Photo Credit: Afghanistan Cricket Board
It was seam, not spin, that proved Namibia’s undoing against Afghanistan. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 never fails to surprise.
The World Cup debutants were told to expect a trial by twirl in Abu Dhabi and reassured the world pre-match that they had comprehensively prepared for the challenge.
“We’re extremely confident against spin,” Craig Williams insisted, on the back of confident performances against the slow bowling of Scotland and Sri Lanka in the first round.
That confidence would only have been stoked by the absence of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who had the best economy rate and average of any bowler at the tournament, in the Afghan line-up.
Mujeeb took the opening over against Pakistan, and Mohammad Nabi against Scotland. This time, pace was on the ball in the shape of Naveen-ul-Haq, who struggled a little last time out.
Naveen is not a man to be underestimated. He has been playing for Afghanistan in various guises since the age of 11, and spent his early years seeking refuge in Pakistan.
He was the leading wicket-taker in the English T20 Blast over the summer with 26 victims at 17.57, working closely with mentor Ian Pont to take his game to the next level.
Naveen found a lovely full length and movement in the air with his fourth ball, forcing Craig Williams to mistime and sky a catch to mid-on, giving his side a dream start.
Namibia weren’t lying – they played spin well early on as Michael van Lingen unexpectedly hit Nabi for six over long-on against the turn.
Naveen struck again in the following over, artfully varying his pace when he saw Van Lingen charge down the pitch, inducing a false stroke and having him caught at square leg.
In a total switch of the script, Nabi disappeared again a few balls later when Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, promoted to No.3, sent him flying over the straight fence.
Gulbadin Naib hadn’t bowled in either of Afghanistan’s first two games but it was the team’s former 50-over captain who was given the crucial sixth over, the last in the powerplay.
He followed his team-mate’s lead, taking pace off the ball and getting Loftie-Eaton to swipe across the line and lose the top of his leg stump.
That ended Namibia’s hopes of chasing the target of 161 but the richness of seam wasn’t done there.
Hamid Hassan bowled superbly in the middle overs and opposing batters didn’t have an answer to his fast, well-disguised yorker and variations in length.
He finished with outstanding figures of 3-9 from four overs, including 16 dot balls.
Naveen would account for Robbie Frylinck and Gulbadin took another as they ended with 3-26 and 2-19 respectively in an outstanding bowling display.
It was essential that Afghanistan responded to their emotional defeat to Pakistan with a confident victory, and that’s exactly what they did in beating Namibia by 62 runs.
All of their key batters have now spent compelling time at the crease and their openers were typically destructive.
Hazratullah Zazai did the early damage while Mohammad Shahzad took time to settle at the crease, a fearsome formula that delivered another half-century stand for Nabi’s side.
The game marked the end of an era for Afghan cricket as Asghar Afghan played his final match for his country after a decade’s distinguished service.
His story has been the story of the rise of Afghanistan itself, an ever-present in all seven of the ICC major events they have played in.
In his last post-match press conference, he intimated the reason for his decision was to give young players around him a chance to take centre stage.
With Naveen joined by Karim Janat and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in a new crop of talent – led, of course, by Rashid Khan and Mujeeb – the future is bright for this band of history-makers.
