Trott says Afghanistan have 'no scarring' ahead of T20 World Cup semi

Coach Jonathan Trott believes Afghanistan will go into Wednesday's T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa boosted by "having no scarring, no history" unlike the accident-prone Proteas. Afgh

The Proteas have won all seven matches they have played at this World Cup but have teetered on the edge of embarrassment more than once.

In the first round, they defeated the Netherlands by four wickets after being 12-4 at one stage chasing just 104 to win.

A four-run win over Bangladesh followed before they avoided what would have been a seismic shock in a one-run victory over Nepal.

In the Super Eights, they squeezed past defending champions England by just seven runs.

Afghanistan were defeated by 47 runs at the hands of India in their second round opener before a stunning 21-run victory over Australia.

They sealed their place in the last-four with a nail-biting eight-run victory against Bangladesh on Monday.

Trott said it felt "surreal" to have led Afghanistan into the semi-finals.

The 43-year-old has certainly developed close bonds with the team since taking over as coach in July 2022.

After the rain-hit win over Bangladesh in Saint Vincent he was carried off on the players' shoulders.

"When I took over, I was astounded by the talent that I saw," added Trott.

"There was a certain rawness to it all and no real structure to how the game was played or thought about.

"I've just tried to add here and there. At no stage have I tried to clip anybody's wings. I'm just trying to make the bow of the arrow even stronger so that they can go for longer, win more games and shoot for the stars even further away."