Kane Williamson hit 79 not out as New Zealand knocked off the 173 runs needed to win with overs in the bank
For Afghanistan, English conditions have not been kind. A seven wicket loss to Australia, a 34-run defeat by an unconvincing Sri Lanka, and now a seven wicket loss to a New Zealand side with a somewhat rusty Kane Williamson.
The loss of Rashid Khan was always going to be too much of a hurdle to get over, especially when defending such a small total. There’s no update as yet on his health after that crack on the helmet from Ferguson - but they’ve got nearly a week till their next game, against the down-at-heel South Africans. On the plus side, Ramat Shah’s part-time leg-spin produced a couple of smashing deliveries and Hashmatullah’s fifty deserved more than a loss with 17 overs to spare. That’s it from me, thanks for all your emails, sorry I didn’t have time to put them all up or reply, enjoy your evening!
Jimmy Neesham wins the man of the match award for his best bowling figures of five for 31 and New Zealand are top of the table, having played three and won three! So Black Caps - can the inconspicuous win the World Cup? Can Kane Williamson, a cooler head even than Eoin Morgan, carry the trophy home? Their next game against India is one for the diary. Fire and Ice.
With a pull off Aftab Alam, Williamson wins the match! Williamson not out 79, Latham not out 13.
32nd over: New Zealand 172-3 (Williamson 79, Latham 13) Hamid Hassan does enough to ensure that there will be one more over. Scores are level.
James is rubbing his fingers with glee at the thought of an international transfer to the County Ground at Northampton...
31st over: New Zealand 168-3 (Williamson 77, Latham 11) Aftab Alam keeps it tight but they still drill six off the over. Easy pickings now.
Abhijato Sensarma has been thinking, which he does a lot!
30th over: New Zealand 162-3 (Williamson 74, Latham 8) Hamid Hassan pitches one a little full and Williamson cracks it through midwicket for four. Pitter-patter a few singles and New Zealand are nearly there. Their first three matches were against the less powerful sides, and they’ve won them all. Job done. If not spectacularly. Now, for the nail-biters.
29th over: New Zealand 155-3 (Williamson 68, Latham 8)
When all of a sudden two and two make four instead of 3.4869. Kane Williamson watches Gulbadin and sees a beach ball: back foot, front foot, pint point, fours.
28th over: New Zealand 143-3 (Williamson 57, Latham 5) Aftab knows that lbw appeal against Latham was out. His eyes, mouth and arms scream it. But no. The umpire humours him by explaining there was an inside edge.
Saurya Chakrabort writes:
27th over: New Zealand 141-3 (Williamson 57, Latham 5)
Seven off Gulbadin’s over with narry a dash of danger. Lawrie Taylor is not alone in thinking ahead.
26th over: New Zealand 134-3 (Williamson 47, Latham 4) A blow for New Zealand, but one they should be able to take. Latham takes no prisoners, watches Aftab for a ball, and sends his next, another full-toss, straight back past the bowler for four. 39 needed.
The ball after Taylor gets four from a misfield, Aftab gets his revenge. Taylor misses a full-toss and his off stump disappears.
25th over: New Zealand 124-2 (Williamson 47, Taylor 42) Nabi’s first ball is launched by a smiling Taylor on to the roof of the Andy Caddick pavillion. Andy Caddick would not be smiling. At half-way, the shadows s-t-r-e-t-c-h across the playing surface and across Afghanistan’s campaign.
Williamson cuts, for two, and that’s his fifty. Inelegant by his standards, unusually grafting, but he’s on his way.
24th over: New Zealand 113-2 (Williamson 47, Taylor 35) Six off the over, Williamson biffs a Ramat Shah long-hop to the boundary as the midgies flap about Taunton and MC Hammer hits the tannoy.
23rd over: New Zealand 107-2 (Williamson 42, Taylor 34) Taylor throws a thick-edge past the keeper and down to the boundary. Slow and steady black-caps, slow and steady.
22nd over: New Zealand 101-2 (Williamson 42, Taylor 28) A handful of singles off Ramat. And an answer to Alistair’s question: aren’t New Zealand by nature no better than they have to be? Too chilled to be outrageous for the sake of it? This is just the warm-up. Isn’t it?
21st over: New Zealand 97-2 (Williamson 40, Taylor 26) Gulbadin bowls a no ball because there aren’t enough fielders in the circle and to make it worse, Williamson cracks him for four. Then more awkwardness from Williamson who is out of sorts, in the way that only class batsmen can be out of sorts.
20th over: New Zealand 89-2 (Williamson 33, Taylor 26)
19th over: New Zealand 89-2 (Williamson 33, Taylor 26) Ramat unleashes a cracking leggie which beats Taylor.
Alistair writes from Lyon.
19th over: New Zealand 88-2 (Williamson 32, Taylor 26) Did I say Williamson was out of touch? Gulbadin sends one in a little short and Williamson pulls it for four like an irritated man with a point to prove.
A couple looking thoroughly cold and wrapped up in blankets pop up on the TV. The shade on a chilly June late afternoon is not a good place to be.
18th over: New Zealand 81-2 (Williamson 27, Taylor 25) A comedy bit of fielding down in the deep by Hamid, who gets into position and then lets the ball run through his entire defence system to. A death-star like flaw.
My ten year old helper tells me New Zealand’s next game is against India on Thursday.
17th over: New Zealand 75-2 (Williamson 26, Taylor 20) Crowded house comes over the tannoy - bringing back happy memories of driving a camper van round New Zealand when we were over for my brother Sam’s wedding. Well, I say driving - passengering, but in control of the CD player. Fat Freddy’s drop too.
Nice from Hassan, a good fast yorker that went under Taylor’s bat. Williamson not looking his chilled, fluent self here. Ominously for whoever they play next, he’s probably nudging himself back into form.
16th over: New Zealand 71-2 (Williamson 24, Taylor 20) Gulbadin looks about. Hmmm. Enter Rahmat Shah, a batsman with a sideline in legspin. Taylor edges his first ball through third man for four. But that is followed by five watchful dots. Well bowled! And that’s drinks.
15th over: New Zealand 67-2 (Williamson 24, Taylor 16) Hamid Hassan returns, just three off the over.
Romeo writes again, good to see someone’s out there...
14th over: New Zealand 64-2 (Williamson 22, Taylor 15) Since the last World Cup, no finger spinner has taken more wickets than Nabi. And New Zealand fail to get him away again. Just three off the over. One of them a frankly terrible run there by Taylor and Williamson which leaves Williamson running to the danger end. But the throw isn’t quite good enough from mid-wicket and he’s safe.
13th over: New Zealand 61-2 (Williamson 21, Taylor 13) Taylor cuts - ooof -he’s strong. A bit short, a bit wide, just how he likes it. Gulbadin is cross with himself.
Net bowler hit by David Warner report: his CT scan is fine, and he’s feeling good. He’ll be kept in hospital for observation for a while.
12th over: New Zealand 56-2 (Williamson 21, Taylor 8) We have spin in the body of Mohammad Nabi, Mr Reliability. Sharp haircut; tall, too. Was that last ball the doosra? New Zealand watchful, wary.
11th over: New Zealand 52-2 (Williamson 20, Taylor 6) Gulbadin bustles like few others bustle.Ian Austin perhaps, or Steve Waugh. A maiden.
10th over: New Zealand 52-2 (Williamson 20, Taylor 6) Another super over from Aftab - an lbw appeal against Taylor and a Williamson slice that just falls short of midwicket. In between Taylor slaps a big beautiful pull to the boundary. End of the power play. New Zealand have nine runs fewer and have lost two more wickets than Afghanistan at the same stage.
9th over: New Zealand 46-2 (Williamson 19, Taylor 1) Williamson cracks Gulbadin for four. Two balls later, Gulbadin sends one past Williamson’s outside edge. It doesn’t look out. The 18 year old wicket-keeper looks unconvinced . The umpire says not out. But Gulbadin is sure! Ultra-edge says no, no, no. Gulbadin has now wasted two reviews - one when he was batting, one when he was bowling. There must be a word for that.
Rashid Khan news: he will play no further part in the match. A precautionary decision.
8th over: New Zealand 41-2 (Williamson 15, Taylor 0) Is this getting interesting? If one of these two gets out it might be. Silly shot really there from Munro. Aftab only in his second ODI has a double-strike.
Munro upper-cuts, but down on the third man boundary Hamid is waiting, and catches it soundly down on his knees.
7th over: New Zealand 39-1 (Williamson 14, Munro 21) Gulbadin takes the ball. No headband here. But the same accuracy. Afghanistan have a slip for Kane Willamson, who then, to the last ball of the over,a fractionally wider one, sways onto the back foot and, head text-bookishly arranged over the bat, drives him away for four.
6th over: New Zealand 34-1 (Williamson 10, Munro 20) A big hand here for Afghanistan’s seamers. Keeping it tight, keeping it on the imaginary tuppence located in that secret bowling sweet spot. Kane Williamson does sneak a boundary, an inside edge, which misses the stumps and carries on its merry way down to the boundary. To Hassan, the honours.
