England have struggled to cope with the situation in India Photo: Altaf Qadri/AP
Rob Key takes blame for poor world The England Cup admitted they were wrong at every level, from planning to play, and were guilty of complacency.
In an honest assessment of their failures, Key, the team director, admitted England had put the ball away in 50 overs . cricketers believed “everything would be fine” when they arrived in India and paid the price for not playing enough ODIs on the subcontinent.
He said they made simple errors in judgment, e.g. , decided to play South Africa first on a hot day in Mumbai because, according to Key, they lacked “local experience” in the management team he had assembled.
Despite losing six matches from nine and a litany of errors, Key backed captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott, who led the revival, saying the setback would be the “creation” of their partnership and that they had suffered. for life in the shadow of the Baseball revolution.
Taking the blame, Key defended Mott and Buttler, but their jobs will be at risk at next June's Twenty20 World Cup if England make a similarly lackadaisical title defense and are once again at fault for hosting things for granted.
Key reflected after England lost six of their nine matches in India. Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesWhat is worrying about India is that Mott failed to lift up his players and the management did not change tactics when it became clear that the team was failing. “We didn’t stick to the style we wanted to play at different times. Our decision making as individuals was not good enough.
“I hold myself responsible for a lot of this. I have put together a coaching team that has no local experience, so when you get somewhere like Mumbai (and everything seems so easy now) you worry about the dew and all that stuff – and there is actually someone who really knows these conditions. Well, he says: “By the way, it’s hotter there than in the sun; make sure you have a bat.” You know, everything changes.
“It wasn’t until the last two games that we really figured out how we operate so we started hitting first. We didn't know any of this. We should have known this, but we didn't compete. I look back and it is very difficult for me to criticize Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott when I am the one who every time a decision is made about whether we focus on 50 rather than cricket, Test cricket or T20, I have always chosen Test cricket . So I hold myself more responsible than anyone else for what went wrong.”
Key appointed Mott last year and he won the Twenty20 World Cup last October, which clearly bought him time, but it is concerning that he failed to notice the 50-over game had continued, especially as the split training system gives him long breaks to prepare and plan.
“We haven’t evolved at all”
“As a coach it's quite simple: your job is to get the players to play to their strengths. You cannot always guarantee results. What you need to do is make sure that every player progresses and gets better and we haven’t done that and he will accept that,” Key said.
“To be honest, I made the mistake of thinking that everything would actually be fine when we got there, but it wasn't. We assumed that even without playing much 50-over cricket, this was such a good team that they would just fall back into old habits and we could go out there and win.
“In 2019, we were miles ahead of everyone else, and the rest of the world was catching up. And all of this happened while we stood still and even became more conservative in some ways while everyone else caught up with the bat. We haven't evolved at all and we need to make sure we get back to that. We should have come out here and better understand 50-over cricket here, but that didn't happen.”
Key also said he did not give David Willey a central contract, saying he would have made the same decision “if he could go back and do it again.”
England named a revamped squad for the Caribbean tour on Sunday white-ball region: Only six players from the World Cup were selected for the three ODIs against the West Indies in December, but there is little to be understood about this because the long-term restructuring of the 50 overs team will only become clear next summer.
David Willey has not been offered a new main contract. Photo: Getty Images/Alex Davidson
Those who featured in this World Cup and the five-Test series in India starting in January, such as Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes, still had to rest. Key refused to make long-term calls, saying England were not ready to say anyone was “fully ready”, but it appears Bairstow has been told he needs to get fit. “Johnny, he's been relentless since that injury and he needs to really get himself into a position where he can go and get the Indian Test,” Key said.
The only obvious option is 36. Chopping two-year-old Dawid Malan. Despite being England's leading run-scorer at the World Cup and having a one-year contract as a center fielder in his pocket, he was not included in either the T20 or West Indies 50-over squads.
“Someone like Dawid Malan in T20… We feel his form over the last year hasn't been… that's the reason why he's not there,” Key said. “He's going to have to take this opportunity, whether it's franchise cricket, to go out and improve and get back to the player he probably was two years ago to get back to that at the World Cup next year.”
Malan will feel disappointed but last week admitted he expected a complete overhaul of the team. Mott and Key now need to be ruthless with the likes of Bairstow and Joe Root and give the next generation a good chance at the 2027 World Cup.
The 50-over game will only get more aggressive. next four years, and it's doubtful Ruth will be able to keep up. This World Cup has shown how important it is to have a strong number 3 player rather than an anchor like him.
Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were included in the 50s squad for the tour of the West Indies, along with Will Jacks and Phil Salt. Notably, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone retained their places in both teams despite their World Cup exit.
ODI squad:Jos Buttler (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson , Harry Brooke, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Phil Salt, Josh Tong, John Turner
T20I squad:< /strong>Jos Buttler (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Harry Brooke, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Timal Mills, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tong, Reece Topley, John Turner , Chris Woakes
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