ICC World Cup 2019: Match 24, ENG v AFG – England Player Ratings

It was completely English domination when the Brits played Afghanistan on a belter of a batting pitch in Manchester. Despite putting up their best batting performance thus far in the tournament, the Afghans still fell short of the 398-run target by a huge margin. In Jason Roy’s absence, his partner took the charge and built up a brilliant partnership with Joe Root.

However, both these batsmen missed out on well-deserved centuries by a whisker. While the wicket-keeper batsman got out on 90, the Test skipper was dismissed for 88. If you thought you’ve witnessed some great knocks from these two, then you might not have witnessed the carnage from Eoin Morgan. He stole the show with a blistering hundred, the fastest in terms of balls in a World Cup game for England. His 148 helped his team reach 397/6 in 50 overs – the highest total in World Cup for England.

Even though this target was a massive ask for them, the Afghanistan batsmen did put out their best efforts. Gulbadin Naib, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan – all made valuable contributions. But they took quite some time and couldn’t get the team over the line. Afghanistan lost this game by 150 runs.

Here are the England Player Ratings for the match

James Vince – 3.5/10

Playing his first World Cup game, James Vince looked good during his brief stay in the middle. He stroked three beautiful boundaries and looked quite composed. He rotated the strike well and looked in control. But, Vince failed to convert the start on yet another occasion after he top-edged a ball and had to walk back to the pavilion for 26 runs.

Jonny Bairstow – 9/10

Jonny Bairstow took the onus upon himself in this match and played a responsible knock. He smashed three massive sixes and hit eight fours during his highly entertaining knock. Bairstow, though, got out in a soft manner when he was on 90 as he dollied one straight back into the hands of the bowler after he misread the pace on the ball. It was disappointing to see him miss out on a hundred.

Joe Root – 9/10

Joe Root does everything right but gets out in the 80s or the 90s more often than not. It was not different this time either when it was frustrating to see him throw his wicket away on 88. He couldn’t generate enough power on the lofted shot and holed out to the field in the deep. Nevertheless, he did his job by then and scored at a strike rate slightly over 107.

Eoin Morgan – 10/10

Eoin Morgan was on 28 off 25 balls when he was dropped off Rashid Khan’s bowling in the 36th over. The English skipper made the most of this reprieve and played a record-breaking knock. Out of the 148 runs he scored, 102 runs came in only sixes while another 16 came in fours. The way he targetted Rashid Khan – the main strike bowler in the opposition, was a treat to watch. No other batsman hit 17 ODI sixes in a single inning and this was the third-highest score by an England player in the World Cup. Words would fall short to describe his carnage and thus he gets a perfect 10.

Jos Buttler – 1/10

Had Jos Buttler joined the party in this run-scoring feast, England might have scored well over 425 runs. But he couldn’t really get going as he tried to clear the fence off the second ball that he faced. But he badly mistimed that shot which only went straight into the hands of the fielder. He only added two runs to the team’s total.

Ben Stokes – 1/10

Ben Stokes was expected to play some big shots towards the end of the innings. But he rather slowed down the proceedings by playing a few dots. In the end, he only scored 2 runs and consumed 6 balls for the same. Stokes bowled four overs with the ball where he conceded 12 runs without picking any wickets.

Moeen Ali – 8.5/10

It was Moeen Ali who provided England with the final impetus after Buttler and Stokes failed to deliver. He was lethal and unstoppable towards the end of the innings and was a delight to the eyes. Out of the nine balls that he faced, he smashed four sixes and one four. In the end, he remained unbeaten on 31. Though, with the ball, he went wicketless and conceded 35 runs in 7 overs.

Chris Woakes – 2/10

Chris Woakes was a mere bystander at the other end and got the best seat in the house to watch Moeen Ali’s heroics. He only faced one delivery where he picked up a single. It wasn’t the best of days for him with the ball either. In 9 overs, he gave the opposition 41 runs and failed to pick up any wickets.

Adil Rashid – 7.5/10

Adil Rashid, even though slightly expensive, picked up three key wickets of the opposition. He dismissed the likes of Rahmat Shah and Asghar Afghan who were well set. Then, he also managed to outfox Mohammad Nabi who was looking to go after him. In his 10 overs, he conceded 66 runs but such was the behaviour of the pitch that he couldn’t really do much.

Jofra Archer – 8/10

Jofra Archer bowled quick and surprised a few Afghanistan batsmen with his pace. He provided England with a good start by dismissing Noor Ali Zadran in the second over for a duck. The Barbados-born even dismissed Hashmatullah Shahidi, the highest scorer of the innings, for 76 runs. In the last over of the innings, Archer even took the wicket of Rashid Khan. However, he was slightly expensive and conceded 52 runs in his 10 overs despite bowling a maiden.

Mark Wood – 7.5/10

Mark Wood did a good job in this match and bowled tight lines and lengths. He got the wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran. In his 10 overs, he conceded 40 runs and also bowled one maiden over.