It is commonplace for national teams to be coached by foreigners but Jonathan Trott, who has been in position for almost two years, is yet to even visit Afghanistan. Sitting in the lobby of a Trinidad hotel, a former England international Jonathan Trott is wearing a San Francisco 49ers t-shirt and watching South Africa play Bangladesh on Long Island on TV.
Jonathan Trott’s next assignment is a coaching meeting ahead of a match against Papua New Guinea. His team is hoping to eliminate either West Indies or New Zealand from the men’s T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan impressive performance under Jonathan Trott in WT20 2024
“The face of the game is changing,” says Jonathan Trott, to this cosmopolitan backdrop. “It’s always been very much a colonial sport, but the world is changing now. Maybe it’ll follow football and start to become global?”
Trott should know: he coaches an Afghanistan side who have risen from nowhere to break into cricket’s established powers. They were tipped by many as genuine contenders at the T20 World Cup and proved why on Friday night, inflicting an 84-run thrashing on New Zealand in Guyana. Having cruised past Uganda in their opening game, Afghanistan have the best net run rate (5.225) in the tournament.
It means they can effectively seal their place in the Super 8s by beating PNG on Thursday. “We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us,” Trott cautions. “It’s just about the guys keeping their feet on the ground and not getting too carried away: things can go well quickly, but they can also go south quickly. Our focus is just on that PNG game.”
But after last Friday’s win, he encouraged his players to recognize their achievements. Mohammad Nabi, the veteran allrounder, has represented Afghanistan for two decades: this was the first time he had beaten New Zealand.
“I wanted to make the point that what they’re working at is paying off… There’s so much franchise cricket now that the specialness and the pride in playing for your nation is sometimes a little bit lost.” , Trott said.
Trinidad’s World Cup fixtures are being staged at the new Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba, but the historic Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain is being used as a training base. Trott’s side will visit on Tuesday and Wednesday and he will soak in the history at a venue synonymous with regional pride during West Indies’ periods of dominance: they were unbeaten there in Tests for 20 years between 1978 and 1998.
“One of the things I’ve always enjoyed is going on tours to places where other teams have been before, and walking in other people’s footsteps, other teams’ history,” Trott says.
“When I used to go on tour with England, you’d see pictures from the old MCC tours: I remember being at Adelaide Oval, and walking around the Bradman Museum. I found it fascinating.”
He never toured Trinidad with England, making his debut five months after their most recent Test at Queen’s Park Oval. “Coming to the Caribbean, you watch the footage of [Michael] Atherton and [Alec] Stewart getting absolutely clattered on an uneven pitch… It’s a shame we’re not going to Jamaica and seeing the old ground. I love coming to each island with its own history.”
That view has informed his attitude to letting Afghanistan’s players celebrate their wins – including at last year’s 50-over World Cup, when they turned over England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Netherlands. “I want them to sit down together for an hour and realize they are creating history for other players, who are going to wear those shirts one day and walk in their footsteps.”
Despite Jonathan Trott’s pride in those victories, there is a lingering disappointment that Afghanistan missed out on the semi-finals in India. He does not need reminding that they had Australia 91 for 7 chasing 292 to win in Mumbai before Glenn Maxwell’s sensational double-hundred.
Coach Jonathan Trott opens up on learning Pashto phrases for communicating effectively with Afghanistan players
Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott has admitted that team meetings take slightly longer due to the language barrier between him and the players. However, the former England Test cricketer has still learned a few Pashto words and phrases to make communication easier. Jonathan Trott, who became the head coach of Afghanistan in July 2022, has done a commendable job thus far.
The 43-year-old oversaw their stunning performance in the 2023 World Cup, where Afghanistan defeated the likes of England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Netherlands. They are also unbeaten so far in T20 World Cup 2024.
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Jonathan Trott said:
“I’ve learned a few words and phrases [of Pashto] but I get stuff translated. Team meetings take a little bit longer, but it’s something I’ve learned as well: that art of communication.”
With the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, Trott claimed that he tried to keep the cricketers’ attention away from it as much as possible.
“I try not to get involved in that side of things and to keep it away from the players. Everyone’s got their own ideas, but I keep everything about cricket. If there’s something that needs attention – like during the [50-over] World Cup, there was the earthquake – then everyone is focused on that and donations to charity, and that’s great,” he said.
The Cape Town-born former batter understands how painful it might be for players to remember some of the experiences, but is proud of them for emerging well out of those.
“But otherwise, I try to keep the attention here and keep all the political distraction away. You speak to a lot of the guys about growing up and they don’t need to be reminded of things. There are some stories which make me feel very lucky with the upbringing I had and the opportunities I was afforded… I find it remarkable, these players’ upbringing and to play at the level they are now. It’s truly mind-blowing,” Trott added.
The Taliban’s governance has seen Cricket Australia refuse to arrange bilateral series with the men’s team due to restrictions on women’s employment opportunities and freedom. The England Cricket Board (ECB) has taken a similar stance.
Jonathan Trott confident that Afghanistan can achieve something special in WT20 2024
Jonathan Trott admitted that some areas of their batting still need some refining, but trusts that they are starting to see their best version.
“We’re blessed, and maybe ahead of the curve in some ways. But there are some areas of our batting that we may need to work on and that haven’t been coached as much at a young level as they would be in a more developed Test nation. Hopefully, we are starting to see what we can achieve,” he said.
With Afghanistan not playing top-tier teams that regularly, the former Warwickshire cricketer reckons it works to their advantage.
“We don’t have that experience of playing the major, powerhouse nations – but I think that works in our favour. When you play against the same opposition all the time, you can line them up a bit. They’ve played against some of our guys in franchise cricket, but as a collective group, it’s a different story,” he added.
Afghanistan will face Papua New Guinea in their next T20 World Cup 2024 game on Friday, June 14.