England coach Matthew Mott on their T20 World Cup semi-final with India

NicheSportMedia

England coach Matthew Mott previews their ICC T20 Cricket World Cup semi-final with India. Defending champions England have already lost twice in the tournament. Providence Stadium, Guyana, West Indies

Transcript

00:00This moment is all that I've been dreaming of

00:29Somewhere I feel it in my soul

00:33One chance is everything we've waited for

00:37It's our time so let we take it through

00:41Knock it out of this world

00:45Out of this world we'll be going

00:49Out of this world, yeah

00:53Out of this world we'll be going

00:58Come on and we'll take it home

01:28Yeah spot on, that's exactly what his message was in our meeting this morning

01:32I think when we got through the Super 8's I think it was a mixture of relief

01:38I think we've been under the pump a little bit for the last couple of weeks

01:41Right from probably the washout against Scotland

01:43I think we've probably got into that mentality

01:46We've felt like we need to perform every game

01:50And there's a general feeling that our best cricket is in front of us

01:53I think we've been pretty good in patches

01:55We've done some really good stuff over here

01:57But we haven't put together that perfect game

01:59So with a bit of luck that happens against India

02:02It's certainly going to be a great occasion

02:04They're a very strong unit and they present a massive challenge for us

02:08But one that we're very excited to take on

02:10Has there been much discussion internally about what happened in Adelaide a couple of years ago?

02:15Probably the most complete performance England have had in your tenure?

02:19Probably the only thing that we've discussed is that we feel that they're a very different team to that semi-final

02:24I think the way that they've approached it in the last couple of years

02:27Is certainly taking the game on extremely hard in the power play

02:31I think Rowett with the bat has led the way extremely well

02:34And shown leadership in that department as has Joss for us

02:38But I think it presents a really unique challenge for us

02:41It's a venue we don't know well

02:43We've obviously been armed with a lot of information

02:45And we think we've got a squad to cover it

02:48But there's a little bit of unknown about what we're going to get

02:52And I think they've certainly played some really good cricket

02:55As we know with tournament play though

02:58No one remembers how the round matches went or the Super 8s

03:02It's how you go in the semis and the finals

03:04And we're excited about this unique challenge that we've got in front of us

03:07And just on Joss, since you mentioned him

03:10He obviously did pretty well in Adelaide that time

03:12But sort of came to life I suppose against the USA

03:15Do you feel like this is a great opportunity for him in the next couple of games

03:19To create some history as a captain and lead from the front with the bat?

03:22Yeah, I really do

03:24I think Joss's leadership keeps evolving every day

03:27I think already as a player he's got two world titles under his belt

03:31Which not many people have

03:33He's captained one

03:34And there's an opportunity for us to go further in this tournament

03:37One that we're all relishing

03:39He in particular looks at the top of his game

03:42And when he's leading from the front and batting like that

03:46Every side feeds off that

03:48I think we've got some great players around him that love the way he plays

03:51But probably the most important thing is how much of our bowling groups

03:56Evolved under his captaincy

03:58I think from the game against Australia where we got a few things wrong

04:01I think from that point on

04:03They've really shown the way and adapted the conditions extremely well

04:07Coach, congrats on making it to the semi-final

04:10India have been here for two tours recently

04:13A lot of the England players haven't been here in Guyana

04:16In terms of familiarity to condition

04:18Do you think that you're probably starting with a slight disadvantage

04:21And what information have you been able to gather about conditions here in Guyana?

04:26I don't think anyone starts at an advantage or disadvantage in a semi-final

04:30It's who adapts the quickest

04:33You can come in with preconceived ideas

04:35But our mantra has always been playing what's in front of us

04:38The intel that we can get in those first couple of overs

04:41Whether it's with the bat or the ball

04:43That's been a real strong suit in this competition

04:45The communication back and forth about what to expect

04:48What ends to maybe target with the win

04:51I've arrived today, there's no win today

04:53But we can expect that there will be some win

04:55And probably the key advantage for us

04:57Is having someone like Corrin Pollard in our camp

05:00Who's intel on all the islands

05:03And what we can expect has been invaluable

05:06He's got a great presence within our group

05:08And the way he goes about it

05:10I think both teams, we're going to go out there

05:13And throw punches at each other for 40 odd overs

05:16It's going to be a great contest

05:19It's the contest that everyone's wanted to see

05:21And we're excited about it

05:25Coach, how do you see India's vulnerability

05:28In knockout matches or in finals in recent years?

05:32I think what India's done incredibly well over the last few years

05:37Is put themselves in semi-finals contention

05:39The flip side to that is when you don't win

05:41People look at that as a negative

05:43But I think the consistency that they've shown over a length of time

05:46Shows what a great group of players they are

05:48And like anyone, when you get to the semi-final stage

05:51Every team, the four teams out here

05:53All think they're a chance to win it

05:55And there's small margins

05:58So if you take those key moments at the right time

06:01You get over the line

06:02If you don't, you go home

06:04So everyone knows the consequences of missing out

06:07But also the potential to go through

06:09You play two really good games

06:11And you go away the title

06:13Our tournament really starts tomorrow

06:15We're excited by it

06:17We know their players well

06:18They know us well

06:20It literally is going to come down to a couple of

06:22Bounces of the ball

06:23Or luck and timing at the right times

06:26Coach, what is the main reason for spinners being so successful in this tournament?

06:31What kind of impact do you expect in tomorrow's match

06:34As far as spinners are concerned?

06:36Yeah, that's a great question

06:38Because I think the perception that this ground spins

06:41Is actually not right

06:43I think if you look at the spin numbers

06:45It's not the biggest spinning ground

06:46But spin is used a lot

06:47So it's obviously effective here

06:49I think from what we're reading into it

06:51It's more to do with the lack of bounce

06:54So clearly if you're bowling spin

06:56And you're bringing the wickets into play

06:58It's harder to get away

06:59And if you stay there

07:00Which both spin bowling units will do

07:03I'm sure

07:04And they'll make it harder for the batsmen

07:06To access behind the wicket

07:08So you can shut off certain parts of the ground

07:10I think that's probably why it's been effective

07:12And the sheer quality of the spin that's on display

07:15Has obviously come to the fore throughout the tournament

07:19We'll take three more in the room

07:22And then we'll go to the hub

07:23Coach, when you say that this Indian team is different

07:26From the one that you faced in Adelaide 2022

07:29What exactly would you mean?

07:30Is it their batting?

07:31Is it their bowling?

07:32Or is it the general outlook of the team?

07:35I think when we go back to that semi-final

07:38Obviously on a good pitch in Adelaide

07:41We put India in

07:42And that was a risk

07:44But I thought we felt that they weren't sure

07:46What a good score was

07:47I think the approach now is

07:49They would come at us hard and try and maximise that

07:53Maybe try and put it out of our reach

07:55I think you've got two great batting line-ups

07:57The bowlers are all class as well

07:59So it's going to come down to on the day

08:01As we said earlier

08:02Who sums up those conditions the quickest

08:04And who can put the opposition on the back foot first

08:07And carry that momentum through

08:09Go ahead

08:10Matthew, the fact that after that England-Australia game

08:13You have practically been in a must-win situation

08:15In every game

08:16Does that put the team in great confidence

08:19Ahead of this obvious knockout semi-final game?

08:22Coming in, certainly it does

08:25And I spoke after the game

08:27The treachery of group stages

08:30Is there for everyone to see

08:32You've just got to find a way to get through

08:34It's not really until you get to the semi-finals

08:37And the finals

08:38That you sometimes open your eyes up to

08:41Expanding your horizons

08:42Playing that brand of cricket

08:44That we want to be renowned for

08:45I think both teams

08:46Whenever you get to the semi-finals phase

08:48The first part is relief, I think

08:50You've got through the really gritty, determined, hard part

08:53Even in T20s, sometimes the game demands

08:57You come into the semi-final

08:59We feel like we've been galvanised

09:01By the situation we've been in

09:02We've been sweating on weather

09:03We've been sweating on other results

09:05So it does feel like we can actually play

09:08With a fair bit more freedom in this semi-final

09:10And go out and really show our skills now

09:13And what we've got

09:14Last two here, please

09:16Matt, Josh Butler has shown

09:20A bit of vulnerability in the power play

09:23At least going by the IPL records

09:25Last season he was out in eight times

09:28This season, six times

09:30And before the eighth over

09:31He got about seven, eight times

09:33Is that a kind of giveaway

09:34That Josh Butler may have given to the Indian team?

09:39I think both him and Salty

09:41Josh and Salty have been a great combination

09:44For us over the 12 months

09:45I think they work really well

09:47When one's going, the other one can pull back and feed

09:50I think that's been a real key for Phil Salt

09:52Over the last 12 months

09:54His breakthrough was over here in the West Indies

09:56And their combination at the top

09:57Is something that we regard

09:59As a super strength within this team

10:01They're both outstanding players

10:03They're both selfless players

10:04And they play what the team needs

10:06So genuinely we're just excited

10:08What they can bring

10:09If one misses out

10:10We expect the other to do well

10:12And then we've got some really good options

10:14That we can adapt

10:15And try and put pressure back onto India as well

10:18Last one, Debasis

10:19And then we'll take some from the Hoop

10:20Matt, obviously

10:21Are you worried about the fact

10:22That Virat has not scored in the tournament so far?

10:26So perhaps a bit of vulnerability

10:28As far as Virat is concerned

10:30To start with

10:31In powerplay

10:32Virat's proven his class

10:34Over a very long period of time

10:35He's one of the players

10:36We've prepared well for

10:38We know how he can play

10:39We know how destructive he can be

10:41And we also know his game smarts

10:43If the game demands

10:44And innings of a different nature

10:46He's got that skill

10:47So he's definitely a key player for them

10:50And like we've said throughout this tournament

10:53What's happened throughout this tournament

10:54Means nothing tomorrow

10:55When we face off against each other

10:57Big players step up in the big moments

10:59We're hoping our players do that

11:01But you can expect him to do exactly the same

11:04I think we're going to go to the Hoop now

11:05We'll take two questions

11:06If we have any from there

11:08Can we just check if there's anything?

11:11Hello?

11:12Can you hear me?

11:13Yeah, go ahead

11:15Okay

11:16Hi coach

11:17Will Toss play an important role

11:19Considering the weather conditions?

11:21And how is England preparing

11:23Considering the weather might impact the game

11:25And it could be a shortened game?

11:54I haven't seen a weather report

11:55But what we've done throughout this tournament

11:57Is adapt to that

11:58We've had some shortened games

11:59We've had some opportunities

12:01To make sure we switch on at the right time

12:03So I feel like if that was to happen

12:05We're in a really good space to adapt to that

12:07And one more from the Hoop please

12:10Hi Matthew

12:12Could you also talk a little bit about

12:14Will Jacks

12:15He's someone who started the tournament with you

12:17And then has moved out of the team

12:19With the considerations of the pitch

12:21Is he someone who if called upon

12:23He could add a little bit to the team

12:25In these conditions in a semi-final?

12:52And then played such a stunning display

12:54In the last game as well

12:56So if he gets that opportunity

12:58I'm sure he'll be able to relish it

13:00Thank you

13:01Cheers Matthew

13:02Thanks guys

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