For teams competing in the ongoing men’s ODI World Cup 2023, qualification for the next edition of the Champions Trophy in 2025, which will be held in Pakistan, is at stake. In the ICC event, the top seven teams from the league phase will compete alongside the hosts, Pakistan, in the eight-team tournament.
During the post-match presentation following England’s loss to India, captain Jos Buttler stated that he was aware of this regulation. However, head coach Matthew Mott later disclosed during a press conference that the team only learned of it ‘an hour and a half ago’. Previously, qualification for the tournament was determined by ICC rankings for a time.
“Well, the ICC do change the rules quite a bit with qualification and to be honest I don’t think it would affect in any way the way we’ve played in this tournament so it’s not a big deal,” Mott said about this new rule, before admitting it gives the bruised holders a ‘lot of focus’.
“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. That’s the motivation for us to pick ourselves up off the canvas and keep throwing punches,” he added.
The rule was revealed for the first time at the press conference following Bangladesh’s loss to the Netherlands on Saturday evening. Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan spoke about ‘keeping it in mind’ prior to their last three games after suffering five consecutive defeats since their victory over Afghanistan. Even though reaching the semifinals is no longer wholly in their control, this rule provides Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and possibly even Afghanistan with additional motivation to conclude the tournament strongly.
No disharmony in England dressing room
In the wake of the team’s fifth morale-crushing loss of the World Cup, which maintains their position at the bottom of the points table, Mott has been questioned about possible discord in the locker room. Mott refuted England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan’s assertions.
“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,” Mott said. “I said to the boys the other day, Dave Humphries, who’s a former rugby international, was flabbergasted just how tight the unit was when he came in for a week to observe us, given the results that we’ve had.”
“There’s every opportunity when you’re losing – to splinter and go separate ways. 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 arms 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,” Mott added.
Mott added that the team has a positive rapport with Morgan and that he would discuss this matter with him.
“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, but I’ll certainly take that up with him and have a chat with 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,” Mott said.
