Published on 12:00 AM, March 13, 2015

Afghans too target Eng

England's Chris Woakes takes a catch during a traning session at the SCG yesterday ahead of their clash against Afghanistan. Both teams have been eliminated but will try to go out with a bang today. PHOTO: AFP
Afp, Sydney

Afghanistan believe they've still "got a scare" left in them ahead of their World Cup finale against England in Sydney on Friday.

Remarkably, both sides will go into the match with exactly the same number of points after enjoying a win apiece over Scotland, like Afghanistan a non-Test side.

While Afghanistan's one-wicket defeat of Scotland was the latest chapter in a remarkable rise that has taken them from the lowest rung of international cricket to the game's showpiece tournament in barely seven years, for England victory over their neighbours couldn't salvage another wretched World Cup.

Australia (111 runs), New Zealand (eight wickets) and Sri Lanka (nine wickets) all inflicted thumping Pool A defeats upon Eoin Morgan's team, while Monday saw Bangladesh display greater nerve and skill in a winner-takes-all clash for a quarterfinal place with a 15-run victory in Adelaide.

Now Afghanistan coach Andy Moles wants his free-spirited side, featuring pacemen Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran, as well as several hard-hitting batsmen, to pile on the agony.

"They [England] are not in the best of nick at the moment and we still believe that, if at the top of the order with the bat especially, we just need to show a bit more composure, we've still got a scare in us," said Moles.

"If we can play well and hold our nerve on Friday, and we need to be at our very, very best and we need England not to be at their best, we can get a shock," the former Warwickshire batsman added.

England looked anxious during a run-chase that ended with them all out for 260 trying to overhaul Bangladesh's 275 for seven.

By contrast, Moles said his players' unrestrained approach held the key to an upset.

"I think it's just the freedom of play. It's one thing I've tried to allow to happen and enhance.. they must play the Afghan way."

Victory in Afghanistan's first one-day international against England would be a feather in Moles's cap.

"I suppose inevitably it is," he said.

"Coaching is a thankless task at times and when things don't go well it is a lonely place to be," he said in an acknowledgement of the criticism engulfing England counterpart Peter Moores.

Afghanistan suffered a World Cup record 275-run defeat by Australia last week but England have no fast bowlers to compare with Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, who shared six wickets between them in Perth.

5 Facts

  • A defeat in this match would give England the same number of ODI wins as losses (won 308, lost 307. Seven ties, 21 no results)
  • Four players have at least 1,000 ODI runs at a strike rate above 100 and an average of at least 30: Glenn Maxwell, Virender Sehwag, David Miller and England's Jos Buttler
  • Chris Woakes needs three wickets to reach 50 ODI scalps; the 23rd player to reach the milestone for England
  • Asghar Stanikzai is 96 runs short of becoming only the fourth batsman to record 1,000 ODI runs for Afghanistan
  • The last six ODI matches involving England at the SCG (as a neutral venue) have been won by the side batting first
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