Early T20 World Cup exit threatens Black Caps after 84-run loss to Afghanistan
Saturday, 8 June 2024
T20 World Cup, Providence, Guyana: Afghanistan 159-6 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80 from 56 balls, Ibrahim Zadran 44 from 41; Trent Boult 2-22 from 4 overs) beat New Zealand 75 all out in 15.2 overs (Fazalhaq Farooqi 4-17 from 3.2 overs, Rahid Khan 4-17 from 4) by 84 runs.
The Black Caps could have their World Cup effectively ended five days after it started.
A humbling 84-run defeat by Afghanistan in Guyana on Saturday (NZ time) means New Zealand must now beat Twenty20 World Cup co-hosts the West Indies on Thursday or face a rare early exit.
Their two other rivals in Group C are Papua New Guinea and Uganda - which should guarantee them four points from two wins.
But a loss to the Windies would mean Gary Stead’s troops would be relying on a shock result - Uganda beating the co-hosts or Afghanistan losing to PNG - to even give them a chance of being one of the two sides to advance to the Super Eight stage of the tournament.
New Zealand entered the tournament with major concerns surrounding the lack of cricket for most of their players.
And so it proved - you could have pulled a Raleigh 20 out of a long-forgotten fishing hole this week and it wouldn’t have been as rusty as New Zealand’s fielding and batting.
Somewhat weirdly, they bowled commendably - despite Trent Boult being the only member of the quintet with recent regular matchplay.
But sloppy fielding allowed Afghanistan’s openers to set a platform that enabled the side to tally 159-6 from their 20 overs.
New Zealand never recovered from a horror start and their net run rate of -4.20 is already hugely problematic too.
There was a surprise to see legspinner Ish Sodhi omitted from the 1st XI, with offspinning allrounder Michael Bracewell included to bolster the batting as Matt Henry joined Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson in the pace ranks.
Captain Kane Williamson also raised some eyebrows by opting to bowl first after winning the toss, but the coin-toss was where the good fortunes ended for the 2022 semifinalists and 2021 runners-up.
Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz was on 12 when a delivery from Mitchell Santner clipped his leg stump, yet somehow the bails stayed on.
The Black Caps gifted the other opener a second chance when Finn Allen used his chest instead of his hands to try and catch Ibrahim Zadran, before wicketkeeper Devon Conway dropped a throw which may have led to a run-out.
New Zealand couldn’t get their lbws to work either - Mitchell Santner’s appeal was granted by the on-field umpire but wiped out after a DRS request by Zadran, and Lockie Ferguson trapped Gurbaz in front but the umpire ruled he’d got an inside-edge, there was no ask for a second opinion and a TV replay indicated there was no wooden touch.
Gurbaz took advantage of reprieves to make 80 from 56 balls and while Santner (0-24 from 4 overs) and Ferguson (1-28 from 4) slowed the opposition, the option to introduce Daryl Mitchell for the 19th over failed as he conceded 16.
Trent Boult’s final over, which saw just two runs come from the bat and left him with figures of 2-22, could have given New Zealand a lift, but that evaporated when Allen’s forgettable evening ended with the first ball of the chase.
Allen and fellow opener Conway - with a combined six months between them with no games of cricket and two injury rehabilitations - were emblematic of New Zealand’s woes as the left-hander fell in the third over.
It didn’t get any better for a side which has made every last-four of a one-day or T20 international championship since 2014.
It was such a woeful batting and fielding display that the most hardened cynics could suggest even wins over the two Group minnows are far from guaranteed.
The Black Caps will have at least played two cricket matches by then - but that may be too late.