Manchester Pitch Report: Bowlers Likely to Call Shots in England-Afghanistan Tie

Hosts England will aim to carry on its winning streak with a hat-trick when they meet minnows Afghanistan in World Cup 2019 group affair at the Old Trafford here on Tuesday. It will also be for the first time when the two teams face-off in the 50-over format.

Except for their loss against Pakistan, it's been a smooth ride for the hosts who have had massive wins in three games. The teams will play in Manchester where India recently took on Pakistan and registered a convincing win. While it remains to be seen whether the same pitch will be used or will it be a different one. The match on Sunday was a run-fest with the pitch offering very little assistance for the bowlers. Some early movement was there but after that initial phase, it turned out to be a flattrack.

With rain around, surely there will be some assistance for the fast bowlers early on and team winning the toss might want to bowl first.

Afghanistan are winless so far. They have lost all of their four games in the tournament so far.

The Gulbadin Naib-led side has experimented with several combinations but nothing has worked for them. Batting remains a major challenge as the batsmen have failed in putting runs.

While some of their bowlers like Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan and Rashid Khan have been economical, they have struggled to get wickets. However, looking at the conditions here, a lot will be expected from Rashid.