Chris Silverwood made some big mistakes as England head coach, but nothing quite sums up the scale of the task he faced than the fact that he is being replaced by three men.
The first was a Test coach, Brendon McCullum appointed last week. The second was a white-ball coach, Matthew Mott, appointed on Wednesday morning. The third, a selector, will take a while longer, with managing director Rob Key filling in for now.
Key has seen what seemed obvious for some time before Silverwood was relieved of his three duties: coaching England’s men’s team, with its current absurd schedule, is a job too big for one person.
Perhaps this has taken so long to recognise because Key’s predecessor Ashley Giles (fired the day before Silverwood in the week of the long knives) was scarred by his own experience of split coaches. Between 2012 and 2014, Giles was handed the reins to the white-ball teams with Andy Flower keeping the Test side towards the end of a long and successful reign.
Then, it was no partnership of equals; Flower got what he wanted, Giles had to make do. Scarred by it, Giles looked to hand all responsibility for an unrelenting schedule to one man, then added even more by firing Selector Ed Smith.
Ever since announcing his intention to split the jobs, Key has impressed the need for collaboration between his two coaches. And in that light, the two appointments make perfect sense. Mott (as assistant coach) and McCullum (as a player) got on famously at Kolkata Knight Riders in the early days at the IPL, and both men know Key, their line manager, well.
There should be an easy understanding, even if some conflict over which all-format players appear when is inevitable. England have six tours to five countries across formats this winter.
Mott has emerged from leftfield, but probably should not have done and should certainly be viewed as more than just McCullum’s mate.
He arrives with a terrific CV as coach of almost 20 years around the world, with Key saying: “He has had an incredible coaching journey with so many varied experiences that have brought him to this point where he was outstanding in the interview process and the perfect fit for our white-ball teams”.
Most recently, that has seen him lead the world’s best white-ball team, Australia’s women (who have won 40 of their past 42 ODIs), but he also has knowledge of the English game’s workings from his time with Glamorgan. A T20 World Cup in his homeland of Australia this winter should suit him nicely.
England’s white-ball cricket – from top to bottom – remains in an excellent place, as McCullum pointed out when speaking about his preference for the Test role. But Mott’s appointment shows that it cannot stand still.
“What he has done with the Australian Women's team is what will be asked of him to achieve for our men's white-ball sides,” said Key. What he means is that Mott inherited an excellent Australia team, and made them invincible. That is the challenge now.
He has beaten Paul Collingwood, the the continuity candidate, to the role at a time when continuity is not really the ECB’s thing. Collingwood has been a valued member of the setup in recent years, and will be missed if he decides it is time to move on, but perhaps his closeness to the players hurt in the end.
Mott’s outside voice – as well as reputation for being a bold selector and straight talker who puts his players in charge – will ensure nothing becomes too cosy at a time when a degree of regeneration is required. Even split, there is plenty on his plate.
