Two weeks after Australia raised the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup trophy, coach Matthew Mott talked about the magical final and what impact the current global emergency has had on Australian cricket.
Australia defended its 2018 title with a resounding 85-run victory over India in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which saw a report 86,174 attendance on International Women’s Day on 8 March.
The final’s reputation was a culmination of the last couple of years’ works that went into the development of women’s cricket. Mott thanked everyone concerned and also spoke about the lasting legacy the tournament has left behind.
“There’s been a real drive from the cricket community in women’s cricket. There are a lot of people who should take credit for that – Belinda Clarke, James Sutherland, Pat Howard. Everything the former players, you set the foundation for what has been a real celebration. This legacy will live on,” he said.
“I received a call from Andrew Symmonds the other day and he said that ‘I’m very so proud of this team and the images of the players celebrating and dancing with Katy Perry at the end those will last in the memory of anyone who watched the game and this event for many years to come.
“The players must become heroes for a whole new audience. It’s male fans as well not just females. The next contemporaries will be so much better for that experience we went through,” he more added.
Notwithstanding the worldwide crisis, Mott said that Cricket Australia’s proactive actions have helped the team stay connected. He replied that the team’s next focus will be the women’s 50-over World Cup, which is programmed to take place in a year’s time in New Zealand.
I got a call from Andrew Symmonds the other day and he said that ‘I’m just so proud of this team.’
Matthew Mott
“We have had our questions which we have after any major tournament online. We had one-on-one conferences with every player and they went down without a hitch. We know pretty connected despite the isolation.
“We will be working out how the scene looks like in two weeks time. And then we will make our policies. The one-day World Cup is now our focus so we will order away from T20. Our players have been sent out practice kits so they can train at home. Our rehab players will have a connection with physios in their state. We are doing well with the job in hand. I feel proud of the organization considering how proactive they have been.”
The Australia coach also feels that the prevailing situation will have no effect on the national contracts for the upcoming season. “We are more successful than the men’s team, we don’t have a number of crossover of players… one-day and T20 are pretty closely followed.
“We will still be preparing for the one-day World Cup so therefore that would be the main focus in our contract thing. We also pay past performances in our contracts. So it will be much much business as usual with regards to our contracting process.”
Mott also gave an update on damaged players Ellyse Perry and Tayla Vlaeminck, who have been said to be growing well. While Vlaeminck was ordered out just before the T20 World Cup with a stress fracture in her right foot, Perry had provided a high-grade right hamstring injury in the group game against New Zealand. The modern break from cricket has given time to the players to rest and recuperate. Australia also had to cancel their limited-overs tour to South Africa, which was disposed to begin on 22 March.
“Ellyse [Perry] had a surgery on her hamstring and it’s been going well. She is Sydney at the time recuperating. The return is looking good and our medical staff is happy with it. Tayla [Vlaeminck] is also an outstanding player for us. It’s great she takes time to recover. Her diagnosis hasn’t changed much from the original one. She will certainly take a bit of time. It helps their mind a bit that they are not missing much at the moment as they would have if the team was in South Africa.”