'He Hasn't Been In & Around...' - Matthew Mott Rejects Morgan's 'Unsettled' Dressing Room Claims
Morgan led England to its maiden WC triumph (x.com)
England head coach Matthew Mott brushed aside suggestions of an "unsettled" dressing room being the root cause of his team's disastrous campaign at the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
Mott rejected former skipper Eoin Morgan's claims of a brittle and unstable environment plaguing the England players' wings at the marquee tournament, resulting in five losses in six matches.
The coach insisted the defending world champions are an "incredibly tight-knit" unit and "full of fun" even as the doom and gloom about England's lacklustre showings threaten to bring to end careers and an era which saw the team clinch two major world titles, including the 2019 World Cup under Morgan.
"There's every opportunity when you're losing to splinter and go other ways," Mott told the press after England's calamitous 100-run defeat to India in Lucknow on Sunday (October 29). "[But] people are putting their arms around each other trying to help them. It's easy to do that when you're winning, but a lot harder when you're losing and I'm proud we just keep trying to get up."
Mott Denies Morgan's England Claim
Morgan was speaking as an expert to Sky Sports when he accused Mott and skipper Jos Buttler of failing to revert a sense of disquiet inside the changing room. Without pinpointing fingers, the inspirational figure suggested desperation to clinch another world title may have created extra tension and pressure within the group.
"They wanted to win this tournament. After this 50-over World Cup, the next one is in 2027," Morgan had said. "Eight or nine of these guys will not be here, they will be too old and the majority will have retired."
"In a special time for English white-ball cricket, there will be a huge sense of a missed opportunity, because the quality in that changing-room is hard to come by."
Mott, however, rejected Morgan's suggestion and said there is lack of clarity in the mind of the ex captain about how the current side is functioning as a unit and there is a chat waiting to take place between the two.
"Eoin's entitled to his opinion and he's obviously been away for a couple of weeks with the birth of his child," he said. "He hasn't been in and around the rooms."
"I'll certainly take that up with him and have a chat to him. We've got a really good relationship with him so if he's seeing something I'm not, I'll definitely have that conversation," Mott added.
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