Afghanistan coach Trott hits out at bosses after Test thumping by Zimbabwe

BY ENOCK MUCHINJO

HARARE – Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has hit out at the country’s cricket board over overbearing interference in team selection following the Asian side’s heavy Test defeat to Zimbabwe inside two-and-a-half days.

Zimbabwe on Wednesday afternoon wrapped up a thumping innings and 73-run win at Harare Sports Club led by a maiden Test century from man-of-the-match Ben Curran, the brother of England players Sam and Tom Curran.

Former England batsman Trott, Afghanistan’s head coach, said the Afghanistan Cricket Board and selection panel haven’t allowed him to be involved in picking the players.

“Obviously disappointed to not be able to win a Test match or give a better account of ourselves,” Trott told reports on Wednesday after the match.

“The sad thing for me, though, is the fact that I haven’t been able to have any input on the squad. I haven’t had any communication with the top management (of ACB) or with the (head) selector, I’ve been trying to get hold of them for the last couple of weeks. And the chairman, I’ve been trying to get hold of him and I haven’t been able to get any input back on the selection, not only for this squad but for the last few squads since the Asia Cup didn’t go our way. There has sort of been no communication at all. So that’s one of those things that I think as a coach, you should have a little bit of idea or a little bit of input. Certainly the playing eleven, which for this game again wasn’t the case. When you don’t have that input, like I have had in other teams and other tournaments, it is really sad.”

South Africa-born Trott (44) admitted he was frustrated by the state of affairs surrounding the team, adding that his support staff were also excluded from key decisions regarding selection.

“The success I feel we’ve been able to have as a team in the shorter format, I felt they might value my experience, having played a bit of Test cricket under pressure situations all around the world,” Trott said.

“So that’s unfortunate, and you know, I would like to also know why maybe. It’s very frustrating, you know it’s not only frustrating for me but also, none of the other coaches are able to ever put an input into the side. The bowling coach never gets asked with regards to who he thinks should be selected for the next squad, or any input. There is no communication, we just get told what the squad is and that’s it. So there is never any give or take, or things going backwards or forward. So that’s one of the things that’s really sad. There has been good communication in the past since the Asia Cup where we didn’t do as well as we would have liked. That seems to have dried up.”

Quizzed if his position may become unattainable if his grievances are not addressed, Trott said:

“Well, I don't know, I’d like to open up communication. I’ve been told my tenure is sort of until the T20 World Cup so that’s obviously a couple of more months, then after that look if the job description has changed with regards to being the head coach. So my focus now is solely on gaining a bit of momentum, certainly the upcoming T20 series against Zimbabwe who are going to be tough to beat at home. It’s going to be great competition and a great series in the short format so that is exciting for us. That is what we can focus on in the short term and go from there really.”

Afghanistan rested ace spin bowler Rashid Khan for the lone Test match in Zimbabwe, and Trott remarked that his presence was missed.

“It’s no coincidence that every time Afghanistan has won a test match, Rash has been playing,” said Trott.

“We saw Rashid playing the last time at the end of last year and Afghanistan won that game. You need your best players in a Test match. But I understand the amount of toll on his body because of the lots of cricket he plays. We need him to be fresh for the stuff coming up, certainly the T20 World Cup, so for me it’s understandable. It gives opportunities to younger players. It’s unfortunate they were not able to do it in this game. Hopefully they’ve learnt from the experience and will come back better players when they get the opportunity again.”

The two teams will not face off in three T20 internationals in Harare on 29 and 31 October as well as 2 November.