England players will not have legacy tarnished by World Cup failure – Sidebottom

By Sports Desk November 15, 2023

Ryan Sidebottom does not think any England players will have their legacies tarnished by the dismal 2023 ODI World Cup campaign.

England, who went into the tournament as reigning world champions, failed spectacularly in India.

Jos Buttler's team won just three of their nine matches – with two of those coming late in the group stage – as they finished seventh in the overall standings.

Indeed, until those latter two victories, England were rooted to the bottom of the standings, which would have seen them miss out on qualification for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.

Yet despite the dreadful defence of their title, England's players still have their legacies intact for winning the 2019 World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup, so says former Test and one-day bowler Sidebottom.

"No, I don't I don't think anything will be tarnished," he told Stats Perform.

"I think they'll all be bitterly disappointed with their performance. This team has created a legacy. There's no doubt about it, not just this 11, but there's probably 20, 25 players who have been exceptional and set so many high standards for themselves.

"Creating history with run chases, high scores, they've been brilliant to watch. So, they have created something very special.

"They're allowed to play badly, and they have done, and I don't think it will happen again.

"Most of this team can go on and play in the next World Cup quite comfortably. They're still young enough, and I still feel there's a lot more to give with this team."

Sidebottom does also not agree with calls for captain Buttler and coach Matthew Mott to step down.

"You look what they've done so far," he said. "Yes, they've had a bad World Cup, but I think Buttler is a wonderful one-day performer and is arguably up there with the best in the world.

"He runs this team well and has gained a lot of experience from Eoin Morgan in his time.

"I think changing captains and coaches after one bad tournament is probably not going to be the right way to go about things. So, you stick with these guys.

"Jos has held his hands up. He said he's not played very well, individually, and I'm sure there are probably five or six players who would say they've not played well individually.

"But you can't keep changing coaches or captains, they've done a great job so far."

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    Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.

    Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.

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    "We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.

    "You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.

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