Recent Match Report – Afghanistan vs England 14th Match, Group 1 2022/23

England 113 for five (Livingstone 29*) beat Afghanistan 112 (Curran 5-10) by 5 wickets

England’s World Cup marketing campaign is up and operating due to a 5-wicket victory over Afghanistan of their opening match in Group 1.

But a stuttering chase took the gloss off what may have been a whole efficiency. They have been 65 for 3 at one stage within the eleventh over, solely managing to clear the fence as soon as and in flip lacking the prospect to rubber-stamp this win with a big web run charge enhance.

Curran stole the headlines along with his profession-finest figures and was even on a hat-trick at one level, eradicating Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan off the final two balls of the 18th over. Though he missed out on a hat-trick, he did declare three in 4 when Usman Ghani slapped one to Liam Livingstone at deep level within the twentieth over.

If that was a rudimentary take for Livingstone, his first was on the opposite finish of the spectrum: charging out from the duvet boundary to take a shocking, diving catch at backward level after Hazratullah Zazai tried to flay Ben Stokes to the fence. Stokes went on to take yet another wicket, benefitting once more from comparable brilliance within the outfield, this time from Adil Rashid.

Mark Wood additionally claimed two with a 4-over spell with a mean tempo of 149kph, whereas Chris Woakes (1 for twenty-four) relied on nous to go away Mohammad Nabi’s facet nicely in need of a par rating.

While reaching a goal of 113 was at all times anticipated, the way by which England struggled, notably towards Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Nabi, spoke of some kinks nonetheless to be ironed out. The spin trio conceded only one boundary between them and emerged with a wicket every. Ultimately, batting depth noticed Buttler’s facet by way of with Livingstone batting until the top to complete unbeaten on 29 off 21 – the one English batter to attain double figures at higher than a run a ball – with Moeen Ali (8 off 10) for firm.

Wood cranks it up, once more
Wood’s first ball nipped away at 146kph/91mph, taking Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s exterior edge. The second – 154kph/96mph – welcomed Ibrahim Zadran to the crease. It’s protected to say Wood was not messing round. Much has been made about tempo at this World Cup, and much more on his level of distinction on this English assault. That introduced its personal stress and Wood couldn’t have lived as much as the hype and expectation any higher.

The two wickets for 23 are what issues from a statistical perspective, however the different numbers, notably on the pace gun, are jaw-dropping. He appears to be like as recent and constant as he has ever been – a credit score to the person himself and the medical workforce who’ve labored tirelessly to assist him obtain a stage the likes of which England have by no means seen.

Fielding focus
One of the elements of the Stokes dialog that punctuated discussions on choice issues heading into this primary match was his fielding. Whatever function he would occupy with bat or ball, his fielding would play an enormous function in Australia: his pace throughout these huge expanses of inexperienced, that cannon arm, and, after all, these arms. As it occurs, he was wonderful with the ball (2 for 19), negligible with the bat (2 off 4) and largely a spectator within the subject. The final half was as a result of these round him delivered the gorgeous grabs this time round. Livingstone and Adil Rashid pulled off distinctive operating, diving catches – each carbon copies of Glenn Phillips’ earlier worldie towards Australia. Buttler’s one-handed Superman catch of Nabi was the icing on the cake, and even a late drop from Alex Hales sprawling at level may very well be marked down as saving a boundary. England’s undoubted energy is their batting, however their fielding is a detailed second.

Afghanistan botch upset
The collapse of 5 for 3 off the ultimate 12 deliveries of their innings, the drops off Alex Hales on 4 and 17 (he was ultimately dismissed for 19) and the way in which England didn’t have to take dangers towards their spinners, with Rashid producing a boundary-much less 4 overs. You can see why Nabi mentioned he wished to defend on the toss, and why that has been Afghanistan’s modus operandi for the longest time. But you may also see why their followers may rue what may need been. An alternative to catch England chilly was spurned thanks largely to an underwhelming, borderline-naive method with the bat. Given how the final hour of the sport performed out, an additional 20 runs would have gone a good distance.