Kuldeep Yadav and Matthew Mott post-match press conference, India vs England, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023

India player Kuldeep Yadav and England Head Coach Matthew Mott post-match press conference, India vs England, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

India player Kuldeep Yadav 

England Head Coach Matthew Mott

India player Kuldeep Yadav post-match press conference transcript

[Reporter:] After the Pakistan game, you said in the mix zone that you joked with Rohit that you would like to bowl under the lights. Today you got that opportunity. How excited were you for that opportunity? To bowl with dew, with so much control and drift, how special was it?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I mean, it is good if we get the batting first. But if we get a good score, it would have been more fun. The score was good at 230 and the wicket was difficult. The way Rohit [Sharma] batted and gave a good respectable total of 230. I was hoping that if we get two wickets in powerplay, we will be in the game. The way Shami and Jasprit bowled, the first spell, they got two wickets in powerplay and we were back in the game.

My job was simple, to bowl at a good length. It was spinning. I used the crease well. The result was good.

[Reporter:] [inaudible]

[Kuldeep Yadav:] Both the balls were good. I think both the balls were the same. There were no changes. The quality is important, and the quality of the players is also very important. They were very important wickets. And the team won – that is more important.

[Reporter:] Lucknow is your home ground. What kind of support were you getting in this? And what was going on in your mind before you bowled?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I know my hometown well and the conditions very well. The wicket spins and when you bowl on seam, it spins better. I was trying to bowl the ball on a good length and use the crease well.

There is always public support. Wherever you play in India, even before this we played in Dharamshala, there was full support. And after that, here, it felt good to play on my home ground.

There is always a special feeling.

Winning is very important and we won – so that increases our happiness.

[Reporter:] Was this pitch good for one day cricket?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] 100% it was a good wicket. It was challenging. 50 over is all about skill and if you are set then batting is easy and at night the ball was seaming well, and if you have quality seamers then you are always in the game and 100% this was perfect wicket for one day.

[Reporter:] What do you think about the England team, they are defending champions. The way they are playing and the way their condition is, is it surprising?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I mean, they have a very good team, they have been playing good cricket. They have changed cricket a lot and every time everything doesn’t go in your favour. Sometimes you face bad times, I am sure they are thinking the same.

The English fan's expectations for the performance were not met.

Whichever team is playing, they are playing their best cricket and they want to defeat big teams. The biggest motivation for every team is that England is a big team. They were the last World Cup champions. So, the motivation is always high.

Even for us they are a big team. We were thinking the same way when we were preparing for this game. We were thinking that they will be a good competition in the game.

Definitely if you win against a big team, you are always happy.

You don't look at the other team that way because you are playing against them. You always think about doing your best and winning.

[Reporter:] Who would you like to see in the semi-finals?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I think there are 3 matches left and then we will see who comes in the semi-final. We have to perform well in the remaining three matches.

[Reporter:] [inaudible]

[Kuldeep Yadav:] This full year I have played one day matches and bowled at night. I have played in Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. I have always been prepared. I have played more one day cricket this year. There is no big change in bowling at night.

I mean, there is only one factor of dew. As a bowler, you don't want to bowl in dew because it's easier to bat, but I don't have a problem with bowling at night or during the day. If your batsmen score well, 300 plus, then bowling becomes a little easier.

But yes, 100% this has been because of the preparation for the whole year and the way we played back-to-back bilateral series this year, our preparation for the World Cup, so there is no drastic change in bowling at night or in the day.

[Reporter:] [inaudible]

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I focus on my bowling. I don't think much about the rest. I'm sure that all the members of the team, whether fast bowler or spinner, are focusing on their performance.

How they can do well collectively - I'm sure that all the fast bowlers are bowling in partnership, even the spinners. When you bowl, you think about how you can bowl well and get a wicket. We have 5 quality bowlers. Sometimes you might need a 6th bowler, like in Dharamshala, it was a high scoring game. So sometimes, you need a sixth bowler.

But right now, it's going well. We haven't had any issues in the last two matches.

[Reporter:] Today the tailenders also needed to bat, how do you prepare for batting?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I am working hard on my batting, I am contributing to the team, I contribute 10-15 runs, it helps the team. The last 25-odd run partnership helped us to reach a good target of 230. I felt that we can defend it.

It's not like I'm only batting in matches. I'm also working on my batting in practice.

Sometimes I score, sometimes maybe it doesn’t hit the bat. I get out, we get the last 3-4 overs to bat. Sometimes you don't get a single, you get a few dots. You don't think like a batsman. If you get 2 dot balls, you get under pressure.

But yes, we are working on batting. Hopefully, in the future, we will make 15-20 runs instead of 10.

