the emergence of the players. There’s certainly a bigger pool than the past to be able to select from.”

Afghanistan’s adaptability was also on display during the tournament. They brought in Omarzai for Najibullah Zadran early on. But it was more prominent in the bowling department. Naveen and Fazalhaq Farooqi were the main seamers but if the conditions allowed, they would switch to four spinners with Noor Ahmed coming in.

Not surprising considering Afghanistan boast of one of the best spin bowling options in the world. Shahidi acknowledge it in the ceremony when he said, “Everyone knows that we have good spin department. If we go with the same momentum, we’ll be a very good side.” Trott accepted that Afghanistan are “normally” expected to be strong in that department. And numbers back that claim. Afghan spinners took 32 wickets in the tournament – most of any group of slow bowlers in the tournament.

For a country riddled with unrest at home, it is easy to lose hope and be positive. The same, though, cannot be said of this Afghanistan unit. They’ve showed they can come together, work and win despite upheaval on and off the pitch.

“They’re a bunch of guys very proud of representing their side. I enjoy that,” Trott said. “When you’re proud of who you are and what you’re representing with regards to the challenges – perhaps personal challenges in the past – to be able to become a cricket player, and put that [challenges] to a side for a common goal [is great].

“There have been times – there’s been tough testing times for sure – but these four wins in this World Cup, the joy on their faces [on] beating Pakistan for the first time – that makes everything worthwhile. That’s really a moment I won’t forget, along with a lot of the other guys as well.”



from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/oiBXa0Q
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