Afghanistan, Najibullah Zadran and the rule of six

NICK FRIEND: When Najibullah Zadran swung Mark Watt over long off, it meant that every Scottish bowler had been hit for six. As well as everything else, Afghanistan are now responsible for the competition's five biggest hits

Seven years ago, Peter Anderson watched Hazratullah Zazai for the first time. He was the head coach at Afghanistan’s national academy and the country’s talent identification manager, Zazai was an unknown taking part in a trial match ahead of the domestic T20 competition: a hulking left-hander with a dominant bottom hand and a ruthless streak.

Anderson was obsessed: he picked him for his team in the tournament and watched him belt nine balls out of the Kabul International Cricket Ground. Band-e-Amir Dragons won seven games in a row before losing in the final; Zazai was named as the Shpageeza Cricket League’s best newcomer.

“Boy oh boy, a side is going to get done by him at some stage,” Anderson warned The Cricketer two years ago ahead of a 50-over World Cup in which he flickered without sustaining. “He is going to curtail someone. It won’t happen every time. But I’ll tell you what, woe betide anyone if he gets going.

“We were allowed a couple of rookies in the team, and I picked him. Some of the other guys were against it; they were saying he had a terrible stance and a terrible grip. I just turned to them and said: ‘This guy has only got to bat for five overs. He will absolutely smash it. He’ll destroy anyone.’”

Since then, there have been several sporadic moments: he swung Ireland away for 162 in just 62 deliveries – the second-highest individual score in T20Is; in the Afghanistan Premier League, he hit six sixes in a single over in a 12-ball half century.

And so, to today. Against Scotland, he made 44 quick runs – 18 in sixes, 12 in fours, setting the tone for his country to begin with an emphatic victory.

“There is more to play for here than just doing well,” Andy Flower told The Telegraph ahead of this opener, recognising the hope that cricket provides to the people of Afghanistan, not least amid the nation’s current turmoil.

^{Hazratullah Zazai smashed 44 off 30 balls for Afghanistan}

And in Sharjah – a ground well-suited to a strategy based around six-hitting and high-quality spin – they defied a preparation disturbed by visa issues to become the tournament’s leading six-hitters in their first innings of the tournament, albeit on a small ground with one boundary that – at just 57 metres – was particularly inviting.

Not that many of their 11 sixes plopped just over the rope, however: Zazai sent one blow 101 metres another only marginally shorter. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 19 years of age and of slight build, settled for 97 metres. His power comes from a base fashioned by stepping across to the off-side and setting himself, baseball-style.

As Anderson sought to further his coaching eye, he spent a period of time shadowing Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball, looking for clues on how to strike the ball harder and further. His major takeaway, though, was that Najibullah Zadran had the “perfect baseball swing”.

He said: “Najib could play baseball – he’s got a good arm, good hands. He’s short and stocky – he’s got a better build and a better swing. And he can hit them. He really hits the ball hard and he’s a little bloke.”

In a rout of Scotland that ultimately gave Afghanistan their biggest victory in T20Is, Najibullah was at its fore: he smashed three sixes – the crowning glory of which was a flat swing over deep extra cover when Mark Watt, as rarely happened, missed his length. It was the shot of a golfer off the tee more than a hitter stepping up to the plate. Only Andre Russell has hit more runs at a higher strike rate against full deliveries in T20 cricket.

It also meant that every Scottish bowler had been hit for six – and some went the distance more often than others. As well as everything else, Afghanistan are now responsible for the competition’s five biggest blows: at 103 metres, Najibullah is winning. The penultimate ball of his innings cleared the roof.

^{Kyle Coetzer was one of five victims for Mujeeb Ur Rahman's mystery spin}

Kyle Coetzer, Scotland’s captain, was philosophical afterwards at the end of a considerable mauling. He refused to be too downbeat, instead appreciating a terrific display from a team that has a genuine opportunity to make a significant impact over the next three weeks. This is the standard, he acknowledged.

Scotland were five wickets down before Rashid Khan even came into the attack, with Mujeeb Ur Rahman cleaning up. There were five lbws – the joint-most in a men’s T20I innings, alongside the Netherlands’ effort only last week against Sri Lanka, where the constant in both has been mystery spin: Scotland turned to sweeping in an attempt to negate their struggles but that solved little, presenting front pads as a sizeable target.

It might just be a relief to the rest of their group that Afghanistan aren’t due to play at Sharjah again in the group stages. With the quality of their spinners – there wasn’t even space in the 15-man squad for Qais Ahmad – and the enticing boundaries for their band of six-hitters, this always shaped up as an uphill task for Scotland, their excellent start to this tournament notwithstanding.

Going forward, though, much will rest on Afghanistan’s top six, for they have shown once again – not that further evidence was required – that they can blow teams away with the ball. If they can continue to produce with the bat, Mohammad Nabi’s men will be exceedingly difficult to beat.

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