Jonathan Trott believes Afghanistan will go into Wednesday’s T20 World Cup semifinal against South Africa boosted by “having no scarring, no history” unlike the accident-prone Proteas.
Afghanistan will be playing in the last-four of any World Cup for the first time. South Africa is still without a major global title with just the 1998 Champions Trophy to show for all its endeavours.
It has also been accused of “choking” on big occasions.
Losing to Australia in the 1999 World Cup semifinal after a farcical run-out and a blunder in reading the rain rules against Sri Lanka on home turf in 2003 are famously among its catalogue of horrors.
“We go into the semifinal with no scarring or no history. This is uncharted territory for us,” said coach Trott, the former Ashes-winning England batsman who was born and raised in South Africa.
“We’re just going to go out there and give it our all. There’s no preconceived ideas on it all, or history of failure or success in semifinal in past years. For us it’s a new challenge and I think that makes us dangerous in the semifinals as a side with nothing to lose and obviously a lot of pressure on the opposition.”
South Africa has defeated Afghanistan in its only two other T20 meetings - by 59 runs at Barbados in the 2010 T20 World Cup and 37 runs in Mumbai six years later.
The Proteas have won all seven matches they have played in this World Cup but have teetered on the edge of embarrassment more than once.
In the first round, South Africa defeated the Netherlands by four wickets after being 12-4 at one stage chasing just 104 to win. A four-run win over Bangladesh followed before it avoided what would have been a seismic shock in a one-run victory over Nepal.
In the Super Eights, South Africa squeezed past defending champion England by just seven runs.
Afghanistan was defeated by 47 runs against India in its second round opener before a stunning 21-run victory over Australia. The Rashid Khan-led side sealed its place in the last-four with a nail-biting eight-run victory against Bangladesh on Monday.
Trott said it felt “surreal” to have led Afghanistan into the semifinals. The 43-year-old has certainly developed close bonds with the team since taking over as coach in July 2022.
After the rain-hit win over Bangladesh in Saint Vincent he was carried around the ground on the players’ shoulders.
“When I took over, I was astounded by the talent that I saw,” added Trott.
“There was a certain rawness to it all and no real structure to how the game was played or thought about. I’ve just tried to add here and there. At no stage have I tried to clip anybody’s wings. I’m just trying to make the bow of the arrow even stronger so that they can go for longer, win more games and shoot for the stars even further away.”
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