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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

February 26, 2015

Samiulla Shenwari

DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND

Q. Can you just sort of take us back to what you were thinking when obviously you came in at two down, seeing all the wickets fall. What was going through your mind all throughout?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: First of all, I would say I did my job, and my job was just staying on the wicket till the end. The other players also take some of them didn't take responsibility, that's why they're out. So I was just telling them just stay on the wicket, and the wicket was nothing moving. So I can say that we got an early wicket again from Javed, that's a big point. The wicket was gone, so we got the pressure, and then the captain and keeper out. So my role was to be in there till 50th over, and just take the last five over to be for the hitting, so that was my point.

Q. Could you also talk about how you felt when you got caught there on the boundary? Because I saw you, you waited for a while, and they were checking the fielders, how many were in, and how many were out, it must have been very intense?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: I didn't check. From the outside they were shouting to stay on the wicket. So I had probably the shot, but I don't know why they didn't cross the boundary. So it was like a bad shot for me, so six ODI, and bad shot.

Q. I wonder if you can tell us about the atmosphere in the dressing room? This World Cup win, you must be on a high.
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: Yeah, I think they were so sad. You're talking about --

Q. No, when you won. Are you talking about the after the match?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: Are you talking about in the middle or after the winning?

Q. No, the winning. The feeling. It must have been obviously --
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: Yeah, when we won, we shouted. Like one shout, but big shout. Then coach came and then calm down and said it's just one match, and still we have a World Cup. Two more matches to win to get there to that stage.

Q. Well played today. Did you ever imagine this would be possible when you started out playing cricket to have a victory in the World Cup?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: I didn't get you.

Q. Did you ever imagine Afghanistan winning the World Cup would be possible ten years ago?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: I think there was nothing before. You can look 10 or eight years ago, there was nothing in Afghanistan. But now you can say the streets, school, everything you go, it's just cricket and cricket, so maybe in next ten years maybe we can do.

Q. Is your dream now to play a Test Match?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: Yes. Yes, we have a dream to play a Test Match, and we're looking forward to playing with the test nations more matches coming.

Q. Yesterday Javed Ahmadi was talking about Afghanistan looking to beat full member nations, that is the dream. Today you were almost about to lose to Scotland. Did it worry you at some stage that this was not supposed to happen?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: I can say this so it's happened. It's happened so you can't say why it happened this, so it's part of the cricket. Yeah, we're looking forward to beat a test nation. We have a dream, and we missed it yesterday of Sri Lanka. So thanks God we won today, however we won with one wicket or ten wickets, it's still a win.

Q. Just going back to the Asia Cup. Last year you came into a similar situation. That time you played entirely different innings. Today was completely different innings. How many type of games do you have?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: I have any kind of game. I can hit it. I can stay on the wicket. So my team needs me to stay on the wicket, and they believe me that I can do, and I proved to them, and they're happy, and I will go to coach to support me in the match. Too much they're talking to me saying if you can stay on the wicket, you can do anything. So that was the main point, and I did it.

Q. You're obviously a long way from home. But there is a fairly good bunch of Afghan supporters there in the crowd. Were you aware of them? If so, how much of a boost was that to see the flag and the noise?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: Yeah, when we see the crowd, we get more like more happy, and we feel that we have more company from the backside like we get a wicket, we get a boundary. So we get a shout, so we feel so good more.

Q. I was going to say, how do you refocus now? Obviously a tough couple of games coming up?
SAMIULLAH SHENWARI: We're looking forward to the next match with Australia, and hopefully, hopefully we'll give them a tough time and we will not give up easy. So we're looking forward to giving them a tough time and looking forward to winning the match.
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