"Not the pitch that you want to have a semi-final of a World Cup on"- Jonathan Trott slams Trinidad wicket after 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final loss
Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott slammed the Trinidad pitch after his side's nine-wicket defeat to South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, June 26. Winning the toss and batting first, the Afghan batters were caught off-guard by the uneven nature of the wicket from the get-go.
With the South African bowlers completely capitalizing on the same, the Afghans were bowled out for just 56 in the 12th over. While the pitch remained challenging throughout the contest, the Proteas had no scoreboard pressure and completed the chase in a mere 8.5 overs to reach their first-ever World Cup final.
Opening up on Afghanistan's disappointing defeat in the post-match press conference, Trott was heavily critical of the Trinidad wicket used for the semi-final.
"I don't want to get myself into trouble. But I also don't want to sound a bit like 'sour grapes' but that's not the pitch that you want to have a semi-final of a World Cup on. Plain and simple. It should be a fair contest," said Trott.
"I'm not saying it should be completely flat with no spin and seam movement, you shouldn't have batters worrying about moving forward and having the ball fly over their head. You should be confident in getting through the line or use their skills. And T20 is all about attacking and scoring runs and taking wickets. Not looking to survive," he added.
Despite the loss, Afghanistan enjoyed a fairytale run through the tournament, defeating higher-ranked sides like Australia and New Zealand to qualify for their first-ever ICC event semi-final.
"If we had bowled the way South Africa had, you could have seen a different second half" - Jonathan Trott
Jonathan Trott lamented Afghanistan batting first on the Trinidad pitch and felt his bowlers would have exploited the wicket much like the Proteas had they bowled first.
It was the fourth time in five matches at the venue that the team batting first was bowled out for under 100 in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
"If the opposition bowled well and gets you into a position after bowling well and through skill, then it's fine to them. Then it's about adapting. If we had bowled the way South Africa had, you could have seen a different second half," Trott said in the post-match presser.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan chose the worst possible moment to register their lowest T20I score in the semi-final.
Nevertheless, they exceeded expectations by winning five out of eight games and reaching the final four of the competition.