Mott admits mistakes in bid to regain England's 'mojo'

Matthew Mott became England white-ball coach in 2022

The last time Matthew Mott spoke to the media en masse had been in a dingy corner at the bottom of a staircase in the Eden Gardens pavilion in Kolkata.

A terse press conference ended with the England coach snapping at a journalist as his side's 50-over World Cup defence lay in tatters.

"India was hard work," the Australian says, looking back on that trip now.

"Whenever I've coached in the past, whenever you lose in a tournament or don't meet expectations, you're normally on a plane home pretty quickly after that.

"It was more that it was like a death by a thousand cuts."

Victory earlier that night against Pakistan had done little to mask England's dismal campaign.

Having started the tournament among the favourites, the first holders of both men's white-ball World Cups, they lost six of their nine games, including the meltdown in Mumbai, the Afghan abomination and the Sri Lankan shellacking.

Six months later, Mott's England are less than two weeks away from their latest title defence.

On 1 June the T20 World Cup begins - with rivals ready to take the crown England won in Melbourne in 2022 and Mott's job potentially on the line.

"We've had all the time off to reflect," Mott says.

"At the last World Cup we openly said we got a few things wrong and you learn from your mistakes.

"When you've had the kick in the pants like we've had you just can't go business as usual.

"You have to redefine how you go as a team and the really open and robust conversations we've had will hold us in good stead."

England's white-ball squad reunited on Sunday in Leeds for a barbecue hosted by Jonny Bairstow - the first time they had all been in one place since India – with Michelin-star chef Tommy Banks in charge of the grill.

There was a tour of West Indies in December, but many were still taking time off after what had come before.

"Jonny put on a great shindig," Mott says. "Anyone who knows Jonny, he's not going to do it half-hearted."

Since then the word on everyone's lips, either side of Wednesday's washout at Headingley, has been "clarity". Captain Jos Buttler said it on Tuesday, and Mott 24 hours later too.

"As a group we've made a commitment to be a bit more open in and around our training sessions to help each other out a bit more," Mott says.

"In India all of us were guilty of being a bit insular and trying to problem-solve ourselves.

"We've made a commitment to open up and be a bit more vulnerable as a group so that we're helping each other."

England have brought sports psychologist David Young back into the fold in recent months. Young was part of the staff for the 2019 World Cup win and has since been working with Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Manchester City.

"He's already been a great ally in messages back to me, making sure my messages are clear," Mott says.

"It's always good to have someone who's a little bit removed from the squad to make sure you're landing your messages."

In India, a "lack of local knowledge" among the coaching staff was blamed for the decisions to bowl in the sweltering heat against South Africa and chase on a tired pitch against Afghanistan's spinners.

The recruitment of West Indies T20 great Kieron Pollard to the coaching staff for the World Cup in the Caribbean is a response to that failure and he has already passed on some "gold nuggets" to the hierarchy.

But before they travel on 31 May, Mott and Buttler have just three matches against Pakistan to put into practice what they have discussed over WhatsApp and video calls while the skipper was away at the Indian Premier League.

Batters Phil Salt and Will Jacks, plus the potentially game-changing return of Jofra Archer should he remain injury free, give a fresh look to a side that looked on its last legs in India.

There, England began with an XI that had never played together before against New Zealand.

This time players have been recalled from the IPL to play a full part against Pakistan. There should be no repeat of the confusing, last-minute selection of Harry Brook in place of Jason Roy either.

Still, injury issues for Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood are an unneeded complication, although both are expected to be fit to travel.

Bowler Wood has not played since 9 March and he, like Livingstone, is not expected to be fit for Saturday's second T20 in Birmingham.

"We feel it is time to get the mojo back and go out and express ourselves as a team," Mott says.

That mojo took years to create under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan.

The question is whether it can be recaptured - whether these reflections will be enough.