When Mark Wood was bowled by Rashid Khan, in trying to hoick the ball over the midwicket, the bowler stood at the wicket, grinning from ear to ear, arms aloft and exulting. The win for Afghanistan against the defending champions will propel their cricket on the way to becoming a decent cricketing nation. The situation in that landlocked country is such that India has become the extended home for the national team. If anyone wants to tour Afghanistan, they will be touring India and not Afghanistan because all the games will be played here. The victory means a lot to the nation who have just witnessed a massive earthquake and to be able to put some smiles on the faces of the Afghans, the cricketers deserve a round of applause. The Afghanistan roadblock.
Again, England have got their eleven wrong
I just cannot see the likes of Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone all being part of the same eleven. Much like Australia, England too have been picking bowlers who can contribute heavily with the bat but not so with the ball. The pitches in this tournament are not the usual ODI pitches that one will get to see in India. Most of the pitches are helping the spinners. When you travel to the subcontinent, this is very much expected but in ODIs, this was not expected. Credit must be given to the ICC for preparing pitches where the bowlers, if not the fast bowlers, the spinners, will be given assistance so that the World Cup itself does not descend into a power-hitting circus.
Before the tournament began, I was of the opinion that the pitches would be exceptionally good for the batsmen but it is brilliant to see the batsmen struggle to adjust to pitches that are not tailor-made for them. England corrected the mistake that they made against New Zealand by picking Topley but it is clear that they are missing the services of an additional spinner. The only spinner to support Rashid is Moeen Ali and he is at best a less than decent spinner. He is also along the lines of the above-mentioned players.
England seemed to have placed a lot of importance on their batsmen to bat freely and score so heavily that a lengthier batting lineup would be needed. However, they seem to have not counted on an alternate system where spinners will be effective and that they need better spinners than Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
English batsmen rendered inadequate
The English batsmen, who had a great time on absolute belters over the last several years, have suddenly stuck a wall and are unsure what to do. In trying to compensate for their abrasive nature, they have gone to the other end of not trying to score at all. They may have gone back to the England of 2014. It is sad to see that but England will have to find the middle path on these pitches. Not overly aggressive and not overly passive. The sooner they find the path, the better it is for them because they still have 3 games against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who all have spinners who can cause England tremendous problems.
What does this win mean for Afghanistan?
One, it will certainly lift the morale of the Afghans after the nerve-shattering news of the earthquake. It is upon the cricketers to sort of soothe the feelings of their nationals which they did wonderfully. They do have talent in their ranks. The likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, Nabi and Naveen have played against some of the best in the game. Gurbaz is now added to the squad whose belligerence at the top of the order was the main reason Afghanistan was able to post a competitive score. His uninhibited strokeplay was a treat to watch. He wasn’t afraid of the fast bowler on display, Mark Wood and played the upper cut with relative ease.
“My mindset was only one thing: just to be positive,” Gurbaz said. “I was really well prepared for that game – not only for that game, but for this competition. I was just trying to be positive against everyone.”
The coach, former England batsman, Jonathan Trott also praised Gurbaz. “It was amazing, the shots that he played… for him, the sky is the limit.”
The only problem is that Gurbaz playing for Afghanistan, the opportunities will be limited.
Two, this opens the door for one more upset that they can cause. Australia is now short of confidence. Just like England, they have come unprepared for the task at hand. They are not sure of their eleven with too many seaming allrounders. If they come across Afghanistan on a similar kind of pitch, Afghanistan must fancy themselves of one more upset.
Other controversy
Mickey Arthur complained that the India vs Pakistan game didn’t seem like an ICC event. It seemed like a BCCI event.
“Look, I’d be lying if I said it did [not affect us],” Arthur said when asked about the partisan crowd. “It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.
Well, Mr. Arthur, I have news for you. The event may be an ICC one but it is still played in India. The world is aware of the sentiments among the two nations. It will be hard to understand for a foreigner but this is how it is and this is how it will be. We do not want to hear any songs that support our enemy. We will be traitors if we do so. Additionally, we certainly do not want to betray our motherland, ICC event or not. You and the Pakistan team will have to learn to live with it. We cannot allow so many like in 2011 to enter the country either.
Wrapping up The Afghanistan roadblock
England’s familiar struggle against spin is back in focus. They have got their squad completely wrong. Will they be able to rise against the tide?
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