Afghanistan coach Trott: Sometimes we take things like drainage ‘for granted’

Drainage of the ground. Weather watch in the lead up to a game. Taking care of a wet outfield. Players’ safety on the field after heavy rainfall.

“We’re disappointed. We’d geared ourselves up, and we’d trained really well,” Trott said in particular about the first two days. “So really disappointed. The thing was we got to train on the square [on] the days before, so we got to see the pitch. The guys were starting to get there; their appetite for the game was growing even more. So heartbreaking not to be able to play.

“What I hope it is, it’s just a good learning case that things can crop up… everything has got to be checked out and made sure that it’s ready for Test-match cricket. And I think sometimes we take it for granted when we go and play all these things that have already been done in the past for other nations or other venues – with regards to drainage or ground staff, all those sort of things.

“I think the ground staff have worked, obviously, very hard here. It just unfortunately hasn’t materialised, and we’ve had a freakish amount of rain for this time of year because that’s what I’m being told by the locals. They’re probably no better than me.”

Compared to the first two days, the third and fourth days saw overnight rain and early showers too, which led to both days being called off even before the scheduled start of play at 9.30am local time. Since the outfield was not playable even under the sun on the first two days, rain on the next two worsened the ground situation so much that the fate of the fifth day was pretty much known on the fourth morning itself.

Trott said that despite being able to play intra-squad warm-up games after arriving in Greater Noida, which is an adopted home ground for them, and getting used to the conditions well before New Zealand’s arrival, seeing the first two days without play was not ideal as his players would have learnt a lot from this experience.

“The real sad thing is I think it was going to be a really good pitch, and it would have been a good contest, which is a disappointing thing,” Trott said. “So that’s the most disheartening thing, I suppose, for all of us. I think we could have gained whether we won or lost. I think the players would have learnt a hell of a lot in this format of the game, which is the challenge going forward in red-ball cricket for Afghanistan. But it’s the occasion as well. The historic moment of playing against New Zealand for the players – they would have been very proud of that.”

A lot of questions are being raised about the standards of the preparation of the ground, especially the outfield, which were highlighted by how a patch of grass in the midwicket region was plucked out and replaced by a similar patch of the nets, even as Trott rued the fact that no play could occur at all.

“I think it’s a case of time of year,” he said. “To try and play a Test match this time of year is always tricky… obviously disappointed that we haven’t been able to play, and the amount of water that’s come down is unprecedented for this time of year or the last three days. But it would have been nice to play some cricket for sure.”

“We’ve seen the development in the last two years in the white-ball side of the game. So I’d like to see that progression, and that desire and hunger for it to grow in the same manner”

Jonathan Trott on Afghanistan’s progress

Afghanistan had a rare opportunity to play a Test match against a much higher-ranked side, with their next three Test series against Zimbabwe (two series) and Ireland in the following 12 months. Their immediate focus will now move to the ODI series against South Africa later this month, but Trott also wants to see the Afghanistan Test side grow “in the same manner” as they have in the white-ball formats in recent years, including their maiden semi-final appearance in the T20 World Cup in June this year.

“For me, it’s a case of making sure that the players are looked after, [and] that the players are able to flourish and grow as a side in this format of the game,” he said. “We’ve seen the development in the last two years in the white-ball side of the game. So I’d like to see that progression, and that desire and hunger for it to grow in the same manner.

“And I want to see Afghanistan have the same sort of passion and desire in the red-ball [format] as much as it is in the white-ball formats. So I think it’s attainable. But like anything, it’s going to take time, and it’s going to take a lot of effort. It’s going to take a lot of communication between the management, and the players and coaches.

“I think if you want to progress, you need to start at the grassroots before you see the benefit of that. I don’t think enough red-ball cricket is played. But again, it’s very new to the format. I think facility-wise, it maybe is the issue. I think there certainly isn’t a lack of players. People are desperate to play cricket, and so the passion is there. It’s about now being able to match the passion with the ability to allow the players to enhance and get better at this format of the game. But I think it’s maybe an issue worldwide with regards to red ball – the lure of white-ball cricket, and the glitz and the glamour.”