Dawid Malan believes it would be unfair for England head coach Matthew Mott to take the blame for a dire Cricket World Cup campaign, suggesting the players themselves “need to take responsibility”.
England arrived in India as reigning champions and among the favourites but have unravelled in dramatic fashion over the past month.
After six games they sit bottom of the table in 10th place, with a solitary win against fellow strugglers Bangladesh, putting Mott’s white-ball role under scrutiny.
Speculation over the Australian’s position increased when Eoin Morgan, the side’s World Cup-winning former captain, claimed the squad seemed “unsettled” and later suggested England “take a leaf out of Baz’s book” – a direct reference to Test coach Brendon McCullum.
Malan, the top run-scorer and solitary centurion in an underperforming lineup, told BBC Sport: “Motty is not the one walking out on the field.
“We are being given everything we need to perform. The facilities and work, everything is being done as it always has been, we just haven’t been able to find a way to get wins on the board. It has been frustrating from a players’ point of view because we know we’re better than that.
“I’m not involved in selection or any of those things, so I don’t know how that works or who is in charge of all that, but as players we need to take responsibility when we cross that rope.”
Malan broadened the focus away from Mott’s future, insisting that everyone involved in the campaign would be feeling the same heat.
“I guess whenever you have a poor campaign there is always someone who’s going to be targeted whether it be the captain, players, coach or selectors,” he said.
“People’s jobs being scrutinised and players’ careers being scrutinised. We have a hell of a lot to play for in the last three. The only way we can get the noise off the coach is by performing. And it is up to us next three games to win these games and take that narrative away because we have not performed.
“I know people say that a lot when their backs are against the wall but genuinely, we still back each other and we’re still here for each other. We just haven’t been able to put those performances out on the pitch.”
Malan recently accepted a new one-year central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board and, at 36, was neither surprised nor aggrieved to miss out on one of the new multi-year offers.
He still hopes to play a part in next summer’s T20 World Cup but does not shy away from the fact that he is entering a different phase of his career.
Malan confirmed that his latest deal with Yorkshire was as a white-ball only deal, effectively ending a first-class career that brought more than 13,000 runs, 22 Test caps and the high point of an Ashes century in Perth.
“I’m not going to be playing four-day cricket, but I still have a contract with Yorkshire to play the Blast and I’ll still be playing the Hundred if I can get a contract in that,” he explained.
“I’ll probably try and play as much white-ball cricket as I can for the rest of my career. It’s prioritising spending a bit more time at home because my winters are so busy with internationals or franchise tournaments.”
Malan does not know how long his England days will last, but the appetite for fresh blood and renewal of an ageing side may hasten the end for several members of the current squad.
With that in mind, he knows the 2025 Champions Trophy may be a step too far for him but remains eager to clinch a top-eight finish in India and guarantee the next generation do not miss out of qualifying for the tournament.
“Two years feels a long way. I’m pretty sure I’ll be done but I’d love the guys to play in that,” he said.
“If the decision gets made to move on from players, the last thing you want is that we haven’t done well enough to give other players the opportunity in future to play in big tournaments. It’s definitely not going to be a situation where we just go through the motions because we’re potentially out of this World Cup. We have a lot at stake and a lot of pride for England to be in that Champions Trophy in two years’ time.”
Barbados to welcome Oman early for preparation camp ahead of T20 World Cup
As the much-anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup draws closer, Barbados will welcome West Asian team Oman to the island for their pre-tournament camp ahead of the global showpiece to be hosted jointly in the Caribbean and United States.
While in Barbados, Oman’s camp, scheduled for May 14-24, will also include three T20 matches – two against a Barbados Select XI, and one match against University of the West Indies –as they fine tune preparations for the June 1-29 World Cup.
The camp is being organised by former England batsman and West Indies Senior Men’s Selector Roland Butcher, who saw it fit to assist Oman in getting acclimatised to the Eastern Caribbean Island, which will host a number of games throughout the tournament, including the final.
“It is great that the Oman team will be coming out to Barbados early for their pre-tournament camp. They will use the period to get acclimatised to the conditions, as quick as possible. We are delighted to have them in Barbados – this country is the ideal place to start their preparations,” Butcher said.
