
England’s white-ball head coach, Matthew Mott, has refuted claims made by former captain Eoin Morgan regarding a supposed rift in the England squad during the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup. Mott insists that the team remains a close-knit unit despite their struggles in the tournament.
Before England’s match against India at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Morgan suggested to Sky Sports that “something else (is) going on … there has to be,” implying that unrest in the England dressing room might be a major reason for their lackluster performance.
Following England’s 100-run loss to India on Sunday, Mott addressed Morgan’s concerns, saying, “Eoin’s entitled to his opinion. He’s obviously been away for a couple of weeks with the birth of his child. He hasn’t been in and around the rooms.”
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“But I’ll certainly take that up with him and have a chat to him. We’ve got a really good relationship with him. So, if he’s seeing something that I’m not, I’ll definitely have that conversation,” he mentioned during the post-match press conference.
When asked if there were issues within the England dressing room, especially after their position at the bottom of the points table, Mott responded, “No, not really. I don’t think that at all. I think anyone that’s inside our tent at the moment would say that despite our results, we’re an incredibly tight-knit unit.”
“I can only say from my opinion the group’s been incredibly strong in that part. If you see our training sessions, they’re full of fun. People are putting their arm around each other, trying to help them. It’s easy to do that when you’re winning. It’s a lot harder when you’re losing. I’m proud that we keep trying to get up.”
Reflecting on the match, England had a chance to break their losing streak in the ODI World Cup after restricting India to 229/9. However, India’s formidable bowling attack quickly dashed England’s hopes, dismissing them for just 129, a result that Mott described as “very painful.”
“To be honest, I was really pleased at the halfway mark. I thought it was definitely our best bowling and fielding effort. We went out to bat with a lot of positivity about it being a very achievable total. But anytime you lose four for ten, you put yourself under pressure, and it unraveled from there, unfortunately,” Mott stated.
While acknowledging India’s bowlers for maintaining the pressure, Mott raised questions about the dismissal of Joe Root, who was trapped lbw by Jasprit Bumrah. Mott pointed out a spike on UltraEdge during the review process, which could have been crucial.
“I wasn’t sure about Joe’s (Root) one. It was pretty clear on the technology there was a little spike there, so I’m not sure why we didn’t use that. But then it happened bang, bang, and we’re under pressure, and they bowled extremely well,” Mott remarked.
England now faces the possibility of missing the 2025 Champions Trophy if they don’t win two of their next three games, a scenario Mott became aware of just half an hour ago. He emphasized the need for focus and determination in the upcoming matches to secure their place in the competition.
“It gives us a lot of focus that we need to make sure we can’t just turn up. We’ve got to turn up and play and win those games. We’re obviously up against some good teams in those last few games as well. So, that’s plenty of motivation for us to pick ourselves back up off the canvas and keep trying to throw punches,” he concluded.