{"id":293650,"date":"2023-10-31T19:25:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T19:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=293650"},"modified":"2023-10-31T19:25:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T19:25:15","slug":"were-better-than-that-dawid-malan-deflects-england-heat-from-matthew-mott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/%d1%81ricket\/were-better-than-that-dawid-malan-deflects-england-heat-from-matthew-mott\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019re better than that \u2013 Dawid Malan deflects England heat from Matthew Mott"},"content":{"rendered":"

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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 \u201cneed to take responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n

England arrived in India as reigning champions and among the favourites but have unravelled in dramatic fashion over the past month.<\/p>\n

After six games they sit bottom of the table in 10th place, with a solitary win against fellow strugglers Bangladesh, putting Mott\u2019s white-ball role under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Speculation over the Australian\u2019s position increased when Eoin Morgan, the side\u2019s World Cup-winning former captain, claimed the squad seemed \u201cunsettled\u201d and later suggested England \u201ctake a leaf out of Baz\u2019s book\u201d \u2013 a direct reference to Test coach Brendon McCullum.<\/p>\n

Malan, the top run-scorer and solitary centurion in an underperforming lineup, told BBC Sport: \u201cMotty is not the one walking out on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are being given everything we need to perform. The facilities and work, everything is being done as it always has been, we just haven\u2019t been able to find a way to get wins on the board. It has been frustrating from a players\u2019 point of view because we know we\u2019re better than that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not involved in selection or any of those things, so I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malan broadened the focus away from Mott\u2019s future, insisting that everyone involved in the campaign would be feeling the same heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess whenever you have a poor campaign there is always someone who\u2019s going to be targeted whether it be the captain, players, coach or selectors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s jobs being scrutinised and players\u2019 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.<\/p>\n