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England fast bowler Mark Wood has expressed his view that solely blaming Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler for the underwhelming World Cup 2023 campaign would be unjust. The English team's performance in the tournament did not meet expectations, as their promising bowling strategies did not lead to success on the big stage. Despite their efforts to control the middle overs with a combination of pace and spin, victories remained elusive. Their campaign was marred by a series of losses, including a significant 100-run defeat against hosts India in Lucknow, where they were dismissed for just 129 runs while pursuing a target of 230 on a challenging pitch. Subsequently, England suffered another defeat, this time to Sri Lanka, further denting their morale.
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Several factors contributed to the team's disappointing performance. A prominent issue was the struggles of their batters. While England had successfully adopted the aggressive 'Bazball' strategy in Test matches, characterised by quick scoring, the same players who excelled in hitting towering sixes during the five-day format found themselves struggling in the ODIs.
The team's lacklustre showing invited widespread criticism, with a particular focus on England's white-ball coach, Matthew Mott, and their captain, Jos Buttler. However, in an interview with the BBC, Wood emphasised that it would be unfair to attribute all the blame to the captain and coach, emphasising the need for collective responsibility. Wood openly acknowledged that he, too, fell short of his own performance standards and expressed his frustration about it.
"If the players are looking at other people, then that's the player's fault. We get every support system going. We've got nutritionists. We've got strength competition, Coach, We've got physios. We've got people, local Indian coaches and dogs sticking at the lads. As a player, you've got everything you need”, Said Wood.
"The coach can only set about. We get tactics, we get, uh, analysts. There's nothing different to how we've done it the last seven years. Since I've been involved with England, nothing different. You can't pin everything on the coach."
"Sometimes the players have to look at themselves to give a bit of responsibility. I have not performed well enough in this World Cup. I'm frustrated and I'm gutted about it. You know, I feel like I've let some people down at home and things like that hurt me”, he continued.
"And if the rest of the group is hurting as well. I didn't think you can't just pin it on the captain and the coach all the time. Sometimes, you gotta look at yourself and say, 'Look, I just can't be good enough or what can I do to get better?'"
"It's not fair to pin it on others," the English bowler concluded.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by India Today)
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