5th over: New Zealand 28-1 (Williamson 6, Munro 19) Aftab’s chain is good and chunky, and only two runs come off that over - working his angles, keeping the batsmen guessing.
Romeo writes in, hoping that Rashid Khan will be allowed to rest.
4th over: New Zealand 26-1 (Williamson 5, Munro 18) Hassan, face adorned with black warpaint, headband ready, races in and Munro, foxed, edges him down to third man. But Munro is hungry. To the fifth ball, squarely confident, he drives him square for four.
3rd over: New Zealand 20-1 (Williamson 4, Munro 13) Munro pushes Aftab down the ground with such timing that’s its at the boundary before you can say Quantocks. Williamson then waves Aftab away mid approach, but when the ball finally arrives just lobs him away, content to play his favoured anchor role.
2nd over: New Zealand 14-1 (Williamson 4, Munro 9) A good over from Hassan - just a couple of singles and a wide. Angus Fraser was curious enough to ask about his availability for Middlesex a while ago.
Feeling slightly over-full after spending the morning making brownies and the afternoon eating them at my daughter’s club’s fund-raiser. I recommend Mary Berry’s easy receipe. Put it all in a bowl and mix it together. Do let me know what you’ve been up to.
1st over: New Zealand 11-1 (Williamson 2, Munro 0) Munro doesn’t hang about, two fours - a slash though the covers, a power-push down the ground. They’ll laugh off that early wicket - won’t they?
News on Rashid Khan after that bang on the helmet. He
is not on the field, he’s failed his first concussion test. They’ll give him another one in 45 minutes.
The headband warrior gets a breakthrough with the very first ball of the innings! An inside edge onto his pad which loops up to backward point.
Taunton is looking gorgeous by the way. Hope the crowd, which looks good on the telly at least, get some thing like a match here. As a county cricket media officer said to me last week, “I like Somerset. A proper club that does things properly.”
Ah, here come the players - Guptill and Munro for New Zealand. Everyone’s favourite minnow (are they still minnows?) against everyone’s second team. Aftab Alam takes the first over.
Thank you Tim, my first proper boss and how lucky I was! He even paid me a small sum for work experience- back in 1997 - which was unusual to say the least, but just the way it should be. Enough now of the love-in, how about this game?
Afghanistan will be disappointed with their final total after being 61-0 off the first ten. But, thanks to that last hit-a-long from Hashmatullah, they have a (small) chance. So long as Rashid Khan isn’t too hurt after being hit on the helmet. News to follow.
That was a strange innings. What’s the Afghan idiom for the curate’s egg? They started superbly, racing to 66-0 off 64 balls as Hazratullah roared and Noor Ali purred. Then they collapsed, perhaps on the basis of when in England, do as the English do. But in between the showers they showed some fight, even though the pitch had quickened up and the New Zealanders were suddenly fancying themselves as the West Indians of the Seventies. Jimmy Neesham picked up a five-for, though to my eye Lockie Ferguson was even better. One of these days, we will realise that NZ should be right up there among the favourites for this World Cup.
That’s it from me – it’ll be Tanya Aldred, The Guardian’s queen of the county scene, to see you through. I remember when she was just the work-experience kid at Wisden. Thanks for your company, your emails, and your geological bibliography.
That’s that! Hashmatullah has a flail at Ferguson, whose pace carries the ball to third man, where Henry takes a sharp tumbling catch as his shades fly off towards fine leg. So Hashmatullah finally departs for 59 off 99 balls, Ferguson has 4 for 37, and NZ have to get 173 to maintain their 100-per-cent record. It should be a cakewalk, but you never know.
“There is no Afghan commentator on the ICC/Sunset+Vine roster,” says Romeo, darkly. “Why not? Every other team has at least one and many have loads. There is something wrong here.”
41st over: Afghanistan 172-9 (Hashmatullah 59, Hassan 7) Hashmatullah has been shepherding Hassan, shielding him from the strike and giving him little lectures, but now he leaves him to face five balls from Boult and Hassan is up to the task.
40th over: Afghanistan 171-9 (Hashmatullah 58, Hassan 7) Against the odds, these two are hanging in there.
Edmund King has waited two hours for an answer to his question about geology books (15:22), but then what’s two hours in 66 million years? And now we have one. “My wife still has a few geology/Earth Sciences books from her student days, which I’ve dug out,” says John Starbuck. “They are fairly dated by now” – is that a joke? – “but there might be later editions: 1) The Story of the Earth by Patrick Moore and Peter Cattermole; 2) The Inacessible Earth by G. C. Brown and A.E. Mussett; 3) Mineralogy for students by M.H. Battey. Good fossicking!” I’m just wondering which one you’ve made up.
39th over: Afghanistan 168-9 (Hashmatullah 56, Hassan 6) A few dots, and then Hashmatullah spots Boult’s yorker, actually a full toss, and plays a very classy clip to deep square leg’s right. That went off the bat so fast that you rather fear for the Afghanis if Guptill gets going.
38th over: Afghanistan 163-9 (Hashmatullah 51, Hassan 6) Ferguson tries a yorker and Hashmatullah is equal to it, digging it out so well that he gets four to long-on, and completing a fine fighting fifty off 84 balls. It’s largely thanks to him that Afghanistan are still out there.
37th over: Afghanistan 158-9 (Hashmatullah 46, Hassan 6) While all this has been happening, Hashmatullah has been up the other end, like a teenager at a wedding, lurking in the corner and hoping you won’t realise that he’s there with his parents. Facing Boult, he picks up four off a top-edged hook.
36th over: Afghanistan 153-9 (Hashmatullah 41, Hassan 6) Do Afghanistan bat all the way down? Hamid Hassan comes in, plays a very classy on-drive for four, and moves to six off two balls. For the Afghanis, it’s a funny young game.
“Afghan Harrow cut?” wonders Peter Rowntree. “How about a Kyber chop?” Nice one.
Live by the slog, die by the slog. Aftab slaps a short ball into the clouds and Tom Latham does a good job of motoring into no-man’s-land, waiting several minutes, and not letting the ball bounce out of his gloves as it returns to earth’s orbit.
35th over: Afghanistan 139-8 (Hashmatullah 41, Aftab 6) Aftab is approaching the task the way Darren Gough once did, as if the crowd had all come to see him bat. Sometimes he even connects with the ball. Meanwhile, in Cardiff, England have taken a couple of quick wickets, but Shakib al Hasan has a hundred.
34th over: Afghanistan 135-8 (Hashmatullah 39, Aftab 4) Some defiance is needed and Aftab Alam provides it, stepping away to blast Ferguson through the covers. Off one ball, Aftab scores twice as many runs as Ikram managed in 22, which rather makes you wonder what Ikram was doing at No.8.
That’s a nasty blow in more than one sense. A length ball from Ferguson reared up at Rashid, hitting him on the grille and then ricocheting into the stumps. He stops ten yards into the long walk off, clearly feeling groggy. Hope he’s OK – it’s been a bad day for it, with the net bowler hit by a shot from David Warner earlier. And that’s drinks, with poor Afghanistan reeling.
33rd over: Afghanistan 130-7 (Hashmatullah 38, Rashid Khan 0) Rashid can bat, which is lucky because Afghanistan could do with another hundred here.
Ikram finally locates the middle of his bat, and it’s the end of him. A full ball outside off, a decent connection but a touch late on it, and a simple catch at backward point. He was adhesive while he lasted, helping Hashmatullah add 21 off 52 balls.
32nd over: Afghanistan 130-6 (Hashmatullah 38, Ikram 2) Ikram gets another run! And it’s another edge, but very different – he aimed into the covers, it went towards mid-on, and he scuttled through for a rather risky single.
31st over: Afghanistan 129-6 (Hashmatullah 38, Ikram 1) Ikram is off the mark! With an edge! That was dropped! By Taylor at slip, tipping it over the bar.
30th over: Afghanistan 127-6 (Hashmatullah 37, Ikram 0) Neesham’s looking for a sixth scalp, and even Hashmatullah can see that the thing to do is just to keep him out. Neesham finishes with 10-1-31-5 after grabbing a wicket in each of his first three overs and a couple more in his seventh – he even had time for a wobble in the middle. Those are the best figures of his professional career, never mind international.
29th over: Afghanistan 126-6 (Hashmatullah 36, Ikram 0) Nearly another one as Hashmatullah inside-edges Henry past his leg stump. Anybody know the Afghani expression for Harrow cut?
28th over: Afghanistan 121-6 (Hashmatullah 31, Ikram 0) Yet another one-run over, from Neesham. Ikram has now survived nine balls, mostly by swaying out of the line.
“G’day Tim.” G’day Geoff Lemon, Guardian contributor and winner of the Wisden Book of the Year award. “Adam [Collins] and I had a really interesting interview with Neesham a few days ago, where he talked about having been a perfectionist to the point that he came to hate cricket. And now having changed that to just enjoying what he does, so he can relax. Could be worth linking to given his five-for.”
27th over: Afghanistan 120-6 (Hashmatullah 30, Ikram 0) That’s better! Matt Henry returns and Hashmatullah slaps him through the covers for a handsome four.
Abhijato answers my question [15:51], which presumably means it’s no longer rhetorical. “As it turns out to be,” he says, “I’m a sixteen year old student living in Kolkata, India. Courtesy BCCI and its control over the schedule (not that I encourage it), all the day World Cup matches start at 3pm in my timezone, so I can follow the OBOs even as I oversleep every morning (source: Mother). Courtesy my school, the summer vacation has been going on for almost a month now, leaving me plenty of free time after I distribute my study and assignment completion hours throughout the day to accommodate this cricket-watching schedule. My school will reopen from next Monday, hence curtailing my future participation in your live coverage. Hope to send in emails time-to-time anyways!” My hunch is you’ll manage it. There’s a whole world in that paragraph.
26th over: Afghanistan 115-6 (Hashmatullah 25, Ikram 0) Hashmatullah can’t resist a waft at Neesham, which connects only with thin air. He’s carrying the hopes of a nation here and he needs to stick around for at least an hour.
25th over: Afghanistan 114-6 (Hashmatullah 24, Ikram 0) Out comes Ikram Alikhil, who is 18 and only just off the plane. As a teenager with jetlag, he’s got to be grateful that this is a day-nighter. He’s sufficiently awake to keep out a yorker from Trent Boult, and then to arch back and evade a lifter. No runs yet, but two feathers in his cap already.
24th over: Afghanistan 109-6 (Hashmatullah 19, Ikram 0) Neesham, so good in his first spell, was only middling in his second until that over, but now he has the formidable figures of 7-1-28-5.
And another! A better ball from Neesham, who finds steep lift in the corridor, and that’s a five-for.
Just when they were eyeing respectability, Afghanistan slip back into the mire. Nabi tries a dab off Neesham, misjudges the bounce and presents Latham with the simplest of catches.
23rd over: Afghanistan 100-4 (Nabi 9, Hashmatullah 14) After a 27-minute break, the players are back on the field. Trent Boult is bowling, two balls into his second spell: he completes an over that goes for just a single. Apparently it’s still a 50-over match, which may not play to Afghanistan’s strengths any more than this blustery day.
Play will resume at 4.05pm, in five minutes, according to our friends at Cricinfo. The same wind that is blowing the rain in and out at Taunton is making its presence felt at Cardiff, where CricViz noted a short time ago that 96 per cent of Jofra Archer’s deliveries had been clocked at 140kph. He’s off now, but Mark Wood is on, which is a fine example of the fire giving way to the frying pan.
More on Afghanistan’s game plan. “James Wrout [15:24] is nine-tenths right,” says Romeo, “but Afghanistan’s young players are used to much shorter games where it’s six or miss (or out). Hazrat first played with a hard ball only six years ago, and the tape-ball game the youngsters in Afghanistan play is usually ten overs per innings. As Hazrat says, you have to go for a six every ball. It’ll take a while for them to get into the habit of not getting out, but there are players who can do this.”
An email for anyone who was watching children’s telly in Britain in about 1971. “I’m enjoying the occasional aerial view of the village of Trumpton,” says Alistair Connor. “‘This is the clock... The Taunton clock...’ It’s a bit niche, but frankly Taunton doesn’t ring any other bells for me, and I’ve driven through it at least once. ‘Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb’ are presumably the backbone of the local XI?” Ha.
“A message of optimism,” declares Abhijato Sensarma. Where are you, Abhi, and do you ever sleep? “Afghanistan are scoring at round 4.50 rpo. They might have lost wickets but they have surprising batting depth, with a majestically wristy Rashid coming in only at number eight! Rather than taking risks, the conditions are helpful enough to let them peacefully knock the ball around. If they manage to get a score in excess of 240+, panic can easily set in for the Kiwis. They’re known to start too slowly and rely too much on Ross Taylor and/or the lower middle order rescuing them, especially during chases. If the spinners can keep their act together while eking out a few wickets too, something special could indeed take place. The thriller is still afoot!” Full marks for positivity, but I’d like to see you tell Martin Guptill he’s a slow starter.
Where’s Annie Lennox when you need her? The PA goes for Prince instead.
22nd over: Afghanistan 99-4 (Nabi 9, Hashmatullah 13) Another good over for Afghanistan as Nabi cuts for a measured two and Neesham, straying onto the pads, throws in four leg byes. This partnership is 29 off eight overs, and worth twice that in the circumstances.
