ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 26, 2022

Jonathan Trott

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Afghanistan

Post Match Media Conference

JONATHAN TROTT: I think being the second game, and then since it's kept on raining, it was always going to be a washout unfortunately. I think it would have been a great game. The crowd would have turned up as well for us, and we were looking forward to taking on a strong New Zealand side.

Q. Just your thoughts on this group that's been blown wide open now. What does that mean for Afghanistan, do you think?

JONATHAN TROTT: There's a lot to play for. We've got another game here on Friday afternoon against a side who just beat England, who you would say is one of the favourites. So it shows how just unpredictable this pool is going to be and how strong it is, I think, and the strength of cricket that these sides have.

So that's going to be a great group, and hopefully we can get one on Friday afternoon and then go on down to Brisbane, which will be another tough game. So exciting, but a lot of cricket ahead for us and some important cricket.

Q. Obviously you're here with your Afghanistan hat on literally, but just your thoughts on the previous match and England having lost to Ireland in a way that obviously they're very disappointed with.

JONATHAN TROTT: I didn't get to see much. I saw a little bit of it at the beginning and then had a couple meetings before the game and travelled to the ground, then got to the ground and started trying to warm up. Our warmups were delayed, so we were outside at the back warming up in the net. So I didn't get to see much of it.

I saw a few of the Ireland dismissals because we were watching when we arrived, and that's all we've really seen. It looked quite tight. I'm not quite sure. I think England lost a wicket just before it rained, and that may have helped as it was much harder than it planned out with how close it was. I think it was five runs in the end, am I right? So a close game and just shows the strength of this group and how tough a match it's going to be on Friday for us.

Q. It's a small sample size, but for now in this group New Zealand looked like they're probably the form side in this particular group, and that's the game you had washed out. I was just wondering, do you view it as a bullet dodged or a point gained because that gives you the impression to get on board against a so called weaker side and get a point against New Zealand that you might not otherwise have been fancied to get?

JONATHAN TROTT: I wouldn't say that at all. I would have said it would have been nice to play New Zealand and the guys got the experience of playing at the MCG and hopefully get a win so feel confident going into a game like Ireland are going to be for Friday afternoon.

So it would have been nice to have the opportunity to get those points. Like Ireland, we've seen unpredictability. So I think for you to say a bullet dodged is doing a disservice to the guys in my change room.

So that's the way I look at it, but we've got a day tomorrow to prepare for Ireland, and we're going to use it really well.

Q. In terms of this being a group where, obviously on paper, Australia, New Zealand, England looked like the form sides initially. How ambitious are you or how much are you allowing your players to dream we can make the semis or just looking at it one play at a time?

JONATHAN TROTT: I think you want your players to dream and you want that dream to work towards. We got to have the end goal, but it's how we go about each individual game and prepare ourselves and get ready for it.

I think in Australia each ground has its own characteristics or own uniqueness, which is great for the boys in experience. We've got boys that played in the Big Bash and can share their experience from playing all around the country.

I know the guys are looking forward to playing against Ireland, who we've played recently before the Asia Cup. So we know them well and they know us well. So I think it's going to be a good game.

Q. Jonathan, a couple of years now Afghanistan have come straight through the Super 12. With the -- I guess it's a question about cricket in general and how the world game is going. After watching a great first week of the tournament, with some of the other nations there, how do you assess the strength of the game in associate cricket?

JONATHAN TROTT: I think it's really good. I think the players, we're seeing a lot of associate players playing all around the world in these leagues. The other thing is you want to look after the game as well, and you want to expand it to the other formats as well and that get the attention it deserves and the spreading of the game in the 50-over and the test match.

We've seen Ireland now advance into the test match arena and have some good games, but it's a slow process, and I think you've got to do it. You've got to be ambitious, but you don't want to get ahead of yourself with regards to that. But you've got to make sure the infrastructure in your country is sound, that you can produce cricketers who can play all formats of the game.

I think with regards to T20 there's so many leagues around the world or tournaments that players from all around the world will be getting experience and making their nation stronger. So I think it's really good.

We had a good competitive series against Ireland preparing us for the Asia Cup, which gave us great preparation, and we started the Asia Cup really well. That shows the strength of the Ireland side and the challenge we've got on our hands and the exciting game we have on our hands on Friday afternoon.

Q. You have some absolute superstars on your team as far as players are concerned with Rashid Khan and Naveen who play on the world stage in the franchise leagues.

JONATHAN TROTT: Mujeeb.

Q. And Mujeeb, there's quite a few of them. You also have some of them who are not so experienced. How does that team gel in the dressing room? What is the kind of exchange of information that goes on?

JONATHAN TROTT: I think there's no better place for players who have the same ambition and talent that we do have on the side to play with the likes of those two names and the one name I mentioned.

And I think that the challenge for us as coaches and for them is to become players similar to their capabilities or go on and have their records, contribute to the Afghan side but also around the world and various sides that they're playing. We certainly have the talent. So it's our job now to keep producing these players.

But they're not going to play forever, so we've got to get a conveyor belt and convert the talent we have and the sort of promise that these players have and actually turning out and winning games for Afghanistan or putting in fantastic performances.

So the world potential for me doesn't really sit well. That means that you're nearly there but not quite. It's about guys becoming cricket players and household names like the few -- the handful of players we have.

Q. And your own experience in the role so far? How's that been?

JONATHAN TROTT: It's been good. I think it's always different with regards to cultures and the way that you've been brought up and thought about the game and the conditions that you've been brought up in that comes naturally to players.

So to see them come to Australia and the attitude that we've seen taking on these conditions, I think it's fantastic and it's only going to help players going forward. So when they get the opportunity to play in the likes of Australia, New Zealand, England where the conditions are a little bit foreign or different, that they can go there and excel.

I'd like to see a few more of the Afghanistan players in all the leagues, but also in Big Bash, the Hundred, or the Blast in England, and obviously in New Zealand's T20 tournament. So the more players we can get playing, the better, and growing the game in Afghanistan.