T20 World Cup 2022: Ultimate Match Guide - Afghanistan vs England
Oct. 22, 2022
If you’ve read our ultimate World Cup guides for England, Afghanistan, and Perth, you’ll recognise a lot of what we’re about to say. If not, now is the time to do so. They’re all 5-minute reads, so it won’t take you long.In any case, here’s the gist of what you should know before investing emotionally or financially in this match:
Venue Guide - Optus Stadium, Perth
In its five years of existence, the venue has consistently offered new ball assistance to pace bowlers, pace and bounce to express quicks, little to no aid to spin, and plenty of sixes for batters strong on the back foot. Because of the long square boundaries at the venue, expect bowlers to drag the length back after the powerplay; as a result, batters who lack backfoot range to struggle. It is one of Australia’s highest scoring venues, and batting units that understand that can bat out the opposition by scoring 180 or more in the first innings. This is why teams batting first have a win percentage of 62 in this venue.
Key to success for bowling units: Ability to move the ball during the powerplay and then hit the deck at pace with the old ballThe bowling type that is most likely to be effective: New-ball specialists and Express quicksThe bowling type that is most likely to be ineffective: Finger spinThe batting type that is most likely to be effective: Middle order batters with outstanding back-foot range and openers who start with controlled aggressionThe batting type that is most likely to be ineffective: Players who are limited on the back foot and openers who play with mindless aggression
Afghanistan - Team Notes
Batting Options: 8LHB Options: 2 LHB options in the top 5Main Bowling Options: 5Support Bowling Options: 1 (Azmatullah Omarzai)Spin trio: No SLA (offspin and legspin covered)In Form: Mohammad Nabi, Ibrahim Zadran, & Mujeeb Ur RahmanOut of Form: Hazratullah Zazai, Najibullah Zadran, and Azmatullah OmarzaiExpress Pace: Not availableSlow ball variations: Available, if Naveen-ul-Haq plays Elite New ball value: Available. On their day, both Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmad can run through any batting order.
Opportunity Alert – On daily fantasy platforms that allow it, you can drop Alex Hales in 33% of your combinations and Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, and Dawid Malan in 25% of your combinations and rely on Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, and Moeen Ali's all-round value to do the trick. However, on the majority of the platforms, you are forced to select three specialist batters, which means you have no option but to play Hales and Malan.
Opportunity Alert – If Afghanistan can get Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan together at the crease, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman come into play big time.
Main Bowling Options: 5Support Bowling Options: 2 (Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone)Spin trio: No SLA (offspin and legspin covered)In Form: Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, and Moeen AliOut of Form: Ben StokesExpress Pace: Available (Mark Wood)Slow ball variations: Available, but only of reasonable quality (Sam Curran and David Willey)Elite New ball value: Available (David Willey)Big Name(s) on the bench: Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan While there is some inconsistency about who among Jordan and Brook will make the final XI, almost all pre-match reports agree on one point: Woakes isn't fully fit and may not be risked in a game that England is expected to win easily.
Predictions
Most Sixes in the game - England vs Afghanistan: England to win
Afghanistan total in the highest scoring over - Over or Under 17.5: Under 17.5 to win
Daily Fantasy XI Builder
Base Team: Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Jos Buttler, Mohammad Nabi, Fazalhaq FarooqiTop support players: Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid KhanTop Differentials: David Willey (13%), Adil Rashid (13%), Fazalhaq Farooqi (29%)Top Budget Picks: David Willey (6.5), Fazalhaq Farooqi (7.5)Top C/VC options: Mark Wood, Jos Buttler Differential C/VC options: Mark Wood, Sam CurranFirst choice Fantasy XI: Mark Wood (vc), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Jos Buttler (c), Mohammad Nabi, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan
Predicted Playing XI
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli/Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed AhmadEngland: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook/Chris Jordan, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood