ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

November 4, 2022

Jonathan Trott

Adelaide Oval

Afghanistan

Post Match Media Conference

Australia 168/8, Afghanistan 164/7

Q. Can you sum up your emotion after that? There is a bit mixed feelings about getting so close but not quite getting over the line in the end?

JONATHAN TROTT: Certainly. I think it's a good game to watch for the neutral. And I think it showed the skill and the talent of the players we have got, but also sometimes the awareness, situational awareness that we lack in parts. And I think we saw it against Sri Lanka and we've seen it again tonight. I think against England, England played really well and didn't allow us to get away, really.

So, yeah, I think the bowling was really good. Tonight a few things as well. I think you always come away from a T20 game, you always want a little more. It's the type of game it ebbs and flows, the momentum of the game. That's what you had tonight.

And the more often we can get those things going in our favour, we certainly have the capability to do so. And the more consistent we'll become as a side. That's how I feel. And going forward that's hopefully the approach and something we can conquer.

Q. Wanted to ask about Rashid Khan's innings, (indiscernible) with the ball, with the (indiscernible) bat and the (indiscernible), to do it on that stage, your thoughts on that?

JONATHAN TROTT: I said yesterday, we were training yesterday, and I said, welcome to the home of Rashid Khan. Thank you for having us, Rashid.

And he's been great throughout the tournament. The sort of the fall that he had at the end of the last game -- I remember speaking to him and he said, there's no chance I'm missing this game; I'm playing 100 percent. That's the type of character he is. That's the type of character we want on a side, certainly the sides that I've coached, and I love to have them.

And not only obviously he's very talented, very skillful, but his attitude and his work ethic is second to none and a great example to all players around the world, not only the Afghan boys. Credit to him and he deserves everything he gets.

Q. Is there a case for him batting up further in the order, do you think, at certain times in certain situations?

JONATHAN TROTT: I think so. I also think that there's other batsmen on the side who need to take responsibility for their innings and with the responsibility that they're charged with. That's all I'd say on that.

There's times that players need to stand up and accept the pressure that comes with playing international cricket. And you need to perform better.

Q. And there was certainly a fervour of talk online and around the tracks once the first innings had finished about Australia needing to restrict Afghanistan to, I think it was 108 runs or to get ahead of England on the net run rate. Do you think that perhaps there's still a bit of underestimating Afghanistan and how well they could do because forget net run rate, they came ever so close to beating Australia?

JONATHAN TROTT: I'd love every team we play against to underestimate us, to be honest, because we can certainly surprise people like we did them. We can have parts of games we play really well in.

So I wasn't sure what the whole of the equation was. I wasn't really focused on Australia needs. I was more worried about how we were going to go knock off those runs.

To be honest, we spoke about their intent needing to do it but we never spoke about specific. We said be aware how Australia are going to play, what they need to do. And would have been nice to get across the line tonight especially chasing as well.

I think we sometimes, in history, with regards to the way that Afghanistan played, batting first has always been there way and throw their ball to the spinners and they accept the pressure. I think we need to become a better rounded side where we're able to chase and also set targets better. So that's something to certainly work on going forward.

Q. I know they had a couple of injuries coming in but was that the Australian 11 you were expecting, or was it a little bit of a surprise?

JONATHAN TROTT: A little bit of a surprise to us. We heard there were romours but you never really want to sort of preempt or suggest injuries. Certainly to the likes of Finch you don't know the extent of the injuries, so you don't want to presume. So you prepare for any inevitability.

We thought Green would open the batting if Finch was injured because he had done that previously and had done pretty well. And obviously we knew Steve Smith is such a dangerous player. So we prepared for him as well.

And then Richardson as well, we're not sure why Starc didn't play, but Richardson came in and replaced Starc. So we had to adjust to that a little bit as well.

Q. You learned your cricket in proper structures growing up around (indiscernible). And now your first coaching assignment as a team, which is like the complete opposite. They can't even go home with (indiscernible). How do you look back at that journey having taken it up, what, five months ago?

JONATHAN TROTT: I look at it and I realised how fortunate and privileged I was growing up also as well, not just playing for England but growing up in a country where the sport is so well catered for and encouraged and is a way of life really.

