LAHORE: England face Afghanistan here on Wednesday in a group match which is vital for both the teams looking to revive their chances for the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Unlike Group ‘A’ from where India and New Zealand have already qualified for the semi-finals, the situation in Group ‘B’ has become very interesting after the game Australia-South Africa game in Rawalpindi was washed out on Tuesday.
All four teams of Group ‘B’ still have the chance to make the semis. Both Australia and South Africa — having three points from two games — just need to win their last group matches to make the last four. On the other hand, England and Afghanistan are yet to open their account in their respective opening clashes. The Temba Bavuma-captained South Africa are leading the group with higher net run-rate.
In two other remaining group ‘B’ matches, Australia face Afghanistan on Feb 28 in Lahore while England besides their game today meet South Africa on March 1 in Karachi.
England, who were beaten by Australia in their opening group game at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, enter the same venue on Wednesday with memories of their stunning 69-run defeat at the hands of Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan at Delhi in the 2023 ODI World Cup fresh in their minds.
Lahore’s weather on Wednesday is likely to be cloudy with no chances of rain.
The Afghanistan skipper said they were ready for the challenge in the ongoing Champions Trophy.
“Yes, we had a good ODI against England in 2023 and we beat them but that is history and now we will go in the ground with new planning,” Shahidi said in a pre-match press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
“I think we all know [the] top eight teams are playing in the Champions Trophy and it is a tough challenge but we are ready to face any kind of challenge.
“We will take the confidence with us of the 2023 [World Cup] victory but tomorrow will be the new day and we have to work hard to win to stay in the race for the semi-final,” the captain insisted.
Responding to the opinion of some experts who said that Afghanistan had the chance to play the semi-final, Shahidi said: “It always feels good when experts and legends are talking about your team positively and it gives you confidence but at the same time we have to play our best game to win.”
While stating said if his team batted first in Lahore on Wednesday they would get a better chance to win, the Afghanistan skipper recalled that they had beaten teams in the past by batting second.
“As captain I am expecting a spin-friendly pitch in Lahore where batting pitches are most familiar and if we bat [first] we will not take pressure and prefer to give our best,” he said.
Shahidi said the pitch used in their match against South Africa in Karachi helped bowlers in the first innings and his team could not fare well, particularly in batting.
“When we bowled, I did not see even a single ball turn,” the captain said of the game South Africa comfortably won by 107 runs after posting a solid 315-6.
‘WE WILL BOUNCE BACK’
England captain Jos Buttler hoped for a strong comeback in the event after losing the opener to Australia, despite posting a massive of 351-8.
“We will try not to repeat the mistakes and play good cricket,” Buttler said at the pre-match media conference while adding that it would be difficult for a team to set a definite target on Wednesday.
The big-hitting player said every match in the Champions Trophy was important.
“Pretty much from the start of the event every game is a ‘must win’,” Buttler said.
“We’ve got two games left to progress further. We have to win those games so that’s a very clear situation for us to be in.”
Buttler supported his fast bowlers Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Carse, who were mauled by the Australian batters.
“Australia batted well; one big innings turned the match [around]. We made some mistakes in that match, but we will try not to repeat them and will bounce back against Afghanistan,” the English skipper said.
“We’ve got great confidence in those guys [bowlers],” said Buttler. “Level of performance was good and as always there’s little areas we want to improve and chase that perfect game.
The captain said that leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed had been included in place of fast-bowling all-rounder Brydon Carse, who injured his toe on Monday during a practice session.
Buttler reckoned Afghanistan had quality spinners in their ranks, particularly leg-spinner Rashid Khan.
He also backed Harry Brook, who could not click in the Australia game.
“I am not worried about Harry’s form as we all know that he is one of the world’s best batters right now,” the skipper maintained.
Teams (from):
AFGHANISTAN: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran.
ENGLAND: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025
