World Cup: Ahead of England game, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott downplays familiarity factor
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott during England practice. REUTERS
Familiarity may or may not result in an edge, but Jonathan Trott is looking forward to sending his wards to face his former team England. The former middle-order mainstay has not been retired as a player for long, and has played with a number of men who would be lining up against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
The likes of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid started out when Trott was an elite player and have even shared an England dressing room with him. But the Afghanistan coach doesn’t think past experience will give his team any additional advantage.
“I’m not sure it’s cutting-edge information. I’ve played with many of their players, and have good knowledge about them. But it’s the players who will have to perform on the day,” Trott told a press conference on the eve of the England match.
The former England No.3 believed teams are not totally reliant on coaching inputs from the backroom staff.