21st over: Afghanistan 90-4 (Nabi 7, Hashmatullah 12) We’re back, de Grandhomme is still on, and Hashmatullah is in the mood, hitting a majestic cover drive. Officially, no time has been lost, so it’s still a 50-over match, in theory.
James Wrout is back for more. “I think my two favourite teams (Afg and WI) both suffer from the same deficiency,” he sighs. “It’s either dots or fours. I wish they could turn the strike over more often, like India and England do. I’m no tactical genius, so the coaches are probably ahead of me with this idea. What a shame it hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Play will resume at 3.30, in about ten minutes, assuming the weather doesn’t do another about-turn. That’s Afghanistan’s job.
“A slow accumulation of strata,” says an email subject line. Edmund King, you know how to leave the reader wanting more. “I can’t help feeling that this game, with its slow accumulations of scoring, its occasional sudden unconformities, and now the steady drift of wind and rain across the landscape, feels very geological. Or perhaps I’m projecting. I’ve spent much of the last week wandering the coastal paths around Berwick and have become obsessed with the Lower Carboniferous, which is a turn of events I did not see coming. Does anyone out there have any recommendations for books that can be read by someone who knows little about British rocks and landforms, but would like to learn?”
Guess what? The sun is now shining. The umps are in the middle, showing off their scarlet anoraks.
It’s now raining hard– “stair rods!” according to Mark Nicholas – so you have permission to follow the action elsewhere, as long as you stay with The Guardian. Djokovic is out! And England’s seamers, of whom there are five today, have started solidly against Bangladesh.
Related: Afghanistan v New Zealand: Cricket World Cup 2019 – live!
20th over: Afghanistan 84-4 (Nabi 6, Hashmatullah 7) Neesham continues, but maybe that change of ends was a mistake. Nabi lofts him for what feels like four or six all the way, only for the ball to stop in the soggy turf. And now they’re off for rain. Pity, but the wind should send it on its way fairly soon.
19th over: Afghanistan 79-4 (Nabi 3, Hashmatullah 6) Is the nightmare over? We can but hope, as there’s a single or two and even a cut for four, by Hashmatullah off de Grandhomme. What Ferguson has done to be taken off is not quite clear. A few captains in this World Cup seem to be playing by the usual conventions rather than going for the kill – Jason Holder did it against Australia, taking Oshane Thomas off when he was on fire, and it probably cost them the match.
“How’s the OBO?” wonders my colleague Emma John. “I’m covering the game in Taunton. I think you’d really like the playlist they’ve got on the PA down here at Taunton. It’s pretty indie. At the end of the first over I heard the words ‘Barbra Streis-end’ over the tannoy and thought maybe the ICC had renamed the ends as well as the grounds. Then I realised they were playing Duck Sauce.”
18th over: Afghanistan 72-4 (Nabi 1, Hashmatullah 1) Now we see why Neesham went off – he was just changing ends, having clearly decided that he could do better than snapping up three quick wickets. That’s another maiden. Off the last 44 balls, Afghanistan have amassed 6 for 4.
17th over: Afghanistan 72-4 (Nabi 1, Hashmatullah 1) Not much happening in this over, apart from two oddities. A bowler with three for 10 is taken off, as Neesham gives way to de Grandhomme. And a batsman, Hashmatullah, gets off the mark from his 20th ball.
16th over: Afghanistan 71-4 (Nabi 1, Hashmatullah 0) Yet another maiden from Ferguson. This has turned into a Test match, with slips and leg slips. And it’s not a form of the game that the Afghanis are used to. If you’ve ever felt like emailing the OBO, now’s your chance.
15th over: Afghanistan 71-4 (Nabi 1, Hashmatullah 0) Slight pause there while I called Tanya Aldred to warn her that this innings may not go the distance. She was at the cricket in a way – a fund-raising afternoon for her daughter’s team. Something to do with forgetting the prizes for the raffle: proper creekit. Now come on Afghanistan, dig in for a few overs.
If Ultra Edge was a person, it might decide, in the interests of a proper day out for the crowd, that there was no edge. But it’s not, so Gulbadin has to go. And that’s drinks, with a dream start for Afghanistan turning into a nightmare.
Gulbadin is given caught behind, slashing at a wide one from Neesham, and he’s looking for a reprieve, possibly out of sheer desperation.
14th over: Afghanistan 70-3 (Gulbadin 4, Hashmatullah 0) Another maiden from Ferguson, who now has the improbable figures of 3-2-9-1. He would have been right at home in the first World Cup, 44 years ago.
