“That didn’t interest me because the team is flying,” Brendon McCullum told New Zealand’s SENZ radio back in May 2022 after being appointed as England Men’s Test coach. “I wasn’t interested in a cushy kind of gig.”
When Mott took the reins, England were indeed flying – to a point – in limited-overs cricket. They held the ODI World Cup and finished the 2021 T20 edition as disappointed semi-finalists. Mott would add the 2022 men’s T20 World Cup to a crowded mantlepiece after a hugely successful time leading Australia Women. But the sands were shifting as Test cricket became England’s outright priority after years of underperformance in whites.
That manifested itself in different ways. Mott rarely had access to his full squad, meaning continuity and defining roles were left to the eve of major tournaments at a time when personnel shifts should have been constant given the age profiles and trajectories of established and establishing talent. A dire defence of the ODI title last winter showed that did not happen fast enough.
On three occasions – his first engagement in the Netherlands, a ludicrous series against Australia a week after the 2022 T20 World Cup and an inconvenient three matches against Ireland at the end of the 2023 summer – he was essentially working with a second/third-string hybrid squad. Even when he did have a full deck, external awkwardness brought its own challenges.
Individually, Mott and Buttler worked well. Mott maintained calm within the dressing room, most notably during the recent T20 World Cup when rain and a defeat to Australia put England on the brink of another failure. Buttler has long emboldened those around him, both as a conscientious person and one of the best limited-overs batters on the planet. But as a combination, blindspots emerged.
Unlike Morgan, Buttler wears disappointment visibly. A byproduct of always being locked into the game as wicketkeeper? Buttler continues to insist the all-compassing nature of his work behind the stumps does not affect his captaincy. But at times, he could have done with a stronger, disagreeing voice in his ear. Mott was never that.
Ultimately, Mott makes way because it is easier to replace a coach than a captain, particularly with a leadership void in the white ball set-up. Key’s priority is finding a seasoned coach with strong franchise and international groundings, with no desire to restrict the search to identifying an English candidate. But working with Buttler means there are parameters to instill. Whoever comes in needs to be a counterpoint to a captain who, at 33, is entering his endgame.
England will not opt for a contrarian – Key dislikes the idea of “good cop, bad cop” pairings believing it only promotes disagreements, which is hardly conducive to a healthy dressing room – but they do need a firm hand.
Undoutedly a few will have spotted the scrutiny Mott faced and wonder if it’s worth the hassle. It would take a lot for them to turn their back on whatever plum gigs they have, particularly as franchise owners seek greater loyalty from their employees.
The ECB is willing to exercise a degree of flexibility, appreciating the very best coaches are ones in demand in world cricket’s ever-changing landscape. Mott was understood to be on around £200,000 a year – a figure not set in stone and likely to be greater for a higher profile applicant – and there will be chunks in the calendar available for other opportunities.
The risk here is if a coach does not give as much of themselves to it, that ‘England white-ball coach’ just becomes another job on their docket. It could also lend itself to conflicts of interest, though that is not restricted to this particular avenue, or cricket as a whole. Morgan, who dismissed talk of replacing Mott last week but is still thought of as a great option, is close to Buttler. Andrew Flintoff, popular with this group of players and currently in his first head coach role with Northern Superchargers, is a long-time friend of Key, but is unlikely to be considered this time around.
There is much to consider, though time for consideration. The new coach will ideally begin from the end of the summer onwards, with a white-ball series in the Caribbean followed by the 2025 Champions Trophy in February. It is an ideal opportunity to start again, albeit with the same captain and similar challenges in the immediacy given that West Indies series is sandwiched by Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand.
If the “gig” seemed “cushy” back in 2022, it certainly is not in 2024. Nor is the job of identifying and convincing Mott’s replacement.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo