Published: Mar 12, 2015, 12:47 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 12, 2015, 12:47 PM (IST)
England were knocked out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after their defeat at the hands of Bangladesh a few days ago. Their only win in the tournament has come against Scotland, while they lost by huge margins against Australia, New Zeland, and Sri Lanka. This has raised questions in the minds of many whether the current squad is capable of taking on such big teams. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Afghanistan on the other hand will be proud of their display in the tournament considering that this is their first ever World Cup. They managed to secure their maiden win against Scotland in a nail biting finish, and also played competitively against Sri Lanka. Afghanistan have nothing to lose going into this match. They will surely come back much stronger in future tournaments after rubbing shoulders with the big guns in this edition of the World Cup. They have excellent talent in their team with the likes of Samiullah Shenwari, their energetic skipper Mohammad Nabi, and the Zadrans — Shapoor and Dawlat, who can be proud of their achievements in this tournament. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
England, considering their stature in world cricket, will be hugely disappointed with their effort. They will have to reassess their entire squad and return stronger. England sacked Alastair Cook and appointed Eoin Morgan as their One-Day International (ODI) captain prior to the World Cup and by the looks of it, Cook couldn’t have done a worse job than this. Morgan has not had any impact in the tournament and got out for a duck in the all-important game against Bangladesh. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
England suffered further setback as opener Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes have picked up injuries and have been ruled out of the game. This will probably pave the way for Gary Ballance to return to the starting XI as Steven Finn is likely to take the place of Woakes. Alex Hales, who batted at No. 3 in the pervious game against Bangladesh, will probably be entrusted to open the innings along with Ian Bell. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
England, despite all their struggles in the tournament, are the stronger team on paper and will want to end the tournament on a high, but cannot afford to take Afghanistan lightly. Afghanistan will give England a run for their money and try everything they can to finish above England in the Pool A table. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings
Time: 3.30 GMT | 9:00 IST
Squads:
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Afsar Zazai (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
