"Afghanistan Is Not Going To Be Seen As Just Another Match.." - Jonathan Trott Impressed By Team's Performances In World Cup 2023

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott expressed pride in his team’s ability to challenge and push dominant opponents to their limits. Jonathan Trott also acknowledged Glenn Maxwell’s exceptional performance against Afghanistan, describing it as “very, very special.”

Afghanistan secured four wins out of nine matches in the 2023 World Cup. They defeated heavyweight teams like Pakistan and England and came close to beating Australia. However, Maxwell scored a historic double hundred, turning the game in Australia’s favor.

You Can’t Complain Too Much – Jonathan Trott

In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Trott highlighted Afghanistan’s triumph over England as the “perfect game,” emphasizing the impressive bowling performance with the new ball and the effectiveness of the spinners.

“The Australia game was tough and we saw something very, very special from Maxwell to beat us. If people are going to have to play like that to beat us, then as long as we are doing as much as we can, you can’t complain too much. But I still complain a little bit!” Trott said.

“I think it was just the perfect game for us, with the way we bowled with the new ball, and with how the spinners bowled obviously. The win – and the manner in which they won what was only their second victory in a World Cup ever – gave the players a huge amount of confidence,” he added.

Afghanistan’s victory over the defending champions, England, was a defining moment in the event. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side was briefly in contention for the semi-finals, but their hopes ended with losses to Australia and South Africa in the last two games.

They Are Going To Be Seen As A Competitor – Jonathan Trott

Jonathan Trott emphasized that Afghanistan’s success in the ODI World Cup has garnered them respect, and teams won’t underestimate them in the future. He encouraged Afghanistan to build on their achievements and become more competitive in the future.

“I would just like to see them building on the success of this World Cup. Stage by stage getting better and more competitive. I know from now that Afghanistan is not going to be seen as [just another] match, they are going to be seen as a competitor and are never going to be taken lightly,” Trott continued.

“The one thing I would say is, we need to make sure that we start the T20 World Cup having taken the positives from what we learned [during the ODI World Cup], and deal with the pressure and the anticipation. Oppositions are going to be more ready for us. They’re going [to] be more wary, and they’re going to expect us to play better cricket,” he concluded.

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