'Ireland tour good preparation for World Cup' – Phil Simmons
Afghanistan toured Ireland for three one-day internationals and as many Twenty20 Internationals in August, winning the series by margins of 2-1 and 2-0.
Even in conditions that don’t particularly favour them, the spinners did a good job. The indomitable Rashid Khan was as usual in the thick of things, finishing with 15 wickets in five matches (one was washed out).
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With Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman featuring in the Twenty20 league in England, Simmons is hoping that the team will be prepared for the 2019 World Cup.
“We played in Ireland and we realised it's different to Asia,” Simmons told Cricbuzz in an interview.
“For us, that was the good thing about that series, that nine months, 10 months beforehand we got an idea of what the wickets are going to be like in the World Cup.
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“We know now exactly what we have to go back and try to work on, so it was an opportunity for us to make sure that we understand that and know how we have to prepare.”
Afghanistan sealed their place in the World Cup after finishing in the top two of the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe earlier this. They beat the Windies in the final, coming back strongly from a poor start to the tournament.
Afghanistan open their campaign against Australia in Bristol on 1 June, before taking on Sri Lanka in Cardiff on 4 June.