England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott talked about the T20I series against India. He said that his side needs to be braver for the T20 World Cup 2022, which will take place in Australia this year.
The three-match series against India was the one to forget for England. Although they won the last match, it was too late as the visitors had already sealed the series after the second game. They suffered a crushing 50-run loss against India’s second-string side in the first T20I and then were at the receiving end of 49-run thrashing in the second game.
England looked out of sorts in the first two T20Is as their batters struggled in both games. However, they came out with a positive mindset in the third match and posted their highest ever T20I score against India (215).
Read Also: "Pinnacle point in ODI series will be Virat Kohli"- Vaughan says India needs him back in form
Talking about the series loss, Matthew Mott said that they learned their lesson after the first two games. He admitted that India put them under pressure with their attacking mindset and they were left surprised with their approach.
He revealed after the series loss, skipper Buttler spoke well in the group and called on his side to be more aggressive in the third game.
“We learned a lot of lessons in the first two games. India obviously came out with a really attacking mindset and put us under pressure a lot. We expected that, but the ferocity of it took us by surprise a little bit. After the second loss and the series loss, I thought he [Buttler] spoke exceptionally well in the group about these being the times where you learn about character,” Matthew Mott said.
Mott said that playing against great teams like India and South Africa will prepare them for the pressure situations in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. He also talked about how they tried to approach the third game and remarked that they must be "braver" for the T20 World Cup.
"It's easy when you're dominating teams but we're going to learn more about ourselves playing great teams like India and South Africa leading into a World Cup – we're going to learn more about what we need in Australia when we're put under pressure.
"We talked about just being a bit braver. If anything, we could have been accused of being a bit timid with the bat. [On Sunday] we just went out there and thought, 'it's a great wicket, let's put a score out there and hang on. We don't like losing but I think there is plenty that we've taken out of this series already and it sets us up well for the summer,” he said.
Read Also: WATCH- ‘You have to take risks’- Rohit Sharma on India continuing aggressive intent in ODI series
Matthew Mott said that it was a great experience for Reece Topley and Richard Gleeson, who is a real find for them. He said that they are looking to improve in several areas.
“It was an unbelievable experience for some of those bowlers. Topley was magnificent and [Richard] Gleeson has been a real find for us. All the intel that I've had is that it's definitely been an area that we're looking to improve, so to be under that sort of pressure and hold our nerve gives us a lot of confidence,” he said.
Mott said that their World Cup squad is not yet locked and the competition for places is wide open and they are also looking at different combinations and trying to learn.
“I don't think [the World Cup squad] is all locked in yet. This far out, you've got so many things that could happen – whether it's injuries or form, or whatever. We've got a fair idea of what we think the right make-up is, but you want players to come in and perform and really warrant that spot. It's still open for a lot of players and that's why we are having looks at different combinations and trying to learn,” he said.
Both the teams will now lock horns in the ODI series, starting on Tuesday (12th July).
(Sports Max inputs)
