Rob Key backs Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler to lead England’s ODI revival
England’s managing director Rob Key has backed Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler to lead the team’s revival in one-day international cricket, despite their disappointing performance at the 2023 World Cup.
England finished seventh in the points table, failing to qualify for the semi-finals. However, Key has defended Mott and Buttler, saying that they should be the first people to have a real go at it.
“I think they should be the first people to have a real go at it as well because you know it’s never simple. The game evolves, that’s why it’s such a good game of cricket because the things you know one year, you’ve got to evolve it the next and you know we’ve got to get back to it as we’ve been already starting to do. We’ve got to start getting some clarity on exactly what we’re about, what every single role is about.”
“I think they’ve got the potential to be a very good combination,” Key said. “Jos is a young captain still, but he’s been around for a long time and he’s the best player in the world in white-ball cricket. Matthew is a very experienced coach and he’s won a lot of trophies. I think they can work well together to get England back to the top of ODI cricket.”
Key has also admitted that England’s focus on Test cricket may have contributed to their poor performance at the World Cup.
“I think we’ve probably been a little bit guilty of prioritising Test cricket over the last couple of years,” he said. “We need to find a better balance between the two formats. We need to make sure that we’re giving our ODI players the best possible chance to succeed.”
Key has outlined some of the key areas that England need to improve in order to be successful in ODIs.
“I think what we’ve done arguably in this competition is that we’ve just thought about who’s the best 11 players,” he said. “then we’ll fit them into a team rather than actually going right, what do we want from our openers, one, two what do we want from our number three and that can then give clarity”
Key is confident that England can bounce back from their disappointment at the World Cup and become a force to be reckoned with in ODIs once again. He is optimistic that it will happen under the leadership of Jos Buttler who had a difficult tournament.
Buttler had a tough time in this tournament but by no stretch do I think that he’s done and he won’t get back to what he’s done. I think he’ll be a better captain for this,” he said. “it’s always the hard times that make you as a leader. It’s always those things and this is the first real tough time that he’s had and I think he’s going to be so much better for it.”