13th over: Afghanistan 70-3 (Gulbadin 4, Hashmatullah 0) The captain, Gulbadin, has had enough of this nonsense: he sees a short one so early that his pull goes straight back past Neesham. But before that we had three wickets for no runs in the space of 11 balls. After a terrific powerplay, the wheels have come off.
Another one! Oh dear. Rahmat sees something juicy on his legs, only to get a leading edge and present Guptill at gully with the easiest of catches. This game has spun through 180 degrees in about five minutes.
12th over: Afghanistan 66-2 (Rahmat 0, Hashmatullah 0) Ferguson, who earned the wicket with his extra bounce, completes a wicket-maiden with a 91mph bat-beater outside off. Hashmatullah did well not to hit that.
Meanwhile, in Cardiff, England have made the highest score of this World Cup, and their own highest in World Cup history. See what Rob Smyth made of it here.
Nooooooooor! A bouncer from Ferguson, a tickle or a glove, a catch behind, and the end of the classiest 31 you’ll ever see.
11th over: Afghanistan 66-1 (Noor Ali 31, Rahmat 0) Now they’ve seen off Henry too (5-0-38-0). Jimmy Neesham enters the fray and there’s more sumptuousness from Noor Ali, who off-drives like a star. But then Neesham strikes as Hazrat gets a bit carried away with his own stroke-making.
I got ahead of myself there and so did Hazrat, who scoops a square something and picks out Munro at deep point. Shame.
10th over: Afghanistan 61-0 (Hazratullah 34, Noor Ali 26) Another little victory for Afghanistan: they’ve seen off Trent Boult, who was testing as usual (4-0-13-0). Lockie Ferguson comes on, bringing a gift for Hazrat, who leg-glances for four. And then Noor spots a full one and crunches it away with a square drive to round off the powerplay in style.
“Teacher’s pest,” is how Brian Withington begins his latest. “As someone perhaps guilty of sticking his hand up rather too often, might I be permitted a further observation?” Oh, go on then. “It sounds like a cracking day for competitive kite flying between innings - where you attempt to cut the opposition string and then chase after the downed kite. I believe it’s a very big deal in Afghanistan.”
9th over: Afghanistan 51-0 (Hazratullah 30, Noor Ali 21) Hazrat’s policy of going aerial finally pays off with swivel for six off Henry. And then he tries an orthodox cricket shot, with a rasping cut for four. That’s fifty up, and a big boost for Afghanistan – their best opening stand for ages.
“I have a feeling about this game,” says Romeo. “With Noor Ali in and Rahmat to come, there will be backbone for the hitters to bat around. I hope I feel the same later on. I’ve been following Afghan cricket for years now and even flew for four hours to see them at Lord’s against MCC. I think there’s a bit of disinformation floating around about Asghar: as I understand it, he has an injury (could be wrong). In any event, AfghanAtalan!”
8th over: Afghanistan 39-0 (Hazratullah 19, Noor Ali 20) The better Noor plays, the worse Hazrat gets. He wafts at Boult and is dropped by Ross Taylor at first slip. It was a tough one, fast and high.
Here’s a rather irate email. “This is NOT a minor match, Tim.” OK... “Apart from the futile pleasure of seeing NZ at the top of the points table for as long as possible, it’s all about the glorious stealth march to the semis. They looked a bit genteel against Sri Lanka, they need to learn to put the boot in. England and India seem nailed on for the semis, and in spite of my moral obligation to think the worst of Australia, they are looking good too. “So. Rendezvous at Old Trafford on the 22nd, for the quarter-final against West Indies – as it happens my mate Stanley from Trinidad has got us tickets.”
7th over: Afghanistan 37-0 (Hazratullah 18, Noor Ali 19) Noor has now decided to be Greg Chappell. He plays the shot of the day, an on-drive with a flick of the wrist. “Three exquisite shots from Noor Ali,” says a Kiwi voice.
“Sorry if I missed something,” says a very polite James Wrout, “but has there been any explanation for Mo Shahzad not playing? Dropped? Injured? Important lunch appointment?” Ha. It’s a knee injury, bad enough to rule him out of the rest of the World Cup. Big moment for his understudy, Ikram Alikhil, who was born this century – he’s 18, and already has a Test cap in his backpack.
6th over: Afghanistan 33-0 (Hazratullah 18, Noor Ali 15) Boult tries a wide yorker to Noor, who reaches it on the full and straight-drives, again, for four. You may reach for the sky, he’s telling Hazrat, but I’ll keep my feats on the ground.
