Afghanistan bats first against England in a must-win Champions Trophy game for both teams
England’s Liam Livingstone, right, celebrates with teammate after the dismissal of Australia’s Matthew Short during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Australia and England, in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bat against England in a must-win Champions Trophy game for both teams on Wednesday.
The loser of the match will be knocked out of semifinal contention in Group B.
Weeks before the Champions Trophy, more than 160 politicians in Britain had urged the England and Wales Cricket Board to forfeit the game against Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s ban on women’s sport and erosion of women’s rights. However, the ECB decided to go ahead with the game.
South Africa beat Afghanistan by 107 runs on the back of Ryan Rickelton’s maiden ODI hundred at Karachi. Australia notched the highest-ever chase of 352 runs in an ICC tournament and beat England by five wickets at the same venue.
Afghanistan kept faith in the same team which lost the first game which meant it retained three spinners in Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi.
England had to make one forced change after Brydon Carse was ruled out of the tournament due to a toe injury. Fast bowler Jamie Overton replaced Carse in the playing XI.
India and New Zealand have already qualified for the semifinals from Group A and knocked out host Pakistan and Bangladesh from the tournament.
___
Lineups:
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
England: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (captain), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
___
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket