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England's World Cup-winning former captain Eoin Morgan backed white-ball captain Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott to continue as leaders for the white-ball set-up despite two World Cup losses during past nine months.
After securing the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia, the Buttler-Mott partnership sank to a low as they failed to defend their 50-over World Cup crown in 2023 in India and the T20 World Cup title in the West Indies and USA this year. In the 2023 World Cup, England lost six out of their nine games, including matches to Afghanistan and their arch-rivals India and Australia and were on the verge of missing out on direct qualification to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Though England reached the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, where they lost by 68 runs to India, they had to rely on Australia to beat Scotland in order to advance to the Super Eight. Speaking to the Wisden Cricket Monthly, Morgan, a former cricketer, said that the Buttler-Mott duo went into the tournament with the least amount of expectation from the fans and the team making it to the semifinals should be acknowledged. "I do think Jos and Motty should stay on. Given that they came into the tournament with the least amount of expectation, they made the semi-final and you have to acknowledge that. You shouldn't take that for granted - it is not a given you can get there, with the likes of Australia not making it and New Zealand being knocked out in the group stage. There were various challenges other teams could not overcome and England did, so a lot of credit has to go to both of them in that instance," said Morgan. Morgan said that the addition of legendary England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard to the team's backroom staff helped Buttler and Mott. "One thing that will be flagged is that they only beat the West Indies out of the Full Member nations (in the T20 WC), but, still, they managed to get to a semi-final. So, for me, Mott and Buttler stay in their positions, particularly when I do not see any obvious replacements. Giving them more time to get better and grow is the decision that should be made," he added. During the 50-over World Cup last year, Morgan was highly critical of both Mott and Buttler and even went on to assert that there were problems in the English dressing room that could be leading to poor decision making in the tournament. However, he backed Buttler-Mott to continue till the T20 World Cup. After their T20 Cup loss, England's white-ball set-up is likely to undergo some transformation. Veterans like Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and Jonny Bairstow could be replaced in favour of more fresher, younger talent. "The likes of Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, and Jonny Bairstow, guys coming towards the twilight of their careers, a plan will have to be drawn up by the leadership group and the selector, Luke Wright, as to what is the best way forward for the team. Who are their best talents going forward? Try and identify who can fill those roles," said Morgan. Morgan said that he looks at Phil Salt and Harry Brook as two key players of English white-ball set-up going forward. "There is a Champions Trophy next year and another T20 World Cup the following year and you need players better equipped to deal with the challenges in the latter stages of a tournament. That is very important. The most successful sides in the world have players who have been there and done that. It does not necessarily guarantee you will win but it positions you to overcome the same pressures and challenges," Morgan concluded. England's next white-ball assignment will be a three T20I and five ODI series against Australia in September. (ANI)
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