5th over: Afghanistan 27-0 (Hazratullah 17, Noor Ali 10) A lovely straight drive from Noor, and then the Afghanis throw classicism to the wind. Hazrat sends a skyer to deep midwicket, where two fielders converge without getting a hand on it. Then he hits the ball even higher, and three men pile in, including de Grandhomme, who drops it.
4th over: Afghanistan 19-0 (Hazratullah 14, Noor Ali 5) Another tight over, from Boult, who does appeal for LBW against Hazrat. It’s not given and Boult doesn’t review, wisely, as it was leg-stump-ish and there was an inside edge.
Meanwhile there’s been an alarming incident in the nets at the Oval, where an unnamed bowler was hit on the head by a stroke from David Warner.
3rd over: Afghanistan 18-0 (Hazratullah 14, Noor Ali 4) Hazrat slugs Henry to leg and almost picks out the man at deep midwicket, but it would only be a problem if they were playing one-hand-one-bounce. Henry restores order, helped by some sharp fielding by Santner. There’s a roaring wind, better for the Afghan flag-wavers than for the bowlers.
2nd over: Afghanistan 16-0 (Hazratullah 13, Noor Ali 3) At the other end it’s Trent Boult, ranked No.2 in the world. He finds some swing and is half-way to appealing for LBW when Noor Ali jabs down with a leading edge. In the scorebook, it will look perfectly fine, as it goes for two.
1st over: Afghanistan 12-0 (Hazratullah 12, Noor Ali 0) Matt Henry is having a great tournament already, but being a New Zealander, he has gone widely unnoticed. He tries an early bouncer, which Hazratullah hooks nicely. Henry bites back, drawing the edge, but that goes for four too. And then Hazrat swats another four past midwicket. Henry again responds, beating the bat. We have a contest already.
Do send in an email if you feel like it, especially (at the risk of sounding like a teacher) if you don’t usually put your hand up. I’d love to know what you think, where you are and what else you’re up to today.
“How,” asks Andrew Harrison, “do you think Afghanistan will react to the disappointment of their last game? Is there much chance they can pull off an upset here?” Well, most of them have dealt with bigger disappointments, so yes, there is a chance, but it’s slim, and it got a little slimmer when Kane Williamson won the toss. The pitch looks a touch green, but Taunton is usually full of runs and Afghanistan probably need 250 to make a game of it.
It was 20 years ago today (plus a fortnight), Sgt Sourav told the band to play. The last time Taunton hosted a men’s ODI was at the 1999 World Cup, when India played Sri Lanka. The day is remembered for one thing – a stand of 318 by Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. It ought to be known for something else too: being a first taste of ODI cricket for a Somerset boy called Jos Buttler, who went along as a spectator, aged eight, and formed the impression that you are supposed to hit the ball out of the ground – something he’s just done, for the millionth time, in Cardiff.
“Would’ve liked NZ to bat,” says Joachim Suggate, “and see what kind of total they could put up.” Amen to that, but maybe Afghanistan can catch them under the lights, which are brand new and therefore liable to go wrong.
Is this an email I see before me?
“Anyone for Porter?” asks Brian Withington, spotting my source for the last line of the preamble. “Afternoon Tim. Showing an early glimpse of stocking? God that man knew how to write a lyric ...” He did. But let’s face it, if he was starting out today, he’d be writing for the OBO.
One team is unchanged, and you can probably guess which.
Afghanistan 1 Hazratullah, 2 Noor Ali, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah, 5 Nabi, 6 Gulbadin (capt), 7 Najibullah, 8 Ikram Alikhil (wkt), 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Aftab Alam, 11 Hamid Hassan.
Great for the leaders, not so good for the game.
Afternoon everyone. (Anyone?) This is the game for you if you support New Zealand, have a soft spot for Afghanistan, can’t abide England or like a bit of novelty. These two teams have only ever met once in one-day internationals, in the last World Cup, when Daniel Vettori made sure it wasn’t much of a contest. But that was in Napier, where I suspect there weren’t many Afghanistan supporters. Today, in Taunton, at the weekend, the cheers should be more evenly distributed.
The New Zealanders are top of the table with two wins out of two and a commanding net run rate, but they’ve had a relatively gentle start (Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). Afghanistan have lost to Australia and, more painfully, to Sri Lanka, but they’re spirited and skilful and will surely rattle one of the big teams in this World Cup. Today would be a great time to do it, as it would prove, with four weeks of the round robin still to come, that these days, heaven knows, anything goes.
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