As a work in progress, Matthew Mott has urged patience with England’s new-look white-ball side, pointing out that they have only had three opportunities to play together.
After a challenging World Cup campaign, England lost their first series 2-1 after losing by four wickets in Barbados.
A team that only had four players with more than ten ODI appearances found itself in commanding positions in all three games against a West Indies team undergoing a similar rebuild after missing out on World Cup qualification.
But in the first game, England lost by four wickets in Antigua due to a late-inning assault by Shai Hope and Romario Shepherd. Later, in the rain-shortened game at the Kensington Oval, England lost by the same amount after a collapse in the top order left them with a meagre 188 to defend.
The head coach of England, Darren Mott, expressed his dissatisfaction immediately following the loss, saying, “We haven’t put a complete game together.” It’s not ideal that we gave ourselves a chance to win all three games and end up losing the series.
However, there are some very encouraging indications that a group of players like playing together. I believe it will significantly advance the game and they are some pretty great friends.”
Rehan Ahmed and Sam Curran were deserving of special recognition. With the responsibility of stepping into Adil Rashid’s enormous shoes, Rehan—dubbed a “revelation” by Mott—took five wickets at an economy of 4.33 and an average of 23.40 during the series. Curran, on the other hand, had an uneven series. He displayed greatness with the bat to save England’s innings in the first One-Day International, saving them from a disastrous 239 for 7, but he was taken for 0 for 98, the lowest ever figures for an England player in a One-Day International.
In the second game, Curran demonstrated his skill with the ball as he scored three goals in the powerplay to put England ahead. “Sam’s definitely a player that we really want to invest in,” Mott stated. “He’s got a lot of qualities that we like and he’s got the game to really play well.”
Mott was proud of the England team’s effort to nearly pull off an unexpected victory in the final One-Day International. England was bowling second in a match that was disrupted by rain, which naturally put them at a disadvantage. The greasy circumstances made it difficult for England’s spinners to grip the ball, and it made it simpler for the West Indies hitters to play seam. But with 53 runs needed to win, England reduced West Indies to 135 for 6 thanks to a ball-swinging display reminiscent of Will Jacks.
“I thought today we showed a lot of character and spirit to fight all day,” Mott stated. “You don’t want to make excuses, but to hang in there as a team and show the fight that they did, throwing themselves around and nearly snatching one was something that we’re looking for.”
England’s focus has shifted from virtually solely on ODIs for the past three months to T20s, with the five-match series against West Indies beginning on Tuesday in Barbados.
“Over time, we’ve played some really good Twenty20 cricket. “It’s always a good idea to switch up the format after a series loss,” Mott stated, adding that Jos Buttler will be back at the top of the batting order after spending the September series lower in the order. “You move on really rapidly. It won’t be all that different in a few days. Of course, there are a few seasoned new players joining you. However, it really is a lot of muchness.”
For the T20 leg, Chris Woakes, Rashid, Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, and Tymal Mills have joined the England team, making five changes to the team’s roster in the Caribbean. Ollie Pope, Brydon Carse, Tom Hartley, Zak Crawley, and Matthew Potts are going home.
“It’s probably easier transitioning back,” Mott stated. “T20 is quite obvious—you go out and take the game on, and there aren’t many dead balls—especially for the batting group. Additionally, you’re attempting to limit the bowling group’s hitting opportunities by hitting as many of your variants as you can. I believe we will be alright. We are looking forward to working on it over the next several days.”
Andrew Flintoff, who resumed his first team mentoring role in the summer as part of his first steps back into the public light following his serious car tragedy while filming Top Gear, is also joining the England team.
Now on a paid basis, Flintoff supported the New Zealand white-ball series and the home ODI series against Ireland as a member of the backroom staff. Later, he and Graeme Swann headed to Abu Dhabi for the England Lions’ red-ball training camp. For the 2024 Iteration of The Hundred, Flintoff has been hired as head coach of the Northern Superchargers, making this a highly publicized comeback to coaching.
