"It hurts, losing 3-0" - Matthew Mott disappointed by England's T20I series sweep against Bangladesh
England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has admitted that the 3-0 T20I series loss to Bangladesh is a tough pill to swallow.. However, the former head coach of the Australian women's team credited their opponents for a strong showing.
The reigning T20 World champions lost the first T20I by six wickets, and followed it up with a four-wicket defeat in the second. They slumped to a 0-3 whitewash as they fell short by 16 runs in pursuit of a stiff 159 in the third contest on March 14.
Speaking after his side's third consecutive loss to Bangladesh, Matthew Mott recalled that England got the desired result in the one-day leg of the series. However, he added that they were disappointed to lose the T20I series in such a fashion.
As quoted by the BBC, he said:
"It hurts, losing 3-0. We were really proud of our one-day win because that was a massive effort. But to finish the way we did today will leave a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. Our first 15 overs in the field was nowhere near the level we expect."
Mott lamented England's poor fielding efforts, but expects them to improve by repeatedly being in these situations:
"We've been up against a very strong home team, but we were up for it today - everyone was up and about," he said.
"But for whatever reason we just couldn't gather the ball either in the air or along the ground. There's been a realisation that we will be better off from putting these batters out there in pressure situations."
The turning point in England's run-chase came when they lost Dawid Malan (53 off 47) and Jos Buttler (40 off 31) off consecutive deliveries in the 13th over. Their partnership was worth 95 and the visitors couldn't build on that foundation to get over the line.
"The wicket played better" - England captain Jos Buttler after his side's defeat in third T20I against Bangladesh
England skipper Jos Buttler acknowledged that 159 was a chaseable score as the pitch played perfectly and felt he should have dived to prevent his run out. The keeper-batter said in the post-match presentation:
"It's really disappointing to lose, but congrats to Bangladesh, they outplayed us and deserved their victory.
"We came back well, after missing some opportunities in the field. The wicket played better and it was a good score to restrict them to. Losing two wickets in two balls is very poor, really disappointed in myself for not diving, potentially cost us the game."
Opener Litton Das earned the Player of the Match award for his 57-ball 73. Taskin Ahmed also starred for Bangladesh, recording figures of 2/25 from his four overs.
For England, Chris Jordan (1/21) and Adil Rashid (1/23) picked up a wicket apiece, with the visitors failing to get any more of the hosts' batters out.