ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 22, 2022

Jonathan Trott

Perth Stadium

Afghanistan

Post Match Media Conference

England 113/5, Afghanistan 112

Q. You just didn't score enough runs, did you, in the end?

JONATHAN TROTT: Yeah, I think the last four overs we were 16 for 5. We were in a decent position. We would have liked to have been a few more runs at that point, as well. Obviously you always want a little bit extra.

But yeah, I think credit to the way that the English bowlers bowled in Australian conditions. The Australian conditions obviously suited them, and the way they fielded, all 10 dismissals were catches.

I think it was a good experience for our boys, and hopefully we can learn from it going forward for the next couple of games.

Q. I think it's your team's first international T20 match in Australia playing on a Perth wicket. It's going in the deep end, isn't it. Presumably it's just another example that you, they need a bit more experience in such conditions?

JONATHAN TROTT: Well, I think so. Depends how you look at it and the stance you want to take. I think a case of we've got a lot of players who played -- we've got a lot of good players, and I just think we were in a position, we need to get better at playing a full 40 overs.

I think there are times we will play 32 to 33 overs really well and get those seven overs wrong, where we let ourselves down and we let the opposition sort of take the game away a little bit, where we put ourselves in a position where we really have to chase the game.

There's things we need to work on, as we all know.

I'm positive and really excited for the next four games. Hopefully we learn from this match, as I said, and get to practice in the next few days, Monday, Tuesday, and look forward to the next one.

Q. Were you quite encouraged by the way Afghanistan came back in the field?

JONATHAN TROTT: I think so. I would have liked less dropped catches, less fumbles, less misfields if possible. I thought the way that we bowled, the spinners in particular were really, really good, so there are some things to take away from the game.

But we just needed a few more extra runs, especially because a lot of the teams, the opposition, whenever they're going to win the toss, they're going to chase, so batting first we're going to have to get better at assessing conditions and putting scores on boards.

Q. That was a very impressive performance by Sam Curran and Mark Wood in particular. What did you make of it?

JONATHAN TROTT: We knew what we were going to get from having watched them play a lot previously, and also having players who have played in England, especially in the T20 Blast and franchise stuff. There's a lot of experience. We spoke at depth about them. They look a very, very good, organised outfit who probably have a lot of combinations that they can pick from in their squad.

They look as if they've played a lot of cricket, which they have. They've been in Pakistan; they've been playing here in Australia. For us, our first competitive international game on Australian soil.

It's okay. We'll roll on to Melbourne and hopefully pull our socks up.

Q. My question is simply the way Afghanistan stretched the match until the end. That is very commendable from the bowlers, that they took on a wicket with that much short target. Are there still some departments where Afghanistan is lacking now and where you guys need to improve?

JONATHAN TROTT: Well, I think we need to improve in all areas really if we can. Obviously the bowling was good tonight, but we need to get better with regards to our powerplay and batting.

We have some talented players who hopefully can hit their straps in the next few games and put the opposition under pressure. Then our fielding, we saw the evidence and the way that England caught the ball. All their chances were taken. I think they had a very difficult dropped chance at point, and that was it. Especially when we're trying to defend small targets like that, your fielding has got to be on point.

Today we weren't. We'll be working really hard to get that right.

Q. Were there any secrets about the English style of play you told to Afghanistan side before the game?

JONATHAN TROTT: No, we were very, very clear and we knew how they were going to play. There were no secrets at all. We prepared really well for them and just weren't able to execute today, unfortunately. Sometimes the opposition doesn't let you play well.

There were times I thought we had moments where we could perhaps push on a little bit and put the English bowlers under pressure, and unfortunately we weren't able to do that, and they sometimes didn't allow us to get away from them, as well.

Credit to them, and things we can do better, as well, for us.