NEW DELHI: Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott expressed his disappointment at his team's fielding performance in their ICC World Cup game against New Zealand. He believed that Afghanistan could have given New Zealand a tougher challenge if they had not dropped several catches during the match.
Afghanistan's fielding woes were evident as they missed four catches and also failed to capitalize on a stumping opportunity, allowing New Zealand to maintain their perfect record with a 149-run win.
The result left Afghanistan in the ninth position in the World Cup standings, just days after their stunning upset victory over England had raised hopes of climbing the table.
Trott commented on the fielding issues, saying, "It's not the pressure, I think it's been happening a bit too much recently as well since I've been in charge."
He pointed out that the team's statistics in catching put them at the bottom and emphasized the need for improvement, mentioning that they had worked hard on it in training and needed to execute it in games.
New Zealand's Will Young was dropped in the second over, and he went on to score a fifty. Similarly, Rachin Ravindra was dropped on zero. Despite these opportunities, Afghanistan looked in control when New Zealand was struggling at 110-4.
However, Tom Latham's innings of 68 and his partnerships with Glenn Phillips (71) helped New Zealand post a total of 288-6. Latham was dropped twice before reaching his fifty, which proved to be crucial in their recovery.
Trott acknowledged the significance of the missed chances, saying, "We dropped Ravindra on nought, we dropped Young on nought. So that sort of gives a little bit of momentum to the opposition."
He believed that if they had taken those catches and also dismissed opener Devon Conway, the outcome might have been different. Unfortunately, they had to go home regretting those missed opportunities.
In their upcoming matches, New Zealand are set to play against India next, while Afghanistan will face Pakistan.
(With Reuters inputs)