[Reporter:] In the 2019 World Cup, 5 games back-to-back team India won. But you lost the 6th game against England.

But once again, something similar happened in 2023. The first 5 games you played, you won. 6th game, once again with team England.

Was it revenge or you felt that history is repeating itself after 229 total?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] After 2019 we have played 2-3 bilateral series against England. So, we don't think much about revenge.

But yes, if it’s a good side, you prepare well and your plans are always ready. And obviously it feels good to beat a good team. You take a lot of confidence for the next match and the performance is also very important. Especially since it's the World Cup, whoever performs well, it is a big day for him. It’s nothing about revenge.

[Reporter:] Did that match - beating the defending champions so convincingly, does that feel like a changing of the guard moment where it changes around for you?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I mean to be very honest it was good to win - beating defending champion. They don't have the great tournament so far. So it wasn't that tough -  they restricted us for like 230.

We, as a bowler, thought probably we have to pick early wicket to be in the game and certainly Jasprit and Shami did and after they were four down for 40 runs, we just trying to bowl in perfect areas and make them make mistake.

That was our plan as a bowler, as a spinner, me and Jadeja. And definitely when you lose early wicket, you're always behind the game.

[Reporter:] Does this England team feel different to the 2019 team?

[Kuldeep Yadav:] I mean, I think conditions matter a lot. They have the best team. They played some really good cricket over the years and they have the same players. So, nothing changes.

England Head Coach Matthew Mott post-match press conference transcript

[Reporter:] I don't know how much time you've had to speak to the guys now but can you sort of take us in and just tell us how painful it is at the moment losing all these games?

[Matthew Mott:] You know haven't had a chat to the boys yet. Yeah, very painful I think we set out we knew it was going to be hard work today - India on their home patch and to be honest I was really pleased at the halfway mark. I thought it was definitely our best bowling and fielding effort. And we went out to bat with a lot of positivity about it being a very achievable total. There was a lot of dew out there as well. So, I thought, particularly after the start, we got none for 30 that we're well placed but anytime you lose four for ten you put yourself under pressure and chase and it unravelled again from there unfortunately.

[Reporter:] Yeah, that unravelling, when it happens it's been happening faster. Are you sensing almost a fearfulness in the team that they can almost see the thing disappearing from them as soon as the  first setback happens?

[Matthew Mott:] No, not really. I think when you've seen that happen a couple of times recently, it does affect the confidence, no doubt. When you're winning, you can absorb a couple of wickets and seem to get through. But tonight, as I said, we're none for 30. I wasn't sure. We lost the wicket there. I wasn't sure about Joe's [Root] one, how pretty clear on the technology there was a little spike there, so I'm not sure why we didn't use that. But then it happened bang, bang and we're under pressure and they bowled extremely well. They were in their home conditions they did well and I think probably deserve a lot of credit the way they managed through that dew as well. I thought we tried to hold on and get some partnerships together but we just kept losing a wicket every time we looked like getting a bit of a foundation. So yeah, disappointing.

[Reporter:] You guys have talked about recovering some pride, being hungry to sort of get some of that pride back. Is that changing now? We saw almost no chance of really improving things. Is it almost like it'd be better just to get home and draw a line under this one?

[Matthew Mott:] No, not at all. I think, yeah, it's tough. I'm sick of coming up and speaking to you guys about the same thing, but that's what professional sport is. And we've got to keep pushing hard here. We've got a fair bit to play for to the back end of this tournament.

I think the way that we went out and fielded and bowled today showed the commitment of the group. And that's the main part of this. You've got to keep fronting up and commit, throw yourself around in the field. I thought we were brilliant there. And the first half we did our job the second half was one would rather forget and we've got to find a way.

There's some world-class players in there that unfortunately aren't scoring the runs that they're used to scoring.

[Reporter:] It looks like you're going to need to finish top eight to qualify for the Champions Trophy, I know it's two years away or whatever but that's looking a bit of a stiff task in itself now that's got to be a concern.

[Matthew Mott:] Yeah, I suppose to your point earlier it gives us a lot of focus that we need to make sure we can't you know just turn up. We've got to turn up and play and win those games. And we're obviously up against some good teams in those last few games as well. So, that's plenty of motivation for us to pick ourselves back up off the canvas and keep trying to throw punches.

[Reporter:] I don't know if you've seen but Eoin Morgan said that given how badly the decisions have been made have gone and how England have gone away from the white ball cricket makes him think that something is going on in the dressing room. Is something going on?

