Fast bowler Sam Curran returned figures of 5-10 to help England beat Afghanistan by five wickets in their opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup in Perth on Saturday.
Curran claimed four wickets in six balls at the death after Mark Wood and Ben Stokes had taken two wickets apiece as Afghanistan were bowled out for 112 in 19.4 overs.
As notable, though, was England’s fielding – a fine high catch from Adil Rashid and a leaping one-handed grab by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler were the highlights.
England’s batting order misfired in the chase, slipping to 97-5 against Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack but the target was never likely to be defendable.
Liam Livingstone ended 29 not out as England won with 11 balls remaining.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand stunned hosts and defending champions Australia in the same group. England slip in behind the Black Caps in second place.
Their next game is against Ireland on Wednesday, followed by Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground two days later.
England win game in the field
Their sloppiness with the bat will take some shine off the win but, after a week of shocks in the first group stage, England will simply be happy to avoid a similar fate against a dangerous Afghanistan side.
The batting lacked a ruthless edge but their performance in the field was as good as any in recent memory.
Wood began a spell of ferocious pace bowling – the fastest recorded at a T20 World Cup – by having Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught behind with his first ball to start the third over.
After that, the clinic of catching began.
First, Liam Livingstone sprinted around from deep cover before diving to cling on to see off Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Then Moeen Ali ran back to take one dropping over his shoulder from extra cover as Ibrahim Zadran – Afghanistan’s highest scorer – was dismissed for a run-a-ball 32.
The pick was Rashid’s take. He ran back from mid-wicket to catch a skier from Najibullah Zadran out of the night sky before captain Mohammad Nabi gloved one to the diving Buttler down the leg side.
It was a showing that allowed England’s batters plenty of room for manoeuvre – room they surprisingly needed.
Curran had one wicket for eight runs when he began the 18th over, with Afghanistan still holding some hope of boosting their total from 106-5.
Ten balls later he had bettered England’s previous best figures – Adil Rashid’s 4-2 against West Indies in 2021.
The 24-year-old all-rounder has quickly become England’s go-to death bowler. Again, he impressively closed out the innings with slower-ball bouncers.
“At the start of the game, I didn’t expect to be walking off like that but it was a great performance by the boys,” Curran said.
Impressive too was Stokes, who bowled the first over and deserved his two wickets. Crucially, the all-rounder performs with the ball it allowing England to continue to play all seven of their big-hitting batters.
source – BBC