“We believe the time spent here will be hugely beneficial towards them putting on a good showing in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024,” he added.
Duleep Mendis, the former Sri Lanka captain and Oman’s Head Coach expressed his team’s delight and anticipation ahead of their arrival in Barbados.
“It is one of the cricket locations which we all dream of visiting and we want to make the most of our time as we prepare. We have high ambitions in this tournament, and we want to focus on our plans from the moment we touch down in a country which is known for its cricket culture and heroes,” Mendis shared.
Oman recently named their World Cup squad, which will be led by all-rounder Aqib Ilyas, who takes the reins from Zeeshan Maqsood. This year’s World Cup will mark Oman’s third appearance in the last four editions of the tournament, which underlines their success and consistency in performing at the global level.
Oman enjoyed a dazzling 2023 campaign, as they copped the Gulf Cricket Cup, followed by an unbeaten run in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia qualifiers, which secured their spot in the upcoming tournament. They were also runners-up in this year’s ACC Premier Cup.
The West Asian team, drawn in Group B alongside Australia, England, Scotland, and Namibia, will open their T20 World Cup campaign against the latter, in Barbados, on June 2.
IPL: Royals downed by big-hitting Capitals
Rajasthan Royals failed to chase down the Delhi Capitals, who claimed a 20-run victory in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Sanju Samson struck 86 off 46 balls for the second-placed Royals, but the Capitals successfully defended their haul of 221.
Jake Fraser-McGurk's 20-ball 50 set the tone for the Capitals, who are well in the play-off hunt with two matches remaining.
Fellow opener Abishek Porel plundered 65, with Tristan Stubbs adding a useful 41 towards the end of the innings, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3-24) the only Royals bowler to do significant damage.
Kuldeep Yadav (2-25) and Mukesh Kumar (2-30) led the way with the ball for Delhi, with the latter taking the vital wicket of Samson in the 16th over, leaving the Royals with too much to do from 162-4.
Delhi have won three of their last four matches and are making a late run for the play-offs, as one of four teams tied on 12 points.
Data Debrief: Samson soars
It took Samson just 31 minutes to amass 86 runs before he was eventually dismissed, with the loss of his wicket all but ending the Royals' hopes.
In the process, he moved into third place in the IPL run-scorers chart, up from 11th, with 471 runs to his name this season. He trails only Ruturaj Gaikwad (541) and Virat Kohli (542).
Seales takes 5-29 in second innings to help Sussex complete innings and 124-run rout of Derbyshire
Jayden Seales is now the leading wicket-taker after five rounds of the County Championship Division Two after another stellar performance to help Sussex rout Derbyshire by an innings and 124 runs at the County Ground in Derby from May 3-5.
Seales took 1-54 from 14 overs in the first innings as Derbyshire were bowled out for 246 in 63.3 overs after Sussex won the toss.
Luis Reece (50), Blair Tickner (47) and Aneurin Donald (44) were the top run-scorers against 2-6 from James Coles and 2-65, each, from Ollie Robinson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice.
Cheteshwar Pujara then starred with the bat with 113 off 186 balls as Sussex piled up 479 off 109.4 overs in their first innings.
James Coles (72), Tom Alsop (64) and Tom Haines (58) provided good support for Pujara against three-wicket hauls from Daryn Dupavillon and Jack Morley.
Seales then produced an excellent spell of bowling to help restrict Derbyshire to just 109 all out in 26 overs.
He took 5-29 from his eight overs, taking his tally this season to 18 in four games. Danny Lamb also bowled well with 2-10 from four overs.
Full Scores: Derbyshire 246 off 63.3 overs (Luis Reece 50, Blair Tickner 47, Aneurin Donald 44, James Coles 2-6, Ollie Robinson 2-65, Fynn Hudson-Prentice 2-65) & 109 off 26 overs (Jayden Seales 5-29, Danny Lamb 2-10)
Sussex 479 off 109.4 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 113, James Coles 72, Tom Alsop 64, Tom Haines 58, Daryn Dupavillon 3-89, Jack Morley 3-117, Luis Reece 2-32)
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