[Matthew Mott:] No, not really. I don't think that at all. I think anyone that's inside our tent at the moment would say that despite our results, we're an incredibly tight-knit unit, to the point where one of our, I said to the boys the other day, Dave Humphries, who's a former rugby international, was flabbergasted just how tight the unit was when he came in for a week to observe us, given that the results that we've had.

So, there's every opportunity when you're losing - to splinter and go separate ways. I can only say from my opinion the group's been incredibly strong in that part. If you see our training sessions, they're full of fun. People are putting their arm around each other, trying to help them. It's easy to do that when you're winning. It's a lot harder when you're losing. I'm proud that we keep trying to get up.

[Reporter:] Just to follow that up, it's great that everyone's having a great time, but are you sure there's nothing going on? Eoin’s a pretty clued-up guy, he's got ears in the dressing room, I find it quite hard to believe that he'd be way off the mark with that?

[Matthew Mott:] Yeah, no, Eoin’s entitled to his opinion. He's obviously been away for a couple of weeks with the birth of his child. He hasn't been in and around the rooms, but I'll certainly take that up with him and have a chat to him. We've got a really good relationship with him. So, if he's seeing something that I'm not, I'll definitely have that conversation.

[Reporter:] There were some positives today that we probably shouldn't lose sight of entirely. Oh, that's nice. Chris Woakes bowled really well. Bowling through seven overs at the start. It must have been a really tough time for him. How has that been for him and how happy were you with how he came back from that today?

[Matthew Mott:] Yeah, I'm very, very happy for Woakes. I think he obviously didn't start the tournament the way he would have liked. But Jos in particular as captain likes to reward guys that have done well over a long period of time. I think the faith that he showed, you know, he obviously missed the game, and I think that was probably timely for him just to work through some things in the nets, come back, and since he's come back, I think he's been excellent.

Even bowling at the back end, that's an unfamiliar role for him. And they were looking dangerous there that they could just put it beyond 250, and I thought we did really well, and Woakes is a big part of that. So definitely a positive.

I thought Dave Willey again was another one who has come into the side later in the tournament and is always underestimated but always delivers. So, a little cameo at the end with the bat.

So, look I think those guys are really good. I thought Rash bowled well as well and put plenty of pressure on. As I said, there's no problems in the first half. I thought we were a bit in your hand off for 230 with the conditions the way they were going to be tonight. But unfortunately, we couldn't deliver.

[Reporter:] When did you know what the qualification procedure was for the Champions Trophy? When did you and the team learn what the qualification for the Champions Trophy was?

[Matthew Mott:] About an hour and a half ago.

[Reporter:] Right, that seems incredible to come into a major global event not knowing what the qualification for the next global event is doesn't it?

[Matthew Mott:] Well, the ICC do change the rules quite a bit with qualification and to be honest I don't think it would affect in any way the way we've played in this tournament so it's not a big deal.

[Reporter:] I'm sure you must have been asked this a few times, but just to know a little bit more, how has it all come so undone for the team which is the defending champion? Where have things gone wrong? And have you really thrashed it out with the players and the team?

[Matthew Mott:] Well, yeah, I suppose the latest thing has been our batting, the thing that's gone wrong. There's no secret that we keep getting bowled out before that we get our full allotment of 50 overs. So that would be a big part of it.

I never really buy into the defending champions thing; I think everyone starts on the same points and we knew we would have to play out of our skin to qualify for the top four here. There's a lot of good teams here and a lot of teams that play really well in these conditions. So as a team coming over, we started with a lot of optimism, but it hasn't worked out. As we mentioned before, we've got a lot to still play for the end of this tournament.

[Reporter:] Just wondering your observations on Jos and how he's been handling what's probably been the biggest challenge of his career and certainly his captaincy. What's he been like in the dressing room?

[Matthew Mott:] I think he's been great to be honest. I think Jos is an incredibly deep thinker about the game. First and foremost, I think he's just disappointed with his own form of the bat. I think he felt like he came over here in really good form. He usually leads from the front and scores a lot of runs. So, I think that's probably been the hardest thing to deal with.

That dressing room's full of really good characters and guys with a lot of experience, and they've really helped a lot. I think Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Johnny Bairstow, Joe Root, guys like that have played around him a lot, have really tried to take the pressure off him. But like all of us, it's an incredibly difficult period. I think we won't forget this one for a long time. But what you do in elite sport is you've got to learn when you hit the canvas and you keep getting kicked while you're down, you store that away and you make sure you use that as motivation to keep getting better and making sure it doesn’t happen again and Jos is certainly in that boat.The Strikers now settle in for a few days at home before travelling to Perth for a Grand Final rematch against Sydney Sixers on Friday at the WACA, with first ball scheduled for 4.40pm ACDT.

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