England head coach Matthew Mott has reacted to the comments made by Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood recently.
Hazlewood, after Australia’s nine-wicket victory over Namibia, hinted at the possibility of exploiting England’s difficulty in the tournament in the post-match press conference.
England are in a tough situation, pertaining to their qualification to the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 as they are fourth in Group B with just one point in two matches.
“We’ve had some real struggles against them [England] in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else’s I think,” stated Hazlewood.
However, the English coach stated that Australians have a mindset to win every game and expressed hope that Hazlewood was just ‘having fun.’
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“I am very much hoping it was an off-hand remark by a really good bloke who is having fun. Having grown up in Australia and the will to win every game, I am sure they will come to the fore,” Matthew Mott said.
“Knowing Josh, he has got a pretty dry sense of humour. I am hoping it was very much tongue in cheek.”
Notably, Australia will face Scotland in their last group-stage fixture which could decide England’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2024 even if they manage to beat Oman and Namibia in their remaining group matches.
Hazlewood’s comments hint at the possibility of Australia winning their match against Scotland with a narrow margin to knock England out of the tournament on net run-rate.
However, if they proceed with this tactic, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh may get banned for two matches ahead of the Super Eight stage, where each team will play three matches.
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