Trott felt that the collective work body has permanently altered the perceptions of the Afghanistan cricket side. “What happened in the World Cup, the World Cup T20 and 1740612555I say this to the players: Afghanistan will never take again.
“In the past, maybe people would have seen the fixed element and thought it was a little easier than playing a historical test nation. But in this format, in these conditions, I do not see that. I see that every game we play will be competitive and every game in which we enter I hope to win. Australia will not lead us to light.”
This Trott approach has immediately moved to the last group game of Afghanistan on Friday shows that his team is focused on the tournament as a whole and not only on the strange victory. The clash against England was a eliminator for both sides, but crucially, not a qualifier. Afghanistan may have sent England home, but will join them on the plane if they lose against Australia.
“Since I have been a coach, we have played against Australia three times and we have been in the game each of those games,” Trott said. “I will tell the players to enjoy tonight. I will make sure that when they wake up tomorrow, they are ready for Australia immediately. The approach is in Australia. Thus will be the players and that is what I will tell the fans.”
Fans were not scarce. From the beginning of the game, the stadium was tied in the colors of the Afghanistan flag. Lahore is home to a large population of Pashtun, and Pakistan houses the largest number of Afghan refugees anywhere in the world. The way in which many of these factors cross is complicated, but the feeling in the stadium was not. During one afternoon and night, the Gaddafi stadium was Afghan honorary territory, a level of support that did not go unnoticed or not appreciated.
“The atmosphere was really good,” Trott said. “It was really good for players to experience some support because we usually always play in the EAU. Being in Pakistan, it is really close to where they come. With luck, on Friday it will be a massive sale and people will appear or take the day off and will come from 2 o’clock.
“I think it’s great for boys. I think it’s a great experience and these players will never forget nights like this. We have had some other nights on the way in the events and series of the ICC, and that will only join the confidence that we hope to take on Friday.
This famous victory has seen the scale of Afghanistan of Trott another height in what has been a vertiginous variety of successes. Less than three years ago, when he was appointed coach of Afghanistan, they were seen as a team with a lot of potential, but one that had not learned the ability to translate it into victories in large events of several teams. That has changed quite drastically, everything, while Afghanistan brings to the next generation of players through a system that has barely taken off. Players like Zadran, whose 146-ball 177 was the spine through the entrances of Afghanistan.
“When I took charge, there was a crudeness to the side. Much of this has to do with the preparation and how they think of themselves and the work they do outside the field, with which you give yourself the best chance in the field. The boys play a lot of Crick, reproduce a large amount of franchise cryket, which is good because they are developing and playing with the best players and seeing how they take that experience to the experience of Afghanistan and do.
One night that, as Trott reminded everyone, had to enjoy but quickly moved. There is a weather on Friday, when Afghanistan faces Australia here in Lahore, but if Afghanistan can produce similar performance, this could be one of the rare cases in which Lahore finds the sequel even better than the original.
Danyal Rasool is the Pakistan correspondent for Espncricinfo. @Danny61000
