'Bowlers started well but batsmen became caught in a fog'
Wednesday 18 February 2015 17:04, UK
Afghanistan did not give a “true reflection” of their abilities in the World Cup defeat to Bangladesh, says coach Andy Moles.
Afghanistan were beaten by 105 runs in Canberra after being bowled out for 162 in reply to the Bangladesh's total of 267.
Moles was impressed by his side during the opening 30 overs of Bangladesh’s innings, in which they reduced their opponents to 119-4.
But he was frustrated by the subsequent display as Afghanistan were targeted by half-centurions Mushfiqur Rahim (71) and Shakib Al Hasan (63) and were then left reeling while batting after slipping to 3-3.
“We're disappointed with our performance today,” said Moles. “We haven't disgraced ourselves, but that wasn't a true reflection of the work that we do in preparation and the way we play our cricket.
“We genuinely thought we could win the game but we just didn't get out of the blocks with the bat. We were in a fog and before we knew it we were one, two, three down and treading water.
“Not many teams come back from that in any game of cricket. We had a couple of good partnerships but they didn't go on long enough."
Moles added: "We do well with bat and ball for 35 overs and it's that extra 15 overs where we need to work on our concentration levels, our discipline and our execution.
"In the first 30 overs today we bowled with discipline, fielded well and had control, but then one or two little bits of sloppiness crept into our fielding and our bowling wasn't quite as focused.
"Then I really don't think they [the batsmen] were up for the fight from ball one. We didn't hit the heights that we expected of ourselves."
Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 32 runs in the only previous ODI between the sides, at the Asia Cup in March 2014, a game that lost Mushfigur the captaincy.
He spoke of the team's relief in erasing that bad memory and now hopes the win can give them confidence for the rest of the tournament.
"It was not an easy win, but a comprehensive win," said Mushfiqur. "Being the captain when we lost that match against them, it meant this was a big pressure match for us.
"We are looking forward to the challenge against Australia and Sri Lanka and England and also other teams in our group. I think that the confidence from this game will give us a boost.
"It's not going to be easy, but it's not going to be impossible either. In any game, anyone can win on any day.
"Going into the match against Australia, everyone will think that they are going to win easily. Hopefully we can prove something. All the boys are really geared up for that match."
