‘It’s going to be a great contest’- England coach expects tough battle against India

When it comes to familiarity to conditions at Providence, India have somewhat of an advantage over England as they head into Semi-Final Two of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Thursday.

The Indians were in Guyana for limited over games in 2019 and 2023, but the last time an England team visited Guyana was in 2010 during the World T20 competition.

England’s Head Coach Matthew Mott believes though conditions would be not be much of an issue, adding that information from West Indian Kieron Pollard in his role as Assistant Coach has been invaluable in helping them to assess conditions across the Caribbean.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone starts at an advantage or disadvantage in a semi-final. I think it’s who adapts the quickest. I think you can come in with preconceived ideas, but our mantra has always been playing what’s in front of us,” Mott said.

“So, the intel that we can get in those first couple of overs, whether it’s with the bat or the ball, that’s been a real strong suit in this competition, the communication back and forth about what to expect, what ends to maybe target with the wind.

“I’ve arrived today, there’s no wind today, but we can expect that there will be some wind. And probably the key advantage for us is having someone like Kieron Pollard in our camp, whose intel on all the islands and what we can expect has been invaluable. He’s got a great presence within our group and the way he goes about it.”

Game time is 10:30h at the National Stadium, Providence.

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