Jonathan Trott shoots ICC in the face on behalf of Afghanistan after his team gets knocked out by South Africa in the semi-final

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott criticized the Trinidad pitch following their loss against South Africa in the first semifinal match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Jonathan Trott stated that the pitch was not suitable for hosting a T20 World Cup semi-final match, adding that it should be a fair contest.

Afghanistan faced a heavy defeat against South Africa in the semifinal at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Wednesday, June 26 (local time). The pitch in Trinidad offered uneven bounce and seam movement. The Afghanistan batters could only manage 56 runs, the lowest ever in a T20 World Cup semifinal.

Marco Jansen drew first blood by dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck in the first over. Jansen picked up two more wickets as Afghanistan lost their first five wickets for 23 runs in five overs. Kagiso Rabada (2/14), Anrich Nortje (2/7), and Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) contributed significantly to South Africa.

South Africa also faced challenges from the pitch, but Reeza Hendricks (29*) and Aiden Markram (23*) guided the team to register a comfortable nine-wicket victory in just 8.5 overs. South Africa secured their first-ever World Cup final berth, while the Afghanistan team couldn't continue their winning streak.

Don't Want To Get Me Into Trouble - Jonathan Trott 

Speaking at the press conference, Jonathan Trott said that T20 cricket should be all about attacking and scoring runs, not about surviving. Trott emphasized the importance of a fair contest with both bat and ball in a World Cup semi-final match.

"I don't want to get myself into trouble. But I also don't want to sound a bit like 'sour grapes' but that's not the pitch that you want to have a semi-final of a World Cup on. Plain and simple. It should be a fair contest," said Trott.

"I'm not saying it should be completely flat with no spin and seam movement, you shouldn't have batters worrying about moving forward and having the ball fly over their head. You should be confident in getting through the line or use their skills. And T20 is all about attacking and scoring runs and taking wickets. Not looking to survive," he added.

Could Have Seen A Different Second Half - Jonathan Trott

The Afghanistan head coach expressed regret at batting first on the challenging Trinidad pitch. Trott mentioned that his bowlers could have exploited the conditions if they had bowled first. He emphasized that the Afghan batters failed to adapt to the conditions.

"If the opposition bowled well and gets you into a position after bowling well and through skill, then it's fine to them. Then it's about adapting. If we had bowled the way South Africa had, you could have seen a different second half," Trott further stated.

Afghanistan achieved their lowest T20I score during the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final. Notably, teams were bowled out for less than 100 runs in four out of five matches at the venue. Afghanistan concluded their campaign by winning five out of eight matches and reaching the competition's semi-finals.

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