Follow UsAfghanistan managed only one win in their first two World Cup campaigns - in 2015 and 2019. However, in 2023 alone, they won four matches while giving in-from sides like Australia and South Africa a run for their money.
It was so good to see them running some of the biggest sides close that one would have assumed them as a deserving semi-finalist had they made it to the top four. Jonathan Trott is disappointed with the fact that they couldn’t capitalize on those chances but added that he sees some good improvement in many areas.
“There are obviously a few things I think we set out; we arrived on the shores and, you know, pretty ambitious, and if you'd said we won four games, you probably would have taken it, you know - Especially after losing the first game against Bangladesh, which we probably would have seen as a sort of must-win or a very much winnable game. So, after that, I'd certainly have taken it, but it's still a case of sitting here today thinking there are a few other games that we left out there that we could have perhaps won,” Trott said in the post-match press conference.
“So as a coach and as a member of the team, we're disappointed with that, but you can't have everything. You can't win always. But I see some good improvement. I see a lot of confidence in players and their ability. I had confidence in the players, but sometimes until somebody does it or they do it themselves, you're never quite sure.
“So that's always a challenge for a developing team or a developing player or nation until they get across the line. And I've said numerous times before the tournament that we just need to win a couple of games to get that belief and the buzz around the side and sort of a spring in the step because there'd been so many times we'd got so close and found a way just to lose. So, I'm pleased with that. We've won games and found ways to win games.”
The likes of Azmatullah Omarzai, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, and Ibrahim Zadran made good inroads - both Zardan and Omarzai are among the top 15 run-scorers in the World Cup so far - which paints a solid picture of Afghanistan’s success in the coming days. Trott is very happy at the development of these players but he also wants these bunch of players to pass on the knowledge they gained from the World Cup to younger cricketers back home.
“I think it's a case of a lot of development and nurturing of the talent because we see the talent, the likes of players who've sort of stepped up on this tournament, a guy like Azmat [Azmatullah Omarzai] today - played very responsible, has batted at number five now for, I think, eight games or seven games and just looked like he was very assured and calm, you know, which is fantastic for such a young lad. So, it's about the development and the nurturing and the investment in the youth players coming through.
“I said to a lot of the players, there's players in the squad who haven't played, but they've been here learning for a month and a bit. I was speaking to them the other day, we had training yesterday, and I said, it's your job now to go back, and when you get a training camp in Kabul in Afghanistan, it's your job to then pass on what you've learned here at this World Cup, watching players in the nets, or watching games, other players, world-class players. And that's how the game develops and grows.
“When we go on a tour to Sri Lanka, there's sort of four or five Test venues. So, there's teams that we're competing with that have got such a better infrastructure and first-class system developed because they've been playing for much longer. It's only a natural progression, but we're still able to mix with them and beat them at times. So, you know, guys are really proud and I'm really proud of the players,” Trott added.