To see these guys and hear a few stories about their backgrounds and growing up and the things they've had to overcome and areas they've come from and to get to be here in Adelaide playing under the bright lights, playing in front of just over 18,000 people on a worldwide audience, sometimes it would be lost on some people, but for me certainly it's not lost at all, the journey that some of the players had to come here.

So there are things perhaps that could be better with regards to structure-wise. But as far as a player, players, I don't have an issue at all with any of the way that the players go about it. So it's my job as coach to educate them about how are they going to become better players. And having played with the world's best or played against them and seeing the traits they have, try to impart a bit of knowledge and help them to do something to make them be better players themselves and really become players or people as well, just as importantly that the Afghan public can be really proud of.

Q. Any stories or conversations that stick with you that you don't mind sharing?

JONATHAN TROTT: I don't think it would be right for me to share those stories here, if I'm at all honest with you. A lot of those are private. And I don't know how comfortable individuals would be with me sharing those sorts of things, the things that I've learned or the things that I've spoken about with them.

Q. Just the challenges of putting together a team, training them as a team when there's no home base, how would you --

JONATHAN TROTT: There's no challenges to that, with regards to training them. What I want to do is empower the players more to think for themselves. As soon as they start thinking for themselves a little bit more they'll be able to handle pressure situations I think more naturally. And they will be able to go on and then dictate the pace of play or dictate the sort of -- themselves or impose themselves, I should rather say, on the opposition.

I think that's the one challenge I have noticed and would like the players to get better at is taking ownership of their own game and coming to the coaches and saying, this is what I want to work on, not the coaches going to the players as much as I think has happened in age-group cricket in Afghanistan or coming through the ranks.

Q. You sounded just a touch surprised at Mitchell's play and Afghanistan targeted Kane Richardson as well. Did you think Richardson was a more favorable matchup. Was there a deliberate targeting of him because he was by far the most expansive of Australia's players?

JONATHAN TROTT: We thought Starc was going to play. We prepared for that. Obviously we saw Richardson marking his run up. That was a real surprise for us -- we don't know any reason. We respect every player that we play against.

So I don't think there was any targeting at all of Richardson. We know he's a very, very good bowler. That happens in T20 crickets. Some bowlers always go for the ball. And some others have an outstanding day and can sometimes win you the game. I think they played him really well and hopefully they can take a lot of confidence from it.

Q. Obviously your only concern was the performance of Afghanistan throughout. But now that the game is done, the result has made things very straightforward for England tomorrow they need to win the game against Sri Lanka in order to qualify for the semifinals, is that a happy byproduct of this result?

JONATHAN TROTT: Bittersweet. Obviously I was focused on this game tonight wholeheartedly. And anything that comes good of that I would have liked to have a win and made it a lot clearer. But England are a very good side I think they're more capable of dealing with their future however that happens. So good luck to them. I wish them well.

Q. Afghanistan actually played only three matches in this group stage, two matches being washed out. You had a big gap, almost ten days after the England match. How did that affect the momentum of your team?

JONATHAN TROTT: Well, yes, especially after you've lost the way we did against England and we certainly made it quite tough for them as well, if we had a few more runs. So you always want to get back on the horse, if you like. A game against New Zealand would have been a great challenge. But the spectacle of playing at the MCG for these guys and the occasion of it all, to have two washouts at such a fantastic ground is a real tragedy.

So these things happen. Certainly the game against Ireland was one that we would have loved to have played. And would have been a good battle. We played a bit of cricket against them in the last few years. So the teams know each other really well. That's really disappointing. And New Zealand one would have been good because it's good to test yourself like tonight.

Q. Their fast bowler does the job for Afghanistan in the bowling department. Do you think if we include another fast bowler like Saleem Safi maybe the result in favour of Afghanistan?

JONATHAN TROTT: I think they bowled really well. I think Naveen came in and showed his skill and Faz bowler as well, I think Faz bowler bowled well throughout the series and the amount we've had it's difficult to get another seamer without weakening our bat too much.

It's always nice to sit here with hindsight and say this and that. But we gave it our all tonight and not everything's going to go your way for every single bowler. We had a chance to win tonight and we should have taken it. Nothing to do with bowlers at all.