The cue was in the way umpire Paul Wilson made his way at square leg. Not on the ball spinning down, but on Mitchell Santner’s outstretched left hand on the circle’s edge. There was probably no more dignified way to conclude Hashmatullah Shahidi’s botched pull shot.
Santner’s amazing catch came in the 14th over of the run-chase. It stood out for its physics, telegenics, exhilaration, and the reaction it elicited from a 15,000-person crowd at Chepauk. But, in line with Afghanistan’s fielding effort, it was also much more on the day. That one catch truly distinguished the teams, highlighting the key difference between them: fielding.
This is not to imply that Afghanistan would have won if they had taken all of their catches. Or that they wouldn’t have been 139 all-out. Or otherwise New Zealand would not have won with more than 15 overs to spare. However, a stronger fielding effort by Afghanistan would have undoubtedly created a more even playing field from which to judge the teams. The void between the teams wasn’t nearly as large as it appeared on the day, not under the conditions that were on offer, but it all ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
There was so much possibility here: Afghanistan entering the game after that – yes, that – win. And with two spinners who can win a match on any given day. And coming in to play in Chennai, where spinners are matchwinners on most days. And then there’s New Zealand, who have looked immaculate so far but are waiting for the law of averages to catch up. It was all set up, but once Afghanistan made those four catches (five if you ask some), the writing was on the wall.
However, for head coach Jonathon Trott, the day felt all too familiar.
“I wouldn’t put it down to pressure. “I think it’s happened a little too much recently as well, since I’ve been in charge,” Trott remarked after the game. “So, according to the statistics, the side is near the bottom in terms of catching.” So it needs to improve, and I believe it’s something we’ve worked very hard on in training. We just need to implement it in games now.
“We would have been in a better position if we had held on to those catches.” But it wasn’t to be, and we have to go home tonight regretting those.”
Trott believes that not executing the simple basics correctly “exposed” the team in their match against New Zealand.
“I believe that the only thing holding this team back is doing the basics well and consistently.” So, if we had taken our catches and put New Zealand under pressure, I believe you’d be looking at a very different performance. I’m not saying it would have changed the outcomes as a fact, but you’d be looking at a very different performance. And it all starts with the idea of doing seemingly easy things on a daily, weekly, and religious basis. It’s always in good stead, because they’re normally the things that will look after you while you’re out there under pressure. Unfortunately, that is what has exposed us now.”
While Santner’s effort was above the “basic” level mentioned by Trott, the fielders from New Zealand put in some sexy dives beneath the lights. Matt Henry’s full-body effort comes to mind, when he used his entire height to dive to his right at mid-off and preserve a couple of runs, and that’s only scraping the surface. New Zealand’s effort on the day was deeper, but Santner’s take wrapped it up in a flash and put the attention on it.
“Yeah, I didn’t think I was going to get there at the start, but I guess lucky for me I’ve got very long arms and was able to kind of pluck it out,” Santner said as he pondered on his performance. “So yeah, I was obviously happy it stuck and it was quite a key time of the game, and I think Lockie’s expression said it all.” It was more of a surprise to me than a fantastic catch. So I might have to speak up.”
