"Hoping it was very much tongue-in-cheek" - Matthew Mott on Josh Hazlewood's remark regarding England's fate in T20 World Cup 2024

England head coach Matthew Mott hopes that the much-debated statement by Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood was only tongue-in-cheek. The 50-year-old understands that the Australian mindset is to walk on the field, intending to win every game in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Following Australia's win over Namibia on Tuesday, Hazlewood said it is in their best interests to see England out of the tournament early on. The New South Wales bowler reasoned that Australia have historically struggled against England in the shortest format.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Mott reacted to Hazlewood's comment, hoping it was only a joke.

"Having grown up in Australia and the will to win every game, I am sure they will come to the fore. I am very much hoping it was an off-hand remark by a really good bloke who is having fun. Knowing Josh, he has got a pretty dry sense of humour. I am hoping it was very much tongue-in-cheek."

With one match washed out and having lost the other, the defending champions face an uphill path to the Super 8 stage. They must beat Oman and Namibia with good margins to get ahead of Scotland in terms of net run-rate.

"We've got no chance unless we win" - England captain Jos Buttler

Speaking to BBC Sport, England skipper Jos Buttler said their focus is not on the permutations and will prioritize winning. The keeper-batter said:

"The situation will unfold during the game. First of all we've got no chance unless we win, so we're fully focused on trying to win the game and hopefully if we can do that maybe we'll get in a position where we can affect the net run rate."

The Englishmen already had a disastrous defense of the World Cup in India in 2023. They managed only three victories out of nine, thereby failing to progress to the semi-finals.