Mott laying the foundation for an Australian cricket dynasty

Matthew Mott, head coach of Australia, will certainly not be a satisfied man after losing the final T20I of the multi-format Ashes series to England on Wednesday (31 July). Australia were eyeing a whitewash to rub salt into the wounds of England, nonetheless, they will take the 12-4 win they secured - their best result since the introduction of the points based system. However, considering the team's hectic schedule leading into next year's T20 World Cup, their job has only just begun.



"I think every team in the world thinks about the All Blacks as being the benchmark," Mott said, on Wednesday (July 31).  “We’ve all the read the (famous sporting) book legacy and it’s something we’ve aspired to do.”



Mott was referring to Australia’s phenomenal run of form since 2018 where Australia lost just three matches. They rounded the year with a T20 World Cup victory in the West Indies and Mott is keen that the team continue on their successful path and bring more laurels to Australia.



"Certainly our high win percentage rate is something we’re very proud of over the last couple of years, this team has been a very strong team for a long time. We came into the series expecting a great contest and we’ve had it at different times, but to get the result we’ve had is incredibly special for this group and not something we’ll take lightly.”



Series results aside, the biggest positive for the Australians was the performance of the youngsters the likes Tayla Vlaeminck, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molinuex and Georgia Wareham. These players during the course of the series put their hands up and allowed the seniors in the team - the likes of Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Racheal Haynes and Allyssa Healy - to play with more freedom.



"I think we've got this perfect blend at the moment of experienced senior players and then this new wave of professional young players who have only ever known cricket as a job," Perry said. “They’ve come in attacked this environment- that blend has been brilliant for us. We’ll try and keep that group together for as long as we can.”



After a break of about 25 days the Australian team’s next challenge is tour of West Indies which is scheduled to begin at the end of August. Once they return they will have a home series against Sri Lanka and then the first standalone Women’s Big Bash League season.



The next mission for this Australian team will be the T20 World Cup at home next year. They would love to win their fifth title and extend their dominance over the rest of the cricketing world.



"The T20 World Cup is one of biggest challenges we've had in the last couple of years – all of us have had one eye on the home World T20 next year," Perry said. "We want to keep being successful but it’s also an incredible opportunity for our sport and for Australian cricket to make a huge mark on the game so we want to do it justice."



While the series victory for Australia was a phenomenal achievement, there are few chinks they would like to address, but for now they will savor this victory for a while - they have, after all, earned it.