NEW DELHI:
Afghanistan
's coach
Jonathan Trott
hopes that his team's incredible run in the T20 World Cup-which came to an abrupt end on Wednesday in the semi-final-has encouraged young people in the war-torn nation to pick up a bat and a ball.
South Africa
advanced to the final, where they will play either India or the defending champion England, after crushing Afghanistan by nine wickets.
Afghanistan elected to bat at the
Brian Lara
Stadium in Trinidad, and they were bowled out for 56 runs in 11.5 overs.
Trott was "very proud" of his team despite acknowledging that his players had found it difficult to cope with the strain of their first World Cup semi-final.
"A lot to process really emotionally, physically, so all new territory for the guys and it all plays its part," said Trott, a former England batsman who was born in South Africa, admitting his side had been "outplayed".
"I'm sure the guys hopefully learn from this experience," he said, according to AFP.
"(Learn) what it takes to play international cricket and play against a bowling side like South Africa on a pitch that's perhaps not conducive to high-scoring.
"We've found ways of winning games, we just couldn't find a way today," he said, adding that despite surpassing all expectations by reaching the last four, his side were left crestfallen.
"Obviously it hurts at the moment," said Trott.
"We arrived to the ground in high spirits ready to take on a strong South African side and make sure we gave a good account of ourselves.
"I feel like we haven't done that today so that's the most disappointing thing.
"I'm very proud of the guys. This one performance doesn't necessarily define the tournament."
Trott referred to Afghanistan's World Cup journey as "a great ride," noting that the team had overcome Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh in thrilling victories to advance to the semi-finals.
The team brought in rare moments of national jubilation in a nation devastated by four decades of conflict and struggling with political, humanitarian, and economic issues.
"I hope that we've inspired young kids to pick up a bat and a ball and play cricket, and want to play for their nation and hopefully that everybody's proud of the side," said Trott.
English (US) ·