NEW DELHI: Ahead of his side's T20 World Cup game against Oman, England head coach Matthew Mott expressed optimism that Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood's remarks about playing to eliminate England from the tournament were made in jest.
England will confront Oman in their Group B encounter at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday. England face the peril of being ousted from the tournament. Positioned fourth in Group B after a no result against Scotland and a defeat to Australia, a loss against either Oman or Namibia will eliminate the defending champions.
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Australia have already secured their spot in the Super Eight, and if Scotland defeat them or lose to them by a narrow margin in their upcoming game on Sunday, Scotland could also advance to the Super Eights alongside the 2021 champions.
Discussing the prospect of playing to eliminate England, Hazlewood had stated in the pre-match press conference that eliminating England would be advantageous for everyone.
"In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again and they are probably one of the top few teams on their day and we have had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament that's in our best interest as well as probably (that of) everyone else," Hazlewood had said, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Mott downplayed Hazlewood's comments, stating that he knows Josh well and his integrity, and hopes that he was merely jesting.
"To be honest, I was informed of that this morning. Look to me, that is things out of our control and I think I know Josh pretty well and I know his integrity. I do not think that is a thing. He has got a very good sense of humour and hopefully, that is what he was doing," Mott was quoted as saying by ANI at the pre-match press conference.
Mott emphasized that regardless of Josh's comments or any external discussions about qualification and run rates, the team is concentrating on securing victory in their upcoming match.
Mott also conceded that while England have displayed glimpses of their fearless cricket, the tournament has been fragmented for them.
