Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

CWC 2019 – England v Afghanistan: 5 key talking points. ENG vs AFG: 5 key talking points from their 2019 World Cup clash.

A 150-run win to England was a predictable end to Tuesday’s cricketing story. However, the script was quite the read, with Eoin Morgan keeping you glued and willing to flip over the page with no hesitation to see what was next.

The England skipper was unsure of whether he’d even play after suffering back spasms against West Indies. After being forced to stand up in his own press conference, it was a bit of a long shot to see Morgan in action against Afghanistan. In the end, in the words Pavilion Opinions, it is the journalists who ought to be standing after such an incredible ODI innings.

Below are five key talking points from England’s very comfortable win.

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1. Electric Eoin

Afghanistan kept England in check better than most would have expected in the first 30 overs. However, as soon as Morgan strolled out to the crease, bad back and all, he was relentless, hitting ‘go’ from the word go, launching blow after blow en route to a world record 17 sixes in a single innings.

Naseer Hussain, who hit 15 in his 88-game career, joked about it during the innings break. There wouldn’t have even been a smile in the Afghanistan change room, with Gulbadin Naib’s face a forlorn sight by the end of the innings as England amassed 397/6.

Morgan was unstoppable. Many say that this is “just Afghanistan”, but one need not forget they possess one of the leading white-ball bowlers in the world. The England skipper was in no mood for respect, building on Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root’s anchoring of the innings to take England to greater heights on the day.

2. Afghanistan end the day with reason to smile

Afghanistan were never a chance of winning this game at the innings break. After such a poor tournament with the bat to date, Afghanistan needed to hold their own on a good track, with the opportunity to gain some batting confidence ahead of future matches. That they did, batting out 50 overs for the first time in CWC 2019.

Hashmatullah Shahidi produced the kind of form he showed at last year’s Asia Cup. Hell-bent on fighting through despite getting hit by a Mark Wood bouncer, Shahidi showcased the commitment associated with Afghanistan in their incredible rise. He soldiered on for his mother, whilst becoming the ninth Afghan to achieve 1,000 ODI runs, with the highlight an incredible straight pull for six off Wood in the 32nd over.

This batting effort might just provide confidence boost Afghanistan need.

3. Afghanistan’s fielding woes

You might be up against it with the ball. The same with the bat. However, fielding is an area that can help lower ranked sides compete.

Afghanistan’s fielding has been so poor that they would be well behind the pace even in club competitions. Discipline cost them dearly against Sri Lanka, losing that game by 34 runs after giving away at least 50 runs in extras and fumbles.

From the moment they misfielded twice in the first three overs here, the writing was on the wall. Dawlat Zadran’s awful misjudgment on the boundary was most costly, putting down Eoin Morgan in his 30’s. We all know what happened next.

For Afghanistan to progress as a cricketing team, the first areas they must look at (apart from stupid team management decisions) is their fitness and fielding. Bangladesh showed against West Indies the value of energetic and clinical fielding, saving runs and then being able to transfer that energy to other aspects of their game.

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4. James Vince wastes another start

Jason Roy’s hamstring injury and Alex Hales’ ill-discipline has opened the door for James Vince. However, it was another opportunity wasted.

Surely no one can be nervous watching Vince start his innings. He is usually an excellent starter, playing elegantly to give the impression he will be going on to score a big one. However, in what has plagued Vince in his career to date, he was out for yet another start, playing a poor shot to get out in the 20’s.

He will get at least one more opportunity with Jason Roy’s injury. He needs to make it count.

5. Rashid has a day he Khan forget

Rashid Khan was not happy with the captaincy change before the tournament. Since then, he has not quite been the same.

The man who is a source of pride among millions of fans and arguably Afghanistan’s premier cricketing icon had his worst day as a professional cricketer. To compete with England, Afghanistan needed Rashid to be at his best, using the slight turn on offer to his advantage. However, the ball kept disappearing over the boundary after Dawlat Zadran’s helpless flap at the ball, with Rashid conceding a world record 11 sixes en route to the most expensive World Cup figures in history.

How Rashid Khan bounces back will be key. Everyone has a bad day. No one day makes you a great cricketer, nor does it make you a bad one.

Let’s see how he and Afghanistan follow up against India.

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