Afghanistan's abject fielding and Joe Root's runscoring habit... WORLD CUP TALKING POINTS

SAM MORSHEAD AT OLD TRAFFORD: There were more slips, fumbles and misjudgements than an amateur production of Disney On Ice

Scorecard | Sam Morshead

Afghan errors

Maybe the occasion has got to Afghanistan, maybe the internal tensions are seeping into their performances, maybe they have struggled to adapt to English conditions. Whatever the reasons behind their wretched World Cup campaign, however, there was absolutely no excuse for this woeful fielding display.

In the first 10 overs, there were five explicit errors - mostly groundwork, although Mohammad Nabi completely misjudged a chance in the deep off James Vince - and by the end of the innings CricViz gave their fielding effort a miserable -9 rating.

There were more slips, fumbles and misjudgements than an amateur production of Disney On Ice, and two further drops - one of which, a dreadful attempt off Eoin Morgan by Dawlat Zadran on the midwicket rope, led to a full-on 20-second stare-down from Rashid Khan. It also cost his team around 120 runs.

At drinks intervals, most of the Afghanistan team toppled to the floor, their body language betraying what must be an incredibly disappointing campaign. Between overs, they were slovenly and downtrodden. It is turning into a pretty shoddy tournament.

^{Joe Root made 88 against Afghanistan}

Slow and steady wins the race

Despite racking up a mammoth 397 for 6, England got off to a sluggish start at Old Trafford.

With James Vince filling in for Jason Roy at the top of the order, and Afghanistan opening with the wily spin of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the opening pair had to lay a platform rather than swing from the hip.

By the end of the 10-over powerplay, England had only made it to 46 for 1 - their most meagre run haul in that initial period in this World Cup so far, making their huge total all the more impressive.

Vince’s first World Cup innings was eerily familiar in many senses - a frustrating dismissal when well set - but the Hampshire captain was certainly not at his most fluent.

With Roy out for at least 10 days with a hamstring tear, Vince will get another shot at the top of the order against Sri Lanka at Headingley on Friday, and England will hope he can finally deliver the sort of innings his talent has always promised when Australia are the opponents at Lord’s on June 25.

England's remarkable 397 for 6 in numbers

Root manoeuvre

There is something quite beautiful about the way in which Joe Root goes about accumulating runs in one-day internationals.

England’s No.3 can float through an innings like a gentle breeze, barely causing a ripple, all the while making sure his team’s score ticks over at an accelerated rate.

His contribution at Old Trafford was the perfect example. While Morgan went big, Root simply batted on. Although Root only made 43 of the 198 runs the pair put on together, he did so at a run a ball, manipulating the field and rotating the strike, never allowing Afghanistan’s bowlers to settle.

Until he cracked a four to go to 60, Root hadn’t hit a boundary for 43 deliveries - a streak which would lead most batsmen into a state of cabin fever. But the Yorkshireman is built of more patient stuff, and had the wherewithal to keep doing his job, and let his captain amp up the aggression.

He remains utterly invaluable to this England batting line-up, even if he is the only member of the top order to not be blessed with natural range-hitting ability.

^{Hashmatullah Shahidi receives treatment}

Same old story

Empty seats. Yadda yadda yadda. Absent sponsors. Yadda yadda yadda. Expensive tickets. Yadda yadda yadda. Stadium not full for a World Cup game. Yadda yadda yadda.

Do we need to say anything more?

Heads up

Hashmatullah Shahidi took the full brunt of a Mark Wood bouncer to the side of the head midway through the Afghanistan reply.

The jolt floored Afghanistan’s No.4 for some time, and the match was paused for nearly 10 minutes while Hashmatullah was looked at by both his own team’s medical staff and the on-call Old Trafford medics.

Eventually, he was allowed to continue, immediately reigniting the debate about head injuries and how cricket deals with them.

The blow delivered by Wood’s rising snorter did enough damage to Hashmatullah’s helmet to demand he replaced it before he returned to the crease - and surely that warrants longer and more diligent assessment of the human being underneath.

Making a Hash of it

While we can argue back and forth over whether or not Hashmatullah should have been allowed to continue, the calibre of his innings was indisputably high.

Before play started, the Afghanistan batsman was engaged in conversation with Kumar Sangakkara on the outfield - so involved in the chat that he almost missed his team's entry for the anthems - and whatever inspiration the Sri Lanka legend offered with a jovial tap to Hashmatullah's cheek certainly paid off.

He was not afraid to go after England's pace, with one flat-batted six off the back foot over mid-off off Wood a particular highlight, and he used his feet well to the spin.

After being struck on the noggin, he scored 52 from 46 balls to post his best ODI score, shared in Afghanistan's first World Cup century stand with Asghar Afghan, and ensured respectability in the chase.

Well played that man.

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