Head coach Matthew Mott has quit the Australian women’s team in what captain Meg Lanning has described as “a blow”.
Australia captain Meg Lanning said the departure of head coach Matthew Mott is shaping up to be a “huge” blow for the Australian world champion, but has backed two of her assistants as potential successors to long term.
On Wednesday night, Cricket Australia announced that Mott would leave his post after seven years to become coach of England’s white ball teams.
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Since Mott took charge of the Australian women’s team in 2015, the quality of Australian women’s cricket has improved as far as the eye can see, thanks in large part to major pay rises.
Under Mott, Australia have won three Ashes series, two T20 World Cups and an ODI World Cup, among other series.
The ODI women’s team proved particularly dominant, compiling a record streak of 26 consecutive wins. Lanning said Mott left big shoes to fill.
“‘Motty’ is a huge loss for our band,” she said.
“He has had a huge impact on our success over the past seven years. He really pushed the game and our team forward. He will certainly be missed.
Lanning said that as captain she would likely have a “little” say in selecting Mott’s successor and chose two potential candidates: Mott’s assistant coaches Shelley Nitschke and Ben Sawyer.
Former versatile champion Nitschke was appointed to the role on an interim basis and led the Perth Scorchers to their first WBBL title over the summer.
Sawyer, meanwhile, is highly regarded as a bowling coach and once coached the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL.
But before a full-time coach is selected, Lanning said Australia must focus on bringing home the first cricket gold medal offered at the Commonwealth Games.
“I think ‘Shell’ or Ben would be great at this job,” she said.
“I guess the first part is to go to the Commonwealth Games and play well and perform well with ‘Shell’ in charge, and I guess we’ll go through the process from there.
“From a player perspective, all I worry about is how well we can play in Birmingham and in the three Northern Ireland series before that.
“The (selection) process will take care of itself.”
Versatile Ash Gardner has also backed one of the two assistants to take on the role, but said there would be plenty of interest from outside the Australian setup.
“I guess both of them will definitely go for the role and I think one of them would fit the role perfectly,” she said.
“But saying that, I know how much interest this work will generate. I know we may have been one of the most successful Australian teams in history. This will attract some very good options.
“Obviously I’m excited to see who it will be and whoever fills that role will be really excited just to be in and around this group. If it’s Shelley or Ben, I know none of us care. will complain.
Lanning said his ideal coach would have Mott’s people skills and talent for getting the best out of the group of players.
“Playing internationally is as much about people management as it is about skills,” she said.
Gardner said Mott’s personality was what set him apart as a coach.
“Just his personality around a band like ours was something we needed,” she said.
“He was always someone who put things into perspective and just put a fun spin on things. I know for myself that there was always this constant banter with him.
Moreover, Lanning believes the next coach must not let the world champion Australians rest on their laurels.
“For the new coach coming in, it’s about challenging us, making sure we improve and evolve, which is what we’ve done for the past seven years, but we have to keep doing that,” he said. she declared.
“If we don’t, we certainly won’t be the best team in the world.
“It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I think we have very good candidates to fill the role. It’s an exciting time. Whoever it is, I look forward to working with them.
