Q&A: Mott on women's draft picks, tactics & growing the game
NEWSThe latest women’s Head Coach. Welsh Fire, meet Matthew Mott. He explains: Dream draft picks. New tactics. And how The Women’s Hundred will inspire children. He’s keen to jump in.
What brought you to The Hundred?
Cardiff is a special place for me. This is a unique opportunity to be at a place for the start of a competition and to start a culture. It will be nice to recruit good people, which will be a part of the strategy. We don’t just want good cricketers but we want people who can build a good culture from the start. Being in the infancy of that is exciting.
Will the Women’s Big Bash League success be reflected in The Women’s Hundred?
I’ve got no doubt. I’ve got a young son who is a Sydney Sixers fan and he doesn’t see gender – he just sees the Sydney Sixers play. He’s just as excited to see the women’s game as the men’s. The Hundred will provide that sort of platform in the UK and I can’t speak highly enough of what that can mean for the game.
Mott has won three Women's Ashes series and the Women's World T20 with Australia
How will you use the timeout?
Being involved in the Indian Premier League, when it came in over there we get messages out pretty well most of the time. It does give you a clear moment to recalibrate and get things back on track if you’re struggling.
Do you like the idea of bowling 10 balls at a time?
It just makes so much more sense in saving time and keeping the game moving. It will be interesting for the captains – they’ll have to dent a few egos when someone starts going around the park and they were expecting to bowl 10 balls. Captains are going to have to think hard and be flexible.
Who would your first draft pick be?
Meg Lanning for her leadership. What she has done for the Australian team for the past couple of years is outstanding. I’m biased towards Australian players but the likes of Sophie Devine from New Zealand and Smriti Mandana from India are incredible players.
Will Meg Lanning be an important pick in the Player Draft?
And for the men’s team?
Having coached against him quite a bit I think Jos Buttler is an incredible player. He will be one of the most sought-after players for this format.
What do you love about Cardiff?
From a family point of view, I lived pretty close to Sophia Gardens when I coached Glamorgan and I used to be able to walk to work through the lovely streets there. It has a good mix of a fun party town but also a great place for families with great parks. It’s a great place.
Family friendly vibe for The Hundred?
Absolutely. I haven’t yet told my son because he’s going to be so excited to see all of his Welsh mates. It’ll be like every Christmas at once. He is 10 now so he was over here and went to Welsh schools and learnt the language. He can’t speak it now unfortunately but it has been a huge part of him growing up.