Australian captain Mitchell Marsh weighed in on Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib's apparent hamstring injury in the T20 World Cup against Bangladesh, calling the incident "outstanding" and "one of the funniest things I've ever seen on a cricket field".
Ahead of Afghanistan's match Super Eights fixture against Bangladesh on June 24, they knew they needed to win in order to qualify for the semi-finals. Their opponents on the other hand, had to chase down the target of 116 in 12.1 overs to qualify, failing either of which Australia would make it through ahead of both teams.
Watch: Denied strike, furious Rashid Khan hurls bat mid-pitch
As a result, Bangladesh came out swinging and with rain around, were consistently ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) par score, until Rashid Khan's double strike in the 11th over. Midway through the 12th over, Afghanistan had edged ahead on the DLS par score, just as the rain began to fall heavily. In the case of an abandonment, they would win the match but even one more ball being bowled held the possibility of them falling behind.
Therefore, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott signalled to his players from outside the boundary to attempt slowing down the game. Seconds later, before Noor Ahmad began his run-up, Gulbadin Naib hit the deck, clutching his left hamstring in a maneouvre many thought to be an attempt to waste time.
Despite calls for the player and/or team to be fined for unfair play, the on-field actions as laid out by the ICC's Playing Conditions are minimal, with a first offence only punishable by a warning from the umpires. Further sanctions could still follow, though.
Gulbadin Naib came under the spotlight during Afghanistan's historic victory over Bangladesh, when he was struck down with a cramp at a convenient point in the game.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 26, 2024
Here's what the laws say about time wasting: https://t.co/C9GiwpxDVR pic.twitter.com/wRK5BmwHNe
Marsh: I was almost in tears laughing after Gulbadin's 'cramp'
Despite the fact that Gulbadin's actions could have resulted in an advantage for Afghanistan and sent Australia out, Mitchell Marsh saw the funny side of the incident.
Speaking to Cricket Australia, he said, "I was almost in tears laughing and at the end of the day it had no bearing on the game. So we can laugh about it now – but gee it was funny. It was outstanding."
He did acknowledge that the game had been difficult for the Australian players to watch, as Afghanistan secured an eight-run win to knock them out. A win for Bangladesh instead at that point would have sent the Aussies through instead. "We watched it as a group. It was obviously a pretty amazing game wasn't it? A lot of twists and turns.
"Obviously you want to keep playing this tournament and that was our only way of doing it. But there's also the element that it was completely out of our control and we only had ourselves to blame for that.
"We were all flat (when the final wicket fell). We were desperate to continue on in the tournament. But fair play to Afghanistan – they beat us and they beat Bangladesh and they deserve to be in the semi-finals."
Afghanistan will face South Africa in the first semi-final in Tarouba, Trinidad, on June 26.
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