T20 World Cup 2022: Matthew Mott - England's unsung hero for the white ball format

No, it isn't England becoming two-time T20 world champions – although that too is on the cards. But the original reference point is to England's head coach Matthew Mott. 

The Australian won the women's ODI World Cup earlier this year with the Australian team, which was his swansong from the highly successful team he coached. 

And now, he is on the cusp of winning two World Cup trophies – in different formats and among two genders – in the same calendar year. 

It's a fantastic achievement, yet one that Matthew Mott himself has been keen to downplay and instead lay the praise at the door of his players. 

"Over your coaching journey, you learn off a lot of other people and reflect a lot," Matthew Mott told SEN. "Being at the right place at the right time is a good strategy."

"I've worked with some outstanding Australian women's team players, and this is an incredible generation of white-ball cricketers here with England."

"We have two key players out (in Jonny Bairstow and Jofra Archer) and to be able to be not less off is a great thing." 

Indeed, the England men's and Australian women's teams have many very talented players. 

But the trait of a good head coach is the ability to get them to work together – and Matthew Mott has done that seamlessly. 

The other thing he has done is oversee a smooth transition from the end of the Eoin Morgan era to the beginning of the Jos Buttler era – to the point where this feels like the same England side. 

And again, this comes down to the England Cricket Board's robust white-ball set-up. But again, the right man at the helm makes everything look more accessible. 

And, as Jos Buttler admitted, he wants to keep working with Matthew Mott as they strive to build on and take English cricket in a 'new direction'. 

"Hopefully I've got more time ahead of myself as a captain, and with Matthew Mott, we can hopefully shape the next era of English white-ball cricket," Jos Buttler told the reporters on Saturday.

"We're still reaping the rewards of (former captain) Eoin Morgan's tenure and the changes in the white-ball game in England."

"We're very much right in the back of that wave, but there's a bit of a new direction as well." 

Indeed, the best thing to be said about Matthew Mott is that he approaches things orderly and is keen to let his results do the talking. 

It was evident as he transformed the Australian women's team during his seven years in charge, making them the gold standard for women's cricket. 

His imprints are already being seen in the England men's team, too, as after a rocky start, the team have picked up a head of steam and peaked at just the right time. 

Now, he will return to Melbourne – the same venue he won the ODI Women's World Cup – and hope to do a repeat in the same year.