The Afghanistan cricket team hasn’t qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy semifinals yet. But they have already had a better campaign than the England and Pakistan cricket teams. Tomorrow (February 28) they might lose to Australia and get knocked out, but they won’t be among the three worst teams in the tournament.
On paper, England is probably better than both. Afghanistan and Pakistan are also nearly at par. Afghanistan has better spinners and all-rounders, while Pakistan would have them covered in pacers and batters. But performance-wise, the Afghan Atalans were ahead of them.
So, what did Afghanistan do better than both England and Pakistan? We can dissect each and every detail. Look into squad selections, form, and even management. But the simple answer is a proper plan. Think, what was England or Pakistan’s blueprint for victory?
England & Pakistan’s muddled thinking in ICC Champions Trophy
Pakistan won the toss against New Zealand and India. Deciding to chase and bat first, respectively. Everybody knows their bowling is their strength, yet they decide to chase in the ICC Champions Trophy opener. They put India on the field, but the batting on display lacked purpose.
You have no idea what sort of total they were looking for. For some reason, they didn’t even try to score in 11-20 overs. When Mohammad Rizwan went hard, it was too late, and he perished in the process. That 241-run total wasn’t small, and when your pacers are averaging over 40 in the last couple of games and they bowl 30 of the 50 overs, how can you win? Plus, Pakistan had already made the blunder of taking just one frontline spinner.
Now let’s shift to England. Their modus operandi is chase. They bat deep and always rely on multiple all-rounders. Batting is their strength. Like Pakistan, they have one frontline spinner. But their bowling isn’t nearly as good, even on paper. They have a one-dimensional attack, with an obsession with speed. Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, and Jamie Overton all bowl over 140, and barring Archer, all are hit-the-deck bowlers.
Their batting is indescribable. Phil Salt thinks he’s playing a T10 game. Ben Duckett and Joe Root have amassed 391 runs of the total 668 England scored. It was them or nothing. Jos Buttler was woeful, and after getting knocked out, he hinted at resigning as captain. Then you have Harry Brook, who seems low on confidence and doesn’t really know how to play wrist spin. Jamie Smith, who had a 7-match experience in ODIs, played at Root’s position and was looking like a fish out of water.
Afghanistan’s blueprint for success in ODIs
Then comes Afghanistan. One knows they aren’t great chasers. They failed miserably against South Africa, losing by 107 runs. They won the toss against England and were 37/3. Remember, Pakistan also lost early wickets against India. The difference was they knew what their target was.
Afghanistan wasn’t looking to score 400. They knew that they could afford to bat slowly, and that’s what Hashmatullah Shahidi does. He scored just 40 runs from 67 balls. But you expect this. Why? Because Shahidi’s career ODI strike rate is 67.74. Yes, Ibrahim Zadran played an all-timer of an innings.
But let’s remove the last 77 runs. Had Ibrahim departed after scoring his hundred, Afghanistan still could have scored 300. The moment they were 140/3 and 20 overs left, you knew what would happen next. They know even a subpar total can be defended by their spinners. Afghanistan may not be the most versatile team there is, but they have a proven method of victory, which neither England nor Pakistan can say they have.
What ‘failed’ Pakistan & England can learn from Afghanistan’s ICC Champions Trophy campaign Inside Sport India.
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